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Saturday, October 30, 2021

Halloween eve dinner with Dragon's Tooth Red Blend

Halloween eve dinner with Dragon's Tooth Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Halloween wine? Well, no there isn't any such thing that I know of, but the closest I could come up with in our cellar was Dragon's Tooth Red Blend by Trefethen. We selected this from our cellar to take BYOB to dinner at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria.

R&L in the Trefethen
estate gardens
We discovered and acquired this wine during our visit to the Trefethen winery estate in the Oak Knoll District Appellation of southern Napa Valley, along St. Helena highway, just above the town of Napa. 

The Red Dragon on the label of this Dragon's Tooth Napa Valley Red Wine originated in ancient Welsh ancestry of the proprietors. 

According to British legend, two dragons, one red, one white, fight in the sky. The boy Merlin watches them with King Vortigern and when the red prevails, driving the white across the sea, the boy foretells the coming of King Arthur who will lead Vortigern's people, the Welsh, to victory over the invading Saxons.

Catherine Trefethen, Matriarch, First Lady of the Trefethen estate family, was Welsh. Her loves for wine, gardens and family were the inspiration for the estate in Napa Valley's Oak Knoll District. Although she has departed, her spirit is said to be still felt, especially in the cool foggy mornings when mist envelops the vineyards. 

This label showcases the newest plantings of Malbec and Petit Verdot of the rockiest part of the estate vineyard where obsidian flakes occasionally remind one of the toothy smile of Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) guardian and symbol of Wales. 

 

Trefethen Dragons Tooth Napa Valley Red Wine 2009

The 2009 Vintage release of this label was a Bordeaux Blend of 67% Malbec, 18% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Merlot, all 100% sourced from the Trefethen Oak Knoll District Appellation, Napa Valley Estate Vineyard.

It was aged 21 months in 67% French 20% American 13% Hungarian oak. 

Winemaker's Notes: "The Vintage 2009 was an excellent, even-keeled vintage in Napa Valley. Consistently mild weather throughout the growing and harvest seasons resulted in stress-free vines, long grape hang times, and fruit with finely developed flavors at lower-than-normal sugar levels. The third vintage of this lively wine is deep purple in color with aromas of black currant, blackberry and cinnamon. The palate is full with flavors of plum, cherry and chocolate. This voluminous wine finishes with balanced, structured tannins that emphasize the rich fresh fruit and hints of spice. Food Affinities The addition of some blackberries or blueberries to smoky grilled or roasted beef, lamb, pork or duck brings out the best in both food and the wine."

Trefethen Dragon's Tooth 2011 labels

This wine has been sitting in our cellar for a decade, waiting for the right occasion for this peculiar label. It was ideal this evening, so much so, I ran out the next day and picked up the current release vintage of this label to replace the one we drank. I had forgotten this was a Bordeaux Blend, noting the prime anchor varietal is Malbec.  

This label was awarded 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

This was the third vintage of this distinctive blend, medium-full bodied, deep purple in color with aromas and flavors of black currant, blackberry and cinnamon turning to tones of plum, cherry and mocha and hints of spice, finishing with nicely balanced but structured tangy acidic laced tannins.

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "This is so smooth, rich and mellow, you hardly notice how intense the tannins are. But they are hard, and lock down the flavors of black currant and black licorice, plus the complex notes of minerals, roasted game and dark spices."

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1370334

https://www.trefethen.com/

 




Thursday, October 28, 2021

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

We discovered and acquired this wine during our recent visit to the Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery estate and hospitality center in northeast Indiana north of Ft. Wayne, which I featured in a chronicle of our estate visit recently. 

We opened this for pleasant casual sipping with roast beef and pasta leftovers - a suitable pairing and occasion for this wine. 

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Winemaker's Blend NV

According to the winery tasting wine flight offering sheet, this is a non-vintage blend sourced from grapes from Calaveras County, CA.

Dark garnet purple colored, medium-full bodied, somewhat complex tangy gripping blackberry and ripe plum fruits accented by a layer of smoke, tobacco box, woody leather with notes of toasted poppy seeds, soy and black pepper with a lingering menthol and whisper of cognac laced acidic finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4136331

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago features Galatrona Toscana, Caprili Brunello di Montalcino and a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

My leadership team (engineering, development, operations and strategy) gathered in Chicago again as we continue to build out our strategic plan. Once again, we dined at Italian Village, Chicago, our regular dinesite due to its broad menu, extraordinary wine cellar list, proximity to the office and our hotels, and our long standing friendships with staff there. 

Being what is becoming a regular outing, as somewhat regulars there, tonight we had fun presenting to Gina Capitanini, third generation owner of the historic restaurant, a 'team picture' of this part of our group with wine director Jared Gelband and Garardo, one of the floor managers. Look for it/us on the walls of pictures of celebrities, notables, and some of us regulars.

Wine Director Jared Gelband, recently returned from his wine tour to Italy, pulled from the cellar a couple wines for our dinner, a Sangiovese and a extraordinary Tuscan Chianti Classico Merlot Bordeaux varietal, and a blend of the two. 

Prior to dinner we met to plan a special event dinner for an upcoming global team gathering and we had a glass of this classic unique premium label.

Vignamaggio Monna Lisa Gran Selezione Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

This producer estate, Vignamaggio, has been in operation since 1404. The estate sprawls over more than 400 hectares, with vineyards, vegetable and ornamental gardens and a historic winery. The state-of-the-art working farm has Chianti Classico vineyards, olive groves, thriving vegetable gardens and fruit trees, forests, and also raises animals.

This label is named in tribute to the daughter of the original owners of the estate, who became eternally famous after Leonardo da Vinci painted her portrait.

It carries the distinctive "Gran Selezione" designation and is only made in the best years. It is produced from select grapes from Vignamaggio top three, most prized vineyards – Prato, Solatio and Querceto. It is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged partially in French oak barriques for 18–20 months and partially in larger barrels. The entire ageing process takes a minimum of 30 months, of which at least six are in the bottle.

The Gran Selezione designation, established less than a decade ago, was created to allow Chianti producers to compete with Brunello Riservas and the best of Montalcino, with longer aging requirements and a high quality standard, showcasing and representing the best of Chianti.

The 2016 vintage release was one of the best ever  with both Vinous and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate scoring it as their favorite vintage ever, such that this is considered the best version of Monna Lisa yet.

Only five pallets of this superlative Gran Selezione made their way to the US, a tiny amount for a wine  with such a reputation as a can’t-miss for Tuscan lovers and collectors. Its not surprising that Italian Village with their extensive deep and broad cellar offer this on their winelist.  

This was awarded 94 points by Vinous.

Dark, bright ruby purple colored, somewhat translucent yet full-bodied, this is complex and concentrated, combining Sangiovese’s savory, red-fruit richness with the velvety softness of Merlot and powerful structure from a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated yet elegant with black and red cherry fruits, wine, allspice, notes of tobacco and leather turning to gripping but polished tannins on the long long finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3602213

https://vignamaggio.com/

Amazingly, after dozens of meals at Italian Village Chicago over as many years, tonight's meal was one of the best ever. I write often about the importance of pairing the right wine with food, or vice versa, which can have a multiplicative effect when done perfectly. 

Reading the Italian Village menu, I was drawn to the "House Specialty" designation of the Lasagna, with meat sauce, white cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, baked in Mozzarella cheese (shown right). Selecting this for my dinner this was the best Lasagna I have ever tasted, and was perfectly matched with the exceptional Galatrona Toscana. 

While opening, decanting and serving the Galatrona, Jared described the wine, the producer, and the profile and character of this aged vintage release. Listening to this, colleague Kevin changed his entree selection to the filet of beef steak with sauteed shrimp (shown left), topped with a sauteed garlic and olive oil sauce served over spinach, which proved to be another extraordinary pairing. 

A couple of the fellas had what is becoming another regular favorite, the Pheasant Agnolottini - pillow shaped pheasant-filled pasta in a butter sage sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Of course, our dinners there are all about the pairing of the food with extraordinary, spectacular wines - taking advantage of the extraordinary Italian Village cellar and winelist selection!

Galatrona Petrolo Toscana 2001

Petrolo produces estate bottled terroir driven wines from vines of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, focusing on careful selection of grapes from low yields and artful winemaking.

Back in 1716 Cosimo III de Medici, the Great Duke of Tuscany, stated with an edict which areas had the most valuable production of fine wine and quality olive oil, recognizing 4 areas, Chianti center (between Panzano and Greve), Carmignano (west of Florence), Pomino (east of Florence) and the Val d’Arno di Sopra (the western and eastern hills along the Arno river between Florence and Arezzo, where Petrolo is located) .

A century later, in 1834, agronomist Giorgio Perrin, owner of Petrolo and member of the Accademia dei Gergofili of Florence, noted Sangiovese from this area, especially that spot called Campo Asciutto (now Bòggina), was commonly planted and blended with “French grapes” in Chianti to combine with Sangiovese. 

The Estate was acquired in the 40’s by the family Bazzocchi that followed up the tradition of carefully producing high quality wines. Petrolo’s vineyards extend across 75 acres in the DOC Val d’ Arno di Sopra appellation, bordering the south eastern area of Chianti Classico. The vineyards are found at an altitude between 250 and 450 meters elevation consisting of loose-packed soil with different mixture of rocks like marl, sandstone and shale typical of the Chianti area.

The Galatrona vineyard consists of 7 1/2 acres, planted in 1990, the first Merlot vineyard that Petrolo planted. This label, Galatrona has been produced from this vineyard since it’s very first bottling in 1994, composed of 100% Merlot.

The Feriale vineyard, added another 12 acres to the Galatrona vineyard, when it was planted in the 90’s, almost entirely of Merlot plants, with a few vines planted to Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, intended for the production of Galatrona. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.

Petrolo’s wines are crafted to achieve the greatest quality that also best represent the terroir of the historic Estate. Galatrona wines were ranked among the ten best merlot in the world according to Wine-Searcher.com in November 2018. 

Galatrona is the “Gran-Cru” of Merlot of Petrolo, only made with the finest select grapes from the vineyard of the same name.  

This label was awarded 96 points and a Collectible by Wine Spectator,  and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate who said: "The 2001 Galatrona confirms its status as one of Tuscany’s better Merlot bottlings." Production has grown from 850 cases in the early years to 2500 cases in recent year. 

At twenty years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, with perfect cork, but not likely to improve any further from aging. Look at the difference in the color of the residue on the corks between the two bottles of our flight - the Sangiovese (ruby) and the Merlot (dark garnet).

Opened and decanted for an hour, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a symphony of elegant flavors, soft, silky, polished, dense blackberry and notes of black cherry and plum fruits with tones of mineral, spice, tobacco and leather with smooth polished fine grained tannins on a long seductive finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97792

https://www.petrolo.it/

 Caprili Brunello di Montalcina 2016

The estate was founded by Alfo Bartolommei in 1965. The Bartolommei family settled in the Municipality of Montalcino at the beginning of the last century.  The family originated from Podere Marzolo in the Municipality of Cinigiano (Province of Grosseto).

In 1911, the family moved to Podere Poggi, moving several times from one country home to another on the Villa Santa Restituta estate until they finally arrived at the Caprili farm home in 1952 which they took over and continued to work the land by sharecropping.  

In 1965, the Bartolommei family decided to buy the property from the Castelli-Martinozzi family, owners of Villa Santa Restituta estate.  In the same year, 1965, they planted the first vineyard, still called “Madre” to this day, where the clones for the new vineyards planted on the estate are selected.

The first bottle of Brunello di Montalcino was the 1978 harvest and was put on the market in 1983.

A great representation of Sangiovese at its best from a spectacular vintage, this 2016 release was awarded 96 points by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectato, and 94 points by James Suckling and Vinous.  45,000 bottles were produced. 
 
Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant tangy slightly tart cherry and ripe plum fruits with floral, dusty rose, cedar and hints of mint and camphor with tones of leather, and smoky creosote on a zesty acidic found tannin laced finish. 
 
RM 91 points.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery

 Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery in northeast Indiana

Visiting northeastern Indiana we visited Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery outside the hamlet of LaOtta, Indiana, north of Fort Wayne. I chronicled Indiana wines in an earlier blogpost.

I've written before about Indiana wine and the challenges of growing terroir driven quality grapes in the climate and soil there, hence our expectations were fairly modest. Like many midwest producers, Country Heritage craft wines from estate grown grapes, grapes imported from around the region, and grapes imported from as far away as California and Washington State. 

We were surprised and impressed with the vastness and extent of the Country Heritage Vineyards, Winery and hospitality center. This is a serous operation with intent on producing quality fine wines as well as every day sipping wines. They vastly exceeded our expectations in every respect - their vineyard operations, their craftmanship in winemaking, their winery operations, and their marketing, branding and promotions. 

Country Heritage Winery & Vineyards are owned and operated by Jennifer & Jeremy Lutter on the Lutter family farm that has been in the family over several generations going back over a hundred years. 

On their several hundreds of acres of croplands across Noble County, Swan Township (shown below), they have planted over 70 acres of vineyards - practicing serious viticulture to grow select grapes suited to the terroir - soil, climate and all elements of place. 

Country Heritage also source grapes through contracts with numerous growers around the region, and from growers as far away as California. 

Shown adjacent below are the land holdings of the Lutter Family farms across Swan Township in Noble County, Indiana.

They brought in Kevin Geeting as Head Winemaker - locally born and raised, he learned winemaking through his own studies and experimentation, then learned the tradecraft as assistant winemaker at a winery in Virginia before returning to Indiana to take on responsibilities with the Lutters at Country Heritage. 

Teaming with the Lutters and their generations of experience growing excellent crops, they've developed an extensive estate of vineyards and winery production facilities to produced a broad extensive portfolio of wines. 

Traveling north from Fort Wayne on State Route 3, one comes across the vast Country Heritage estate vineyards and winery. The vast hospitality center consists of a retail tasting bar and giftshop, a vast tasting hospitality room that extends out to patios, gardens and an amphitheater with stage for concerts and entertainment. There is also a wine cellar with private dining room and barrel room for private tastings and dinners. 

The wine cellar dining room features a vast dining table that seats sixteen, handcrafted personally by proprietor Jeremy Lutter (shown below). 



The tasting bar offers tasting flights of personally selected flights featuring their broad portfolio of red, white, blush rose, sparkling and fortified dessert wines as well as fruit wines - estate, private label, special selections and vintage library wines.


They source grapes from notable wine regions to craft French and American varietal own label wines such as Petit Verdot from Sierra Foothills, CA, Petit Sirah from CA, Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, and Merlot from Walla Walla, Washington, and a Proprietor's Reserve vintage Bordeaux Blend from various sources in California. While these were not available for tasting, based on the quality of some of the tasting selections, we picked up some of these premium labels to try at home. 

As always, our goal was to explore their signature wines that best represent their estate viticulture and terroir as well as their winemaking craftsmanship. 

Focusing on their estate (home grown) wines, our tasting flight consisted of these Country Heritage labels:

Traminette 2020
Vignobles 2020
Petit Pearl 2018
Norton 2018
Vintner's Cuvee - Winemaker's Blend (Calaveras County, CA) - Tasting Note
Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Commemorative Bottling 2020
Ice Age White - Late Harvest blend of La Crescent and Vignobles 

They also produce this commemorative bottling of the annual car festival at the northwest Indiana classic car Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Museum in nearby Auburn, Indiana, another regional destination, attraction.


Purchased Wines from their select premium and library collections

Ice Aged White Dessert Wine





Special private label bottling - New Year's Eve
also owner/proprietor's birthday - 1231



Special release - Proprietor's Blend Bordeaux Blend

Watch for future wine tasting postings as we explore these wines further. 

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Waygu Beefsteak dinner with Diamond Mtn Cab Franc

Waygu Beefsteak dinner with Diamond Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Son Ryan came over to discuss joint business engagement and he brought Waygu Beefsteaks to cook on the grill. I pulled from the cellar a Constant Diamond Mountain Cab Franc for the occasion. 


Linda prepared ceasar salad, brussel sprouts and baked potatoes and ceasar salad for the dinner. 

Purebred Wagyu Japanese cattle are crossbred with traditional beef cattle breeds to create American Wagyu Beef, considered the finest,  ideal combination of the exceptional intramuscular marbling of purebred Japanese Wagyu, and the intense meaty flavor of traditional American cattle. The result is a perfect blend of famous Wagyu buttery marbling and the robust beef flavor for which American beef is known. It was made famous in the Kobe region of Japan and was traditionally known as Kobe beef, much akin to Champagne hailing from the famous wine region in France.

Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2007

We tasted and acquired this wine at the magnificent Constant Diamond Mtn. Vineyard and Winery estate high atop Diamond Mountain during our Diamond Mtn Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2011.

Shown right with the late Freddie Constant is fellow Pour Boy Bill, Beth, Bro-in-law Bill, Jan, Linda and me.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our previous tasting of this label way back in 2014. 

At fourteen years, this is aging well, perhaps continuing at its apex, and showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. It was delicious and a perfect pairing with the ultra premium Waygu beefsteaks. 

My last tasting note as posted on cellartracker, and blogspot back on 11/21/2014 - I like this wine: 93 Points.

Bright dark ruby/purple colored, medium to full bodied, this was bright vibrant full forward black berry and black currant fruit with a bold punch of sweet almost cinnamon spice accented by tones of mocha chocolate, soft sweet oak with dusty lush pleasing tongue coating lingering tannins.

RM 93 points.

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/11/constant-cab-franc-and-eileen-hardy.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1262714

https://www.constantwine.com/

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Italian Village Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo duo

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo Nebbiolo wines

For a team dinner we dined at our regular go-to venue in the Chicago city centre, a few blocks walking distance from our office and our hotels, Italian Village Chicago, in one of their select private tables. 

We chose two wines from the extensive Italian Village winelist from their extraordinary cellar which serves all three restaurants under normal times, two Italian labels to accompany our dinner.

Normally we'd be served by Wine Director and dear friend Jared Gelband but he is touring Italy visiting several producer estates. We were served by Gerardo who in normal times would manage the upscale Vivere restaurant but is helping manage the Italian Village floor during these crazy Covid times.

Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna di Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013

This is a 'Super Tuscan' Blend meaning it is from French Bordeaux varietals grown in the Italian Tuscany region. The producer, Tenuta di Arceno is an old historic Tuscan estate with a diverse portfolio of the highest quality wines across two classification levels – three wines centered on the native Sangiovese grape in the Chianti Classico DOCG collection; and three wines from the estate’s international (French Bordeaux) varieties under the Toscana IGT designation. 

The estate is situated at the southernmost-edge of the Chianti Classico region in the butterfly-shaped commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near the village of Siena, often referred to as ‘the most Senese Chianti Classico,’adjacent the scenic ancient walled town of San Gusmè.

The sub-region is home to several world-renowned producers who produce stylistically distinct wines. 

The Tenuta di Arceno estate is 1,000 total hectares (2,500 acres) of which 92 hectares (220 acres) are planted to vineyards – the remaining land preserved for native vegetation including 50 hectares (125 acres) of olive orchards. The vineyards are separated into 63 blocks, the vineyards planted to 50% the region's native Sangiovese, and the remaining 50% with international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This is a Merlot-based blend sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia vineyards' blocks, known to produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The Merlot blocks, located in the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by a nearby stream, with sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical, are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.

The recent 2019 vintage release of this label received the coveted Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award. Each yeara a panel of prominent wine experts review wines from each of Italy’s 20 regions evaluating over 23,000 wines from 2500 producers and awarding scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses (“Bicchieri”) according to the quality of the wine. Tre Bicchieri wines are generally recognized in Italy and by the international wine community as Italy’s best. A Tre Bicchieri award is a really big deal for a winery. The tastings are done blind so there is no favoritism or influence on the outcomes.

Winemaker's tasting notes: "The 2013 was a classic vintage, yet on the cool side, which favors the perfect ripening of Merlot. The Valadorna Merlot was picked on October 1st, allowing ample time on the vine for perfect maturation and tannin development. The nose jumps from the glass with exotic spices of jasmine, cumin and vanilla bean. The fruit expression is of raspberry and black cherry. The mouthfeel is dominated by long flexible tannins framed by slight tingling acids. The immediate sensation of blueberry pie gives way to an uplifting bright sour cherry finish. As the fruit subsides, what remains on the palate are hints of sweet cedar and cigar box notes. The 2013 is an elegant vintage and will age gracefully."

This is a Bordeaux varietal blend of 74% Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and
1% Petit Verdot. 

This was an ideal compliment to my pasta with a tangy meat sauce. 

Dark purple-garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex and intense but well integrated and nicely balanced vibrant blackberry with notes of black cherries and currants, highlights of dark chocolate, espresso, and Tuscan terroir cedar, dried spice, smoke and tobacco with hints of vanilla, and leather, with firm but approaching tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3296253

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/enFor a second wine, I selected from the IV winelist this Italian Barolo, a native Nebbiolo varietal to accompany our Italian cuisine. Ideally, we would've tasted this stylistic varietal first ahead of the more complex, more concentrated Tuscan blend however it was an appropriate pairing with several of the folk's Italian entree dishes.

Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambroglio Barolo 2014

This is from the Bruna Grimaldi family estate in the hills that between Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of Langhe, part of the Unesco Heritage. The Grimaldi family have been in the wine business since the 1960's when Giacomo Grimaldi started selling grapes, then his son, Giovanni Grimaldi began produce wine and selling it in bulk. 

Giovanni bottles estate wines in the best vintages with a long library of releases over the following decades. 

Since the 1990's the property and brand have been managed by the next generation, Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino. They built a new upgraded winery and produce wines only from their own vineyards. Franco tends to the vineyard management and winemaking, and is the driving force in the company focusing on Langhe sourced Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Bruna manages the family business, an oenologist, she is a member of “Donne del Vino” Association. 

Since 2013, the next generation, Simone and Martina, son and daughter of Bruna and Franco, have joined their parents’ learning from their experience and their studies to promote and continue on with the Bruna Grimaldi brand. 

The best Langhe plots are selected for the production of Barolo, the Bricco Ambrogio Barolo known for great elegance. The vineyard terroir have a perfect exposure to the sun with a hot microclimate ideal for Nebbiolo which tend to picked earlier and differentiate themselves in the rainier and cooler vintages.  Their estate Barolo is known to show warm, open perfumes, tending to ripe fruits and spice notes with structure that lean on silky and enjoyable tannins.
 
This is 100% Nebbiolo from the MGA Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in the municipality of Roddi. The terroir boasts southern exposure with very steep slopes, with grey-blue layers of clay in limestone and sand. 
 
This was awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 
 
Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright red cherry fruits with spicy notes of clove and accents of earth, leather, oak, hints of smoke with a tangy acid on a moderate tannin finish. 
 
RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3073416

https://www.grimaldibruna.it/en/wines/barolo-bricco-ambrogio-docg/

 

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo Nebbiolo wines

For a team dinner we dined at our regular go-to venue in the Chicago city centre, a few blocks walking distance from our office and our hotels, Italian Village Chicago, in one of their select private tables. 

We chose two wines from the extensive Italian Village winelist from their extraordinary cellar which serves all three restaurants under normal times, two Italian labels to accompany our dinner.

Normally we'd be served by Wine Director and dear friend Jared Gelband but he is touring Italy visiting several producer estates. We were served by Gerardo who in normal times would manage the upscale Vivere restaurant but is helping manage the Italian Village floor during these crazy Covid times.

Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna di Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013

This is a 'Super Tuscan' Blend meaning it is from French Bordeaux varietals grown in the Italian Tuscany region. The producer, Tenuta di Arceno is an old historic Tuscan estate with a diverse portfolio of the highest quality wines across two classification levels – three wines centered on the native Sangiovese grape in the Chianti Classico DOCG collection; and three wines from the estate’s international (French Bordeaux) varieties under the Toscana IGT designation. 

The estate is situated at the southernmost-edge of the Chianti Classico region in the butterfly-shaped commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near the village of Siena, often referred to as ‘the most Senese Chianti Classico,’adjacent the scenic ancient walled town of San Gusmè.

The sub-region is home to several world-renowned producers who produce stylistically distinct wines. 

The Tenuta di Arceno estate is 1,000 total hectares (2,500 acres) of which 92 hectares (220 acres) are planted to vineyards – the remaining land preserved for native vegetation including 50 hectares (125 acres) of olive orchards. The vineyards are separated into 63 blocks, the vineyards planted to 50% the region's native Sangiovese, and the remaining 50% with international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This is a Merlot-based blend sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia vineyards' blocks, known to produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The Merlot blocks, located in the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by a nearby stream, with sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical, are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.

The recent 2019 vintage release of this label received the coveted Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award. Each yeara a panel of prominent wine experts review wines from each of Italy’s 20 regions evaluating over 23,000 wines from 2500 producers and awarding scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses (“Bicchieri”) according to the quality of the wine. Tre Bicchieri wines are generally recognized in Italy and by the international wine community as Italy’s best. A Tre Bicchieri award is a really big deal for a winery. The tastings are done blind so there is no favoritism or influence on the outcomes.

Winemaker's tasting notes: "The 2013 was a classic vintage, yet on the cool side, which favors the perfect ripening of Merlot. The Valadorna Merlot was picked on October 1st, allowing ample time on the vine for perfect maturation and tannin development. The nose jumps from the glass with exotic spices of jasmine, cumin and vanilla bean. The fruit expression is of raspberry and black cherry. The mouthfeel is dominated by long flexible tannins framed by slight tingling acids. The immediate sensation of blueberry pie gives way to an uplifting bright sour cherry finish. As the fruit subsides, what remains on the palate are hints of sweet cedar and cigar box notes. The 2013 is an elegant vintage and will age gracefully."

This is a Bordeaux varietal blend of 74% Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and
1% Petit Verdot. 

This was an ideal compliment to my pasta with a tangy meat sauce. 

Dark purple-garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex and intense but well integrated and nicely balanced vibrant blackberry with notes of black cherries and currants, highlights of dark chocolate, espresso, and Tuscan terroir cedar, dried spice, smoke and tobacco with hints of vanilla, and leather, with firm but approaching tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3296253

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/en

For a second wine, I selected from the IV winelist this Italian Barolo, a native Nebbiolo varietal to accompany our Italian cuisine. Ideally, we would've tasted this stylistic varietal first ahead of the more complex, more concentrated Tuscan blend however it was an appropriate pairing with several of the folk's Italian entree dishes.

Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambroglio Barolo 2014

This is from the Bruna Grimaldi family estate in the hills that between Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of Langhe, part of the Unesco Heritage. The Grimaldi family have been in the wine business since the 1960's when Giacomo Grimaldi started selling grapes, then his son, Giovanni Grimaldi began produce wine and selling it in bulk. 

Giovanni bottles estate wines in the best vintages with a long library of releases over the following decades. 

Since the 1990's the property and brand have been managed by the next generation, Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino. They built a new upgraded winery and produce wines only from their own vineyards. Franco tends to the vineyard management and winemaking, and is the driving force in the company focusing on Langhe sourced Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Bruna manages the family business, an oenologist, she is a member of “Donne del Vino” Association. 

Since 2013, the next generation, Simone and Martina, son and daughter of Bruna and Franco, have joined their parents’ learning from their experience and their studies to promote and continue on with the Bruna Grimaldi brand. 

The best Langhe plots are selected for the production of Barolo, the Bricco Ambrogio Barolo known for great elegance. The vineyard terroir have a perfect exposure to the sun with a hot microclimate ideal for Nebbiolo which tend to picked earlier and differentiate themselves in the rainier and cooler vintages.  Their estate Barolo is known to show warm, open perfumes, tending to ripe fruits and spice notes with structure that lean on silky and enjoyable tannins.
 
This is 100% Nebbiolo from the MGA Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in the municipality of Roddi. The terroir boasts southern exposure with very steep slopes, with grey-blue layers of clay in limestone and sand. 
 
This was awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 
 
Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright red cherry fruits with spicy notes of clove and accents of earth, leather, oak, hints of smoke with a tangy acid on a moderate tannin finish. 
 
RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3073416

https://www.grimaldibruna.it/en/wines/barolo-bricco-ambrogio-docg/

 

 

 



Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Chez Joel Chicago Little Italy Dinner

 Chez Joel Little Italy Chicago Dinner features Croze-Hermitage Syrah

With a colleague in from out of town, we dined at Chez Joel Bistro in Little Italy on Taylor Street in Chicago on the near south side, near the UIC, not far from our office, one of my favorite neighborhood bistros. 

The ambiance and atmosphere at Chez Joel is relaxing, quaint and cozy, ideal for a business dinner. 

From the menu my colleague selected the Duck Confit with red cabbage, one of my favorites and a usual selection. I chose the petit filet of boeuf with the buttered potatoes. 

Prior to dinner we had the endive and the beet salads, accompanied by the pate with cornichons, mustard and toast points. 

We chose the wine list a perennial favorite that I have had several times, a Crozes-Hermitage Northern RhĂ´ne Syrah, an ideal pairing with the pate, our salads and the entrees.

Maison Les Alexandrins Crozes-Hermitage Syrah 2018

We've had several vintages of this label, most recently on our visit to Chez Joel a couple months ago, tonight being the first time tasting this 2018 release. 

This is from estate vineyards between the towns of Vienne and Valence,  in the Northern RhĂ´ne Valley, where the terrior is ideally suited for the Syrah grape. 

The right bank of the RhĂ´ne River is composed of old volcanic Gneiss and granite rocks with sandy-clay soils that give the wine a powerful and rustic character and minerality. 

The opposing left bank of the RhĂ´ne also has granite soil with pebbles from the glaciers, rounded and polished by the RhĂ´ne that keep the heat of the day and give it back at night resulting in  concentration of sugars and aromas.

The North RhĂ´ne River valley climate is semi-continental of Burgundy and Mediterranean as in Provence, with cold continental winters with wind and little rain and summers that are Mediterranean: hot with storms and little wind. This contrast in climate produces a Syrah with intense aromas of red fruit and spices and minerality.

The Maison les Alexandrins Crozes-Hermitage vineyards are composed of young vines of an average age of 15 years, planted on terraces that covers the hinterland of the Nothern Côtes du Rhône, and situated on localities of the Southern Rhône, Loire, Isère, northern Drôme and north Ardèche.

This vintage release is a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier.

It was awarded 89 points by Wine Spectator. 

The winemaker's notes on this wine: "This 2018 Syrah immediately displays its colour: it is a gourmet wine that comes in a beautiful concentrated red robe. Precise on the nose, it offers an attractive variety of aromas like small red fruit and liquorice. On the palate, it already reveals its roundness, with a nice acidity on the attack and a fruity finish."

This was dark garnet with deep purple colored, medium full bodied of blackberry, black cherry and ripe plum with notes of spice, black pepper, tobacco and black tea with round full approachable tannins on the tangy finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3572666 

http://lesalexandrins.com/en/

http://chezjoelbistro.com/

 

 

 


Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Piedrasassi PS Santa Barbara County Syrah

Piedrasassi 'PS' Santa Barbara County Syrah 2019

I saw this somewhat modest priced Syrah at Binny's, the big box beverage superstore merchant of Chicagoland and picked up a bottle to try. Piedrasassi is the handicraft of winemaker producer Sashi Moorman, who cultivates the grapes and produces a porfolio of wines in the Central Coast of California. His partner Melissa Sorongon freshly mills American heritage grains for naturally-leavened loaves that she bakes in a hand-built wood-fired oven. The promote the bakery bread in conjunction with their wines.

Piedrasassi focus primarily cultivating and and vinifing Syrah, the grape varietal winemaker Sashi Moorman has been working with for over two decades. According to their website, "the viticultural heritage of the Northern Rhone and the pioneering ethos of the Central Coast equally inform his engagement with Syrah". 

Their wines are sourced from four vineyard sites across the greater Central Coast Santa Barbara County where there is a "remarkable east-west transverse of valleys, shaped by an era of tectonic contortion and upheaval. Here, geologic time stands on its head: diverse soils of varying epochs are often entangled. Receptive to the daily rhythms of the Pacific’s cooling winds and pervasive fog, these valleys and, in particular, their constituent hillsides, are host to some of California’s most compelling terroir for Syrah".

Piedrasassi produce three premium vineyard designated Syrahs from four vineyard sources in the Santa Maria Valley - Rim Rock Vineyard north of Santa Maria along Hwy 101, Bien Nacido Vineyard further inland, east of town, Sebastiani Vinyeard and Patterson Vineyard further south in the valley. 

Arroyo Grande Valley Syrah - Rim Rock Vineyard
Santa Maria Valley Syrah - Bien Nacido Vineyard
Samta Rita Hills Syrah - Patterson & Casa Cassara Vineyards

This 'PS' Piedrasassi Syrah is their larger production 'entry' level Syrah, available in wider distribution, priced at half the price of the three 'premium' labels, which are each priced at $50. 

The Arroyo Grande Valley Syrah comes from their flagship site, the Rim Rock Vineyard situated along Hwy 101 north of the town of Santa Maria. Since 2016, they have leased and farmed the vineyard. Weathered shale soils on a windy slope just seven miles from the Pacific Ocean results in low yields of concentrated, high-quality fruit. They recommend cellaring Rim Rock Syrah for several years prior to opening. In 2019, only 259 cases of Arroyo Grande Valley Syrah were produced. 

 
Further inland, east of the town of Santa Maria is the Bien Nacido Vineyard, long a highly sought-after site for Syrah in Santa Barbara County. Piedrasassi have the fortune to work with the vineyard's two best plantings, X Block and Z Block. X Block, grafted from Riesling to Syrah in 1986, represents the very first cool-climate Syrah planting in North America. Z Block was planted in 1992, making these the oldest Syrah vines work by Piedrasassi. The advanced vine age slows ripening, keeping potential alcohol levels lower. 

Fruit for the Santa Rita Hills Syrah comes from two vineyards, Patterson and Casa Cassara, both planted at higher altitudes. This wine tends to be the most forward of their offerings as fruit from the Patterson vineyard comes from younger vines, which tend to produce more generous clusters with larger berries and thicker stems. Of the three cuvées, this is the wine they suggest to enjoy in its youth with its striking balance between fruit and savory characteristics best in early years. In 2019, only 188 cases of Santa Rita Hills Syrah were produced.

The Santa Maria Valley Syrah is the most elegant and restrained of the lineup with high-toned fruits and sweet spices on the palate with softer, silkier tannins and a refreshing, acid-laden finish. In 2019, 306 cases of Santa Maria Valley Syrah were produced.

Piedrasassi began making these wines in 2003 inspired by the diversity of grapes and wines cultivated in the wide open, relatively uncharted territory that is the California wine industry.

All their labels are packaged in a distinctive 'moonshine jug' shaped bottle, shorter and more stout than a traditional 750ml bottle. 

Extract of the winemaker notes: "The PS Syrah designated Santa Barbara County a burst of sweet blue/purplish fruit followed by complex floral and savory notes of with hints of lavender, sage, mint and black pepper." Of the 2019 vintage release, 1680 cases were produced.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, black berry fruits with notes of black pepper spices, hints of soy and sage with moderate tangy acidic tannin laced finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3974384

https://piedrasassi.com/

 

 

Monday, October 11, 2021

Arns Napa Valley Syrah 2010

Arns Napa Valley Syrah 2010 

With Sunday night dinner of grilled tomahawk rib-eye steak on the grill, baked potatoes, haricot vert and caprese tomato salad, Linda asked for a big bold red wine. I pulled this, one of her favorites from the cellar for the occasion. 

I have written in these pages before, we have been long time fans of Arns Winery and their Napa Cabernets so we arranged a visit and private tasting with producer John Arns at the estate on lower Howell Mountain during our 2013 Napa Wine Experience.

John Arns and Sandi Belcher, both UC Davis trained enologists, developed Arns Winery after years of selling grapes to local wineries. John did the viticulture and his partner Sandi was the winemaker. It was during that visit that we discovered and acquired this single vineyard designated Syrah made with fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill which I write about in an earlier blogpost.

They primarily produced Cabernets with fruit from their 10-acre vineyard on the hillside of the Eastern hills of Howell Mountain near St. Helena. While it was originally a farmstead in the late 1880's, its modern incarnation began in the late 1950's when the Arns family bought the property. 

Rick, Linda and John Arns

Arns Cabernets are especially precious now because the tiny vineyard that produced them was totally destroyed by the Glass fire that raged through Napa Valley in October 2020. By a stroke of luck before the fire Sandi and John had moved all the wine in barrels to the Fontinella Winery facility on Mount Veeder that was not affected by the fire. 

Though the Arns wine estate is gone, the Arns label will continue with Sandi Belcher purchasing specially selected grapes from prime producers. 

This wine was produced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill in Napa Valley. For years, John managed the vineyards and obtained some of the fruit to bottle this label.

Regrettably, this is our last bottle of this label from what originally we acquired at the winery during our visit, then reordered more from them, and then actually acquired this bottle when we picked up an entire lot on Winebid.com

We need to find out if more will be produced as we have not seen new releases beyond the 2013 which shows sold out on their website. We still hold a few bottles of that vintage.

This is serious juice. The 2010 vintage was aged in one year old French oak for three years. The concentrated extracted fruit is apparent as soon as you pour the dark inky purple juice into the glass.

Winemaker's notes: It is concentrated, yet elegant with full-bodied, ripe, decadent notes of cassis, licorice, herbs, black pepper and violets. It has a perfect kiss of sweet vanilla from aging in French oak and is soft and smooth on the finish.

Tonight this was mostly consistent with our earlier notes for this label although at eleven years, the fruits have fallen off ever so slightly. Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, huge aromatics explode from the bottle as soon as the cork is pulled, thick, concentrated black and blue fruits are accented by a pronounced layer of sweet spicy oak laced caramel that turns to black licorice, pepper and herbs, with smooth sinewy tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1809227

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/11/arns-melanson-napa-syrah-08.html

http://arnswinery.com/