I received an advance look at "A Good Year," a new movie from Ridley Scott, based on Peter Mayle's book, starring Russell Crowe - and now out in DVD. While I've enjoyed Russell Crowe movies in the past, the main hook here for me was the wine angle - the movie takes place largely in Provence, in the south of France.

Just to spare you the suspense, I'll cut to the chase - I liked the movie very much. In wine parlayance, although it's not particularily complex, it has plenty of interesting attributes and a nice finish. The light-hearted comedic turns were a welcome addition, and the scenery was gorgeous. Finally, I thought they got the 'wine thing' right. The terminology, the descriptions - it all seemed to come together. The only issue I would take with wine lingo in the script, was a response to an allegation that "...they don't make [real] wine in California." The response was "I think Robert Mondavi would take exception to that." Rather than select a person that might have been more cutting edge for use in the retort, it seemed more like the script was seeking safer ground, and in that vein it made things seem less "authentic" to me. I know, I know, one could argue that as the 'Godfather' of the California wine scene, it made plenty of sense to use someone more recognizable. I just thought pulling out a name like Randy Dunn or Tony Soter might have made it more real - well, at least to wine geeks. Other than that, I was listening intently to all of the wine-geek-speak, and thoroughly enjoyed it all.

The movie opens with a young boy named Max playing chess with and older Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) on the patio of his uncle's château and vineyard. At mid-game, Henry is inside fetching a bottle of wine, while stealing glances at Max - presumably to see if he's cheating. Well, Max is doing just that, and has moved a piece into a perfect position to win. Henry re-emerges with two bottles and lets Max chose between them. Approving Max's choice of a '69 Tempier Bandol as a good choice, Henry pops the cork, and proceeds to pour himself a full glass and Max a half glass - to which he adds some water. Nice touch, I thought at the time, as I was familiar with the fact that Europeans have served wine to their children this way for many decades. Henry then shares a few moments of wine wisdom with Max, after which he confronts his nephew with, "and do you have something to tell me," pointedly asking Max to own up to the fact that he moved one of his chess pieces out of turn. "Yes," says Max, moving the piece once more. "Check Mate," he says with a grin. "You little shit," mutters Henry with a wry smile. And with this, we have an early look into Max's personality.

Fast forward to present day, the plot seems faintly familiar, with Crowe playing the part of Max, a London investment banker with a penchant for bending the rules for his own gain. He seems a bit of a prodigy - savvy and smart, and although it's evident that he's in charge of his crew of "lab rats," we immediately see a benevolent side as well. As is often pre-ordained, the wise affable uncle dies and Max appears to be the only living relative to inherit the château and vineyard. Add a local woman as a love interest, and the arrival of a young American girl claiming to be Henry's daughter, and you have the plot.

Those with pre-conceived conclusions about the outcome, should put them aside, relax, and take in the visual of the surrounding Provençale countryside. There are some genuinely funny moments with Max and the other characters, notably Duflot, the vigneron who is also hiding a wine secret. Duflot's wife, and Max's love interest, Marion Cotillard are wonderful, and Abbie Cornish as the American interloper is fascinating - just because you're not sure if she's telling the truth or not.

My wife and both found a lot to like in this movie. Like a nice wine, you don't have to over-analyze things, just enjoy it for what it is - and we did.

Attended a packed tasting at the Wine Gallery, in Corona Del Mar. Winegrower/ winemaker/ philosopher Peter Cargasacchi was on a mini-tour of the southland, and I wanted to re-taste the lineup, as well as visit a bit with Peter.

• 2004 Point Conception 'Santa Barbara' Chardonnay - nice fruit, clean, crisp and very nicely balanced - and only $12! What's not to like?
• 2005 Point Conception 'Esplandia' Rose - supple, with lots of nice meaty background qualities would make this stand up to plenty of dishes - including pasta and shellfish. Blend of 50% each of Syrah Rose and Viognier.
• 2005 Point Conception 'Celestina' Pinot Grigio - hey, this is pink! I figured I'd been poured the wrong wine, but Peter left this 'pinot gris' on the skins for awhile to pick up some color and nuances - and it worked! Nice full mouthfeel, non-intrusive acids and tasty finish.
• 2003 Point Conception 'Salsipuedes' Pinot Noir - a lighter-styled Pinot, with nice cherry-scented nose and ample flavors. Good food wine, but if you want to get more serious, you could try the next two.
• 2005 Cargasacchi 'Santa Barbara County' Pinot Noir - very nice dark cherry and light earth in the nose, very good balance and nice fruity mouthfeel.
• 2005 Cargasacchi 'Santa Rita Hills' Pinot Noir - IMO, this one-ups the SBC bottling, with a little denser aroma and mouthfeel, a more interesting floral and earthy aromas. Rich on the palate and delicious right now, this should be something really nice with a few years of bottle age.
• 2003 Point Conception 'Cuvee Jalama' Syrah - dark berry in both nose and mouth, with interesting floral and herb notes along with bright fruit -- all of which would seem to make this an ideal combo with food. I'd had this wine a couple of years ago, and the difference is amazing. This wine has picked up weight and seemingly volume in mouthfeel, and the flavors are more more expansive from mid-to-latter palate. I hope you saved some of this!
• 2003 Point Conception 'Encantado' Syrah - somewhat darker in color and profile than the Cuvee, with excellent balance, lots of chewy fruit, and very long tasty finish. I asked Peter about these two '03 Syrahs - what happened in the last two years to make this so appealing? He basically said, 'Rookie mistake - I thought I screwed up when I bled off a lot of juice before frementation.' From the outcome, it turns out it's better to be lucky, than good.
• 2004 Point Conception 'Encantado' Syrah - coming on the heels of the previous '03s, I expected a bit of a bigger riper wine - especially given the hot vintage. Wrong. In fact, this was quite understated, with dark berry fruit, vague hints of herb and floral notes, nice mouthfeel and balance, and moderate ripeness. Given how the '03 turned out, this was probably just too early a debut to judge critically.
  

A bunch of us gathered at a local restaurant in Laguna Niguel for our monthly cork-pulling. The theme this time out was any wine from the Santa Lucia Highlands, in Monterey County. So, here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of the situation.

Chardonnay -

• 2002 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chardonnay - Slight oxidized or burnt scent to the nose here, otherwise lemony fruit, decent balance and finish. Has definitely showed better on other occasions.
• 2005 Joullian Chardonnay - Seemingly out-Arcadianed the Arcadian with fresher lemon flavors and good acidity.

Pinot Noir -

• 2000 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir - The herbal, stewed tomato thing here was pretty strong initially, but the wine came around nicely, shedding a lot of the funky aroma and it all seemed to integrate very nicely by the end of the evening.
• 2004 Lucia Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir - Dark berry in nose and mouth, good mouthfeel, spicy finish.
• 2004 August West Rosella's Pinot Noir - Corked! Too bad too, because it was the only Rosella's in attendance.
• 2003 Kosta Browne SLH Pinot Noir - Dark fruit and cake spices in both nose and mouth. The fruit profile seemed more obviously warmer climate, with a sweeter riper presence and finish.
• 2004 AP Vin Garys' Vineyard - Funky initially, I'd hoped this would come around - but didn't show signs of becomming all it could be. Sort of restrained and muted, but with background notes of dark berry and black cherry, nice enought balance and finish.
• 2001 Loring Wine Company Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir - Nice dark cherry with a touch of citrus and spice. Good balance and finish. Last of the wines to be finisihed with cork?

Syrah -

• 2004 Lucia Susan's Hill Syrah - Reaching way down, I foundsome nice tarry and spicy notes to the light licorice-infused dark berry fruit. A little tight on the palate, good mouthfeel, flavors and finish. Could have shown me more - probably a ittle young right now. (As I understand it, this is Pisoni Vnyd stuff - though they don't use the name for anything but Pinot Noir.)
• 2004 Copain Garys' Vineyard Syrah - Not the least bit shy, the Franco-like nose and mouthfeel had me at "hi." Nicely done - not too sweet, not too big - just right dark berry, touch of herb and meat and perfectly balanced finish.
• 2004 Lucia Garys' Vineyard Syrah - It's always Garys', Garys', Garys', Garys'! this seemed to be packed pretty tight and not too forthcoming with aromas or flavors. Dense, that's what I'd have to call it.
• 2005 Leigh Cellars Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Syrah - Okay, now were talking. Lots of background notes to the fascinating wine. Leather, meat, blackberry, blueberry, cake spices - just lovely!
• 2004 (Rhys) Alesia Fairview Ranch Vineyard SLH Syrah - Even better! Beautiful nose of dark berry compote and spice. Rich and chewy mouthfeel, excellent balance and finish. Yowsa!
• 2002 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Syrah - Somewhat funky - bordering on barnyard, yet not too much, this seemed to adda nice dimension or garrigue to this wine, and I'd like to have sat with this a bit longer to compare to the less-funky Copain in a side-by-side.

Cabernet -

• 2003 Lucia Cabernet Savignon - Slight veggie quality in the nose, but not too much IMO, bordering on Cabernet Franc herbaceousness. Nice cassis scent, good fruit throughout, nice balance and finish. Didn't appeal to the Pinotphiles in the room - or many of the Syrahphiles either, for that matter.