Piper Heidseick - Enchanted Path for anniversary celebration

Piper Heidseick - Enchanted Path for gala anniversary celebration

We traveled to Indy this weekend to attend the gala celebration of Sis-in-law and Bro-in-law Pat's and Rodger's 50th Wedding Anniversary they hosted for close friends. This follows our trip the week before last to celebrate with them personally in taking them to dinner at Sullivan's Steakhouse, Indy, which was featured in this blogpost - Sullivan's Steakhouse Domaine Serene for celebration dinner.

I took for the occasion a large format magnum of this special limited edition bottle of Piper Heidseick Brut NV Champaign which we opened in a special toast to the 'newly' wed couple. This festive red bottle was released a couple years ago over the Christmas holidays and I bought a case of the picturesque festive bottles for the holidays and for special occasions such as this. 

I also opened several of these large format bottles for son Alec and Viviana's wedding celebration dinner as featured in this blogpost at the time - Wedding Wines - Birthyear and Big Bottle Extravaganza Continues.

I also took this weekend for tasting/pairing/sharing with the pot luck dinner at the anniversary celebration this hearty red blend Aussie Shiraz withe whimsical branding and label. 

We've written often in these pages about the Mollydooker portfolio of wines and their whimsically branded, labeled, named wines. What fun to open "Enchanted Path" for a gala Anniversary celebration occasion. 

I also took and opened this label for For dearest friends, Eric and Cathy's 40th anniversary celebration party - a bottle of Mollydooker whimsically named 'Enchanted Path' Mclaren Vale Red Wine Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz - Caymus 40th Anniversary Release - An Enchanted Path.

Mollydooker "Enchanted Path" McLaren Vale South Australia, Red Wine Blend 2012

Mollydooker is the handiwork of the husband-and-wife winemaking team of Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Prior to starting their own label the pair produced under the Marquis Philips brand in partnership with their distributor Dan Philips. Previously, they produced award-winning wines for Australian producers including Fox Creek, Henry’s Drive, Shirvington, and others. The term Mollydooker is Australian slang for a left-handed person as both Sarah and Sparky Marquis are left-handed.

Since 2005, they've focused exclusively on making their own exuberant wines which include a range of Shiraz labels and a variety of Shiraz/Cab/Merlot blends, as well as some adventuresome white wines such as The Violinist, a Verdelho varietal.

They source their fruit from 116 acres of vineyards at their winery in McLaren Vale where about 50 percent are planted in Shiraz, with the rest made up of Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. Most of their wines bear distinctive whimsical and humorous names and labels with cartoon characters. Never-the-less, many of their wines, while modestly-priced, Mollydookers are often highly rated. Their premium label, 'Velvet Glove' Shiraz retails for $175, however. 

The 2012 Enchanted Path is dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich thick concentrated and complex with varietal Cabernet notes of ripe black and blue berry and plum with clove, spice and layers of chocolate and anise, with supple creamy mouth-feel and chewy tannins on nicely polished balanced finish.

The 2012 Enchanted Path is a blend of 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1773713

www.mollydookerwines.com

Some other earlier posting notes of this label in these pages:

• Caymus 40th Anniversary Release - An Enchanted Path

•  Horizontal Tasting of South Australia Shiraz - Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path", GoDolphin, BCH and '9'

• 007 Shiraz-Cab Blends

• Mollydooker "The Enchanted Path" Shiraz Cabernet

Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit

Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit

A major highlight of our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour was a visit to the Long Shadows Wine Cellars tasting room. Long Shadows is an extraordinarily and unique concept in collaboration between world class distinguished wine makers and grape growers in the Washington Columbia Valley. 

Long Shadows was the creation of Allan Shoup, leader of Chateau St Michelle from 1983 to 2000. There he introduced Washington State grapes to winemakers from around the world in collaboration to produce quality wines. 

After retirement from Chateau St Michelle he founded Long Shadows to produce world class ultra-premium wines in Washington. He built a state of the art winery in Walla Walla and recruited a team of legendary producers to craft signature wines from the best vineyards' fruit from the Washington Columbia Valley. Three years into the new venture Long Shadows was awarded the Winery of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine. 

Shoup recruited a top winemaker with expertise and a track record producing best in class wine in each category or type of wine based on varietal grape. Marketed under the Vintners Collection, each of the Long Shadows labels in a testament to the legend of the winemaker for each label based on each varietal. The winemakers and their wine labels are:

Randy Dunn and Feather Cabernet Sauvignon - Randy has been producing Dunn Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley for three decades. 

Philip Melka and Augustin Huneeus - Noted for Napa Valley leading wine labels, they produce a Washington State Bordeaux Blend under the label Pirouette. 

Philip was named by Robert Parker as one of the Top Ten Winemaker Consultants in the World. He earned his handicraft at legendary Chateau Haut Brion and has consulted for notable Napa labels including Gemstone, Hundred Acre, Lail, Seavey, Vineyard 29, Bryant Family Vineyards, Caldwell, Cliff Lede, Dalla Valle, and with Augustin at his well known Quintessa.

 

This is the Syrah varietal member of collection and was crafted by legendary John Duval who was winemaker for Australia’s iconic Penfolds Grange for 16 years. John Duval came to Washington State's Columbia Valley in 2003 as the “sequel” to his life’s work with Syrah. 

Saggi is a Super Tuscan style blend produced by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, producers from one of Tuscany's leading wine families dating back to the 1700's. 

Pedestal Merlot is a Merlot produced by Michael Rolland, PhD and winemaker for or advisor to some of the world's most exclusive wineries across Bordeaux including top producers Clinet, l'Evangile, and Ausone in St Emilion and Pomerol.

Rolland's has been involved in notable projects outside of Bordeaux including some of the highly regarded Napa Valley wineries including Dalla Valle Vineyards, Jericho Canyon Vineyard, Harlan Estate, Staglin Family Vineyard, and Bryant Estate. 

Lastly, Chester Kidder, a new world blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other Bordeaux varietals. Named after Allan Shoup's grandparents, Charles Chester and Maggie Kidder, this wine is crafted by Long Shadow's director of winemaking Gilles Nicault. Gilles is also the winemaker for the Den Hoed wine label that we tasted during this trip with one of our culinary gourmet meals.

We've known the Long Shadows brand and have collected the Pirouette and Feather labels since the earliest vintages. We're long time fans of both Randy Dunn and Phillip Melka, producer of those labels. We hold more than a dozen vintages of Randy Dunn's Napa Valley and Howell Mountain Cabernets dating back to the early 1980's. We hold nearly a dozen vintages of Philip Melka wines marketed under numerous labels. 

The tasting at Long Shadows of the most recent releases prompted us to join their highest participating level club to ensure allocation of each vintage of each of these labels going forward. 

Long Shadows Vintners Collection

Julia’s Dazzle Rose’ 2017

Long Shadows Wineries Riesling Poet's Leap 2017

Pedestal Columbia Valley Merlot 2015 by Michel Rolland
Blended w/ Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot

Feather Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 by Randy Dunn

Pirouette Bordeaux Blend 2015 by Augustin Hunneeus, Sr and Philippe Melka
Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 21%, Petit Verdot 11%, Malbec 3%

Chester Kidder Columbia Valley Red Wine Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 by Gilles Nicault
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot

Sequel Columbia Valley Syrah 2015 By John Duvall, renowned winemaker for Penfolds Grange

More to follow ... 

Fleury Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Duo

Fleury Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon  Duo

We first met Brian and Claudia Fleury at a Del Dotto Estate Winery event (see below) back in 2002. From that meeting we acquired some Fleury Estate Lauren Bryce Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from what I believe was their inaugural vintage release. How surprising then to hear son Ryan speaking of this wine and about he and some of his buddy's acquiring some of the highly allocated select wine for their cellars. Fleury Estate Napa Cab is a favorite of him and several of his colleagues who have extensive collections of numerous releases of this label. 

With this as a backdrop, Ryan and I were looking for an appropriate occasion to comparison taste our vintage releases of Fleury Napa Cabernets from our collections. A Sunday family dinner was the perfect occasion.

Fleury Estate Winery owns 50 acres of Napa vineyards dispersed in three vineyards in three appellations at three elevations. Their vineyards are located in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Howell Mountain. They have a small Rutherford production facility that produces about 4,000 cases a year that is all sold direct to consumer at the winery or via their on-line allocation membership. 


Ryan spent the day smoking and grilling a prime rib of beef. The Fleury Cab was a perfect complement to the beef, baked potatoes, grilled carrots and peppers and Linda's chocolate cake.
The Lauren Bryce label refers to the names of the two Fleury children.

Fleury Estate Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Lauren Bryce 2000

This was dark garnet colored with medium full body, aromas and flavors of bright vibrant ripe dark berry and currant fruits with notes of cedar, anise, leather, mocha and oak turning to nicely integrated tannins on a lingering finish. This tasted like it was approaching the end of its apex prime drinking window, not likely to improve further with age but not yet showing signs of diminution.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=93506

Fleury Estate Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Lauren Bryce 2009

This vintage was dark blackish inky colored with full body, rich concentrated bright, vibrant, forward unctuous fruits of sweet ripe dark berry, black raspberry and currant fruits with notes of dark mocha and sweet toasty oak turning to nicely integrated tannins on a full chewy lingering finish.

This was delicious, very much my preferred style and profile, but perhaps too sweet for some folks' palette!

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1491336

http://www.fleurywinery.com/



Ryan's prime rib shown below. Historic pictures below showing Brian and Claudia Fleury, Dave, Yolanda and Desiree Del Dotto, and Nils and the late Dianne "Candy" Venge.

Brian and Claudia Fleury back in 2002

Brian and Claudia Fleury with Nils Venge, then winemaker and
Dianne "Candy" Venge..

Claudia serving at Del Dotto gala event.

Hosts for the special event,
Dave, Yolanda and Desiree Del Dotto.

Chateau Ste Michelle 50th Ann Special Bottling Cab

Chateau Ste. Michelle 50th Anniversary Special Bottling Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

More than any other question about wine, people ask me for a tip on a budget priced, high value, quality easy drinker. These wines are characterized as having high 'QPR' - quality price ratio. Of course high QPR is relative to its price point and quality and doesn't necessarily imply a low cost or budget conscious wine. When these wines are such, and are readily available with large production volume and wide availability I designate these wines 'Rick's Picks'! This is such a wine.  

I've often written ,there are once a year wines, once in a lifetime wines, once a month or once a week wines, and 'everyday' wines. The challenge is to find every day wine prices in wines of higher quality.  Walk, don't run out to get some, and grab a few or several bottles, not necessarily a case, and enjoy it with pizza, pasta and summer BBQ.

I actually discovered this wine when I ordered in from the wine list at Salerno's Pizza in Western Springs, IL. Its a nice 'pizza wine'. But I was quickly taken with its complex but pleasant fruit flavors and balanced smoothness. Shortly thereafter I went out to buy a few bottles for every day sipping.

I was initially taken aback by the label, a new approach to branding for this highly popular large volume producer - Chateau Ste Michelle, which in this case has given way to Ste Michelle Vineyards. Its a Columbia Valley "Distinctive Varietal Wine" designated as Cabernet Sauvignon "Cellared and Bottled by Chateau Ste Michelle in Patterson Washington. Notably, it is prominently cited as the "50th Anniversary Bottling", having been founded in 1967. 

Chateau Ste. Michelle actually own 3,500 acres in the Columbia Valley American Viticulture Area (AVA), located in central Washington state's dry, almost arid region due to it being separated from Seattle's rainy, marine climate by the Cascade Mountains. 

Chateau Ste. Michelle 50th Anniversary Special Bottling Cabernet Sauvignon Distinctive Varietal Blend 2015

While it is labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, this is actually a rather sophisticated Bordeaux style blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 4% Syrah, 1% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. It is aged  for 14 months in American and French oak, 1/3 new. Its not one to buy for aging, but go get some for easy every day sipping - great for pizza and pasta or BBQ.

Amazingly, they offer this special anniversary bottling for well under $20. This is a tribute to their production and prowess. Binny's, the Chicagoland beverage superstore (now actually Illinois since they expaned downstate) actually has this on sale now for under $12, a remarkable value indeed!

This is dark garnet colored, medium bodied, complex with bright forward black currant and black berry fruits with notes of black cherry, tobacco leaf, modest oak on a moderate finish. A nice achievement considering the large production of this release.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2669291

https://www.ste-michelle.com/