December 16, 2008 Bad Winemaking Trumps Even the Greatest of Expectations When I am rummaging through the wine cellar and my hand pauses over a bottle, an expectation comes to mind immediately. If the expectation matches the purpose, I generally pounce. So it was when I paused over a 10-year-old bottle of the Lambert Bridge Crane Creek Cuvee, a red Bordeaux-style blend that is better than 50 percent Merlot.  This 1999 Crane Creek ($50 upon release in 2001) was a wine that should have been hitting its stride, a perfect match perhaps for the thick lamb chops I was about to throw on the grill. I pulled the cork and was extremely encouraged to find it in excellent condition, with virtually no evidence of wine leakage down the sides. The bottom of the cork was one big, beautiful black stain!
As I decanted I could see the color was beginning to reveal the wine's age. This is natural and normal and only served to increase my anticipation. I absolutely couldn't wait to taste it! On the palate there was plenty of sweet, juicy red fruit to stir the senses and unleash a torrent of adjectives. Then it hit me. Harsh, leathery, bitter wood tannins on the finish. What should have been a sublime passage into the refined world of complex, nuanced older California red wines turned out to be nothing more than a reminder that sometimes the greatest flaw is the winemaker. For the 1999 Lambert Bridge Crain Creek Cuvee is now little more than oak juice. The obvious culprit is too much new oak. While aging in barrel as a young wine, this vintage of Crane Creek had soaked up the the wood tannins from the new oak like a sponge. Now, as the fruit begins to fade, the wood tannins are still going strong. Any hope that this wine will get better with a bit more time is wishful thinking. The crime here is that a perfectly good wine from an excellent vintage has been rendered undrinkable by, of all people, the winemaker who decided that if a little new oak was good, a little more new oak was even better. I beg to differ. |
As I prepare my notes for the annual Wine Talk column on bubbly for New Year's, I realize I'm something of a Champagne snob on this very special occasion. That means a number of worthy sparkling wines of a different type and style must necessarily take a back seat.
That said, I don't want to leave the impression they possess the powerful structure and complexity that is unique to Champagne. What they both have is gorgeous fruit, fine, delicate aromatics, an intense bead and freshness on the palate. These are impeccably made sparkling wines that are soft enough to quaff as an aperitif, but with enough finesse and elegance to pair with main courses such as scallops or squab.
Speaking of holiday gifts (weren't we?) I just received an email from my good friend Thrace Bromberger, one of the partners in Napa's 
I saw this clever device when I stopped by the Gustavo Thrace tasting room (in the Oxbox Center near Copia) on my last trip to Napa. I'll be in the valley next week and will make a point to swing by and taste some of the WinePod wines.