Despite appearances the theme of this month revolves around the Pinot
Noir grape. This is obvious with the first selection but due to the bottle shape
the second might be almost anything but Pinot Noir. Even when you pop the
top (I’ll get to that in a few paragraphs) it is not obvious, but that is why I made
the selection.
April, 2014
My first pick is an example of why I think twenty years from now Chile will
be more famous for Pinot Noir than Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 Boya
Pinot Noir ($24) is produced by the Silva family, one of the most forward
thinking producers in Chile. Most of their production is bottled under the Casa
Silva label and come from the family holdings in the Colchagua Valley. In
addition to their Casa Silva wines, the family has also invested in the San
Antonio Valley, a hundred kilometers west of Santiago and Chile’s closest wine
region to the Pacific Ocean.
Many winemakers compare the San Antonio Valley to the Carneros region of
Napa/Sonoma except that the vineyards are 600-1000 feet above sea level. The area
is actually a sub-appellation of the Aconcagua Valley, named for the highest peak in
the Southern and Western Hemispheres. Within the San Antonio Valley there are
four sub-zones with the Leyda Valley, home to Boya, being the farthest west.
I have been tasting wines from this region for many years and have found the
quality and consistency quite high. Like Carneros the region is blanketed with fog
most mornings during the growing season which keeps the vines cool often until after
noon. By then it burns off and temperatures climb, rarely reaching above 90 degrees. By late afternoon the cool
ocean breezes begin to blow and rapidly cool the vineyards and the process begins again. Yet again we have
another example of how the cool climate and long growing season create the near perfect conditions for world
class Pinot Noir. Looking over the statistics for the plantings in Leyda, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are in
the majority and represent 75% of the total plantings. Pinot Noir vines are reserved for the best hillside locations,
facing west and north, so they receive enough sunlight.
Soils in this area are mostly decomposed granite and clay, the result of the weathering of the Andes over
hundreds of millions of years. The high rock content in the soil is important because it gives the wines an
undertone of minerality and absorbs heat from the sun during the day. The heat from the rocks then radiates in
the evening causing the vines to continue their photosynthesis cycle. It is the extra sugar accumulation caused by
this event that allows the vine to reach complete ripeness. Leyda Valley also receives only 14 inches of rain a year
so the threat of mildew and fungus is very low.
The Silva’s approach to making this wine is to let the character of the region and variety shine through without
the imprint of the winemaker. The grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, sorted and then fermented in stainless
steel tanks. Once dry, the wine is moved to third pass French oak barrels where it is aged for six months. A “third
pass” barrel is one that has been used twice before so the flavor of charred oak has been leached out and is not
obvious in the wine. They use these because they want the oxidation and evaporation that occurs in barrel to build
complexity and concentration without much oaky flavor.
When you open this wine you will want to give it a half hour in a decanter. Once you do, it reveals a nose of
bright, fresh cherries and black raspberries, tobacco, dried thyme, sage, tamari and pencil lead. On the palate it is
fairly soft but with an earthy, slightly tobacco-y quality that gives it nice length. You can drink this wine with a
wide range of foods, like spicy tuna rolls, poached salmon or smoked pork chops.
My second pick, 2012 Sineann Red Table Wine ($22) comes from one of my favorite winemakers,
Peter Rosbeck, one of the most passionate winemakers I know. Peter started making wine in 1985, one of the
early pioneers of the Willamette Valley. In 1994 he launched Sineann with partner David O’Reilly, who has since
gone on to create Owen Roe. From the beginning Peter has sought out vines growing in unique and distinctive
vineyard sites regardless of their geography. His second criteria for choosing a site is that the grower must be
willing to have a near-draconian attitude about crop thinning to ensure intensely flavored grapes come harvest.
As a result he produces small quantities of over two dozen wines each year from Oregon, Washington State,
California and even New Zealand. When you taste with him he goes into great detail of why he makes each wine,
why the site is important and the personality of the grower.
Sourcing grapes from so many areas you can probably guess that Peter is not exclusive to the classic Oregon
varieties of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. In fact about half of his total red wine production is Pinot
Noir but the balance is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with small amounts of Zinfandel, Merlot, Petite Verdot and
Syrah either bottled or used for blending every year. He harvests all of the vineyards and grape varieties
separately and each is made in a way that respects their individual character. Some years a wine may be bottled as
a unique wine, other vintages may go into a blend, it all depends on whether the finished wine will be special.
As part of the red wine making process there is always a good bit of wine trapped in the skins after the
fermentation is complete. I have often used the term free run wine, which is the juice that will flow freely from the
tank when the winemaker wants to remove it from the skins. The grape skins are then moved to a press where the
remaining wine is removed using pressure. This wine has a different character than the free run and every
winemaker has a different opinion about its quality and usefulness. Peter is generally very happy with his press
wine but does prefer not to use it with his single vineyard wines so he creates a blend that is nothing more than all
of the press wines put together in a random proportion based on the size of production. As a result his Red Table
Wine is about half Pinot Noir and the balance is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel with small amounts of
Merlot and Syrah. Peter told me that for this wine he also blends in a small amount of Lemberger from the
Champoux vineyard in Washington. He makes this wine just to use as a component for the Red Table Wine
because it adds nice color and fills in the mid-palate. Once the wine is blended it is barreled down in older French
oak barrels for a few months to polish the edges.
When you pop the cap on this wine you will discover it is bottled using a vinolok closure, which is crystal with
a silicon gasket. Winemakers like this closure because nothing but glass comes in contact with the wine
preventing any sort of taint. Splash it into a decanter for a few minutes and even give it a slight chill, say 60
degrees, and you will see how the flavor really pops. The nose is an inviting combination of fresh blueberries and
cherries, black currant jam, black peppercorns, graham crackers and a little wet slate. On the palate this wine is
more plump than deep, with the bright fruit held in check by a nice sense of acidity and a little dusty tannins.
Drink this wine over the next two to three years with almost anything, from pulled pork to pizza. I drank a bottle
last weekend with grilled chicken parmesean and it was fantastic.
Roast Cornish Game Hens
I was looking for an easy, interesting recipe to pair with Pinot Noir and I stumbled across this one on the
Cooks Illustrated website. I had never cooked these little birds before which made the recipe intriguing and the
preparation is easy, which fills my criteria for club recipes.
As it turns out the flavor of Cornish game hen is deeper than chicken, the result of having a very high fat
ration due to thick skin. It is a perfect meat to serve with Pinot Noir and other delicate wines because the fat helps
balance Pinot’s bright acidity. Please note that for this preparation to work you have to dry rub the birds for at
least four hours but I found prepping before work and roasting when I got home, ten hours later, was fine.
4 (1 1/4- to 1 1/2-pound) Cornish game
hens, giblets discarded
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
Vegetable oil spray
1.Using kitchen shears and working with 1 hen at a time,
with hen breast side down, cut through bones on either side
of backbone; discard backbone. Lay hens breast side up on
counter. Using sharp chef’s knife, cut through center of
breast to make 2 halves.
2.Using your fingers, carefully separate skin from breasts
and thighs. Using metal skewer or tip of paring knife, poke
10 to 15 holes in fat deposits on top of breasts and thighs.
Tuck wingtips underneath hens. Pat hens dry with paper
towels.
3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt on underside (bone side) of hens. Combine 1 tablespoon salt and oil in small bowl
and stir until salt is evenly coated with oil. Add baking powder and stir until well combined. Turn hens skin side
up and rub salt–baking powder mixture evenly over surface. Arrange hens skin side up and in single layer on
large platter or plates and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
4. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower positions, place rimmed baking sheet on lower rack, and heat
oven to 500 degrees.
5. Once oven is fully heated, spray skin side of hens with oil spray and season with pepper. Carefully transfer
hens, skin side down, to preheated sheet and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Remove hens from oven and heat broiler. Flip hens skin side up. Transfer sheet to upper rack and broil
until well browned and breasts register 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, about 5
minutes, rotating sheet as needed to promote even browning. Transfer to platter or individual plates and serve.