Denver Food & Wine Classic on Sunday, Aug. 26th

Re-published from Denver Food & Wine Classic website:

Southern Wine & Spirits of Colorado and the Colorado Restaurant Association Education Fund are pleased to present the 3rd Annual Denver Food & Wine Classic presented by US Foodservice, the largest single-day food and wine tasting experience in Denver. Join more than 3,500+ food and wine enthusiasts on Sunday, August 26th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the Pepsi Center grounds for a tasting of more than 300 featured wines, spirits, and cuisine from over 30 of Denver’s finest restaurants, wine auction, steel chef competition and culinary demonstrations.

The goal of this event is to help raise funds for the Post-News Charities, the Colorado Restaurant Association Education Fund, and a new beneficiary this year, Kroenke Sports Charities, (Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids, Pepsi Center, CityLights Pavilion, Paramount Theatre), which provides fitness, education and recreation programs to thousands of children throughout the metro area each year. The Denver Food & Wine Classic hopes to raise more than $150,000 this year.

2003 Chateau Joanin Becot

Wine: Ch. Joanin Becot

Appellation: Cotes De Castillon, Bordeaux

Winemaker: Sophie Porquet and Jean-Philippe Fort

Estimated Cost: $23

A few weeks ago I received an email from a reader named Chip which read, "Gee, Brad. Those wines sound great, but what about wines for cheap-asses like me?" Well, Chip... here is a great wine for a cheap-ass like you. Chateau Joanin Becot is located in Cotes de Castillon, which is an up and coming, but not widely known region of Bordeaux. Cotes de Castillon was not included in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. In fact, it was not even a recognized Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée until 1989. Situated in the Right Bank just east of St. Emilion, Cotes de Castillion has become a hot spot for young, talented, entrepreneurial winemakers hoping to start their own labels. Real estate prices in the Medoc are cost prohibitive for such ventures partly due to the increasing trend of large corporations gobbling up established chateaux.

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the most common varietals grown in Cotes de Castillon, but Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petite Verdot are grown there as well. The wines vary in quality, but the good ones are often great values as they are much less expensive than wines of similar quality from other regions. The 2003 Joanin Becot is a fine example of the value to which I am referring. I love throwing this wine into the mix during blind tastings because it is guaranteed to pick off a few wines two and three times its price. Okay... I will admit the "Miracle on Ice" reference is a bit of a stretch, but this is still a damn good bottle of wine for under twenty-five bucks!

Tasting Notes: Dark, inky purple to the rim. Medium body, lots of ripe fruit with notes of plum, blueberry, blackberry and vanilla. 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc. Very nice structure suggesting this wine will improve with a little bit of age. Oak and tannins present, but integrated. Although very showy, opulent and hard to resist now, this wine should be a real beauty with just a few more years in the cellar. It is imperative to decant this wine a few hours before consumption. 91 points. Find it

Boulder Food & Wine Festival a Success

Organizers, participants and attendees should be commended for helping to make Sunday's inaugural Boulder Food and Wine Festival a grand success. The festival included samples from some of Boulder's finest restaurants and wines from about twenty Colorado wineries. I was there early in the day, and attendance appeared to be very strong. The Daily Camera estimated attendance at about 2,000 people, which I do not believe to be exaggerated. Some of the highlights were Mateo's prosciutto and olives, Q's peach cobbler, a delicious veggie flatbread served by The Kitchen, and Aji had people lining up for seconds of their shrimp ceviche. The wines from Colorado have a long way to go before they can compete with wines from more prominent regions, but I didn't see anyone leaving the festival dissatisfied with the event. Boulder's food and wine scene is definitely coming of age, and the festival's impressive attendance shows the city's potential for more events like this. I just hope next year they'll be a little more accepting of Boulder's heritage and let me use the same entrance as everyone else.

Boulder Food & Wine Festival this Sunday

Don't forget that the inaugural Boulder Food and Wine Festival is this Sunday, August 12 at Central Park in Boulder. If you are wondering where Central Park in Boulder is you are not alone. I have lived in Boulder for 17 years, and I was wondering the same thing. It turns out that the park with the band shell at the southeast corner of Canyon and Broadway has a name! The festival, which will feature Colorado wines along with creations from some of Boulder's finest chefs, runs from 12pm to 5pm. It will be a great opportunity for those of us who have not sampled many Colorado wines to see what this budding wine region has to offer. For more information visit Boulderwinefest.com. See you there!

1996 Chateau Lagrange, Saint Julien

I really had no intention of opening up this bottle anytime soon, but in a response to a reader's comment regarding my review of the 1996 Leoville Barton I recommended the '96 Lagrange as a close second for about 40% less. Since it had been about four years since I tasted this wine, I figured I should taste it again to confirm that my memory has served me well. Unfortunately, my memory for this wine was about as good as Alberto Gonzales' memory of his own role in the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Ruby red, lots of wood on the nose with hints of red fruit, cigar box and leather. Although very good, it lacks the depth and complexity of the '96 Barton. The tannins feel as if they are predominately from the oak, and it is a bit thin and has a short finish. Lots of earthy notes as well, and although the '96 Lagrange isn't all that funky, here is a great shot of Bootsy anyhow. 88 points. find it