Saturday, September 29, 2007
Food, Travel
Big Sur—a feast for the eyes and palate
The panegyric continues on the “California Saga/Big Sur,” as Mike Love belts out a soulful tune, a melodious gem amidst the Beach Boys delicious, ponderous, if occasionally inconsistent, early ’70s ou...
Escape the ATL to the meeting of cloud and sea at Big Sur.
CREDIT: Phineas Mollod |
By Phineas Mollod
“Cashmere hills filled with evergreens / Flowin’ from the clouds down to meet the sea… Big Sur, I’ve got plans for you / Me and mine are going to / Add ourselves to your lengthy list of lovers….” And the panegyric continues on the “California Saga/Big Sur,” as Mike Love belts out a soulful tune, a melodious gem amidst the Beach Boys delicious, ponderous, if occasionally inconsistent, early ’70s output.
Big Sur is a stretch of craggy coastline of 89 miles along California’s central coast Route 1, from Carmel to San Simeon. If metro Atlanta traffic gives you that squeezy feeling, perhaps it’s time to take a flight to the land of vast, vertiginous vistas, where even the undisturbed rosy patches of poison oak look pretty. Besides Pfeiffer Beach’s spectacular rock formations and whirling white eddies, the hiking trails and coves of Point Lobos or Julia Pfeiffer Burns state parks, the utter relaxation of having breakfast at the cliff side Café Kevah, at Nepenthe (from the Greek meaning “removing all sorrow”), and the breathtaking views from Route 1 that force drivers to veer off and ogle the scenery, it’s California, which means even the mellowest café has a killer wine list.
Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn (48865 Highway 1, Big Sur), is an historic compound just down the road from Henry Miller’s old place, and emanates an enchanted vibe of low-key comfort amidst the imposingly cool redwoods; the old cabins may have paper-thin walls allowing you to hear your neighbor’s every footprint, but the wine list is thick with local selections. Over entrees of lamb medallions and grilled local fish in an intimate, old wood planked dining room, a 2005 Paul Matthew TNT Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley (RRV) was poured.
Established in 1983, the RRV is an American viticultural area in Sonoma County, located 50 miles north of San Francisco and about 10 miles from the Pacific. It is best known for its cool coastal fog climate that moderates ripening, heightens acidity, and allows for brisk, sharp varietals that show off their qualities like a peahen at a lowland stag party. The area principally produces the classic tango partners, pinot noir and Chardonnay, and boasts over 90 wineries, 250 growers, and approximately 15,000 planted vineyard acres. In 2005, following a spot of May rain during bloom which soured some grapes, the valley had a favorably cool growing season that allowed for steady maturation, with no late season heat spike that would have forced harvest before the grapes have reached optimum ripeness and acidity.
The 2005 Paul Matthew (14.3 percent alcohol by volume or ABV) had a generous nose of dark fruit, violet, red currant and raspberry, a medium-light body, with hints of earthy mushroom and pomegranate on the palate. On the whole, it was an attractive wine with soft tannins, though the finish offered a slight youthful bite. To see how good the 2005s were from the other end of the grape, upon return from Big Sur, I obtained a bottle of the Lynmar Chardonnay 2005 (ABV 14.2 ABV), which offered a golden straw color, a vibrant, beautiful subdued honey, and a perfumed nose, boasting citrus zest, crystallized ginger, foggy earth, ripe pear. The sleek wine had more relation to its Burgundy cousins than to an oaked-out California Chardonnay, with a tight balance of manageable oakiness and refreshing acidity.
Incidentally, sometimes it’s not the quality of the wine, but how good the company or the sunshine or the view activates the brain’s pleasure center. While sitting on the porch at Rocky Point (Hwy. 1, 10 miles south of Carmel) eating a Dungeness crab salad and gazing at the gorgeous blue tidal pools and tree-lined cliffs from my own special tableclothed aerie, it was no matter that I was sipping a light, ordinary Kenwood sauvignon blanc … it was perfect. SP
Phineas and his usual Wine & Spirits cohort, Jason Tesauro, are the authors of “The Modern Gentleman” and “The Modern Lover.” E-mail them at booze@sundaypaper.com.