Seafood and David Arthur Chardonnay BYOB at Waterway Cafe in Palm Beach Gardens

Seafood and David Arthur Chardonnay BYOB at Waterway Cafe in Palm Beach Gardens (FL)

Vacationing with friends in Singer Island, Florida, we dined at the trendy, chic, picturesque Waterway Cafe waterfront restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. 

The iconic Waterway Restaurant is on the Inter-Coastal waterway transformed in 1986 on the former Waterway Marina site. The extraordinary and amazing restaurant consists of a main contemporary skylighted dining room, cozy lounge area wtih a fireplace, waterfront/waterside dining areas including a Tiki Bar, Florida’s only floating bar, boat-up dockage Boat Bar for boaters, waterfront terraces, and flexible private dining spaces.

The main dining room skylight bar …

And cozy fireside lounge and dining room … 

The Tiki Bar and waterview dining terraces  ...

And the fabulous, iconic floating bar and adjacent moorings are a signature highlight, refreshed to match the new main bar/dining room designs …

All this provides an unbeatable,  memorable, on-the-water and waterway experience in a fabulous setting with spectacular views, and the entertaining coastal waterway boat traffic. 

The menu features fresh imaginative seafood entrees, steak, pizzas, the usual salads and some amazing desserts. 

Our entree selections included a pizza shared by our friends …

Linda ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Roasted Corn Salsa / Key Lime Mustard Sauce. She loved it, especially the Roasted Corn Salsa relish! 

I had the Pistachio Crusted Grouper with Roasted Seasonal Vegetables and Honey Basil Lime Vinaigrette, with a side of Au Gratin potatoes … both were delicious! 

We took BYOB a special favorite Napa Chardonnay from one of our favorite producers that we enjoyed recently from a different vintage, featured in this blogpost - David Arthur Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd. This provided a comparison tasting of two near vintages of this label. 

David Arthur Napa Valley Chardonnay 2021

A highlight and targeted visit of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 was our visit to David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery. I wrote about that day in this blogpost - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

We written in earlier posts, we've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties since the 1997 vintage but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. The property is situated up at the end of Long Ranch Road up atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range. The drive up offers some spectacular vineyard views and vistas of the Napa Valley below. The adjoining vineyards represent some of the premier producers of Napa Valley wines - Brand, Bryant, Colgin, Continuum, Montagna, the new Del Dotto property Villa Del Lago, and Ovid. Not (yet) designated an appellation, never-the-less, it is fast becoming one of the premiere wine growing areas of Napa Valley.

David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.

We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.

David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, all are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura running the office and daily operations.

A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long were with us. Wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together.

Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..

David Arthur Napa Valley Chardonnay 2021 

Like the 2019 vintage of this label from that recent tasting, the grapes for this vibrant and expressive wine are grown in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley at the southern end of the valley floor. The close proximity to San Pablo Bay provides a cooler climate for which these vines thrive. Morning fog and cool off-shore breezes allow the fruit extended hang time resulting in lower sugars and higher acidity.

Winemaker Notes - “A golden straw color with tints of green offers aromas of ripe Bartlett pear and Fuji apple. There is a freshness to the fruit as well as notes of lemon rind, pineapple and white fig. The oak spice is subtle with vanilla bean crème brulee notes. The palate is broad and expansive yet a mineral acidity balances the texture while flavors of white peach, green apple skin and kiwi carry the length of the palate.”

This release was rated 95 points by James Suckling.

Golden colored, full-boded, rich round, creamy textured and balanced, notes of apple, pear and accents of almond and hints of caramel and whisper of butterscotch with a long expressive finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5167578

https://www.davidarthur.com/

For dessert, we had the outrageous decadent Waterway signature Snickers Explosion - Layers of chocolate cake, Snickers, and Reese’s pieces ice cream, blended with Butterfinger pieces, for four. 

David Arthur Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd

David Arthur Chardonnay with Salmon and Ahi Tuna at Vintij Grand Blvd, Sandestin

Staycationing at The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental home, we dined at Vintij Wine Bar and Restaurant on Grand Boulevard in (San)Destin. This is one of our favorite go-to restaurants that we try to frequent each time we’re in town. This was a near replay of our Delightful wine lunch at Vintij Grand Boulevard, featured in this blogpost last spring. 

I wrote about Vintij and their combination wine shop and restaurant in more detail in this earlier blogpost, Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin, excerpted here. 

Vin’Tij Food & Wine has been a local favorite restaurant for over 26 years and was recently voted as the “Best Restaurant in Walton County” by Emerald Coast Magazine. 

Vin’Tij is known for their creative menus preparing fresh seafood, pasta and beefsteak entrees, and, an impressive wine boutique with an artful carefully selected collection of wines across the spectrum of varietals, styles and price points.

Most notable is a collection of rare, highly allocated ultra-premium labels. 

Vin’Tij is the fullfillment of the vision based on passion for food, wine and people of founder/owner Todd Reber. Todd worked in the food and wine trade in several highly acclaimed restaurants along the Emerald Coast starting in 1990. He opened Vin’Tij Food & Wine in 1998 building upon relationships he had developed with wine makers, purveyors and sommeliers throughout the world, and his learnings from wine educational events in California, Oregon, Germany and Spain.

Vin'Tij Food & Wine won “Best Restaurant In Walton County” in the 2023 Perfect in South Walton Awards in recognition of Todd, Chef Ignacio and the entire Vin’Tij team making it ‘one of the best overall dining experiences in the area’.

Chef Ignacio Bernal was inspired by his mother to develop an interest in and pursue a career in culinary arts. He began training under Chef Todd Misner at Stinky’s Fish Camp in 2012. Under Misner’s mentorship, Bernal’s skills and cooking techniques elevated to a new level. It was at Stinky’s Fish Camp that Chef Bernal was promoted to sous chef as he continued to fine tune his skills and continued to grow under Misner’s leadership.

In 2018, Chef Ignacio joined Vin’tij to apply his vision and knowledge of wine and food pairing as Chef de Cuisine. At Vin'Tij he has developed diversified menu with unique dishes to compliment the extensive wine selection. Chef Ignacio is Vin’Tij’s partnering Chef where he has received the “BEST CHEF AWARD” in 2025 from VIP Destin Magazine!

I wrote up top of this post that this was a near replay of an earlier lunch outing at Vintij. As featured in that earlier blogpost, we chose to dine outside, and we both ordered the same entrees as before. The difference today was our wine selection. 

We had a delightful lunch sitting outside on the patio at Vin’tij Wine Bar in the tony Grand Boulevard shopping center, where you can purchase a bottle and enjoy with small bites, lunch or dinner. 

I wrote about Vin’tij and their extensive wine shop selection in this blogpost last autumn - Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin.

As before, before lunch we had the delicious Bread Basket with olive oil, Roasted Garlic, Marinated Olives, Roasted Red Peppers, Fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese.

Just like our lunch last spring, Linda order the Seared Ahi Tuna with marinated cucumber Marinated Cucumber Salad, Sriracha Kewpie Mayonnaise, Chili Oil & Ponzu.

And, as before, once again I ordered the Mango Ginger Salmon with stir fried vegetable cous-cous which I enjoyed immensely last time when I wrote, “It was delicious, as good as any salmon entree I’ve ever encountered.’ 

A departure from our earlier outing was the wine. From the wine shop I selected this ultra-premium Napa Valley Chardonnay from one of our favorite producers. Our visit to David Arthur estate vineyards and winery on Pritchett Hill in 2013 was a highlight of our Napa Valley trip - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

A highlight and targeted visit of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 was our visit to David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery. We've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties since the 1997 vintage but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. The property is situated up at the end of Long Ranch Road up atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range. The drive up offers some spectacular vineyard views and vistas of the Napa Valley below. The adjoining vineyards represent some of the premier producers of Napa Valley wines - Brand, Bryant, Colgin, Continuum, Montagna, the new Del Dotto property Villa Del Lago, and Ovid. Not (yet) designated an appellation, never-the-less, it is fast becoming one of the premiere wine growing areas of Napa Valley. 

David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.

We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.

David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long, all are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura running the office and daily operations.  

A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long were with us. Wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together.

Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..

David Arthur Napa Valley Chardonnay 2019 

The grapes for this vibrant and expressive wine are grown in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley at the southern end of the valley floor. The close proximity to San Pablo Bay provides a cooler climate for which these vines thrive. Morning fog and cool off-shore breezes allow the fruit extended hang time resulting in lower sugars and higher acidity. 

Winemaker notes - “This is where we get the ineffable characteristics of complexity; balance, nuance, elegance and finesse. This wine is unfiltered, unfined, aged on the lees and has undergone full malolactic fermentation. This Burgundian-inspired wine is crisp, complex, and full-bodied.”

Winemaker Notes - “A golden straw color with tints of green offers aromas of ripe Bartlett pear and Fuji apple. There is a freshness to the fruit as well as notes of lemon rind, pineapple and white fig. The oak spice is subtle with vanilla bean crème brulee notes. The palate is broad and expansive yet a mineral acidity balances the texture while flavors of white peach, green apple skin and kiwi carry the length of the palate.”

This release was rated 93 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

This had a strong resemblance to the Kosta Brown Chardonnay we enjoyed earlier this summer with its full, round, rich tasting profile, and same price-point, albeit slightly less elegant and polished. I wrote about that label that we enjoyed immensely in this blogpost at the time -  Kosta Browne Chardonnay at The Cellar Wine Bistro Lafayette.

Golden straw colored, medium to full-bodied with a rich full round texture, balanced layers of ripe-mango, peach, honeysuckle, yellow apple and pineapple fruit, with notes of toasted almonds, nutmeg, toast and hazelnut flavors, and a hint of background oak and bright acidity on a long sumptuous finish.

RM 94 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/3733974

https://www.davidarthur.com/

https://vintij.com/

Angus Barn Raleigh, NC

Beefsteak and wine dinner at legendary Angus Barn Raleigh, NC  

We traveled through Raleigh (NC) enroute to Fayetteville, NC to visit extended family. Laying over overnight, we dined at the historic Angus Barn Restaurant. 

The Angus Barn in Raleigh, North Carolina, is an institution with its award winning Wine Cellar that has over 25,000 bottles of wine from around the world. We dined at Angus Barn and toured the wine cellar during a previous visit back in 2009.

The Angus Barn was founded in 1960 by Thad Eure, Jr. and Charles Winston with the objective to provide “incomparable hospitality; excellent value; a meal of impeccable quality; and the rich, rustic Americana ambiance”.  

In 1959, they bought 50 acres along NC Highway 70, halfway between Raleigh and Durham near what would become Research Triangle Park and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). At the time, RDU was little more than a landing strip with fewer than 20 flights daily. Twelve years later Crabtree Valley Mall was built down the road near Raleigh.

When banks declined Eure and Winston search for funding, politely referring to their venture as “impossible” and “a poor risk.”, Eure turned to his father, the late North Carolina Secretary of State Thad Eure, Sr., for the capital to pursue their dream. 

In 1960, Eure and Winston opened their restaurant with a steak-and-potato-based menu serving highest quality aged western beef. 

Today, that legend continues under the ownership of Van Eure, daughter of the late Thad Eure, Jr. The Barn serves an average of 22,000 steaks per month, but the menu also features poultry, seafood and pasta.

The Angus Barn is consistently one of the nation’s 50 highest-grossing independent restaurants, consistently ranked as one of the 100 best restaurants in the US. 

In February, 1964, the Angus Barn was destroyed by fire. They rebuilt a new Barn doubling the seating capacity. Eure and Winston, vowed to provide jobs to each Angus Barn employee during reconstruction, finding jobs for employees at other area restaurants or in construction jobs. To open within one year of the fire, shifts were created to rebuild around-the-clock. They beat the one-year deadline reopening in January, 1965.

Its a great story that in November of 1983, after eighteen years in partnership, Eure and Winston decided to part ways. The quandary: Who would sell his share of the Barn to the other was resolved in a Southern gentlemen way. They agreed to a coin toss. The person who won the toss would decide whether to buy or to sell. Winston won. And Winston decided to sell. Winston went on to become one of the most respected hoteliers and restaurateurs in the southeast.

In 1979 the “liquor by the drink law” changed in North Carolina, allowing restaurants to serve alcoholic beverages by the drink. The owners sacrificed their offices and converted them into the Wild Turkey Lounge, named for Thad’s extensive wild turkey decanter collection.

The collection of more than 400 turkeys grew by another 200 to today’s collection of more than 600 decanters, displayed throughout the Wild Turkey Lounge, and is the largest private collection in existence.

Thad Eure, Jr., who earned a reputation nationally and statewide as “Mr. Hospitality,” succumbed to cancer in November of 1988 at the young age of 56. Numerous honors and tributes followed. Having served as president of both the North Carolina Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association, annual awards were established in his honor. 

In 1989, Wine Spectator magazine awarded its coveted Grand Award upon Angus Barn, an honor to be repeated each year for the next twenty-plus years. Built on Thad, Jr.’s vision to build a wine list to rival the best California restaurants, in 1991, Alice and Van transformed the stacked boxes and cases of wine in a place called “the cages” into a spectacular, 28,000 bottle wine cellar complete with in-cellar dining rooms. The legendary cellar rivals celebrated restaurant wine cellars throughout the US and the world, featuring 25,000 bottle of 1,200 different labels.

We toured the Angus Barn wine cellar during a previous visit with daughter Erin back in 2009.

After Alice Eure passed in October, 1997, many speculated that Van would simply sell the Barn. The Angus Barn continues under the stewardship of their daughter Van Eure, who continues expanding and building upon her parents’ dream.

In 2008 Van and husband Steve Thanhauser opened The Pavilion on the Angus Barn property, a 400 seat lakeside venue to accommodate special events. 

For dinner we each ordered steaks which were excellent, prepared perfectly and served hot with delectable accompaniments - mashed potatoes and fresh veggies.  

From the extraordinary extensive wine list I ordered a Napa proprietary red wine. Dining with Sis/in-law Pat, I ordered a wine from a producer we visited together, the David Arthur estate up on Pritchard Hill in the southern Vaca Mountain Range sitting at about 1000 feet overlooking the Silverado Trail of Napa Valley during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2013. 

David Arthur Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2019

After nearly forty years of farming grapes up on Pritchard Hill, David Arthur released this new label, “the Next Generation of David Arthur Vineyards wine ~ DAV, a wine crafted for accessibility and near-term enjoyment in its youth, yet offering greater nuance and complexity afforded with cellaring.” 

This Bordeaux-style label is a blend of mountain-grown Bordeaux varietals from the David Arthur estate along with “the best of surrounding vineyards within the Napa Valley”. 

This wine is aged an average of 20 months in French oak barrels.

Producer’s Tasting Notes - “A dark cerise color offering an array of fruit and spice aromas; bright cherry, red raspberry, baked cassis, and plum followed by notes of anise, baking spices, garrigue and cherry cola. The palate is soft and plush with fine-grained tannins offering beautiful acidity and structure. The finish is long and silky with flavors of candied plum, tamarind, brown sugar and molasses.”

This label was awarded 94 point by James Suckling, 92 points by Vinous, and 91 by Wine Spectator. 

This is a traditional Bordeaux varietals blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot - 2,568 cases were produced. 

Bright garnet colored, medium to full bodied, nicely balanced, bright vibrant, smooth and lush, ripe black berry, black currant and plum fruits with notes of spice, sweet tobacco, cassis, with hints of mocha and herbs de Provence turning to fine grained tannin on a polished finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5062564

https://www.davidarthur.com/wines/proprietary-red/

https://mcnees.org/dinesite/Dinesites/DineSite_Raleigh_Angus_Barn.htm

https://www.angusbarn.com/

https://twitter.com/angusbarn

Pour Boys tenderloin and big red wines dinner

Our Pour Boys wine group gathered in Chicago for the gala fall CityScape Dinner hosted by Lyle and Terry. Bill and Beth C traveled in from Charleston and stayed with us for the weekend. 

For Friday night dinner, Linda prepared a grilled beef tenderloin with peppercorn sherry sauce, haricot verts, grilled vegetables and baked potatoes. 

For a wine accompaniment with the dinner, Bill and I trolled our cellar and pulled two aged vintage Napa Cabs of which we have visited the producer estate together. 

Prior to dinner we had a cheese board with a broad selection of artisan cheeses, fresh sesame bread and assorted crackers/biscuits, and wedge salad with blue cheese. 

Cheeses - 

• Aged Cheddar
• Aged Sharp Cheddar
• Gorgonzola with chive
• Aged Blue Cheese 
• Smoked aged Gouda
• White cheese with dill 

With the cheese course, and for the ladies preference, we opened a Tensley Syrah Grenache Rhône Valley varietal blend from Santa Maria Valley.

Tensley 'All Blocks' Tensley Vineyard Santa Barbara County Red Wine (GSM) 2020

We discovered Tensley and their Santa Barbara County Wines including this label during our visit to their estate and then their tasting room during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience in 2022.

Winemaker Notes: "Exclusively from Tensley and Colson Canyon Vineyards, this blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM) is very complex and full of texture.'

"The Grenache brings red fruit and finesse, Syrah imparts riper black fruits to the blend, and the Mourvedre rounds out the complexity with savory notes and tannic structure. A wine built for enjoyment, super complex but juicy and round for easy drinking."

540 Cases Produced

This was awarded 93-95 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 95 points by Wine Advocate.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4266214

https://tensleywines.com/

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

We visited the Arns estate and vineyards on the lower reached of Howell Mountain in 2013 - Visit to Arns Napa Valley Estate Vineyards.

Rick, Linda and Bill with producer John Arns

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 

We hold numerous vintages of this label in our cellar collection and have chronicled the producer and several vintages of this label in these pages. 

At twenty four years, the foil, label, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were in ideal condition. 

Starting to show its age with some slight bricking, this is starting to reach the end of its drinking window and should be consumed in the next couple of years. 

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, balanced, round full black berry and plum fruit flavors with notes of cassis, black tea, tobacco and hints of cedar with nice balance of tannin, fruit, and acidity w/ mild oak influence with a long finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3223745

https://arnswinery.com/

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

That same Napa Valley Wine Experience, we also visited David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery, located on Pritchett Hill in the Vaca Range at the bottom of Napa Valley, overlooking the City of Napa. 

Like the Arns above, we hold several vintages and labels of David Arthur and have covered the producer and numerous vintages of this label in these pages. 

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Like the Arns above, at twenty years, the label and foil, and most importantly the cork and fill level were ideal. But, this vintage release is still at the apex of its drinking profile, and while not likely to improve any further with aging, should age gracefully for up to another decade or more. 

I like this wine as noted that the first time I posted a tasting note of this label was on my birthday back in 2013, when I wrote:

This is as expressive as any David Arthur Cabernet I have tasted to date. It explodes with sweet ripe plum and berry fruits, accented with tones of dark chocolate and a layer of caramel turning to hints of anise, spice notes of tobacco and sweet spicy oak and moderate tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points.

Tonight’s tasting was consistent with that earlier review. 

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2065630

https://www.davidarthur.com/

Family 4th of July gathering features red wines

Family 4th of July gathering features medley of red wines 

The family gathered at daughter Erin and Johnny’s for a gala 4th of July celebration pool party and cookout. Ryan brought from his home cellar (shown below) two big reds and I took a red and sparkling white. 

R&L and eleven grandchildren … 

Ryan and Alec both acquired this label at auction and I featured it in a recent blogpost here - 

David Arthur DAV Proprietary Red Blend 2016

This was very good as discussed last week in the linked blogpost, when we had it with son Alec and D-in-law Vivianna’s, with pizza. 

As I wrote in that post, this Proprietary Red Blend, an introduction to a relatively new label from one of our long timer favored producers. 

Our CellarTracker records show we hold more than three cases of 20 different labels from David Arthur. We visited the estate up on Pritchard Hill Atlas Peak during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013 as featured in these pages in this blogpost - David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery.

Tonight, that was very good, but was overshadowed by this full throttle Big Red, also brought by Ryan.

Ryan shared this ultra-premium Napa Cab from one of our favorite producers. We've visited the Cliff Lede estate on several of our Napa Valley wine trips and several of our wine buddies including son Ryan source allocated wines as members of their club. 

Ryan discovered this wine at a tasting at the winery and declared it the favorite WOTN (wine-of-the-night) and acquired it as part of his wine club allocation. 

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

This is from the spectacular 2016 vintage continued a series of exceptional vintages in Napa Valley. 

This is sourced from the Diamond Mountain vineyards - exceptional, low-yielding vineyards with volcanic ash and gravelly loam soils in the Diamond Mountain appellation, nestled in the Mayacamas Range on the northwest side of Napa Valley. There the sun-drenched mountain vineyards have late afternoon breezes that ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. The winemaker notes that both Lede vineyard sites are planted to extraordinary old vines on a steep incline with historic Napa field selections and produce age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon with dark fruit, intense structure, minerality, and perfume.

The fruit was hand harvested and subjected to rigorous selection by a three-tiered sorting process, including high tech cutting edge optical sorting that works to eliminate less-than-perfect berries so that only finest fruit makes it into the wine. 

Crop levels were slightly below average due to a dry late spring and a cool weather spell during flowering which, when combined with the drought impacted dry soils led to small berries, creating very concentrated fruit. Ideal summer weather allowed the grapes to be harvested at optimal ripeness so that the resulting wines had intense and vibrant fruits.

The wine underwent twenty-one months of élevage in French oak, 78% of which were new.

Winemaker Notes - “The amazing 2016 Diamond Mountain’s bouquet is resplendent with cool wild blackberry jam scented with subtle notes of bay leaf, cardamom, clove and talc. There’s an interplay of rocks and loam in the nose as well.”

“Spiced fig, chocolate ganache, and blueberry flavors unfold on the palate underscored by blackberry and graphite notes. Like all of our 2016 wines, this wine has an expansive, mouth coating texture that is lush and joyfully persistent. The crescendo of the finish is a wash of savory cumin power, cedar, and violet flavors and aromas completing this wine of contemplation.” – Christopher Tynan, Winemaker

The Composition is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc that adds spiciness and structure, and 1% Merlot for roundness and highlights of softness.

Production was 750 Cases.

This release was awarded 93 points by James Suckling.

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, this exhibited dense, concentrated, rich extracted chewy tongue coating dark berry fruits with notes of spice, tobacco and hints of tar with a full round but soft and polished long tannin laced finish. Delicious! 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3467542

https://www.ledefamilywines.com/

@CliffLedeWine  

Domaine les Pallières “Terrasse du Diable” Gigondas 2018

I brought this Southern Rhône Valley blend that was an appropriate pairing for grilled burgers. 

I brought this in remembrance of our having discovered and were first introduced to this label while visiting the producer, Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery estate with Alec and Vivianna during our Rhone Wine Experience back in 2018, so I took this for memorable casual sipping, ideally paired with burgers and hot dogs. 

Vivianna, Alec & Philippe with Daniel Brunier
Tasting this wine at the Chateau

This is from a joint venture between notable legends of Southern Rhône Valley wines, Daniel and Frederic Brunier of the iconic Vieux Télégraphe, and American distributor importer Kermit Lynch. They acquired the estate back in 1998 when long time owners, the Roux family, having no successor heirs, decided to sell the property.

Domaine Les Pallières was one of the greatest, longest-running properties of the Southern Rhône, having been within the same family since the 15th century. 

The Roux family decided to sell the jewel Les Pallières to the Bruniers and Kermit Lynch, with their focus and knowledge of Rhône terroir, they recognized their ability to realize its full potential. Domaine Les Pallières became a partnership among friends, and a creative collaboration of three leading, passionate experts on the wines of the Rhône. 

Frédéric and Daniel took over the destiny of the Brunier family business, also founded several generations earlier, by their ancestor Henri Brunier who founded the Domaine in 1891, in a partnership in the late 1980s. Their family involvement continued in 2015 and 2016 with Nicolas son of Frédéric and Edouard, son of Daniel, joining the ‘Old Telegraph’ business in key positions and, Manon, daughter of Frédéric, joining them in 2018.

This release was crafted by brothers Daniel & Frédéric Brunier, co-proprietors of Domaine Vieux Telegraph who collaborated as winemakers.

The Les Pallières 25 acre estate is terraced vineyards on the eastern side of the historic town of Gigondas in the Gigondas Appellation above and to the east and north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, beneath the Dentelles de Montmirail landmark.

I visited Gigondas and the village of Segurat (shown below) up the hill overlooking the region during my visit to the area back in 1998. 

From the estate, Domaine Les Pallières produces two Gigondas cuvées each year, Les Racines from the plateau around the winery which includes the property's oldest vines, and this Terrasse du Diable from the higher-altitude, cooler parcels. Of the two, the Diable is usually the more powerful yet it manages to maintain a level of elegance. 

Map courtesy of Domaine Vieux Telegraph

This 2018 Gigondas Terrasse Du Diable release is a blend of Chateauneuf du Pape varietals - 90% Grenache from 50 year old vines, 5% Mourvèdre, and 5% Clairette. It comes from yields that ended up being approximately half of the average for the estate (only 11 hectoliters per hectare). The wine was aged in cuves for 10 months, then in foudres for 12 months. This was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate, 92-93 points by James Suckling, and 92 points by Jeb Dunnuck. Bright Ruby colored, medium to full bodied, bright ripe cherry, plum and red raspberry fruits with notes of mineral, tangy clove spice, bitter dark chocolate and licorice with a long chalky tannin punctuated finish RM 91 points.  https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3467118

https://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en/

https://shop.kermitlynch.com/product/detail/18FPS05/