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A few years ago now I was working a series of special events for one of those visiting "celebrity chefs".( I am at a loss as to why they are called that except they seem to have the common denominators of petulance, rudeness and egocentricity bordering on Napoleonic madness at times...)
This particular diva was from the USA and is renowned for his construction of profusions of enormously complicated and delicately flavoured dishes - an approach that went out with shoulder pads, big hair and Reaganomics, but well and good if you have the freedom to choose wines with a shot of augmenting this style of food.
Problem was that for this particular series, the wines were being sponsored and were all Granges of differing years - the upshot of this was that we had wines which completely dominated the food but were lauded anyway by a largely partisan Australian guest list, who paid scant regard to the food from the doyenne of North American cuisine.
With the spotlight on the wines instead of his food, he was not a happy camper and made my life unbridled hell as the sommelier in charge the wines. On the closing night of series, his head sommelier who travels with him and considered himself way too important to actually work at the events, was sitting down with a bunch of luminaries. When I poured the first decanted bottle of 1986 Grange, he declared the wine corked as loudly as possible and demanded a new bottle. I was about at the end of my rope with the whole lot of them and took a fairly major gamble. I knew the wine was fine and at the time just a monster of a wine that needed more sleep. I brought the same bottle back to the table and the pea-brain unknowingly reviewed the decanted bottle a second time and graciously pronounced it "acceptable" - so much for this particular shining light of the North American wine industry...
The whole issue of corked wine and screw caps is a bit of a moving target, as it is still subject to much debate, smoke and mirrors. The bottom line is that screw caps have eliminated the problem, but at the same time opened up a Pandora’s box of other wine faults which would otherwise have been dismissed as corked wine problems, but are other faults such as excessive hydrogen sulphide, heat and light damage etc.
The good thing about it is that when it comes to aromatic, crisp whites, screw caps actually prolong the life of a wine by a fair bit more than we are used to. The days of drinking a new world Sauvignon Blanc within the first 12 months of bottling are no longer a pre-requisite and I have recently drunk 2007`s from Marlborough which were really fine.
Today`s offer is a great example of this sort of wine. The 2008 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc is being cleared to make place for the 2009. Made by the guys who started Cloudy Bay, this wine has been something of a juggernaut for us and has dominated the dining tables of many of our customers for the past year. Reminding me more of the whites of Sancerre or Pouilly Fume, the best way for me to describe this is by comparing it to one`s average Desparate Housewife - getting broader in the beam - but in a fuller sexier way, and still showing great talent and a lot of shelf life - especially if kept in a manner to which we all would like to become accustomed...
The Offer: Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2008
The Price: $34.50 until it`s all gone...
Cellaring Notes: Drink now and for the next year or so. Freezing cold and with seafood works for me. Only about 40 dozen left.
To Order:
"...Why Pay Retail...?"
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JJ HAHN 1914 2004 AT $63 - STOCK STILL AVAILABLE
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