THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9701300038
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY M.F. ONDERDONK, WINES & SPIRITS CRITIC
LENGTH: 83 lines
AS THEY SAY in Moulin-a-Vent: ``Le beaujolais nouveau est bye-bye.'' Or, to put a Spanish spin on the sentiment: ``Vaya con dios, Georges DeBoeuf.'' The 1996 beaujolais nouveau is history.
So why write about a short-lived wine, mostly sold out and past its peak? Gallic wisdom has it that, as goes the beaujolais nouveau, so goes the year's harvest. And the 1996 beaujolais nouveau proved to be some pretty good juice - fruity and dry, with an unusually deep, earthy flavor.
Other harbingers (including a flurry of press releases) hail exceptional harvests for 1996 on BOTH sides of the Atlantic. Usually unsympathetic, Mother Nature came through.
Two weather systems, widely separated and quite different, produced favorable conditions in Europe and, to a lesser extent, on the West Coast. In France's Champagne region, for example, ``a phenomenon which remains unexplained to this day'' yielded a bumper harvest of superb chardonnay and exceptional pinot noir, according to publicity from Louis Roederer. (The Champagne Wines Information Bureau says it was lots of sun.)
Southward, in Bordeaux, the exceptionally sunny late summer imbued the region's wines, particularly the cabernet sauvignon, with ``splendid'' color, ``intense'' fruit and ``first rate'' tannins, according to reports from Cos d'Estournel, Chateau Haut-Beausejour and Chateau de Pez.
Germany's Wine Information Bureau reports that while the crop in that country was down by 20 percent last fall, the quality has proved excellent. And in California's Napa Valley, a break in the hot weather of late summer even gave workers in vineyards like those at St. Supery a breather between harvesting the whites and reds - though when they did get picking, yields for both crops were noticeably smaller than usual.
Low yields mean better, more concentrated wines. But the price of quality makes for higher retail tickets on those same wines. And, owing to limited yields in previous years and rising demand, prices for California wines are ballooning noticeably.
Shortages have inspired such California wineries as Mondavi, Fetzer and Franciscan to begin sourcing wines from elsewhere, particularly the fecund soil of Chile. Some producers are now allocating their wines - meaning that consumers could see some favorite labels start to disappear from the retail shelves until the next vintage is released.
Meanwhile, hype by the wine press - always eager to find yet another vintage of the century - continues to drive prices up. So - never mind all that about '96 looking like a great year. OK?
And it's not like there aren't some terrific bargains around. A recent tasting at Bella Monte uncovered Domaine de Bernier chardonnay. Unusual in being a French chardonnay from the Loire Valley, this is a dry wine with a fruity finish and, at around $10, a terrific value. The restaurant's monthly tastings offer the chance to sample a range of wines while nibbling on hors d'oeuvres by chef Peter Frost. To get on the mailing list, phone 425-6290.
After William Jefferson Clinton took his second oath of office as President of the United States Jan. 20, he sat down and had a good lunch. At that celebratory repast, he toasted his next four years in office with Virginia wine - 1995 chardonnay and 1989 Le Ducq (a Bordeaux-style red), both from Prince Michel. The French-owned company has its winery in Leon, where it produces a range of labels, some of them award-winning. Now - time for a wine history pop quiz review. Virginia wine, produced by a French company, is poured at a presidential inaugural, which also happens to be the bicentennial of the swearing-in of President John Adams and Vice President Thomas Jefferson. Clinton's namesake, who loved wine, Virginia and France (not necessarily in that order) would have been mighty pleased.
For those who couldn't join Bill for a celebratory quaff, Prince Michel chardonnay will be poured at another special, albeit less opulent, occasion. A wine dinner, set for Lynnhaven Fish House on the evening of Feb. 16, will showcase wines from Prince Michel and Oasis, another highly regarded Virginia winery. The five-course feast is $50 per person. Phone 481-0003.
Sad news for enophiles - 22 Wine Street is poised to cork up and go home. The Hampton wine and gourmet shop is expected to close its doors some time in mid-February, says owner George Le Cuyer. ``The trend toward big chains is putting a big squeeze on small independent businesses of all kinds,'' observes Le Cuyer. ``Especially the specialty food and wine business.''
Six years ago Le Cuyer made the leap to this eponymous Old Hampton location from his Easy Go Wine Annex, an auto stop stacked with bottles of vintage wine and billed as ``the world's most unusual gas station.''
``I was in Paris once and somebody there had heard of it,'' Le Cuyer reminisces. As to 22 Wine Street, both operating hours and prices have been cut in anticipation of closing. The store is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and all wines have been marked down, some considerably. Phone 722-VINO.