Dunn & Beaucastel for Family Reunion Dinner

Dunn & Beaucastel for Family Reunion Dinner

For family reunion dinner featuring sockeye salmon, ribs and beef tenderloin, Bro-in-law Bill and #1 Son Ryan pulled two classic favorites from the cellar. For this special gathering with Bill and sister Jan visiting from So-Cal OC, to accompany the ribs, Ryan selected Chateau Beaucastel CDP, while Bill selected Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet for the tenderloin. For a mini-horizontal comparison we selected the 1998 vintage release of each label. Both wines seemed to be not only ready-to-drink, but at the prime apex of their drinking windows. 

For Bro-in-law Bill and sister Jan, the Dunn offered a replay of daughter Krysta's gala wedding reception dinner when they served Dunn Napa Cab.

We visited Dunn together during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008. Here we are with Randy Dunn, shown left.

According to my cellar records, we hold twenty-one vintages of this label (including the Howell Mountain) dating back to 1981. We're holding on to these vintages because of their long lived aging potential.

Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Randy Dunn's wines are legendary for their long lived aging and this was another testament to that legacy. While Cellartracker shows the drinking window for this vintage to be out to 2014, I thought this was delicious and appeared to be still at its prime, showing its age but not yet showing serious effects of diminution.

While the 1998 Napa vintage was panned and overshadowed by what I feel in retrospect was the over-rated 1997, once again, as with many previous tastings, the '98 was drinking very nicely and over-achieved against the vintage reviews.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, earthy, floral, graphite and oak highlight the black currant and black berry aromas and flavors. Echoing comments from fellow CellarTracker tasters, a hint of sweetness with moderate, dusty tannins, more on the Bordeaux side but with a Napa sweetness.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=7961

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape  1998

Ryan selected this CDP - Chateauneuf du Pape to accompany the bbq baby back ribs. A visit to Chateau Beaucastel, one of the premier producers in the appellation, was one of the highlights of our Southern Rhone Wine Experience back in 1998. We may have tasted this wine from barrel samples during that winery and cellar tour (shown left),

Our cellar records indicate we hold a dozen vintages of this label dating back to the 1978 vintage.

This was an instance where a comparison tasting may have taken the luster off this wine as it was overshadowed by the bigger, bolder, more expressive Dunn.

Ruby colored, almost opaque, medium bodied, nicely balanced, complex but smooth and polished, aromas and flavors of black cherry fruits accented by tones of spice, herbs, tobacco leaf, hints of black pepper and whisper of anise.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2201

Thanksgiving Dinner with Varied Eclectic Wine Course

Thanksgiving Dinner with Varied Eclectic Wine Course

Thanksgiving is a national holiday that centers on a special celebration dinner feast of classic American cuisine. The traditional menu is uniquely American and is a particular combination of offerings that seldom occurs at any other time - turkey, dressing, cranberry salad, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie...  Even the main course of turkey is rarely featured at any other time during the year. The dinner is based on the original Pilgrim harvest dinner which did not include wine as part of their menu, hence wine selection is based on the modern day food and wine pairing. It is no surprise that the wine tasting selections to accompany the once a year Thanksgiving meal always offers an adventurous wine selection challenge.

The characteristics of turkey and stuffing lends themselves to more neutral, low acidity, non-tannic, clean and crisp fruit filled flavorful wines. Suggested offerings tend towards white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc,  Semillon or a more outgoing forward varietal such as a Riesling or a spicy Gewurztraminer. For red wine lovers, fruit filled moderate bodied earthy spicy reds go well with the dark turkey meat, sweet potatoes and stuffing, robust fruit centered wines, lighter and more moderate to accompany the more delicate neutral white meat.

Finally, there is always a place for Champagne, especially on festive holidays, and most suitably with the white meats, hor d'ovres, appetizers and cheeses.

We started the wine course with the cheese course pairing  .. a sweet 'sticky' accompaniment to compliment the course of artisan cheeses - smoked Gouda, Bellavitano, berry infused goat cheese, and Regianno, with a selection of olives, peppers and pickles.

Tim Smith Barossa Botrytis Sémillon 2005

The Sémillon is a full bodied, heavy, low acidity grape that when held on the vine to full ripeness results in high sugar sweetness for thick syrupy almost oily textured dessert wines that have long aging potential. They are great for sipping with cheese, chocolates, salads or hearty cake desserts. Along with Sauvignon blanc and Muscadelle, Sémillon is one of only three approved white wine varieties in the Bordeaux region that is also popular in Australia. The grape is also key to the production of sweet wines such as Sauternes or in this case, Barossa Valley botrytis semillon.

Great accompaniment to the cheese course - apricot colored, full bodied, thick unctuous syrupy sweet nectar of ripe apricot papaya lychee fruit, accented by almond nut with a layer of smoke on the finish.

RM 89

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=871713

NV Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru

Part of our holiday tradition is to serve authentic Champagne as part of the celebration of Thanksgiving for all the blessings that we recognize and for which we give thanks on this day. Of course authentic refers to the fact that only wine produced in the méthode champenoise sourced from grapes from the French Champagne region in northwest France is legally and appropriately labeled Champagne. Like last year, this 1st Cru Champagne is part of a case we acquired several years ago. Sourced from anywhere else, bubbly is simply 'sparkling wine'.  We visited Champagne during our Champagne Wine Experience 2006.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=39540

Chateau Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2003 

Ryan brought this classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CDP) for our celebration dinner. CDP is the wine growing appellation in the southern Rhone River valley in the area between the towns or Orange and Avignon in southeast France, up river, north of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. The CDP appellation rules that control the wines allow for up to thirteen different grape varietals in the blend which typically feature Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mouvedre and are full, complex, gamy, earthy and spicy. We've collected Chateau Beaucastel going all the way back the 1978 vintage. Our visit to Château Beaucastel was one the highlights of our visit to the southern Rhone River wine region including Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1998. 

The wine evolved over the course of the afternoon and only after an hour or so did it start to open and reveal its native character and style. Dark brownish garnet colored, medium bodied, complex dark berry and spicy black cherry fruits were muted initially but opened up after an hour, accented by pain grillé (toast), smoke, leather, with hints of creosote and licorice on a moderate tannin lingering finish. 

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27759


Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2009

Translucent bright ruby color, light medium body, dusty rose with dark cherry fruit accented by brown spices, hints of black tea and tobacco leaf on a nicely balanced modest tannin finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1394338






Chateau Tanunda Grand Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Dark ruby colored, medium to full bodied, bright forward blackberry and blackcurrant fruits with spice, hints of vanilla and oak on a long with fine-grained tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1063509

http://www.chateautanunda.com/

David Arthur 1147 Biale Zin Beaucastel Highlight Rib Dinner

David Arthur 'Elevation 1147', Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel, Chateau Beaucastel CDP Highlight Rib Dinner

Another summer barbecue rib dinner offers chance to sample a flight of big reds. Bill and Beth C hosted the dinner and featured Robert Biale Black Chicken Napa Valley Zinfandel and David Arthur 1147 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I brought a Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996.

Mike Rijken pouring
at Château Beaucastel

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996

I first tasted this vintage of this wine in a cellar tasting at the Chateau (shown left) during my visit to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1998. The picturesque Domains Perrin Beaucastel estate and vineyards was one of the highlights of that trip. There is more on Beaucastel and that visit on an earlier blogpost.

I still hold a half case of this wine and it appears to be time to drink up as it seems to be at the apex of its tasting/aging curve. It will be interesting to do a horizontal tasting of the other wines that I still hold that were featured and collected from that trip, notably, Chateau La Nerthe and Vieux Telegraph.

My tasting notes and score are consistent with earlier tasting which was posted in 2010. The color is opaque dark ruby, the nose is subdued, this is medium bodied and shows layers of rather austere black berry and black cherry fruits accented by subtle black pepper giving way to slightly earthy leathery red fruit on a meaty acidic tannin finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5098

http://www.beaucastel.com/en/





Robert Biale Black Chicken Napa Valley Zinfandel 2011

This is another big Napa Zinfandel from Robert Biale vineyards that was featured in a recent earlier blogpost highlighting a rib dinner at Bill and Beth's at the beginning of the summer.

Not quite as big or polished as the 2011 Party Line Zinfandel we had a few weeks ago, this was still a big, forward black fruit filled Zinfandel with brambly, zesty black pepper tones and a spicy leathery finish.

RM 89 points.

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




David Arthur Elevation 1147 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This is the flagship wine of David Arthur, named for the elevation of the vineyards up on the eastern slope overlooking the Napa Valley floor (shown left) from up on Pritchard Hill.

Our visit to the David Arthur winery was a highlight of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 featured in an earlier blogpost in April of this year.

With dark inky purple color and full body, this opened with big, concentrated, complex, rich, chewy, tongue coating forward ripe black berry and black raspberry fruits. Then something happened and it shut down and closed up somewhat about an hour and some after opening and decanting. It still had a layer of sugary sweetness with tones of mocha and black licorice and a whisper of black pepper on a silky smooth tannin finish.

I'd like to see how this reveals itself a day later but we finished  it last night! While this should be considered a perfect complement to a hearty grilled steak - it stood up and was well suited to the barbecue ribs.

This started out as a blockbuster 95 pointer before it retreated as noted above, yet still warrants a most respectable 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=14142

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2009 - Flinders Shiraz

Château de Beaucastel "Coudoulet de Beaucastel" Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2009

In the Southern Rhone River Valley in South Central France sits Château de Beaucastel, located north of Avignon, five kilometres south-east of Orange at the northern limit of the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation. Coudoulet de Beaucastel is known as 'Baby Beaucastel', the second wine of this storied producer to the flagship Chateau Beaucastel, one of the premier producers in the historic Chateauneuf-du-Pape, known for age-worthy big bold complex wines. We visited Beaucastel during our Rhone Wine Experience in 1999.

Chateau Beaucastel Vineyards - Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Coudoulet fruit is grown in a 15 acre vineyard that lies to the east of Beaucastel on the other side of the A7 autoroute. The geology of the soil at Beaucastel and Coudoulet are composed of a layer of marine limestone, rounded stones (or "galets") that contribute much to the wines of Beaucastel as they retain the intense heat of the Mediterranean sun during the day then slowly disperse it to the vines during the night. This provides a head start to the vines in springtime. The long dry Mediterranean summers often can stress the vineyard for lack of water resulting in intense powerful fruit. The resistance built into Beaucastel's vine stock from 30 years of continuous organic culture allows the vineyard to come through periods of drought with few problems. Because the rocky soil is porous and aerated, the vineyards at Beaucastel have developed root systems that penetrate deep into the rocky earth in their search for water. 

 
As shown above, the vines in the Southern Rhone are cut low to the ground to protect them from the mistral winds that rush up the river valley from the Mediterranean during the winter.  

Coudoulet and Beaucastel are age-worthy wines due to the high proportion (up to 30%) of Mourvedre, a grape that provides a tannic backbone and resistance to oxidation that ensures long life. Mourvedre introduces aromas of leather, tobacco, and spice to the blend. Beaucastel and Coudoulet vineyards are at the northern edge of the growing region of Mourvedre. It it often considered that the best expressions of a varietal come from the cooler parts of their growing areas.

The other primary varietal in Beaucastel wines is Grenache which gives Coudoulet the rounded fullness and intense fruit that is typical of Côtes du Rhône. The remainder of the blend is equal parts Syrah and Cinsault representing about 20% each, that provide tannins and aromatic complexity to Coudoulet. 

Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation covenants allow up to thirteen different varietals in the blend resulting in complex and often very sophisticated wines. Côtes du Rhône wines from the adjacent appellation are relatively simpler and generally more affordable offering high QPR - Quality to Price ratios compared to their bigger more complex neighbors. This is also the case with Coudoulet being a fraction of the price of its big brother Chateau de Beaucastel.  

Irazu Restaurant - Bucktown, Chicago

We met Ryan and Michelle at BYOB Irazu Restaurant in tony Bucktown about six blocks from their place and they brought along this Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône Red 2009. 

Deep ruby purple color, medium.full bodied - very ripe, bold, forward, expressive structured, jammy and dry with aromas and flavors of black cherry and blackberry fruits, herb, grilled meat, leather with hints of pepper and spice with a mineral layer on the lingering moderate tannin finish.

RM 89 points. RP 89-91. 

 
Grenache 30%, Mourvèdre 30%, Syrah 20%, Cinsault 20%.

  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1015626

http://www.beaucastel.com/ 

Flinders Run Shiraz Southern Flinders Ranges South Australia 2006

We brought along one of favorite big Syrahs, Flinders Run. We love this wine and consider it a benchmark representation of Southern Australian Shiraz at its very best, and at a pricepoint between $25-30 it offers relative great QPR.

The 2006 Flinders is dark inky purple, full bodied, powerfully scented bouquet of dark berries, smoky minerals and fresh flowers bursting with flavors of thick chewy black raspberry, blueberry and cassis with layers of nut, vanilla and hints of mocha flavors on a tongue coating lingering finish.

My earlier tasting notes from last year; "Dark garnet color - full bodied. Mouthful of forward chewy spicy ripe plum blackberry, blueberry and notes of licorice coat the tongue, toasty oak and a layer of vanilla almond on the full long, pure finish. Slight heat and mineral edge is subsiding but detracts from the fruit a bit. Not quite as smooth as the 2005 vintage but delicious none-the-less".


RM 92 points, RP 91, WS 92.

As good as this wine is, we like the 2005 even better! These wines are big and forward and might be 'over-the-top' for the more timid!

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=579974

Syrah - Shiraz !?!

Lagier-Meredith Napa Valley
Mt Veeder Syrah is produced in
the Rhone Style

Stephen Lagier and Carole Meredith produce the Lagier-Meredith label Syrah based Rhone style wines from their mountain top estate high above Yountville on Mt Veeder in Napa Valley. As we are such huge fans of Syrah and Shiraz, I always wondered about the differences in the various Syrah/Shiraz varietals from the old world (France) and the new world (Australia and the US). I found the answer during our visit to Lagier-Meredith Vineyards in Napa Valley during our Napa Valley Mt Veeder tour last spring.

Stephen Lagier and
Carole Meredith

Carole Meredith was a professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California at Davis where she conducted research in grape genetics. Her research group used DNA typing methods to discover the origins of some of the greatest old wine varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Syrah. Carol Meredith is a geneticist and has studied and specializes in the Syrah varietal. She attests the Syrahs from Australia and Napa are the same as their ancestors from the old world Rhone River valley where they have been grown since the 16th Century. Lagier-Meredith produce Syrah varietal wines that are true to their heritage as they strive to produce wines in the traditional Rhone style.