Eclecticism as a Virtue

There are weeks that I try to drink my way through a region, and then the more disorganized weeks when I let my eyes and my palate carry me away, trying producers from favorite areas with little intentionality, beyond honoring the many expressions of the winemaker and the vine.

This week began with the Dogajolo Chianti 2005, which is comprised of 80% sangiovese and 20% other grapes. The inviting nose of ginger and cloves led me into a palate of blackberries and red delicious apples, with a waxy, sweet mouth prescence and a finish of vanilla and bittersweet chocolate. While it's rough around the edges, the Dogajolo is a gutsy wine.

On Sunday, I opened the 2004 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon. Formerly known as Chateau Souverain, this producer, recently feautured in The Quarterly Review of Wines, makes a terrific California Cabernet for the money. The nose is full of cedar and mint, and the palate of blackberries and cassis evokes the best the California climate can produce. There are notes of rose and hibiscus, and green notes of thyme, bay leaf and more mint. While the fruit-forward qualities of this wine are undeniably Californian in nature, that's not a bad thing. This is a well-made and sincere Cabernet, full of diverse flavor notes.

Showing the dusty tannins of an Old World blockbuster, the Michel and Stephen Ogier Côte-Rôtie was a delight to sample. The nose was full of lavender and briny green olives, and the palate was similarly full of green olives and green herbs and olive branch. A granitic note emerges in the finish, which speaks to the schistous soil of the Côte Brun, plus a rich fruitiness balanced by a savory richness that reminded me of a garlic and squid ink reduction.

Finally, the Terra Buena Malbec from Mendoza provided yet another glimpse into the diversity of international viticulture. With Malbec structure softened by Tempranillo fruit, the deceptively medicinal nose masks the pleasures to come in this reasonably priced wine. The palate presents tart cherry, basil leaf, red plums and black-tea tannins, with hints of spring lilac and brussel sprout bitterness. The finish is light but penetrating, with minerality, red fruit and balanced acidity.

So often, a certain style or price point drives American consumers, but I took as much pleasure in the Terra Buena as the Souverain, at half the price point. The most important thing is to listen to a wine. A warmer climate can nourish a dark, fruitful Cabernet, or a lighter evocative Malbec-Tempranillo. The key is receptivity, and listening to the grapes, and the flourish notes of the winemaker. What is a wine trying to say? How can you best listen to it?