Pour Boys Norwegian Salmon Pinot Noir Dinner
Linda prepared a delicious fresh catch Norwegian Salmon in a spinach tomato butter cream sauce with balsamic rice and cooked carrots, with a side Caesar Salad.
Dan served an extensive wine flight starting with vintage Champagne, then Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and finishing with a TBA dessert wine. I supplemented the flight with a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir from our cellar.
![]() |
Wine flight served/tasted right to left. |
Chateau Montelena is one of the most historic and pre-eminent labels Napa Valley dating back to 1882, the same producer we took to our wine dinner at Oak Restaurant Charleston recently, when we we traveled to Charleston (SC) for an abbreviated OTBN get together with fellow wine buddy & Pour Boy Bill C, and Beth.
It was this classic flagship label from this legendary producer Chateau Montelena that in 1976 gained international acclaim for not only the winery, but for Napa Valley and the US wine industry with the monumental and historic ‘Judgement of Paris wine tasting event’. That tasting event was chronicled in Time Magazine in the June 1976 issue.
We visited the historic Chateau up in the north end of Napa Valley back in the early nineties, before I was blogging and writing about such activities.
We had fun with the famous event with a wine dinner featuring wines from the historic tasting, featured in these pages - Dinner Features Judgement of Paris Wines - Dinner Features Judgement of Paris Wines to Commemorate the Tasting event's Anniversary
The Chateau Montelena estate just north of Calistoga with it’s historic 19th century stone Chateau is surrounded by exceptional vineyards with a complex mix of soils, slopes and an ideal climate for producing wines to complete with the great First Growths of France.
Chateau Boswell ‘Absolutely Eloise’ Rita’s Crown Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2016
This limited production single vineyard designated label is from boutique winery Chateau Boswell which remains among a handful of privately owned family wineries amidst the 554 wineries in the Napa Valley in a time when so many have been taken over by the large consolidated corporate brands.
“We give Ashley everything she needs, but we leave it to her. We’re not trying to steal her thunder; we’re her spiritual guides.”
Fort Ross-Seaview is the most coastal of the Sonoma Coast AVA’s sub-regions, located on the far western edge of the AVA, and closest to the Pacific Ocean. The region is characterized by steep, rugged mountains and ridges that rise up from the ocean, and is home to some of the most dramatic vineyard sites in California.
“A dark-edged Pinot Noir with dark fruit, black cherry, and black plum with hints of the salty sea-spray and misty fog rolling into the Sonoma Coast from the Pacific Ocean.’
“Twilight is the most powerful time in life, the point between light and darkness, between day and night, when we are at our most productive, and this wine, according to proprietory Jayson Woodbridge, embodies all that. 'It has incredible staying power, showcasing Pinot Noir at its most muscular—like a warrior Pinot. It will carry you through the darkest times,' he says, and indeed, it does carry the light and dark as it unfurls with black cherry and spiced plum fruits, dark chocolate, and saline minerals. Its rich, creamy, and powerful character is underscored by fabulous minerality and brisk acidity. This wine makes a compelling argument for the power of Pinot—never underestimate it. Jayson doesn’t care if you accept the style; he makes it boldly and unapologetically. 'It’s like the Darth Vader of Pinot—dark, intense, yet undeniably good,' he says. Fabulous umami notes of long-roasted beef and intense charred mineral character, seaweed, and everything the ocean can deliver in your glass are also present.
Blind tasted, few would select this as a Pinot Noir with its rich, dense, concentrated full round dark fruits and might think it a Syrah or a Bordeaux varietal. The give-away is the dusty rose petal ripe, succulent black cherry and black plum fruits with savory soy minerality and firm but elegant polished lingering finish.
RM 95 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4607724
https://summerdreamswines.com/sonoma-pinot-noirs
We finished with this delicious unctuous dessert wine with pie with fresh berries and an assortment of chocolates.
Today, third generation Gerhard Kracher manages the estate with his life partner Yvonne, taking over on the passing of his father in 2007. From 2001, Gerhard gradually increased his responsibilities, representing the winery at international presentations promoting the ‘joie de vivre’ in the South of France, always looking ahead to experiment with new trends and innovations.
Zwischen den Seen (“in between the lakes”) are the wines which are matured in large wooden barrels or steel tanks, and undergo long yeast contact in order to deliver freshness, fruit und primary grape aromas into the bottle. The wines of the Nouvelle Vague line are marked by barrique ageing with air exchange during maturation. They are vivid and lively in taste, depth, spiciness and length, these wines notable characteristics.
Representing a small family business amongst the big wine dynasties of the world, Alois Kracher has gained widespread recognition and numerous awards including being honoured by Great Britain´s renowned Wine Magazine with the coveted "Wine Maker of the Year" title for an impressive seven times - in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2008.
The range offered by what is undoubtedly the most widely known Austrian wine estate features the world-famous Trockenbeerenauslesen as well as Beerenauslesen, Auslesen, Eiswein (ice wine) and small amounts of dry white and red wines.
We hold a dozen labels of Kracher wines in our collection going back almost three decades. I acquired this label upon release, long ago, and shared a couple bottles of with Dan back at that time.
This was awarded 94 points by European pundit Falstaff, 90 points by Wine Spectator and 89 by The Wine Advocate.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=50493
http://www.kracher.at/en/