Dan's Papers - November 7, 2008

2008 is probably going to go down as an extremely uneven vintage in the local wine industry. Different wineries are telling different stories, of course. Some are talking about ripeness that was "on par with 2007" while others are just glad to have grapes at all having lost entire sections of their vineyards to maladies of one type or another. Some wineries are more open and honest than others of course.

The only consistent comment coming from local vintner is that yields are down. Some wineries have lost up to and beyond 65% of their overall crop. That's significant and can obviously affect the bottom line.

We can only hope that wineries don't artificially raise prices to make up the difference. Some will. Most won't.

Of course, we won't get to taste many 2008 wines until the first whites and roses are released in the spring. There is one wine from the 2008 vintage that has already been released by Macari Vineyards.

It's an extremely early release, which only makes sense since they calls this 100% chardonnay creation "Early Wine." In fact, just about everything about this wine is early. It was harvested on September 9, bottled October 16 and then released October 23. Just over 1,700 cases were produced.

You can think of this wine as a Chardonnay Noveau, even it bears little resemblance to Beaujolais Nouveau, the ubiquitous red wine made from Gamay in the Beaujolais region of France that is sold almost as soon as it's done fermenting. That wine is marketed well - very well - and we'll soon see palettes of the stuff in local wine shops. Some "experts" say that it's the ideal Thankgiving wine. Don't buy into the hype. Most of them are mediocre and some are absolutely undrinkable.

If Beaujolais Nouveau is insipid and boring, Macari's Early Wine is lively and unique. Helmut Gangl, an Austrian native who is one of the winery's consulting winemakers, created this wine a few years ago in the style of Jungwein ('young wine') from his homeland.

The 2008 edition pours extremely pale greenish yellow in the glass - so pale in fact that it's nearly colorless - with a few tiny bubbles clinging to the glass. The nose is loaded with grapefruit, Granny Smith apple, lemon zest and subtle salty minerality.

It's medium bodied and almost electric in its liveliness. Mouth-watering acidity tingles as it moves over your palate, bringing balance to the wine's sweetness. The flavors are straightforward, mainly citrus with a little minerality. Call it refreshing. Call it thirst quenching.

Typically, I don't recommend drinking whites well chilled, but in this case, you should. As it warms, the sweetness steps forward a bit too much for my tastes.

There's one more "early" to this Early Wine. Drink it early. Do not put it in your cellar for a year or two. Buy it and drink it. In past years, the wines acidity has faded by spring rendering this wine much less attractive food friendly.