Dirty South Wine

Dirty South Wine: 2009 Wine Of The Year

DIrty South Wine- WIne of the Year...

2006 Foillard Morgon "Cote du Py" (France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon) $27 approx.

A great wine should hurt your soul, torment you with beauty, cut you with place, roll all sexy on the hood of your hoopty ride, and ultimately keep you up at night, sweating dirty, leaving you alone, staring out at the stars or city lights....

It is that drop that says hip-hop isn't dead, that reggae 2-4 skank that says jah is love, and most importantly demands to be shared emphatically at the table with friends and family.

2006 isn't the current vintage of the Foillard, and most people prefer the 07, but for 2009, this was the wine that I brought out and out, and the one that always brought me home.

I could go on about this wine, but you need to try it-- give it some air time (60min), have it with a meal, and put on some outlaw music of any style.

Though I often refer to it as Boo-Juice, or Cru-Boo-  I say to Cru-Beaujolais "Dreadlocks the time is now!"

(photo by Rowdy Food)

D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) - ...

Enjoying the Blur: A Burning Goose of Funky Juice

The Interim:  This week back in Atlanta has been 2 parts scrambling to tie up loose ends, and 1 part the bacchanalian equivalent of the human cannonball.

I've been extremely fortunate to get together with some great friends in Atlanta, open many ridiculous bottles, and wake up with cold sweats every other night.

 

Woodfire Grill

Chef Kevin Gillespie is on another planet-- Rockin; the pure Dirty South flavor.  7 of us camped out and were blown away by his cuisine.  (Catch ATL's Kevin, Eli, and Hector on Top Chef 6 starting on 8/19.)  Kevin, Bernard and Nick run a hell of a restaurant and this place is really like home.

With a ridiculous amount of bottles, I'm often amazed at how the seemingly simple bottles shine...  In a line up of all-stars, the 2006 Foillard Morgon "Cote de Py" (Cru Beaujolais aka Cru-Boo) delivered an anvil of justice (who doesn't need more anvils of justice???) when paired with Woodfire's pork rib.  The Foillard totally drives me wild. Floral, tart, acidic, and just sexy.

Chez Dirty: Pizza Pahty!

Delivery pizza and poppin' funky bottles.  Chadd dealing with an overdose of brett (this wine smelled like chicken poop).  A little can add a touch o' funk-- But a lot is like eating a plate of nachos on hot day at the petting zoo. 

Tasty "The Mother-Funky'" China!!!!!!

In what has become a staple of the Atlanta wine scene, Tasty China is the playground for juice greatness.  No corkage fee (but bring your stems and cork screws) and crazy Sichauan food... This is where weird bottles come to shine.  Late harvest Condrieu, 1975 Napa Riesling (???), and a bevy of light reds-- pairing insanely well with Sichuan Beef Tongue, pork belly, tofu, and whatever seemed to be dropped in front of us.

The world is spinning quickly-- Grab some bottles, a couple of friends, sit down for a meal, and be happy. 

(Photos courtesy of Rowdy Food)

Keep On Growing! Boo-Juice at 7/2 Noon EST

Keep On Growing - Derek & The ...

See You At Noon EST!
(You Can View Here or at USTREAM)

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Cru Beaujolais and the Strawberry Odyssey! (biodynamic)

"Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad!"

On Saturday night, our friends Chadd and Nick met with Lady Dirty and I at Dynamic Dish for their Organic Pizza night.  We had a lot of good bottles.  This one stuck out for its uber-deliciousness and "Come On Down" accessibility.

2006 Marcel Lapierre Morgon
(France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Morgon)  Gamay variety.  $19.99 Find it online at Snooth, or in ATL at Ansley Kroger. Biodynamic.  Kermit Lynch Import

Cherry red with medium depth.  Initially a tight nose of dirt, violet, and under-ripe strawberries.  Medium bodied, with tart cherry, herbs, and a little smokey rock.  Great acids, light+ tannins, and a long balanced finish. 

Freakin' delicious.  It took some time for this to open up, but once it did---  "STRAWBERRY ODYSSEY" 2009!!!! (as declared by Nick).  Yes, there is fruit on this-  but it isn't all "goofy laffy-taffy" style---  it is a deep strawberry voyage to a very happy place! 

I will buy more. 



BTW-- This went great with Dynamic Dish's organic pizzas. 

(photos courtesy of Lady Dirty)

Wine, Yoda, The Force, and Reggae Music

"The Force"  

"The Force" is what we seek in wine.  The invisible power that connects all things. The thread that links time, weather, the soil, place, land, the people, and ultimately your consciousness and soul.  It is that "something more" that we experience when we encounter truly great wines-- to experience this phenomenon in plain light. 

Recently, I have had a lot of wines that were way LOW on The Force...  Several were almost discouraging.  And Not all were fruit-concentrate junk-- A few were older bottles that should have been elegant,mature, sophisticated experiences- but they had simply missed their window, and ended-up more like trying to play Yahtzee with a corpse. 

That being said, I recently opened a few bottles that weren't 100%, but that gave me what I wanted-  Room to look, questions to ask, and just a wee glimmer of the force.

WINE I:

 2007 Londer Vineyards Gewurztraminer Dry
(USA, CA, Mendocino, Anderson Valley) Gewurztraminer variety.  $19.99,  Available on Snooth

Straw Yellow-  HEADY White flowers, a little burnt match, and baking spice.  Medium bodied, Indian rose water, acids, and so dry it is almost dehydrating.  A long dry finish with a streak of minerals and a touch of bitterness.

For a CA dry Gewurz-  I'm impressed.  It has a pretty nose that is deep, but not a freaker.  It almost borders on too dry, but it does show that Gewurz has some West Coast potential.  I wouldn't say the  "The Force"  is overwhelming here, but it does make me look deeper into the glass.

(Rowdy's Venison Curry Spoon with Greek Yogurt and Couscous)

WINE II:

Some days you just need to scream WTF? But in a good way.  Rowdy had some Venison in the house that he decided to whoop-up into curried goodness.  Wildly great stuff. Definitely worth taking out Bambi's mother for.

I washed down the venison with--

2006 Trenel Fleurie Clos des Morieres
(France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Fleurie) Gamay variety.  Approx $27 at Barrelman.  Nationally on Snooth.  Robert Chadderdon Selections.

Red.  Like real red, not cherry, purple, or black.  An intense nose of African violet- green, a little cherry, and lots of white pepper.  Tart on the palate- almost like cranberry juice, more pepper, earth, light bodied, great acid, medium tannins, and a long, tightly wound finish.

This needs air (I decanted 90min), but it is ballsy juice.  Almost like a bantamweight fighter.  Light bodied, but not filtered, and so capable of holding its own with food.  Just enough body, pepper, and food craving acidity. 

Again, though not 100% there (yet), this juice when paired with the food was strong with The Force.  A righteous, curious pairing, that just kept on keeping on. 

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Call it what you will, but the possibility of great wines is in more than bringing joy- It brings thought and a chance to the amazing interconnectedness of the positive vibrations at play in the universe.

Oh Snap! Lil Bow Wow, Fergie, Britney Spears, and MEGA-Ripe Pouilly Fume

There is a chain of wine bars who's motto is something like "Taste is all that counts."  On the surface, that statement sounds agreeable (and bit preachy)-- But what about when what you are tasting, tastes nothing like what it is?  You chomp down a duck breast that tastes like carnitas, your new BMW handles like a big Cadillac, and the next Will Farrell flick is really a drama...

Though you might like it, it goes beyond what you were expecting, and really- "Is it what you wanted?"

On the flipside of this argument-- Thanks to Delta's in-seat entertainment, I've become shamelessly addicted to Fergie's "London Bridge" and have made it the cornerstone of my in flight playlists.  My soul screams "it sucks", but my brain says "oh snap!!!!"  To the point where it is even coming close to my other shameless guilty pleasure track "Toxic" by Britney Spears.  Sickly sweet, Hook-laden, pop, candy...

Anyone still reading?  

Wine consumers struggle with two points that don't always blend in modern winemaking--

Wanting something to taste good, and wanting something to taste like where it is from.  

The other night I whipped up some Greek chicken, oven-roasted veggies, and golden couscous-- I opened the following bottles...

2005 Domaine Champeau Pouilly-Fumé Vielles Vignes 

(France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé) Sauvignon Blanc.  Approx. $30 at Pearson's Wine.

Repeatedly bang two rocks together, mash up some peach cobbler with key lime pie, and then suck a fistful of the clear Lifesavers (that you aren't really quite sure of the flavor). 

Medium+ bodied, insanely fruity and a wee touch of residual sugar.  This has some lip smacking acids and a long buzzing finish.

Crazy tasty, but is this Pouilly-Fumé?  This drinks far more like New Zealand or ripe California Sauvignon Blanc instead of being from the Loire.  It paired really well with a salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, and worked nicely with the grilled Greek chicken.  

Perhaps a touch too young, this might need some years to calm down.  It tasted great, worked well, but it wasn't what I wanted at the time.

2006 Maison Albert Bichot Beaujolais-Villages

(France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages) Gamay.  Approximately $15 at Pearson's Wine.

Thin, ruby colored.  This smells like banana nut bread, grape candy, and fuzzy violets. Light bodied, crisp, and a little sour. Long, tart finish.

This went spectacular with the Greek chicken.  Refreshing, acidic, complimentary but not intrusive.  On the next day, I had the leftovers without food.  Though not repulsive, it was the epitome of why people don't like Beaujolais...  Grapey, Laffy Taffy, sour, bitter, and no depth...  I like Beaujolais (a lot), but this one needs food.

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I'm in Sonoma for the rest of the weekend at the first annual Wine Bloggers Conference.  If you are interested in what it is all about, Tom Wark wrote a nice post on it.

Now back to music---If Toxic is the Queen, this is the King of my guilty pleasure tracks....

"Neck full of bling-bling like that Neptune's Sound!!!"

"I got 'em scattered, covered, smothered like hash browns"

Dirty South Wine- New Video: October FUNKS

Dirty South Wine October Funks!!!

Gewurztraminer's Message From Outer Space

Sweet goddess of all that is Waffle House!!!!  This smells great!  It smells better than great- It smells like space aliens are trying to directly communicate their intergalactic messages of peace and ease via our sense of smell.

2005 Andre Scherer Gewürztraminer

(France, Alsace, Haut-Rhin, Alsace AOC)  Approx $20 at Ansley Kroger.

Pale yellow.  Insanely heady with freak-show aromatics.  Deeply floral, rosey,lime- and a whole kaleidoscope of stuff that I can only describe as Gewurzt- It smells illegal...  Rich on the palate with a little residual sugar, and then a bit of an unnerving, semi-bitter, mineral laced finish.  

Well, Gawt Damb!....  One of the best noses I've had on any bottle this year.  The finish may not be for everyone, but I think this and a bit of Alsace Muenster could become a new street drug...

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We had this and a few other bottles at Dynamic Dave's.  Fall ingredients are coming into swing, hot soups are back on the menu, and there is no place in ATL that I'd rather eat.

Also, the not quite outstanding Cru Beaujolais we had (back L of photo) had a nose that Lady Dirty could only describe a "Television Set".

Max Romeo- I Chase The Devil

A few from Kermit Lynch (and a visit to Ali Akbar College of Music)

Though I've spent a lot of time in the Bay Area, I oddly never made the trip to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley.

For those unfamiliar with Kermit Lynch, he is a wine importer in Berkeley that specializes in importing "natural", unfiltered wine from all over France (especially lesser known regions).  An ex-hippie, musician, writer, retailer, and importer, Kermit has a cool gig.

I stepped into his retail shop, and let's just say it wasn't what I expected (though I'm not sure what I was expecting)---  Dead quiet. Silent. Noiseless....  No, it wasn't empty, it just felt more like a library or church.  Kermit's sales people were helpful, but distant- very distant.  When a question was asked, and answered, I felt like they hustled away- patiently waiting for another question, or just something to happen.  Professional, but just unsettling to someone used to the charms and chatter of the South.

I grabbed a few bottles, and opened them back in the ATL.

(Halloween is coming!)

2006 Clos Ste. Magdeleine Cassis 

(France, Provence, Cassis) White Blend (Marsanne? Ugni Blanc?) Approx $20.

Yellow.  Stankin' up the joint with minerals & melon, basil & anise- Flinty.

Medium bodied with tons of minerals, salt, and acidity on the palate.   Crazy tangy and a long rocky finish.  

Somewhat light and easy drinking, but this was a refreshing bottle.  (Day 2, this was far more expressive).  I like it.

2006 Chanrion Côte de Brouilly Domaine de la Voute des Crozes

(France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly) Gamay.  Approx. $20

Cherry colored.  A big aroma of hot dinner rolls, Super-Floral- like gawt-damnged tulips! (and roses), and a little red grape.

Medium bodied, some berry and earth on the palate.  Nice acidity, small gripping tannins (like being gently squeezed by hundreds of cupie doll hands!), dirty, slightly bitter finish.

This is pretty tight and simple upon opening (and still pretty young).  On day 2, this was open for business.

Though there are not a lot of sellers (and not a lot of buyers) of Cru Beaujolais in ATL, I still think it is one of the best deals out there, and this stuff is ridiculously food friendly. 

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After some time in Berkeley, I headed back to my old stomping ground in San Rafael to poke my head in at the Ali Akbar College of Music.  I got to reconnect with some old friends, sit through an advanced tabla class, pay my respects, and take a trip down memory lane.  

This is an amazing place.