As much as food and wine, I love music, especially jazz (we have jazz piped in all day at the store to inspire customers). One of my jazz idols, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, passed away yesterday at age 70. Read this well-written obituary.

I discovered Freddie Hubbard in the mid-1970s when on a lark I bought his album Sky Dive. I was immediately mesmerized by his music, and I started listening more to jazz since then.

I finally saw Freddie Hubbard perform live in 1989 in Cambridge, Mass. at the Regatta Bar with his touring group at that time which included the brilliant Cedar Walton on piano. I was seated at the front row, no more than five feet away from the band. Mr. Hubbard was strutting proudly and blowing his horn fast and hard, pumping out music that soared in his signature staccato bursts. It was a virtuoso performance and, of course, I was blown away. Yet, Mr. Hubbard looked cool and dapper, just another day at the office it seemed. He was the best jazz trumpet player I've heard.

Looking back I feel fortunate to have watched Freddie Hubbard play live still at the peak of his genius. I'm really proud of that moment.

(photo of the young Freddie Hubbard by Price Givens on the masterpiece Red Clay album)

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 01:23 PM | Permalink

Every Christmas I receive a handful of Christmas cheers sent electronically. I love getting these things and I thought I'll start collecting them like traditional Christmas cards. So don't forget to send me one next year!

This one from Vignobles Despagne in Bordeaux, specialist producer of overachieving wines of Rauzan-Despagne, Girolate, Mont-Perat, etc. I met the young Thiebault Despagne years ago when he dropped by the store. He writes a interesting blog

I'm honored to be acquainted to Bernard de Laage de Meux, Business Director at Chateau Palmer, but I'd be even more honored to be invited for a sumptuous dinner there!

I'm not sure who sent this, but this is one of my favorites this year.

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 11:54 AM | Permalink

Stoic Frank Schönleber enjoying his Thai chicken curry over rice

Last week proved to be very interesting meeting with two brilliant young winemakers who are still in their twenties but already doing fantastic things heading up their family's domaines. Monday was with François Bitouzet of Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur of Volnay and Meursault and Thursday was with Frank Schönleber of Weingut Emrich-Schönleber.

I took Frank Schönleber to my favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, Thai Stick, in Millbrae, where we proceeded to drink, er taste, a bunch of his '06 and 07 Rieslings over rice and chicken curry and roast duck.

Frank took over his family's estate in the Nahe last year from his father, Werner; thus, 2007 is his first solo vintage. I told him that he was fortunate to start with such a great vintage, perhaps the best overall vintage since 2001 in my estimation. He forced a smile, but didn't beam, as he believed 2006, which he helped make with his father, has some terrific wines as well. Sure enough, we tasted some of the 2006s he brought and they were spectacular.

I've previously mentioned that in the Nahe, Helmut Dönnhoff is great, but those in the know search out the wines of Emrich-Schönleber.

Gault Millau's "The Guide to German Wines" bestows its highest 5-Star rating to just two producers in the Nahe, Hermann Dönnhoff and Emrich-Schönleber. But Dönnhoff's wines cost big buck, while Emrich-Schönleber's wines are much better values, though maybe not for long, as the buzz is spreading fast and many are discovering this brilliant producer and its thrilling wines.

The styles are also very different. Schönleber's Rieslings are much more ethereal and filigreed, very reminiscent of a Mosel. In fact I describe Emrich-Schönleber Rieslings as being like the Mosel of the Nahe, very delicate, minerally, and really refined.

Weingut Emrich-Schönleber.owns about 18 acres in Monzingen’s Frühlingsplätzchen vineyard and 10 acres in Halenberg. The two vineyards are just 500 meters apart but couldn’t be more different from each other. Frühlingsplätzchen has soft, crumbly red slate soils mixed with loam, while Halenberg has harder blue slate soils. Though Riesling accounts for over eighty percent of vines planted, there is some Pinot Blanc as well.

Germany has been on a roll and vintages from 2001 to 2007 are all great. 2007s offer relatively more moderate ripeness levels; hence, the wines offer consistency and purity across the range. 2006s offer mindblowing Ausleses, with perfect balance of richness and structure, for passionate Riesling collectors.

Frank and I enjoyed the following Rieslings with curry and roast duck. Riesling is one of the most versatile wines. Last Thanksgiving, my brother and I drank nothing but German Riesling (2007s from Leitz) with turkey, ham, pancit noodles, and pork rinds (seriously).

Nahe Riesling Kabinett Monzinger, Emrich-Schönleber 2007
Mainly from parcels in the Frühlingsplätzchen vineyard. A joy to drink! Pure, precise Riesling Kabinett offering vivid fruit and mineral flavors. Aromas of white flowers, apricot, pear, and cut-grass with focused, precise, well-delinated layers of fruits and minerals. Off-dry, sweetish fruity flavors that are crisp and sappy with excellent acid balance. A very lovely Riesling for pairing with shellfish that are just coming in season and with various Asian dishes. Riesling fans should not miss this. A great success in this vintage!

Nahe Riesling Spätlese Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen, Emrich-Schönleber 2007
Frank Schönleber say Frühlingsplätzchen means "nice little place in spring time". This is from the best parcels of the vineyard with vines averaging about 30-years-old planted in crumbly red slate and loamy soils. Very ripe, very sweet fruit hinting of peach, grapefruit, and guava, with layers of minerals and lavender honey. Fresh and open, with wonderful purity and outstanding richness on the finish. This is drinking very, very lovely.

Nahe Riesling Spätlese Monzinger Halenberg, Emrich-Schönleber 2007
From firm blue slate soils with quartzite. This is richer and riper with the same acid level as the Frühlingsplätzchen, thus it tastes more lush and sweeter on the palate—yet it starts out tight. After some time it opens up gloriously, revealing an almost opulent core of fruit with excellent minerality. Outstanding concentration. Very long finish.

Nahe Riesling Auslese** Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen, Emrich-Schönleber 2006
A special selection just below goldkapsel level for the estate, but you would almost think you're there! Excellent concentration, perfectly balanced. Very tight, but tremendous richness of fruit, with layers of sweet peaches and pineapples infused with minerals. Lovely ripeness all around. Vivid and fresh. A spectacular hedonistic experience. You have to be patient on this one, but it is definitely worth the wait.

Nahe Riesling Auslese** Monzinger Halenberg, Emrich-Schönleber 2006
A special selection from the Halenberg vineyard. This is even tighter than the Frühlingsplätzchen special selection, yet the incredible hedonistic richness is so perceivable. Very sweet. Very rich. Very concentrated. But so fresh and elegant as well. A powerful Riesling, with an energetic lengthy finish. Wow! Worth cellaring for many years.

Weingut Emrich-Schönleber
Soonwaldstraße 10a
D-55569 Monzingen
Germany
Tel.: (0 67 51) 27 33
Fax: (0 67 51) 48 64

Check vineyardgate.com for availability of Emrich-Schönleber Rieslings

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 09:06 AM | Permalink

I must apologize to Mr. François Bitouzet for my poor shot of him in the photo above. Nevertheless, I was lucky to get one shot before my camera’s battery died. I want people to see how young and confident he looks.

François and I met last Tuesday at the store. He immediately impressed me. Just twenty-five years of age and already in charge of his family’s domaine, which is based in Volnay, but with good holdings in Meursault, as well. In fact, François lives in Meursaul near Dominique Lafon's house. François mentioned that this is his first trip to the US. His father, Vincent, who recently ceded winemaking to his son, had never been to the US at all, despite sending their wines to the US for the past thirty years.

Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur makes a splendid range of Volnays and Meursaults that are not, for the most part, in the vin de garde style—I mean this in the best sense. Sure, the Meursault-Perrieres made here needs time, like fifteen years minimum on a great year. At a get-together dinner last summer, Neal Rosenthal, the domaine’s US importer, opened a magnum of the 1996 Meursault-Perrieres. The wine was still tight, with maybe another decade to go before blossoming.

Yet, the domaine’s other wines are usually ready to drink within a few years from release. The style is relaxed, not so forceful, but lively and gorgeously balanced. Take the 2004 Meursault Les Corbins that François poured—a joy to bask in its youthful fragrance, freshness, delicacy, and openness.

François ages the wine in barrel on its fine less for 12 months, then racks and ages it for another 6 months before racking another time and bottling. The oak regimen is 25% new, 25% one year, 25% two year, and 25% mix of older barrels.

I love the freshness and purity of his wines in their youth, which resonate even in the pair of 2003s we tasted: the Meursault Clos du Cromin and the Volnay village from a parcel below Champans.

With age, the delicacy and freshness remain, but the wine takes on a more meaty flavor like in the very lovely, beautifully concentrated 2001 Volnay les Aussy 1er Cru (2001 is proving to be such a fine vintage) and in the more fragile 2000 Volnay Pitures 1er Cru, from a parcel next to Pommard and near Clos des Ducs.

Aging Burgundy can be overvalued. François showed me that young is great. I see little reason to tamper any further with the deliciousness of the young wines we tasted. Before we parted, François quoted me one of his father’s favorite sayings: “better to live with memory rather than regrets.”

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 10:27 AM | Permalink

Lechon, as whole roast pig is called in the Philippines, is roasted traditionally in a long bamboo spit over coals for several hours.

I've been eating whole roast pig for as long as I can remember. It's primal dining at its best. The sight of a 100-lb (80-100 lbs is best for a full size roaster and about 35 lbs for a suckling) greasy, glistening, orange/red pig roasted in its entirety from head to tail (often garnished with an apple in its mouth) resting on a chopping table immediately sends my gastric juices into action.

When I was growing up in the Philippines, my father would order a side of roast pig for Sunday lunch after church. Lechon, as it is called there, is chopped up and eaten with gravy sauce (made with fat drippings and liver) over rice. The crispy, crackly skin-the ultimate pork fat-is the first thing that everyone attacks.

In the US, the most accessible source of whole roast pig is the takeout deli in a Chinese restaurant or store. The Cantonese roast pig is flavored with five-spice, but it's essentially the same as lechon, though in the Philippines, the lechoneros strive to make every square inch of the pig's skin as crispy as possible-that's where the money is.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, where many food trends start, Chinese cuisine isn't as gourmet chic as Italian, at least to folks who seriously follow food trends, so Cantonese whole roast pig has never caught on among foodies. Instead, lately, I've been hearing a lot about porchetta, the Italian-style whole roast pig that's deboned and flavored with herbs and garlic. It's becoming the latest food rave. While I'm definitely a whole roast pig aficionado, I confess I've never tasted porchetta, until last week, when I was invited to a porchetta luncheon.

Lorenzo Scarpone, one of my wine importers, is a native of Abruzzo, where porchetta is indigenous cuisine. At his warehouse in South San Francisco he brought in Salvatore Denaro, the renowned chef/prorietor of Il Bacco Felice in Foligno, one of Umbria's top restaurants, to prepare a whole porchetta, plus a side dish of polenta e salsicce. Chef Denaro spread slices of the roast pig on long loaves of ciabatta bread and cut up the loaves into small paninis. It was ridiculously delicious! The pork was tender and flavorful, with just a hint of rosemary.

I easily devoured four or five of those paninis, washing them down with various wines, including Ruggeri's Extra Dry Prosecco (I never expected extra dry Prosecco to be fantastic pairing with porchetta), Fornacina's 2003 Brunello and 2005 Rosso, Fonti's 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva and 2003 Fontissimo super-Tuscan, Sassotondo's 2007 Maremma and 2005 San Lorenzo Riserva, and, of course, Caprai's 2005 Poggio Belvedere, 2005 Montefalco Rosso Riserva (wow!), 2003 Sagrantino Collepiano, and 2003 and 2004 Sagrantino Riserva 25 Anni.

I have eaten countless roast pigs in my life, but porchetta is the most enjoyable roast pig dish I've ever had. I left the luncheon three hours later, satiated and staggering from all the wine and food. Since then, I dream of porchetta everyday.

Chef Denaro slices porchetta for the ciabatta bread panini

Just a few of the dozens of Italian wines we gulped down during the luncheon

Ah, the perfect ending, a selection of tasty dolci after the meal. Quick, find the mini canoli, it's heavenly!

Chef Salvatore Denaro, renowned Umbrian chef, on the left holding what remains of the pig and our generous host, Lorenzo Scarpone, on the right. On the foreground is the tasty polenta, perfect with the porchetta

Italy's version of a smart car, right-hand drive, with painted sign saying "Italian Culinary Toy"

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 09:47 AM | Permalink

I blogged about the Chateau Montelena sale to Chateau Cos d’Estournel back in July saying that it was the biggest news in winedom at that time. Well, last week Chateau Montelena announced that the deal collapsed, making this by logic the other biggest news in winedom.

Wine blogs and wine forums immediately picked up the news. I tried to look for more info and Yahooed (I happen to use Yahoo not Google) the news, typing in “Cos”, “Montelena”, etc., and I was amazed at the dozens of search results all saying the same thing. Wrapping the history of Montelena—including, of course, its winning the “Judgment of Paris” tasting, the Barrett family story, blah, blah, blah—around the single press release from Montelena, which said: ‘Reybier Investments has been unable to meet its obligations under its contract with the Barrett family, who will retain ownership and not offer the winery for sale. The process that just ended did not result in the outcome we or Mr. Reybier desired.”

That’s it. There is no further news or explanation for this nixed deal. No statement from Jean-Guillaume Prats, Cos d’Estournel’s GM, or from Michel Reybier himself, the owner of Cos and the buyer. It’s not even clear if any news organization tried to reach them. I found myself asking the question, like a lot of people reading the news, I'm sure, why didn't the sale go through? And who is this shadowy-like figure, Michel Reybier?

Jean-Guillaume Prats has been the only French face in this deal. Many know him, of course, as the son of Bruno Prats, the long-time, former patriarch of Cos, who was forced to sell his family’s property due to French tax laws. An investment company purchased Cos from the Prats in 1998, then in 2001 sold it to Michel Reybier. Reybier was a processed-meat tycoon from Lyon, who created some of the most well-known deli meat brands in Europe. Reybier successfully sold his deli meat empire to the US company, Sara Lee, in 1996. His wealth is currently estimated at $650-800 million. Among his other interests are a luxury hotel group based in Geneva and Paris, an investment stake in an oil exploration company, and properties in the south of France.

Reybier is one of many French tycoons who own high-profile estates in Bordeaux. Others are Bernard Arnault, François Pinault, Albert Frere, Jean-Claude Beton, Gerard Perse, Cathiard family, Bich family, and Wertheimer family, just to name a few.

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 10:15 AM | Permalink

A most unlikely pairing with Rioja's most classic Rioja, Viña Tondonia, is the classic sportscar 911 Porsche. An exhibition of 11 models of 911 Porsche will be shown at Bodega R. López de Heredia on November 7-22.

On hand will be the following 911 Porsche models gathered from private owners in Spain:
Porsche 911 2.0 (1965)
Porsche 911 2.4 Targa (1972)
Porsche 911 ST (1972)
Porsche 911 3.0 RSR (1974)
Porsche 911 3.0 Carrera (1976)
Porsche 911 3.3 Turbo (1982)
Porsche 911 3.2 (1984)
Porsche 911 3.2 Speedster (1989)
Porsche 911 (964) (1992)
Porsche 911 (964) Cabriolet (1992)
Porsche 911 (993) (1995)

Ms. María José López de Heredia sent us a note to relay her gracious invitation to this extraordinary event:
"For anyone who is a Porsche lover and want to come and visit our bodega during the time of the exhibition we would love to share a glass of Viña Tondonia with them. The showing of these 11 porsches model 911 will be open Monday to Saturday, from 7th of November to the 22nd, inclusive, from 10 am. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m."

Bodega R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia
Pabellon de Exposiciónes
Avenida de Vizcaya, 3
26200 Haro. La Rioja
Phone: 941.310.244

Posted by Alex Bernardo at 01:48 PM | Permalink