I saw a headline in my RSS reader today and clicked on over to the Wine Spectator to read about an “amazing” $8 Pinot Noir that James Laube apparently tasted blind. The ensuing blog entry started out well enough, but then I read a few lines that made me wonder if it could be a joke. Read it for yourself by clicking here (membership to the Wine Spectator site required to read the full article).

For your general enjoyment, and for those of you lacking access to WS, I’m taking the liberty of including a few paragraphs here (at least until cease and desist orders come my way) that stand out to me as…well, as Onion-like in their tone:

The wine was aged with oak chips instead of in oak barrels, which give it a very subtle spicy wood edge. “I really focus on the taste and complexity that I’m getting.” To achieve the right flavor profile he adds what he described as simply “red blending wine.”

When I asked him what grapes were in the “red blending wine,” Broman insisted he didn’t know, but that it’s common to buy bulk wine samples that have already been assembled, and the percentage of blending wine added is small enough that the wine can legally be labeled as Pinot Noir.

“We don’t know [what grapes] they are,” he said. “It sounds like I’m being evasive, but I don’t know what it is. We’re simply focusing on the flavor.”–excerpted from James Laube Unfined, 4/22/09

I’m actually certain this isn’t some sort of late-April Fool’s joke, and that Laube indeed loved this “yummy” 2008 RedTree California Pinot Noir (with a dash of some other grape varieties in it that the winemaker can’t even identify).

And while there’s a strange kind of honor in Laube’s admittal that he was wowed by a blindly-tasted-wine of unlikely (or less-than-elite) origins, there’s something kind of (really!) disturbing about his subsequent statement that it doesn’t really matter what’s in the wine, as long as it tastes good (can oak chips ever be a good thing? Really? And could he not tell the wine was artificially oaked?).

More so than just endorsing iffy modes of production, Laube is commending what amounts to a simulacrum of wine in general, and Pinot Noir in specific, rather than an authentic product.

Simon has spotted a Spatburgunder for us this month, though we notice the winery has labeled the ‘07 vintage with the more US-friendly Pinot Noir variety instead of what you see in the image here.

Pick this up at Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese in Los Angeles, where it’s at a budget friendly $17.99. Call and ask for Simon at (323) 856-8699.

Oh, and here are Simon’s notes:

We think it’s time for a straightforward, simple and tasty wine to help you confront these complex times. Bid farewell to an era of excess and greed with this pure and elegant Pinot Noir from Germany.  Yes, Germany. The Freidrich Becker Estate is in the Pfalz region, just over the border from Alsace, and sits on chalk and limestone soils that are perfectly suited to Pinot Noir. A cool climate ensures a delicacy and vibrancy in the wine, and importantly for us, lower levels of alcohol -(this one clocks in at 12.5%.)

Dark ruby on the nose, this shows ample tart red cherry and raspberry on the nose with some pleasing earthiness. This is medium bodied and silky on the palate, with ripe juicy red fruits and hints of sweet spice, the finish braced by uplifting acidity.

This balanced Pinot Noir will pair well with seared Ahi, grilled Salmon with a maple glaze, beef stew or just a platter of your cheeses of choice. –SC

A group of bloggers — 170 or so of us — is currently in Santa Rosa, California, at the first ever Wine Bloggers Conference. It’s incredibly geeky and so far fun. I’ll be updating a few times this afternoon.

First taste of the day will be the 2005 Bink Pinot Noir, Weir Vineyard. Three clones, vinified separately and blended before bottling. Here’s a picture of it. Yay for multimedia! Tastewise, it’s a nice, medium-bodied Pinot that’s not pretending to be Syrah, which I appreciate greatly.

Update: next up is Clos La Chance — 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. About 1200 cases, $30 retail. That’s Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 drinking it with Russ Beebe, the Winehiker in the background.

Read more…

I’m writing this from 30,000 feet! Much to my surprise, American Airlines is testing a new WiFi service that allows online access on flights between LA and New York. Whoopee! (And so much for a few hours off the grid.)

I wish I were drinking some wine right now so I could inaugurate a new Mile High Wine Blogging club, but I refuse to drink what’s offered in coach (and drinking wine on a plane at 10:30 AM holds little appeal). However, I will happily point you to a wine I tried a few days ago and enjoyed immensely.

Care of the Inertia Beverage Group Direct To Trade group, I was able to taste the 2006 Brooks Janus Pinot Noir, from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. What a lovely wine, with a good blend of red and black fruit, a hint of earth, and a nice, subtle acidity that will ensure this isn’t going to die any time soon. The bottle will run you $35 direct from the winery. d547 doesn’t carry it yet, so please go to Brooks and support buying direct from a winery we love.

So who else wants to blog the friendly skies?