Wine Focus - September: A love once new has now grown old

[David M. Bueker]

Getting personal this month. What’s a wine or a grape that you used to love but now you just pass it by? There’s probably a few bottles languishing in the cellar, silently asking “what did I do?” The answer is probably “it’s not you, it’s me.”

I know I have been through a number of these. Sometimes it passes and I re-find the love. That happened for me with Zinfandel. I loved it when I was starting out, then it just made me groan for a while. Now I love it again. There was a time when I fell deeply for Muscadet. Now, though I will drink it, the idea of it is more appealing than the actual wine for me.

So what wine or grape has fallen out of favor for you? Grab one of those forgotten bottles and let’s discuss.

Bonus points for getting the musical reference.

Getting personal this month. What’s a wine or a grape that you used to love but now you just pass it by? There’s probably a few bottles languishing in the cellar, silently asking “what did I do?” The answer is probably “it’s not you, it’s me.”

I know I have been through a number of these. Sometimes it passes and I re-find the love. That happened for me with Zinfandel. I loved it when I was starting out, then it just made me groan for a while. Now I love it again. There was a time when I fell deeply for Muscadet. Now, though I will drink it, the idea of it is more appealing than the actual wine for me.

So what wine or grape has fallen out of favor for you? Grab one of those forgotten bottles and let’s discuss.

Bonus points for getting the musical reference.

For me, it would have to be Cabernet Sauvignon. Even when I do have red meat, I will now reach for a Syrah, Cab Franc, Zinfandel or Nebbiolo in preference to CS. I'm now down to about 4-5 bottles in the cellar.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting. I seem to be gravitating more towards Cabernet. Of course inheriting 1000 bottles of it will force that a bit!

[Jenise]

Kind of like Mark--I've been through a Syrah phase for the last five-ten years, having not been a fan outside of the Rhone but having an epiphany in my new home state of Washngton. During that time my interest in cabernet languished and I hardly ever bought any. However, unlike Mark, cabernet has been catching my attention again. I haven't made any significant investments vs. just drinking what I have, but I'm finding it refreshing.

Chardonnay might be my problem area. I went thru the ABC thing and then reached a point where I was over being over it. Now, however, except in rare instances (White Burgundies) it's mostly just another white wine and Sauvignon Blanc is my preference among things that are readily available, however I'm also exploring Other Whites more than I ever have.

It’s a little complicated to separate falling out of love from the vagaries of (depth and breadth of) availability, but I’d say that Gewurztraminer, with or without the umlaut, is a notable one for me, and, relatedly, the wines of Alsace in general. (Whereas I buy very little Chenin Blanc now but still really love it: that one is about what can be found locally in Ithaca versus Chicago, and about my diminishing willingness to spend time chasing harder-to-find bottles from online retailers, auction sites, etc. — I use that part of my brain on a different hobby these days).

... I’d say that Gewurztraminer, with or without the umlaut, is a notable one for me...

The bigger story here is that you used to actually LOVE Gewurztraminer? It's not just that you enjoyed it, you actually loved it and drank it often, with great relish?!

[David M. Bueker]

I still love Gewurztraminer!

I did! Very early in my wine journey, but yes. It was unlike anything else I’d ever tasted and I found it exotic and seductive. Sort of like the vinous equivalent of thinking that the coolest thing in the world was to stay up all night with your best friend burning incense and talking about philosophy. Although in this case that’s a bad analogy, because, Reader, I married her.

I still love Gewurztraminer!

Ok. More power to you!

[David M. Bueker]

I still love Gewurztraminer!

Ok. More power to you!

But I really don’t care for Pinot Gris. Never have been a fan.

Quite a Cab Franc fan but whites still my main interest these days. Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris , Albarino my mainstays.

After some reflection, I can't think of any wine type which falls into this category for me. My early days as a wine lover were confined to the limited wine horizons typical of the period from the mid-50s to the mid-60s, namely (using the terminology of the period) claret, Sauternes, Burgundy, hock, Moselle (sic), sherry, port and Madeira. I still love all those wine types. Subsequent "discoveries" include most of the remaining wine producing regions in the world and here again I can't think offhand of any region or grape whose wines I once liked but have grown out of. Indeed the only important wine growing countries where I have yet to find a wine which I like are Georgia and China. Grapes which have rarely much enthused me include Zinfandel/Primitivo, Pinot gris, Gewurztraminer and Negromaro.

[David M. Bueker]

Good post Tim. It reminds me of some of the guys in my tasting group who have been drinking Bordeaux and Burgundy since they started in the 1960s, and never really moved outside that range. Your preferences are clearly much wider, but the baseline is similar.

[Jenise]

Tim, I'm more similar to you. Certain things I never liked: Nero d'Avola and Gewurz come to mind. And I don't trust Beaujolais much these days. But most everything else are wines once loved and still loved--I just cycle in and out of paying attention to them because I'm momentarily dazzled by something else (like, currently, white Rhones which have suddenly become much easier to find).

[David M. Bueker]

Nero d'Avola is one of those grapes that I have just never cared about. It's okay, but even after the rare really good one I am never going "where's the next one?"

Tim, I'm more similar to you. Certain things I never liked: Nero d'Avola and Gewurz come to mind. And I don't trust Beaujolais much these days. But most everything else are wines once loved and still loved--I just cycle in and out of paying attention to them because I'm momentarily dazzled by something else (like, currently, white Rhones which have suddenly become much easier to find).

Jenise, why don't you trust Beaujolais? Is it the changing climate and its effect on the wines, or something else?

Oh, that's interesting. (And I do get the reference, running in my head, thanks. Maybe it will change to a different tune when I am homeward bound.) For me it's muscat. I used to love all styles of it. Moscato d'Asti, dry Alsatian, fortified ones from southwest France and Australia, even the sweet supermarket ones from California. Guess it just became a bit too extra after a while. My wife doesn't drink much any more, but my mother in law does enjoy a Moscato, should have some more.

[Jenise]

Jenise, why don't you trust Beaujolais? Is it the changing climate and its effect on the wines, or something else?

It might be me more than the wines. I fell in love with Beaujolais, the '09 vintage and Foillard in particular. The Foillards were $30ish at the time. They were magical. I then bought mixed cases of the '12 and '13 and loved them too. I recall loving the '10 Clos de Roilette VTs and later the '14 Dutraive. I've bought and enjoyed a few others since, but nothing as impactful as the wines just mentioned while enduring a lot of dogs from vintages like '15 and '18 (I bought six '18 Roilettes on release, hated all them). And now Foillards are $60ish, if you can find them. In short: I've never again felt the euphoria I got from my first Foillard.

Jenise, why don't you trust Beaujolais? Is it the changing climate and its effect on the wines, or something else?

It might be me more than the wines. I fell in love with Beaujolais, the '09 vintage and Foillard in particular. The Foillards were $30ish at the time. They were magical. I then bought mixed cases of the '12 and '13 and loved them too. I recall loving the '10 Clos de Roilette VTs and later the '14 Dutraive. I've bought and enjoyed a few others since, but nothing as impactful as the wines just mentioned while enduring a lot of dogs from vintages like '15 and '18 (I bought six '18 Roilettes on release, hated all them). And now Foillards are $60ish, if you can find them. In short: I've never again felt the euphoria I got from my first Foillard.

Ah, got it. '09 was a bit of an outlier vintage: richer, deeper, more tannic wines than was the norm. '18-'20 were particularly rough vintages there due to climate change. I only bought in '14 (classic year), '16 and '21 (cool, variable). To me, good Cru Beaujolais is a great food wine that goes with a lot of what I cook, so I continue to buy them in years that appeal to my taste for lower octane, higher acid wines. Unfortunately, they're fewer and fewer with each passing decade. Good thing, I guess, that I don't buy many wines to cellar these days.

Interesting Beaujolais discussion. I agree that the climate shift has been difficult for fans of light and refreshing Beaujolais. Although that may not have been Jenise's complaint if 09 Foillard was the benchmark. It sounds like Beaujolais may just not be a wine that speaks to her, despite having really enjoyed a few examples.

I agree with Mark that it helps to be selective about vintage these days. But I have been pleased with some 2022s and 2023s, despite their larger more intense frame, I can still enjoy the slightly more full-bodied versions if they don't go too far. And I was never an 09 hater, even though lots of folks found them so monstrous and atypical on release. I remember really enjoying 09 Foillard CdP as well, a bigger riper version, but still with definition.

And it is sad to see the price and availability of Foillard go crazy. But at least here on the east coast, there are so many high-quality Beaujolais producers available these days, and still offering better value than their Burgundy or Northern Rhone neighbors. Too many options and not enough time to follow them all.

[Jenise]

The '09 vintage was not a benchmark for me, just the 09s produced by Foillard that made me realize I'd been missing an entire category of amazing wine since the ugly spinster banana sisters of Georges Dubouef (sp?) that were my prior experiences with gamay. Going through my CT notes just now I see why. I liked '14 and some '16s quite a bit but in the years since I haven't had many Beaujolais period. The trust issue involves the retailer who sold me the '18 Roilettes which I pounced on (he was just unpacking them) and not knowing anything about the '18 vintage (my bad). And once my husband's illness, diagnosed in 2020, made adding to the cellar vs. drinking down what we had inadvisable, I stopped dabbling.

So it's a combination of things--isn't it always?--I would still love what I used to love about Beaujolais, I just haven't been exploring it.

The '09 vintage was not a benchmark for me, just the 09s produced by Foillard that made me realize I'd been missing an entire category of amazing wine since the ugly spinster banana sisters of Georges Dubouef (sp?) that were my prior experiences with gamay. Going through my CT notes just now I see why. I liked '14 and some '16s quite a bit but in the years since I haven't had many Beaujolais period. The trust issue involves the retailer who sold me the '18 Roilettes which I pounced on (he was just unpacking them) and not knowing anything about the '18 vintage (my bad). And once my husband's illness, diagnosed in 2020, made adding to the cellar vs. drinking down what we had inadvisable, I stopped dabbling.

So it's a combination of things--isn't it always?--I would still love what I used to love about Beaujolais, I just haven't been exploring it.

Maybe this Fall when I send you a bottle of Michigan Gamay, I'll also include a bottle of a Beaujolais that I find enticing.

[Jenise]

Wow! That would be most appreciated!

[David M. Bueker]

I will throw in a winery rather than a grape or wine. I was a huge fan and massive supporter of Idlewild. Then around the 2021 vintage, Sam Bilbro’s reach exceeded his grasp. He started experimenting with more and more grapes, and his original wines suffered for the divided attention. His Flora & Fauna Red was my go-to wine for anything red sauce, until the bottom fell out in the 2021 vintage. He also changed some grape sources in the same general time period, and the results were nowhere near as good.

Sad to walk away, as I had, like Tom Hill, followed them from the very start, but it became throwing bad money after good.