“The poor old Past, the Future’s slave”, Herman Melville, 1819-1891, Battle Pieces, 1866, The Conflict of Convictions, st. 6.
About 40 years ago, a classmate at Cornell tenderly proffered a bottle of Beaulieu Vineyards’ Muscat de Frantignan to me. As I carefully poured a dram into a glass and inhaled its fragrance, I was transported into another wine world by this rare treat. Layers of hauntingly nutty fruit lightly scented by sweet notes of raisiny complexity literally morphed me into another dimension. Many years later, I sat at a table next to Leigh Knowles, then the Chairman of Beaulieu, at a restaurant in Napa. He practically hyperventilated to have found another lover of this divinely inspired nectar from his winery. Our conversation continued about many of his winery’s other goodies (such as Georges de Latour Cabernet), always interlaced with our commonality of interest in Muscat de Frantignan. What a memory!
Moscato is commonly quaffed, enjoyed and revered around the world. It is the heart and soul of Italy’s treasured Asti Spumante, in which it bursts with youthful frizzante and ebullience. Also grown in Romania, Croatia, Moldavia, Serbia, Israel, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Australia, it has even taken root in Argentina, where it grows like a weed in Mendoza.
One of Moscato’s best nesting places is in California, where it flourishes in the east-central San Joaquin Valley. This delightfully fresh and fruity, peachy wine, lightly laced with a lick of acid, is a marvelous mate for picnic food, sushi and light oriental fare. It can even perform well as a closing dessert act after a hearty meal.
With great pleasure, I recently tasted my way through an assortment of locally available Moscats. I’m delighted to share these observations with you:
1. Beringer 2009, California, $4.99-$5.99. Straw-colored with heavy body. Intensely flowery, almost cloying nose of peaches, honeysuckle and spring apple blossoms. In the mouth, it was light and elegant, with dancing acidity. Terrific for a picnic. A-
2. Caposanaldo, Italy, IGT, $12.99-$14.99. (Note: many years ago, the Italian government, in an attempt to regulate and encourage quality, classified wines in ascending order as: DOC and DOCG, with IGT representing a type of no-holds-barred approach to free-thinking winemaking). This entrant had a frothy frizzante beginning (like an Asti Spumante wannabe) with nearly bracing and gentle bubbles and a light nose with classically flowery notes. The light effervescence persisted in the mouth and finished cleanly. B+
3. Fetzer 2010, California, $7.99-$8.99. (Note: the label indicated that this Moscato was produced at a 100% Green winery, and boasted of its judicial use of solar and geothermal energy). Barely off-white with light body. Slightly shy nose of grass and flowers. On the palate, it presented sweet notes of apricot with a kiss of acid and a sunny disposition (no pun intended). Lingering, fun sweetness. B+
4. Little Black Dress, 2010, California, $7.99-$8.99. Nearly white with very light body. Faintly flowery nose with notes of peach and some dandy depth. Lightly sweet in the mouth with an easy, light finish. B+
5. Motos Liberty, 2009, California, $6.99-$7.99. (Note: label states that the name means “breaks barrier on over-oaked wine”. I presume that means that this wine is more restrained than many of its California cousins which tend to lean towards over-oaking in wine development.) The nose was complex and layered, with notes of butterscotch evident on top of flowers and light ripe tree fruit. In the mouth, the fruit was evident again with easy acidity. Clean, pleasant finish begs for quaffing. A
Today’s winner was the Motos Liberty.
I easily awarded my Price/Value trophy to the Beringer, part of a line that deserves ongoing attention for its tremendous value in these odd economic times.
Cheers!
My hero, Winston Churchill, said “Never give in!”
