2007 Chappellet Mt. Cuvee (Napa) 21.99

Wassabig deal with the French? You want a big vintage from a world class appellation, try Napa 2007. Prices are lower than on the Bordelaise quays and you can hold the bottles in your hand.

B -21 has a killer lineup of top Napa names — Chappellet, Caymus, Cade, Conn Valley, Dominus and Plumpjack and rare stars like Lewis, Robert Craig, Robert Foley.

Chapellet continues to be a favorite of mine and they did the vintage well high and low. Pritchard Hill was great again: “Sleek, rich and intense,” according to a 97 point review from the Wine Spectator. Yet for a lot less money, the Mountain cuvee delivers a full-Bordeaux-five meritage around. A lush cab/merlot blend, smooth, ready to drink with intriguing nuances; “a glass of pure pleasure” that won 92 pts from both Spectator and B-21’s Shawn Reynolds.

Click here to view all 2007 Napa Cabs.

Ew yuck. Had the sommelier stolen some of their bottle, worse could he have breathed cooties on it? 

A debate ensued, with several sommeliers saying they did sip after the bottle was opened as consumer protection and education to make sure the bottle wasn‘t flawed, had not been damaged in storage and that the wine was true to form. That duty was enshrined in their emblematic tool, the tastevin used by their predecessors to assure milord and milady that a vintage was fit to drink (and not poisoned).

Balderdash..

2007 M. Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone Belleruche

The New York Times did not identify restaurant or sommelier but it did name the bottle, the 2007 Chapoutier Cotes de Rhone Belleruche. That may sound fancy to some folks but you and I know it’s an entry level CDR under $15 and an exceptional one (89WA, $9.99 at B-21 and we won’t open it). It’s a  fine “alternative red” fleshy and spicy, that I’m thrilled to find on a wine list, where it shouldn’t be marked up much past $30. In short, it’s the kind of everyday wine we should drink more of — with a lot less fuss. The sommelier is overweening to magnify his importance.

I appreciate good sommeliers who can answer questions and make recommendations, like good waiters. To me their chief role is to influence the wine list, ideally to more diversity and reduced mark-ups.  At the table diners are supposed to be the stars. So open the bottle for them with a minimum of to-do (I don’t need to smell the screwcap) and retreat; if we don’t like the bottle please replace it and take the other away. Backstage you can taste it, share it or put it in the chef’s pantry.

That’s me. 

What does a pro think? And do sommeliers take  sample sips at Tampa’s wine temple, Bern’s Steak House? I asked our friend Brad Dixon: 

“The policy of Bern’s is to not taste the wine before pouring. We feel it is the customer’s wine and they have the right to taste it first. That being said, we will always smell the wine. (in the decanter of course) If we detect a problem we will not pour, but instead get another bottle. On occasion a customer may ask a Sommelier or a Server to taste the wine for them. If asked to taste we would taste the wine at the table.”

About those disco-days tastevins, Dixon says it would spoil his street cred as a Gen-X sommelier, and he hadn‘t seen one on the floor in Bern’s. A tattoo of the Cote de Nuits, perhaps?

2008 Mas Carlot Rosé

Truly a mixed grill, whole red snapper stuffed with carrots, onions and parsley, big head-on prawns, baseball sized clams and a pre-school of  baby cuttlefish and red bell pepper. Slow-roasted new potatoes in herbes de provence, salad of watermelon, feta, cucumber and almonds.  Wish we could have been outside in an Italian film but not this July night, not in this Florida. 

So its casual food, the food is light, tastes of the sea and a little of the grill (seafood is quick on any heat) and a bit of spice. 

A chilled bottle of 2008  Domaine Mas Carlot Tradition ($9.99), a brilliant cherry pink. This is the summer of rosé. 

None but the brave came to my banner and the guest who did had her trepidations. 

Poured into the glass it was a surprising convincer.  Grenache with dollops of mourvedre and syrah it had more Provencal gumption and rustic vitality than 100 pages of Peter Mayle. There’s cherries berries and pepper, and round drinkability but no cloying sweetness. The crispness, pepper and berries were a perfect match for the sea, the grill and our Mediterranean make-believe. 

The old vineyards and big house (“Mas” in this part of the coast) lie in the Costieres de Nimes in the Southern Rhone, only a few miles from the Camargue leading out to the Mediterranean. 

And the label has the cutest darn hedgehog. If I had a beach house I’d buy a case (and get $12 off).

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino #15

No surprise that there was a six page special section on Wine Collecting and Investing in the Financial times. The news was not surprising but seriously compiled: The 2009 Bordeaux will set records and the Chinese will buy without restraint for Lafite.

Intriguingly Jancis Robinson ignored it as much as she could. What great drinks can you buy and drink now for 50 pounds ($75 to us) according to JR.

Run away from the future-mad bulls to under priced grower champagnes, brilliant Rieslings, fine artisan sherries and zinfandels. We agree and like some of her particular choices, including Equipo Navazos of rediscovered rare old soleras (No. 15, $39.99, and No. 17, $99.99) and especially Ridge Geyserville, a robust blend of Paul Draper favorites, zin, carignan, petite sirah and even a splash of mataro, for a remarkable $27.99

2006 Luigi Righetti Capitel de' Roari Amarone della Valpolicella

With more than 100 wines on offer, it’s hard to single out one but my singular thrill came toward the end when I stumbled onto a shamelessly ripe Amarone from Luigi Righetti. Amarones have come out of the raisin closet in the last decade; younger and yummier all the time. This one makes up for a lot of Valpolicella that’s gone down the drain. The aroma and the texture are big, jammy and lushly easy to drink. No dust, no rust, no wood.

Amarone used to be an acquired taste. And not a cheap one.

But at $27.99, anyone can acquire the 2006 Righetti Capital de’ Roari Amarone and fall deeply in love with one of Italy’s mysterious beauties.

2008 Spice Route Chakalaka (South Africa)

If there’s one Safrican wine you should bring home as a souvenir from its Chakalaka from Spice Route. (90WS, $17.99) Its a red wine that will have you dancing in the street, or maybe sitting back in the glory of victory. The namesake of Chakalaka is a beloved relish of carrot, tomatoes, beans and onions with ginger curry and pepper, and the wine is just as spicy a mixture. All my favorites are here Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Tannat and Petite Sirah, plus Souzou a Portuguese varietal that found a home in South Africa,  a World Cup of gutsy grapes. Together they are rich jammy and spiked with exotic notes of tea, smoke and spice chest. 

A great example of modern South African wines. 

And there are plenty more where this one came from.

2006 Mitolo Shiraz Jester (McLaren Vale)

The Mitolo winery takes its fun seriously. The silliest thing on their labels is a Jester of the classical kind in suit of motley colors, belled hat and a fake scepter. This kind of joker goes back to before Shakespeare, a professional funny man hired to amuse and mock the court and king, with license to be truthful and mirthful, a precariously fine line.

It’s a clever image for wines; like Mitiolo’s Jester Shiraz ($15.99), a playful wine with soft approach, but ultimately straightforward and powerful. For extra grins, Mitolo’s back label honors a real jester, Richard Tarlton who was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite jokester and possibly the first comedian to become a superstar.

Given the royal standards for wit, I’d say the chances are slim for a 2108 Aussie shiraz dedicated to Adam Sandler.

Click here to Join B-21's Facebook Page!

It’s a lovely day in the cyberhood on B-21’s Facebook page.  It’s where the Bees go to play and chat,  paparazzi party snaps of the celeb pourers and pourees at our wine tasting and under cover shots of the workers and the drones. Which is which?  We photograph. You decide. 

Wine confidential can get kinky:

• True Confession #1:  Steve Rayman drinks Sierra Nevada.
• True Confession # 2:  The B-21 Girls occasionally take their shoes off to dip their toes in the fountain displays.  

And just what are you drinking? On Facebook anything goes. 

No Fred Rogers cardigans required. We only wear them the super-secret Area 21 cryo-zone — you may see a stolen peek back stage there but only on Facebook!

2006 Mas Doix Doix Costers de V.V.

For me, Priorat would come first as a fan of the greatness of Carinena and Barca. The 2006 Mas Doix Costere de Vinyes Velles (97 RP, $109.99) shows that old vines can turn slinky tricks. 

From Rioja, get the 2005 Muga Aro (96, ST $149.99) and lay  it down to open five years from now and relive the the glory. 

To credit Real Madrid, get Vega Sicilia’ s 2004 Valbuena (94 WS, $139.99). Full of smooth power, dark fruit, chocolate and spice. Better, buy two, open one now and savor for 116 minutes and another for the cellar — and the record books. 

BTW, the Whirling B-21 Wine Predictor did pick Spain, making seven correct calls in the last eight matches. That makes a cluster of grapes at least as smart as an octopus, but then we are rather keen on cephalopods in Tarpon Springs.

The spicier the dinner conversation the better. 

Shame that too many of us miss it. Not everyone; along comes Eric Asimov in the New York Times last week saying it’s very good anyhow. He tried 20 and nine were worth a modest tout. They need keener balance in all things, he said, taste thast matched bouquet, acidity tempered by sweetness, minerality as well as flowers. 

Simple stuff and not as sharp as Alsatians. 

2005 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim $29.99

I don’t buy the entrie critique.. American gewurz is enjoyable, affordable hock for the cooler perfect for this summer which is mighty hot in New York as well as Florida). It’s also a good introduction to the world beyond chard and sauv blanc. 

Agreed that U.S. gewurz can and should get better and more numerous. And it will. One, we have just begun to enjoy Riesling, import and domestic, gewurz is next in line. Two, U. S. vineyards are experimenting enthusiastically with unloved varietals and exploring new and misunderstood terroir, especially in cooler climate zones that gewurz needs. I predict more and better gewurz from the Finger Lakes and Michigan to the cooler spots of the Northwest and the California coast. 

Agreed too that Ch. Ste. Michelle’s 2008 Columbia Valley ($8.99) is one of the good guys, although Asimov put it sixth on his list of nine and gave it two stars: Lively, fresh yet simple with aromas of flowers and grapefruit. 

I’m not so stingy nor was the Wine Spectator: “Light and refreshing, this off-dry white has pretty apple and grapefruit flavors shaded with floral and exotic spice notes, lingering refreshingly. Drink now.” 88 points. 

That’s a tasty cheap thrill for me. 

Sure Gewurz can be more than that — and B-21 has the best of Alsace, three bottlings of the great 2005 vintage by Zind-Humbrecht. For a rare bargain on a taste of the gold standard, open the 94-point Wintzenheim ($29.99).