Oracle Software Silver Oak Wine Tasting

Oracle Software features Silver Oak and Twomey Wine Tasting presented by Silver Oak/Towmey Kathleen McLeod

Strategic Alliance partner software vendor Oracle (tangentially and but remotely related to Napa wine label of same name via Robert and Dave Miner association - no association with Oracle label from Killikanoon) featured an imaginative and classy wine tasting as part of a Covid shut-in remote ISV partner briefing. 

The Oracle Live Webinar event was hosted by and featured Dave Profozich, North American ISV SVP, who presented the ISV Executive Cloud Briefing industry and program strategy and update. Oracle kindly sent us two bottles for the event, the latest release Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet 2016 and the Twomey 2018 Napa/Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc. 

After the Oracle update briefing, Dave then turned the session over to Kathleen McLeod, VP Consumer Experience for Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey, who lead a virtual tasting of the current release Silver Oak Cabernet and Twomey Sauvignon Blanc.

Kathleen has thirty years industry experience with fifteen years at Silver Oak.  She lead a tasting exposition of each wine, shared the history and philosophy of Silver Oak/Twomey and then lead a general discussion answering questions and sharing perspectives and experiences with the participants.  

The first bottle featured was the current 2018 release of Twomey Sauvignon Blanc.  I wrote more extensively about Twomey in a recent blogpost.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/02/twomey-napa-valley-merlot-2002.html

This was an extra special event for me since son Ryan is an Oracle executive, so we attended and shared the experience together. With two of us, it afforded the opportunity to open another bottle of Silver Oak Alexander Valley to do a mini vertical comparison tasting. Ryan opened his 2016 release and I, rather than open my 2016 bottle, pulled from the cellar a 1995 vintage release of the same label. 

 As I wrote when we last opened this vintage release of this label, we hold a dozen and a half vintages of this iconic label and the Napa label, dating back to the birthyear vintages of our kids, '81, '82, '85 and '90, of which we still hold in magnums and some in other large format bottles. 

Notably, we served birthyear vintage Silver Oak Bonny's Vineyard (named after founder proprietor Ray Duncan's wife and co-founder) 1982, and other vintages of the Napa label, at Ryan's wedding from six liter large format and standard size bottles. Bonny's Vineyard was two acres of vines that surrounded the original homestead on the estate.

We also hold six liter bottles of the single vineyard designated bottling Bonny's Vineyard (shown right) for son Alec's birthyear vintage, which we'll serve at his wedding this summer. 

So it is that we know Silver Oak well and often open Silver Oak on special occasions.

Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Tonight's tasting of this label was consistent with our last opening of this vintage release back in May of last year when I wrote: "Tonight's tasting of  this 1995 Alexander Valley Silver Oak Cab was showing its age as the color had taken on a slight browning on the rim and the fruits were starting to give way to some funkiness and earthy notes.'

"Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, has a garnet hue with some slight browning at the rim, the black fruits were giving way to aromas of cigar box, leather and herb flavors with hints of cherries and dark chocolate and anise."

RM 88 points - consistent with last tasting in May, 2020. 

This release orignally got 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 92 points from Wine Spectator.

As shown, the bottle fill level, label, foil and cork were in ideal condition, testament to the ideal provenance conditions of our cellar.

 While still holding up, this is past its prime and starting to diminish from aging and should be consumed in the next year or so, longer only for the more adventurous. 

Note this interesting perspective based on the longevity predicted for this release by pundit Robert Parker. Parker noted, "given proper cellaring, this wine can be enjoyed now through 2019".

Characterizing notes from Robert Parker, "Critics have argued that the wine does not age particularly well, but that has largely been proven a myth for some vintages. Silver Oak generally is not as long lived as Chateau Montelena, Dunn, or other Napa Cabernets with a 30-40 year aging potential, but they can have a broad window of drinkability, known to be delicious at release, and able to sustain their fruit and character for typically 15 or more years."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2580

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/05/vintage-napa-cab-trio-mark-celebration.html

Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Kathleen then lead the group tasting of this current release label, she explained, Silver Oak focuses on one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon. Each release is selected from the best lots, blended together from numerous estate and grower supplier sources, and aged for two or more years in American Oak. Typically, more is produced or available for production with the best lots selected and released under the Silver Oak brand, with the remaining portion sold off to the trade for bottling under other labels. 

Silver Oak produce two Cabernet labels, this one from Alexander Valley, and another from Napa Valley, each reflecting the profile and character of the two regions - Alexander trending towards being softer, lighter, more delicate and moderate, while Napa tends to be more bold, fruit forward and bigger with its more concentrated Napa fruits - two styles to appeal to two preferences. In a typical vintage, sixty thousand cases are produced of the Alexander, twice as much as the Napa label. 

We have visited both the Alexander Valley winery up near Healdsburg, and the Napa Valley winery and hospitality center during our many visits to the region.

Ryan brought his bottle of this vintage release that he had opened and decanted several hours before the tasting. 

The 2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 94.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.0% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.4% Malbec, and was aged for 24 months in American oak (50% new) from Silver Oak's own cooperage.

Winemaker's Notes:

Our 2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is ruby in color with a magenta rim. It has an enticing nose of cassis, blackberry, vanilla, sage and spearmint. Upon entry, this wine builds from potpourri and bramble to a bright pop of raspberry on the mid-palate. A juicy finish with chewy tannins and a medium length, it will provide drinking pleasure through 2042 with proper cellaring. 

This was rated 93 points by Wilfred Wong

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright expressive yet smooth and approachable black berry and black currant fruits with notes of cassis, herbs and hints of mint, graphite mineral and subtle oak on the lingering dusty tannin laced finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3170524

Towmey Napa Valley Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc 2019 

As I wrote in a recent blogpost, Twomey was founded in 1999 by legendary Ray Twomey Duncan, founder of the well-known known and highly regarded Silver Oak, and sons David, and Tim Duncan. David served as the managing partner and today is Chairman and CEO of both Silver Oak and Twomey having joined Silver Oak in 2002. The name Twomey, (pronounced two-me) is named after their grandmother, Ray's mother, Velma’s maiden name and is also the middle name of several family members.

This Towmey Sauvignon Blanc is sourced exclusively from four estate-owned vineyards, half from Napa Valley and 1/2 Sonoma County Russian River Valley: the Sonoma sources - 35% Merino Estate Vineyard and 15% Twomey Healdsburg Estate Vineyard: the Napa County 50% from Twomey Calistoga Estate Vineyard, 9%, and the remaining 41% from Oakville Estate Vineyard that surrounds the Silver Oak winery there. 

The is is 99% Sauvignon Blanc with 1% Sauvignon Gris.

Light butter straw colored, light body, crisp and lively acidic laced flavors of bright tropical fruit with notes of grapefruit citrus and hints of pineapple with a crisp clean finish. 

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3593999

https://twomey.com/

@Twomey

https://silveroak.com/

@SilverOak

https://twitter.com/kmcleodmcleod 

 @KmcleodMcLeod

http://www.oracle.com/

@Oracle

Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 label

AXΩ Reunion Wine Flight

White Wine Flight for Sisters' Gala Reunion Dinner

Linda hosted her Alpha Chi Omega (AXΩ) sisters' reunion dinner and I put together a flight of white wines for the occasion.

The sisters gathered in Naperville as their destination reunion site and stayed at the Indigo Hotel downtown, and dined in town Friday night.

Tonight, Linda hosted them at our house and served grilled salmon and beef tenderloin with grilled cauliflower.

Before dinner I served a selection of artisan cheeses with biscuits including creamy Harvarti, Brie, Gorgonzola, Blue, Parmesan and a hearty Camembert.

The wine flight:

Twomey Napa Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Hungry Blonde Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016
Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017
Raymond Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017

Château Doisy-Védrines Sauterne 2006

For reds I opened a whimsical Marilyn Merlot 2014 and a Andretti Montona Reserve Merlot 2015.

Twomey Napa / Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc 2017

Twomey's estate Sauvignon Blanc is the quintessential California expression of this varietal. Sourced from four estate-owned vineyards, 52% from two in Napa Valley, Calistoga and Oakville, and 48% from two in Sonoma Russian River Valley Merino Vineyard and Healdsburg, the wine is aged for five months, about 46% in wood and the rest in tank or concrete.

Light golden butter and straw color, light bodied, nicely balanced, bright aromatics of tropical fruits - mango, guava, a hint of ginger, apple and peach aromas, bright vibrant citrus opening turning to hints of lime, Meyer lemon, grapefruit and grassy herbal notes. Nicely balanced acidity on a crisp refreshing finish. 

RM 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2948281

https://twomey.com/wines/sauvignon-blanc/sauvignon-blanc/


Hungry Blonde Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2016

What a fun wine to serve for such an occasion. The joys of having a broad cellar selection from which to source for a special setting. This was a big hit with the ladies with the cheese, salad and dinner courses.

Winemaker notes for the 2016, "Our Hungry Blonde Chardonnay is the perfect expression of cool-climate Napa Valley Chardonnay from the Carneros region. Inviting aromas of lemon zest and white flowers make way for waves of bosc pear, Tahitian vanilla, and baked apple tart. All held together with fresh acidity and a supple texture inviting another sip."

As I reported in my earlier blogpost on this wine, "according to Wine Country Connection, Hungry Blonde is made by the well known Napa producer Cary Gott. The fruit comes from the Poe Vineyard, which sits adjacent to the world renowned Hyde Vineyard. Larry Hyde’s HDV Chardonnay, sells for $60."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3289150

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/09/davis-estate-hungry-blonde-carneros.html

Freemark Abbey Chardonnay Napa Valley 2017

From one of our favorite and widely held producers, we own or have consumed Freemark Abbey Napa Valley wines going back three decades - most their portfolio of Cabernet Sauvignons.

I picked this up a couple weeks ago and we served it a family dinner. I like it so much, I went out and purchased more. 

This is their standard estate Napa Valley Chardonnay. It is sourced from five different vineyards: Huichica Hills  (37.9%), Rancho Sarco (29.6%), Ahmann Vineyard-Carneros (24.3%), Keyes Vineyard-Howell Mountain (6.7%), and Spring Mtn AVA (1.5%).

The Freemark Abbey premium Chardonnays are single vineyard or single AVA designated selections while this is sourced from all their vineyards to meet the large quantity of the offering. Still it is excellent and offers very good QPR - (Quality Price Ratio).

This is 85% aged in oak barrels with roughly 19% new French oak.

Winemaker's Notes for this release: "Light greenish straw in color, our chardonnay expresses fruit aroma of ripe pineapple, ripe banana, guava, apricot, peach and tropical fruit cocktail. Adding to the complexity, the oak aging is fairly integrated adding spice like nutmeg, light toast, and the nuance of angel food cake. This wine has great viscosity, depth and an intriguing long finish. The flavors are lively on the palate with pear, citrus, lemonlime, green apple and fleshy peach. This wine shows great complexity, creaminess, and elegance to compliment many foods."

I give this 91 points.

This was rated 94+ by WA and 91 by JS. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3214292

https://www.freemarkabbey.com/

Raymond Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017

This is a bit of branding tomfoolery calling this a 'Reserve' bottling. Usually, a 'Reserve' wine is a selection of the finest batches or lots, or selected from the finest blocks in the vineyard, or even the finest grapes set aside for a special bottling. Antics like this lead to branding confusion, and confusion about wine in general, and is the basis or the premise of this blog unwindwine - making sense of wine.

Like the Freemark Abbey Chardonnay above, this is the 'standard' estate bottled large volume Chardonnay, from this long time Napa producer. The Raymond estate is situated just off Highway 29 on Zinfandel Lane just south of the town of St Helena.

Winemaker notes for this release: "Aromas of honeysuckle and orange blossoms followed by lemon, lime and pear notes amid toasted almond and honey. A rich, full, mouth feel with balanced acidity and bright lemon, pear, lime and passion fruit flavors followed by a smooth vanilla and toasted oak finish."

RM 88 points. 

https://raymondvineyards.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3340227

Château Doisy-Védrines Sauterne 2006

This is a Second Cru Classé (French, “Second Growth”) classic Sauterne, ideal for salad, cheese or dessert. This is one of the regular producer's that show this wine at the annual UGCB release tour.

This was a nice complement to the fresh berries and flowerless chocolate cake with creme fraisch.

Wine Spectator notes on this release: "Shows a solid core of fruit, with spice, honey, lemon and lime. Full-bodied and medium sweet. Spicy and very minerally. Long and balanced. Almost 92-94."

Neal Martin for Robert Parker wrote: "Very expressive nose, tropical fruits, honey, well-integrated new oak, good definition. Gets better with aeration. A crisp, well defined palate with attractive honeyed fruits, orange zest and a nice citrus kick towards the finish. Just lacks the depth of flavour compared to Doisy Daene, but there is still an attractive joie-de-vivre, plus the strict selection of grapes has rid the wine of any rot. Very fine effort, very pretty and elegant. Tasted March 2007.
Score: 91/93"

K&L's notes - At Joanne-spicy aromas and flavor. Fine balance. At UGC-a fatter style with fine depth and length. Clean acidity. Very good as usual.

My notes - Weak tea colored, medium bodied, the sweet nectar tones were overtaken by a slight layer of smokiness and mineral detracting from the normal desired experience - tasty none-the-less.

We still hold about a half case of this release and its probably time to drink up as it will not likely improve with any further aging.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=361714

Andretti Montona Reserve Merlot 2013 

Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2013 at Bluebeards Indy

Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2013 at Bluebeards Indy

We dined at Bluebeard Restaurant in the trendy Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis with Eric and Cathy and Pat and Rodger. Bluebeard is sited in an old garage with beam ceilings, brick walls, a large ornate entry door with a cozy side bar. The Bluebeard menu is comprised of small, medium and large sharable plates of seafood, pasta, and steak. A selection of side salads were also large enough for sharing. There's also a cheese and charcuterie selection and an appropriate suitable dessert menu.

I chose a favorite, foie gras which was delectable, not sufficient for sharing necessarily, but ideal for a red wine accompaniment. Eric & Cathy shared the Pappardelle italian sausage with sugo, basil, and parmesan, Linda and Pat shared the Coquilles St. Jacques with leeks, crimini mushroom, parmesan cream, toasted bread crumbs. 

The Bluebeard wine list offered a carefully selected diverse selection of American, French and Italian including many well known favorites and many premium and ultra-premium selections. Favorite selections that you'll read about in these pages or find in our cellar included (with some representative reference prices) Robert Craig, Chappellet, Crossbarn, Dominus ($500), Silver Oak (AV $180), Spring Valley, Venge (Scouts Honor $80) and Turley. The Italian and French selections included popular names Gaja, Giacosa, Chapoutier, Paul Jaboulet, Barone Ricasoli Casalferro, Gaja Pieve Santa Restitua and Luce. There were also some Australian Penfolds and Spanish selections for Bordeaux varietal wine drinkers, Numanthia and Cune at both ends of the price spectrum.

Generally, the prices were a bit high at, or slightly more than 2X retail, but I also found this ideal selection for our dinner at almost retail price which was a rare anomalous bargain on the list.

Label shown from 2014

Pride describe this Merlot "as a Cabernet-lover’s Merlot with its thick and round mid-palate but this one also has tremendous density and size. The wine is packed full of stuffing, with flavors of chocolate, plum, strawberry, wet shale, crushed rose petal and za’atar spice. The blend is predominantly Merlot from our 12 estate vineyard blocks, with 8% of our Rock Arch Cabernet Sauvignon added for structure, depth of flavor and persistence."

Antonio Galloni gave this a Rating of 90 points. His review: "The Merlot is deep, dense and powerful, but it also drinks surprisingly well for the year. Dark cherry, mocha, plum, smoke, licorice, spice and French oak are all quite forward. Drink this plump, giving Merlot over the next handful of years. The 40% new French oak is a bit dominant today."

I liked it even though it was a bit obtuse, not polished or well integrated, with a slight edge that may wear off with some aging, dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant black berry fruits with tones of spice, oak, and a layer of smokey notes of anise and hints of mocha and plum on a sharp tangy fruity finish. 

This is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from Pride estate vineyards at the top of Spring Mountain on the Napa side with some of the vineyards on the Sonoma side of the summit, hence it has an Napa/Sonoma designation. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1968548

https://www.pridewines.com/

http://bluebeardindy.com/

Napa / Sonoma Wine Experience 2017

Napa / Sonoma Wine Experience 2017

We just returned from a week touring the Napa and Sonoma Wine Country. This year we broke from the tradition and routine we adopted years ago of focusing on one 'AVA' (American Viticultural Area) or appellation per trip. We adopted this approach years ago for several reasons: the immersion in one appellation provided a comparative tasting of producers' styles and terrior effects, it simplified and limited transit travel from one wine stop to the next, and, in retrospect, its much easier to recall specifics of a trip as we recount experiences from our trip that focused on 'Atlas Peak', 'Diamond Mtn',  'Howell Mtn', 'Mt Veeder', and/or 'Spring Mtn' appellations.

Notably, we started this model when we were focusing on 'mountain' appellations where travel is much more challenging in the remote mountain regions. We adopted an approach of starting at the top of the mountain and working our way down. This worked out well and allowed efficiency, enjoyment, and perspective on the whole wine and travel experience.

This trip was the first time for one of our travelers so we were showcasing certain favored producers. We were also visiting or revisiting select targeted favorite producers rather than selecting based on geography.

This was also our first trip to focus on exploring and discovering the more remote appellations of Sonoma County, as a discovery and learning trip, setting the stage for further in-depth immersive studies in the future. We stayed the first few days in the Pacific coastal town of Bodega Bay.

Sonoma County is vast, covering almost 60,000 acres of vineyards, with a broad diverse range of terrior and microclimates. Sonoma County, reaches all the way to the Pacific Coast from the west side of the Mayacamas Mountain range that forms the eastern boundary of the Sonoma Valley and separates Sonoma Valley from Napa Valley. Sonoma County consists of 16 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs, or appellations) – each with its own distinctive characteristics. There are more than 400 wineries in the region.

 

The western Sonoma County Sonoma Coast area is emerging as the source of 'cool climate' Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.

 

This week we focused on, visited and toured the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Green Valley and Dry Creek Valley appellations, as well as Sonoma Valley. This set the stage, so watch for more immersive studies on these areas in the future, now that we have the big picture and understanding of navigating the region.

This trip targeted and featured several of our favorite and well known producers whose wines we hold and drink regularly as featured in this blog: Diamond Creek, Lewis Cellars, Joseph Phelps, Hall Rutherford Estate, Del Dotto, Darioush and Cliff Lede, and a few others.

We also discovered some new producers or producer's sites in the remote Sonoma areas - Gary Farrell and Porter Creek Vineyards and Winery. Lastly, we also visited Krug in Sonoma County, and  Chateau St Jean and Kunde in Sonoma Valley, and Trefethen in Napa.

Watch for and follow my winery visit reports and tasting notes and purchase and tasting 'Tweets' on @unwindwine on Twitter and in this blog in the coming days and weeks as I draft and publish my experiences and findings.

Vérité La Joie Red Bordeaux Blend

Vérité La Joie Red Bordeaux Blend

Thanksgiving evening, Jared (Gelband) stopped over with a bottle of Vérité La Joie Red Bordeaux Blend. To accompany the wine we paired some Smoked Gouda and Swiss cheeses. 

Vérité La Joie Red Bordeaux Blend 1999 

The Verite opened firm and tight with a hard edge, then reverted to a layer of barnyard funk, but after two hours, it burst open with complex concentrated structured backbone of dark raspberry and black currant fruits accented by layers of  graphite, cigar box, tobacco leaf, spicy oak and floral notes with hints of vanilla, then silky textures of fine tannins on a long lingering tangy finish.

At seventeen years, this almost seems like it needs several more years to settle. Will be wonderful to taste this again in five and ten years if you can wait, and get access to some.

RM 94 points. Robert Parker gave this 95 points; Steve Tanzer 94,  Vinous 93 points and Wine Enthusiast 90 points. 

This is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot (89% from Sonoma and 11% from Napa).

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6409

http://www.veritewines.com/ 

He also brought a Furmint based blend dessert wine, Château Pajzos Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 1999, so we pulled from the cellar to pair with a 2000 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás, and a 2002 Kracher Chardonnay TBA #2 Nouvelle Vague Chardonnay.

Château Pajzos Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 1999

Interest that this was similar to, almost indistinguishable from the 2000 as they're from different vintages and different producers. Slightly more pronounced perhaps but same profile and character.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=78287

Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000

My review of this wine from 2014 - "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


Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #2 Nouvelle Vague Chardonnay 2002

I last reviewed this wine back in 2011 when I wrote, "Honey color - full bodied, thick, chewy apricot, hints of grapefruit citrus, touch of pineapple and smoke."

An interesting comparison against the Tokaji's ... this Austrian Chardonnay based dessert came across as smoother, more elegant and approachable, a bit lighter, with more finesse.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=50493

http://www.kracher.at/en/

More to come ...

Rick, Jared, and Johnny ...

 

Rosewood Grill and UNITY Red Blend

Rosewood Grill and UNITY Red Blend

For a business dinner with colleagues on the road, we dined at Rosewood Grill in Hudson, OH. With our grilled beef steak entrees we ordered Fisher Vineyards 'UNITY' Napa/Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon from their Wine Spectator Award winning wine list.

The Fisher Family have been growing and producing wines in both Napa Valley and Sonoma County since 1973.

UNITY is the brand associated with the second generation of the Fisher Family working together - Fisher founders Fred and Juelle Fisher, and the second generation that includes three siblings Whitney, Robert and Cameron.

The first generation Fisher Vineyards embodies single vineyard sourced wines, made unique by their particular, singular environmental conditions including soil and climate - elements when combined known as terrior.

In contrast, UNITY wines are produced from fruit chosen from multiple sites, estates or appellations, blended together in a tapestry where hopefully the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

This 2013 UNITY Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of fruit sourced 75% from Napa Valley and 25% from Sonoma County from sites in Calistoga, Northern Napa Valley Floor, the Mayacamas Mountains, Eastern Sonoma County, Napa Valley Atlas Peak, and the Vacas Mountains of Eastern Napa.

They blend consists of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 7% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petite Verdot.

It appears the complexity of the blend of this wine will require more aging time to come together. At this early stage it is still disjointed and awkward with some funky non-fruit musty wet wood barnyard tones punctuated by notes of creosote and hints of cedar and earthy leather offsetting the fruit flavors, before starting to burn off after about an hour to reveal black berry fruits and anise - too young or too little decanting preparation time in a restaurant dinner setting.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2029815

http://www.fishervineyards.com/unitywine/

http://rosewoodgrill.com/hudson/Default.aspx

Constant Cab Franc and Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Constant Cabernet Franc and Eileen Hardy Shiraz

Friday night dinner at Angelis, our favorite neighborhood trattoria featured two BYOB selections from our cellars. Bill and Beth brought a Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Franc and I brought a Eileen Hardy Shiraz. A contrast in styles and states of two upscale labels at two stages of their aging window.

The four of us with J&B and Freddie Constant

While different in style, both wines complemented perfectly my pasta with hearty bolognese sauce and italian sausage. 

We visited the spectacular picturesque Constant Vineyards estate high atop Diamond Mountain during our Diamond Mountain Appellation Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2011.

Sadly, Freddie Constant passed away earlier this year so we toasted a tribute to the colorful memorable producer.

Constant Diamond Mountain Estate Vineyards

The Constant estate sits at the peak of Diamond Mountain in the Mayacamas Range that separates Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Constant is the highest and perhaps oldest winery in the region and is the only vineyard that spans both Napa and Sonoma faces.

The Diamond Mountain District appellation, one of the smaller Napa wine districts, sits just south of and above the town of Calistoga in the northwest corner of Napa Valley. The sun drenched slopes with their rocky terrain and volcanic soil produce rich concentrated Bordeaux varietal fruit and are home to some of the most notable and prestigious labels including the namesake label Diamond Mountain vineyards. Our afternoon on the mountaintop retreat was one of the more memorable settings from our many Napa Valley trips.

Constant Diamond Mountain Winery Diamond Mountain District Estate Cabernet Franc 2007

Bright dark ruby/purple colored, medium to full bodied, this was bright vibrant full forward black berry and currant fruit with a bold punch of sweet almost cinnamon spice accented by tones of mocha chocolate, soft sweet oak with dusty lush pleasing tongue coating lingering tannins.

RM 93 points. 

Bill's notes from Cellartacker - "Deep purple color. Light nose of fig and light floral aromas belie a wonderfully flavored Cab Franc. Opens with a bit of sweetness on the front palate, cocoa on the mid palate, silky tannins and a long lingering finish highlighted by cassis and a touch of oak. A wonderful accompaniment to smoky, bacon infused chowder and prosciutto wrapped, stuffed chicken breast in a sweet and spicy pepper sauce.

WCC 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=694548

http://www.constantwine.com/


Hardys "Eileen Hardy" McLaren Vale-Padthaway-Clare South Australia Shiraz 1999


This is literally the signature wine of the legendary historic Hardy brand, bearing the mark of Eileen Hardy, the matriarch of the house of Hardy. The best shiraz from each vintage is released under the Eileen Hardy label.

Hardy have been producing wine in the region since Thomas Hardy purchased the Tintara vineyards and winery in McLaren Vale back in the 1870's. Thomas Hardy wines were the first Australian wines to be awarded prestigious Gold medals at the International Wine Shows in Bordeaux in 1882 and in Paris in 1889.

Tom Mayfield Hardy, Thomas Hardy’s grandson, continued the family business in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. When he was tragically killed in a plane crash, his wife, Eileen Hardy, and his cousin, Kenneth Hardy, took over the business. Thomas Walter Hardy, Tom and Eileen Hardy’s eldest son, becomes the fourth generation of the Hardy family to enter the family business. 

To celebrate the 80th birthday of the iconic matriarch, Eileen Hardy, her children created this Eileen Hardy Shiraz label as its flagship shiraz containing the best from each vintage.

I don't know if it was the contrast in style, indication of the vintage, or just a closed period in the aging of this wine, but the Hardy's Eileen Hardy Shiraz was overshadowed by the bold bright vibrant Constant Cab Franc. The metaphor I often use to describe such a contrast is one is a foot wide and four inches deep (Hardy), while the other (Constant) is four inches wide and a foot deep!

The Hardy came across more like a Cabernet than a Shiraz, with its firm complexity, while the Constant was true to the profile of Cabernet Franc, spicy, and bold, showing why it is used as a blending wine to brighten and accent the Bordeaux Blend. At this stage, tonight, this vintage didn't live up to the hype of the label.

Dark garnet colored and medium bodied, the 1999 Hardy showed complex black cherry and black berry fruits accented by spice, earthy leather with hints of tar, cedar, anise and oak with fine grained subtle tannins on the finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=12189

http://hardyswines.com/us/