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SUMMER.RG
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THE WINE TASTER
By Robin Garr
The Courier-Journal, July 13, 1988
For everything there is a season; even for wine.
Many people think of red wine, for example, as a winter drink. Red-wine
sales plummet when summer arrives and many people start spelling wine
"W-H-I-T-E" and "C-O-L-D."
Now, serious wine lovers won't put away their complex Cabernet
Sauvignons and hearty Ports until autumn, but there's no question: Sultry
heat and muggy humidity nudge the taster's interests -- mine, too -- toward
lighter, simpler wines.
I stop short of switching to wine "coolers," which aren't really wine
at all. Wine, I say, is a drink for all the senses -- including the intellect,
and there's no challenge in mildly alcoholic sugar water.
Even the ubiquitous White Zinfandels (with a few lovable exceptions
I'll examine another day) fail to offer satisfying diversity in their
too-soft sweetness.
But there's plenty of good table wine well suited to quench the thirst
while refreshing the spirit.
Grudgingly saluting this year's first heat wave, I've recently sampled
a selection of moderately priced French wines for summer sipping.
Instead of roaming the pricey realms of my usual French favorites, the
age-worthy Bordeaux, Burgundies and fancier Rhones, I've gone hunting for the
simple, fruity wines that the French sip for pure enjoyment, drinking them
young and without undue attention.
The Loire Valley, Macon, the sections of the Rhone that produce the
simple table wines, and most of all, Beaujolais, are the labels to seek when
the discomfort index rises.
You won't find complexity here, but you will find ripe, generous fruit
and clean, fresh flavors that seem well suited for the kind of day when the
sun shimmers like a brass gong against a burning sky.
Serve the whites crackling cold, and you might even pop the reds in the
refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes -- just long enough to give the wine a kiss
of coolness.
(4 stars) Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages, 1987. (Bow-zhow-lay
Vee-lahj.) This clear, cranberry-colored wine boasts the exuberant fruit and
refreshing quality that's Beaujolais at its best. It follows a light, grapey
smell with a smooth, intensely fruity flavor that abounds in grapes, berries
and cherries. It's a winner. ($5.29)
(4 stars) La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux, 1985. (Coat dew Van-too.) This
clear, bright reddish-purple wine's aroma offers appetizing wine grapes. Its
mouth-filling flavor is filled with simple fruit and a touch of spicy black
pepper; hints of strawberries appear in its lingering, complex aftertaste.
($4.29)
(4 stars) Georges Duboeuf Moulin-a-Vent, 1986. (Moo-lahn ah Vawn.) This is a
slightly hazy, cherry-red wine with a clean scent of simple fruit that
includes a hint of strawberries. Its flavor is filled with crisp, ripe fruit;
it's as refreshing as a squirt of fresh grape juice, with proper acidity for
balance. ($9.99)
(3 1/2 stars) Louis Jadot Beajolais-Villages, 1987. This clear,
dark-cranberry color wine's aroma is focused on simple fruit; its flavor is
as full of fruit juice as a bowl of grapes, and it leaves a lingering, lemony
acidity. ($6.49)
(3 1/2 stars) La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon, 1986. (Coat dew
Loo-beh-rawn.) This clear, bright-gold wine has a simple, pleasant aroma of
apples and yeast. Its fruity flavor is full of grapes with overtones of
pears, and there's a touch of steel in its tart, lingering aftertaste.
($4.29)
(3 1/2 stars) Georges Duboeuf Macon-Villages, 1987. (Mah-cawn Vee-lahj.)
This clear, light brass-colored wine breathes the appealing applelike scent
of Chardonnay grapes. Its simple but appetizing flavor presents fresh fruit
and crisp acid in proper balance. ($6.99)
(3 stars) Domaine Barre Muscadet de Sevre et Maine "Les Mesnils," 1986.
(Mus-cad-day.) Sharp acidity and simple fruit make this clear, light
greenish-gold wine a natural with oysters on the half shell. Its crisp,
yeasty scent adds a piney overtone, and there's a pleasant musky-melon
quality in its mouth-filling flavor. ($5.99)
(2 stars) Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Blanc, 1987. The musty, wet-cardboard
smell that a faulty cork imparts is a near-fatal flaw in this clear, pale
straw-colored wine; it overwhelms the otherwise pleasant citric scent and
crisp, fruit-acid taste. ($6.99)
"The Wine Taster" appears every other Wednesday in the Louisville
Courier-Journal Food section. Wine and Food Critic Robin Garr rates table
wines available in the Louisville area, using a one- to five-star scale
determined by quality and value. Send suggestions or questions in care of The
Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, Louisville, Ky. 40202; call (502)
582-4647, or send EasyMail to 73125,70.