Del Dotto Cave Blend at Angeli's Italian

Del Dotto Cave Blend and Dalila at Angeli's Italian

With D-in-law out of state for a special sister's bachelorette event, son Alec was bach'ing at home so we met for dinner at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria, joined by son Sean, Michelle and g-daughter Lavender. 

I took BYOB from our cellar this Del Dotto Cave Blend to accompany my side dish of Angeli's meatballs, and Angeli's Special Salad. 

Tonight's special dish was Sea Bass with asparagus, tomatoes, basil garlic and prosciutto, with mashed potatoes. 

To accompany the seafood entree dish, we ordered from the winelist the Dalila, a perennial favorite high QPR selection. 

Del Dotto Cave Blend Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

This Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley producer Del Dotto is one of our standard selections for such dinners. Readers of these pages know we have been collecting Del Dotto dating back to their inaugural vintage release in 1993 and still hold decades of vintage release of more than a dozen labels - one of the largest producer holdings in our cellar collection.

We tasted and acquired this vintage release during our Del Dotto Winery Caves Tour during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017.

This Del Dotto Caves Blend label is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot.

At seven years of age, this has improved with some aging and is more integrated and balanced than in its youth and appears to be approaching the apex of its drinking window and profile. Tonight's tasting was the best showing of this wine to date, halfway through a case that we acquired upon release seeming to be more elegant and polished than when younger.

Dark purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, bright vibrant, nicely integrated and balanced black berry and black raspberry fruits with tangy notes of clove spice and hints of bitter dark chocolate turning to cloying tannins on an lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

Winemakers' notes for this release: "Dark garnet color with a bright bouquet of sweet blueberries, wet rock and fresh cut violets & flowers. Earthy flavors with hints of clove and all spice. This wine has a long, balanced finish with a kiss of oak."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-tour-barrel_12.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2381300

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

@DelDottoWine 

Previous tasting notes:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/07/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-blend-2015.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2381300

6/2021 - I like this wine: 92 Points 

Even better than earlier tastings, more vibrant and expressive than I remember. Dark purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, bright vibrant, nicely integrated and balanced black berry and black raspberry fruits with tangy notes of clove spice with a layer of sweet oak and mocha chocolate turning to cloying tannins on an lingering finish.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/07/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-blend-2015.html

7/24/2020 - I like this wine: 91 Points 

At five years of age, this has improved with some aging and is more integrated and balanced than in its youth. Dark purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, bright vibrant, nicely integrated and balanced black berry and black raspberry fruits with tangy notes of clove spice and hints of bitter dark chocolate turning to cloying tannins on an lingering finish. 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/07/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-blend-2015.html

With the Sea Bass we ordered this Dalila white blend. 

Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2020

This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the Feudo Arancio Stemmari winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago.

This wine is from the historic Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.

 

The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.

 

This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent Grillo and 20 percent Viognier.  

 

The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.

Tonight they were serving the 2020 vintage release label. This is the forth vintage they've served this wine. This continues to be a sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio.  We enjoyed this discovery such that we went out and special ordered some from a local merchant to have in our cellar for enjoyable casual sipping.

 

This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

Consistent with earlier releases and tastings. Golden straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated floral and tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, mango and citrus with hints of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with bight acidity on a character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489

https://www.feudoarancio.it

Mt Veeder Napa Cab and Sicilian Blend for Italian Dinner

 Duo of Mt Veeder Napa Bordeaux Varietals and Unique Sicilian White Blend for Italian Dinner and Evening Tasting

With Sis Jan visiting from SoCal, we dined at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. We took BYOB from our cellar a Yates Mt Veeder Napa Cab from Yates Family Vineyards, a producer we visited together during our Napa Valley Mt Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. 

As mentioned, we visited Yates Family Vineyards located high on the upper slopes of Mt Veeder in the Mayacamas Mountains in the southwest corner of Napa Valley, in the Mount Veeder Appellation.

Yates have 35 acres of steep, hillside vineyards that were replanted in the early 1980s to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.  

The Yates vineyards sitting at the upper reaches of the mountain at an average elevation of over 1,100 feet, have site terroir that combines the altitude and its exposure and drainage with its microclimates and volcanic soils to produce incredible grapes with intense fruit flavors.  These elements all contribute to produce long-lived ageworthy wines from the estate vineyard.  

Proprietor Mike Yates, shown left, is aided by his daughter Whitney Yates Hanes, working together as Co-Winemakers to produce wines under the Yates label. 

They estate bottle standard Bordeaux varietal designated labels as well as a Reserve. They also produce a St Emilion style blend and a left bank Bordeaux blend Alden Perry Reserve named for family patriarch Mike's grandfather, Perry and father Alden, who shifted to the Bordeaux varietals in the early fifties, (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc). 

Yates labels are produced in small quantity of less about 200 cases, including this Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that we tasted this evening of which only 98 cases were produced.

Here we are, shown with Mary Yates and her husband Todd Jones who manages sales and marketing for Yates.

We drank this with the Angeli's special Sausage and Pepper Pasta in garlic with shaved brussel sprouts and crushed red pepper. As a post course it was an ideal complement to the Butternut Squash Gnocci with its brown sugar sauce.

Yates Family Mount Veeder Redwoods Estate Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 

The winemaker's notes on this release sum it up well. "Deep dark purple ruby in color shows the intensity of this varietal. Bold earthy aromas of eucalyptus, sweet cherry, blackberry, cedar stone, and bittersweet chocolate. Lusciously complex, this wine boasts of high toned fruits, cherries perfectly ripened in the sun, rose, leather, cinnamon, briar, wet stone with a hit of coriander. The finish is smooth and memorable."  

Wine Enthusiast gave this release 92 points in their September 2009 issue.

This was aged eighteen months in 35% new French oak.  

Producers notes on the 2006 vintage,  "2006 started off with heavy rains bringing in the New Year.  This wet weather lingered into spring. This caused the vines to grown energetically early, delaying bloom into June.  June’s weather started to warm, with dry conditions favoring fruit set.  July had some record heat which was followed by a moderate summer.  Harvest was delayed due to the wet spring and delayed bloom.  Total yield was slightly lower, with small berries that helped concentrate the flavors and enhance the fruit aromas creating intense wines with soft tannins for accessibility early but still possessing age ability for years to come."

At fourteen years of age, this is likely tasting at the apex of its drinking window. Tonight, this was consistent with our earlier tasting experience, dark deep inky purple color - complex and full bodied, the black berry and black cherry fruits were accented by dusty rose petals, tones of dark bittersweet chocolate, spice, and a layer of leather on a smooth tannin finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1106552 

https://www.yatesfamilyvineyard.com/

https://twitter.com/YatesFamilyWine 

@YatesFamilyWine 

As we did last week, once again, we ordered from the Angeli's wine list this interesting unique Italian white blend from Sicily. Both wines were sensational with this one an ideal accompaniment to the Angelis signature Boston Clam Chowder and the Butternut squash gnocci and Linda's entree, the Seared Ahi tuna.

Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2016

This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago. 

 

This wine is from the Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.

 

The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.

 

This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent grillo and 20 percent viognier.  

 

The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.

This was sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. 

Straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, apricot and citrus with tones of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489

 Rubissow Mt Veeder Napa Valley Merlot 2006

 After dinner, back at home, we opened another label that we tasted and procured with Jan at the winery, Rubissow, high atop Mt Veeder during the same Napa Valley, Mt Veeder Appellation tour. 

We visited the Rubissow Estate and Vineyards, also high atop Mt Veeder and met proprietor, winemaker, producer George Rubissow.  The Rubissow hilltop vineyard is at the southern end of the Mt Veeder appellation looking south to Carneros with views in the distance of Mt Diablo to the west of San Francisco Bay and Mt Tamalpais in Marin to the north of the golden gate. 

The southern exposure and proximity to the San Pablo Bay moderates the climate of the site. 

 

From my earlier notes in a previous blogpost, "my recollection of this wine was the profile of the Yates Fleur de Veeder that we tasted next to this as reviewed above - full bodied with rich extracted fruit. Tonight this was leaner and lighter than I remembered and hence expected. I am looking ahead to trying this again as we still have a half case in the cellar."

Tonight's tasting was consistent with that earlier experience, this showed dark garnet purple color, medium body with black berry fruits, slightly tart black cherry with a hints of spice, tobacco, touch of mocha and coffee bean. 

This was a bit flabby and lacked structure and therefor was a bit underwhelming, perhaps due to comparison with the bigger, bolder, brighter Yates, reviewed above.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=872497

https://www.rubissowwines.com/ 

https://twitter.com/RubissowWines 

@RubissowWines

Robert Biale Royal Punishers and Dalila Sicilia White Blend

Robert Biale "Royal Punishers" Pettite Sirah and Dalila - Viognier Grillo Blend for Angeli's Italian Dinner

Our whacky govenor is espousing shutting down restaurants again in Northern Illinois so we made a point to dine out at Angelis' Italian, our local Italian trattoria in case we're prohibited from doing so in the near future. I took BYOB from our cellar this hearty Napa Valley Petite Sirah for the occasion. It was ideal with our dinner entrees, especially the Veal Marsala with its hearty brown sauce, and the seasonal butternut squash gnocci. 

We also ordered from the Angeli's wine list this interesting unique Italian white blend from Sicily. Both wines were sensational with this one an ideal accompaniment to the steamed mussels, Linda's Seared Ahi tuna, and the daily special, Angeli's Jalapena Gnocci. 

Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2016

This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago. 

 

This wine is from the Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.

 

The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.

This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent grillo and 20 percent viognier.  

 

The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.

This was sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. 

Straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, apricot and citrus with tones of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489

Robert Biale Petite Sirah Royal Punishers 2013

Robert Biale Vineyards in Napa Valley dates back to the 1930s when the Biale family grew Zinfandel grapes and other produce, selling the grapes to local wineries, saving some for their own wine production. During prohibition, to obfuscate their banned trade selling bottles of illicit homemade Zinfandel, they would refer to their dark fruit filled wines as "Black Chickens" over his party line phone service.

Biale Winery was formally founded in 1991 when Aldo Biale and his son Robert formed a partnership with winemaker Al Perry and wine salesman Dave Pramuk. Their initial product was Zinfandel, eventually adding Petite Sirah grown on their 25 acres in Napa Valley.  

Despite its popularity, the Petite Sirah grape is somewhat rare with less than 10,000 acres planted worldwide, with the bulk of that in California. In France, the grape is referred to as Durif. Not to be confused with Syrah, Petite Sirah is a cross of Syrah and Peloursin. The result is darker and fuller.

In Napa Valley, the market has turned to Cabernet Sauvignon and other French varieties leaving Zinfandel as a rare varietal comprising less that 3% of the valley's grape production.

The inaugural wine production was a quantity of 400 cases produced from 8 acres of old non-irrigated low-yielding vines called "Aldo's Vineyard." Today, Bob Biale, Dave Pramuk, and winemaker Steve Hall specialize in a broad portfolio of twenty Zinfandel labels each representing the terroir driven personalities of their property with some of the oldest vineyards in America.

Biale Zinfandel is produced in a distinctive style utilizing intensive old world Burgundian methodology from vineyard to barrel to bottle and are recognized as one of the top Zinfandel producers in America.

In addition to Zinfandel, Biale also is recognized for producing blockbuster and ageworthy red wines from other California varietals – Petite Sirah, plus small lots of Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Rhone blends, and Sauvignon Blanc.

This bottle exceeded my expectations for a big fruit forward sipper. It got 95 points from  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 92 points from Wine Spectator noting it as "Highly Recommended".

Robert Parker calls it "stunning, almost off-the-charts richness, and a killer finish of nearly a minute."

It was aged in 30% new French oak for 17 months prior to bottling

Dark inky black/purple color, full bodied, rich concentrated, dense juicy ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruits, floral and spices with hints of tea turning to a long chewy polished tannin finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=2079685