Pour Boys tenderloin and big red wines dinner

Our Pour Boys wine group gathered in Chicago for the gala fall CityScape Dinner hosted by Lyle and Terry. Bill and Beth C traveled in from Charleston and stayed with us for the weekend. 

For Friday night dinner, Linda prepared a grilled beef tenderloin with peppercorn sherry sauce, haricot verts, grilled vegetables and baked potatoes. 

For a wine accompaniment with the dinner, Bill and I trolled our cellar and pulled two aged vintage Napa Cabs of which we have visited the producer estate together. 

Prior to dinner we had a cheese board with a broad selection of artisan cheeses, fresh sesame bread and assorted crackers/biscuits, and wedge salad with blue cheese. 

Cheeses - 

• Aged Cheddar
• Aged Sharp Cheddar
• Gorgonzola with chive
• Aged Blue Cheese 
• Smoked aged Gouda
• White cheese with dill 

With the cheese course, and for the ladies preference, we opened a Tensley Syrah Grenache Rhône Valley varietal blend from Santa Maria Valley.

Tensley 'All Blocks' Tensley Vineyard Santa Barbara County Red Wine (GSM) 2020

We discovered Tensley and their Santa Barbara County Wines including this label during our visit to their estate and then their tasting room during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience in 2022.

Winemaker Notes: "Exclusively from Tensley and Colson Canyon Vineyards, this blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) is very complex and full of texture.'

"The Grenache brings red fruit and finesse, Syrah imparts riper black fruits to the blend, and the Mourvedre rounds out the complexity with savory notes and tannic structure. A wine built for enjoyment, super complex but juicy and round for easy drinking."

540 Cases Produced

This was awarded 93-95 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 95 points by Wine Advocate.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4266214

https://tensleywines.com/

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

We visited the Arns estate and vineyards on the lower reached of Howell Mountain in 2013 - Visit to Arns Napa Valley Estate Vineyards.

Rick, Linda and Bill with producer John Arns

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 

We hold numerous vintages of this label in our cellar collection and have chronicled the producer and several vintages of this label in these pages. 

At twenty four years, the foil, label, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were in ideal condition. 

Starting to show its age with some slight bricking, this is starting to reach the end of its drinking window and should be consumed in the next couple of years. 

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, balanced, round full black berry and plum fruit flavors with notes of cassis, black tea, tobacco and hints of cedar with nice balance of tannin, fruit, and acidity w/ mild oak influence with a long finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3223745

https://arnswinery.com/

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

That same Napa Valley Wine Experience, we also visited David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery, located on Pritchett Hill in the Vaca Range at the bottom of Napa Valley, overlooking the City of Napa. 

Like the Arns above, we hold several vintages and labels of David Arthur and have covered the producer and numerous vintages of this label in these pages. 

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Like the Arns above, at twenty years, the label and foil, and most importantly the cork and fill level were ideal. But, this vintage release is still at the apex of its drinking profile, and while not likely to improve any further with aging, should age gracefully for up to another decade or more. 

I like this wine as noted that the first time I posted a tasting note of this label was on my birthday back in 2013, when I wrote:

This is as expressive as any David Arthur Cabernet I have tasted to date. It explodes with sweet ripe plum and berry fruits, accented with tones of dark chocolate and a layer of caramel turning to hints of anise, spice notes of tobacco and sweet spicy oak and moderate tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points.

Tonight’s tasting was consistent with that earlier review. 

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2065630

https://www.davidarthur.com/

Arns Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Melanson Vineyard Syrah with Gia Mia Pizza

Arns Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Melanson Vineyard Syrah with Gia Mia Pizza

Monday night dinner, we ordered wood fired pizzas from Gia Mia in Naperville. Located in the old historic public library downtown, the trendy restaurant offers casual fine dining in a lively vibrant atmosphere. While I don’t necessarily like the somewhat noisy ambiance, I love their meatballs and polenta entree, except for the fact that often they add too much spice heat to the mix.

Such was the case tonight, I was looking forward to a pizza and big wine pairing for dinner, the Mia Gia pizza was excessively hot with spice that it overpowered even the big unctuous red wine, undermining the whole food-wine experience. 

Shame on me for not noticing till after the fact that “The Bruno” pizza includes, besides the sausage, pepperoni and meatballs … spicy soppressata!

That aside, this was the same profile as earlier vintages of this extremely limited release label that we enjoyed so much. 

We first discovered and acquired this label at the winery and were able to reacquire some at auction last winter, which we saved for an occasion such as tonight.   

We wrote about Arns Winery and this limited release Napa Valley Syrah and that estate visit in an earlier blogpost in these pages, excerpted below.  

Arns Melanson Napa Syrah 08

Arns Melanson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 2012

John Arns, Rick, Linda and fellow Pour Boy 

Bill C at Arns Estate on lower Howell Mtn.

We first discovered Arns wines at Andy Bassin's McArthur Wines in Washinton DC during my several years being based there. The presence of Arns there was due to the heritage of the winemaker Sandi Belcher Arns being from Virginia and distributing wines to her home marketplace when visiting back there. 

We visited John Arns at the Arns Estate on Howell Mountain during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013. We first discovered and acquired this varietal offering during that visit. 

This wine is indicative of one of our favorite wine styles with its rich, concentrated, full bodied, forward fruits.  As my tasting notes from that period stated. "Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more."

This is a very limited production bottling from this boutique producer so when we saw it on-line, we snatched up the entire lot. Of course, Arns primarily specialize in Cabernet Sauvignons, which we also love from this producer, which makes this Syrah label all the more rare and cherished. For the 2012 vintage, only 85 cases were produced. It was aged three years in one year old French oak.

While Arns Estate Vineyards are located up on lower Howell Mountain, hence the Napa Valley appellation designation*, I recall from or discussions with the producer that the fruit for this label is actually sourced from the Melanson Vineyard down at the southern end of the Vaca Mountain range down on the slope area known as Pritchard Hill.

The Melanson Vineyard sits on Pritchard Hill on the rugged eastern ridges above the town of Rutherford overlooking the Napa Valley below with views of Lake Hennessey. The distinctive terroir of the site consists of rich Sobrante Loam soils loaded with volcanic rock at elevations averaging 1,400 feet and distinct southern and western exposures produces better than average fruit due to its exposure, clones, soils  and most of all, care.  The elevation places the vineyards above the fog line and allowing maximum sun exposure throughout the day providing even ripening.

Arns Syrah comes from a small corner of this vineyard and sits in a major rock pile.  There was soil added so a vine could be planted in something other than boulders. Syrah berries are large, about the size of a quarter and their skins are tough and can endure sometimes even the most unfavorable conditions.  John Arns notes that "with above average sunshine, (this site is above the fog line) it truly demonstrates that terroir really matters." 

* Interestingly, it is at the 1200 foot elevation, the level of the fog line, that is also the line of demarcation between the Napa Valley appellation below, and the Howell Mountain appellation above, up on Howell Mountain. 

My notes from 2013 - "Dark inky garnet color, full bodied, powerful but polished forward flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of cassis and mocha, hints of clove, violets, leather and olive with a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. Much like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz.'

Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more." 

At going on twelve years of age, this wine is still very much in its peak drinking window and not showing any sign of diminution with hint of raisin and whisper of menthol. While it will not likely improve or benefit from further aging, it certainly has another half dozen years of life left at the apex of its profile. We love this wine and were eager to obtain this lot ant auction, and taste and compare it to earlier releases. We consumed all the product we acquired over the years from from the Estate.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2366677

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1498990

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/arns-napa-valley-estate-vineyards.html

Arns Estate Visit on Rick's WineSite ...  
http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa-2013/arns/napa-2013-arns.htm

http://arnswinery.com/

https://www.giamiapizzabar.com/

Special wine in a special setting - Arns Syrah at FLW Park Inn

 Special wine in a special setting - Arns Napa Valley Syrah 2013 at Historic FLW Park Inn Hotel

For our weeklong getaway vacation, we stayed in a winery vineyard farmhouse, then a historic iconic hotel. We took several bottles of favorite wines with us on our roadtour driving vacation. We traveled to and stayed at the Historic Park Inn Hotel in Mason City, Iowa, designed by legendary Frank Lloyd Wright, America's greatest architect. (See more about my research of Frank Lloyd Wright and work as docent/interpreter for the FLW Trust on my Wrightsite at www.mcnees.org/flw.)

We did carry-out BBQ ribs and brought them back to the hotel to feast on the veranda overlooking the park and opened this special favorite accompanying bottle that we brought from our home cellar for the occasion.

Historic FLW Park Inn, Mason City Iowa

Historic Park Inn Veranda overlooking
Mason City Park

Arns Napa Valley Syrah 2013 from earlier blogpost.

Arns Melanson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 2013

We're long time fans of Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we actually discovered and acquired at Bassin's McArthur Wines in Washington DC. Over the years we acquired many vintages of this label and arranged a visit to the Napa Valley estate where we discovered, tasted and acquired this wine. 

As I reported in follow up to our visit to the Arns Estate back in 2013, Arns wines are produced by John Arns and Sandi Belcher - John managing the viticulture and Sandi tending to the winemaking. The property has been in the Arn's family since the 1950's when it was acquired by Arn's parents as an escape from the city down in Berkeley. The elder Arns planted vines in the 1960's to sell to local wineries. John and his brother, Steve took over the property and John continued developing the vineyards.

The Arns property was originally homesteaded in the late 1880’s by a German immigrant, then taken over by a stone mason whose work on homes and caves throughout the Valley and helped build the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena with stones, shown left, quarried from the property.

The previous owners of the property planted Zinfandel grapes.Today, ten acres of vineyards are sited across the 160 acre property of rocky hillsides, meadows and forests in ten different blocks consisting of seven different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux and Napa Valley. The vines vary in age from 15 to 45 years. The ten blocks planted showcase the clonal differences and with each having varied exposure, the result reveals unique characteristics that contribute to the overall blend that is Arns Cabernet Sauvignon. The result of this combination of clonal selection, low yield, and minimal irrigation is fruit that is concentrated and intensely flavorful and a blend that has complexity, breadth and depth.

Ironically, we discovered Arns Cabernet Sauvignon on our frequent trips to Washington DC and our regular stops at Andy Bassin's McArthur Wines there. Over the years, we accumulated a collection of Arns over the years dating back to the 1996 vintage. It turns out Sandi is from Virginia and developed the resale arrangement during her trips back home.

Since our Napa trips of recent years focused on distinct appellations per trip, we missed Arns over the years during our frequent visits to Napa Valley and mountain districts including Howell Mountain. It was great to finally connect with Arns and see first hand what makes up the artistry of their work.
 
Arns Napa Valley Melansen Vineyard Syrah 2013

Sandi Belcher produced this limited production single vineyard designated Syrah from fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill. John Arns managed the viticulture, overseeing tending the vines for several producers around Napa Valley. This  includes Syrah varietal vines that he planted at 1400 feet up on Pritchard Hill back in the early 1990's. 

The clones for Arns Syrah are from Joseph Phelps Vineyards. This provides fruit for this, the 5th vintage release of Arns Napa Valley Syrah. What a discovery and pleasant surprise to discover this label on our visit to Arns! Readers of this blog know we love big full throttle Syrah/Shiraz which comprises a third of our cellar behind Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet. We didn't expect to find one at a Napa mountain fruit Cab producer. Moreover, ironically, we also spent an afternoon up on Pritchard Hill during that Napa trip.

The rocky terrain of the mountain elevation with the long warm growing season results in powerful but polished, forward  flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of anise and cassis with hints of mocha and clove, violets, leather and olive on a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. This is more like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz. There were only 65 cases produced of the 2008 vintage release that we tasted at the winery during our visit. We tasted it at the winery, purchased some and shipped it home, tasted again... and subsequently bought more, which included this vintage release in a follow on purchase. 

Rick, Linda and John Arns

This vintage year, 2013, they produced 200 cases of this label. It represents the style and profile that we favor in a Syrah. We pulled this bottle to enjoy with artisan cheeses and fruit for enjoyable casual sipping watching a movie.

ARNS starting producing this SYRAH back in 2004. They admit, "It was a great surprise to be able to craft such a beautiful wine from Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley. We have enjoyed many spicy vintages from this time forward."

This 2013 ARNS SYRAH was aged four years in two year old French Oak barrels.

Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, concentrated flavors of gooseberries, plum and what Arns refer to as 'wild black cherries' are accented by notes of spice, black pepper, and what Arns refers to as 'beef and violets'.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

https://arnswinery.com/

The 2013 ARNS SYRAH is in the same vein as our previous vintages. Enhanced by four years of two year old French Oak barrels, we have watched this wine evolve into the classic we have witnessed in the past. Captivating on the palate are flavors of gooseberries, red plum, wild black cherries touched by black pepper, beef and violets. A handsome wine with moderate aging potential.

https://historicparkinn.com

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/