Q39 BBQ KC and Altocedro Malbec

Q39 BBQ Kansas City and Altodecro Malbec for a perfect lunch food and wine pairing 

Visiting Kansas City, we sought authentic BBQ and were directed to Q39 BBQ, trendy BBQ eaterie on 39th Street in Kansas City’s Midtown, between the historic Westport neighborhood and the vibrant Crossroads arts district. 

Q39 Midtown features a rustic-urban style with an energetic bustling dining area, and friendly full-service bar. This is what BBQ in Kansas City is supposed to look like.

Q39 is Kansas City BBQ offers fresh ingredients, sliced-to-order brisket straight from the smoker, Certified Angus Beef burgers ground in-house daily, and wood-fired grill plates served from flame to table. 

Founded in 2014 by the late Rob Magee, who found a passion for cooking at an early age and went on to acquire the highest level culinary skills with a degree from the acclaimed Culinary Institute of America. Chef Rob went on to work in some of the finest kitchens across the country and sought to showcase the tastes of whatever region he was in. 

In 2000, Chef Rob moved to Kansas City to work as an Executive Chef for Hilton Hotels. He became obsessed with mastering the art of KC barbeque and in his spare time, assembled a competition barbeque team. Over the following decade, they ascended to the highest level of competitive barbeque in events across the country winning dozens of local competitions and national championships receiving numerous award and honors. There is a trophy case in the dining room that holds many of their ribbons and trophies from such competitions. 

Magee passed on in 2021 after a long battle with cancer but his legacy is continues, spearheaded by Executive Chef Philip Thompson, who brings the same determination, leadership and culinary skills, having worked for years abroad in some of the finest restaurants. Like Chef Rob, Chef Philip is a classically trained chef and spent 15 years as an executive chef at Hilton Hotels.

I ordered the Certified Angus Beef® Brisket - sliced smoked brisket and burnt ends with classic BBQ sauce with a side of baked potatoes. It was delicious, perhaps the best beef brisket I’ve ever had, or as good as. We also ordered a side of the string onion rings. 

For a wine accompaniment I ordered WBTG - Wine-By-the-Glass - an Argentinian Malbec. It was a fantastic pairing. 

Altocedro "Año Cero" Malbec, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina

Altocedro was founded in 1999 by visionary Karim Mussi. Third generation Lebanese immigrant, Karim and his family pioneered La Consulta, Uco Valley as a special place to make “born and raised” wines. 

Twenty years later, in 2019, Karim’s crazy idea became conventional wisdom when La Consulta was classified as one of Argentina’s few Geographic Indication (GI) Appellations. Altocedro is synonymous with outstanding La Consulta wine. Original old vine rootstocks, indigenous yeasts, hundred year-old concrete fermentation tanks, and Karim’s minimalist winemaking create true terroir-driven wines. 

Altocedro a family-owned and operated winery founded in 1999 by visionary Karim Mussi, a third generation Lebanese immigrant, Karim and his family pioneered La Consulta, Uco Valley as a special place to make “born and raised” wines. Located in the heart of what has emerged as the best place in Argentina to grow Malbec the Altocedro winery and vineyards are located in the growing region of La Consulta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, one of the premier Argentine growing zones. La Consulta is located in the high altitudes of Mendoza sitting at 3300 feet elevation with long, warm summer days and incredibly cool nights that help Malbec vines build gorgeously pure, deeply ripe, and intense fruit flavors. 

Twenty years later, in 2019, Karim’s vision and pursuit was realized when La Consulta was classified as one of Argentina’s few Geographic Indication (GI) Appellations. Altocedro has become synonymous with outstanding La Consulta wine. 

Winemaker strived for this terroir-driven Malbec to be fresh, fruit-forward, and easy to drink. Altocedro means “tall cedar,” and represents both winemaker and owner Karim Mussi Saffie’s Lebanese-Argentine heritage, and a cedar tree which towers over the winery.  The name Altocedro pays homage to Karim’s roots. Cedar trees are considered sacred in the Lebanese culture, and they surround the Altocedro winery and estate vineyard. Altocedro branding features wine labels with a cedar tree on each label. 

Owner producer and winemaker Karim Mussi Saffie focuses on producing terroir-driven wines. Limiting production with sustainable growing practices and superb terroir has made Altocedro’ wines a cult-type wine in Argentina. 

La Consulta’s original old vine rootstocks today range up to 100 years of age! Using grapes from different subzones, indigenous yeasts, hundred year-old concrete fermentation tanks, and Karim’s minimalist winemaking create true terroir-driven wines. The name Altocedro pays homage to Karim’s roots. Cedar trees are considered sacred in the Lebanese culture, and they surround the Altocedro winery and estate vineyard.

The 2022 Altocedro 'Ano Cero' Malbec is 100% Malbec from vines that are over 30 years old. The farming is sustainably done by hand with all fermentations by native yeast. 30% of the wine was aged in French oak for 12 months and the wine was bottled unfiltered. 

All harvesting, sorting, and crushing are done in individual batches by hand using no machinery in the process. The vines range up to 70 years of age, with only 1,600 plants per acre, and strict harvesting of only 1.2 kg of grapes per vine. The extract is done with a gravity flow system developed at the winery over 100 years ago. One-third of the volume was matured in French and American oak barrels for 10 months.

Winemaker notes - “The nose opens up with a whole array of fresh summer berries; blueberry and raspberry with ripe plum and macerated strawberry. The aromatics show expressive hints of savory cracked pepper and flowers layered with hints of fresh herb, a touch of chocolate, and toasted vanilla. This wine is absolutely juicy with a balance between the rich fruit and zippy acidity!”

The 2022 vintage release was awarded 95 Points & Gold Medal at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards, 91 points by James Suckling and 90 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

This was a spectacular wine representing extraordinary QPR - an excellent WBTG (Wine-by-the-glass) winelist offering, a perfect pairing with the hearty robust BBQ!

Dark purple colored, full bodied, concentrated, full, round, forward extracted juicy blackberry and black cherry and plum fruits with notes of floral, earthy cedar and pepper with chewy tannins on a full long finish. 

RM 92 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4785656

Returning home, I checked Binny’s, our local beverage superstore, and they have three bottles of the 20 vintage of this label in stock which I intend to go grab today. 

https://vinodelsol.com/thewineries/altocedro/

https://q39kc.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

Family Holiday BBQ Wine Cook-out

Family Holiday BBQ Wine Cook-out Features Family Favorites

Son Ryan and D-in-law Michelle hosted the family for a traditional Independence Day holiday cook-out and we opened several nice wines for the occasion. 

We enjoyed family, yard games with the traditional competitions in 'bags' and other, and culminating the day with celebratory fireworks.

Ryan smoked beef brisket and chicken and opened from his cellar a medley of whites and reds and I brought a couple reds for the occasion.

 

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2019

We've written much about Cliff Lede wines in these pages, one of our favored producers. The Cliff Lede winery estate and vineyards with their picturesque sculpture gardens at Yountville Cross Road and Silverado Trail are one of our popular visits during our many trips to Napa Valley. One of the more memorable was our private tour and tasting during our Napa Wine Experience 2009.

Normally one of our go-to wines we keep stocked for pleasurable casual sipping, today, we were introduced to a new label (below) from down under, one Ryan considers one of his go-to wines. 

This is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Sémillon, 3% Sauvignon Vert.  The juice was fermented in 68% French oak barrels, 30% stainless steel tanks, and 2% concrete eggs. 

This was awarded 93 Points by Wine Enthusiast and 90 Points by Wine Spectator.

Straw colored, light bodied, complex and structured but rather restrained, notes of melon and apple with hints of lemon meringue, tangerine with crushed rock and stone on the finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3710508

https://cliffledevineyards.com/

@CliffLedeWine 

 

Cloudy Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2020 

I failed the blind tasting of these wines even with a fifty fifty chance of getting it right. I swore the Cloudy Bay was the Cliff Lede with its sprites of peach fruit. This overshadowed the Lede, normally one of my favored Sauv Blancs. 

Founded in 1985 by David Hohnen and winemaker Kevin Judd their Sauvignon Blanc put New Zealand wine on the map. Cloudy Bay joined Veuve Clicquot in 2003 and became part of the LVMH family in 2010.

Cloudy Bay’s legacy began in Marlborough with Sauvignon Blanc and now includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pelorus méthode traditionnelle. The spirit of adventure continues with Te Koko, a barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, and Te Wahi, a sophisticated Central Otago Pinot Noir from their two special southern vineyards.

Winemaker Notes: "The 2020 Sauvignon Blanc is bright and focused, with appealing and expressive aromatics of ripe grapefruit, makrut lime and passionfruit on the nose. The palate is mouth-watering , with zesty lime, lemongrass and juicy stone fruit characters melding together, underpinned by a subtle minerality. The vibrant concentrated fruit and freshness bestow poise and balance, and lead though to a long and impressive finish. A wine that will age gracefully for many years."

Straw colored, light bodied, aromas of floral, fresh and vibrant with aromatics of bright citrus, kaffir lime, orchard blossom and passion fruit, flavors of peach predominate with a crisp clean sharp tangy finish.

RM 91 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3767494

https://www.cloudybay.com/en-us/

@CloudyBay 

Philip Melka CJ Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

For a family gathering I brought from our cellar a family oriented wine, this label a tribute to Philippe and Cherie Melka's children with its child's handprints on the label. I took this in tribute to our two new granddaughters additions to our family this year, Lavender and Marylin.

We've recently been enjoying Philippe Melka's handicraft in the Long Shadows Vintners Series with his Pirouette label. 

When I last wrote about this label a year ago I said, 'at twenty years this is clearly past its prime drinking window and starting to diminish from age', but that was refuted tonight with this bottle. 

The fill level and label were perfect and the cork was near so as well. There were no signs of the cloudiness reported in that earlier note, leaving me to believe that tasting was an aberrant bottle. Tonight, this resembled and was consistent with previous, earlier tasting notes.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, the vibrant dark blackberry fruits were accented by earthy flavors of cedar and tobacco with notes of tar, smoke and hints of mocha.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19571

https://www.melkaestates.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/07/phillip-melka-cj-napa-cab-2001.html

@MelkaEstates

Fleury Estate Lauren Bryce Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Ryan collects this wine as a member of their wine club and has amassed a vertical collection of their various labels. We first met Brian and Claudia Fleury at a Del Dotto event in their earliest days when they were just starting Fleury Estate back in 2000.

The Fleury Estate lies just south of St. Helena in Rutherford with a tasting room, winemaking facilities and a 11 acre estate vineyard. Fleury Estate Winery also owns 50 acres of premium vineyard land in the key locations of Napa Valley with vineyards in different appellations and elevations which enables them to craft consistent, high quality Napa Valley wines year after year. 

The cork of this thirteen year old disintegrated upon opening and the bottle had a slight funk to it which blew off for the most part after a while - but the bottle was clearly an off bottle. Never-the-less I found it enjoyable and notable drinking for the occasion. 

I defer to my tasting notes from this label from two years ago since it was somewhat consistent and perhaps a more fair representation. 

From earlier tasting in 2018: This (vintage) was dark blackish inky colored with full body, rich concentrated bright, vibrant, forward unctuous fruits of sweet ripe dark berry, black raspberry and currant fruits with notes of dark mocha and sweet toasty oak turning to nicely integrated tannins on a full chewy lingering finish.

This was delicious, very much my preferred style and profile, but perhaps too sweet for some folks' palette! That day I gave this 94 points. 

Today, likely due to bottle variation I give it a 91.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/08/fleury-estate-napa-valley-cabernet_8.html

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

https://www.fleurywinery.com/

@FleuryWinery

Mollydooker Carnival of Love 2017

We have fun with the whimsical labels of Mollydooker with their cartoonish characters and circus poster themed labels. But, there is nothing whimsical about their big full-throttle Shiraz in their premium label Carnival of Love. We adopted this and the companion Enchanted Path labels years ago for family celebration dinners.

This is one of our family favorites that we collect and serve at special family occasions. I featured this producer and label in an extensive blogpost back in 2018, and in an broader exposition of their portfolio earlier back in 2014, and most recently in February of this year.

'Carnival of Love' has become one of our family tradition wines which began when we started serving at wife Linda's and then family birthday parties, since Linda is a Lefty. We love this style of this big opulent forward Shiraz.

The Carnival of Love Shiraz is one of their best and has made the Wine Spectator's "Top 100" twice, the 2012 was #2 in 2014, recognized as the #2 Wine in the World, and that year, Mollydooker was named Winestate's Wine of the Year for 2014.

Winemaker notes for this release: "This McLaren Vale Shiraz is powerful and expressive. Lifted aromatics of dark berries and smoky oak leap boldly from the glass. With a satin like palate; cherry and satsuma plum flavors develop into decadent dark chocolate and licorice. Complex flavors, phenomenal depth and perfectly polished tannins are what makes this Carnival of Love one to be savored and celebrated."

This is 100% Shiraz. The grapes were grown on the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale, and the juice was barrel fermented and matured in 100% American oak and 100% new. 

This release was awarded 94 points by Wine Advocate and 93 points by Wine Spectator.

Dark purple garnet colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated, textured, juicy velvety smooth raspberry and cherry fruits with notes of caramel, cedar, oak and spice on a tongue coating lingering finish.

RM 93 points. 

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3097884

 

https://mollydookerwines.com.au/  

@MollydookerWine

 

Ryan also served Mollydooker Two Left Feet Shiraz Cabernet and Austin Hope Paso Robles Cabernet. I'll feature them in a follow-on tasting post. 

 

Herman Story Casual Encounters GSM 2017 with BBQ Rib Dinner

Herman Story Casual Encounters GSM 2017 with BBQ Rib Dinner

Following our gala dinner last week with a spectacular wine and food combination pairing of duck and GSM, we pulled another GSM to pair with BBQ ribs.

This is one of our favorite pairing combinations, BBQ with a hearty Syrah or Syrah blend. 

Proprietor and winemaker Russell P. From began Herman Story Wines in 2001 with 7 barrels stashed in his employer’s cellar. This has grown to a broad portfolio of big, opulent, structured, bold wines primarily based on Rhone varietals Syrah and Grenache. The branding pays homage to his grandfather with every label offering the tribute: "Herman Story was a Rancher, Logger, Swapper, Banker,  Philanthropist, a Teller of Tales and my grandfather." 

The range of labels are sourced from 30 top-tier vineyards from seven different growing regions along the Central California coast between Santa Barbara and Paso Robles. He sourced fruit from Vineyards Bien Nacido, Slide Hill, Larner, Shadow Canyon, Chelle Mountain, Luna Matta and White Hawk. 

All Herman Story wines are big, bold, crafted in a forward opulent style not for the faint of heart. Each label features a whimsical name and a front label photograph depicting imagery somewhat related to or depicting the name. Examples of other Herman Story wine label names are: Nuts and Bolts, Bolt Cutter, Milk & Honey, After Hours, First Time Caller, and Smash City.

According to Russel, "Casual Encounters takes its name from the orgiastic nature of its origins as a blend of small cofermented lots."

Herman Story Casual Encounters Paso Robles GSM Blend 2017

This 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, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. 

The 2017 Herman Story "Casual Encounters" is a Blend of 40% Syrah, 35% Mourvedre, 19% Grenache, with small amounts of the Rhone varietals Carignane, 4%, and 2% Tannat. 

Fruit for this particular label is sourced from several vineyards throughout the Central California coastal region of Paso Robles - Chelle Mountain, Bien Nacido, Paderewski, White Cliffs, Lunda Matta and Jespersen. 

This release was awarded 96 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 95 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, concentrated sweet black fruits are accented by a layer of charcoal, smoke, smoked meats, pepper and what Wine Enthusiast describes as Gingerbread Spice, caramel and root beer.

 

RM 92 points. 

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=3367652

https://www.hermanstorywines.com/ 

https://twitter.com/HermanStoryWine

@HermanStoryWine

 

Dual Syrahs for BBQ Rib Dinner

Dual Washington State Columbia Valley Syrahs for BBQ Rib Dinner

For a mid-week BBQ dinner we opened from the cellar two primo Syrahs - both from Washington State Columbia Valley.

We started with this Force Majeure Red Mountain vineyard Syrah. We visited Force Majeure Estate and Vineyards and site of their new winery in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, in Walla Walla during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2018. We tasted and acquired this label at that time during that trip. 

Force Majeure Red Mountain Syrah 2015

This Red Mountain estate Syrah is grown predominantly at the top of  Force Majeure's hillside vineyard where it is steepest and rockiest. There the vines must put put down deep roots to gather moisture and nutrients, and the soil helps to create a powerful but elegant wine with a volcanic soil backbone. The blend is aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels and puncheons for 18 months.

This label was awarded 93-96 points by Jeb Dunnuck of the Wine Advocate.

Dark garnet colored, full-bodied, rich concentrated black berry fruits, hints of blue fruits, accented with layers of smokiness, minerality and tones of anise, black tea, black olive tapenade and hints of smokey meats, with bright lively acidity and cloying but approachable tannins on the tangy lingering finish.

RM 92

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2659540 

A visit to Force Majeure Estate and Vineyards in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, Walla Walla.

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

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/12/force-majeure-red-mountain-syrah-2015.html 

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/

@ForceMVineyards

Spring Valley Vineyard Nina Lee Syrah 2015

We followed with another Washington State Columbia Valley Syrah, this one from Walla Walla. We visited the vineyards and the producer tasting room in town during that same trip to Walla Walla. This label is more fruit forward and bold, but less refined and elegant than the Force Majeure label above.

Our visit to the ranch and picturesque vineyards, and meeting owner Dean Derby were highlights of our Walla Walla Wine Experience in the fall of 2018. We first tasted this release of this label in the tasting room in town during that visit.

We just received our supplemental wine club allocation from Spring Valley Vineyards. 'Supplemental' meaning that we added an additional two cases to our normal shipment - a mix of five Spring Valley labels, Uriah Red Blend, Frederick Red Blend, Sharilee Petit Verdot, Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc and Nina Lee Syrah. 

As I've chronicled in these pages, each label is named for an ancestral family member dating back to patriarch founder Uriah Corkrum. Nina Lee was his son Frederick's wife, a vaudeville actress that he met while she visited Walla Walla and performed at the local theatre on a North American tour back in the 1920's.

Nina Lee Spring Valley Vineyard Walla Walla Syrah 2015

The 2015 release of Nina Lee is a blend of 99% Syrah and 1% Viognier, aged 19 months in 100% French oak, 30% new.

This was rated 93 Points by JamesSuckling.com and Jeb Dunnuck. It was awarded 92 points by International Wine Report.

Upon opening the black fruit aromas permeated the room, the dark inky purple color is most apparent, medium-full bodied, rich concentrated black berry and black cherry fruits are accented by smoke, black tea, notes of olive tapenade,  pepper, spice, and hint of dark mocha with a long earthy finish. Needs some time to settle and integrate a bit further, give it a couple of years cellar aging to reach its prime.

RM 91 points pop and pour. 92 points the next day ... and chilled.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2808195

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/05/nina-lee-spring-valley-syrah-2015.html

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel - Byron's Blend

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel and Byron's Blend - spectacular pairing with BBQ

This blog is devoted to wine, collecting, tasting, marketing, branding, trading. It would be fair to argue that not enough time is devoted to food, more specifically, pairing food and wine. I wish I had the discrimination and knowledge of a cook and cuisine to do such justice to the subject. Never-the-less, I note often that the 'force multiplier', exponent of enjoying either food or wine, is the proper pairing of the two. The perfect match of a food and wine combination, when one gets it right, amplifies the experience enormously. We Americans pontificate on the nuances of food and wine and have been doing so seriously for going on fifty years. Lest we forget, the 'old world' oenophiles and foodies have been doing this for more than six centuries. 

This week has been an exhibition in food and wine pairing. I last wrote in my previous post, Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes, about selecting that aged vintage Burgundy Pinot Noir to pair with baked pork chops. That resulted in a wonderful enjoyable meal based on the appropriate wine and food pairing. 

Tonight, Linda prepared barbecue pork with the remaining pork chops, adding celery, onion and Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, served with baked potatoes and grilled spears of asparagus. For a wine to pair with the dinner, I pulled from the cellar this unique Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel. Wow! The combination of the two, each perfectly accenting and highlighting the other, was absolutely amazing - a remarkable sensational sensory experience! 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel 2017

I featured Carpenter Creek Cellars from north central Indiana in an earlier post in these pages when we visited the winery and discovered their wines. They acquire grapes from growers throughout the midwest, California, and also grow some of their own. 

For this Zinfandel varietal selection, they obtained grapes from northern California sources, and aged the wine in used Bourbon Barrels. The result was infusing an exotic smokiness and liquor layer that when combined with the full forward Zinfandel fruits accentuated and highlighted the tangy barbecue wonderfully. 

Linda stopped in at Carpenter Creek during her visit with out of state family several weeks ago in the late fall and tasted and picked up a couple bottles of this label. We were waiting for the right, suitable occasion to try it and clearly this was it! 

This label release from Carpenter Creek Cellars features a striking gold label packaging, the first indication that there is something special going on here.

Garnet colored, slightly opaque, medium-full-bodied, black fruits accented by clove spice, smoke, caramel, vanilla, and hints of black pepper and cocoa. An extraordinary pairing with with BBQ.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3807095

Our wine and dine culinary experience continued when we pulled from the cellar this Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend dessert wine. 

This wine is named in memory of proprietors Ed and Beckie Courtright's son Byron. Byron helped plant the five varietals of grapes in an estate vineyard that would become his namesake vineyard, while at home from college in 2003. Bryon was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2004. Byron's Blend is blended from the five grape varietals sourced from Byron's Vineyard. 

This wine was also a spectacular pairing with the barbecue pork dinner, and a natural and complementary follow-on to the Zinfandel.  

We followed dinner with Linda's homemade molasses cookies that were equally ideally suited as a pairing with these wines. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend 

This would be a spectacular pairing with barbecue, molasses cookies, or hearty cheese and dark mocha chocolate. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich concentrated port style with notes of dark mocha, black cherry, hints of caramel and vanilla and a sprite of ginger and cognac on the sweet lingering finish.

RM 91 points.  

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

@carpenterwines

Father's Day Special Dinner features favorite BBQ Ribs, Syrah and Zin

Father's Day Special Dinner features favorite BBQ Ribs, Lewis Ethan's Syrah and Robert Biale Black Chicken Zin

For Father's Day family dinner, Linda prepared one of my favorite summer dishes, BBQ ribs, with corn on the cob, baked beans, mashed potatos and green beans. I pulled from the cellar a family oriented Lewis Cellars Ethans Syrah, named for producers' grandson.

I've written much in these pages about the fun we have with Lewis Cellars wines and their named labels for grandkids and signature 'L' label. Also, to accompany the ribs, I opened a classic Robert Biale 'Black Chicken' Napa Valley Zinfandel.

Prior to dinner we had a broad selection of artisan cheeses including some favorites - ten year old aged cheddar, havarti, bellavitano merlot, Gruyere, and cheddar, with fresh berries and peaches fruits.

For the cheese course we opened a Chateau St Michelle Rose'.

Chateau St Michelle Washington State Rose 2018

Robert Biale Vineyards Napa Valley Black Chicken Zinfandel 2011

I consider Zinfandel as a go-to wine for zesty tangy BBQ and always keep some on hand for summer barbecues. Robert Biale specialize in Zinfandel with over a dozen different labels. The Biale Family have been growing Zinfandel along with assorted other varieties on their farm just outside the town of Napa since 1937.

This historic whimsical label "Black Chicken" gets its name from founder Aldo Biale, who used the name as a code word when he started making the wine on the sly in the '40s and didn't want other members of his family to know. He obfuscated the activities by referring to his wine as 'Black Chickens' or poultry as an alias and front for the business.

Biale produce several premium and ultra-premium Zins that are famous for a certain breed of intensity and power they obtain by restricting yields to only the best, most concentrated, fully ripe fruit each vintage.

Black Chicken is primarily sourced from Biale's Oak Knoll District ranch estate from the family vineyard that Aldo, Nonna, Bob Biale and the Biale family have farmed their whole lives, with additional grapes from our neighboring winery vineyard in the Oak Knoll winegrowing district. It is aged for fourteen months in 25% new French oak.

We have a half dozen vintages of Biale labels in our cellar and I pulled the oldest for today's dinner as part of rudimentary cellar management as it is most likely ready to drink and certainly not to improve with further aging, and at risk of passing its apex or prime drinking window.

Bright garnet colored, medium bodied, ripe cherry fruits with brambly blackberry and black raspberry notes accented by cinnamon and brown spices, hints of pepper vanilla and bacon fat with a moderate tannin, tangy finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1575870

https://biale.com/


Lewis Cellars Ethan's Syrah 2009

Named for Randy and Debbie Lewis' grandson Ethan, we salute the family affiliation and attribution on Father's Day. We also have fun with the 'L' on the label - we dedicate as a tribute to family members, Linda, grand-daughter and her namesake great-grandmother Lucy, and Erin Leigh.

We often serve Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend, named for the producers' oldest grandson, and a fitting tribute to our son.

 Our visit to the Lewis Cellars Estate was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2016.

This Napa Valley Syrah is big, bold, concentrated and complex in the style that we love.

Dark inky purple color, full bodied, concentrated supple tongue coating fruit filled ripe blackberry and black raspberry, ripe plum with tones of vanilla, spice, tar and sweet oak with hints of licorice before yielding to a layer of mineral on the lingering smooth tannin finish.

At ten years, this is starting to show its age a bit with a slight bit of an edge and alcohol heat, hence deducting a point from my previous score. I attribute this to age although it could be a bottle variation but I doubt it.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=1190459

https://www.lewiscellars.com/

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This Les Granières de La Nerthe is the “second” wine of Château La Nerthe, made from younger vines from the Estate. This is a Rhone style blend in the following proportions:  45% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, 8% Cinsault, and the balance of 5% from “others”. While these are the typical primary varietals of a CDP, it should be noted that the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation rules allow for up to thirteen specified varietals to be included in the blend. Their second label is aged for a shorter period of just 6 months in a combination of cement vats and larger oak foudre that results in a more fruit forward style of Châteauneuf.

I note that I visited the historic Château La Nerthe (right) during my Châteauneuf-du-Pape tour back in 1998, so I follow and collect this producer's wine. Château La Nerthe have been producing wines at the Estate since 1560. The label seemed to disappear from our market for a couple years so I was happy to see it reappear on the shelves at Binny's, our local wine merchant. 

That said, their premier label Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes is now at a new price point at $125 per bottle, significantly higher than what I would consider to be comparable benchmark wines such as Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape or Chateau Vieux Telegraph. I should note it was reduced to a sale price to be more comparable to those other labels. I purchased some at the lower price. At less than half the price however, Les Granières de La Nerthe does offer CDP at a more affordable QPR (quality price ratio). These are two other Estates that I visited during this trip that I also collect for our cellar. Interestingly, the 2015 Beaucastel contains all thirteen of the CDP grape varietals.

While I was delighted to discover this second label of La Nerthe in our market, I admit I was a bit disappointed by it, perhaps due to my lofty expectations, or hopes. I was excited to try this so I bought some and made a point to pick up some BBQ brisket on the way home to try the combination. Perhaps, or apparently, my expectations were unrealistic, comparing it to the flagship first label.

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This was garnet colored with a slight brownish hue, not due to deterioration, somewhat opaque, medium bodied, lighter than I expected. The flavor profile is what Wine Spectator aptly referred to as "racy red currant and raspberry coulis flavors, enhanced by twinges of blood orange, tea and singed sandalwood". 

WS gave it 90 points. I give it 88 points due the lighter body, more subdued fruits, and narrow flavor profile. I believe this might also be due to the higher percentage of Grenache in the blend over the more fruit forward Syrah which we tend to favor. I'll try it again tonight after opening and settling and see if there is affect.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2494536

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/

Domaine de Boisrenard and BBQ Beef Brisket

Christmas holiday bbq beef brisket dinner w/ Special Birthyear Vintage CDP

For dinner following Christmas holiday church service we carried out BBQ beef brisket and I pulled a Boisrenard CDP from the cellar for a red wine accompaniment. I first discovered Domaine  Boisrenard while touring Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhone Valley wine region back in 1999. With son Alec home from NYC for the holiday, I pulled a from our cellar collection a special vintage bottle from his birth year for the occasion.

Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 1990 

Showing remarkable longevity, this shows no signs of diminution from aging at 27 years, this was consistent with last tasting five years earlier.

Medium to full bodied, slight earthiness and leather accompany layers of black and green pepper that accompany the slightly subdued black cherry and black berry fruits with a hint of spice, moderate lingering tannins.

RM 89 points. 


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=30341

Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah

Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah 2008

Trolling through the wine cellar, I uncovered several bottles of this Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Syrah. Records show I purchased 16 bottles of this label and have consumed ten, so there should still be a few at hand, buried in the cellar somewhere - perils/joys of having an extensive collection.

At nine years old, its probably at the prime of its drinking window and likely won't improve further with ageing so its time to drink up. We had a bottle with bbq at home the other night, then took a bottle to Daughter Erin and Johnnie's for Memorial Day bbq rib dinner - an ideal pairing.

My tasting notes indicate we last had this label on the 4th of July for holiday bbq dinner, just like this tasting.

As posted earlier, I chronicled my discovery of this wine and what I learned about this producer and label in an earlier blog posts.

Consistent with earlier notes ....

Dark inky purple, full bodied, thick, concentrated, chewy black and blue berry fruits with a layer of alcohol, tones of caramel and vanilla, turning to hints of black pepper and mint on a moderate tannin laced lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1201424

http://www.deepseawines.com/

Earlier blogposts:
http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/07/deep-sea-white-hawk-vineyard-santa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/02/deep-sea-white-hawk-vineyard-santa.html

Venge Scouts Honor Vieux Telegraph bbq dinner

Venge Scouts Honor, Vieux Telegraph highlight bbq rib dinner

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Wine Zinfandel Blend 2013

We were invited to the kid's house for Friday night dinner with the grandkids. Ryan prepared rubbed smoked ribs and served this classic BBQ wine, Venge Scout's Honor Zinfandel Blend. I write in these pages often that every cellar needs some Zinfandel at hand for such an occasion and this one is as good as it gets. I brought along a vintage aged Vieux Telegraph CDP (Chateauneuf-du-Pape) for comparison.

I wrote about the 2013 vintage Venge Scouts Honor in my initial tasting blogpost last year. This is one of the best vintages ever for this label that is a tribute to their late beloved Labrador Retriever, Scout. We actually had the privilege of 'meeting' Scout when we visiting with founder/patriarch Nils Venge at the Penny Lane vineyards property back in the mid-nineties. My notes for this wine go back to the 1998 vintage.

Decades later, the wine is now made by his son Kirk Venge. In the past few vintages they have improved vineyard quality significantly with more “old - vine” plantings of the fruit source for this blend and it has taken the wine to another level resulting in a spectacular full bodied, delicious, hedonistic red wine. The complex blend takes Zinfandel into another dimension over typical Zins, that while being big fruit bombs, tend to be more single dimensional and less sophisticated.

This is a unique blend with a foundation of old-vine Zinfandel (71%), dry-farmed Petite Sirah (15%), old-vine Charbono (10%), and finishing with mountain vineyard Syrah (4%) that packs a wallop at 15.4% alcohol. Robert Parker notes that this may be the best Scout's Honor Venge Vineyards has  made. 

This was even better than when we tasted it last year with the fruit being more balanced and settled predominating more over the other complex notes - dark inky purple colored, full bodied, bold, jammy, chewy, tongue coating, mouth puckering, concentrated, complex yet smooth, polished and balanced, delicious sweet black raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruits with notes of violets, dark mocha, truffle, anise and spices, with an long finish that almost tastes like candy. 


RM 93 points; Robert Parker gave it 94.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1825719

www.vengevineyards.com


I brought along this aged 1996 vintage CDP to compare and complement the ribs.


Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 1996

A visit to this legendary producer was one of the highlights of our trip to Chateauneuf-du-Pape a few years ago.

This was my last bottle of this vintage for this label and its just as well as it is reaching the end of its drinking window.

Already brownish color tones with heavy bricking on the rim with a cloudiness setting in, medium bodied, the rich berry fruits and spice tones have are overtaken by a preponderance of green vegetal notes of green olive and note of barnyard earthy wet grass.

Perhaps this was a slightly tainted bottle as other Cellartracker reviews don't indicate this level of diminution as yet. It was still drinkable and a bit intriguing, not as bad as it sounds, but nearing end of life none-the-less.

RM 84 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19309