Drink to the Man
June - July 2010
Finding the best wines to spoil any guy
DO MEN LIKE TO BE SPOILED? ABSOLUTELY!
There is no doubt that certain wines would spoil any wine-loving man. Here are some that would make a pauper feel like a king.
Some men like a wine built like Atlas – thick, strong and enduring in structure. I speak of the mighty Cabernet Sauvignon. The “noble” Cabernet Sauvignon grape is legend. It not only is America’s most popular red wine; it is a wine that seems to hold its audience for generations. My choice to play Atlas would be the 2007 Winter Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. This new “cult” wine from the foothills of Spring Mountain is made by one of the valley’s young rising stars, Mike Hirby (of Relic and Realm fame). It has a mountain of fruit when you breathe in its aroma. Scents of perfectly ripe blackberry, spices, sweet vanillin and blueberries come to the forefront. It simply coats your palate like a blackberry liqueur, with waves of black fruit and the aftertaste of a freshly picked berry, toast and mocha. It is a wine that, despite having unbelievable depths of flavor, it is not overly weighty.
Other men prefer elegance over weight, silk to velvet. For these, the perfect wine is Pinot Noir. Without as much color as most other red wines, some would presume that Pinot Noir is “thin” and lacking in intensity or flavor, which is far from the truth.
It packs terrific aroma and taste, and caresses the palate into submission. To spoil my palate, I choose French Pinot Noir from Burgundy. And one of the treats I spoil myself with is the 2007 J.F. Mugnier Nuits St. Georges Premier Cru “Clos de la Marechale.” Freddie Mugnier is one of the most unassuming stars of Burgundy, but his wines speak volumes. He is a non-interventionist in the winery and leaves each wine to speak for itself rather than putting a stamp of winemaking style on the bottle. This Premier Cru has an exceedingly pretty nose of black cherry, mineral, sandalwood and teas that lead to a lovely and silky texture on the palate. If you can keep your hands off it for five years or so, the wine will spoil you even more with even greater complexity and nuance.
Yet there are men who want a wine so thick, it needs to be cut with a knife. Hedonists and savages, raise your glasses and knives to the 2005 Hundred Acre Shiraz “Ancient Way Vineyard.” This Barossa Valley Shiraz is something else. You don’t taste it; it simply explodes. Huge aromas of preserved fruits and spices stain your nose and palate. This is neither shy nor wimpy – bold is still too soft a word. High decibel, high intensity and palate-pounding, it is the kind of wine that you could get lost in.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, “to spoil” is “to pamper excessively; to impair the disposition or character of by overindulgence.” Any of these wines would do just that to any man.
MANLY MADEIRA
The most “manly” wine of all is definitely madeira.
It is a fortified wine made on the island of madeira, which is off the northwest coast of africa and governed by portugal.
Madeira is “manly” because it is not only rich in alcohol, but it also is indestructible – literally.
After being fortified (pure alcohol is added to stop the fermentation process and increase the alcohol level), the wine is literally cooked. It goes through a process called estufa, whereby its temperature is raised over a period of time. This effectively mimics the process of the original madeira that was carried in the hull of a ship to the americas and back, a journey of about three months in the early days. The wine is then bottled and ready to drink.
No matter what you do to it, madeira will never lose its fruit or flavor.
Like a “real man,” madeira also wears many hats. Madeira can be bone dry to dessert sweet. From driest to sweetest: Sercial, verdelho, bual and malmsey. It also comes in different lengths of aging: Finest (three years), reserve (five years), special reserve (10 years) and extra reserve (15 years). “vintage madeira” is aged a minimum of 20 years.
Madeira is timeless, indestructible and versatile. What can be more “manly” than that?
Recommendation: 1966 leacock’s bual vintage madeira
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