By The Glass
CHUCK FURUYA
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
Quality wines,
including a fabulous
red, for the holidays
The holiday season is upon us. Time for Christmas shopping. Here are some wines to consider in different price categories:
Great value
1999 Bonny Doon "Sir Rah" (about $14): The grapes come from some very old vines down in southern France. The wine is the innovative project of superstar winemaker Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon.The 1999 is VERY tasty, earthy, deliciously peppery with an almost exotic/savory lavender, violet, black olive, meaty aroma. It is also very elegant and amazingly light on the palate. Definitely for home-cooked meals, whether foods grilled on the grill or just plain ol' meatloaf.
Well priced
1997 Edmeades Zinfandel "Mendocino" (about $22): Day in and day out, this is probably my favorite Californian Zinfandel. I love the au naturel winemaking and how it innately captures the wildness of where the grapes are grown.The 1997 has great depth, intensity and concentration, yet is surprisingly elegant and suave, with fabulous texture.
This style of wine is very diverse when paired with foods. Pair it with anything from heavier fish such as salmon (the winemaker's favorite pairing), to roast chicken (or turkey), to red meats -- grilled, broiled or roasted.
This is great wine to take over to someone's party.
For the connoisseur
1999 JL Chave St Joseph "Offerus" ($40): An absolutely GREAT bottle of wine. Totally world-class, almost deceivingly so. This one is near perfect. You get the bacon fat, the violets, the smoke, cassis, the freshly cracked black pepper and the dark, granite-laden earth of northern Rhone Valley Cru-quality wines. And you get the silky, sensuous elegance of the 1999 vintage.I cannot believe so many Californian Syrahs are coming out at a higher price than this bottling. I don't think Syrah gets much better than this. I don't know if red wine gets much better than this!
Forget the food, this is a wine for savoring!
Chuck Furuya is president of Fine Wine
Imports and Hawaii's only master sommelier.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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