Birthday celebration dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse Naperville

Birthday celebration dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse Naperville

Last week we had a birthday celebration dinner with two of our kids and spouses, featured in these pages in this blogpost - Birthday dinner celebration at Petit Vie Western Springs.

 

Tonight, we had another birthday celebration dinner with son Ryan and his family, dining at Morton’s Steakhouse, Naperville for a festive dinner. 

Naturally we ordered steaks, all prepared and presented perfectly, including my special “‘Pittsburgh style’, hot pink center, charred”.

For starters each couple share a wedge salad. 

For sides we ordered the Mashed Potato’s and the spinach and Brussels sprouts. 

I brought BYOB from our home cellar a couple special bottles from which to choose for pairing with dinner. We opted for this premium Washington State Columbia Valley Right Bank Bordeaux Blend. 

Force Majeure Épinette Red Mountain Red Blend 2015

We discovered, tasted and acquired this label while visiting the producer during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2018, which we featured in this blogpost - Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting.

Épinette is Force Majeure's Right-bank Bordeaux-inspired blend, and was named after an avenue in Libourne that leads to Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the home of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Épinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to the locale's in Washington state.

Bordeaux blend in the 'Right Bank' style meaning it is primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

The 2015 is blended in a Pomerol style, 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in the lower areas of the Red Mountain vineyard with its  deep, well-drained soils.

The Red Mountain Right-bank Bordeaux inspired blend, “Épinette,” spent 22 months in 75% new French oak after a long maceration and fermentation in both concrete and stainless steel vats. 

The blend changes each vintage, either being dominated by Merlot or Cabernet Franc, but in 2015 it is driven by Merlot grown in deep, loamy soils found in the heart of our vineyard. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The Force Majeure Épinette was the perfect complement to our aged prime steak dinner, perfectly prepared 'Pittsburgh' style, served with mashed potatoes. 

This release was rated 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, and  90 points by Wine Spectator 

Silky tannin' 'Legs' of Force Majeure Epinette

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant forward black berry, ripe black raspberry and black current fruits with notes of cigar box, mocha chocolate, hints of leather, anise, graphite and spicy oak with gripping but approachable silky tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4507644

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/

https://www.mortons.com/location/mortons-the-steakhouse-naperville-il/#menus

Tonight tasting was consistent with another tasting recently of this same label that we took BYOB at another steak dinner, featured in detail and replayed below. 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/08/vintij-sandestin-food-and-wine-dinner.html

Vin’Tij SanDestin Food and Wine Dinner 

After a fun-filled afternoon of wine paired with foods at Vin’Tij Food & Wine, we booked a table for a follow-on Saturday night dinner. I wrote about that wine tasting in this blogpost - Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin.

The plan was to drink BYOB one of the ultra-premium bottles we purchased in the Vin’Tij Wine Boutique for the occasion.

I write often in these pages about the price charged by restaurants for their wines, often expressed as a function of the retail price of the wine. It is customary that a restaurant charges 2 times the retail price of a wine. Often the restaurant price is 2.5 times or more. 

Establishments that combine a restaurant with a wine retailer provide the best and most economical scenario for the consumer whereby the restaurant price equals near the retail price - a 1:1 ratio. In this scenario, the restaurant is relying solely on the gross margin uplift between the wholesale price paid and the retail price charged the diner. 

Two such establishments exist in Destin, Vin’Tij and also Chan’s Wine World that is connected to and associated with the adjoining Wine Bar restaurants. Diners seeking a food and wine experience can leverage these policies for great value dining. And, they can take the opportunity to upgrade their wine choices with higher premium or ultra-premium wines they otherwise not be able to afford or justify for wine experimentation or appreciation!   

For our Saturday Night Vint’Tij dinner, we were joined by Richard and Victoria, friends and neighbors in our Destin residential community. 

Planning to order grilled beefsteaks for our entrees, I took BYOB a Washington State Columbia Valley Red Bordeaux Blend from Force Majeure. 

This is from Force Majeure Vineyards, originally called Grand Reve, founded in Woodinville, near Seattle, in 2004, a collaboration between businessman Paul McBride and vineyard manager Ryan Johnson who spent a decade managing vineyards in Eastern Washington’s prestigious Red Mountain AVA. 

McBride and his wife Susan then changed the winery name to Force Majeure, and hired winemaker Todd Alexander to oversee winemaking. Alexander was previously winemaker at Bryant Family Vineyard in Napa Valley. 

Jeb Dunnick of Wine Advocate has called Force Majeure “One of my favorite estates in Washington…”

We tasted and acquired this wine during our Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting back in 2018 as featured in these pages, and excerpted below.

One of the inspirations for and objectives of that Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 was to visit Force Majeure vineyards. We first met Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander and marketing, distribution and branding exec Carrie Alexander during the Chicago stop of their promotion tour in 2016 when we hosted them at Italian Village in Chicago. Since then we've acquired a respectable collection of Force Majeure wines, hence, they were one of our shortlist priority visits when we planned our Washington State, Columbia Valley wine trip.

Force Majeure Carrie Alexander and Linda

Following our Woodinville (Washington) tasting experience where we tasted several fabulous  Red Mountain AVA wines, we were targeting there for our first Washington State wine appellation visit. Carrie convinced us to visit Walla Walla and we followed her guidance and were amply rewarded as it was a spectacular wine travel experience. Our Walla Walla AVA visit provided the opportunity to visit a vibrant wine region, meet some legendary winemakers on the Washington wine scene, and still experience the best of Red Mountain appellation wines as well!

Force Majeure have vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA where they grow Rhone varietals on the upper slopes and Bordeaux varietals on the lower blocks of the site. According to Carrie, the varietal blocks are based on the selection and matching of the grape varieties to the appropriate soil composition in the eight different soil types on the site.

The Red Mountain site was the very first vineyard on the steep, rocky upper slopes of Red Mountain. Developing the Red Mountain estate vineyards involved carefully matching varietal and clonal selections and vineyard trellising and irrigation to the eight distinct soil types in the vineyard.

The site was formed by the ancient Missoula floods, winds and volcanic activity resulting in many small “micro-blocks,” each uniquely suited to specific grape varietals. The rocky upper-slope with shallow soil is well suited to the cultivation of Rhone varietals such as Syrah and Grenache, while the lower blocks of the vineyard are comprised of deep, well-drained Warden soils, where Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc excel.

This Force Majeure Épinette Right Bank Bordeaux style blend was a perfect complement to our aged prime steak dinner, including my perfectly prepared 'Pittsburgh' style, served with mashed potatoes, haricot verts and mushroom Bordelaise sauce. 

Force Majeure Épinette Columbia Valley Red Mountain Red Blend 2015

Épinette is Force Majeure's Right-bank Bordeaux-inspired blend, and was named after an avenue in Libourne that leads to Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the home of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Épinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to the locale's in Washington state.

Épinette is a Bordeaux blend in the 'Right Bank' style meaning it is primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.

The blend for this 2014 vintage was 58%  Merlot,  22%  Cabernet Franc 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remaining 5% Petit Verdot.

The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in the lower areas of the Red Mountain vineyard with its  deep, well-drained soils. The wine was aged for approximately 22 months in mostly new French oak.

It was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93-95 points by The Wine Advocate, 92 by Stephen Tanzer and 90 points by Wine Spectator.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant forward dense black berry, ripe black raspberry and black current fruits with notes of cigar box, earthy leather, anise, graphite and spicy oak and hints of dark mocha chocolate with gripping but approachable silky tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4507644

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/

https://vintij.com/

Pour Boys Veal Marsala Wine Dinner

Fabulous Wine Flight with Pour Boys Veal Marsala Wine Dinner ...

 We were invited to fellow ‘Pour Boy’, (our wine group), Dr, Dan, and Linda for dinner. 

They prepared Veal Marsala with buttered mashed potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, and Tomatoes with herbs, crustin and goat cheese. 

Before dinner there grilled shrimp, cheese and mango blintzes, and a medley of artisan cheeses with fresh fruits, nuts and assorted biscuits. 

Over the course of the evening we had a wonderful wine flight starting with a Willamette Oregon Pinot Noir, a Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Cabernet, and finishing with a special limited release Shiraz. 

I took from our home cellar a bottle of one of our favorite Pinots. Readers of these pages know we don’t do a lot of Pinot Noir, but this is a special bottle we keep in our cellar for special occasions. We discovered and first tasted this label during a weekend getaway in the city (Chicago) during an enjoyable memorable afternoon lunch on the patio overlooking the Chicago River at Smith & Wollensky.   

Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011 

This is from the estate of Grace and Ken Evenstad who settled in the Willamette Valley, Oregon in 1989 to craft  Pinot Noir wines equivalent to those of Burgundy from Oregon fruit. They established Domaine Serene, a 42-acre hilltop estate in the Dundee Hills in Yamhill County, effectively creating Oregon’s luxury wine industry. In 2001, they constructed a state-of-the-art, five-level, gravity-flow Pinot Noir winery. The notable Ken Wright, vintner and producer, was Domaine Serene's first winemaker.

In the ensuring years they acquired and developed several more vineyards in the area growing Domaine Serene to over 1,000 acres, with 300 planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today they craft a portfolio of ultra-premium single vineyard designated labels, this reserve, an entry level cuvée, and also a line of Chardonnays, all sourced from individual estate vineyards.

In 2018, the couple was honored with Wine Spectator's Distinguished Service Award.

This ‘Evenstad Reserve’ label is the Domaine Serene flagship wine, a blend crafted from best select barrels each year to create a reserve wine that is consistent in both quality and flavor profile. The ‘Evenstad Reserve’ Collection has earned world-class accolades over the years, including Wine Spectator's #1 Pinot Noir in the World (2013) and #1 White Wine in the World (2016).

Domaine Serene aims for consistency and character in their flagship "Evenstad Reserve" Pinot Noir, a complex blend of fruit from different clonal selections and sites in the Dundee and Eola Hills. The 2011 was aged for 13 months in 55% new French oak. 

Producer’s Notes: "A true illustration of the art of blending, the Evenstad Reserve® Pinot Noir is a wonderfully complex wine that delivers an array of red fruits, caramel, baking spice, vanilla, dried flowers, and potpourri. On the palate, this elegant wine shows a harmonious balance of structure, richness and acidity with soft tannins and a clean, lingering finish. With clonal variation and site driven diversity, we are able to craft this wine to our precise and exacting standards year after year."

At fourteen years of age, this was at, but likely nearing the end of its prime drinking window. The label, foil and most importantly, the cork and fill level were pristine. 

This release was awarded 92 points by James Suckling and 91 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

Ruby colored medium bodied, smooth and elegant with bright ripe red berry fruits, floral, earthy, dusty rose petal, tangy acids and smooth polished fine tannins on the finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.domaineserene.com/shop/2011-domaine-serene-evenstad-reserve-pinot-noir-15l

With the dinner course we had this Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Cabernet.

Diamond Creek Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 

We visited the magnificent Diamond Creek Vineyards and Winery back in 2011 as featured in this post - Diamond Mountain Wine Experience - Diamond Creek Vineyards.

We then tasted and acquired this wine together at the Diamond Creek Winery Chateau 2015 vintage release party on Diamond Mountain during our Napa / Sonoma Valley Wine Experience back in 2017- as featured in this blogpost -  Diamond Creek Open House 2015 Release Tasting.

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon is one of four single vineyard designated lablels made by Diamond Creek with the Cabernet Sauvignon variety from estate vineyards on Diamond Mountain in nortern Napa Valley.

Known as the first Californian winery to bottle 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the same plot, Diamond Creek Vineyard is a benchmark for great winemakers. Founded in 1968 by Al Brounstein and his wife Adele Boots, this project started with identifying the differences in the soil composition and the slope of the terrain when planting the vines. They ended up with four vineyards with very special characteristics: Volcanic Hill, Red Rock Terrace, Gravelly Meadow, and Lake Vineyard - four unique plots with four distinctive exclusive wines with a marked character of their own. 

Following the death of the founders, the winery was acquired in 2020 by the exclusive Maison Louis Roederer.

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon comes solely from the small Red Rock Terrace plot of less than 3 hectares of vineyards planted in reddish soils with a high iron content. Throughout the year they enjoy a warmer climate and are meticulously cultivated through environmentally friendly agriculture.

In the winery, once the best grapes have been selected to make Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon, they are crushed to ferment and macerate at a controlled temperature. The wine is then aged in 225-litre wooden barrels for about 18 months.

Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

We tasted this wine as part of the three labels vintage release tasting at the release party and it immediately became my favorite, and the benchmark against which the others were compared. This was the most vibrant and expressive fruit of the three, although the others' fruit gave way to more complexity with layer of accent flavors.

This release was awarded 99 points by Robert Parker’s Wine advocate in 2018, and 94 points Vinous and 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Two months ago in November, 2025,  Antonio Galloni wrote, “the 2015 has aged exquisitely”. While the legendary long lived anticipated maturity is projected to be 2032-2052, tonight this was spectacular and hard to imagine it will improve more with further aging. In 2018, Lisa Perrotti-Brown of Robert Parker gave it 99 points and projected anticipated maturity from 2020-2044.

Like that memorable tasting at the winery, tonight, this was fabulous, even better having aged ten years in bottle. 

Deep garnet-purple colored, medium full bodied, rich, round, structured, complex, layered blackberry, black raspberry and plum fruits with earthy notes of herbs, graphite, creme de cassis, dark mocha chocolate, cinnamon spice and licorice, hints of vanilla and cedar, with super ripe, fine-grained tannins on a polished finish. 

RM 95 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/3430910

https://diamondcreekvineyards.com/red-rock-terrace/

https://diamondcreekvineyards.com/

With dessert, Dan opened another 2015 vintage, this special limited release Shiraz/Syrah from Washington State. 

Long Shadows Vintage Select Bin 898 Columbia Valley Syrah 2015

Dan acquired this limited release label crafted by legendary winemaker John Duvall, winemaker of the iconic Penfolds Grange Australian Shiraz. Duvall was recruited by Long Shadows to produce “Sequel” as part of the Vintners Collection series of master winemaker labels. 

We discovered Long Shadows and joined their wine club during our visit to the Long Shadows Cellars winery visit - featuring world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit, as part of our Seattle Culinary and Woodinville and Washington Wine Tour was a visit to the Long Shadows Wine Cellars tasting room back in 2018. 

This highly allocated limited release bottling was available only through the Long Shadows wine club - 125 cases were produced. It was rated 94 points by Wine Advocate and 93 points by Owen Bargreen.

This is a unique blend of 83% Syrah and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dark garnet inky purple colored, full bodied, dense, concentrated, complex structured blackberry, plum and black raspberry fruits with creosote, tobacco leaf, floral, clove and cinnamon spice notes on a tangy tongue puckering finish. 

RM 93 points. .  

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3383466

https://longshadows.com/library/sequel-bin-898/15399

 

Birthday dinner celebration at Petit Vie Western Springs

Birthday dinner celebration at Petit Vie Western Springs

February is a busy birthday month in our family, … naturally, with 22 members, there are lots of birthdays, especially this time of year when we have four birthdays in a three week span. 

So, we joined two of our kids and their spouses for a birthday celebration dinner at Petit Vie Restaurant in nearby suburb, Western Springs (IL), home to daughter Erin, and son-in-law Johnny. 

The new location is chic and stylishly decorated with seating adjacent the bar, and a small dining room in the rear. 

 

Saturday nights are prime time in the restaurant business, hectic and chaotic, and with a full house, this night at Petit Vie, service was challenged and a bit disjointed. Petit Vie is the reincarnation of the former Vie Restaurant that was around the corner in downtown Western Springs. Despite the delays in getting seated, and snafu’s in service, it was wonderful being together, despite the long, late evening, for parents that had to get back to relieve babysitters. 

 

Due to the wait, and disruptions we were treated to complimentary Champagne as a starter with the baguette and cheese puff selection. 

Vouvray Champagne NV

For starters we had the Foie Gras Mousse sauternes gelée, seasonal compote with crostin and the Steak Tartare (shown). These were okay, but generally uninspiring …

Sean and Michelle had the Escargot à la Bourguignonne - braised burgundy snails, crostini, garlic & pernod butter. 

For entree’s …  

Johnny had the Steak and pomme frittes. 

Even though one of the evening specials was Duck L’Orange, Erin, Sean and I all had the regular Duck Confit menu selection - Duck Confit beluga lentils, hakurei turnips, red wine duck jus, & apple cider, which was excellent. 

Linda ordered the Sabelfish (Black Cod) - Sablefish avec Flageolet bacon braised french beans, herb aioli, & fall vegetables a la grecque.

I brought BYOB from our home cellar a special bottle for the occasion.

Clos Marey-Monge Monopole Pommard 2011 

This bottle from our cellar was gifted from friend Tom R who obtained it at the Château in Burgundy nearly a decade ago. The historic property and producer, Clos Marey-Monge, dates back to the Famille of Vivant Micault, who in 1726 laid the foundation what became a winemaking empire, building the first Château Pommard. Micaults were proprietors from 1726 – 1763 and were known as “The First Family of Pommard”.

The long-surviving dynasty, Famille Marey-Monge, through the marriage of Marey and Monge, two iconic Burgundy families of the Côte d’Or occupied the property from 1763 to 1936 and were considered “Burgundy’s Greatest Family”. 

The Famille Laplanche, France’s most famous psychoanalyst, Jean Laplanche, and his wife Nadine, took over the property in 1936 and occupied the estate until 2003 when it was taken over by Famille Giraud.

During the Famille Giraud reign of ten years, Château de Pommard underwent major restoration and emerged as one of Burgundy’s must-visit domains.

Today, the Clos Marey-Monge estate vineyard is Burgundy’s largest privately-owned Clos.

Clos Marey-Monge, located in Pommard, in the Côte d’Or, consists of 7 cuvées or vineyards covering nearly fifty acres. The estate is sub-divided based on different soil types, each having distinctive composition of limestone, iron-rich clay, alluvium and other minerals essential to producing premiere Pinot Noir. 

Clos Marey-Monge produce a portfolio of single vineyard designated wines representing each of the seven sites. This label, Clos Marey-Monge Monopole is their signature wine and is crafted in a blend of all seven cuvées from the Clos Marey-Monge. Each year, they adjust the blend with the vintage to create a layered wine that is deep, rich, complex and approachable.

Winemaker Notes - Known for giving body and structure to their Clos Marey-Monge Monopole, the Grands Esprits cuvée makes a Pommard of great quality and structure. With its intense ruby color and expressive nose marked by aromas of red fruit and spices, it stands out as a perfectly balanced wine. The palate is clean, with structured and dense tannins. A long finish brings a touch of elegance to this complex cuvée.

This release was rated 93 points by James Suckling, 92 points by Wine Enthusiast, and 88 points by Wine Spectator.

Ruby colored, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, muscular but well-integrated and nicely balanced black currant and black cherry fruits dusty rose, clove and cinnamon spice, earth and black tea notes with fresh acidity and moderate smooth polished tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3168180

https://www.chateaudepommard.com/our-wines/clos-marey-monge

We also ordered from the wine list this Chianti Classico Sangiovese. 

Tenuta di Bibbiano Chianti Classico 2022

This Chianti Classico is from producer Bibbiano, founded in 1865, in the historic Chianti region, in the municipality of Castellina in Chianti, overlooking the Elsa Valley towards the castle of Monteriggioni. Today it is operated by fifth generation owners Tommaso and Federico Marrocchesi Marzi, and is one of the oldest estates in the Chianti Classico belonging to the same family.. 

The Bibbiano estate consists of its over sixty acres of vineyards surrounded by extensive olive groves consisting of over three thousand trees. The vineyards are planted primarily to Sangiovese and Sangiovese Grosso grapes as well as a smaller quantity of Colorino. They sit at an altitude from 270 to 300 meters, with ideal exposure and microclimate.

Tenuta di Bibbiano wines were crafted for decades by famed winemaker Giulio Gambelli, who also trained the current winemaker. They maintain a traditional approach to winemaking producing 100%-pure Sangiovese wines according to the traditions and stipulations of the Chianti Classico DOCG.

The Chianti Classico DOCG is in Tuscany's historic heartland between Florence and Siena. Chianti Classico DOCG designation requires a minimum of 80% Sangiovese with other red grapes (like Colorino, Canaiolo, or international varieties) allowed up to 20% in the blend. It must be subjected to 12 months aging (from Jan 1 after harvest). (Chianti Classico Riserva: Minimum 24 months aging, including at least 3 months in bottle.)

Tommaso Marrocchesi Marzi is a leading voice in the push to establish formal village appellations in Chianti Classico and is a great supporter of the new Gran Selezione category, which requires wines labeled as such to be made exclusively from estate fruit and bottled at the origin.  

This entry level label provides great value QPR - quality price ratio and is popular as a restaurant selection. 

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Spectator,  92 pts by James Suckling, 91 pts by Decanter,  90 pts by Wine Enthusiast and 89 pts by Vinous.

Sixty thousand bottles were produced.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced ripe cherry and plum fruits with notes of herbs, earthy spices and  hints of licorice, tar fine tannins on the lingering moderate finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4981952

https://www.bibbiano.com/?lang=en

https://www.petite-vie.com/

Mr Rigg's McLaren Vale Shiraz

Mr Rigg's McLaren Vale Shiraz

With leftover pizza from our family gathering the other night - we opened from the cellar this vintage Australian Shiraz. 

 

This wine typifies everything we love in a Aussie Shiraz - big, thick, chewy, sweet forward fruits. The large heavy oversize bottle packaging hints at what is to come.

This blockbuster release was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate upon initial review back in 2005.

It was aged 18 months in French oak (40% new). 

At twenty-one years this is likely at its Goldilock’s apex of its tasting profile, not too young, not too old, fully integrated and settled, by not likely to improve with any further aging. The label, foil, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were still in ideal condition. 

We tasted and I blogged about this wine in an earlier blogpost halfway back in its life, at ten years back in 2014. 

I pushed the CT (Cellartracker) drinking window out a couple more years at that time.

At that time, as with tonight, it was  a perfect compliment to the Italian pasta and soup with red meat, tomato and ricotta cheese. 

It was sinfully good with the caramel and sea salt gelato. 

I wrote at that time, I can't wait to finish the remaining partial bottle tonight with some hearty cheese. I'm already mourning the fact we only have a few bottles of this left in the cellar.

Tonight, this was consistent with that earlier tasting. Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated, complex, full forward sweet black and blue berry fruits, accented by a layer of mineral and tones of sweet caramel, cassis and graphite on a lingering tongue coating full tannin finish. And, yes, this was our last bottle of this vintage release, although we have the follow on 2005 release that I look forward to tasting. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=128274

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/128274

Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023

Great QPR in this Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023

Over the course of a couple evenings, we enjoyed this crisp clean un-oaked central coast Chardonnay, first with baked chicken with potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions, then with some artisan cheeses and fresh fruits. 

This is from accomplished producer/winemaker Greg Brewer, who produced his first vintage in 1996, Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs - raised in neutral barrels with whole cluster fermentation. He also “acts out his almost deviant desire to go outside his Brewer-Clifton paradigm to explore a new muse – Syrah” produced under his Ex Post Facto label.

This moderately priced Diatom label by Brewer, comes from the Mission Mills Vineyard just outside of Los Alamos. As noted on the rear label, Diatom is named for the fossil-rich diatomaceous earth in which these vines grow. 

Brewer’s wines are showcased at his tasting room in Los Olivos, by appointment only. 

We visited and wrote about Los Olivos and the large number of tasting rooms there in our blogpost back in 2022.   

This label was wine #37 on the Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2023 and #18 in the Top 100 Wines of 2025. 

This 2023 Diatom Chardonnay can be had for under $25 and provides great QPR - quality price ratio at that price point. 

Vinous writes, “This is a stunning wine for the price and for its production of around 40,000 cases.” With that level of production, it should be readily available in local wine shops as well as the big box beverage marts. 

Jeb Dunnuck writes, “This impeccably made Chardonnay should be snatched up by readers, as it competes with wines at two to three times the price, a no-brainer purchase for those who love Santa Barbara County Chardonnay. ”

Decanter wrote; “One of the region's perennial top-value Chardonnays that retains the truest sense of place.”

Linda especially loved this unoaked and fermented in steel tanks Chardonnay with its full-bodied but balanced and amazingly rich in ripe fruit. 

Wine Enthusiast wrote - “This wine made by the legendary Greg Brewer offers a very affordable taste of his mastery.”

All of this fruit is from Mission Hills outside Los Alamos in Santa Barbara County.

 

Winemaker Notes - “ Our singular focus is to present a pure and precise expression of Chardonnay. The Diatom Santa Barbara Chardonnay offers aromas of lemon, citrus blossom and wet sand with flavors of saline and white peach on the palate. A precise, balanced wine. winemaker Greg Brewer calls the wine ‘big and neutral, blurring the lines of expectation.’”

This release was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous, 93 points by Decanter and Wine Spectator who calls it a ‘Smart Buy’, and 92 points and “Editors Choice” by Wine Enthusiast.

Golden colored, medium full bodied, crisp, clean, pure, round but nicely, balanced, smooth flavors of citrus, green apple, cardamom and floral with subtle pineapple mangoes, and chalky mineral, with soft tangy acidity, on a smooth balanced finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4948763

https://www.bygregbrewer.com/

 

 

Big Red Wine Flight for Big Red BBall Clincher

Big Red Wine Flight for Big Red BBall Clincher

Much of the family gathered on Saturday to watch Big Ten basketball, Indiana at UCLA. Indiana won a double overtime thiller. Never-the-less, it’s been a tumultuous rebuild year for IU basketball, unlike the miraculous turnaround of the IU CFB Champions football team, which we followed and featured in this earlier blogpost, Big Reds Celebrate Big Red Win. 

Tonight’s game was an exciting remembrance of their undefeated championship season, fifty years ago, when that win streak began with a win over then defending national champions UCLA in the season opener, that we attended in the Checkerdome in St Louis. 

Tonight, we ordered in pizza, pasta, mussels and Italian Sausage and Peppers from Angeli’s Italian, our neighborhood trattoria. 

With the hearty meal, we opened a wine flight of Big Red wines, and a crowd pleaser Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

Walt Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2022

The Walt brand is from Hall Wines, named for Kathryn Walt Hall’s parents, Bob and Dolores Walt. Hall Wines produce an extensive portfolio of ultra-premium wines under the Hall brand, primarily sourced and produced in their two Napa Valley estate vineyards and wineries in St Helena and Rutherford. We’ve visited both, and most notably their magnificent Hall Napa Valley Rutherford Estate on numerous occasions, as featured in this earlier blogpost. 
 

The Walts were dedicated winegrowers who produced six different varietals that were sold to several great wineries. Kathryn, an accomplished attorney who also was US Ambassador to Vienna, actually managed the vineyard operations from 1982 until 1992. Walt has a dedicated winemaking team and its own state-of-the-art winemaking facility in Sonoma.

Walt wines are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, crafted to showcase the terroir, those specific qualities of the vineyards where they are grown. 

Initially, they produced wine only from their own grapes, so they could have total control over the vineyards. They eventually expanded to source grapes and make wine from the premier vineyards up and down the west coast from Santa Barbara to Oregon. In total they have 130 vineyards accounts for about 50 percent each of production from growers and owned estate vineyards. 

Walt vineyards are located in premier locations in Sonoma County, Anderson Valley and Central Coast, Napa County, and Willamette Valley in Oregon. 

They seek out vineyards in cool climates with low-vigor hillside sites that produce elegant, opulent, supple and silky wines. 

Walt employ hand sorting every berry; pressing Chardonnay as whole clusters; allowing native yeast fermentation; encouraging a long malolactic fermentation with weekly batonnage and topping off; barrel aging on lees to create more texture, richness, and complexity; and never fining or filtering. 

The Walt Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is from the Sonoma Coast Appellation with its terroir of climate of heavy fog and strong winds tempered by bright afternoon sunshine, and sandy, well-draining soils that stress the vines into producing grapes of full varietal intensity. The fruit is sourced from Bob’s Ranch Estate Vineyard, with its proximity to the Pacific Ocean; Coastal breezes along with low rolling hills and morning fog define this cool climate site, and the legendary Sangiacomo Vineyard a low-yielding site, just outside the city of Sonoma, that is famous for many top Chardonnay labels.

Winemaker notes - “The 2022 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay opens with enticing aromas of crisp apple, lemon zest, and a hint of citrus blossom. The palate is ripe and vibrant, offering layers of citrus and stone fruit flavors, complemented by a touch of flint. The finish is bright and refreshing, with a lingering note of minerality.”

This label was rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast and 90 points by Wine Spectator.

Pale golden colored fulled bodied, firmly structured, concentrated forward citrus and melon flavors with hints of mango and pineapple with a resounding bold expressive finish. This is not for the feint of heart, you either love or shun this bold expressive style and profile. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4917478

Turning to the reds we opened two Big Reds from favorite producers.

Mollydooker Blue Eye’d Boy 2021

We’ve featured this producer and this label often in these pages as chronicled here - BBQ Ribs and Syrah, and recently here - Blue Eye’d Boy with Flank Steak.

As I’ve written in these blogposts, this is one of our favorite big bold Aussie Shiraz’s and whimsically shares the Blue Eye’d Boy moniker designation between the producer and us with our son Alec, hence this being one of our family signature wines we keep and have fun commemorating our son and enjoying on family gatherings.

I chronicled the Mollydooker brand and their portfolio of wines in this earlier blogpost. 

I wrote about Mollydooker and the Blue Eye’d Boy label in more detail last year in the blogpost - Blue Eye’d Boy McLaren Vale Shiraz 2020. 

We hold more than a half dozen vintages of this label and this is the newest, latest release which we're trying here for the first time, since we customarily will open the oldest vintage in our cellar as part of cellar inventory management. 

Winemaker Notes - Black crimson in color, this wine leaps from the glass with powerful aromatics of blueberries, fresh plum, licorice and nuances of chocolate biscuit. The seamless texture is laced with fresh berry fruit, coffee, vanilla cream and warm spice, giving us a full-bodied Shiraz with an endless depth of flavor and great length.

This was rated 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate wrote an interesting observation about this label; "Once you taste a few of a producer's wines side by side, you really start to get a feel for stylistic preference between warm vintages and cool ones. I surprise myself by saying here that I prefer the warmer vintages at Mollydooker (this does not make it right) because the sunshine and ease with which ripening can occur in a warmer year really seems to suit the plush, high-octane style being proliferated here. So, this 2021 Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz is far more on the blue fruit spectrum than the 2020 ..."

The key here is comparisons of this same label from vintage to vintage, and contrasting the resulting impact from a warm vintage vs a cool vintage. Such distinctions are best revealed through comparison tastings of one vintage alongside another or others - what is referred to as a 'vertical' tasting (as opposed to 'horizontal tasting' which would be various wines from the same vintage). 

This was dark inky colored, full bodied, powerful concentrated, full throttle big round black and blue fruits accented by spice, black tea, notes of licorice and hints of bitter dark mocha chocolate with a long full finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4404716

https://mollydookerwines.com.au/

https://twitter.com/MollydookerWine

https://twitter.com/unwindwine

Family Brunier/Kermit Lynch Les Pallieres ‘Les Racines’ Gigondas Red Blend 2016

As noted above, this is one of our favorite producers that we know well from visits to the estates and our extensive collection of their wines dating back several decades. This is a special label for opening with the kids, since we all visited the Domaine toegether. We discovered and were first introduced to this label during that visit to the Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Papewinery estate during our Rhone Wine Experience back in 2018. 

Tasting this wine with producer Daniel Brunier
at the estate

 
Brunier Lynch Domaine les Pallieres "Les Racines" Gigondas 2016

As noted above, we discovered and were first introduced to this label while visiting the Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery estate during our Rhone Wine Experience back in 2018. 

This  Domaine Les Pallières, label is a collaborative partnership between the Brunier Family of Château Vieux Telegraphe with the noted merchant exporter (importer to America) Kermit Lynch, in the nearby commune and appellation of Gigondas. 

This was rated 96 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, 94-96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 94 points by Vinous.

This is 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah – Cinsault (co-planted) and 5% Clairette made from the oldest 75-year-old vines of the estate located around the domaine in Gigonda, the appellation to the north and east of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. 

We visited the Gigondas appellation during our Rhone Valley Wine Experience back in 1999.

The area sits about 200-400 feet in elevation, higher than the lower appellation sites lying closer to the Rhone River in the valley,  with soils that are a mix of broken limestone and clay. The resulting wines are invariably darker black with more dense and concentrated fruits, more akin to the typically more prestigious Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.  

Dark blackish purple garnet colored, full bodied, complex layered spice-accented black currant, black raspberry and notes of blueberry, baking spices, olive tapanade, herbs, black tea with gripping but smooth polished tannins on the long finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2841670

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en