Silver Oak Alexander Valley Vertical Complements Grilled Beef Kabobs

Silver Oak Alexander Valley Vertical Complements Grilled Beef Kabobs

For a strip steak beef kabob dinner we selected a vertical of three vintages of Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for pleasant easy drinking matched to the grilled strip steak with grilled red pepper, onions, fresh mushrooms and pineapple fruit. Bill C brought a 2005, Bob L had a 2008 in our cellar, actually left over from this year's OTBN, and I pulled a 2004 from the cellar to create this vertical comparison tasting - an interesting contrast in vintage variations, and perhaps perspective on Silver Oak at five years old versus nine. None seemed to be punctuated by that spicy oak layer that is the trademark signature of the label.


Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The lightest, smoothest and perhaps most polished of the three vintages. Medium bodied, with a layer of mocha and slightly sweet currant and ripe plum and berry flavors with hints of vanilla on a silky smooth tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=275682




Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This was the biggest and most complex of the three vintages. Here are Bill's note from Cellartracker: 

"Deep indigo in color. Deep floral notes on the nose. Mocha, clove, pepper and allspice on the palate. Well balanced, with plenty of backbone and tannin with a rather sweet finish with vanilla overtones. Drank as part of a Silver Oak Alexander Valley vertical consisting of 2004, 2005 and 2008. IMO, the '04 was the most elegant of the 3. The '05 was a bit bigger and more structured. The'08 was a different, more fruit forward profile upon opening. However, after 3 hours, the '08 opened nicely, reflecting the traditional Silver Oak characteristics."

WCC 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=366954

Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Perhaps reflecting its youth, the '08 opened a bit awkward, slightly hot with some black cherry tartness edge, but over the course of the evening it evolved to be more similar to the '05, medium to full bodied, nicely polished, moderately complex, dark, black berry and black currant fruits, hints of clove spice and touch of pepper with moderate firm smooth tannins on the finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1183864


Domaine de Roally Tradition Viré-Clessé Burgundy 2007

With shrimp cocktail and artisan cheese starter course we served a Burgundian Chardonnay from Domaine de Roally Viré-Clessé Tradition 2007. Straw colored, medium bodied, citrus predominates over hints of floral, stone and mineral notes, clean acidity with a an almost slightly tart note on the crisp lingering finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=686097


Rosemount Estate McLaren Vale Balmoral Syrah 1997

For a starter transition red with hearty artisan cheeses we served up a Rosemount Estate Balmoral Syrah (Shiraz) 1997. We still hold several cases (six packs) of this wine from the nineties and early millennium across nine different vintages and its time to drink up as shown in this '97 which is showing its age as the fruit starts to diminish somewhat. Looking at Cellartracker tasting notes, one writer reports this vintage still holding on while another says his is over the hill. While past its prime, this was still very much still inside the drinking window.

Dark purple colour, full aroma of perfume and fruit - ripe concentrated plum and blackberry fruits with a touch of vanilla and sweet cherry - tightly wound with a tinge of tight tannins and acid on the long fruit-filled finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17074

Christmas wine dinner feast

Christmas wine dinner feast and associated wine flight - a family affair

For a festive Christmas holiday family dinner we opened some festive and some classic wines to accompany a grand surf and turf menu. The main course featured broiled lobster tails and beef tenderloin steak Diane with mashed potatoes and green beans. Pre-dinner included a selection of artisan cheeses and fruits, and dessert was a velvet chocolate cake and holiday sweets.

Shots of our holiday dinner preparation ... 

Michelle preparing cheeses

Alec preparing mushroom sauce

Ryan preparing brandy sauce for
steak Diane

Ryan & L with steak Diane

L preparing lobster tails

The selection of artisan cheeses included my favorite Belavitano Merlot, Danish Blue and Mango Fire Cheddar. 

Chocolate velvet cake

Selection of white wines shown left. The wines listed below in order of tasting, the whites were tasted with the salad course, pre-dinner cheese selection and then lobster. 

Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru N.V. 

Looking back when updating my wine tasting journal index of tasting notes, I realize we last tasted this wine last year with our Christmas dinner. Watch for more as we still have most of this case purchase remaining.

Light gold color - Bright vibrant expressive, smooth silky polished nice drinking - touch of sweetness,crisp acidity, tangy lengthy finish.

RM  90 points. 

http://cellartracker.com/w?389638


Domaine de Roally Mâconnais Viré-Clessé 'Tradition' Grand Vin White Burgundy 2007


This is an example for folks who find Burgundy wines confusing or mystifying - a reasonably priced white that provides good QPR - quality to  price ratio. Wine geeks know one reason Burgundy is hard to decipher partly because it is so fragmented with many small producers and labels - some representing but a few hecatres (acres) of vines. Note that White Burgundy represents Chardonnay varietal wines in the old world custom of naming the wine after the geography rather than the grape as we do here in the new world. (And of course, red Burgundy is notably Pinot Noir).

Straw colored, medium bodied, floral notes with hints of citrus and buttery tones and hint of stone, clean and crisp with a smooth pleasant lingering finish. Very nice complement to the broiled lobster.


RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=686097

The Reds; 

Nova Wines Marilyn Merlot Napa Valley 2006

A gimmicky but fun wine that has become somewhat of a cult collectors label with outrageous high prices sought for aged bottles. Each vintage features a classic image of the starlet. The 2006 label photo shows Marilyn in a alluring low-cut dress, taken in 1958, believed to be the one she wore at the debut announcement of "Some Like It Hot".

Fruit for the producer is sourced from longtime contract growers' vineyards from Yountville to St. Helena in central Napa Valley. This vintage release is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

We first tried the 2006 Marilyn Merlot Napa when we did a vertical tasting of the 06, 07 and 08 vintages. The 06 was the concensus favorite of that tasting.

Today it was medium bodied, dark ruby color, pleasant easy drinking black berry fruits with tones of spicy oak on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=675866
 

http://www.marilynwines.com/ 

Hollywood & Vine Cellars "2480" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Hollywood & Vine Cellars are the creation of two guys from the entertainment industry that joined forces  to make hand crafted, ultra-premium Napa Valley wines. Actor turned director and screenwriter, Doug Barr, relocated to the Napa Valley from Hollywood in the early 1990’s. With Doug's longtime pal, Bruce Orosz, together, they created Hollywood &Vine Cellars releasing their first vintage in 1998. The “2480” refers to the address of the property they purchased for their wine venture from the estate of Maynard Amerine, a pioneer in the California wine industry. An author and professor at UC Davis, he taught many of the noteable names in the American wine business and impacted the art of winemaking world wide.The numbers on the bottle pay homage to Maynard Amerine for his contributions to the art and science of fine winemaking and for his inspirational role in the creation of Hollywood & Vine.

We first tasted the initial releases of Hollywood & Vine from the Cantina while dining out int the courtyard at Tra Vigne in St Helena during our Napa Wine Experiences in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and our Napa Wine Experience 2003.

We decanted this an hour before serving - it was full bodied, dark garnet color, flavorful forward complex black currant and raspberry fruits softened and mellowed to give way to sweet vanilla, hints of clove, milk chocolate and sweet oaks with a smooth lingering tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=46182

http://www.hollywoodandvinewine.com/ 

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

AJ, R & L with producer Randy Dunn

We're long-time huge fans of the artistry of Howell Mountain winemaker Randy Dunn. Our index of tasting notes for Dunn Vineyards cabernets doesn't reflect the fact that we have a vertical collection of Randy Dunn's wines going back to the 1980 vintage.We have many great memories of introducing friends and family to Dunn Howell Mtn cabs at special occasions and special events over the years - many before we started our on-line wine journal back around 1998.

The fact that these are known for being long lived wines, we have kept many since we have vintage selections for the kid's birth years as well as a selection of large format bottles. This collection of our kid's birth year wines and large bottles was the highlight of the feature of our cellar in the Collecting section of Wine Spectator back in June of 2001. So it was not surprising, #1 son Ryan wanted to pull out a Dunn when trolling the cellar selecting wines for our festive Christmas dinner.

Selection of Dunn cab vertical from our cellar
dating back to 1980

We first discovered Dunn Cabernets during our Napa visits going back to the eighties. We last met legendary Randy and his daughter Kristina during our winery and cellar tour/visit during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in  2008.

The Dunn visit was a highlight of our Howell Mountain trip where we focused on but one appellation as is our practice. Its true after many trips, we've learned less is more and we focus on one AVA per trip. We start at the top of the mountain and work our way down the hill when visiting the Mountain appellations. Visit our wine country travel pages on www.unwindwine.com to see our chronicles of Mt Veeder, Howell Mtn, Diamond Mtn, Spring Mountain District, and Atlas Peak Napa Valley appellations.

I keep thinking we'll drink them as part of a vertical tastings or for a special birthday, anniversary or other family celebrations. It was fitting that Ryan pulled a 2000 Napa to enjoy with our Christmas family dinner, and to see how this particular vintage release was aging since it is not know for its longevity.

We decanted the 2000 Napa Dunn an hour ahead of serving. It showed medium body, dark inky color, floral violets and aromas and flavors of subtle earthy wet grass or green pepper that was more approachable than it sounds, with accents of eucalyptus and spearmint masking the black currant and black berry fruits with a firm tight tannin finish.

We pledged to drink another bottle in ten years when we're together for another holiday dinner to compare with the memories of this tasting experience.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=11325

www.dunnvineyards.com/

Long story - never mind

Paloma Merlot and Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon at Wildwood Restaurant Geneva

Paloma Merlot and Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon

For our first visit restaurant experience to Wildwood Restaurant in Geneva, IL with Bill and Beth C, L and I took a bottle of Paloma Napa Valley Merlot 2003 which we thought would complement a wide assortment of entree selections from the dinner menu. We ended up ordering a range of entrees from Arborjack seafood to Prime Rib to Roasted Duck. The Paloma which follows in the footsteps of the blockbuster 2001 vintage that was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year that year did not disappoint. While earlier reviews of this wine were more modest, tonight it lived up to the reputation it earned with the WS prestigious selection. From the extensive winelist Bill and I both zero'd in on the same selection, the O'Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, however while listed, it was not available. By this time we were well in to the Paloma which was turning out to be spectacular, so we 'upgraded' our second choice from Van Strasser Diamond Mountain to the 2009 release of Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.

PALOMA Spring Mountain District Merlot 2003

Consistent with my earlier tasting notes, this was even better than I expected and remembered, medium full bodied, smooth polished, complex harmonious symphony of finely integrated aromas and flavors - predominant sweet black currant, red raspberry, milk chocolate, a hint of ripe plum, sweet oak and a bit of burnt sugar caramel on the long smooth polished finish.This was a great compliment to the roasted duck in strawberry and cherry vinegrette sauce.  

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=109466 

http://www.palomavineyard.com/ 

 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Historically, this is one my favorite Napa Cabs, having had many memorable bottles over the years. Matched up against the Paloma was a tall order, and coming off the spectacular showing of the Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend the other night we chose the Lewis Cab 2009. This promises to be a blockbuster with its initial 94 point rating from Wine Spectator. My experience is that this wine drinks well young, not needing many years to be approachable and  reveal its potential. Bill was a bit skeptical of its readiness to drink. I think we were both right. It was very good and drinking quite well already, but it will clearly still improve with a half dozen years of cellaring to soften and round out a bit of its edginess. In retrospect, I wish I'd ordered the New York strip steak. This would've made for a dynamite combination. The Lewis was too much wine for the Roasted Duck! Still it was delicious!

Big full bodied, a bit tight, forward complex ripe black berry and black currant fruits with spicy oak, hints of vanilla, mocha and a layer of cedar on the lingering tannin finish. 

RM 92 points.

Based on and encapsulating the producers' notes, respected merchant K&L summarizes this wine: "2009's long, cool growing season produced low yields of concentrated, fragrant berries with high natural acidity in the hillside vineyards of Calistoga and Oak Knoll that are the source for Lewis' Napa Valley Cabernet, resulting in a perfumed and complex wine with incredible finesse. Though still powerful and rich in the signature Lewis style, elegance and refinement displace the brawn of past vintages.The nose leads with scents of blackcurrant, rose petal, and baking spice, accented by hints of savory herbs, forest floor, and toasty oak. This leads to a rich yet refined palate, where layers of juicy fruit and oak spice are framed by acidity and fine tannins. Graphite and hints of cocoa lightly dust the lingering tannins, as the wine finishes clean and surprisingly light on its feet." 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1206262

http://www.lewiscellars.com/ 

Bruno Desaunay-Bissey Grands-Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Grands-Echezeaux Grand Cru, 2003

  

Before setting out for dinner, Bill opened this Bruno Desaunay-Bissey Grands-Echezeaux Burgundy, 2003. It was medium bodied, garnet colored, and exhibited full floral bouquet, earthy leather, subdued fruits of slightly tart black cherry and blackberry, with a layer of tobacco and spice box on the moderate tannin finish.

RM 86.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1328723

Beef Wellington Red Wine Dinner

Festive Beef Wellington Bordeaux - Meritage Proprietary Blends Wine-Dinner

For our gala family Christmas dinner Linda prepared classic Beef Wellington featuring tenderloin of beef, foie gras, medley of mushrooms, topped in an incredible port wine syrup sauce, baked in a puff pastry shell to lock in and harmonize the flavors. Starting with Caprese salad, side dishes included au-gratin potatoes, peas, brussel sprouts and crescent rolls.

Our dinner wine selections included a right bank Bordeaux Pomerol, proprietary Meritage blends from Napa and Yakima Valleys, and a duo of Burgundies, young and old. None of these are causal easy drinking wines, rather they were chosen to complement and highlight the complex flavors of the beef dinner preparation. The port wine sauce featured Warre's Warrior Oporto NV (and some HazyBlur Baroota South Australian Shiraz 2006 left over from the other evening).


Wines shown below, left to right:
Domaine Tortochot, Champerrier, Vieilles Vignes, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, 2005
Matthews Cellars Yakima Valley Proprietary Red 1999
Melka Metisse Napa Valley Proprietary Red 1999
Château du Domaine de l'Eglise Pomerol Bordeaux 1996
Albert Morot Beaune Bressandes, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru, Burgundy 1992



The Beef Wellington

Trimming Beef Tenderloin

Mushroom Medley

Foie Gras Hash

Grilled Mushroom Medley

Beef Wellington Preparation

Beef Wellington
Puffed Pastry Shell

Slicing Beef Wellington

The Holiday Dinner Wine Course:

Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru N.V. 

Light gold color - Bright vibrant expressive, smooth silky polished nice drinking - touch of sweetness,crisp acidity, tangy lengthy finish.

RM  90 points. 


http://cellartracker.com/w?389638


 

Melka Metisse Proprietary Red Wine 1999

Flagshp namesake wine from legendary winemaker Phillip Melka, this wine comes entirely from hillside Napa Valley vineyards.

Full bodied, deep dark inky color - dense concentrated complex layers of black berry fruits, hints of black tea, silky clove and spice with a long ripe smooth refined tannin finish.

Drank from magnum.

RM 91 points.

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc 100% Napa Valley 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=10051

Château du Domaine de l'Eglise Pomerol Bordeaux 1996

Surprisingly light, medium bodied, opaque garnet color, vibrant cedar and floral aromas and flavors predominate with bing cherry, black cherry and black berry flavors with layers of leather, tea and tobacco on the lingering moderate tannin finish.

Drank from magnum.


RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=333874

Matthews Cellars Yakima Valley Proprietary Red 1999

Surprising over-achiever for our gala Christmas beef wellington dinner - this was more polished than earlier tastings, full bodied, complex, vibrant and expressive with layers of blackberry, black currants and cherry fruits, a layer of spice, with hints of black tea, tar, leather and tobacco on the lingering moderate tannin finish.

52% Cabernet Sauvignon 37% Merlot 11% Cabernet Franc

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=79548

 
Domaine Tortochot, Champerrier, Vieilles Vignes, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, 2005


Very open and expressive - bright berry, strawberry, mulberry, spice and wood with long moderate tannin finish.

RM 89 points,  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=537162

Albert Morot Beaune - Bressandes, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru, Burgundy

I thought this had given up the ghost a while back but it remarkably still had life in it - light bodied, opaque garnet purple color - initial funky barnyard aromas thankfully burned off - the black cherry and olive tapenade gave way to earthy leather, tea and wood.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=605439

1990 Birthyear Vintage Tasting Contrasting Styles

1990 Birthyear Vintage Tasting Contrasting Styles 

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

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

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


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

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

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

Maison Leroy Maranges, Côte de Beaune, Maranges Burgundy 1990

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

RM 87 points. 

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

   

Acinum Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 1990

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

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


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

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