Destiny Neighborhood Beef Tenderloin Wine Dinner

Destiny Neighborhood Beef Tenderloin Wine Dinner

Visiting our favorite getaway Destiny Cove vacation rental in Destin, Florida, we hosted a dinner with friends and neighbors. Linda prepared a full beef tenderloin, sliced into filets of beef, served with baked potatoes, haricot verts and mixed green salad. 

Before dinner we served a variety of artisan cheeses, fruits and mixed nuts. 

To accompany the dinner we opened a wine flight with varietal wines for each course. 

With the salad course we served a Washington State Chardonnay. 

With the main course we opened a medley of red wines - an aged vintage Napa Cabernet, an aged simple easy drinking Sonoma Cabernet, and a complex Washington State GSM Blend. 

Our guests brought for the dessert course a selection of artisan cupcakes from the bakeshop just outside our community gate and carrot cake cupcakes, which we paired with a flight of dessert wines from Italy and Austria.

Moffett Livingston Stanley's Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

We were planning a mini-family reunion last month in Destin so I brought for that occasion several 'family' wines, whimsically sharing names with certain family members, such as this Stanley's Vineyard label and so named brother-in-law.

This is named for 'Stanley', a family name in the owner/producer John Livingston's family. John resettled his family in St. Helena, Napa Valley in 1976 as an idyllic place to raise his six children, not necessarily with any forethought of joining the wine business. However, in 1984, they began pursuing their learned passion in wine and began producing Cabernet wines.

John Livingston was a geologist, and became intrigued with finding vineyards suitable to produce Stanley’s Selection Cabernet wine, seeking an optimum combination of stony hillside soils, eastern exposures and suitable micro-climates. In the ensuing years he found such vineyards, also chosen for sound farm management and proven consistency. All the vineyards were only a few acres in size, too small for big wineries but perfect for Livingston Stanley Cabernet. The 'Stanley’s' Vineyard label was blended from six small parcels in Napa by legendary winemaker John Kongsgaard.

Moffett Vineyards and the Livingston Moffett Winery, continued to be operated by Diane and John Livingston and were assisted for 22 years by their son Trent who helped grow the family winery from the cellars to the marketplace. Diane and John retired and sold the winery in 2005, resulting in a generational transition with Trent as successor of Moffett Vineyards.

Trent and his wife Colleen Moffett relocated in 2014 to the northern Willamette Valley to pursue making 4 different Pinot Noirs from 3 different Willamette Valley sub-appellations, all the while remaining connected with Napa Valley through Moffett Vineyards.

In addition to the Moffett Vineyards heritage, Trent and Colleen are co-producers of Screenplay Wines and C&T Cellars. .

This is the last of three bottles we acquired back upon release. We drank the first two bottles back in 2010 and 2014 and still held this bottle a decade later in our cellar. 

At two and a half decades, this was still holding its own, only perhaps slightly diminished from age at a quarter century, testament to the longevity of the ‘97 vintage Napa Cabs.  

This release was awarded 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and 90 points, Wine Advocate, Robert M. Parker, Jr. Upon release, Parker said it should drink well for fifteen years.

Winemaker's notes - "For the 1997 vintage, John chose four mostly one- to two-acre vineyards: Price, next door to Spottswoode; Walther, near Caymus; Corbett, adjacent to Moffett Vineyard; and Gemstone, with five clones of Cabernet along with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petite Verdot. Yields ranged between of 2.5 to 4.5 tons per acre. It was aged in a combination of French and American oak."

Tonight, this was largely consistent with my earlier tastings, dark ruby colored, medium bodied with blackberry, black cherry and currant fruits, starting to give way slightly with notes of black tea with hints of anise and bitter dark chocolate with a bit of spice, plum with tone of cedar on the medium to firm tannins and acid balanced finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=162762

http://moffettvineyards.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/12/livingston-moffet-napa-cab-with-beef.html

Another label we were holding for our bro-in-law, a fan of the namesake producer, we opened this for casual drinking with cheeses, fruit and nuts before dinner. 

Dan Aykroyd Discovery Series Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

This was a futile inglorious attempt at producing a novelty namesake branded wine by comedian and Saturday Night Live fame Dan Aykroyd, who folks say, should've stayed with acting.

Winemaker Notes - "The grapes are sourced primarily from the Alexander Valley, which with its cool mornings and evenings and warmer inland climate allow the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to fully ripen. The wine is aged in 60-gallon French, American & Hungarian oak barrels for added complexity and increased concentration. This process also brings out softer tannins and a more fruit-forward palate."

 

Cellartrackers panned this wine, albeit they tend to be sophisticated wine drinkers. This exceeded my expectations, which admittedly were very low. I was open minded and opened it prepared to dump it, but while simple and uninspiring, it was okay for casual sipping with some cheeses before dinner. Several guests found it enjoyable and suitable for casual easy sipping.

Wine Enthusiast gave this 82 points. I didn't find it resembled their profile - "Overripe and bitter .... dry, with raisin and grapeskin flavors that have a Porty, tannic edge."

Ruby colored, medium bodied, dark berry fruit, notes of tobacco, smoke and black tea with an abrupt finish. RM 82

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=649869

 

With the dinner we opened this Rhone varietal red blend. 

 

Force Majeure "Parvata" Red Mountain GSM - Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre 2017

 

We've opened this wine and featured it several times in these pages. We first featured this label in our Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting report as shown here:

October 2018

Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting

Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting

One of the inspirations for and objectives of our Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 was to visit Force Majeure vineyards. We first met Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander and marketing, distribution and branding exec Carrie Alexander during the Chicago stop of their promotion tour in 2016 when we hosted them at Italian Village in Chicago. Since then we've acquired a respectable collection of Force Majeure wines, hence, they were one of our shortlist priority visits when we planned our Washington State, Columbia Valley wine trip.

Force Majeure Parvata Red Blend 2017 

We originally discovered and acquired this label during our visit to Force Majeure in Walla Walla back in 2018. We hold three vintages of a mixed case from our wine club allocation orders.   

This is from their Force Majeaure Red Mountain Vineyard site in the central Columbia Valley. The Red Mountain site was the very first vineyard on the steep, rocky upper slopes of Red Mountain. Developing the Red Mountain estate vineyards involved carefully matching varietal and clonal selections and vineyard trellising and irrigation to the eight distinct soil types in the vineyard.

Parvata means “mountain” in sanskrit, and hence is the name for Force Majeure's southern Rhône style blend, grown in the sandy, loamy soils of the lower section of the Red Mountain vineyard.

Parvata is a a classic Rhone River Blend that the French, and in the new World, the Australians, call GSM, for the blend of the three Rhone varietals, (25%) Grenache, (23%) Syrah, and (42%) Mourvedre. 

But this 2017 Parvata is a blend of Rhone varietals, somewhere between a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) and a CDP (Chateauneuf-du-Pape of which 70% is typicall GSM, the total can be from a possible thirteen sanctioned varietals). This release is 42% Mourvedre, 25% Grenache, 23% Syrah, and 'lesser' varietals, 4% Cinsault and 5% Counoie - 100% sourced from the Force Majeure Red Mountain Estate vineyard.

We've posted blogspots of the 2015 and 2016 releases but this is our first tasting of the 2017 release. It seems to be less fruit forward than the earlier releases.  

This was consistent with those earlier tastings. Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, this is black fruits accented by white pepper, dried herbs, leather and tobacco notes with bright lively acidity.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3519567

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/10/force-majeure-vineyards-site-visit-and.html

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/ 

@ForceMVineyards 

We then served artisan cupcakes brought by neighbor Jan, and cupcakes brought by Debra. With the sweets, we opened several dessert wines from different regions with different profiles.

Alois Kracher Nouvelle Vague TBA - Trockenbeerenauslese Chardonnay No. 7 2001

We brought this from our home cellar and were holding it for a special occasion such as this. We hold a vast collection of labels and vintages from Kracher who offer a broad portfolio of dessert wines from Austria. This is from Seewinkel, an area in the Burgenland region of Austria, along the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl,

Kracher is internationally regarded as one of the finest dessert wine makers. After Alois Kracher passed away in December 2007, his 27 year-old son Gerhard took over responsibility of winemaking and managing the winery. He carried on the tradition with the same veracity and dedication that his famous father once did with the same outcomes of extraordinary notable award winning wines.

Weinlaubenhof Alois Kracher estate vineyards possess a microclimate uniquely suited to the production of Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines. They have nearly 70 acres of vineyards planted with Welschriesling, Chardonnay, Traminer, Muskat Ottonel and Scheurebe.

This release was awarded 95 points by Wine Spectator, 94 points by Wine Enthusiast. and 18/20 points by Jancis Robinson.

Winemaker Notes - "Attractive aromas of ripe stone fruit, apricot jam, nuts and fresh herbs characterize this Welschriesling TBA, along with a silky texture and highly balanced acidity with pleasant floral notes on the elegant, salty finish."

In the fall of 2020 I wrote: "As I have written in the past, at their most desirable (to my taste preference) these wines are rich, thick, unctuous, and voluptuous with apricot marmalade, mango, toffee/brown sugar, and caramel notes. This may have been there at some point and perhaps passed that stage of its aging profile. If so, then it is time to drink although it will no doubt continue to age gracefully for several more years. But the rich, sweet apricot fruits nectar was diminished somewhat and has turned more to a smokey charcoal layer over the fruits which were more subdued. Delightful never-the-less

Copper and tea colored, full bodied, thick structured, rich concentrated notes of sweet orange marmelade, apple and apricot fruit nectar with of pain grille, honey and nutmeg spice on a long unctuous textured finish. 

 

RM 92 points.

From an earlier posting: https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/08/kracher-trockenbeeren-auslese-tba-7.html

In winter of 2018 - I gave this 91 Points.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/11/thanksgiving-feast-features-rhone-wine.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19086

Ca' della Vignalta Colli Euganei Fior d'Arancio Fiore del Deserto Moscato (Muscat) Passito 2015

From Veneto, and area formerly part of the Colli Euganei DOC, it was established as a separate DOCG in 2010. The Veneto DOCG appellation specifies some significant production rules: 

• Grapes for Passito must be dried on or off the vine to achieve a minimum potential alcohol level of 15.5%
• Minimum alcohol level: 4.5% for Bianco dolce (10.5% potential); 6.0% for Spumante (10.5% potential); 9.0% for Passito (15.5% potential); 10.5% for Bianco secco
• Residual sugar: Minimum 100 g/l (10.0%) for Bianco dolce, Spumante, and Passito
• Aging: For Passito, minimum 1 year (ERD = November 1, V+1)

Az. Agricola Vignalta Fior d ' Arancio Colli Euganei have 346 acres of vineyards on the side of the highest of the Euganean hills outside the village of Arquà Petrarca southwest of Paduea, Italy, seventy kilometers southwest of Venice. They are planted primarily to Moscato as the principal White Grape Variety, with an average age of vines of 16 years.  The grape is particularly suitable for the production of complex and intensely aromatic Passito wines that perfectly pair with desserts and biscuits. They produce 76,700 cases per year of which 5.000 – 7.000 bottles are this Orange Muscat based Passito, produced in 375 ml bottles.

Az. Agricola Vignalta produce a wide portfolio of red, white, dessert and sparkling wines. This sweet muscat wine is predominantly based on Moscato Giallo grapes, which produce sweet and fresh wines, with distinguishing citrus notes. The label includes three different styles: dry white wine, sweet Passito, and bubbly spumante.

Fior d ' Arancio Colli Euganei Passito DOCG : it is a complex wine, with a bright golden yellow color that reaches light amber with time. It reveals aromas of yellow fruit in syrup, apricot and acacia honey. It manages to maintain a good balance between flavor and sweetness.

Winemaker notes -  "With its amber yellow colour and golden reflections, our Fior d’Arancio Passito captures at first sight thanks to the bright shades that it shows in the glass. The perfume is complex and elegant: balsamic notes of canned fruit, dry dates, candied figs, jams, honey, eucalyptus and vanilla stand out from the bouquet. Each sip is warm, embracing but not cloying and has a delicate almond husk final taste. Rich and balanced. Vinification: drying grapes in “fruttaio” for 4 months, crushing and squeezing rasin to obtain a very sweet must, fermenting in French oak barrel for 18 months."

Descriptions of the color of these wines vary based on the age and stage of their aging profile. These dessert wines start out golden or pale straw colored, and darken over time, turning deep golden, then light brownish, darker to orange rust, then a copper color, and finally even to a blackish weak coffee color. High quality versions from top vintages can age for fifty years or more.  

Tea copper colored, full bodied, complex  sweet notes of figs, hints of honey, raisins almonds and sweet tea on a smooth pleasant finish.

RM 91.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2734338

https://www.vignalta.it/en/

Queensyard Hudson Yard New York

Queensyard Hudson Yard New York - a favorite chic trendy lunch spot

In NYC for a team meeting, we lunched at one of my favorite NY eateries, Queensyard in Hudson Yard. We walked over from our hotel to the magnificent Hudson Yard mall complex and dined at the Queensyard restaurant on the fourth floor, overlooking the Hudson Yard Vessel tourist attraction. 

I chose Queensyard and Hudson Yard for a special luncheon for our gathering, welcoming our NY colleague whom we were meeting for the first time in person, due to the Covid disruptions of the last year. It was one of culinary highlights of a previous trip to NYC prior to the Covid crisis.

The dining room (Queensyard photo) as seen
from my seat.

I love the stylish Queensyard dining room and bar with its bright airy wall of glass windows that overlook the Vessel architectural tourist attraction, its courtyard, the railroad yard, the Hudson River in the background and the opposite New Jersey riverscape. 

The trendy hip dining room sports a large colorful artistic painted murals on the opposing walls. 

They also have a stylish formal dining room framed by the wine wall wine cellar. 

Another reason I chose Hudson Yard is that it is a notable landmark and the tower is the consolidation of several locations from around the city for several of our key valued clients.

My lunch selection and wine pairing may have been the culinary highlight of my entire week in NY. While the rest of the entourage had the burgers, I had a starter and a side dish for lunch accompanied by a WBTG (Wine-By-The-Glass) glass of wine. 

Perhaps the best dining selection of my week was the Chicken Liver Mousse with parsley salad, lemon honey gastrique and toasted brioche. Additionally, I had the side dish, Macaroni & Cheese with stout braised oxtail and english cheddar. 

To accompany my lunch I selected from the WBTG list this Austrian Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner. The perfect wine and food pairing multiplied the enjoyment of each. 

 

Grüner Veltliner Weingut Bründlmayer 'L&T' Kamptal, Austria 2020

This was a perfect accompaniment to my lunch selections. This is from the producer Weingut Bründlmayer from the village of Langenlois, some 70 km north-west of Vienna, upstream along the Danube River in the Lower Austrian Kamp Valley. I traveled the wine region while on a trip to Slovakia several years ago.

The wooded hills of the Waldviertel protect the vineyards from the cold north-westerly winds. During the day, the sun warms the stony terraces, while at night the fresh, fragrant forest air drifts through the Kamp Valley into the Langenlois Arena. The wines are characterised by a combination of hot days and cool nights, the meeting of the Danube and Kamp valleys, and the geological and climatic diversity of the vineyards.

The Bründlmayer estate includes the family dwelling, a cellar equipped with state of the art technology and a heuriger which is open almost all year round and where all wines can be tasted in a convivial atmosphere.

The Bründlmayer vineyards highlight “ancient” vines, some older than 90 years of age, that produce wine that is particularly balanced and rich in character. Their most important varietal is Grüner Veltliner, which is the primary varietal grape in the Langenlois. Its name in an old dialect “Mauhardsrebe” refers to the Manhardsberg, a mountain ridge bordering the Waldviertel with the villages of Langenlois and Zöbing lying to the south.

Climbing north and slightly east of the Kremstal region, Kamptal has very little vineyard area bordering the Danube River (unlike Wachau and Kremstal, whose vineyards run along it). The region takes its name from the river called Kamp, which traverses it north and south. Kamptal’s densely planted vineyards represent eight percent of Austria’s total.

The area experiences wide diurnal temperature variations like the Wachau but with less rain and more frost. Its vast geologic diversity makes it suitable for various experimentations with other varieties besides Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Zweigelt.

The region is noted for the beautiful and expansive terraced Heiligenstein, arguably one of the world’s top Riesling sites, as well as some of Austria’s most extraordinary Grüner Veltliner vineyards. Kamptal’s soils, which are mostly loess and sand with some gravel and rocks, make it suitable for Grüner Veltliner, so much so that actually half of the zone is planted to that grape.

About 75% of the world’s Grüner Veltliner comes from Austria but the variety is gaining ground in other countries, namely Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the United States. Grüner Veltliner wines cover a diverse range from pleasant “light and dry” (such as this one labeled "L+T") to the most complex classified vineyard wines (crus) such as Käferberg or Lamm.

Winemaker Notes - Appealing nose of apples, fresh citrus and mild flowery aromas, as well as rosewood, green peas and asparagus. Fresh and crisp with flavors of sappy fruits on the palate followed 

This wine was rated 90 points by James Suckling.

Light straw colored, light bodied, notes of pear and green and yellow-apple with hints of citrus, lime and herbs with crisp acidity on a smooth finish. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4059234

https://www.bruendlmayer.at/en/

https://www.queensyardnyc.com/

@queensyardnyc

Del Dotto Connoisseur Series wine comparison for steak dinner

Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series wine comparison for steak dinner

We hosted a wine dinner with colleague Ken and his wife Daniella. Touring our cellar to select some wine to pair with our steak dinner they saw our collection of Del Dotto Vineyards Estate wines, one of the widest held producers in our cellar. They talked of their visit to the Del Dotto Cave Tour and Tasting at the Estate winery in St Helena so we pulled a Del Dotto Cab to consider for our dinner flight.

As I've written often in these pages, the Del Dotto Estate Tasting is an attraction in itself and the experience is one of the standouts in Napa Valley. My blogpost features our last visit there during our Napa Valley Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Barrel Tasting in 2017.

We selected two bottles of Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2001 vintage, an Estate and a bottle from their Connoisseur's Series. This provided a comparison tasting of this vintage release aged in barrels comprised of two different oaks, the premise of the Connoisseur's Series. 

Del Dotto Connoisseur Series Cabernet Sauvignon
served at a previous wine tasting

Del Dotto Vineyards and Winery in Napa Valley produce a unique offering featuring a wine aged in different oak barrels with different types of oak sourced from around the world. The premise is that different varieties of oak have specific characteristics that will act upon the wine differently resulting in subtle flavor variations.

The Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series features as many as nine different oaks in which they age the same wine. Oaks barrels are produced with wood sourced from numerous forests around the world including America and France - French Allier, Bertranges, Colbert, Juppilles, Marsannay and Troncas oaks, and American Missouri and Minnesota oaks. Del Dotto also produce a 'D' Barrel (as in David Del Dotto) comprised of staves intermixed from several of the sources of oak. As with the whole collection, the resulting differences are subtle and may not be discernable except to the most discriminating oenphile, but they provide a unique and interesting tasting experience.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

At seventeen years this wine may be past it's prime and won't improve with further aging, but it is still holding its own and may still be at or near the apex of its drinking window, which demonstrates the longevity of Napa Valley Cabernets. While it will not likely improve any further with aging, it may still have a few more years to go at this level.

Medium to full bodied , deep dark ruby color - black berry and tangy black cherry fruits accented by clove spice and a hint cassis and whisper of English toffee on the 'Rutherford Dust' moderate silky tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=485814





Del Dotto Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseur Series Colbert French Oak 2001

The same wine as above from the same vintage release except aged in a different oak barrel as described above. Many folks might not recognize a difference between the two, and such differences could be due to bottle variations or differences in provenance (aging and handling history). Never-the-less I sensed slightly more oak in this release than the Estate bottling above, and slightly increased sense of sweetness in the oak. Of course I admit this could be conditioned on the suggestion of the packaging.

In any event, the option provides for a comparison tasting and an interesting and fun experience. It might've been more apparent with more selections and variations on which to compare. Perhaps we'll have the occasion for this experience as we still hold a couple more bottles from the Series Collection.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=199930





After dinner we opened this Nittnaus TBA dessert wine with a selection of fudges, artisan cheeses and Seasalt Caramel Chocolate Cake. Staying with the 2001 vintage of the Del Dotto cabs, we chose this vintage release dessert wine as well.

Nittnaus Trockenbeerenauslese Burgenland Austria Premium White Blend 2001

Tea or honey color, full bodied, thick unctuous, bright full aromas and tastes of apricot accented by tones of fig, hints of peach and a layer of leather and smoke.

The apricot fruit aromas are more pronounced than the tasted flavors which were a bit more subdued, giving way to the non-fruit notes of smoke and leather. Delightful and satisfying none-the-less.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=551992

Aged Napa Cabs - Mondavi Reserve - Rubissow-Sargent

Aged Napa Valley Cabernets - Robert Mondavi Reserve 1992 - 1993 and Rubissow-Sargent Mt Veeder 1996

For a grilled sirloin steak dinner Bill & Beth showed up with a Robert Mondavi Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1993, so we trolled the cellar and pulled out a 1992 for a mini-vertical tasting. We'd already set aside a Rubissow-Sargent Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 which provided a good comparison tasting to the similarly aged Napa Cabs.

For an starter course Linda prepared grilled lobster tail medallions which we served with Penn Shore Lake Erie Diamond - a semi sweet varietal wine from the southeastern shore of Lake Erie at the New York Pennsylvania border appellation. This was a perfect complement pairing to the hearty lobster - standing up to the full bodied, chewy unctuous tangy Diamond with its essence and layers of peach, clove, vanilla, hints of honey, cinnamon and tangy citrus.  

We discovered and purchased this wine at the winery during our recent tour of the Lake Erie Appellation and featured the Penn Shore Diamond in a recent wine tasting.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1441210

We had already pulled and decanted the Rubissow-Sargent to commemorate our discovery with Bill and Beth, Eric & Cathy, and Jan & Bill during our winery visit on Mt Veeder during our Napa Valley Wine Experience last year.

To finish we open a  Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch, Rust, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland,  Austria 1996/87. "Ruster" is the town where the grapes are grown in the appellation of Rust, while “Ausbruch” describes the method of selecting and picking the most perfectly shriveled & botrytized grapes. While at one time this was probably butter colored, this exhibited a bright reddish rust weak tea color with a medium body.  Gone are the layers of peach and apricot that have given way to smoke, quince, honey and tangy lemons with aromas of vanilla. 

RM 85 points. 

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

Rubissow Sargent Napa Valley Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

This wine pays homage to the early years of Tony Sargent and George Rubissow producing hand crafted Bordeaux varietal wines from their mountaintop vineyard at the south end of Napa Mt Veeder. At sixteen years of age, this shows the aging potential of these early releases as this wine is still holding up albeit approaching the end of its prime drinking window.

Dark garnet and purple color, this was medium bodied with pleasant black cherry and black berry fruit aromas, and flavors with a layer of kirsch, anise, tobacco, leather and hint of cedar on a moderate tannin finish.

RM 86 points.

http://www.rubissowwines.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5125


Robert Mondavi Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 and 1993

Bills note from Cellartracker - "Medium garnet color, very restrained nose. Took about two hours for this to open up. Upon popping the cork, this showed signs of being well past prime. Seemed carmelized and thin although the color showed no bricking. Between 90 and 120 minutes, this opened to reveal anise, mocha and graphite and some remaining tannins. Nicely complemented by grilled marinated sirloin with peas and mushrooms and herbed rice with Rick and Linda. Rick provided a 1992 Mondavi Reserve, creating a mini vertical tasting opportunity. Fascinating experience.

The '92 was the better wine, opening earlier with more depth and complexity than the '93 and a deep indigo color. Still not much on the nose. However, as the two opened over a 2 hour period, it was very interesting to see the wines come together in similarity and style. The common heritage became quite evident."


My notes - These two aged vintage cabs both are starting to show their age almost begrudgingly revealing the subdued fruits of modest vintages. They both were a bit closed and tight tasting more like aged left bank Bordeaux than vibrant Napa cabs. Aromas and flavors of black cherry, slightly astringent cherry fruit give way to weak tea, tobacco, leather and graphite. Both were decanted and aerated on opening. The '92 was more full and expressive early on opening, with brighter fruit, albeit subdued, while the '93 was a bit thinner, taking over an hour to reveal its fruit at which time it also showed a layer of anise with hints of mocha and a soft floral essence on the finish.

92 - RM 86 points. 93 - RM 85 points.   


93 - https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97829

93 - https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=8821 

My earlier notes on the 1992 reveal a rather short drinking window, from 3/28/2010 - rated 89 points at that time: Wow, I probably drank most of this case of this Reserve too young!, like I did too many of my 80's decade Bordeaux'. For a long time, this was rather closed and tight, only to now open up to truly reveal its complex, full bodied dark cherry, black berry fruits and long nicely integrated tannin finish. Slightly astringent on opening but softened over time. Needs decanting for aeration and to collect the sediment

This was the second to last bottle of a case purchased upon release. It'll be drinkable for another year or so but will be nearing the end of its drinking window by then.

Thanksgiving Dinner Wine Selections - Teruzzi & Puthod Terre Di Tufo 2006 &Szigeti Welschriesling Brut Classic Sekt

Two European white wines for Thanksgiving turkey and dressing dinner wine selections -

TERUZZI & PUTHOD TERRE DI TUFO 2006 - Tuscan

Fun wine with the whimsical matchbook size label. Winemaker's notes:

Blend: 80% Vernaccia, 7% Chardonnay, 7% Malvasia, 6% Vermentino

Color: Deep straw tending toward gold; Fruity bouquet with light notes of vanilla cream, tangerine, citrus and pineapple.Subtle aromas and flavors of pear, hint of pineapple, a touch of lemon with nut and toast on the finish. A full-bodied citrusy attack with a little woodiness and subtle acid, followed by a shortish finish. Firm acidity and fresh with flavors of citrus zest, walnuts and a pleasant touch of toast on the finish. Served from Magnum.

RM 88 points. 



https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=526694

 Szigeti Welschriesling Brut Classic Sekt N.V. Sektkellerei - Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee, Gols 

Pale color, medium bodied, subdued notes of apricot, peach blossoms, and pear are overshadowed by a smoky nut layer with muted tone of anise. 

RM 85 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=385773