by Fredric Koeppel
The Commercial Appeal The slogan we see posted in wine and liquor stores - "So much wine, so little time " - is absolutely true.
The New Year is, of course, as arbitrary a limit as any other distinctive transition, but it seems a good time for lists. So here is the list of good white wines.
The order is from cheapest to most expensive. Unless otherwise noted, all these wines rate Excellent.
Mount a search for the Santa Julia Torrontes 2000, Mendoza, Argentina, because its floral-flinty character, lemon-lime scents and flavors, modest spice and attractive texture make it a Great Bargain at about $7; rates Very Good.
We'll say the same for the Hogue Cellars Semillon 1999, Columbia Valley, Washington, a crisp, lively wine whose beguiling ripeness and floral elements encompass an irresistible figgy-leafy-dried herbs-citrus character. Very Good. About $9.
Absolutely Amazing for the price, the St. Francis Chardonnay 1999, Sonoma County, is incredibly ripe and juicy, wonderfully floral, lovely, luscious and very pure, a deft and elegant combination of power and delicacy. A steal at about $13.
The notion of purity applies, too, to the Brancott Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 1999, Marlborough, New Zealand, a wine that manages to be quite dry and crisp yet lush at the same time. It's plump with notes of caraway and thyme, grapefruit and orange zest, figs and wet leaves. About $17.
The delightful Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 1999, also from Marlborough, is totally clean and fresh, bursting with green pea, hay, dill and bubble gum scents and earnest lemon-lime flavors leaning toward tropical. About $17.
A third Marlborough sauvignon blanc not to miss is Le Grys 1999, tremendously lively and scintillating with fresh grass and hay scents, green pea and tarragon and ravishing citrus flavors. About $18.
You'll pay the same price for the serious but yummy Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Chardonnay 1999, Hunter Valley, Australia, a clean, fresh and bright chardonnay that toys with the exotic. It features honeysuckle, acacia, dried meadows and herbs, pineapple-grapefruit flavors touched with mango and show-stopping oak in the finish that requires a year or two to calm down. About $18.
We're considering many chardonnays today, and many of those fall into the $20-$22 range. Voila: Pure, clean and fresh, La Crema Gold Coast Vineyard Chardonnay 1998 , Sonoma County, offers a green apple-baking spice, mildly toasty bouquet. It's spicy and creamy in the mouth, lush and dense with rich pineapple-grapefruit flavors given terrific resonance by well-handled oak. About $20.
Resonant and vibrant, the Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay 1998, California, still maintains a taut, steely, restrained style that admits toasty, spicy oak and tasty pineapple-grapefruit flavors to its arsenal; excellent balance makes it rich and pure. About $20.
The Eberle Estate Bottled Chardonnay 1999, Paso Robles, doesn't try to make you like it. This is a giant-size chardonnay teeming with smoke and toast, apple and pear and citrus with a banana and fig undertone and a touch of burnt match and baking spice. In the mouth, though, it's dry, flinty and austere, almost powdery in its density and hugely resonant. About $21.
Subtle and supple, the Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 1999, Casablanca Valley, Chile, tempers a line of limestone with lush apple, citrus, grapefruit flavors and a moderately creamy and quite enticing texture. About $22.
In the best Chablis fashion, the Clos du Bois Calcaire Chardonnay 1999, Alexander Valley, balances its dry, stony, slightly austere nature with a vein of earthy, mushroom-like qualities and rich pineapple-grapefruit flavors. About $22.
The Frog's Leap Chardonnay 1999, Napa Valley, is a burnished and beautiful wine, vibrant, ripe and juicy, permeated with spicy oak touched with vanilla and exquisitely balanced. About $22.
It starts out fairly tight, but the Stags' Leap Chardonnay 1999, Napa Valley, quickly shows its loveliness. It's smooth, vibrant and stony; rich, dense and chewy; and its dry, packed-in-oak finish could use two or three years aging. About $22.
There's nothing shy about the brilliantly golden-yellow Gallo Sonoma Stefani Vineyard Chardonnay 1998, Dry Creek Valley. Somehow it manages to amalgamate a very smoky, ripe, toasty character with a profound mineral element and extra ripe and juicy pineapple-grapefruit flavors into a balanced package. About $22.
One chardonnay stands above these California contenders. The Landmark Overlook Chardonnay 1999, taking grapes from Sonoma (75 percent), Monterey (20 percent) and Santa Barbara (5 percent) counties, is a pure, restrained, elegant "northern" sort of chardonnay, reveling in its substance and gravity while offering spicy, smoky pineapple-grapefruit flavors completely unmarred by any tropical or buttery notes. Every molecule is touched with oak, but the wine is neither exaggerated nor overwhelming. Exceptional. About $22.
Here are three wines from La Chablisienne. All wines from Chablis, nominally a part of Burgundy though closer to Champagne, are 100 percent chardonnay.
La Chablisienne Premier Cru Mortmain 1998 features lemon-lime and limestone scents and flavors, a classic earthy, slightly cheesy character (as in Parmesan shavings) and burgeoning notes of dried honeysuckle. Very charming. About $33.
La Chablisienne Grand Cru Bougros 1997 is quite dry and stony and moderately rich with smoky apple and citrus flavors wrapped around a core of intense spiciness, almonds and mushrooms. About $56.
Finally, the hugely resonant La Chablisienne Grand Cru Blanchot 1997 keeps its lushness at the center of a powerful flint and shale core that softens with hints of almond blossom and vanilla. It's rich and ripe but shimmering with crispness. About $56.
Koeppel's Picks of the Week
If you're looking for inexpensive red wines to accompany those hearty stews and pasta dishes you've been making, these wines from Camelot, a division of Kendall-Jackson, will do the trick. The Camelot Merlot 1997 has plenty of grip and body and offers intense currant and black cherry fruit with undertones of orange zest and bitter chocolate. Almost plush in texture, the Camelot Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 adds touches of dried herbs and black olives to currant-plummy flavors supported by dense, powdery tannin. Each about $10.
Count on eight to 20 years for the Sandeman Vau Vintage Porto 1997, which from its desperately purple color, its powerful earthy and mineral elements, its concentrated plum-currant-black raspberry flavors and its rampaging complement of violets, smoke , ash and tar exhibits incredible force and potential for endurance. On the other hand, it tastes pretty darned good right now. About $42.
D. Boone himself might have sipped such a bourbon as Jacob's Well Straight Bourbon Whiskey, from the Jim Beam companies. Labeled as 84 Months Old - that's seven years - Jacob's Well is a rough-and-tumble beaker of bourbon in the deeply-woody primitive fashion, characterized chiefly by remarkable earthy-organic and smoky-ashy qualities touched, at the minimum, by the floral, spicy and slightly fruity qualities that distinguish its namby-pamby competitors. Grip that glass tightly. About $20.
(E-mail koeppel@gomemphis.com or write The Commercial Appeal, PO Box 134, Memphis , TN 38101.)
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