Farewell (for now) to One of Our Dudes

Dude Patrick!

For more than two years a group of friends have gathered nearly every 2-3 weeks to sip wine, compare thoughts, and tell each other that they have no idea what they're talking about.

We tasted all sorts of wines at low price points, high price points, and from countries around the world. We've done dinners, blind tastings, and a couple of videos for this blog.

After all, isn't that what friends do? We dubbed ourselves "Dudes on the Porch." That's because it all started on my front porch when I lived near the center of town in grand 100-year old home. I've moved to a newer condo, Dude Mike has moved away because of his wife's career, and tonight we lose Dude Patrick for a year as his Professor Wife goes on sabbatical.

So tonight we're opening some wines. I'm going to update throughout the evening. We've sort of pledged to bring different wines but only good ones!

I'll udpate with the wines, some thoughts and a few photos as we go along. This is sort of a "live blogging" night!

We started with a wine I carried back from Wisconsin last year - Ledgestone 2009 Le Crescent. Le Crescent is an Elmer Swenson creation. Swenson was a grape-development pioneer at the University of Minnesota. He developed the slightly better known Frontenac as well.

Le Crescent combines another of Swenson's grapes, St. Pepin, along with a clone from Muscat Hamburg. What you get is a refreshingly tart white wine with strong apricot and tart citrus. It's quite refreshing. Winemaker Tim Abel talks up the varietals and this wine delivers. The $22 price point is higher than a lot of white wines but worth it to discover these unique varieties you've probably never tried nor heard of before.

Next up was a Burgundy Patrick brought along. We enjoyed a rather big Domaine Larue Saint-Aubin 2008 1st Cru Sur Le Sentier du Clou.

"This has bigger, darker fruit than you get from Burgundy," Patrick said. Indeed, the dark fruit was much bigger than most Burgundy (think bold cherry flavor) but it had great acidic balance for a great mouth feel.

Patrick snatched this $50-plus wine from Cinderella wine.com for just under $30.

Our last wine was John Bojanowski's Clos du Gravillas Lo Vielh - or 100 percent Languedoc Carignan. This wine stands out as one of my favorite finds from a week-long visit to France's Languedoc region in January.

The Lo Vielh - which means old one - is big, earthy, and bold - the perfect way to send Patrick off to Tennessee. John doesn't make much of this wine so the fact it made its way to Indiana is even more amazing. Thanks go to our friends importer Paul Chartrand and Derek Gray of Graybull imports.

The wine features grapes from 101-year old vines on John's small property in the Languedoc. Clos du Gravillas is also certified 100 percent organic by French laws. John has personally taken Carignan on as a personal cause. It's grown widely in southern France but most often used as a blending grape. It has a wonderfully stinky nose and might be off-putting to some until you tasted. If you can find the Le Vielh, because most sold out on the first shipment, expect to pay $25-$35.

All four of us present Monday night really liked this unique bottle of wine. I briefly met John at the Millesime Bio in Montpellier then had the chance to talk with him a bit during a spring visit to Indianapolis promoting his wines. The Kentucky native is an interesting guy making some really unique wines worth seeking out.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Getting the Price Right Makes a Difference

Time for a quick update. One of my great finds during a January visit to France's Languedoc wine region was Kentucky native John Bojanowski's Clos du Gravillas wines.

Bojanowski

I attended a spring tasting in Indianapolis while John was in the US to work with distributors and promote his wines. I wrote about it for an April/May newspaper column that goes out to 18 Midwestern newspapers.

I quoted the price from the wine establishment which was a mistake. I've written here numerous times about the restaurant/bar markup on wines and, frankly, should have known better.

Gravillas' signature wine is its 100 percent Carignan. I paid over $50 to take a bottle home that night and referred to the price in the $50-plus range. I heard from John today who quickly noted he was unaware of the price charged at the tasting until after the fact.

You can find his beautiful Carignan wine - something new for many wine drinkers - at a far more affordable retail price in the $25-$30 range. Obviously, you'll pay more in restaurants.

The Carignan and John's top blend 'Le Rendez Vous du Soleilis' are available in Indiana. He also wrote he just shipped more wine to the U.S. so the reception must be positive. If you haven't tried Carignan, you should.


Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Long Road Louisville to Saint-Jean-de-Minervois

It’s a long path from Louisville, Ky., to Saint-Jean-de-Minervois in Southern France. But that’s the journey Brown University graduate John Bojanowski took in transformation from literature major to Languedoc winery owner.

Bojanowski was recently in Indianapolis to promote his Clos du Gravillas wines and visit family in Kentucky. His journey is an interesting one as is the unique Languedoc wine he champions.

The wine event was at Tastings in Indianapolis at the Conrad downtown.

Bojanowski attended prestigious Brown University in Providence, RI., and wanted to travel. He landed a job in the computer industry that took him to 50 countries in five years. During that time he met Nicole who wanted to be a winemaker. They went in search of just the right property to open their winery. 

John Bojanowski at Indy's Tastings

“When my wife started she wanted white limestone gravel, which is what our soil is because you get freshness and minerality out of that to balance what the sun does to the grapes,” he explained. “But Carignan was what we started with because that’s what she was able to buy. “

Their property included Carignan planted in 1911. Carignan is an often-maligned grape. It is a dark-colored and strong flavored wine. Some will even call the nose offensive and the taste can be strong. But the old vine Carignans can produce deeply flavored and rich wines. Small amounts of Carignan is consistently found in most Languedoc blends.

“We discovered that Carignan could be more than just okay. It can be really, really good. We’ve made it our purpose to tell everybody about it.”

Clos du Gravillas is a small production winery featuring wines made from 15 different grapes. “So it’s sort of like being an artist with 15 different colors on the palette. We try to figure out what each of those grapes are best for and how we can make it the best wine.”

The Languedoc is the largest wine-producing region of France.

“The Languedoc is on the Mediterranean. It’s between the Rhone River and Spain. Our winery is three hours form Barcelona and six hours from Paris. It’s sunny, beautiful and rain free almost all summer. You find very different terrain when you go a half hour drive in any direction from sea to flatlands to plateaus to mountains. It’s a beautiful place and wine grapes have been grown there for 2,000 years.”

The warm weather, the region averages 315 days of sunshine a year, produces ripe fruit. “We pick the grapes ripe which means a certain amount of sugar, a certain amount of alcohol, so they’re not little wines. We practice very natural and organic farming and then natural non-interventionist winemaking, and fermentations.  We try not to do too much besides getting really great grapes, putting them into the tank and letting them become wine.”

Clos du Gravillas wines are available in some Indiana restaurants and fine wine shops. John’s wines are above the value price points usually featured in Grape Sense. His wines are in $30-$50 range.

Languedoc wines are widely available in the $12-$16 range. Finding a 100 percent Carignan isn’t impossible but could be difficult; it will be worth the effort.

Howard’s Picks:

Le Rendez Vous du Soleil 2007 - This is a nice extracted blend of Cabernet, Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Counoise, Tannat, Terret Gris, and Carignan. This is big rich red wine that is beautifully balanced with big dark fruit. (SRP $42)

Lo Vielh Carignan 2007 - This is the real star in John's stable and the supply alloted Indiana has already sold out. This is the 100 percent Carignan from vines planted more than 100 years ago. Its a big incredible wine that has a smoothness unlike many Carignan wines. It's outstanding fine wine. ($25-35)

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Organic Wine Story Up on Palate Press,

Palate Press has published my story about organic wines, organic wine regulations and reflections of French winemakers on the controversies.

The story went up overnight and will be on the site about one week. The piece was a result of my week-long visit to Montpellier, France, and the 19th annual Millesime Bio - organic wine trade show.

Here is a direct link to the story.

I also provided a quick summary of what I thought were the top wineries I tasted during the show. Unfortunately, due to space considerations that section was cut. Here is it below:

The opportunity to sample the wines of 587 growers was a unique three-day experience. Sometimes wine writers and other professionals forget consumers seldom get the opportunity so sample so many great wines. I went to the Millesime Bio on a press trip open minded but not knowing what to expect. While a certain number of wines were certainly sub-par and undistinguished, the vast majority were great wines. No consumer, nor few experts, would have any idea these are organic wines or feature substantially lower sulfite levels. Additionally, the Languedoc wines are generally great values.

Most of the labels mentioned below are imported to the U.S., but not all. Most of the sites have an “English option” but not all. A few of the best labels I tasted and consumers might seek out include: 

Joly

DomaineHYPERLINK "http://www.domainevirgilejoly.com/en/" HYPERLINK "http://www.domainevirgilejoly.com/en/"Joly – The wines of Virgile Joly were the most consistent I tasted. He is a rising star in the Languedoc and is a great spokesman for organic wines. For my palate, Joly’s 2011 Grenache Blanc was the top Languedoc white blend of the show. 

DomaineHYPERLINK "http://www.domaine.carlecourty.sitew.com/Fiche_Technique_de_nos_vins.G.htm" Carle HYPERLINK "http://www.domaine.carlecourty.sitew.com/Fiche_Technique_de_nos_vins.G.htm"Courty – Frederic Carle’s Cuvee Marion, named after his daughter, was the best red blend. It was a beautiful combination of 70 percent Syrah, 10 percent Grenache Noir, 10 Carignan, and 10 percent Mourvedre.

Cabanis

DomaineHYPERLINK "http://www.domainecabanis.com/domainecabanis_en.htm" HYPERLINK "http://www.domainecabanis.com/domainecabanis_en.htm"Cabanis – Jean Paul Cabanis poured his wines one evening at dinner. His property dates back to 1932, not old in Southern France but with a delightful history. He produces three reds, two whites and a Rose’.

Chateau de HYPERLINK "http://www.domainecabanis.com/domainecabanis_en.htm"Cazeneuve – The wines from this beautiful Chateau setting, near Montpellier, are more rustic than many I tasted and at a slightly higher price point. Andre Leenhardt’s 100 percent 2008 Mouvredre was a fabulous bottle of wine at 35 Euro.

Bojanowski

Clos Du HYPERLINK "http://www.closdugravillas.com/"Gravillas – John Bojanowski, a Louisville native, and his wife Nicole are championing Carignan at his St, Jean de Minervois region winery. He does a 100 percent bottling of the Southern France grape that is a knock out. 

A few more options include: Mas Janiny, wines from Terroirs Vivants, Mas Laval, Italys’ Perlage label, Chateau. Bonnet, and two more from Italy – Casina Di Cornia and Antica Enotria.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com