Thursday’s Bottle

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Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Jalama Wines, Joseph Blair, Lompoc Wine Ghetto, Saarloos & Sons, Santa Ynez Valley, Winemaker Mark Cargasacchi

2010 Joseph Blair Cabernet Sauvignon, El Camino Real (Saarloos & Sons’ Vineyard), Santa Ynez Valley

True story: I fell hard for red wine in the early mid 1980s. The scoundrel: cabernet sauvignon. This hearty Bordeaux grape varietal is all I drank. For months. I’m quite sure I’d never even heard of pinot noir, much less syrah and its Rhone cousins.

This Joseph Blair cabernet sauvignon, the second label crafted by Mark Cargasacchi (Jalama Wines), takes me back almost 25 years to autumn days in a cooler, rain-laden climate, to suppers around a fireplace followed by light desserts of aged cheddar and dark chocolate.

A stand-up cabernet, the first from Mark Cargasacchi, and the second label to his Jalama Wines

This cab displays a ruddy ruby color and a fresh cherry and tobacco nose. It’s tight on the palate with mouth-watering tannins — yet wonderfully drinkable now. True to its heritage of red fruit, with a smack of herbs and spice. Very focused. I split a bottle over two nights and then pawed through my cellar for another before realizing I’d given away my second bottle to a friend. Damn.

Hearty yet elegant, this Joseph Blair cabernet paired exquisitely with spicy turkey chili.

Joseph Blair, Lompoc Wine Ghetto (temporarily at Jalama Wines, 308 North 9th St., Unit C); 100 cases produced; retail: $40. www.jalamawines.com and www.josephblair.com

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Celebrating Ballard Canyon AVA

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Ballard Canyon Road American Viticultural Area, Coastal Vineyard Care Associates, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA, Jonata, Michael Larner, Rusack Vineyards, Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Stolpman Vineyard, Wes Hagen

As a chilly fall wind whipped around tall oaks and rows of vines at Rusack Vineyards Friday afternoon, a festive group of winemakers, vineyard owners or managers and wine journalists raised a glass to celebrate the new Ballard Canyon American Viticultural Area.

A table laden with wines from many of the winemakers/growers included in the AVA — Beckmen, Harrison Clarke, Jorian HIlls, Larner and Rusack among them — accompanied fresh tacos prepared by a team led by Ruben Solorzano, Coastal Vineyard Care Associates’ viticulturist extraordinaire and vineyard manager at nearby Stolpman Vineyards.

Michael Larner, owner with his family of Larner Vineyards and the Larner Winery label, is the president of the new Ballard Canyon Wine Growers’ Alliance (www.ballardcanyonava.com; website in the works). Larner and  Wes Hagen, winemaker and vineyard manager at Clos Pepe Vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills, are the voice and the researcher, respectively, behind the new AVA.

Ballard Canyon is the third effort led by Hagen to distinguish the the varied climates and soils that comprise Santa Barbara County. The Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara and Sta. Rita Hills were his previous two AVA successes, approved after months of research on Hagen’s part.

The winemakers and wine growers included in Ballard Canyon are Purisima Mountain (Beckmen), Boa Vista, Brownell’s Viejo Vineyard, Capazzo Vineyard, Daly, Dohlmeyer, Finkle Family Vineyards, Harrison Clarke, Hinnrichs, Jorian Hill, Kimsey, Jonata, Larner, Rusack, Saarloos and Sons’ Windmill Ranch, Stolpman, Tierra Alta and Willingham Vineyard, according to a prior news release from the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Association, led by Morgen McLaughlin.

Thursday’s Bottle: Notes from our expat, Phil Carpenter

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Cave des vignerons, Côte Chalonnaise, Montagny, Phil Carpenter, Thursday's Bottle

Editor’s Note: While I was digging in my cellar, looking for a candidate for “Thursday’s Bottle,” Phil Carpenter whipped up a new review of yet another of his recent discoveries. Go Phil!

Montagny 1er Cru ‘Les Millières’ 2009 Cave des Vignerons de Buxy

Found this 1er at the local wine shop. It’s quite the nice bang for the buck — er, I mean pound. Got it for L10 (approximately $15 US), brought it home, and put it in the fridge.

This wine is made by a co-op named Cave des Vignerons de Buxy.

Who wouldn’t love this beauty?

Located in Cote Chalonnaise, this co-op has been around for more than 80 years, and includes 270 members, or 120 families.  The co-op carried out everything from vineyard care to running its bottling line.

I had some difficulty finding more information about the vineyard, Les Millières. But its location is Montagny, on the southern part of Cote Chalonnaise.

Tasting notes: Crisp apple, honeycomb, hazelnut, pear, white flowers and perfume. It’s crisp on mid-palate, but has a nice roundness to the finish. Consistent palate, but with some ripe pineapple to go with wet stones as the finish nears. Very nice little white.

The wine shop stated this wine was aged completely in stainless steel, but I swear I got some sweet oak on the nose and finish …

(Editor, again: Read Phil’s first wine adventure for “Thursday’s Bottle,” published here on Oct. 17) www.centralcoastwinepress.com

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Thursday’s Bottle

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Bounty Hunter, Graff Family Vineyards, Halloween, Mourvèdre

So I fell behind with a post. Again.

I did drink a wine, however, and on Thursday. This week, Thursday was Halloween.

The backstory: About a year ago I ventured to the Bounty Hunter in downtown Napa, where a friend and I each ordered a glass of wine. She had bubbles; I had a mourvèdre. I so enjoyed the wine that I bought two bottles.

The wine: 2009 Graff Family Vineyards Mourvèdre, Chalone (Monterey County).

Thursday three of us paired the bottle with spicy turkey chili crafted by one of us, aka the Amazing Stephanie. The chili was de-lish and the wine was extraordinary.

The mourvèdre was elegant but had enough backbone to stand tall against the spice and acid of the chili. It showed more fig than prune, and more dust and light spice than mesquite. Hint of bacon.

Love mourvèdre? If you find a stash of 2009 (unlikely, but possible), open your wallet and pony up for this beauty.

Consensus: “Love this wine!”

Alcohol: 15.6. Retail: $24 (Bounty Hunter)

From the back of the bottle: “A portion of the profits from the sale of this wine benefits the Richard H. Graff Scholarship Fund for wine and food education.”