RFN # 5, pub. 3/26/09

The Riggs Fulmer Newsletter
No. 5
March 26, 2009

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Retailers and restaurants set pricing; think of the prices below as very educated guesswork- restaurant prices will likely be around double those listed.

Brothers and sisters, I should apologize to you all in advance if the Newsletter smells strongly of chlorine this week; if the words seem to ring with whistles and children’s laughter I am sorry; if you seem to see a tortoise-shell pattern of liquid reflection on the back of your eyes while you read- well, you should get that checked out, probably, but I’m sorry anyway… Long story short, I have been taking classes for my International Lifeguard Certification this week, and I’m waterlogged and tired, but still ready to go, my monitor aglow before me, and a bottle of ’07 Domaine de Vissoux Cuvée Traditionelle Beaujolais Vielles Vignes at my side (excellent with swimmer’s ear)…

At any rate, that’s why the RFN is arriving late tonight, instead of its wonted Thursday arrival, and I hope you’ll forgive me if I get right down to it, as I’ve got deep water spinal extractions and Cadillac Records on the docket for this evening. Once more into the breach, and awaaaay we go!

Louis/ Dressner Selections, by Triage Wines, at the Davis Street Tavern

This week’s issue is dedicated to the amazing Louis/ Dressner Selections Tasting, hosted by Triage Wines at my new favorite watering hole, the Davis Street Tavern (www.davisstreettavern.com; 500 NW Davis, in Chinatown, PDX). We’re going to focus in, not just because the tasting was mostly French (that sounds a little dirty in the best possible way, n’est-ce pas?), but also because it was a little bit Austrian. Can you imagine a better combination? Any tasting that begins with Muscadet, travels through Grüner Veltliner, and ends with Bourgueil has got to be good; this one was damn good. The highlights are as follows:

2007 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Sur Lie $13
Muscadet, made of the grape Melon de Bourgogne, is truly a fascinating wine, in that it drinks like a charm while very young, yet develops into almost unbelievable depth and complexity with several years’ age. And by several, we’re often talking decade (I had a ’98 Muscadet last year, and it was hella yummy, as the kids say. The nose of this wine was a typically ample wash of minerality, with maritime stones and even a hint of leather. On the palate it was thirst quenching and expressive, with citric notes mingling with tickles of acidity. Did I mention the wines from this oceanward region are tremendous with seafood, particularly shellfish? I did now.

2007 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet Clos des Briords $15
An excellent example of the importance of old vines to this style of wine, the single-vineyard Clos des Briords is from vines older than 60 years; the Sur Lie only averages around 40-year-old vines… This one, however, is as much deeper as its vines’ roots, with a nose of cheesy terroir and piercing citron. On the palate it is ridiculously complex for such a wine, all gorgeous chalky minerals and lemon zest, with a looooooong finish. Wonderful.

2008 Clos de la Roilette Fleurie $20
Fleurie is aptly named, for this Beaujolais appellation tends to bear the scent of flowers. This one shows a bustling nose of gorgeous, sexy roses and blood, while on the palate it is all smoke, earth and mossy stones, wound around a tart salmonberry core. God bless Gamay!

2006 Domaine du Closel/ Château des Vaults Savennières la Jalousie $22
Mr. Parker once called Savennières the world’s most underappreciated great white wine. That might be a good thing for us, as prices tend to be those of a wine of far lesser quality. Chenin Blanc is king here, in the riverine vineyards just west of Anjou, on the Loire, where warm summers and cold winters allow the vines to truly sing. This one shows sweet wildflowers swaying over wet clay, rich, and almost Burgundy-like in the mouth, without tasting anything like chard. A riot of limeflowers and soft minerality.

2007 Domaine de Belliviere Coteaux-du-Loir Eparses $35
The Loir is a tributary of the Loire, not a typo. That the masculine Loir flows into and melds with the feminine Loire is a lovely, gentle image of female power, and the wines here show a suitably flirtatious element. Chenin Blanc again, with varietal flowers and stones, this old-vine wine also preens with chalky blueberries and fresh grapes, with wind over pine needles. The lovely sweet palate finishes soft and almost dry, with long, caressing minerality.

2006 Laurent Barth Muscat $22
This was one of my two favorite wines at the tasting. A friend watched surreptitiously as I smelled this beautiful Muscat, and burst out laughing at my expression of amazed delight. I told her, “I don’t want to say this is what white wine should be like, but…” Oh, Lord, you thought the above wines were floral? This Muscat leapt from the glass like rampant crocus, an absolute floral explosion: lilies, honeysuckle, geranium, violets, on and on and on. Ballet-light on the tongue, utterly lovely and incredibly expressive, with a long, soft finish like a swim under warm moonlight. I snuck back to this one for “dessert,” just before I left…

2006 Domaine Cathérine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Perrières (price TBD)
Made from 60-year-old Cabernet Franc vines, this stunner is worth writing up even if we don’t yet know its price (I’m guessing $25-$30, but that’s a pure guess). This is Cab Franc the way Dieu intended, all smoke, wet stones, and berried minerality- a celebration of earthy terroir. On the palate it's fleshy rose petals and blood on stones, with a loooong, pretty finish hung with silky tannins.

…and on to Österreich!

2007 Forstreiter Grüner Veltliner Kogl $14
The young lady pouring this wine seemed almost sheepish to tell me that the Speculator gave it 90 points, and, although the Wine Spectator and I often disagree (even though every issue has at least one awesome recipe I want to try), this time we are in complete accord. The nose shows a bright citric hit, laced with minerals; on the palate it’s all peaches and stones. A fabulous intro to real Grüner, and so inexpensive!

2007 Forstreiter Grüner Veltliner Tabor $33
Show me another wine made from 150-year-old vines that sells for under $40 and… well, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Extra points if it’s not from Australia! Indeed, this luscious Grüner comes from sesquicentenarian vines, and it shows. The nose sings with piercing, radiant citron, with white pepper notes. On the tongue it’s all lemons, coconut, fresh-cut grass, and stones, with wonderful minerality on the snappy finish.

2007 Graf Hardegg Riesling Vom Schloss $20
Austria, famous for Grüner Veltliner, nonetheless shows true Teutonic deftness in its bone dry Rieslings. This one glows with peppercorns, bright varietal citrus, and starry minerality. On the tongue it’s a gushing mouthful of sweet Riesling fruit, finishing completely dry, with lip-smacking acidity. Yum! By the way, “Vom Schloss” is my stage name.

2007 Stadlmann Zierfandler Classic $18
The noble Zierfandler grape is native to Austria, and if you’ve never heard of it, don’t feel badly- neither had I! I need to know more now, though. What a first impression! The nose shows fresh coconut meat (it took me right back to the hurricane-shattered concrete jetty at Dog Beach in Key West, where muscular Bahamian men in palm-frond hats chop fresh coconuts open with machetes, and the sweet milk bled out onto the searing pavement, filling the salty air with its perfume…) and cut grass. Lithe and floral, enticing as a dancer, the long, almost Chenin-y finish curled around the tongue with unbelievably sexy minerals.

2007 Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel-Höh $30
So distinctive, so compelling, this older-vine compatriot to the Classic bursts with broad maritime notes and clean, fertile forest floor (this one reminded me of the cypress forest at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur…organoleptic mnemonics at their finest, right here at the RFN!). Its rich, sweet concentration curls around the mouth and finished with just a hint of sweetness- gorgeous.

Strohmeier Schilchersekt $20
And here we finish with my other favorite, an absolutely stunning Sekt (sparkling wine) made from 100% Schilcher. You can never have too many Schilcher bubblies, right? If they’re all like this, I’m not joking. Pink and coquettish, the nose shows a fabulous Champagne-like complexity, and this French kinship continues on the palate, until it glides headlong into a crashing sea of rose petals and wild cherryskins, with an incredible, head-spinning finish of roasted hazelnuts that went on and on, almost like a Tawny port in nuttiness, although remaining completely, blushingly refreshing. Positively erotic minerality and acids knit the whole scene together. Yes!

A few words on the Davis Street Tavern before I leave you and return to my pool-spattered lifeguard textbook. If you have not yet visited this place, do so immediately. Set in a beautiful, almost New York-esque brick building, with broad open windows, it is elegant without feeling at all stuffy. The staff- seemingly made up entirely of disarmingly personable supermodels- are excellent and attentive, the bevvie list is great, and the happy hour menu (including, the day I visited, a ludicrously delicious dish of seared tombo on bitter greens with shaved pecorino and a citric, snappy dressing for FIVE BUCKS) is the best I’ve seen in recent memory. Parking is easy to find if you walk a block east (no parking directly before the tavern), so grab a close friend and go there posthaste. By the way, see if you agree with me that the bossman is a dead ringer for my favorite Spaniard, Rudy Fernandez…

And one more thing: if you haven’t seen Ghost World, featuring Steve Buscemi and Scarlett Johansson (who herself is also featured in a few of my talkers), you might not have heard the incredibly catchy number from Mohammed Rafi called Jaan Pehechaan Ho. Do yourself a favor and youtube that song right now. Just as charming and catchy as can be.

All right then, wish me luck, and I’ll see you all next week!

Yrs,
Riggs