Fabulous premium wine flight for tenderloin surf and turf dinner

 Fabulous premium wine flight for tenderloin surf and turf dinner

We had a double newlywed dinner with Sons Alec and his bride Vivianna, back from New York, and Sean and his bride Michelle joining us for a gala post celebration dinner. Linda prepared beef tenderloin that Alec grilled (right) and lobster tails, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, haricurt verts and ceasar salad. 

I pulled from the cellar a selection of premium wines to commemorate the occasion - wines that have special significance on many fronts. Alec and Vivianna visited Napa Valley for their rescheduled honeymoon and visited Lewis Cellars and Piazza Del Dotto wineries. 

Due to the extensive fires in the area their tasting at Hall Wines and others were canceled. Never-the-less, our wine flight included the trifecta of Hall, Lewis and Del Dotto premium labels. 

Prior to dinner we opened Champagne. We also tasted a Chateau St Michelle Merlot, a fun wine recognizing our daughter-in-law. We closed the dinner with a birth year vintage port with desserts. 

We opened the evening toasting the newlywed couples with Champagne - Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé.  

Consistent with earlier tasting with a layer of smokiness ... Rustic orange color, crisp, full-bodied, complex and zesty, lively red currant, red berry and citrus fruits with a good core, fine acidity, crisp texture, chalky minerality and hint of apple, smoke and spice with a long, vibrant finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27316

Hall Exzellenz Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

A couple years ago, Alec's boss contacted me seeking advise on a celebratory wine to gift to key clients for the Christmas holiday. I suggested this label with its classic name, super premium standing, and of course its holiday festive red and gold label. While this was an allocated wine with limited access, we garnered our wine club privileges and obtained two cases of this wine. In light of recent celebratory events, it was fitting to open this tonight. 

This is sourced from the finest blocks of the Sacrashe Vineyard which is just above the Rutherford Winery adjacent to the estate home. We were introduced to this wine during our Winery Tour and Tasting back in the summer of 2017 and prior to that back in 2013.

Jeb Dunnuck gave this 99 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 95 points and Wine Spectator 91 points. 

Tonight this was the WOTN - Wine of the Night. 

Jeb Dunnuck describe this wine's "awesome depth and richness with crazy levels of purity".

Deep garnet-purple color, full-bodied, firmly structured yet perfectly balanced and silky smooth, elegant and polished, full concentrated black berry fruits with notes of crème de cassis, graphite, hints of cigar box and what Robert Parker described as tree bark turning to a long sinewy spicy oak laced finish. 

RM 96 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=2508295

https://www.hallwines.com/

https://twitter.com/HALLWines

Del Dotto Napa Valley Vineyard 887 St. Helena Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 

Succumbing to some sentimentality, I selected this label from our extensive Del Dotto holdings. The kids encountered the Del Dotto experience on their honeymoon last month. This label has a special place in my heart with fond memories of our prior trips to Napa. 

We tasted and then procured this wine during our Napa Valley, Del Dotto Winery and Caves Tasting and Tour in 2018. This single vineyard designated select label is crafted from fruit from the Del Dotto 887 St Helena Vineyard. This vineyard is named for the address, 887 St Helena Highway, on the south approaches into the town. 

The property is the site of a guest cottage, amidst the vineyard surrounded by the vines. Linda and I had the pleasure of staying in the cottage during a Napa Valley Del Dotto winery, estate, vineyards and cave tour back in 2003.

The single vineyard designated label didn't exist back then, it came along the next year, but we didn't discover the label until our 2018 estate and winery visit and tour. We purchased this label at that time, much in remembrance of that earlier visit, and had great anticipation of tasting this

This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Crafted in the unique Del Dotto method, it is part of the Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series where the same wine will be aged in different oak barrels of different oak varieties for the ultimate comparison tasting experience. This version was aged in Colbert French Oak. Robert Parker gives this wine 95 points and an aging window of 2018 out to 2040. 

We have hosted wine dinners where we served a flight of the Connoisseur Series of the same wine aged in different oaks. Only the most discriminating experienced enophiles appreciated and discerned the subtle differences. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, concentrated, forward, structured black berry and tangy black currant fruits with notes of pipe tobacco, black tea, graphite and hints of milk chocolate, anise and spicy cinnamon turning to firm but silky smooth approachable tannins on the long tangy acidic lingering finish. Needs a few more years to settle, soften and integrate further.

RM 94

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2743499

  https://www.deldottovineyards.com/our-wines

@DelDottoWine 

Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay 2015 

 We tasted and acquired this wine during our Lewis Cellars Estate Visit and tasting in 2017. This label is a family favorite about which I've written many times in these pages. Like Del Dotto above, Alec and Vivianna also visited Lewis during their recent honeymoon.

The winemaker notes say; "Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" best captures the character of our rocking 2015 Reserve Chardonnay. Ripe succulent D'Anjou pear, gardenia blossom, sweet mineral spice and toasty brioche aromas come singing through. Broad shouldered with creamy textured leesy flavors, the wine reaches great depth while maintaining precision and serious structure."

Butter colored, medium full bodied, very pleasant bright vibrant crisp notes of citrus laced pear with notes of floral, soft sweet oak and hints of lychee fruits.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2586833

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/lewis-cellars-napa-chateau-tasting.html

https://www.lewiscellars.com/

Warres Quinta da Cavadihna Vintage Port 1990

After dinner Linda served a medley of deserts and ice cream
with fresh berries. With the dessert flight we served a 1990 vintage release from Alec's birthyear, Warres Quinta da Cavadihna Vintage Port 1990.

 

Warre’s is a classic port producer that dates back to 1670. It was the first British Port company established in Portugal and therefore the pioneer of a great tradition; its history is synonymous with that of Port itself and the British influence in the trade.

 

Warre’s premium wines are sourced from Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta do Retiro Antigo, two of the finest estates of the Douro valley. 

 

The owners and producers today are British, Peter Symington and his son Charles who assists in managing the vineyards and wine making. Symington has been made ‘Fortified Wine Maker of the Year’ an extraordinary 6 times by the ‘Wine Challenge’. Nobody else has won this important award more than twice. In 2003, his son Charles won the same award. 

 

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, hints of aniseed and liquorice with a touch of cinnamon with a backbone of pleasant raisin and fig notes. 

 

RM 90 points.

Covid Breakout - Engagement Celebration Dinner

Covid Breakout - Dual Engagement Family Celebration Dinner

With son Alec and fiance Vivianna visiting from Manhatten, we met son Sean and his fiance Michelle for dinner at Angelis Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. This  was our first dinner out since the opening restaurants for outdoor dining only in Illinois as the Covid lock-down is relaxed. For Alec and Viv this was their first dinner out since NYC is still shut down.

This was our first time getting together since both Alec and Sean got engaged so it was also a special celebration dinner. Alec and Viv were due to get married next weekend but due to the Covid disruptions, their event has been postponed. Sean and Michelle's is slated for September but the outcome remains to be seen due to the uncertainties of the Illinois handling of the crisis and associated regulations.

For the celebration we took a Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose Champagne.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé NV

We served this last month at a Bridesmaid's Luncheon for Michelle. 

This got 91 points James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and 90 points from John Gilman and earlier from Wine Spectator.

This is a a blend of 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier.

Rustic orange color, crisp, full-bodied, complex and zesty, lively red currant, red berry and citrus fruits with a good core, fine acidity, crisp texture, chalky minerality and hint of apple, smoke and spice with a long, vibrant finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27316





For the dinner entree's I took BYOB from our home cellar this Piazza Del Dotto Petit Verdot. Below is from my posting of this label from a BYOB dinner tasting on Linda's birthday earlier this year.

Del Dotto Piazza Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2014

We tasted and acquired this wine as part of  our Del Dotto Piazza DELICACIES Food and Wine Experience Tasting at the winery during our Napa Wine Experience in 2018. 

Readers of these posts know we can be over-indulgent, even obsessive, we have fun with wine. Part of the fun is serving wines with 'V' when dining or tasting with Vivianna. Popular labels are from Venge or Viader for such occasions. Tonight, on a different twist, we served a Petit Verdot. 

This was a big hit for our dinner tonight, everyone loved this wine. 
 
Of course, Petit Verdot is one of the Bordeaux varietals, appellation authorized for inclusion in the blend. Most often, Petit Verdot is the fourth varietal in the mix, subordinate to the primary Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the secondary Cabernet Franc.

Petit Verdot is added to a red blend for structure, backbone and colour, to round out, augment and enhance the profile of the blend. Standing alone, without the core Cabernet, and the softening roundness of Merlot, and the hint of tangy spice added by Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot comes across as huge, bold, muscular and forward, perhaps awkward or obtuse and overpowering to some.

Indeed, those are the characteristics we love in a wine and while lacking polish and balance of the harmony of the overall blend, its a wonderful wine with bold and full flavored food such as tonight. I wish I had ordered more and will savor what we have, and miss it when it is gone. I'll be looking to top up our holdings of this label.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, reasonably balanced, firm forward concentrated black berry and black currant fruits, with notes of licorice, spice and hints of mocha and subtle pepper spice with bold but approachable lingering tannins.

RM 92-93 points.

We also acquired some of the 2015 vintage of this label which I took to a gala tasting of which I blogged about last winter in this posting below.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/12/gala-holiday-dinner-features-napa-cab.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/02/del-dotto-piazza-petit-verdot-2014.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2757017

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/visit/piazza



We also ordered from the wine list a white wine to accompany dinner, a Jordan Sonoma County Chardonnay.

Jordan Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2016

This is a popular widely available label from a long time iconic Sonoma County producer.

The winemaker's notes for this label, "Mirroring the classic elements of a grand cru Chablis, this is a rare expression of Chardonnay that shyly but exquisitely excites the senses. Pretty aromas of citrus blossom and passion fruit spring from the glass. Its elegant palate reveals flavors of lemon, Asian pear and kumquat with a beautiful weight and roundness—all supported by an attractive, crisp backbone of acidity. A lingering finish laced in succulent citrus begs you to take another sip.“

"There’s a beautiful balance to this wine. The opportunity to work with such delicately spiced fruit with such lively acidity was especially fun, offering so many aromas and flavors to employ on our vintage canvas. Similar to 2015, the 2016 Jordan Chardonnay will be remembered as very Chablis-like upon release. Expect this wine to take on more Puligny-Montrachet qualities with another 1-2 years of bottle age.” —Winemaker Rob Davis

https://www.jordanwinery.com/wines/russian-river-chardonnay/vintages/2016

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2901151

Champagne Duo for Bridesmaid's Luncheon

Champagne Duo for Bridesmaid's Luncheon - Lanson and Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé.

Linda hosted a luncheon for son Sean and fiance', daughter-in-law to be, Michelle, and her bridesmaid's, so they could gather and pick out their dresses for the wedding. I served a pair of Champagnes for the occasion, Lanson and Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rosé.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé


This got 91 points James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and 90 points from John Gilman and earlier from Wine Spectator.

This is a a blend of 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier.

Rustic orange color, crisp, full-bodied, complex and zesty, lively red currant, red berry and citrus fruits with a good core, fine acidity, crisp texture, chalky minerality and hint of apple, smoke and spice with a long, vibrant finish.

RM 89 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27316







Lanson Brut Rosé Champagne NV

This rosé is made from 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Meunier, and 10% Chardonnay.

This was awarded 91 points Wine Spectator, 90 points James Suckling.

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, bright acidity, notes of lemon and dried cherry fruits with notes of mineral and pain grille', dry and crisp on the tangy flavorful finish. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=327152