© 1997 JDM Enterprises
JEKEL REVISITEDby Jerry D. MeadBack in February, Jekel's 1991 Meritage Red won a gold medal, thereby attracting my attention. One retailer acquaintance ordered 200 cases, and I subsequently made it a "Best Buy Wine of the Week." That 1991 Meritage has just about disappeared, but it inspired a look at the rest of the Jekel line to see if there were more bargains lurking in the cellar. Jekel has a new winemaker, viticulturist and general manager...and they're all the same guy, Rick Boyer. Boyer was winemaker for many years at Ventana Vineyards, produces wine under his own "Boyer" label, and once made wine from Central Coast vineyards for E & J Gallo. The current releases are the first to really have the Boyer stamp on them, as both his vineyard practices and winemaking techniques begin to show themselves. Jekel wines have limited production, but broad national distribution. You can track down local retail outlets by contacting the winery: Jekel Vineyards, 40155 Walnut Ave, Greenfield, CA 93927 (408) 674-5522. Jekel 1996 "Monterey" Johannisberg Riesling ($8.50) The first wine Jekel ever released and one of the most popular restaurant wine list Rieslings in America. Bright apple, peach and nectarine fruit flavors, it is truly fun to drink. It's good that Boyer is making it a little drier than it used to be, but we rather miss the tingle of carbonation that was more prevalent in earlier vintages. This one is dry enough to serve with appetizers, many kinds of Asian and other spicy cuisines, and yet fruity enough and sweet enough for casual sipping. Rating: 87/87 Jekel 1995 "California" Merlot ($14) Really tasty plum and cherry flavors. A blend of Monterey, Paso Robles and Mendocino fruit, designed for youthful drinking and immediate pleasure. A great restaurant pour. Rating: 86/92 Jekel 1994 "Arroyo Seco-Sanctuary Estate" Merlot ($16) For the serious Merlot drinker. A wine with much more depth and intensity...enjoyable now, but will benefit from cellaring. Big black cherry flavor and with a very long finish. Makes me want a duck in a not-too-sweet cherry sauce or a rack of lamb. "Best Buy" Rating: 89/90 Jekel 1995 "Monterey" Cabernet Sauvignon ($14) Some berry, lots of earthy-tarry undertones. Mouthfilling; big round tannins. It's tasting a little young at the moment, but six months to a year in the bottle will help and five to ten years cellaring certainly won't hurt. Rating: 85/84 Jekel 1994 "Arroyo Seco-Sanctuary Estate" Malbec ($30) Usually used as a blender to Cabernet Sauvignon or as an ingredient in Meritage reds. As a stand-alone variety, it is intensely fruited with something reminiscent of blueberry and there's some spicy black pepper along with smoky wood flavors in the background. A collectable. Needs cellaring for at least five years. Rating: 90/84 Jekel 1994 "Arroyo Seco-Sanctuary Estate" Petit Verdot ($30) Another blender and another member of the Bordeaux family of red grapes that include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. This one is really big and really, really intense. Tremendous black cherry fruit. It's a little tannic, but there's enough fruit for it to resolve itself with time and it won't offend now if served with the right food. First thing that comes to mind is venison. Nicely wooded; complex earthy, tarry, chocolately finish. Cellar worthy for 10-20 years. It's bigger than the Malbec, but lacks some of its finesse. Rating: 88/82
BEST BUY WINE OF THE WEEK
CALIFORNIA BEING BADThe local alcohol cops got an infusion of money to hire some new people and so now they have to find something to do. They have chosen to dust off some obscure laws that hadn't been enforced in decades and to start making general pains in the nether parts of the anatomy out of themselves. One of them affects consumers directly, one does not. It is legal in California to offer cash discounts on wine, either at the time of sale, or by rebate after the sale. And because wine is so much a part of food and dining, some wineries had started doing clever promotions that emphasized foods and companion products that go with wines. Like instead of giving you $1 off on the wine, the wine would be regular price but a coupon on the bottle would get you $1 of on some recipe ingredient, or on pasta sauce, or maybe for a free pound of Brand X pasta. California's alco-cops say the direct discount is legal, but the tie-in discounts are not. Why? You'll have to ask the "anti anything with alcohol in it" types who wrote these kind of dumb laws at the Repeal of Prohibition back in 1934. Why choose to enforce it now? Sounds like a bureaucracy trying to find enough things to enforce to sustain itself and justify even bigger budgets. The other dumb law they've elected to enforce regards the folks who sell wine. Wholesalers can sample wine to retailers to make a sale. Winery employees can too. But brokers, agents who sell wine for wineries but never actually take possession of it, cannot. Buyers have to taste wine before they invest in it. Brokers have always sampled wine too and no one ever stopped them. Now the alco-cops are threatening to enforce this unfair and unreasonable law. They could put a lot of good business people out of business. Wines are scored using a unique 100 point system. First number rates quality; second number rates value.
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