PANGAEA-- THE LIQUID SUPERGROUP

It takes a very special wine to knock my socks off like this one did.

Pangaea-- "all lands" or "all-earth" in Greek-- is the name given to the Earth's erstwhile super-continent, the single land-mass comprised of all the present-day continents. It existed from approximately 335 to 175 million years ago before breaking apart due to continental drift. The wine called Pangaea is sourced from four different continents, unifying anew in its heavy bottle the geologic essences of North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.

A bottle of the PANGAEA 2015 red wine blend was recently gifted to me by a college fraternity brother at our annual summer reunion. It was the most delicious wine I've tasted in many decades, and-- as I learned upon researching it-- accordingly expensive.

For context and contrast, let us recall the 1978 La Tâche described in detail in our essay BOTTLED FREAKING HEAVEN. A French 100% Pinot Noir of lofty repute, La Tâche is a highly prestigious, single-owner ("monopole") Grand Cru vineyard in the village of Vosne-Romanée in the French region of Bourgogne, a.k.a. Burgundy. The La Tâche vineyard is world-famous for its unique soil & microclimate, biodynamic farming, and meticulous winemaking, all of which conspire to consistently yield opulent, full-bodied, and complex wines. As a result, La Tâche is among the most valuable and collectible wines in the world.

Dear reader, under penalty of perjury I hereby attest that the 2015 Pangaea is equal in utter deliciousness to that 1978 La Tâche... and yet these two wines are polar opposites in two important respects.

GRAPE VARIETY-- VARIETALS VS. BLENDS

Contrary to currently common misuse, the term "varietal" indicates a wine crafted entirely (or at least mostly) from a single grape variety and labeled as such. (One grows VARIETIES but bottles VARIETALS. I've been fighting this losing linguistic battle for decades.) Under long-established U.S. alcohol law, wine labeled by its grape variety must be comprised at least 75% thereof; and thus "varietal" labeling often denotes full or near purity of variety. But wait-- the great wines of Bordeaux are typically blends of up to FIVE grape varieties, right? Blends that can mitigate the consequences of, say, September rains that spare the early-ripening Merlot but waterlog the later-ripening Cabernets... or, in good vintages and bad, simply afford a skilled cellermaster the opportunity to create a wine that is not only of consistent style, but also greater than the sum of its individual components.

In the 1980's we started seeing Californian "Bordeaux Blends." They called these blends "Meritage" wines because under existing wine law and beneath the 75% threshold, they could otherwise only label it as "Red Table Wine" and they wanted a fancier-sounding, more marketable moniker. And once the imaginary barrier of varietal purity was thus breached, it was only a matter of time before we, the infantry of restaurant sommeliers and retail wine merchants, were regularly peddling such high-end steakhouse Meritage staples as CAIN FIVE-- a Napa Valley blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

And so, while that 1978 La Tâche was, like most grand cru Bourgognes Rouges, crafted purely from the Pinot Noir variety (and even a solitary clone thereof), the 2015 Pangaea is, like Cain Five, a blend of FIVE Bordeaux varieties. But wait-- there's more!

Location, location, LOCATION!

TERROIR

If the realtor above is listing a penthouse on swanky Park Avenue, she'll darn well say so right up front. And yet she might casually describe a property north of 110th Street as simply "Manhattan," or the address of a place over in Brooklyn as "The Big Apple," and likely something right over the river in Jersey as "mere minutes from downtown." With wine, as with real estate, location matters... and sales-driven wineries and realtors alike describe their inventory in the most flattering terms possible.

Terroir-- a French term with no concise English equivalent-- more or less connotes a set of climatic and geological qualities unique to a specific parcel of real estate. We professional wine mavens have long been conditioned to believe that the greatest wines of the world evince a "sense of place," and the smaller the place, the better the wine and higher the price. (The La Tâche vineyard, for instance, covers a mere 15 acres.)

But then along comes this 2015 Pangaea, comprised of FIVE different grape varieties from FIVE different countries in FOUR different continents. When this bottling was announced, the concept flew squarely in the face of all theretofore accumulated wine wisdom... and wine critics worldwide almost universally ridiculed and condemned the idea before ever tasting a drop, as if the result was sure to be a jumbled, muddled mess of a wine... a liquid TOWER OF BABEL.

But the critics were wrong... what we actually got was a liquid supergroup.

ENTER THE SUPERGROUP

What, exactly, is a SUPERGROUP? Let's go with this-- a purpose-built rock-n-roll (or country) band comprised of known stars from either existing groups or of established solo renown. Here's the short list of my favorite supergroups with my favorite songs of theirs--

CREAM

Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds), Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce (The Graham Bond Organisation.)

My Favorite Cut-- WHITE ROOM

THE HIGHWAYMEN

Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, & Waylon Jennings.

My Favorite Cut-- SILVER STALLION

EMERSON, LAKE, & PALMER

Keith Emerson (the Nice), Greg Lake (King Crimson), & Carl Palmer.

My Favorite Cut-- FROM THE BEGINNING

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, & YOUNG

Graham Nash (The Hollies), Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield), David Crosby (The Byrds),

& Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield.) My Favorite Cut-- TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS

Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra),

& George Harrison (The Beatles.) My Favorite Cut-- END OF THE LINE

If experienced and accomplished musicians from different worlds as in the above examples can artistically coalesce and make fabulous music, then why can't grape varieties? The bold experiment proceeded, and the result, as with this legendary 2004 Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame jam session, was absolutely magical. Due to the exorbitant price ($500/bottle upon release) and limited production (2250 bottles for the entire world) actual tasting notes of the 2015 Pangaea are scant, so I'll go ahead and offer mine--

In my mind, this wine could have taken two very different directions-- one like that of the NHL All-Stars, supposedly the greatest pro skaters on earth, who nonetheless lost the 1979 Challenge Cup Series to the Soviet National Team; or else like that of the team of scrappy college no-names who performed the “Miracle On Ice” at the USSR's expense in the Olympics barely a year later. I am delighted to report that, like that Rock-n-Roll Hall-of-Fame jam session linked above and the 1980 U.S. hockey team, this 2015 Pangaea managed to showcase the individual brilliance of its components as well as the shimmering, vibrant harmony and synergy of the collective whole.

A decade after its harvest, this wine's acidity was bright and prominent, holding the flavors in place without overpowering them. Although it was surely due in part to my imagination, I thought I could actually taste the five distinct grape varieties-- unctuously ripe black currant from the Cabernet Sauvignon, plummy Merlot, graphite from the Cabernet Franc, sharp and inky Petit Verdot, and the earthy, downright gamy notes of the Malbec.

Yeah, this wine was indeed the œnological equivalent of a supergroup, one enjoying an especially unforgettable night onstage. The perfect food match? I'd pair this with a fantastic ribeye from your iron pan (rather than the charcoal grill) or maybe the Rack of Farm-Raised New Zealand Venison that I recently ordered, roasted to rosy-pink within.

If all this discussion about a wine priced like a monthly car payment has you thirsty for a more affordable red Bordeaux blend, you won't find much for less than a full Benjamin... with one notable exception-- Beaulieu Vineyard "Tapestry".

For sixty bucks BV Tapestry gives you all five Bordeaux varieties skillfully blended by a venerable Napa winery that was among the earliest producers to plant the flag for world-class Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. Highly recommended!

NOTES:

Heartfelt gratitude to my dear friend and fraternity brother MikeH. for his unbelievable generosity.

Here's something I've shamelessly lifted from some European website describing the five Bordeaux varieties and what each contributes to the 2015 Pangaea--

CABERNET SAUVIGNON-- The Backbone of Bordeaux

Cabernet Sauvignon gives most red Bordeaux its backbone, yielding deep violet wines with powerful tannins and endless ripening potential. It is the top dog in Médoc and is the main component of all five premier crus of Bordelais. When young, it often appears strict and unapproachable, but with advancing years its tannins round off. It is wonderfully velvety, and yet always maintains its freshness. Signature flavours include cassis, graphite and cedar. Wherever Cabernet Sauvignon is found, Merlot is not far away, as it complements the robust structure of Cabernet with softness, fruit, and richness. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most-exported vine in the world. It delivers persuasive qualities in Italy as an ingredient of the Super Tuscans, and is also the flagship variety from California. It also performs well in Australia. Meat fans should be aware that it fantastically accompanies a grilled entrecôte (a ribeye, in English.) The family tree of Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps a bit surprising-- its parents are Cabernet Franc and the WHITE Sauvignon blanc.

MALBEC-- New Home, New Fortune

Malbec once belonged to the classic assortment of varieties from Bordeaux; however, it was demanding to cultivate in the changeable climate of the Bordelais, and it often became green and herbaceous. So winemakers mostly replaced it with Merlot in the middle of the 20th century. Luckily, Malbec has found a happy new home in Argentina. In 1868, a Frenchman brought the first stocks along to the land of the Andes. Today Malbec is the most-planted variety there, especially in Mendoza where it yields very dark, well-structured wines with aromas of black fruit, violets and wild game that call out for a great Argentinean steak. Malbec has its origins in Cahors in southwestern France, where it is cultivated today under the name Cot. Due to their earthy tannins, in the middle ages the growths from this area were also called "the black wines of Cahors."

MERLOT-- Everybody’s Darling

Merlot is the most charming member of the Bordeaux family, as a secondary blending component on the Left Bank and in a more prominent role across the Gironde. At full ripeness Merlot shines with rich colour, fragrant fullness, velvety tannins, and sweet, plummy fruit. It even makes itself easy for the vintner, as it matures without issue in cool years in contrast to Cabernet Sauvignon. At over 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) it is the most-planted grape in France. It also covers large areas in California, Italy, Australia, and recently in Eastern Europe. Pure Merlot can lack substance, and only the best examples improve with maturity, developing complex notes of leather and truffles.

PETIT VERDOT-- Bordeaux’s Secret Weapon

It is commonly said that the Petit Verdot originated in Bordeaux. However, it is genetically closer to a group of vines from near the Pyrenees, which are most likely descended from the wild Clematis variety. In French, these wild plants are called “lambrusques,” and the Petit Verdot is also known under the synonym Lumbrusquet. Rarely bottled alone, Petit Verdot wine in itself is notably dark and spicy with hints of cassis and graphite, plenty of robust tannins, and strong acidity. Most major Bordeaux wines contain at least a small proportion of Petit Verdot. It is accordingly valued wherever wines are produced according to the Bordeaux formula. In California Petit Verdot covers its largest amount of acreage worldwide. And finally, its name is derived from “vert,” as in green, because in cool weather it tends to form small, seedless green grapes.

CABERNET FRANC-- Forefather of the Bordeaux Varieties

Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest varieties of the Bordelais and is a parent of three other red grapes in the Bordeaux assortment: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the seldom-seen Carmenère. It is distinguished by its complex bouquet of raspberry, graphite, violet, liquorice, and white pepper. In addition, it presents round, crisp tannins that turn out somewhat more softly than those of Cabernet Sauvignon. While the Cabernet Franc always appears in Bordeaux as part of a blend, it is pressed alone in the Loire region, where the most renowned appellations are Chinon and Bourgueil. Cabernet owes its name to the Latin “carbon,” meaning black.