The Oenofiles Wine Blog

A Seriously Great Discovery

"Creamy, floral, aromatic, juicy, sweet, slightly acidic, with buttery and slightly gritty finish.". Hmmm, these sound like pretty good descriptors for a bottle of wine? Actually they are the descriptors for the Anjou Pear, a pear that is thought to have originated in the early to mid-19th century in the vicinity of Angers in central France, also known as the Anjou province today. Honestly, as a chef, I know more about the Anjou pear than the red wines from Anjou. But a chance encounter last week forever changed my perspective on these fabulous reds from the Anjou province of the Loire Valley.

Last week, I had a scheduled tasting appointment with Dan Lavorel of TGIC Importers. He brought with him a usual list of good wines from Argentina, California, & Australia. But he also brought two red wines from the Anjou province from a producer called Domaine Philippe Delesvaux. Prior to this tasting, I had little exposure to Loire Valley reds. Most of the Loire Valley wines that I have tasted are mostly dry whites or sweet wines.(I actually cannot remember the last time I had a bottle of red wine from the Loire Valley.) But if you are a curious drinker who is looking for a great value import wine for everyday drinking that is rich, robust, and age worthy, you may want to expand your horizons and try a bottle of these wonderful red wines from Philippe Delesvaux.

2005 Domaine Philippe Delesvaux Anjou Rouge "La Montee de L'epine" - $20 a bottle (100% Cabernet Sauvigon) Opaque, inky, black purple color with nose of blackberry liquor and cherry. The mid-palate is rich, dense, thick with great purity. The acidity is modestly high (13.5% alcohol). The finish is a bit dry and short. Otherwise, this is a seriously great wine. (92+)

2005 Domaine Philippe Delesvaux Anjou Rouge - $18 a bottle (100% Cabernet Franc) Dark Purple with rich trim. The nose shows more blackberry liquor, red currant and roasted meat. The mid-palate delivers nice minerality and richness (13.2% alcohol). The finish has a bittersweet chocolate note but it is relatively short. (91)

As a self-described "explorer", I am excited to try new wines from lesser known regions. I was pleasantly surprised to discover these two wonderful red wines. At less than $20 a bottle, they are a great everyday drinking wines. The real challenge is to find a place that offers them.

Wine: 2005 Philippe Delesvaux Anjou Rouge "La Montee de L'epine"
Current Score (Future Potential): 92 (94)
Region: Anjou, Loire Valley
Vintage: 2005
Varietals: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Date Reviewed: 12/19/2007

Wine: 2005 Philippe Delesvaux Anjou Rouge
Current Score (Future Potential): 91 (92)
Region: Anjou, Loire Valley
Vintage: 2005
Varietals: 100% Cabernet Franc
Date Reviewed: 12/19/2007

Note: I am passionate about what I do. I taste wines daily and evaluate them based on my own knowledge. The opinions above are solely my independent views. My numerical score is my snapshot assessment of the wine at the time of my evaluation and it may change as wines tend to evolve or develop in the bottle. My written evaluation of these wines are solely my expression of my opinion.

A Water Cooler Tip

I recently read a blog posted by James Suckling of Wine Spectator Magazine discussing his thoughts from tasting the highly anticipated 2005 Bordeaux in his hotel, Les Sources de Caudalie, in Paris. He mentioned that he tasted close to 900 bottles of Clarets during his 12 days trip in Bordeaux. It was interesting to read about his experience in Bordeaux but more important, it was about deciphering his hidden message in his blog to find out if there were certain wines that he really liked before he publishes his final in-bottle ratings of the 2005 Bordeaux next Spring. In his blog, he mentioned two first growths by name that he really liked - 2005 Margaux and 2005 Haut Brion. He also mentioned that he thought the Margaux appellation came across particularly strong. Then, there was a message from his blog on December 3rd where he described he already scored a few of the wines a perfect 100 points. So, if you put all these clues together, this is what I think he will rate these wines:

2005 Chateau Margaux - WS 100

2005 Chateau Haut Brion - WS 100

2005 Chateau Leoville Las Cases - WS 98 -100 but at the least 98

2005 Chateau L'Eglise Clinet - WS 98

2005 Chateau Cos d'Estournel - WS 98

Why is this important? The sad truth is most of these wines are already priced out of any average wine drinker's budget. Currently, a bottle of Chateau Margaux as a wine future is selling for over $1000 a bottle. The people who are buying these wines are either extremely wealthy individuals (No, I am not talking about millionaires either) or most likely, wine fund managers who are buying the wines as an investment. So, consider this a water cooler tip. If you happened to have an extra hundred thousand dollars laying around and you want to make a quick return on investment within a year, you may want to check and see if you can purchase these wines at some reasonable price. But then, I also have an island for sell cheap too.

Tasting with Michael Keenan

It is always a surprise to see Michael Keenan. I received an email this morning to see if I was available to do a quick tasting. 30 minutes later, he is at my restaurant ready to roll. We start the tasting with the 2005 Keenan Carneros Merlot. The fruit of this merlot comes from Andy Beckstoffer's Las Amigas Vineyard in Carneros. Michael uses some of the fruits for his own Napa Valley Merlot. The rest of the fruit goes into this bottling. Therefore, this wine is not made every vintage. The 2005 Merlot has a deep purple color with notes of rhubarb pie and Darjeeling tea. It is soft and rather elegant in style. (Score 86)

Next, we re-taste his 2003 Keenan Napa Valley Merlot. It is fascinating to re-taste this wine after it has more bottle aging. A blend of 80% Estate fruit and 20% Carneros fruit, this wine shows much more of the forest floor and primary fruit quality. Another interesting development of all his wines is the improvement of mouth feel with additional bottle aging. (Score 90)

The show stopper of the day belongs to the 2004 Keenan Mailbox Reserve Merlot. This Merlot is made with 100% estate fruit from the mailbox vineyard. It exhibits great depth and complexity in the glass. Dark purple in color, the wine opens itself with telltale Mocha and Blueberry notes. As it sits in the glass, it opens with secondary profile of dried tea leaves and tobacco note. The tannin in this wine is huge. This is a classic Spring Mountain Merlot that needs time in the bottle to develop. (Score: 93)

The last wine in the tasting was the 2003 Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon. As with all of his wines, the Keenan Cabernet really benefited with additional bottle aging. This wine, a blend of 70% Estate Cabernet, 25% Cabernet from Pope Valley, and 5% Carneros Merlot, opens up to classic creme de cassis, pencil lead, and a touch of cinnamon. According to Michael, 5 different clonal selections went into this Cabernet (Bordeaux 337 and 15, Davis Clones 4, 7, and C).  I was very impressed with the lush month feel of this wine. I remembered when I first tasted this wine at release, it was very tight. Now it is a completely different animal. I upped my rating from 89 to 91 points.

It is always a pleasure tasting wines with Michael. When you catch him at the right moment, he will go on and on about all the blending trials that he conducts each year to find the right combination for each of his wines. As such, you never know what to expect from his wines each year. One thing for sure, his red wine program can rival that of any premium cabernet producers in Napa Valley.

Wine: 2005 Keenan Carneros Merlot
Current Score (Future Potential): 86 (86)
Region: Los Carneros, Napa Valley
Vintage: 2005
Varietals: Merlot
Date Reviewed: 09/06/07

Wine: 2003 Keenan Napa Valley Merlot
Current Score (Future Potential): 90 (91)
Region: Napa Valley
Vintage: 2003
Varietals: Merlot
Date Reviewed: 09/06/07

Wine: 2004 Keenan Mailbox Reserve Merlot
Current Score (Future Potential): 93 (94)
Region: Napa Valley
Vintage: 2004
Varietals: Merlot
Date Reviewed: 09/06/07

Wine: 2003 Keenan Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Current Score (Future Potential): 91 (91)
Region: Napa Valley
Vintage: 2003
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon
Date Reviewed: 09/06/07

Disclaimer: I am passionate about what I do. I tasted wines daily and evaluate them based on my own experience. I recognize and respect that making wines is a very hard work. It takes passion, huge financial risk, patience, and vision. Unfortunately, not every wine is a star. I tried to evaluate wines as objectively as possible. My score is my snap shot assessment of the wine at the time of my evaluation and it may changed as wines tend to evolve or develop in the bottle. My written evaluation of these wines are solely my expression of my opinion.