Showing posts with label Chateau Lascombes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chateau Lascombes. Show all posts

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Big Red Flight highlights grilled steak dinner

Big Red Bordeaux Blend Flight highlights grilled steak dinner

We visited fellow Pour Boy Dr Dan and Linda and they served a wonderful dinner of grilled steaks, baked potatoes, asparagus, cheese stuffed peppers and portabello mushrooms. Dan served a spectacular flight of red wines to accompany the dinner including two Bordeaux and a Sonoma Bordeaux Blend.

Continuing our tastings of Bordeaux wines on the anniversary of our trip there a year ago this week, we started the red flight with a St Emilion Château Troplong Mondot, followed by Château Lascombs Margaux, and closing out with Les Pavots from Peter Michael.

Before dinner with a selection of artisan cheeses, olives, nuts and tapenade, I took an Andretti Montonta Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay. One of the standout cheeses was a English Shropshire Blue Cheddar.

Château Troplong Mondot Grand Cru Classe' St Emilion Bordeaux 2005

What a treat to experience this vintage release that was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

There was irony in drinking this amidst the Coronavirus pandemic as years earlier Robert Parker had written in his review/notes: "It was emotional tasting this wine, thinking of the late Christine Valette, who made this compelling wine while battling with considerable courage against an insidious disease. It is a great effort and a superstar of the vintage. ... it is a tour de force, and a great tribute to an incredible woman. Kudos to the late Christine Valette!"

Vinous rated this 98 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar and Wine Spectator both gave it 96 points.

Dense dark garnet inky purple colored, full-bodied, powerful aromatics explode from the bottle upon releasing the cork, complex yet elegant and smooth, rich intense flavors of blackberry and black raspberry with layers of cassis, mocha, spice and notes of tobacco, a hint of truffle and some subtle background oak with silky smooth tannins on the long polished finish.

RM 96 points.



@Troplong_Mondot


Château Lascombes Grand Cru Classe' Margaux Bordeaux 2010

This release was awarded 94 points by James Suckling, 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast, and 91 points by Wine Spectator, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar and Connoisser's Guide. 

This was a special treat to taste this label as a year ago this week in our trip to the Medoc, we stayed in Chambres de Marguax, literally across the lane from Château Lascombes. We walked around the property almost daily in a strolls around the commune or enroute to or from dinner in the village.

At ten years of age, this was a bit tight and closed, perhaps going through a period in this stage, deep dark garnet in color, medium to full-bodied, blackcurrant and blackberry fruits with notes of black tea, fresh herbs, and black olives with hints of clove spice, cedar and licorice, turning to chewy tannins on the finish.

RM 91 points.

 

https://twitter.com/lascombes_


Peter Michael Les Pavots Knights Valley Bordeaux Blend 2012

Peter Michael produces one of the premiere ultra-premium Bordeaux Blends from Napa Sonoma. This is the flagship wine of the Peter Michael portfolio that is highly allocated directly from the winery with occasional limited quantities in distribution. 

Peter Michael is a huge and regretable lost opportunity for me as I spent fifteen years as a senior executive with an international company headquartered in Peter Michael's home town in Newbury, Berkshire, England. Peter Michael today owns hotels, resorts, golf club and restaurants in the town. I was ten years ahead of all of this development and missed potential engagement during my almost two hundred trips to the area. I regret not getting to meet and know Peter in those early years.  His wine operations started about the time I left that position and relationship just before the turn of the century.

Les Pavots is
sourced primarily from the vineyard
of the same name on the slopes of Mount St. Helena in Knights Valley in Sonoma County. The vineyard spans 49 acres ascending to an elevation of nearly 1,400 feet with Merlot and Cabernet Franc Bordeaux varietals growing on the cool upper slopes and Cabernet Sauvignon just below.

The blend of Bordeaux varietals is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.

This release was awarded 96-98 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate,  97 points by James Suckling and 95 points by Wine Spectator.

Winemaker notes for this vintage: "Deep dark color with saturated ruby color and vermillion nuance, 2012 Les Pavots reveals a deep bouquet of Cacao powder, fudge cookies, black cherry, blueberry and blackberry, licorice, with nuances of cedar, cigar box, black tea, graphite, vanilla, a stylish ‘garrigue’ touch and black truffle. Extremely full-bodied, the wine offers the same rich, ripe fruit impressions on the palate. The mouth feel is dense and round, with elegant tannins, which lead to a long finish. Complex, the 2012 Les Pavots will age gracefully for two decades and provides a classic presentation of our estate’s terroir."

Dark inky/purple-colored, big bold, full-bodied, complex, rich, ripe dense round dark black cherry, black berry brambley fruits with nuances of spice, cedar, cigar box, black tea with hints of licorice, graphite and black truffle turning to bold tangy tannins on a long finish.

RM 94 points.



Andretti Montonta Reserve Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2014
 
 
The Montona series is the premium Reserve brand available at the winery and to Club members. It is named for the Croatian village, birthplace of Andretti. 
 
We have fun with this brand with Dr Dan, a fellow Hoosier and Indy 500 Race enthusiast, supporting legendary driver and car/team owner Mario Andretti.
 
This was suprisingly good, better than expected. 
 
The golden honey color has a slight rust hue that was initially disarming but the wine was fine, medium bodied, nicely balanced and polished with integrated bright expressive notes of peach, apricot and citrus fruits with notes of vanilla and soft oak on the sinewy finish. 

RM 91 points. 

 
 
@AndrettiWine 




Saturday, June 3, 2017

Vincent Marie Antoinette Lacombes Margaux at Hemmingway's Bistro Oak Park

Vincent Marie Antoinette and Lacombes Margaux at Hemmingway's Bistro Oak Park

We dined at Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park with daughter Erin and Son-in-law Johnnie. We love Hemingway's with its authentic classic French dining experience, reminiscent of a small French village bistro.

Pre dinner, I ordered one of my favorite wine pairing dishes, the Foie Gras du jour, and we also had their Baked Imported Brie with apricot preserves and honey.  For our dinner entrees, I ordered the Five Spice Duck Breast with mango beurre blanc, Johnnie ordered the Bouillabaisse Royale, Linda ordered the Tuna, and Erin ordered the Softshell Crab (entrees pictured below).

For the wine course I brought BYOB Chateau Lascombes Grand Cru Classe Margaux 2006 and from the wine list we ordered Vincent Marie Antoinette Puilly Fusse 2014.

Jean-Jacques Vincent Pouilly-Fuissé Cuvée Marie-Antoinette Vincent 2014 

To accompany the white fish, the baked brie and salad course we ordered this Vincent Pouilly-Fuissé Cuvée white Burgundy from the wine list.

This was crisp clean with nice balance of citrus and acidity with notes of citrus and lemon peel, hints of green apple and spice.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2201818



Château Lascombes Grand Cru Classe Margaux 2006 

Dominique Befve, Lascombes GM
and fellow 'pour-boy' Bill C
We've enjoyed meeting Château Lascombes GM Dominique Befve (left) a regular participant at the annual UGC annual North American tour of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) where the producers introduce their latest vintage release to the US market.  Lascombes was a highlight in some of the recent tour tastings. 

I brought this 2006 release to commemorate Eric and Johnnies' tenth wedding anniversary last year.

Lascombes is typically ready to drink after five to eight years yet can be held for several decades depending on the vintage. At ten years this is probably at its prime and will not improve further with ageing. This was a perfect accompaniment to the Foie Gras.

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium full bodied,  complex but nicely integrated bright vibrant black cherry, blackberry, and black currant fruits, smooth balanced nicely with tones of smoke, anise, leather, tobacco and black tea.

The composition of the Grand vin Chateau Lascombes '06 is a blend of 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon  and 5% Petit Verdot. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=358745



Softshell Crab

Bouillabaisse


Tuna Filet
Five Spice Duck Breast



Sunday, September 18, 2016

Pour Boys Cityscape Fall Classic Wine Dinner

Pour Boys Cityscape Fall Classic Wine Dinner


The fall gathering of the Pour Boys was hosted by Lyle and Terry on their West Loop cityscape deck on a picture perfect early autumn evening.

Big Reds were the order of day to compliment the dinner of ceasar salad, mushroom soup, grilled steaks, puffed potatoes, stripped zuchini, and cheese veggie ravioli.

The Antipasta course (shown below) featured a plate of mixed proscuittos, deviled eggs, assortment of olives and a selection of artisan cheeses, highlighted by Lyle's grilled sea scallops.

Red wine flight
The main course red wine flight (shown left) featured Sangiovese, Bordeaux blends, several Syrahs, a couple Zins and a vintage port.

John served a champagne and white wine flight with the starters of Salon and Veuve Cliquot, and a Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis Grand Cru.

There is always room for bubbly, and the whites were spectacular with the scallops, antipasta and cheese selection.

The cheeses included aged cheddars from Fair Oak Farms - 5 and 6 year olds and a Wisconsin;  a pair of aged Goudas from Wisconsin and a Dutch, Bellavitano and some others.


Cheese selection

Anti-Pasta





















The white flight -


Salon Blanc de Blanc Brut Champagne 2004

At a dozen years of age, this premium vintage label showed its class - straw colored, medium bodied, elegant, rich, crisp and clean, full bright flavors accented by a layer of zesty yeast, vibrant flavors of pear, apple, nut and hint of zesty citrus.

I wish my palate for Champagne was more discriminating to appreciate the nuances of this elegant polished, nicely balanced label.

RM 93 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2334797

 

Veuve Cliquot NV Champagne


Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis Grand Cru en Clos 2009

As a follow on to our recent Vivere wine producer dinner, Ernie brought a Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino and Fluris, which he procured from the Italian Village wine cellar when the distributor/retailer couldn't fulfill our order for a shared case of the dessert wine. Following the pairing of this with the orange cake at the dinner, this was a priority to compliment Terry's classic orange cake dessert.

The Brunello Sangiovese was an ideal compliment to Terry's mushroom and celery root soup. She and Lyle had this on their recent river cruise on the Danube River to Budapest and Terry coerced the chef to give her the recipe. 







Lyle grilling the scallops.
















The Red Flight -

 
 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2010

100% Estate grown Sangiovese.

Deep intense dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, subdued black cherry fruits, tones of leather, tobacco, anise and hints of floral, spice and vanilla.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1770395




Eric and Cathy brought Flower Merlot from Yates Family Vineyards which they discovered and obtained at our our winery visit during our Mt Veeder Appellation wine experience 2011. This was a great transition wine from the white to red flight with its soft approachable easy sipping bright acidity and vibrant fruits, before moving to the Big Reds.


Yates Family Vineyards Flower Merlot 2005

While predominantly Merlot, this includes in the blend some Cabernet Sauvignon (4%) and Cabernet Franc (2%).

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant black berry, black raspberry and black cherry fruits, lively acidity, dark spices on a long moderate tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1129204

http://www.yatesfamilyvineyard.com/



For the dinner course, we started with Bill's Chateau  Lascombs to align with the grilled strip steaks.


Château Lascombes Margaux Bordeaux 2000

Contrary to my earlier tasting experience with this wine, tonight this was surprisingly un-Bordeaux like ... while this was lacking the floral and earthy notes I associate with Margaux, it showed much brighter and more forward, vibrant tangy fruits, more like a Napa Cab, than a left bank claret.

Dark deep ruby colored, medium-bodied, bright forward blackberry, black currant, and black cherry fruits with a layer of tangy spice and tones of soft oak on the moderate tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6403


Continuing in the dinner course, I brought another 2000 vintage label as part of a mini vertical of Rosemount Balmoral Syrah, 1999-2000.

Rosemount Estate Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999-2000

We have about a half dozen contiguous vintages of this label. I think this '99 label is a bit bigger and more forward and fruit filled than the others which have more predominant non-fruit tones. 

This vineyard is one of the few in Australia with vines dating back a hundred years. The concentrated fruit is akin to the Chateau Tanunda with its legendary 100 year old vines. The story of  we Pour Boys discovering and then capturing the US allocation of this wine is written often in these pages. 

Dark inky purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, forward  currant, plum, blackberry fruits turning to blueberry on the mid-palate, accented by a layer of anise, raisin and fig with hints of clove and spice.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3000 

2000 Vintage - 

Consistent with previously reported tasting notes from 2010 and 2012. 

Dark inky purple/garnet colored, medium-full bodied. Aromatic, leather, slightly earthy aroma that gives way to complex flavorful blue fruit and ripe black raspberry fruits that turn to raisin, black cherry, cassis, tar, and tobacco turning to an aftertaste of smoke, currant and a hint of plum. Over the course of the evening, the wine seemed to age as the berry fruits gave way to the more fig raisin aged feel while the deep aromatics lingered.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=14749

The Syrah flight continued with John's classic Cayuse Shiraz from Washington State.

Cayuse Vineyards Cailloux Vineyard Walla Walla Valley Syrah 2012


John brought the 2007 vintage of this big hitter to our Cityscape wine of the deck dinner in 2013 when I wrote on this label and producer more extensively.

Like that earlier event, I saved this wine for the end of the meal to pivot to the dessert course as it is suited more for the dark chocolate desserts and more than even the grilled beef steaks. And, like before, it provided a perfect set up to the Vintage Port. Thanks again, John for offering up this classic Washington State Syrah, a real treat.

Not for the feint of heart ... no wimps here ... Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, huge powerful concentrated, complex thick chewy black berry and black raspberry, bramble, bacon fat, game, tones of dark mocha and tobacco with hints of tar, black pepper and anise turning to vanilla on the tongue coating finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1683780

http://www.cayusevineyards.com



Orange cake with berries and whipped cream
 

Finally, the dessert course featuring Terry's orange cake with mixed berries and fresh whipped cream, and a selection of dark chocolates and dark chocolate covered berries, accompanied by Ernie's Floris and Lyle's Croft Port.


Castello Banfi Florus Late Harvest Moscadello 2011

Golden colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant bouquet and flavors of sweet apricot, honeysuckle, tones of raisins, almonds and honey on full lingering unctuous finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1840229




Croft Vintage Port 1994

From Lyle's collection of vintage ports, the 1994 vintage was a classic vintage, even for vintage declared Ports, as two were selected as Co-Wines of the Year for that vintage. 

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, moderately sweet with an essence of cognac, gripping tannins are pervasive with thick tongue coating richness, yet the power is refined and polished rendering this big wine approachable for smooth sipping. One of the top performances for this label.

RM 92 points.  



https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=8960

http://www.croftport.com/en/





The Pour Boys Story-

UGC Bordeaux 2013 Release Tour Chicago 2016

Pour Boys Serve Grands Crus Classes of St Emilion 2015 Chicago Tasting



Saturday, December 13, 2014

Festive '14 Holiday Dinner Features Extensive Wine Flight

Festive Holiday Dinner Features Beef Tenderloin Wellington with Extensive Wine Flight

Our 'pour boys' wine team gathered for a festive holiday dinner that featured an extensive wine flight to pair and compare. We were joined by Bob L, Mark and Shirley. Linda prepared a spectacular Beef Wellington Tenderloin dinner.

To kick off the evening Bill brought a Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir based sparkling wine. I pulled a Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs to compare. These were paired with fresh Driscolls raspberries and strawberries, shrimp cocktail and a selection of artisan cheeses, and deviled eggs, meatballs, and shrimp brought by Lyle and Terry.

The white wine flight continued with Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008. The cheeses included Stilton with Cranberries, Floralie Goat Cheese with Cranberries and Cinnamon, Smoked Gouda, and Expresso laced Bellavitano.

We kicked off the red wine flight with Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve 2004, followed by Caymus Estate 40th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 for the pre-dinner pairing flight.

For dinner, following caprese salad, Linda prepared extraordinary individual beef wellington tenderloins accompanied by roasted carrots, asparagus and twice baked potatoes.

With dinner we opened the elegantly packaged etched glass bottle of Fantesca Estate Spring Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 which set the stage perfectly for Chateau Lascombs Margaux 2000 with their similar central core of bright black raspberry fruit.

Following the Bordeaux blend, Lyle had brought a Chateau St Michelle Cinq Cepages 2010, but we pulled from the cellar an aged 1997 release to compare with the aged Lascombs instead.

Following dinner, with coffee, Linda served Turtle Cheesecake and a carrot cake roll, with Chocolate Caramel Truffles with sea salt brought by Bill and Beth. With the dessert course, we opened a dessert wine flight of three aged disparate varietals and styles from three different regions - Austrian Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97, Italian Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004, and Hungarian Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000.

The wines:

Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir 2011
NV Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru
Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008
Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve 2004
Caymus Estate 40th Anniversary 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
Fantesca Estate Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Chateau Lascombs Margaux 2000
Chateau St Michelle Cinq Cepages 2010
Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97
Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000
Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004

Sparkling wine flight - 

Part of holiday tradition is to serve sparkly bubbly wines as part of the festive holiday celebration. Bill's vintage Sea Smoke Sea Spray set the bar for this Sparkling White Wine flight. 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. Champagne is typically sourced from Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Bill's Blanc de Noir is named such since it is sourced from Pinot Noir while this Blanc de Blanc is name for its Chardonnay sourced varietal. This provided a great comparison tasting to two varietals from two sides of the world.

Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir 2011

The name Sea Smoke refers to the fog that drifts inland from the nearby ocean that graces the vines and cools them at night providing some relief of the midday sun and heat. The producer Sea Smoke and the Santa Rita Hills appellation on the south central California Coast are both known for Champagne and Burgundy varietals, premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker - "A delicious complement to quiche, ham and biscuits for Christmas morning brunch. A beautiful blush color, this Pinot Noir based sparkler from Sea Smoke is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. Crisp and clean with a medium body, there is a hint of grapefruit on the palate which is nicely balanced by notes of yeast. A bit pricey but delicious."

WCC 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1572346

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


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'. This Champagne is NV, non-vintage, or a blend of fruit sourced from multiple years or vintagers. Champagne producers do this to maintain a more consistent branding in their wines, moderating the effects of variations from vintage to vintage. Only the most premium selections are 'declared' a vintage designated specific bottling.  We visited Champagne during our Champagne Wine Experience 2006.


RM 88 points.

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

Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008

Verdelho is a white grape varietal that has been grown in Portugal for centuries and is
one of the most popular grapes planted on the small island of Madeira where vines were first planted in the 15th century. The variety produces highly acidity wine if they are aged, but when drunk young they provide some of the most fruit filled flavorful wines of the Madeiras. It is now a popular grape being widely planted in the new world wine regions from Argentina to South Australia.

No wimpy white wine here. Medium bodied, a cross between the body of a chardonnay and the crispness of a sauvignon blanc - full essence of pear predominates with subtle citrus, melon and tropical fruits on a mildly acidic full mineral finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=566718


Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2004

Linda and I discovered this wine at a memorable outing during one of our get-away weekends to Chicago,  at Smith & Wollensky sitting outside overlooking the river for a summer afternoon wine, salad and cheese interlude. 
 

One of our perennial favorites although if you read this blog you'll know we don't do a lot of Pinot Noir compared to other varietals.
Domaine Serene produce at least three ultra premium priced Pinots above this one, none of which have I tasted. I look forward to doing so at some point as I love this wine. I am not a fan, however of their lower priced entry level offerings including Yamhill Cuvee. But then I've often written how elusive is a low priced high QPR Pinot Noir.

The fruit was more subdued than I remember. At ten years old, I wonder if this is past it prime drinking window or just a more subtle vintage release. Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, the black cherry and black raspberry fruits are a bit subdued and compete with tones of leather, earth, anise, spicy cinnamon with a touch of smoke and oak on the moderate tannin finish. 

RM 89 points.


http://www.domaineserene.com/  


Caymus Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 - Special 40th Anniversary Bottling

If you read this blog often, you've probably already seen me praising this amazing wine. As I've written here several times, the 2012 vintage of Caymus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is spectacular and was a perfect compliment to our cheeses, tenderloin beef steak dinner and dark chocolate truffles dessert. Not only did they release a blockbuster for the vintage, they packaged it in a celebratory bottle and commemorative label, and then they lowered the price! A wine that typically sells at the street price of $65, this was widely available at ten dollars off the regular price or $55 at release. The street price has now crept up to $59. For drinking now or saving for a couple years, this is a great buy for the price point, and for special occasions or anniversary celebration dinners. And for better value, they also offer a one liter bottle. This is a showcase wine that shows Napa Valley Cabernet at its best with consistency, early gratification and moderate aging potential.

As featured in my recent earlier blog journal tasting reports on this wine, this is the 40th release of this legendary label and it features a special 40th Anniversary release label for the occasion. The 2012 vintage release also  shows the classic characteristics of Caymus Estate Cabernet at its best - early approachability and drinkability as a young wine.

Typical legendary Caymus Cabernet style - dark blackish ruby/garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely structured, complex but smooth, well balanced and polished, it opens with sweet ripe blackberry and raspberry flavors highlighted by layers of milk chocolate, subtle tones of cinnamon, vanilla and hints of caramel and kirsch, giving way to a smooth lingering modest tannin finish. Against the more elegant and complex Fantesca and the sophisticated blends, this appeared much more one dimensional that when consumed standalone.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1805868

http://www.caymus.com


Fantesca Estate and Winery, Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

To compare against the Caymus Napa Cabernet and to set the stage for the Chateau Lascombs we opened this 2004 Fantesca Spring Mountain Napa Cab. We visited Duane and Susan Hoff at their spectacular mountainside estate of Fantesca Spring Mountain Estate and Winery during our Napa Wine Experiences in 2007 and in 2009With their elegant etched glass bottles, we enjoy serving this wine at special occasions, and we love their sophisticated and elegant wines too. This was the first vintage release under their ownership. 

Fantesca Napa Valley,
Spring Mtn Cabernet Sauvignon
Etched glass, painted bottle.
(2006 shown)
Returning to the '04 Cabernet, the Fantesca was medium-full bodied, dark garnet colored, complex but smooth and polished with bright forward fruits of black currant, dark berry and black raspberry, accented by sweet dark chocolate, a hint of cassis, and a tone of spice on the lingering refined tannin finish.

RM 93 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=355836

http://www.fantesca.com





Château Lascombes Margaux 2000

Bill shared this classic aged Bordeaux Margaux from a classic vintage from his cellar. At fourteen years, this exhibited more subdued fruits and floral than earlier tasting two years ago. I wonder if its just entering an 'closed' period in its aging or perhaps we didn't allow it enough time to open.

Often, such sophisticated and complex wines need a whole day to open to truly reveal their native character and profile. Decanted but aged for about and hour to ninety minutes, this showed medium-body, deep ruby/purple-color, opening  to a classic Margaux bouquet of earthy floral with flavors of earthy, leathery firm blackberry, black currant, and black cherry fruits with a layer of tar, vanilla and moderate tannins on a long, berry, soft oak finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6403



Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 

We debated about what to open next following the Lascombes to pair with the tenderloin and compare with the Bordeaux Blend. This mating dance of flight selection that we go through at such dinners is a great part of the fun. Having a deep cellar with lots of choices allows us the option to design the flight based on what the guests happen to bring.

Lyle brought the most recent 2010 release of Cinq Cepages California Bordeaux blend. We considered pulling from the cellar another younger vintage of the Lascombes, but following the 2000 Lascombes blend, we opted to open an older 1997 Cinq Cepages release instead. We pulled this from our vertical collection that spans ten vintages of this classic wine that was wine of the year with its 1996 release.  Cinq Cepages means 'five flavors' ala a Bordeaux style Meritage blend.

There was still much life left in this seventeen year old - medium bodied, vibrant bright black raspberry, red currants and kirsch flavors highlighted by a layer of tea and hint of caramel and touch of spice on a moderate short light polished tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2205

Dessert wine flight - 

We finished with three dessert wines from different regions with contrasting styles and profiles. These were no doubt straw colored upon release, over time they darkened to butter color, then weak tea colored, eventually darkening to the dark orange rust color they possesses now. Allowed to continue to age, they will likely eventually darken to dark strong tea color, and then maple syrup color, although I suspect none will necessarily improve the flavor and suitability of the wine.

Some classic dessert wines are built to last decades, I suspect none of these will improve further and the Ruster Ausbruch and Cavalchina Veneto Passito are likely at or even past their peak drinking window. All were moderately priced high QPR values enabling a triple treat comparison tasting such as tonight.




Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000

Burnt orange colored, medium full bodied, sweet apricot with tones of peach turning to pink grapefruit citrus on a tongue coating smoky almond finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=381819

Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97

We still have a case of this wine, so stay tuned as we monitor this over the coming months and years.
This is a Chardonnay blend. The thick almost syrupy extracted sweet fruit was offset by a smoky roasted almond nut flavor. Rather than the highly desirable apricot or peach flavors, this tended to be more citrus focused this tended to be more citrus focused with a tone of tangerine predominating.

RM 87

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

Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004 

Medium-full bodied and thick - apple fruits, subtle tangerine, hint of apricot and peach flavors are overtaken by wet wood, smoke and nut on a full flavorful lingering finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=436980

The Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad
Preparing the Beef Wellington -