Palmer Emmitt

Recently I had the privelege of hosting an informal wine tasting for a friend raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I chose as the theme for the evening to explore the difference between old world and new world wine styles. It was a raucous affair, with lively debates ensuing as people's palates were evenly divided between the old and the new, the earthy and the fruity, the restrained and the bomby. I highly recommend recreating this little exercise on your own, and maybe even taking it a step further and tasting the wines blind...

As the event was for charity, I kept all the wines around $10 per bottle, picking a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc to match up against one from Chile, and a Syrah-dominant Côtes du Rhône to do battle with a California version of that varietal. Below are the remarks I made introducing the theme, as well as the line-up of wines I chose with my tasting notes. Enjoy and please report back with your own results and ideas for other Old World-New World head-to-heads!

When people in the wine trade talk about “Old World” wines they generally are referring to wines made in Europe, but they can also be talking about a style of wine originating in traditional wine regions such as those in France and Italy. The philosophy of wine making in these venerated areas is centered on two major tenets. First, the wines are to be enjoyed at meal time so they must pair well with foods. Second, the wines should be unique to the place which they are from and express in some way the local terroir – i.e. soil, climate, character. Because of this, Old World wines many times taste earthier and can be said to be more complex in flavor than their New World counterparts, but are not always as smooth or delicious on their own.

The wine producers of the “New World” – mainly the U.S. and Australia, but also up and coming regions such as South Africa, South America and New Zealand – have historically been more focused on how their wines will fare in the marketplace. They aim to achieve consistency across vintages so that the casual wine consumer knows what to expect from individual brands and regions. To appeal to this casual consumer, New World wine makers also focus on expression of fruit flavors, many times bombastically so, and use oak more liberally to accentuate that fruit, mask imperfections, and soften tannins. The resulting wines are more concentrated in their flavors and easy-drinking, but can sometimes be one-dimensional or imbalanced.

Are these hard and fast rules? Definitely not, there are no absolutes in the world of wine – notice my use of the words ‘generally,’ ‘many times,’ ‘historically,’ ‘sometimes,’ and ‘can be’ in the paragraphs above. There are ‘fruit bombs’ being made in parts of the Old World such as Spain, and delicately balanced wines from Oregon and other New World regions. Most intriguingly, as the modern wine industry matures, wines are being made everywhere with elements of both styles – the Syrah of Washington state, the Sauvignon Blanc of New Zealand, and the blends from both the Languedoc region of France and the Priorat region of Spain all come to mind. The key is to always try new things regardless of your pre-conceived notions, and to recognize that there is a time and a place for each and every style of wine.

Old School Wines

2006 Patient Cottat Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, France - A citrusy, nutty, custardy nose leads to a palate of blue stone and clean lime with acid for days. A well-balanced, restrained old world effort.

2007 Delas Freres Côtes du Rhône “St-Esprit”, France - A lighter bodied Syrah (75%, the balance is Grenache) with nice, pure black cherry, subtle spice, minerals and gripping acidity. A toffee flavor even creeps in to this complex, unbelievable value of a wine.

New School Wines

2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc “Reserva” Casablanca Valley, Chile - Huge grapefruit explosion pairs with grassy notes, while the ample acid provides a pleasant, cleansing mouth-feel. For some people the grass was really pronounced and even hay-like, dominating the flavor profile.

2007 Los Padres Syrah Central Coast California - A mélange of delicious juicy berry flavors fill your mouth while sipping this smooth, uncomplicated wine. While the fruit was thought to be a bit 'fake' for some, unlike many new world bombs the alcohol was under control.