Amarone Amarone

Amarone Amarone casual quaint Italian dining NYC

In NYC for team meetings, we dined at Amarone, a quaint casual neighborhood Italian restaurant on Ninth Avenue between the Hell's Kitchen restaurant district and the theatre district. 

Amarone serves traditional classic Italian dishes and offers a basic modest Italian wine centered winelist. I don't know if it's fallout from the Covid disruptions or what, but even the limited two page wine list, the number of selections actually available was limited to perhaps single digits. 

No less than five of my selections were not available, and I was offered a modest Chianti Classico table wine. That left a handful at best of remaining options, one Ultra-premium Antinori Tignanello, and this Amarone. At least this was a DOCG classified label and was moderately priced - hence the obvious choice. 

For our entrees, two ordered menu pasta selections, and two of us ordered from two daily specials, a pork chop or a veal chop. I opted for the veal chop in a cheese sauce with spinach and roasted potatoes. 

Both dishes were large generous portions in were dramatic artistic presentations, as was the caprese starter, all shown below. 

Salvalai Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico 2016

This is from Salvalai, who have been been producing estate wines since 1870 from the grapes grown in the vineyards on the hills overlooking the Verona shore of historic Lake Garda. Salvalai makes wines from the popular Ripasso to the inimitable Amarone, as well as three "Classico" wines of the Verona area (Soave, Bardolino and Valpolicella) .

Salvalai was one of the first wineries in the area to successfully export its wines beyond Italy's borders in the late '60s.

Produced in the classic Valpolicella method and style, this is a blend of the classic traditional grape varieties made up of 70-75% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella and 5% Rossignola e Negrara. 

The grapes are sourced from estate vineyards, the twelve acre Vejo vineyard vines exceed 20 years of age, with distinctive terroir of particular soil and climatic, excellent east-west exposure with natural ventilation provided by the cool breezes coming from the nearby Mount Baldo and a mild climate due to the beneficial influences of Lake Garda.

The twenty five acre Sole Vineyard has rich alluvial soil with great exposure of the vines, located in a narrow valley, the vineyard receives a long and consistent exposure by the sun. 

Only perfectly unblemished and dry clusters are selected for the Amarone blend, harvested 1-2 weeks earlier than those for the Valpolicella wine and subjected to the ancient grape drying practice. They are left to dry in selected well-aired locations, called “fruittai”, to avoid being attacked by mold until the end of January. 

By the end of the drying period, the grapes have lost 30-40% of their weight, and their concentration of sugar, an indispensable element during the following fermentation stage to ensure a noteworthy alcoholic level has increased. Maceration is carried out on contact with the skins for a period of 20-30 days, after drawing off the lees, the product is fermented in steel vats, then matured three years and further aged 12 months in large barrels (Slavonian oak) and 30% in small casks, barriques and tonneaux (French oak), finally, prior to the release, matured for at least 6-8 months in the bottles.

The result is intense, concentrated big round ripe fruit forward wines, an acceptable pairing for our food entrees, but a bit intense, not for the feint of heart.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, sharp intense, concentrated ripe fruits accented by raisin, smoke, notes of creosote and fig with long warm length on the finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3901523

http://www.salvalai.it/

http://www.amaroneristorantenyc.com/

Italian Village Team Dinner

Team Wine and Dine Dinner at  Italian Village Chicago

After fifteen months of Covid shut-in WFH - (Work From Home) controlled work rules, we brought my leadership team into Chicago for re-engagement and strategic planning. 

I hosted a dinner at our regular roost, my mainstay wine and dine site, Italian Village Chicago. This is our go-to site for such occasions given its proximity to the office, extraordinary winelist, dependable food service from the three restaurants, kitchens, chefs under one roof, and long standing friendship with Wine Director Jared Gelband. 

As is our custom, we dined in one of the private dining rooms, Seeking Italian varietal wines for the Italian cuisine,  Jared selected the initial wine course from special selections off the extensive winelist, and I selected a second follow on wine. I mentioned Barolo as a starter wine and Jared pulled an aged ten year old 2011 vintage from the cellar. To follow suit, I selected from the winelist another 2011 release wine for a mini-horizontal. As is customary, I selected a 'bigger' more exuberant wine so as not to be overshadowed or overpowered by the first selection. 

Aurelio Settimo Rocche Dell Anunziata Barolo 2011

For native Italian faire we selected Italian varietal and produced wines. I suggested Barolo, a delicious red wine from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. 

Barolo is made strictly from Nebbiolo grapes. The Nebbiolo grape does not travel well and is high maintenance, hence it has not been adopted by other regions and gained wider popularity beyond the Piemontese slopes of Northern Italy. It is much like another finicky or fickle grape varietal, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo is a reflection and expression of its terroir, and displays the subtleties of its environment. 

The center of the universe for production of this varietal based world class exclusive and age-worthy red wines made from Nebbiolo is the Barolo wine region. The region consists of five core townships: La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto and the Barolo village itself, as well as a few outlying villages. 

The landscape of Barolo, characterized by prominent and castle-topped hills, is full of history and romance centered on the Nebbiolo grape. Barolo wines are known for their signature character profile: “tar and roses” aromas, a deceptively light garnet color, but full presence on the palate and plenty of tannins and acidity. A well-made Barolo wine will be complex and big with and aging profile that at its best needs 10-15 years before its ready to drink, and can further age for several decades. 

Jared pulled from the vast Italian Village cellar and decade old Aurelio Settimo Rocche Dell Anunziata. This is a single vineyard designated label, the flagship top label for the reputable producer.

This producer and label dates back to 1962. Long before that, Domenico Settimo settled in the hamlet of Annunziata in the area known as La Morra in Piemonte in 1943, in an old farmhouse built at the end of the 19th century. Up until 1962 Settimos were farmers, working the land (vineyards, fruit trees, hazelnuts) and breeding animals (hens, rabbits, cows). They produced some grapes that were sold to big local wineries except a small amount that they held back for the family to produce wine for themselves, friends and relatives.

In the late 1950s, Domenico began bottling some of the wine under the Settimo Domenico label. Son, Aurelio worked by his side and learned how special the land and its terroir were. After Domenico died in 1962 Aurelio decided to specialize solely on growing grapes and producing wine.

Aurelio began extending the winery and growing production but 50% of the grapes grown on the estate continued to be sold to the larger local wineries up until 1974. Since that 1974 vintage all the production has been vinified on site. The estate vineyards cover 14 acres and have been planted and replanted over the years such that the vines range in age between 18 and 46 years, mostly planted in Nebbiolo, with a couple with Dolcetto. The estate’s 8.5 acre prime vineyard, considered to be one of the area’s very finest crus, is the celebrated Rocche Dell’Annunziata. The remaining 5.5 acres of Nebbiolo is used for their standard estate Barolo DOCG.

Since 2007, Aurelio’s daughter, Tiziana has been at the helm managing the company, holding to the long held philosophy to focus on quality and maintain respect for tradition. They produce only red DOC wines, exclusively from their own grapes. Their vineyards, all in Annunziata hamlet adjacent to the cellar, are cultivated with Nebbiolo for Barolo grapes. The best of those are set aside for the prestigeous cru Rocche dell’Annunziata. A small part is dedicated to dolcetto vine. 

 

This was dark garnet with brick edges in colour, medium full bodied with aromatic plum, blackberry and black cherry fruits with earthy peppercorn, rose, and notes of cigar box, licorice and spice with a dry acidic rounded finish.

 

RM 89 points. 

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2197886

http://aureliosettimo.com/en/

https://twitter.com/AURELIOSETTIMO

 

Allegrini Amarone della Volpolicella Classico 2011

We moved to a bigger bolder wine for the entree course, selecting another 2011 vintage release for a mini-horizontal comparison, a perfect pairing with spicy pasta and dark Marsalla sauces. 

This DOCG Amarone della Valpolicella Classico from Allegriniis is always popular and one of the most awarded wines of its class and highest esteemed producers in Italy. 

Drawing on more than six generations of Veneto winegrowing tradition and a long running serious of successful vintage releasesm Allegrini has received its 30th Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award from Gambero Rosso in 2014, placing it among the top producers in Italy. Individually, Allegrini Amarone has received 16 Tre Bicchieri designations, more than any other Amarone.

Family owned and operated by the Allegrini family, which has had roots in the Valpolicella since the sixteenth century, they have nearly 250 acres of hillside vineyards in the Classico zone. All Allegrini  wines are 100% from grapes grown in the Estate’s vineyards. 

Amarone is the result of unique production technique where Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Oseleta grapes are left to air dry at least until December, checked daily to ensure perfectly healthy grapes. Lengthy refining and aging finally yields a red wine that has become emblematic of Italian oenology, alongside Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino. The result is wine with imposing structure and depth, as much in its aromas of mature fruit and spices, as on the palate, where the alcohol is sustained by the right degree of acidity and refined tannins.

 

This release was awarded 93 points by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. 91 by James Suckling.

 

Dark ruby colored, full bodied and firm structure, expressive vibrant intense classic ripened raisin flavored dark cherry and raspberry fruits fronted by spice and herb notes with accents of graphite, mocha, mineral and licorice. 

 

RM 92 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1492745

 

https://www.allegrini.it/

 

https://twitter.com/AllegriniGroup

@AllegriniGroup

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

https://twitter.com/italianvlg

@italianvlg 

 

 

 

 

Amarone and Shiraz for Asian Dinner

Amarone and Shiraz for Asian Dinner

For a gala business dinner in Rotterdam with our special business partner, they took us to a local favorite Malaysian restaurant.  I selected from the winelist two wines for the meal starting with a favorite 'go-to' wine, Shotfire Australian Shiraz, and a Amarone Volpolicella from Tedesci.

Following our tasting of a Zeni 1870 Amarone the previous evening, it was interesting and fun to explore this label, a similar wine from the same vintage, 2015 Tedeschi Amarone.

Saving this more complex and sophisticated wine for the entree courses, we started with this Thorne Clark Shotfire Shiraz as our opening wine.

Thorne Clark Barossa Valley Shotfire Shiraz 2016

The name Shotfire is derived from the history of ancestor and founder James Goddard who worked in the gold mines of Barossa during the gold rush of 1870 in the Lady Alice mine. Shotfire refers to the perilously dangerous activity of setting and lighting the explosive charges used to remove the aggregate from the mines.  

I call this a 'go-to' wine as it is a high QPR (quality price ratio) priced to be an everyday wine that is dependable and pleasantly easy drinking, yet it won't disappoint when serving to others.

Its the kind of wine to keep on hand for everyday drinking with cheeses, pasta, meats, BBQ or desserts. Tonight, it provided just such as a starter wine with our early courses that was enjoyed by all.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, fruit forward, jammy sweet ripe black and red fruits with notes of mocha, vanilla and subtle oak with chewy tongue puckering tannins on the long finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2962204


Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015

This wine is made from grapes harvested in various vineyards located on hills in the Valpolicella zone (Mezzane and Tregnago hills). Tedeschi use different sources and different grape varieties so as to produce "a well-balanced wine with the fine structure that only a few single areas in the Valpolicella zone can provide".

This label is a blend of  grape varieties; 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, and Dindarella.

This was bright ruby red, medium full bodied with balanced and firmly structured bright notes of sweet raisiny character fruits of currants, blackberries and cherries with sprites of vanilla and earth tones with a slight tangy bitterness on the lingering persistent tannin laced finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3171907

Zeni Amarone della Valpolicellas

Zeni Amarone della Valpolicellas

Fellow Pour Boys Ernie and Lyle and I helped host and serve at the Valpolicella Wines Trade & Media Tasting Event in Chicago last November, where we were called in to service to assist in setup and serving. At this event, the Consorzios of Valpolicella and Lugana also conducted a Masterclass seminar and tasting in addition to the exclusive trade tasting of these regions’ most exceptional recent vintages. 

There, I discovered Zeni Amarone della Valpolicella Barriques. I've been on the lookout for the label ever since.

So, I was excited to see the Zeni Amarone della Valpolicella Classico label on the winelist at the INUL8 Wine Bar in Rotterdam when out on the town with my EMEA roadshow team.

The Zeni family has been producing wines for four generations, dating back to 1870 in the area of Bardolino, Italy.

Fratelli Zeni manages about twenty hectares of its own vineyards located in the Bardolino hills. they also sources grapes from numerous local growers.

Fratelli Zeni produces the classical wines of the province of Verona; all are DOC wines : Bardolino classico, Bardolino Chiaretto classico, Soave classico, Custoza, Valpolicella classico, Amarone and Recioto.

The current proprietor Gaetano Zeni has invested in and updated the facilities and vineyards; cetnury-old wine barrels, new barrels of toasted wood, careful management of the vineyards, control of production, and updated technology all contribute to the quality and individuality of Fratelli Zeni wines.

Zeni 1870 Amarone della Valpolicella Barriques 2012

I discovered and tasted this label at the Valpolicella Wines Tasting Event in Chicago.

This was the most unique Amarone della Valpolicella I've ever tasted with its sweet spicy oak flavors infused into the wine from aging in for 12-24 months in French oak barriques. I loved it.

This label is a selection of the best grape bunches from the harvest from the hilly vineyards. The grapes are collected in small crates and left to raisin in order to achieve a high concentration of sugar, extracts, aromas and glycerine according to the Amarone custom and style the.raisining of the grapes lasts for 4 months followed by traditional skin fermentation and 20-25 days maceration, The juice is then aged in French oak barriques (large barrels) for 12-24 months adding the sweet spicy oak notes to the flavor and character of the aged wine.

This is a blend of 40% Corvina, 50% Corvinone, and 10% Rondinella. The final release has an alcohol content of 15.4% vol.,

This was Garnet colored, full bodied black berry and black raspberry fruits accented by sweet spicy toasted oak and notes of vanilla, tobacco leaf, tea an leather with supple lingering tannins on the lively finish.


RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3172937 


After a steak and beer dinner in Rotterdam we set out for an after dinner glass of wine and landed at 1NUL8 Wine Bar and Restaurant.

Having tasted the Zeni 1870 Amarone at the trade and industry tasting, I was captivated by this other Amarone from this producer and was eager to try it.


Zeni 1870 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015

This is sourced from the Valpolicella Classica zone, the hilly band to the north of Verona with red-brown soil with limestone-marly and basaltic sediments. This is a blend of 60% Corvina, 20% Corvinone, and 10% Rondinella.

The grapes are harvested as the Amarone above, hand selection of the best grape bunches coming from hilly vineyards, the grape collected in small crates and left to raisin in order to achieve a high concentration of sugar, extracts, aromas and glycerine. The difference is that for the Classico, the  raisining of the grapes lasts 2-3 months followed by traditional skin fermentation and 15-20 days maceration, and the aging lasts in oak barrels for 2-3 years, depending on the vintage. the resulting wine is alcohol content  of14.8% vol.

Bright ruby red with a garnet red tinge, medium full bodied, bright vibrant notes of black berry and bing cherry accented with notes of vanilla and hints of cocoa and spices with tangy lingering tannins on the finish.


RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3064536

https://www.1nul8.nl/

https://www.zeni.it/en/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/10/pour-boys-work-volpolicella-lugana.html

Italian Village Dinner features Amarone and Brunllo di Montalcina

Team Dinner at Italian Village features Amarone and Brunello di Montalcina

With my management team in town for planning meetings we ended the day with dinner at my usual host site, Italian Village.

As is customary, we dined in our usual private room so we could have an intimate working dinner. And. as usual, friend and Wine Director Jared Gelband selected a couple of ideal wines to complement our authentic Italian dinners.

Several of the group had the trio of vitello with three different preparations. I had my favorite, Veal Marsala entree with the brown mushroom sauce which is a perfect complement to the Amarone Volpolicella red wine.

For our starters and salad course had a Sangiovese based Brunello Di Montalcino from Caprili. As we moved to the entree course we drank an Amarone della Valpolicella from Giuseppe Lonardi.

Caprili Brunello di Montalcino 2013

I asked for a Sangiovese varietal wine which calls for Brunello di Montalcino. Jared served this Caprilli which paired well with our salad and  Anitposto courses.

Brunello di Montalcino is from the area surrounding the town of Montalcino which is located south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello is the designation for wine produced with 100% Sangiovese varietal grape.

Since 1980, Brunello di Montalcino has been designated DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status, which refers to quality controls and guaranteed designation of origin. This is akin to the American AVA with regards to to place of origin, and the French AOC - Appellation Origin Controlee system which regulates quality. DOCG labelled wines are analyzed and tasted by government–licensed personnel before being bottled. To prevent later manipulation, DOCG wine bottles are sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork.


This was garnet colored, medium bodied, lighter than I expected, slightly astringent with bright acidity, bright red fruits accented by notes of spice, minerals, leather dusty earthiness and hints of smoke with fine tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2607727
 

Giuseppe Lonardi Amarone della Valpolicella

Corte Lonardi is a small winery located in Marano, in the heart of Valpolicella. The owner, Silvia Lonardi is the daughter of founder and namesake Giuseppe Lonardi whose life was immersed in wine and cuisine, growing up in the vineyards and the family owned tavern.

Silvia’s great-grandfather Giuseppe, was a restaurateur, as was her grandfather Aldo. Giuseppe began producing wine in the early 80s with his friend and winemaker Roberto Ferrarini.

Today Silvia produces high-quality wines which reveal the terroir of the Valpolicella region and the soil of the Marano hills 1000 feet above sea level above the Marano di Valpolicella valley. Valpolicella is in the province of Verona, within the large Veneto region near Venice in northeastern Italy.

Amarone della Valpolicella, also known as Amarone for short, is a red wine blended from the Corvina (45–95%, of which up to 50% could be substituted with Corvinone), Rondinella (5–30%) and other approved red grape varieties (up to 25%). 

In Italian, the name Amarone literally means "the Great Bitter" which distinguished it from Recioto and Repasso wines produced in the same region, which tend to lighter and slightly sweeter in taste.

What distinguishes Amarone from other wines is that the grapes are partially dried for approximately  90 days before pressing, which results in higher degree of residual sweetness and lower acidity. The resulting wines allows long aging and have a distinctive flavor profile described as full, warm, velvety notes and notes of ripe fruit and woodland tones. Amarones are often consumed ten to fifteen years after harvest.

Volpolicella wines are designated DOCG status.

Giuseppe Lonardi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2011

This was bright deep garnet colored, full rich concentrated ripe sweet red fruits accented by notes of leather and tobacco leaf with hints of forest on the firm but polished finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2114460

http://www.lonardivini.it/wines/?lang=en

http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/

Pour Boys Serve Volpolicella Lugana MasterClass and Industry Tasting

Pour Boys Serve Volpolicella Lugana MasterClass and Industry Tasting

For the Valpolicella and Lugana Wines Trade & Media Tasting Event in Chicago, the 'Pour Boys' were called in to service to assist in setup and serving. This was extra special as the Consorzios of Valpolicella and Lugana also conducted a Masterclass seminar and tasting in addition to the exclusive trade tasting of these regions’ most exceptional recent vintages. 

The event was orchestrated and hosted by Balzac Communications from Napa, CA, who arrange and manage many industry events. It was held in the magnificent Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Hall, Rotunda, and Annex in the Chicago Cultural Center overlooking Michigan Avenue across from adjacent Grant Park. 

This was a smaller event than the gala Bordeaux events we've served in the past, most notably, the annual UGCB annual release tour (2018). (UGCB 2017), and the Grands Cru Classe St Emilion Producer's Chicago tasting event (2015). Those events featured 130+ and 28 producers respectively. 

While the Volpolicella Lugana tasting only featured 15 producers and a major distributor, it offered a Sommelier Master Class seminar that was oversubscribed to a full house with a waiting list and was very well received and highly regarded. Almost 300 members of the trade and press were pre-registered for the event.

Valpolicella is the viticultural area or appellation in the province of Verona, Italy, east of Lake Garda. It ranks just after Chianti in total Italian Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) wine production. It is known for red wines typically produced from three grape varieties: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara.

The Valpolicella region is colloquially called the "pearl of Verona". It is a popular rural vacation destination with its classic villas surrounded by estates with historic vineyards and wineries.

Valpolicella is best known for its premium wine, Amarone, a strong wine made from dried grapes.

Another most notable wine from the region is Valpolicella Ripasso, a form of Valpolicella Superiore made with partially dried grape skins that have been left over from the Amarone.

The Lugana region is the area to the east around Lake  Garda  and  its  surrounding  area. The “Lugana” Controlled Denomination of Origin (DOC) was established in 1967. Lugana DOC  wines are white wines made from the Trebbiana and Turbiana grapes. The Lugana was the first DOC in Lombardy and is one of the oldest in Italy.

The Lugana tasting was hosted by the Consorzio Tutela Lugana. The Consortium is the Lugana trade association that was established for the Safeguarding of Lugana  to supervise, protect and promote the qualities of the denomination and its wine.

The area is also known for Franciacorta, a sparkling wine from the Province of Brescia (Lombardy) with DOCG status produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the territory of Franciacorta, on the hills located between the southern shore of Lake Iseo and the city of Brescia.

Wine producers represented serving/tasting wines:

• CA Mailol
• Cantina Bulgarini
• Cantine Riondo
• Domenico Fraccaroli
• Le Morette
• Malavasi Daniele
• Monte Cicogna
• Pilandro
• Sartori Di Verona
• Sgreva
• Villa San Carlo
• Zeni 1870

Volpolicella Wine Tasting:

• Ilatium
• Novaia
• Rino Sartori
• Sanit
• Vigneti Di Ettore

 Lugana Wine Tasting:

• Avanzi
• Borgo La Caccia
• Ca' Lojera
• Cadore Patrizia
• Cantina Di Castelnuovo
  
• Cascina Maddelena
• Casello Bondini
• Loda Umberto
• Marangona
• Montolonale
• Oselara 
• Ottella
• Pasini San Giovanni
• Perla Del Garda
• Pratello
• Rizzi
• Selva Capuzza
• Silenzi Di Terra
• Tenuta Roveglia
• Turina

www.consorziolugana.it

https://www.consorziolugana.it/lugana-home

Pour Boys - Ernie, Lyle, Rick

Home-made Michael Schwartz wines highlight wine dinner

Home-made Michael Schwartz wines highlight wine dinner

For a customer/business partner dinner, we hosted a special dinner at Vinifera Wine Bistro at the Westin Hotel in Reston, VA. Business partner and colleague Michael Schwartz brought two bottles of special home vinted wine from his private cellar to serve BYOB at the dinner. As a wine aficionado and wine snob extraordinaire I was intrigued by the prospects of trying Mike's wine, but I admit my expectations were very low. I couldn't imagine a home produced wine with grapes or juice sourced from a commercial supplier being any good, let alone being sophisticated serious wine! Wow, what a surprise. Well done, Mike! Both wines were hits of the evening, actually overshadowing a special reserve Napa Valley Bordeaux varietal that I brought from home for the occasion.  

For the opening wine in the flight, Mike served his own Pinot Noir.  I write often in these pages about how difficult it is to find a moderately priced high QPR Pinot Noir. This was an amazing wine discovery! 

Odd Couple Winery, Michael Schwartz Home-vinted Lodi, Ca (Bottled at Lewisboro Valley New York) Pinot Noir 2010

This wine was produced by Mike in collaboration with fellow winemaker John Vuolo who has since gone on to found South Salem Winery, in South Salem, NY.

Ruby colored, moderately opaque, light bodied, this was a full forward brilliant vibrant fruit bomb with full flavored dusty rose, cranberry and red berry fruit flavors, bursting with tangy cinnamon spice - nicely balanced, polished, concentrated and complex, turning to a tangy tongue coating tannin finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2489858







Michael Schwartz Home-vinted Chateau Schwartz Italian Corvina (Bottled at Lewisboro Valley New York) Amarone 2008 

Like the Pinot above, this wine also blew me away with its relative balance and polish. This was the favorite of several of the diners at our dinner. 

Dark inky colored, full bodied, full concentrated black berry and black raspberry fruits flavors with tones of raisin, black cherry, smoke, creosote and hints of fig with a modest tannin finish. Lacking a core or structured backbone, otherwise this might have been as much a blockbuster surprise as the Pinot, impressive none-the-less.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2489882





Robert Keenan Winery Mailbox Vineyard Special Reserve Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Merlot 2004

For fun and to honor friend and business associate and one of our dinner guests, I brought this special namesake wine, a vineyard designated Napa Valley Reserve Merlot from Robert Keenan Winery, high atop Spring Mountain.

This wine had special significance for the evening, being the namesake for one of our guests, and it was discovered and sourced at the winery during  our 2007 visit there with colleague, business partner and friend AJ during one of our many Napa Wine Experiences together. I served one of these labels at a special holiday dinner a few years back, and gifted one to this friend as well. All the bottles mentioned, including tonight's bottle were in Magnum format.

Served last, this was appropriate in the tasting order as it was big forward concentrated fruit, even for a Merlot. At a dozen years of age, this bottle is just hitting its stride.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, smooth polished and nicely balance, blackberry and black raspberry fruits accented by tangy cherry notes, tones of cinnamon spice, cedar, tea and tobacco leaf with hints of anise, creosote and smoke.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=630922

https://www.keenanwinery.com/

http://southsalemwinery.com/

http://www.viniferabistro.com/

Home-made Michael Schwartz wines highlight wine dinner

Home-made Michael Schwartz wines highlight wine dinner

For a customer/business partner dinner, we hosted a special dinner at Vinifera Wine Bistro at the Westin Hotel in Reston, VA. Business partner and colleague Michael Schwartz brought two bottles of special home vinted wine from his private cellar to serve BYOB at the dinner. As a wine aficionado and wine snob extraordinaire I was intrigued by the prospects of trying Mike's wine, but I admit my expectations were very low. I couldn't imagine a home produced wine with grapes or juice sourced from a commercial supplier being any good, let alone being sophisticated serious wine! Wow, what a surprise. Well done, Mike! Both wines were hits of the evening, actually overshadowing a special reserve Napa Valley Bordeaux varietal that I brought from home for the occasion.  

For the opening wine in the flight, Mike served his own Pinot Noir.  I write often in these pages about how difficult it is to find a moderately priced high QPR Pinot Noir. This was an amazing wine discovery! 

Odd Couple Winery, Michael Schwartz Home-vinted Lodi, Ca (Bottled at Lewisboro Valley New York) Pinot Noir 2010

This wine was produced by Mike in collaboration with fellow winemaker John Vuolo who has since gone on to found South Salem Winery, in South Salem, NY.

Ruby colored, moderately opaque, light bodied, this was a full forward brilliant vibrant fruit bomb with full flavored dusty rose, cranberry and red berry fruit flavors, bursting with tangy cinnamon spice - nicely balanced, polished, concentrated and complex, turning to a tangy tongue coating tannin finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2489858







Michael Schwartz Home-vinted Chateau Schwartz Italian Corvina (Bottled at Lewisboro Valley New York) Amarone 2008 

Like the Pinot above, this wine also blew me away with its relative balance and polish. This was the favorite of several of the diners at our dinner. 

Dark inky colored, full bodied, full concentrated black berry and black raspberry fruits flavors with tones of raisin, black cherry, smoke, creosote and hints of fig with a modest tannin finish. Lacking a core or structured backbone, otherwise this might have been as much a blockbuster surprise as the Pinot, impressive none-the-less.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2489882





Robert Keenan Winery Mailbox Vineyard Special Reserve Napa Valley Spring Mountain District Merlot 2004

For fun and to honor friend and business associate and one of our dinner guests, I brought this special namesake wine, a vineyard designated Napa Valley Reserve Merlot from Robert Keenan Winery, high atop Spring Mountain.

This wine had special significance for the evening, being the namesake for one of our guests, and it was discovered and sourced at the winery during  our 2007 visit there with colleague, business partner and friend AJ during one of our many Napa Wine Experiences together. I served one of these labels at a special holiday dinner a few years back, and gifted one to this friend as well. All the bottles mentioned, including tonight's bottle were in Magnum format.

Served last, this was appropriate in the tasting order as it was big forward concentrated fruit, even for a Merlot. At a dozen years of age, this bottle is just hitting its stride.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, smooth polished and nicely balance, blackberry and black raspberry fruits accented by tangy cherry notes, tones of cinnamon spice, cedar, tea and tobacco leaf with hints of anise, creosote and smoke.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=630922

https://www.keenanwinery.com/

http://southsalemwinery.com/

http://www.viniferabistro.com/

Napa Cab 95 Vintage Horizontal Tasting

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 Horizontal Tasting Flight Highlight Selection of Big Reds and Grilled Barbecue Beefsteaks and Lamb

It started with our anniversary celebration dinner a couple weeks ago when we ordered Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from the Sullivan's Steakhouse winelist. We enjoyed the Pride so much we decided then we'd pick up from there with a follow on tasting of Pride from our cellar. So when our visit from Ryan and Michelle and baby Marleigh grew into a family and friends holiday weekend barbecue, the tasting plan started there. Joining us were Johnny & Erin, neighbors Matt & Amy, Bill and Beth, and later, Dr Dan & Linda.

Our collection of Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon includes an abundance from the 1995 vintage whose time has come to drink so we set upon a horizontal tasting flight from that year. Adding to the Pride, we pulled from the cellar Del Dotto and Elan. Bill and Beth joined and Bill brought from his cellar Constant Diamond Mountain and Freemark Abbey Bosche Vineyard cabernets from the same vintage to round out the horizontal selection.

Labor Day weekend barbecue ultimate wine flight

Prior to dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses with shrimp cocktail brought by Bill & Beth, with a Carmel Road Chardonnay. The cheese flight highlighted the chardonnay as well as the cabernets.

Carmel Road Central Coast Monterey (Appellation) Arroyo Seco Vineyard Chardonnay 2004

Lemon colored, full bodied, complex citrus flavors with a buttery nut layer.  Probably held on to this too long as its past its prime and time to drink.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=592344






We grilled out steak kabobs, Ryan and Michelle brought a full side of lamb, and Bill and Beth brought New York strip and filet steak. Dan and Linda showed up later and Dan brought two big reds befitting a big Cab tasting, an Amarone from Villa Mattielli and a La Mitre Chateauneuf du Pape from Caves St Pierre. 

Villa Mattielli Amarone della Valpolicella
and
Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Mitre 2010

Ryan manning the grill

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 Horizontal Tasting Flight

Elan Vineyards Atlas Peak, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

We first tasted and picked up this wine from the producers Richard & Linda Elliott-Smith during our 1998 Napa Wine Experience. 

Of the five eighteen year old '95 Napa Cab's tasted, this was the one showing the most diminution from age. Full bodied, with firm but well integrated tannins, the black berry and black cherry fruits are falling off a bit and giving way to tones of leather and tobacco, accented by anise, cedar and oak.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=72763

Del Dotto Vineyards Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Showing a hint of age but still life left in this eighteen year old - dark garnet color, medium-full bodied, hints of oak accent spicy forward black berry, black cherry and plum fruits with hints of cedar, leather, cigar box and vanilla with well-integrated tannins on a long complex finish. 

RM 89 points.  

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=890767

http://www.deldottovineyards.com

Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard Red Blend Wine 1995

From high atop Diamond Mountain at the northern end of Mayacamas Range above the town of Calistoga, Fred and Mary Constant and consulting winemaker Paul Hobbs produce Bordeaux style red wine blend wines.

We visited Diamond Mountain and Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard during our 2011 Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Wine Experience. Sitting at the summit at the top of the mountain, the site offers spectacular views overlooking both Napa and Sonoma highlands from over 2100 feet elevation. Constant is among the oldest wineries in the valley with history dating back to the late 1800's.


Wow, what a surprise, we had tasted this wine previously with uninspiring results. Tonight, this wine overachieved, vastly exceeding expectations. Dark purple color, medium to full bodied, full forward flavors of black berry, raspberry and black cherry fruits with traces of anise, tobacco, tea and leather on a lingering, moderate, soft tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

Bill's tasting notes -

Deep indigo color in the glass. A bit more full bodied than I remembered. Deep flavors of dark berry...blueberry, dark cherry and raspberry, with some minerality on the finish. Not surprising, given this vintage was made in more of a Bordeaux blend style albeit a bit Cabernet heavy at (73%). Smooth integrated tannins. A nice bottle drinking at peak. Will last another couple of years but why wait?

WC 90 points.

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 73%, Merlot 18%, and Cabernet Franc 9%.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=36373


http://www.constantwine.com/

Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Bosché Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Bill's tasting notes as posted on Cellartracker - "Medium garnet color. Spice on the nose...some pepper and a bit of clove. Full bodied with a interesting layers of plum, cassis, chocolate and eucalyptus. Just a hint of vanilla from light oak. Soft, integrated tannins provide some backbone. This is always a favorite and is drinking very well. More than held its own against a flight of '95 reds including Élan, Constant Claret, Del Dotto and Pride."

WC 92 points.

Another eye-opening standout of the evening, this was medium to full bodied with bright vibrant forward ripe plum and black raspberry fruits accented by tones of currant, clove, hints of vanilla and sweet oak with smooth polished silky tannins on the finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=780698


Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

We visited Pride Mountain Vineyards and Winery high atop Spring Mountain of the Mayacamas Range overlooking Napa Valley to the east, and Sonoma Valley to the west during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999 and again in 2003. We've enjoyed Pride since and often 'gift' Pride to friends on special occasions. We're big fans of rich concentrated extracted mountain fruit and hold Pride Cabernet going back to the mid-nineties. We love the Spring Mountain expression of terroir which I believe is as complex and flavorful as the other popular mountain appellations.

Dark, full bodied, firm, initially closed and tight - decanted and set aside, after an hour and half it started to open up to reveal big full complex dark blackberry and black currant fruits accented by anise, with hints of spice, dusty cedar, and a subtle sweet dark mocha on the full firm lingering tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6236

http://www.pridewines.com/

Caves Saint-Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Mitre 2010 

Dan brought this CDP from the much heralded blockbuster 2010 vintage. Garnet colored, medium bodied, surprisingly light for such a hearty vintage, slightly earthy black cherry, leather and tobacco notes with modest tannins.

RM 87

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1616011












Villa Mattielli Amarone della Valpolicella 2009

Lacking the big body and complexity of an Amarone, ruby colored, medium bodied, still has that signature raisin and fig tones with hints of anise, cola, vanilla and nut on a modest tannin finish. 

RM 87

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1573099

While it was getting late for some, (Erin & Johnny and Ryan & Michelle set out to get grandkids home and to bed, and Amy was bidding farewell for the evening, wishing to head home, I held her hostage until she'd tasted a dessert wine), mid-way through the evening we opened a Ruster Ausbruch with chocolate, cheese and fresh fruits course.
 

Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch Burgenland Neusiedlersee-Hügelland Rust 1996/1997

This is a Chardonnay blend of Fürmint and Gelber Muskatellier (Furmint and Gold Muscatel grape varieties). While this was no doubt straw colored upon release, over time it darkened to butter color, then weak tea colored, eventually darkening to the dark orange rust color it possesses now. Allowed to continue to age, this will likely eventually darken to dark strong tea color, although I suspect it won't necessarily improve the flavor and suitability of the wine. Some classic dessert wines are built to last decades, I suspect this Ruster Ausbruch is at or even past its peak drinking window. We still have a case of this wine, so watch this blog as we monitor this over the coming months and years.

The thick almost syrupy extracted sweet fruit has been offset by a smoky almond nut flavor. Rather than the highly desirable apricot or peach flavors, this tended to be more cirtus focused. This was a great complement to hard Parmesan cheese.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1455246

Later, deep in conversation solving the world's problems, I had long ago cried 'Uncle', as by this time my pallet or discrimination for tasting wine was gone and I was done tasting for evening. Linda, having not kept pace wanted another glass of wine so opened one of her favorites, a big Aussie Shiraz.

Ben Schild Barossa Valley Reserve Shiraz 2008

The story of the controversy of this label are chronicled in an earlier blogspot posting.  

The colour of this Reserve was deep dark Ruby Red and inky purple. Big, forward, thick, chewy, almost tongue-coating with huge aromas of blue fruits and violets give way to bright vibrant concentrated tongue coating flavors bursting with blueberry, black raspberry, ripe plum and chocolate, with hints of black pepper, spice and nicely integrated oak on a long lingering soft tannin finish.

My earlier review gave this 93 points (with a footnote of possibly warranting a 94) ... this time there re-emerged a bit of a graphite tone which detracted somewhat from the fruit so I took off a couple points.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1386115

http://schildestate.com.au/ben-schild-reserve-shiraz

1990 Birthyear Vintage Tasting Contrasting Styles

1990 Birthyear Vintage Tasting Contrasting Styles 

A mini-family reunion celebration gathering of three sons to welcome son Alec home from university and toast his successful career pursuit as he gathers offers from corporate visits tour. We feasted at Angeli's Restaurant, our favorite local Italian trattoria and opened two BYOB contrasting birthyear vintage wines. It was a study of contracts between 1990 Maison Leroy Maranges, Côte de Beaune, Maranges Burgundy, and 1990 Acinum Amarone della Valpolicella Classico.

If you follow or just read through this unwineWine blog tasting journal or unwindWine.com journal archive or our wine cellar selection list, you'll see we don't do a lot of either Burgundy or Italian wines. Our focus as noted by our cellar inventory stats is US 54% (California 50%), French 23% (only 1% Burgundy), and Australia 15% with Italian being only 2%. As I state in my Getting Started guide to wine enjoyment and collecting, its natural and best to focus on a few regions that represent your preferences.     

As highlighted in my Wine Spectator feature, part of the fun and enjoyment of having a wine cellar is collecting birthyear vintage wines to enjoy during celebration events such as tonight. Indeed, ten percent of our cellar represents birth-year and anniversary year wines for such occasions.


So, tonight, with youngest son Alec home from college on a corporate recruiting visit, oldest son Ryan comes out from the city to join Sean, L and me for a gala family dinner to celebrate our mini-reunion and Alec's success so far in obtaining options for his career launch from business school and notably, his coveted offer received this week from his target opportunities.

In selecting wine from the cellar for tonight's occasion, the boys had almost 200 bottles from which to select from the 1990 vintage.Collecting notable age-worthy wines is easy in such a great vintage such as 1990. Indeed, Wine Spectator's wine of the year selection featured a 1990 vintage wine in 1992, 1993 and again in 1994. We're fortunate enough to be holding those wines for an extra special occasion 

Following are the boy's cellar choices for this dinner - an adventure in wine discovery as these two unique outlier wines are outside our normal cellar preference profile and are both heretofore unknown and untried.

Maison Leroy Maranges, Côte de Beaune, Maranges Burgundy 1990

Like several other Cellartracker posters, I bought this wine wine on closeout at Binnys. The cork was totally saturated through. Another Cellartracker poster notes this is like many Leroys he's had over the past few years--perhaps a quality control issue? Starting to show its age there was slight rust colored browning around the edges. Medium bodied, the wine exhibited some complexity and some polish with earthy leather, slightly tart cherry and black cherry, and hints of dusty rose petals on the palate with a a modest lingering tannin finish.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=420365

   

Acinum Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 1990

Uncharacteristically, my cellar notes do not show when or where this bottle was acquired. Similarly, Cellartracker has little data of others purchasing or tasting this wine - rare given its 10 million bottle inventory and 100,000 tasting notes.

A typical Amorone, medium to full bodied with full forward ripe raisiny fig and black fruits. The body is a bit lighter and the fruits are less pronounced than most Amarones I have had in the past.


RM 87 points.
. 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=379640

As usual, all the Angelis dinners were fabulous and the service was attentive and personable. Tonight they featured their Mussels and Clam Chowder which are both extraordinary. Linda had the Asparagus and Ricotta cheese Ravioli which she said was delicious. With Ryan, I deferred to my old standby, their Veal Piccata, which is a standard bearer when I go to other Italian restaurants, Sean had the Pork Medallions special, and Alec the Shrimp special. No wonder we're regulars and recommend it heartily.