Vinosseur.com

For those interested folks out there, I have added a new page to my website on the sidebar under “more information”. The new page is called “Vinosseur’s Wine Lists” and it’s where I will update the wine list for Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken on a monthly basis. The wine list is meant to be somewhat dynamic, hence the monthly update.

Through my consulting services, I also make wine lists for other restaurants. I will also place these wine lists on this page  as they are completed!

Please check out!

As you may know, I am the wine director and sommelier in a small restaurant in Bergen (Norway) called Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken (Kitchen).  A restaurant which has been garnering a lot of attention lately by the locals as well as the media. We have some of the most talented (and awarded) chefs in Norway, definitely the most passionate.

I started at Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken in January of 2009 after a four year stint at Altona Vinbar where I managed a wine list of approximately 500 titles. Although Altona Vinbar was a fun place to work, and the wine list was very exciting, it wasn’t what I was looking for. I wanted to manage a smaller, more dynamic and eclectic wine list and to work more closely with food and a kitchen that would inspire me.  Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken fit that bill perfectly.  The kitchen focuses on local food, specializing (in my opinion) on the preparation of amazing seafood dishes prepared with wild, local fish.

When in comes to the wine at Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken, I like to keep my wine list at around 90 titles with a focus on organic, biodynamic and natural wines.  I don’t have any titles from Bordeaux and I don’t have too many  what I consider as “eye-candy” titles as I prefer smaller producers (farmers if you will) who do things by hand.  Many titles may be unheard of by many, but represent not only my taste in wine, but what I believe to be exciting, new and work well with food.

I am often criticized by people for excluding areas like Bordeaux on my wine list.  I am also often criticized when I tell people that I prefer to select titles that are organic, bio or natural wines for my list.  I am told that by excluding wine from Bordeaux or focusing on organic, bio or natural that I am excluding many great wines.  Actually, I feel that I am not excluding wines from my list, but rather I’m including wines on my list.  Producers like Frank Cornelissen and Domain Le Mazel which are often excluded on wine lists, are included on mine.  I include them with a smile on my face and in my heart.  This being said, the number one reason why a wine shows up on my wine list is because it is well made and I like it. I will never sacrifice quality because it is simply organic.

My wine list is not yet perfect in my eyes. I am slowly improving my Champagne and white Burgundy selection. And, I will most likely continue to add German Rieslings.

Here it is. All prices in Norwegian Kroner:

Jacob’s Bar & Kjøkken Wine List

Date tasted: September 9th, 2009 18:30 (6:30pm)

The Nocens  is Tiberio’s top wine and is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Canaiolo in equal parts.  The grapes are farmed organically and are grown in Chianti D.O.C vineyards. Grapes are harvested by hand.   The wine is designated “Rosso dei Colli della Toscana Centrale (I.G.T)”

The Nocens  is made in the “Antico Metodo Governo all’ Uso Toscano“.  A pre-harvest selection of 10% of the top grapes are harvested by hand and placed in a well-ventilated room to let them finish maturing (and drying) for about 15 days, time enough to finish the rest of the harvest. The rest of the grapes are also harvested by hand and fermented spontaneously using indigenous yeast and without the use of enzymes.  Once the fermentation is completed, the pre-harvest “Antico Metodo Governo all’ Uso Toscano” grapes that were set aside are added to the wine and a second fermentation commences (think “Ripasso” from the Veneto here). The wine is then aged for 12 months in 225-liter French Barriques. The wine is bottled without filtration

Appearance: Clean. Medium dark red with hints of blue. Medium to medium low intensity.

Nose: Clean.  Medium intense nose of dark cherries and wild black currants with hints of cedar and eucalyptus. Medium complex wine with  well-integrated oak on the back end.

Palate: Clean.  Good fruit on the front end. Sour cherries, black currants and blackberries. Good structure and good acidity carrying the wine to a medium-long finish with medium tannins.  Oak is well-integrated, but noticeable lending to the tannic structure of this wine.  Very well integrated alcohol at 13,5%

Overall impressions: This is a well-made wine with good structure, balance and clean fruit which should be a pretty good wine to match with food.  I am thinking a grilled steak, or grilled vegetables would be a nice complement to this wine. This being said, the oak is too dominant for my palate, but I feel that many people will enjoy this wine. It sits nicely between a modern-made wine and one made traditionally.  In my opinion, this wine can be stored for a few more years, but I don’t think that it will improve so I would drink it now.

I have tasted other Tiberio wines and find his fruit to be clean, precise and on the feminine side (especially his Sangiovese, my favorite of his wines) and I feel that his wines would be better represented if they weren’t stored in oak. For those of you who share my feelings on this, rumor has it that he is playing with some un-oaked versions of his wines as I write this and perhaps I will have the opportunity some day soon to taste as stainless steel version of his Sangiovese.

Being a lover of Champagne and wines made in a more natural way, dosage I found this article written by Peter Liem for Zester Daily extremely interesting.  Click on the photo of Pascal Doquet for the article:

Pascal Doquet in his vineyards in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger

The Saering Grand Cru vineyards cover 27 hectares of which 20 are owned by Schlumberger. Varies in height from 260-300 meters. Approximately 40hl/ha yield.

Domaines Schlumberger

Date tasted: Tasted blind (involves tasting and evaluating wines without any knowledge of their identities) on June 14th, 2009 19:00 (7:00pm)

These are my tasting notes exactly as I wrote them the time of the blind tasting:

Appearance: Dark golden yellow.  Some development showing, but not much browning of the edges.  Medium to medium plus intensity.  Clean

Nose: Clean? On the nose, hard to tell if this is a good bottle or not, or over the hill.   Slightly oxidized, with hints of caramelized lemons.  Herbs and hints of petrol and minerals. Really ripe yellow apples, especially the core of the apple. I am guessing Alsace or Germany right off the bat based on the nose. We  are tasting this wine blind, so with the slight oxididative notes, we aren’t sure.

Palate: Dry. Medium to Medium plus acid. Good concentration. Salty hints. Quite developed. Guessing to be at least 10-15 years of age.  Quite a bit of weight. I’m thinking Pinot Blanc because of the hefty weight of the wine on the palate. Many people from this group are thinking it’s a Chardonnay, but the acidity is too high and it is not weighty enough in my opinion.

19:40 (7:40pm):

hints of that saltiness are still there. Smells a bit like blue cheese.

Nobody took this wine (that is nobody managed to guess what it was they were drinking), but many were in the Chardonnay camp. I of course didn’t peg this either. My guess was Alsace or Southern Germany and ultimately guessed Pinot Blanc.

The acidity was quite high, but not as a high as what I would have expected from a Riesling.  Of course, this wine was 26 years old, so the acidity had softened quite a bit, making it a bit harder to peg.  It didn’t help that I guessed this wine to be only 15 years old due to the overall freshness. It also had a bit more weight than a Riesling and hence I landed on Pinot Blanc – a grape that in blind tastings can be confused with the Chardonnay, or at times even Riesling.

I did notice hints of petrol on the nose as I indicated in my tasting notes, but age can play tricks on a wine and even other grapes besides Riesling can gain hints of  what we call “petrol” as they age, especially wines high in minerality.

We should all blind taste as it excercises a part of the brain that we don’t often use and can help us to better understand what is in the glass.  Plus it’s fun!

Thank you La Clarine Farm!

Thank you La Clarine Farm!

Just had to share this website I found because the philosophy behind Hank and the La Clarine Farm seems to be exactly the philosophy I feel is so important  not only in wine making, site but in things not wine as well.

Please follow this link to see their Random Wine Thoughts about natural farming and natural wine making. Then browse the rest of their great website.  I could not have expressed my beliefs any better, salve so I will let them do it for me:

Random Wine Thoughts

The wine world is littered with scores:

Bressan Schioppettino 2006 – 91 points… “Wines For You Magazine”

Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling 2008 – ★★★★★… ” Wines For Me Magazine”

91  Points here,  5 Stars there.

But what exactly do all these numbers and stars really mean to you and me? Is the critic confusing the quality of the wine with his or her own personal taste? Is that wine receiving  91 points because the person judging it loves the wine or for some other reason? Or because the wine is truly well made independent from personal opinion?  To me it means absolutely nothing and in fact I usually ignore the score and try to stick to the facts at hands by observing the tasting notes to gather the information that I feel is more valuable.

Often one man’s 91 point wine is another man’s 75 point wine.  One man’s 2 Stars is another’s 5 Stars.  In my opinion these scores aren’t objective and unless you know the particular critic’s taste and scoring history, the points mean very little.  I feel that very often a wine is scored 91 points because the critic who is tasting it loves the wine and this can be confusing.  I feel that too many critics confuse judging a wine’s quality with  their own personal taste. These should be two different components of wine tasting and the subsequent scoring.  A wine shouldn’t receive 91 points just because they like the wine.

When I taste, analyze and  judge a wine, I don’t like to give scores. I taste the wine, get to know it then usually state weather or not I feel that the wine is well made.  I stick to the facts and write about what I am tasting and experiencing.  Then I go on and state weather or not I personally like the wine. The first part of my analysis is based on my tasting experience and I try to be as objective as I can possibly be.  When I state weather I like the wine or not, it’s totally personal and not everyone will agree with me. This being said, it’s true that I often write about wines that I love and that’s because they inspire me to do so. But, I still keep the scores away.

But, if I had to come up with some sort of a “scoring” system, I suppose then that my system might look something like:

“Not well made”

“Well made”

“Very well made”

“Extremely well made”

A wine can be “extremely well made” but I don’t have to like it. I taste wines every day that are well made and have what I consider to be good structure and balance, but perhaps there’s too much oak influence for my palate.  People would eventually learn my personal taste and make decisions based on this. I try to be as specific as possible with my tasting notes so that anyone reading my notes should get the sense that they are actually tasting the wine themselves.

These “objective” scoring systems are not only happening in the wine world.  We see examples of this when it comes to movies, music and of course restaurants. I wish more people would give detailed, objective facts and let us decide how good it really is…

Cuvée Côt 2007 12% Alcohol – authentic cork

Friday July 31st, 2009 16:45 (4:45pm)

First thing I noticed upon opening this bottle is that of the 4 Clos Roche Blanche cuvée’s, this is the only one with an authentic cork. It was also the only one of the 4 that was vintage 2007; the others were 2008.  I was told, however, that even in the 2008 an authentic cork was used for the Cuvée Côt.

Appearance: Not quite as dark as the Cuvée Pif..  Have I tasted these in the wrong order??  Medium red.  Medium intensity

Nose: Dirt, dark aromas of plums, dark cherries, with hints of reduction. Some mineral nuances.  Medium intense and not as complex as the Cuvée Pif.

Palate: Ripe, dark plums and dark cherries. Hints of raspberry, but only hints. More bitter on the back-end than the Pif. Mild tannins..strange they aren’t more firm. Needs food. The least fruity wine of  the 4 Clos Roche Blanche cuvée’s I’ve tasted. Tannins getting firmer after a few minutes in the glass. Really craving some beef now..Medium to medium full

Saturday August 1st, 14:21 (2:21pm)

Appearance: No change but definitely lighter than the Cuvée Pif

Nose: Still slight hints of reduction.. Red plums and minerals at first. Only medium intensity. Interesting nose – floral

Palate: slight hints of spice and a mild nuttiness. Plums and cherries. Mild, elegant tannins. Acidity is medium to medium plus. Hints of raspberry and a nice long, fresh finish. More fruity than yesterday. Tannins are sticking just a bit and seem to be getting a bit more aggressive and they don’t feel as clean as the Pif.

Sunday August 2nd 20:48 (8:48pm)

Appearance: Same, still lighter than the Pif

Nose: A little less reduction and a bit less expressive than yesterday. Floral.  Today the nose reminds me of the Baga grape (rose pedals). Red plums and mineral and not a very giving wine.. Perhaps this is the wine that needs the most aging of the bunch

Palate: Quite fresh, plums and minerals. Still quite serious and not saying as much to me as the others are. Tannins that are sticking a bit, but the wine is quite fresh anyway. Hints of dark cherries as well. Really long finish that is very tannic. Possibly the longest finish of the bunch?? Wild berries

Monday August 3rd, 2009 23:28 (11:28pm)

Appearance: No change

Nose: Still a bit closed and not very expressive. Floral, wild berries.

Palate: Wild berries, hints of spice and mild yet gripping tannins with a slightly bitter finish. Still the least expressive of the bunch. Yet, mysterious.

Tuesday August 4th, 2009 00:31 (12:31am)

Appearance: No change

Nose: again flowers and wild berries,  but not totally open.

Palate: Wild berries and mild to medium tannins with a bitter aftertaste. Doesn’t seem like this wine will totally open up to me. Slight oxidative notes on the finish

Wednesday August 5th, 2009 17:35 (5:35pm) this wine is at it’s peak today

Appearance: No change

Nose: Flowers and wild berries. A bit more open today??  Mineral and black currant undertones. No reductive aromas.

Palate: Ah..seems a bit more expressive and complex today. Elegant wild berries with medium minus tannins. Good acid and length. The most improved of the group. Fresh berries also on the finish. Very mild bitter tones. Nice

Thursday August 6th, 2009 23:54 (11:54pm)

Appearance: No change

Nose: Mineral with black currants and oxidized notes on the back end. Closed compared to last night.

Palate: Oxidized a bit with black currants and a bitter aftertaste.Tough wine tonight and not enjoying it.

In summary, the Cuvée Côt was the wine that took the most amount of days to open and reach it’s peak. While the other Clos Roche Blanche Cuvée’s reached their peak on Sunday August 2nd, this wine did not fully open and reach it’s peak until Wednesday, August 5th; 3 evenings after the other wines. It was also the wine that once having reached it’s peak, had the shortest “life span” – only 24 hours. The other cuvée’s reached their peak more quickly and stayed open and enjoyable over several days.

Perhaps this wine was not meant to be opened just yet. Even though I love young wines, I felt that this wine would have have been more interesting in 3-5 years.

Cuvée Pif 2008 12% Alcohol – synthetic cork

Friday July 31st, 2009 16:45 (4:45pm)

Appearance: Deeper color than the Gamay.  Leaning towards the color you might find in the S. Rhône. Darkish red purple.  Clean with a  medium intense glow

Nose: Ripe & juicy green bell pepper, blackberries with floral hints.  More complex than the Cuvée Gamay but not as intense dark plums and cherries at the back end.  The most interesting nose of the bunch so far. I am spending more time nosing this one than the previous wines.  Juicy

Palate: Again the juicy ripe green bell peppers and blackberries on the palate. Medium acid. Medium to medium plus tannins. Good concentration and depth. Of the three I have tasted to this point, this is the one that I feel has the greatest aging potential. The tannins, although only medium plus, are the dominant feature here with slight bitter hints on the finish. Quite young. Really getting the Cab Franc here…need something to eat. Medium to medium full

Saturday August 1st, 14:21

Appearance: None

Nose: Medium intense and still quite complex. Seems a bit tighter and more put together then yesterday. Still has hints of juicy green bell pepper, some blackberries with hints of black currants. Today reminds me a bit of a nice Bordeaux.  Hints of  worn leather and minerals.

Palate: Blackberries and green bell peppers immediately with black currants on the back end. Medium to medium plus tannins. Some cigar box and none of the bitter notes (only slight) I got yesterday.  Serious wine and for those who love  Bordeaux, you’ll love this. Long fresh finish. Real aging capability here in my opinion. A food wine. Fresh. Wow.

Today the main difference is that the wines have tightened up a bit and seem to be a tad more elegant. I suppose its still to soon to tell!

Sunday August 2nd, 20:48  this wine is at it’s peak today

Appearance: Still dark and serious

Nose: Still mostly dominated by black fruit and green bell peppers but today the fruit stands out more than the peppers. Quite elegant today..

Palate: Lots of black fruit and green peppers. Still quite tannic, but not overpowering. I have to say that  although the fruit is mostly black in character, the wine has a certain freshness you don’t often find in lets say, a Bordeaux.. a very clean wine. Long finish with solid tannins. Again, really focused and elegant today. The best day so far for this wine as well. If I had to complain about  anything, perhaps its the acidity.. could it be a tad higher`?? nah.

Monday August 3rd, 23:28

Appearance: No change

Nose: More floral than the previous days. The green peppers have mellowed to the background. Blackberries and black currants with an underlying lift of cool fresh fruit.

Palate: Green peppers still on the palate with really solid, lovely tannins carrying the wine to a really long, fresh, slightly bitter finish.. Still quite impressive. Really starting to love this wine’s complexity. It’s not common to  find a wine with this firm of a tannin structure, yet remain this fresh, light and low in alcohol..

Tuesday August 4th, 00:31

Appearance: No change

Nose: The green bell peppers have resurfaced. Blackberries and currants with floral undertones. Some red fruit lifting the wine

Palate: Tannins quite heavy today which coat the whole mouth. Green peppers and black fruit with a slightly bitter finish. Very Bordeaux like today, but the freshness slightly lacking today

Wednesday August 5th, 17:35

Appearance: No change

Nose: Still has the sweet green bell peppers and blackberries and black currants. Hints of red fruit, especially plums to help lift the wine.  No signs of oxidation.

Palate: Still quite Bordeaux like. Still has the green bell peppers dominating with blackberries. Tannins a bit more settled today.  Still drinking quite well.  Slightly bitter on the finish.

Thursday August 6th, 23:54

Appearance: No change

Nose: Slightly oxidized sweet green peppers. This is the most oxidized wine so far. Some black currants.  Not very expressive tonight.

Palate: A little volatile tonight. Still has the Bordeaux thing going on. Blackberries and green peppers with medium plus tannins. Slightly oxidized. Not very exciting tonight. Done.

Even though this wine didn’t hold up as well as the Pineau d’Aunis or Gamay, it was a great wine and a great substitute for those of you who are craving a Bordeaux-like wine.

I realize that I mentioned Bordeaux over and over again in my tasting notes. The reason I did this is perhaps because I have been in discussions lately with some close friends and fellow wine enthusiasts about why I don’t have a single Bordeaux title on my restaurant wine list.  Although I won’t go into all the reasons why I don’t, I will just say that I feel the “average” Bordeaux drinker will enjoy this wine.  🙂

Cuvée Gamay 2008 12% Alcohol – synthetic cork

Friday July 31st, 2009 16:45 (4:45pm)

Appearance: Darker then expected color for a Gamay.  Just barely see-through, almost opaque.   Red with purple highlights. Medium intense glow. Clean

Nose: Jumped out of the glass. High intensity. Pepper, black and red berries with hints of leather. Some dark stone fruit like plums. Hints of cocoa powder. Very fruity

Palate: Typically correct Gamay with spice, pepper, black and red berries also on the palate.   Great structure and mild tannins with medium plus acidity. Quite fresh. Although the alcohol is barely noticeable, the structure is that of a wine with higher alcohol.  Long, serious finish.. Have I found a replacement for L’Ancien??  Just 2 minutes in the glass and the tannins are becoming tighter which I personally love. Nice.

Saturday August 1st, 2009 14:21 (2:21pm)

Appearance: No change

Nose: A bit more mellow than yesterday, intensity medium plus. Classic Gamay nose with spice and red berries dominating today with hints of blackberry in the background. The leather and cocoa powder were there but to a lesser degree. Sweet cranberry and red licorice

Palate: Leaning more to the red berries today, raspberries and cranberries with pepper notes in the background. More serious and more elegant than yesterday. Although I enjoyed all the aromas yesterday, today they felt more united. Tannins were still mild, but gripped and held elegantly for at least 10 seconds or more. Nice long finish.  Very fresh. Don’t feel the alcohol.

Sunday August 2nd, 2009 20:48 (8:48pm) – This wine is at it’s peak today

Appearance: No change

Nose: still quite intense and peppery.  Same aromas as the previous days with the raspberries and cranberries with hints of darker fruit giving this wine some depth while remaining fresh. Pepper still dominates, but not overpowering

Palate: Very sweet fruit today. Sweet red licorice at first with ripe raspberries and pepper on the finish.  Mineral. Really drinking well today . Very typical (good) Gamay and fast becoming one of my top red grapes. Mild but gripping tannins with a ripe fruit finish. Very focused.   Just like the (Pineau d’Aunis) Rosé, the noticeable improvement on this wine tonight is the  focused fruit.. wow.

Monday August 3rd, 2009 23:28 (11:28pm)

Appearance: No Change

Nose: Again sweeter fruit. Red fruit dominating with less pepper than on previous days. Some underlying dark fruit like  blackberries. Sweet red licorice with hints of cranberries.  Some hints of watermelon emerging

Palate: Really red fruit driven with cranberries dominating and the tannins also stepping up. The wine is still very fresh and the acidity is really driving the wine today, but not overpowering it. Really intensely ripe fruit. Still very nice today.. Yummy.  Hints of bitterness on the finish with some minerals.

Tuesday August 4th, 2009 00:31 (12:31am)

Appearance: No change

Nose: pepper stepping up with underlying red fruit.  Hints of blackberries. Wild berries.  Floral hints as well.  Still has quite a pretty nose.

Palate: Like the Pinea d’Aunis Rosé, alcohol a tad more noticeable today. Good structure with mostly red fruits and pepper with hints of oxidation starting to show, although very slight. A tad bitter on the finish

Wednesday August 5th, 2009 17:35 (5:35pm)

Appearance: No change

Nose: Still pretty. Today the flowers are dominating.  Red and wild berries.  Pepper overtones.

Palate: Still very drinkable. Seems a bit more focused again today. A bit better than yesterday. Barely noticeable oxidation. Mostly red fruits on the palate and hints of pepper and mineral. Bitter finish. Still very drinkable.

Thursday August 6th, 2009 23:54 (11:54pm)

Appearance: No change

Nose: A bit darker tonight. Spicy blackberries. Tanbark (or pencil shavings) showing tonight.  Hints of Cocoa. No volatility

Palate: Nice. Cocoa and tannins taking the show. Blackberries on the finish with a hint of spice. Still has great length and freshness. Very, very slight oxidation on the palate, but still very drinkable. Really enjoying this wine tonight.

In summary, if you like fresh and light wines with hints of spice and dominating red fruit, this is a great wine. Well made and can go with many foods ranging from cheeses to fish and chicken. Another very stable and well-made wine from the Clos Roche Blanche Domaine.