Wine Each Week- 2018 Chateau Tour de Mirambeau, Despagne White

France is known for its many wine regions (specifically Bordeaux and Burgundy) but it has one which is almost unknown just outside of the city of Bordeaux. Entre-deux-Mers is the place for dry white wine. In the 1950s through the 1970s Entre-deux-Mers was pretty much avoided as it was considered cheap bulk wine. That Mirambeau championed the resurgence of the region starting in the 1980s has helped place the region again on the map, this time with much better results. Their Despagne white is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 17% Semillon and 3% Muscadelle and is all stainless steel fermented, which allows for a crispness. It presents bright grapefruit, lemon verbena, white peach, a slight guava, spring wildflowers as well as a bold acidity, making food pairing easy.

You can visit the winery itself when near Bordeaux, or get a taste of the entire Entre-deux-Mers region if you visit the “Syndicat,” a consortium of growers whose wines are collectively housed in a re-purposed barn from 1512 (original timbers are used throughout the building and is the backdrop for the above photo) that belonged to the Abbey of La Sauve Majeure next door. Here you can sample the exciting dry white wines that Bordeaux should also be known for. Specifically, under French law, wines from Entre-deux-Mers must contain a minimum of two grapes so you’ll find white wines unlike other Bordeaux regions. 4 Euro gets you three wines to taste, or better yet, spend just 8 Euro and that includes access to the very cool ruins of the Abbey.

ORIGIN: Entre-deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

PRICE: $10/ 750ML

SCORE: 90 POINTS

Www.vins-entre-deux-mers.com

The Right Bank of Paso Robles

The 2014 J. Lohr Cuvee St. E called the Cuvee St. E (for “Saint Emilion” on Bordeaux’s right bank) is, interestingly, all culled from J.Lohr’s “right bank” of Paso Robles since Highway 101 essentially divides Paso Robles into an Westside (left) and Eastside (right) as it’s been known for decades - notwithstanding the relatively new sub appellations formed in 2014.

When you break away from mass-produced wines you understand that every vintage offers you, the consumer, a unique snapshot into that vintage: the weather, those months when grapes on the vine grow into wine. I’ve tasted J.Lohr wines for years, written about them often and had the Cuvee St. E many times over many vintages. But the 2014 rises above the others. This Cuvee is the most balanced of their cuvee offerings with subtle fruit, oak treatment and acidity all sharing a focused goal - to make a wine worth of anyone’s dinner table.  You easily pick up black berry, blueberry, boysenberry, lingonberry and raspberry notes, but the fruit is muted, not being “fruity” meaning it’s not a candy apple one-trick pony. The acidity maintains itself through the glass - from the moment it enters your mouth - to the lingering moments after you’ve swallowed it. And the oak, while being evident, does not mask the fruit instead, like a proper scaffolding, supports it. 65% new French oak was the order for aging the wine, comprised of Cabernet Franc with some Cabernet Sauvignon (33%), Malbec (7%) and a wee bit of Petite Verdot (1%).

ORIGIN: Paso Robles, California

PRICE: $50/ 750ML

ALCOHOL: 14.7%

SCORE:  92 POINTS

Aleksander and the Fabulous, Marvelous, Quite Good, Very Nice Wine

For a children’s story, wine doesn’t make a good central character or theme. Kids’ books are better suited to things like James and the Giant Peach, not Mike and the Mammoth Merlot. But as a story, S&G Estate has a good one. Owners Goran and Ksenija Bjekovic first met while playing volleyball for Yugoslavia’s national team. Their son, Sasha Vujacic, two-time NBA Champion and former Lakers star, began his athletic career in Italy where Goran and Ksenija also began a love affair with wine. And now from their property in Paso Robles comes this Bordeaux beauty; as sleek and focused as an athlete but not a steroid driven maniac. The 2011 Aleksander is 80 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. This luscious wine spent18 months sitting in French, Serbian and Romanian oak barrels. It’s as smooth as silk with notes of black cherry, rhubarb, black berry and boysenberry, a proper acidity you don’t often get from Merlot and spicy cedar and vanilla. Paso wants to be known for it’s Bordeaux wines, and some are quite good, but they tend to be huge ripe fruit wines, which actually have a difficult time working with food. The Aleksander by contrast is a seamless wine, certainly one of the best I’ve had from Paso in a long time, beautifully balanced and ideal with food. So get a bottle, and tell your own story with it. http://www.aleksanderwine.com/

ORIGIN: Paso Robles (Creston AVA), California

PRICE:  $75 - 750/ml

ALCOHOL: 13.4%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  91 POINTS