For the Oenophile Who Has Everything

On Wine

By MATT KRAMER
December 13, 2006

Among the many traumas I seem to inflict upon my friends and relations, two are noted more than others. One is "I'd be terrified to cook for you." For the record, I'm easygoing as a guest. But I was a food writer for many years and that, like an unflattering school nickname, dogs you forever.

The other involves wine, of course, for pretty much the same reason. "I can't imagine what I could buy you" is the refrain I always hear.

It has to be noted that there's a practical, rather self-serving side to these laments. By blaming the victim, as it were, they're off the hook. Not only do prospective gift-givers save themselves money, but they feel smugly better about themselves in the process. ("Everyone knows that I'm easy to buy for, so it's his own fault that he's so impossible.")

Perhaps you find yourself confronted with a wine lover on your list. He or she seemingly has everything. Worse, they're known to be, ahem, difficult. The gift has got to be wine, but which?

Allow me to be of service. Consider the following suggestions a you-can't-lose wine gift that any wine lover — and I mean any wine lover, no matter how vinously endowed — will be delighted to receive. They won't have either wine in the collection, I promise you.

Here's The (Gift-Giving) Deal [bf]

Tokaji Aszù 6 Puttonyos, Istvan Szepsy [bf] This rich dessert wine from Hungary's fabled Tokaj district (pronounced toe-koy) is one of the world's most extraordinary wines. Tokaji was once arguably the most famous wine in the world, the prerogative of kings and popes. But two world wars and the stultification of communism all but wiped it out.

Today, Tokaj is the Atlantis of the world's wine districts. However, the rise from the depths has been gradual. The Hungarians are still neophytes in wine marketing. For centuries, Tokaj's legendary wine was marketed throughout Europe almost exclusively by the district's large local Jewish population. When Tokaj's Jews, like others in Hungary, were sent to the Nazi death camps in 1944, the winegrowers lost an essential resource that has never been replaced.

The superstar of Tokaj today is Istvan Szepsy. A direct descendant of the first person to write about Tokaji in the early 1600s, Szepsy's Tokaji wine is stunning: intense, creamy, layered with scents of apricots and peaches, as well as hints of dried fruits delivered with refreshing sweetness. There's not much of it, and it's not cheap at between $110 and $260, depending on the vintage.

Vintages matter little in his case; obtaining it is the real challenge. Bur it can be done. Sources include Chambers Street Wines, Zachys, Park Avenue Liquor, and Chelsea Wine Vault.

Renaissance Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon "Vin de Terroir" 1999 [bf] About a year and a half ago I suggested that you pick up the phone and order directly from a California winery an extraordinary cabernet designated "Vin de Terroir." That was Renaissance's 1995 bottling. I later heard from readers telling me how much they liked this extraordinary wine. I myself bought two cases, so I do put my money where my palate is.

If you've never heard of Renaissance, you're in good company. It is very likely the leastknown great cabernet producer in California. The reasons are varied. Partly it's location. Renaissance is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Sacramento. "Isolated" doesn't even begin to capture its remoteness.

Also, Renaissance's winemaking style is not what mainstream critics laud today, which more typically run to lush, oaky, overripe cabernets that leap out in big tastings. Renaissance's style, in comparison, is tight-grained, devoid of oakiness, intense and structured for the long term. No prizes for guessing the general critical response.

However, Renaissance's vineyard is extraordinary. It issues profound cabernets with striking minerality and classic cabernet scents and tastes of plums, black cherry, and leather. These unfurl slowly in the glass, but inexorably. The wine is long gone before you finish sorting out what's on offer.

The latest Vin de Terroir bottling — which is Renaissance's greatest rendition — is the 1999 vintage. A mere 411 cases were produced.

What emerges in the 1999 Vin de Terroir is a lush (for Renaissance) cabernet that practically shovels the minerality up to you in both scent and taste.

Renaissance Cabernet Sauvignon "Vin de Terroir" 1999 sells for $49 direct from the winery. This is a steal compared with what other, often lesser, California cabernets are offered for today. Contact the winery directly at 800-655-3277 or at www.rvw.com.

By the way, the superb 1997 Vin de Terroir is still available at $41. Giving someone both the '97 and '99 vintages of Vin de Terroir would be a swell idea.