It’s fall!
Leaves are falling from the trees in glorious colors. The wind has picked up, the air is cold, in some places, downright frigid. We’re eating heavier meals, celebrating Samhain or el Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) and telling ghost stories. And there’s candy. SOOOOO much candy!
You need a full-bodied, blockbuster of a wine to fit this holiday. Fortunately, I have you covered!
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
Delicato Family Wines, Three Finger Jack 2016 East Side Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, California. 15%ABV, SRP $22/bottle.
Color is a foreboding dark ruby red, turning black and opaque on the edges. The massive nose is entirely black fruit and pepper. On the palate is mature black fruit: blackberry, black plum, black cherry, and cassis. As the wine opens, secondary notes are added: green and red peppercorn, leather, oak, with subtle hints of mocha, earth, and spice.
The wine is named for a legendary California outlaw called Three-Fingered Jack. Jack Dunlop was a train robber who roamed the California foothills during the Gold Rush era, and whose ghost stories are still told today. Jack had a history in the small region of Lodi, California where the grapes come from for this full-bodied cabernet. Bold, brusque, and chaotic- these characteristics fit well to this wine, which goes against the grain, interrupts your train of thought, and rides into the sunset with a long shadow left behind. Fittingly to his demise, the outlaw Three Fingered Jack was buried in Tombstone after dying from a gunshot wound, while our Lodi wine can travel anywhere you want, and will last days after opening while maintaining structure and character to enjoy day after day.
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
As you see above, Three Finger Jack pairs beautifully with food that has seen the fire- be it flank steak, wood-fired pizza, grilled vegetables, you name it. the powerful fruit character will delight your palate and curl back with rich tannins and decisive acidity. Not surprisingly, this wine is also a great foil for Halloween’s greatest gift (or flaw): chocolate. Trust me, I might have had to taste the candy to make sure the quality we hand out to the neighborhood kids will be up to snuff.
Just have a taste and go back to the wine- you won’t regret it unless you’ve had too much of both.
And don’t get caught in a shootout unless you’re sure you’ll win, ok partner?
#WIYG?
à votre santé!!
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
jvb uncorked 
Champion Middleweight Wines for Changing Seasons
22 OctAs the weather cools and the trees turn colors, so do our palates shift to harvest flavors- not only do we seek out pumpkin, apple, and carrot, but meats shift in our meals from leaner proteins to middle weight options like duck, turkey, pork, or monkfish. And our wine preferences move to mid-body wines, from lean and linear to more body, and an expansive palate.
As the days grow shorter, I push back on sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and chenin blanc to grab Bordeaux blends and Rhône varietals such as Grenache blanc, bourbelanc, roussanne, viognier, and clairette. And today’s champion wine is a blend of my favorite four of these: clairette blanche, Grenache blanc, bourbelanc and picpoul blanc. It’s from Acqueisce Winery and is called “Ingenue”. Similarly to very finest of white Bordeaux blends and yet entirely differently; this white Rhône blend is greater than the sum of its parts.
Acquiesce Winery: 2018 Ingénue White Rhône Blend, Mokelumne River AVA, Lodi, California, USA. 13% ABV, SRP $32/bottle.
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
The color is pale gold with excellent clarity. The nose offers citrus, baked apple, a hint of greener spice and fresh floral cuttings. On the palate is a beautiful lemon-lime with apple and mature pear, with a savory and round mouthfeel. Dense acidity sings across the palate but the depth and beauty are apparent. This wine can pair in any direction you might wish to go: from fowl to fish to meats, from bright summer vegetables to harvest flavors of pumpkin and squash to root vegetables. I paired this first with a rich asian stir-fry and then with Italian, finishing the bottle much sooner than I’d hoped. Last time I tried this bottle it was goat cheese all in and all out, a perfect pairing with the weather directly post-harvest.
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
Next up is a brilliant pinot noir from under-the-radar, one that is ideal for changing weather:
Spáter-Veit Rotwein, 2015 Trocken, Mosel, Germany. 12% ABV; $18/bottle imported by Fass Selections.
Color is a clear ruby, while the nose offers earth, cherry, and slate. On the palate, a rich and opulent series of flavors appear quickly and dissipate -potting soil, menthol, scorched earth- before a tremendous cherry fruit profile begins to dominate the palate. A robust, medium body with a full and complex mouthfeel, the wine has complexity and depth while showing some linearity and focus. This wine is special- not only reasonable at under $20/bottle, but offering solid winemaking from a small, independent producer at unusually low, nearly grocery store wine prices. This pinot noir has enough complexity and maturity to be able to pair at a higher level- if only I had purchased additional bottles (entirely my fault). I paired this with fish, asian, and southwestern fare but was probably most content when tasting the wine along delicate and medium-weight cheeses. But even as I type this, I simply want to pour another ounce and contemplate the flavor profile as this wanders across my palate.
#WIYG?
Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission.
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Tags: Bordeaux Blend, Featured, Lodi Wine Reviews, Lodi Wines, White Burgundy, White wine review, Wine Commentary, Wine Review