More: “Dry” Gwen’s lessons learned | Dispatches from “Sweet” | Festival scores a touchdown

Our weekend at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival offered ample opportunity to try great wine. From $9 Patch Block Merlot to $330 Louis Roederer Cristal, there was certainly something to please every palate and price point. Here’s a look at some of our favorites:

From Dry:

Pommery Rosé Apanage
I can’t think of a better way to start my SoBe experience than at a tasting of Pommery Rosé champagnes. “We are not selling wine,” said Nathalie Vranken, head of Marketing for Vranken-Pommery Monopole, “we are selling you dreams, emotions and memories.” Amen, sister.

What struck me most about all of Pommery’s rosés was their delicate pale color and never-ending finish. I especially liked the Rosé Apanage, which had a slightly more pinkish hue than the other salmon-colored roses. The Apanage had a lovely nose of light raspberries and strawberries. On the palate, those delicate berry flavors balanced with a bright acidity and the finish – when I finally got to it – was clean and dry.

Pommery Cuvée Louise Rosé 2000
The Cuvée Louise is Pommery’s most prestigious rosé. It wasn’t just a champagne, it was an experience.

The champagne had the color of pale peaches in the glass and an aroma of honeysuckle, sweet peaches and melon. On the palate, this was a full, luxurious, mouth-coating wine. It had an amazing balance of sweet, ripe fruits and a rich creaminess pierced by an arrow-like acidity on the mid-palate. It was decadent and opulent, like wearing pearls and silk in some far-away fairy-tale castle. It truly was the stuff of dreams, with a price tag (av. $300) to match. “If you don’t like Cuvée Louise,” said Champagne Pommery Cellar Master, Thierry Gasco, “I don’t know what I can do.”

Domaine Jean Grivot, Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru “Aux Boudots” 2002
This was one of my favorite wines from the Grivot Burgundy tasting. What I loved the most about this wine was not its complex aromas or flavors, but the way the wine felt on my palate. It was like drinking silk. Match that with sweet dried fruits, warm spices, a lingering smokiness and an aroma that kept revealing more and more with every whiff, and I think you understand why this wine had me spellbound.

Opus One 2004
Opus One is the brainchild of Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi, two of the most influential winemakers in the world. The goal? To make a single wine of the highest quality that reflects the personalities of both men, and to do whatever it takes for the wine to find itself. Current CEO David Pearson likens Opus One to a child of both families. The child inherits the character of both parents, but with time will grow to develop his own personality and style.

If profit were the measure of a great wine, Opus One would certainly be considered a success. A year after the men announced their joint venture, a single case sold for $24,000 at the first Napa Wine Auction. This was the highest price ever paid for a California wine. But Pearson suggests that time and not profit is the true measure of greatness. “When it reaches its 50th or 75th birthday, if it’s still among the best wines of the world, then we can say something.”

The ’04 marks the quarter century since the first vintage of Opus One was created. 2004 was a hot, dry summer that resulted in lower-than average yields and concentrated, intense wines. After tasting through a few of the older vintages, I loved how fresh and powerful this wine was. It reminded me of a hiking trip I took a few years back in Nepal. After a week spent climbing to the wintery altitudes of Annapurna’s base camp, it was time to descend. In two days, I saw the world change from cold, barren mountain-scapes to lush, green, springtime forests. It was like watching the world come back to life.

After the older vintages, this wine felt vibrant and alive, with all the beauty of youth in its fresh fruits and chewy tannins. And sure, you could tuck this away for years in some dark corner of your cellar, but you could also enjoy it now with some decanting and a hearty meal.

de Ladoucette “Baron de L” Pouilly-Fumé 2005
Laura DePasquale presented this wine during the “Taste like a Master Sommelier” class. We were all convinced it was a New Zealand sauvignon blanc because of the intensity of the citrus aromas. The wine was full of tart, fresh fruits like pink grapefruit, lemon, lime, kiwi and green apple. It had a fresh grassy note, strong acidity and was crisp, dry and refreshing. For those who can’t afford the $100+ price tag, de Ladoucette also makes a nice “non-Baron” Pouilly-Fumé for $40.

Morgadío Albariño 2008, Rias Baixas
For those of you out there enamored with Albariño, this was a really great one. The wine had a lovely zesty aroma of fresh grass and citrus layered with mineral and floral notes. On the palate, the wine was light and dry with strong acidity and fresh, clean finish. It was a great wine to enjoy on its own by the pool, or with fresh seafood.

Pago de Vallegarcia Syrah 2005, Castilla la Mancha
This wine was the surprise of the Spanish wine seminar led by Doug Frost. First of all, I’ve never tried a Spanish syrah. Second, La Mancha isn’t really known for producing higher quality wines.

This wine really created a buzz in the room and I got the feeling it was one of the crowd favorites. I got a lot of warm, toasty baking spices like cinnamon, vanilla and cloves along with deep dark berry fruits. The wine was big and round, yet smooth, with a nice tannic backbone and a long dry finish. It was well worth the $35 suggested retail price.

Lucien Albrecht wines, Alsace
I tasted through a few still wines and two Cremant d’Alsace sparklers from Lucian Albrecht at the Grand Tasting Village on Sunday afternoon. There wasn’t a wine in this line that I didn’t like and I thought they were all especially good values for the price (av. $20).

The ’08 pinot gris was light and fresh with aromas of meadow flowers and sweet apple, a nice balance of acidity and a clean, dry finish. I also loved the Brut Blanc de Blanc, made from 100 percent pinot blanc. It was a very light, soft and refreshing alternative to champagne. The Brut Rosé was also light and refreshing, with bright tart fruits like raspberry, cherry and cranberry, zesty acidity and a dry finish.

Chateau de Pez St. Estèphe 2006
I made a beeline for this wine as soon as I saw it. There was a lovely French man with half of a bottle left and I didn’t see any extras. Woe to anyone who tried to get in my way!

I was surprised to find only one village-specific Bordeaux in the Grand Tasting Village. Though I was wishing for more, Chateau de Pez did a great job in representing the region. The wine had that “jump-in-the-glass-and-do-a-lap-or-two” kind of nose. Cranberry, currant, dried cherry, toasty oak, and lovely, dark French dirt. It was earthy as earthy gets, and I loved it. On the palate, the wine was medium-bodied and very dry with firm tannins and a long finish. Give me that bottle and some stinky cheese and I’m a happy girl!

Bodegas Caro Amancaya Malbec/Cab 2008, Mendoza
This 50/50 blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon is the result of another beautiful friendship between two great wine families, Domaines Barons de Lafite Rothschild and Nicolas Catena. The partnership formed in 1998 and the first vintage of CARO (CAtena ROthschild) was produced in 2000. A few years later, the partnership decided to produce a second wine with a higher-percentage of Malbec and stronger Argentine identity. They called the wine Amancaya, named after the Andean mountain flower.

This is a full, luscious wine with deep dark fruits like plum and blackberry and black cherry. The wine is fruit-forward and decidedly New World in style, but supported by round toasty tannins. It could certainly stand up to a hearty Argentine asado, and at $15 a bottle, it also wins my vote for best value wine.

Loire Valley Wines
The Loire Valley is my white wine equivalent to Bordeaux reds in that it’s rare that I find one I don’t like. There were a bunch of nice whites at this table. My two favorites were the ’07 de Ladoucette Pouilly-Fumé and the ’08 Domaine Fournier Sancerre.

Both were crisp, dry wines with tart citrus flavors and zesty acidity. I got more of the grapefruit side of citrus in the Pouilly-Fumé and more lemon and herbs in the Sancerre. Either way, you gotta love the Loire.

Belle Glos Meomi Pinot Noir 2008
I’ve tried this yummy pinot from Belle Glos before and it always makes me smile. It’s a lush, fruity wine with pungent dark berries, medium body, soft tannins and a smooth finish.

Cosentino Wines
This was another table I decided to hang out at for a while because all of the wines were so good! I tried four different wines at four different price points and would recommend any and all of them.

Mitch Cosentino has been making unique, high quality wines in California since the early 1980′s. He’s widely recognized as the pioneer behind the California Meritage, releasing the 1986 vintage of “The Poet” in 1989. “The Poet” was the first American Bordeaux-style blend licensed and designated as “Meritage”. More than 200 wineries have added a Meritage-style wine to their portfolio in the years since.

The ’06 sangiovese was a fantastic value at $16. The wine was full of pungent, sweet berries like raspberry, blackberry and ripe cherry. It was light/med-bodied on the palate with soft tannins.

At $20, the ’04 Legends Cabernet Sauvignon was another excellent value coming out of Sonoma. I got lovely dark fruit aromas like blackberry, blueberry and plum, with a nice spice element. On the palate, the wine was medium bodied with a long, dry finish.

The ’05 Cabernet Sauvignon blends 78 percent cab with small amounts of other Bordeaux varietals. It was a step up in complexity from the Legends cab, displayed lovely aromas of cranberry, currant and black cherry, med/full-bodied, with firm tannins. A good cab at the $30 price point.

The ’05 Cosentino The Poet Meritage was really the crown jewel. What a wine! It definitely qualified for a “jump-in-the-glass” aroma full of deep, dark fruits like plum and black currant, vanilla, cinnamon and mocha. On the palate, the wine was full and ever so smooth, with well-integrated tannins and a lingering, chocolaty finish. I’d drink this everyday if I could, but at $60/bottle, it’s something can only afford once in awhile for a special occasion.

A few from Sweet:

Louis Roederer Cristal 1995
I tried seven different vintages of Cristal and I kept returning in glee to this one. It had a lovely nose, perfumey and absolutely incredible. It was extremely elegant and soft, toasty, very creamy and luscious. It was the silkiest, softest champagne I’ve ever had. I would love to have this wine be a part of my life but at retail of more than $330 a bottle this seems unlikely.

Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, barrel sample 2008
This stunning wine was an incredible drinker now, so I can’t wait to try it in a few years from now. It had the firmest, loveliest tannins, a finish that haunted my thoughts minutes later and a suppleness and roundness that was completely unexpected in such a young wine. The winemaker, Jeffrey Stambor, admitted that it was “almost a little scary to me because it’s so good.”

I had also loved the 1997 vintage, a beautiful, intense, supple, silky smooth wine. Both of these wines were the stuff of dreams.

~ Sweet and Dry