Hot Dish: My Favorite Wines
By Orla Murphy-LaScola
As an avid supporter of handmade, wellfarmed, small production wine, I would find it very difficult to meet one of those wines and not have something nice to say about it. For example, even a wine that is overpoweringly “barnyardy” has a perfect mate in food. Then same goes for a particularly ammonia-scented Sauvignon Blanc.
This affection for small production wines leaves me with quite the dilemma: If I had to make a short list of favorite wines, what wines would make the cut? Which five wines would I take with me to a deserted island to keep me hydrated and happy while I wait for more bottles—I mean, a rescue team— to arrive?
Obviously, my knee-jerk reaction to hearing that I’d be stuck on a deserted island with only five bottles of wine is to insist that each bottle is a Nebuchadnezzar. The largest allowed format bottle for French burgundy and champagne, a Nebuchadnezzar is the equivalent of 20 bottles of wine. Yet, this would be a very shallow, greedy thing for me to say. It would also limit my choices to only two, albeit wonderful wine regions. And since I’m a lover of wine from all around the world, even those I have not been fortunate or wealthy enough to try, I can imagine what they taste like, so those cannot be ruled out either.
And so my dilemma continues. Does the list have to be only wines that I personally know to be great, or can the list include wines that are reported to be among the best? Oh, the questions that keep me up at night! After much deliberation and hair pulling, I have decided to include wines on the list that I have not yet had the pleasure of tasting.
First up: the 1985 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises. Personally, when it comes to champagne, I can either take it or leave it. Between you and me, it happens to make me a mean drunk. Either way, a top wine list must begin with great champagne. Produced from Pinot Noir grapes sourced from the Clos Chaudes Terres and the Clos St-Jaques Vineyards, the 1985 vintage also includes grapes from the Croix Rouge vineyard. Because the vines in the Clos Chaudes Terres and the Clos St-Jaques vineyards have never been grafted onto American rootstock, they survived the Phylloxera infestation in the mid-19th century that wiped out more than 6.2 million acres of French vines. As a result, the Bollinger Vieilles Vignes is incredibly rare and special. I am also happy to note that is it available in a Nebuchadnezzar.
My second wine on the list would have to be a California Chardonnay. Here, I’ll include two options: one that I have tried and another that trusted friends assure me is magnificent. The first Chardonnay, which I know and love, is the 2001 Kongsgaard Napa Chardonnay. Now, I know I’ll get a lot of flack from customers and wino friends for this choice, but I truly believe this wine shows everything there is to love and hate—depending on your palate and preferences—about California Chardonnays. And it can’t be beat when paired with a rich, buttery meal of strong flavors.
The second California Chardonnay that I will blindly choose for my deserted island list is the 2002 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard. The brainchild of extremely talented husband-and-wife winemakers Helen Turley and JohnWetlauer, this wine is nearly impossible to get your hands on, as it is produced in very limited qualities. Not unlike the great Californian grunion runs, this wine is worth foraging and waiting for, as it is apparently worthy of any and all aggravation.
Perhaps now would be a good time for a 1996 Mouton-Rothschild and a 1996 Bryant Family Vineyards. Both are Cabernets. Many believe that these wines are now just coming of age.When it comes to the Bryant Family Vineyards, the 1997 Cabernet received a better overall rating than the 1996, but I believe the 1996 to be more difficult and interesting. Since we happen to own both the Mouton-Rothschild and the Bryant Family Vineyards since their release, finding an occasion to drink them is highly in order.We can only hope that both have aged well like a Van Gogh and not like a hard-partying, chain-smoking Vegas lounger singer. Watch this space if you have any patience, as the wines should be drinking well between now and 2020. You never know—we could be holding out for the very last second of 2020 to enjoy them!
For my fourth choice, I have to go with a wine that is Shiraz-based and one of my favorite wines to drink. Every time I try Penfolds Grange, it has blown me out of the water, literally. I can only imagine what the 1976 can do. As this is a wine very close in age to myself, I believe the ’76 has a bit more aging to do and will be drinking well through 2025.
Like a well-planned chef’s tasting menu that starts with something light and crisp, slowly building in heaviness to finish with some rich sweetness, a good favorite wines list should do the same. So with no further adieu, I give you dessert for this deserted island list.
First, a little background on sweet wines: Expensive to produce, sweet wines come from grapes that have been left hanging on the vine for unusually long times to combat noble rot and frost. Consumers must remember that it sometimes takes an entire vine to produce just one glass of sweet wine, which is oftentimes reflected in the price.
While many connoisseurs consider Chateau D Y’quem to be liquid gold and one of the finest sauternes in the world, I have had the unique privilege of tasting a 1990 Chateau Climens, which I think rivals the Chateau D Y’quem. The Climens is known in its circles as the lord of Barsac, the region from which these fine wines both hail. Although the wine should be cloying and sweet, it is surprisingly light and refreshing. It is this very surprise that makes the 1990 Climens delicious, exceptional and unexpected.
While I truly believe in all the wines I have included in this list, it is by no means complete. A true student of the vine, I have much more research to conduct and wines to drink before the list will be complete. As always, I am open and available to suggestions and tastings.
For Fun Try:
Behrens & Hitchcock
2003 Chien Lunatique $$
Aerope Grenache
Two HandsWinery $$$
Red Car Sonoma Pinot Noir 2005 $$
