Cooking

Glenrose

While researching my Paso Robles piece, I fell in love with Don Rose's Glenrose vineyard. The site isn't any prettier than other Paso vineyards, but after I visited it I understood why a waiter at Villa Creek told me bluntly, "Don Rose? He's crazy." You want a unique terroir? One that isn't just a marketing term? So did Rose.

Geology graced Paso with abundant limestone, a conspicuous element of great wine regions like Burgundy, Piemonte and Champagne among others. Rose turned his vineyard's limestone knob to 11. He used his one-person bulldozer to carve into 20% of his land to expose a soil that's up to 80% limestone in some places. The soil has such a high pH that dilute sulfuric acid runs through the irrigation system in order to keep the vines alive. The limestone binds tightly to iron and the vines have a tough time making chlorophyll as a result. The view from Glenrose's summit, which looks down on narrow terraces separated by fifteen-foot drops, is not a lush green vineyard but a mottled carpet of light green and yellow. My favorite quote about Glenrose comes from Justin Smith of Saxum : "You want to stress grapes, but those you almost feel sorry for."

There's an indescribable quality about wines made from these grapes. When I tasted several over the course of a few weeks, I noticed it every time, even when they were blended with grapes from other vineyards as in Villa Creek's Avenger. It's not a taste so much as a sensation. The best word I ever came up with was "buoyancy." These wines have a lightness that seems at odds with their structure. When I tried Tablas Creek's bottling a few nights back, I didn't have that shock of recognition—it's been a year and a half since I've tasted these grapes—but the buoyancy was still there. There are mineral flavors, like you'd expect, but Glenrose' s signature to me is this pleasant airiness. I'll follow this vineyard closely in the coming years. It's producing fascinating wines a mere seven or eight years into its life, and I'm eager to see how it develops over time.

2002 Las Tablas Estates, Glenrose Vineyard, Rhone grapes, $32.50 from the winery
Tasting Note - Thin pink edges darken to an opaque deep red core. Strong pepper aromas combine with notable minerality and the occasional floral note. Prominent strawberry aromas flirt in and out as the wine opens up. Rose says he finds cinnamon in his wines, and while I do as well, it's the clay and dough smells of authentic cinnamon, not the cassia that most people think of when they hear "cinnamon". The wine's intense acidity and modest tannins frame a palate of sweet cherry flavors. Melissa described this well-balanced and sprightly wine as "very clean."

Food - We enjoyed this wine with rare pan-seared steak topped with a creme fraiche butter and served alongside roast potatoes and (egad!) Brussels sprouts (we started down a slippery slope). Similar food would work just as well, I think (the winery suggests wild boar, a specialty of the region).

General Thoughts - I like this wine. Can you tell? It seems well-balanced, even though it's got a fierce acidity and the alcohol tingles the nose a bit. Somehow within the context of the wine, it works.

- Wtn: 2005 Heidi Schröck Muscat, Neusiedlersee-hugelland, Austria
If I ever say that I plan to stop drinking wine, test my resolve with a bottle of Heidi Schröck Muscat (despite the name, a blend of white grapes including some muscat varieties). This is a wine for those who have an unabashed love for the beverage. Terry...

- Wtn: 2001 Dashe Zinfandel, 2002 Jc Cellars Syrah
I liked Lenn's theme for this edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the Internet-wide tasting group. Find the winery closest to your home, he wrote, and taste their wines. I assumed his theme deliberately coincided with August's "Eat Local" challenge,...

- Wtn: 2002 Puligny-montrachet, Chateau De Puligny-montrachet
I have avoided learning much about Burgundy so far. I love the wines from this region, but I worry that its convoluted swirl of soil types and tiny producers will trigger my obsessive personality, to the detriment of my pocketbook. So I skirt the edges...

- Wbw 6: South African Reds
When I saw the theme of "South African Reds" for this round of Wine Blogging Wednesday, I immediately knew who the host was. Jeanne, a South African expat in Britain, often educates us about food and wine from that country. Maybe I should offer to host...

- Wbw 5:wacky Brands Of Wine
I wish I thought of Pim's great theme for the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday, the monthly event where food and wine bloggers write about a particular type of wine on a given date. Former hosts all picked quasi-educational themes. One might almost...

Cooking