Showing posts with label Pierre Gimonnet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pierre Gimonnet. Show all posts

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Gala Family Christmas celebration wine dinner

Gala Family Christmas celebration surf & turf dinner features festive flight of red and white wines

The family gathered for our gala Christmas celebration and we feasted on surf and turf and a festive flight of red and white wines. We Decked the Halls with a flight of Hall wines - a top ranked red and two whites, one from Napa and one from Sonoma.

Offspring ... kids, grand-kids ...

Before dinner we had an extensive selection of artisan cheeses and holiday sweets accompanied by Pierre Gimmonet et Fils 1er Cru Champagne

Dinner started with Linda's signature lobster tails on a ramaken of buttered croutons. With this we served a Hall Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, a Walt Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, and a Fantesca Russian River Valley Chardonnay


Dinner featured Linda's signature grilled beef tenderloin served with mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, haricut verts, and sauteed spinach in a Madeira sauce. For the main course we served two very special wines, Château Léoville Las Cases 1990 and Hall Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet 2015, two memorable wines ideally suited to the occasion.

 
Later with deserts and after dinner treats Alec opened a Hill Family 'Origin' Napa Valley Cab, and Ryan pulled from our cellar a 1995 vintage Pride Napa Valley Cabernet

It was a wonderful memorable gathering with family after a tumultuous year.  

Château Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, St Julien-Beychevelle, Bordeaux 1990
 
I wrote about birthyear celebration wines for son Alec's wedding this summer. To contribute and join in the celebration dinner, I took from our cellar a flight of very special wines I have collected over the decades and held for this occasion, from the birthyear vintages of the bride and the groom. Fortunately, his birthyear 1990 vintage was one of the most spectacular of a lifetime.
 
Three times, wines from that vintage were awarded #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine as part of their annual Top 100 Wines of the Year, all from the 1990 vintage. A testament to the global success of the vintage, one was from California, one from Bordeaux and one from South Australia, a further testament to the amazing spectacular 1990 vintage. 
 
We served those three wines at Alec and Vivianna's wedding celebration dinner. All those wines were acquired upon their release back in the early nineties, in some cases, even before being so recognized and heralded. A fourth wine from that vintage was also part of the wine flight, the 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases. 

At the time, I wrote that "we're holding a case plus several bottles of Alec's 1990 birth year release that we'll most assuredly celebrate with him, family and friends as part of his wedding festivities in the coming year". 
 
Since the wedding festivities were significantly scaled back due to the Covid pandemic, we didn't get to serve most of these. So, tonight, we opened another one as the 2020 celebrations continue. 

Linda's and my visit to the Chateau was one of the highlights of our trip to Bordeaux last year both because we've been fans of and have been collecting this wine for four decades, and because it was going to feature prominently in our once in a lifetime celebrations. 
 
This wine was awarded 96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, he projected the drinking window at the time, in 2009 to be "now-2035".  Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar gave it 94 points, Wine Spectator 93 points. Neal Martin gave it 95 points in his Wine Journal.  
 
As with an earlier tasting of this wine, this bottle had a good above neck fill level, the foil, label and cork were all in exceptional, excellent condition, the wine was great, drinking very nicely and still at a peak drinking level, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, dark inky garnet purple, medium full bodied, elegant, polished, smooth, complex but perfectly integrated and balanced, sweet blackberry fruits, notes of graphite, leather, cassis, tobacco on a lingering balanced finish with tangy acidity and smooth approachable silky tannins. 

RM 94 points. 

 

@DomainesDelon

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/leoville-du-marquis-de-las-cases.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/10/broad-diverse-flight-of-big-reds.html

Hall Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

HALL Wines is a 500-hundred acre estate in the Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley. It was established in 2003 when Craig and Kathryn Hall acquired the historic Bergfeld Winery and then remade it into a state-of-the-art facility. Today Hall has ten estate vineyards and two wineries and hospitality centers, one in St Helena and one in Rutherford. 
 
 
Before getting into the wine business, both were successful luminaries with meritorius careers, Craig Hall created the HALL Group at the age of 18 in 1968, a business in college rooming houses and apartment buildings. Over time the company diversified into the HALL Park in Frisco Texas, the KPMG Plaza at Hall Arts in downtown Dallas and a financial services firm. Craig has invested in oil, American Airlines and the Dallas Cowboys.

Kathryn was a successful businesswoman, community activist, attorney and in 1991 ran for mayor of Dallas. She was Ambassador to Austria under the Clinton administration. Kathryn’s family had been in the wine industry for several decades as grape growers in Mendocino County where she and her brother managed their family property for 10 years. 

This is another very special wine for a several reasons; it is devoted to family, it is based on artwork, and it is a birthyear vintage for two of our grandkids. Our dearly beloved Lucy was an artist, our daughter Erin was educated in Art, Art History and Fine Arts, and taught art for several years, and Linda is a budding artist and studied and taught art history. 

Shown 2013 Jack's Masterpiece
Each year, HALL’s former winemaker and current president, Mike Reynolds, returns to his first love and blends a signature Cabernet Sauvignon known as “Jack’s Masterpiece,” named for a piece of artwork that decorates the label. The painting was created by Mike's son Jack as a Father’s Day gift  when he was only 18 months old. Every year Mike steps back into the cellar to create this signature blend and he chose this very special painting to appear on the label. Mike oversees the blending of this special wine to create a deeper expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. “This is a wine that really demonstrates the depth and muscularity of the fruit we source from our HALL St. Helena estate and Sacrashe vineyards,” he says. 

The 2015 HALL Jack’s Masterpiece is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Winemaker notes: "The 2015 yields highly complex aromas, lead by ripe dark fruits, espresso, dark chocolate and loads of crème de cassis currently on parade. The hedonistic nose continues to bring you back to the glass for more. Crème de cassis, pencil lead, dark cherry reduction, mocha, anise and red bell pepper flavors all marvelously build in the glass. Intense and focused, with moderate tannins, this is an extremely age-worthy wine that needs at least one more year of bottle age before it begins to hit its stride."

Dark inky purple colored, rich concentrated dense black fruits, powerful and structured yet elegant, polished, smooth and approachable with jammy fruits accented by dark chocolate, expresso bean, hints of licorice and baking spices with gripping sinewy fine grained tannins on the lenghty finish. This should be delicious over the next decade or more. 

RM 95 points. 

This release was awarded 97-99 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 96+ by The Wine Advocate, and 91-94 points by Vinous / International Wine Cellar.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2592084

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/kathryn-hall-vertical-tasting-hall-wine.html  

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/hall-napa-valley-rutherford-estate.html

 
@HALLWines
 
Also see...

More to follow ... 




Friday, November 28, 2014

Thanksgiving Dinner with Varied Eclectic Wine Course


Thanksgiving Dinner with Varied Eclectic Wine Course

Thanksgiving is a national holiday that centers on a special celebration dinner feast of classic American cuisine. The traditional menu is uniquely American and is a particular combination of offerings that seldom occurs at any other time - turkey, dressing, cranberry salad, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie...  Even the main course of turkey is rarely featured at any other time during the year. The dinner is based on the original Pilgrim harvest dinner which did not include wine as part of their menu, hence wine selection is based on the modern day food and wine pairing. It is no surprise that the wine tasting selections to accompany the once a year Thanksgiving meal always offers an adventurous wine selection challenge.

The characteristics of turkey and stuffing lends themselves to more neutral, low acidity, non-tannic, clean and crisp fruit filled flavorful wines. Suggested offerings tend towards white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc,  Semillon or a more outgoing forward varietal such as a Riesling or a spicy Gewurztraminer. For red wine lovers, fruit filled moderate bodied earthy spicy reds go well with the dark turkey meat, sweet potatoes and stuffing, robust fruit centered wines, lighter and more moderate to accompany the more delicate neutral white meat.

Finally, there is always a place for Champagne, especially on festive holidays, and most suitably with the white meats, hor d'ovres, appetizers and cheeses.

We started the wine course with the cheese course pairing  .. a sweet 'sticky' accompaniment to compliment the course of artisan cheeses - smoked Gouda, Bellavitano, berry infused goat cheese, and Regianno, with a selection of olives, peppers and pickles.

Tim Smith Barossa Botrytis Sémillon 2005

The Sémillon is a full bodied, heavy, low acidity grape that when held on the vine to full ripeness results in high sugar sweetness for thick syrupy almost oily textured dessert wines that have long aging potential. They are great for sipping with cheese, chocolates, salads or hearty cake desserts. Along with Sauvignon blanc and Muscadelle, Sémillon is one of only three approved white wine varieties in the Bordeaux region that is also popular in Australia. The grape is also key to the production of sweet wines such as Sauternes or in this case, Barossa Valley botrytis semillon.

Great accompaniment to the cheese course - apricot colored, full bodied, thick unctuous syrupy sweet nectar of ripe apricot papaya lychee fruit, accented by almond nut with a layer of smoke on the finish.

RM 89

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=871713

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

Part of our holiday tradition is to serve authentic Champagne as part of the celebration of Thanksgiving for all the blessings that we recognize and for which we give thanks on this day. Of course authentic refers to the fact that only wine produced in the méthode champenoise sourced from grapes from the French Champagne region in northwest France is legally and appropriately labeled Champagne. Like last year, this 1st Cru Champagne is part of a case we acquired several years ago. Sourced from anywhere else, bubbly is simply 'sparkling wine'.  We visited Champagne during our Champagne Wine Experience 2006.

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

Chateau Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2003 

Ryan brought this classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape (CDP) for our celebration dinner. CDP is the wine growing appellation in the southern Rhone River valley in the area between the towns or Orange and Avignon in southeast France, up river, north of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. The CDP appellation rules that control the wines allow for up to thirteen different grape varietals in the blend which typically feature Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mouvedre and are full, complex, gamy, earthy and spicy. We've collected Chateau Beaucastel going all the way back the 1978 vintage. Our visit to Château Beaucastel was one the highlights of our visit to the southern Rhone River wine region including Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1998. 

The wine evolved over the course of the afternoon and only after an hour or so did it start to open and reveal its native character and style. Dark brownish garnet colored, medium bodied, complex dark berry and spicy black cherry fruits were muted initially but opened up after an hour, accented by pain grillé (toast), smoke, leather, with hints of creosote and licorice on a moderate tannin lingering finish. 

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27759


Deep Sea Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2009

Translucent bright ruby color, light medium body, dusty rose with dark cherry fruit accented by brown spices, hints of black tea and tobacco leaf on a nicely balanced modest tannin finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1394338






Chateau Tanunda Grand Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Dark ruby colored, medium to full bodied, bright forward blackberry and blackcurrant fruits with spice, hints of vanilla and oak on a long with fine-grained tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1063509

http://www.chateautanunda.com/






Thursday, November 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Celebration Dinner - A wine-tasting adventure diverts from usual fare

Thanksgiving Celebration Dinner - A wine-tasting adventure diverts from usual fare.

 Thanksgiving feast is a special celebration dinner that happens once each year on the last Thursday in November.  The traditional menu is uniquely American and is a particular combination of offerings that seldom occurs at any other time. Even the main course of turkey is rarely featured at any other time during the year. Hence, its no surprise that the wine tasting selections to accompany the Thanksgiving meal always offer an adventurous challenge since it is a once a year feature-set.

The characteristics of turkey and stuffing lends themselves to a more neutral, acidic, non-tannic, clean and crisp fruit filled flavorful wine. Suggested offerings tend towards white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc Semillon or a more outgoing forward varietal such as a Riesling or a spicy Gewurztraminer. For red wine lovers, fruit filled moderate bodied reds go well with the dark turkey meat, sweet potatoes and stuffing.

Of course Rose wines fit this offering well but they're wide diversions from our normal drinking selections and are conspicuously absent from our cellars so only through a direct purchase or gifting will they find their way to our table.

Ryan and Michelle brought this proscuitto and cheese plate (shown left) - Bellavitano, goat cheese, cranberry sharp cheddar with red pear.  

Finally, there is always a place for Champagne, especially on festive holidays, and most suitably with the white meats, hor d'ovres, appetizers and cheeses.

We pulled a somewhat eclectic flight from the cellar, highlighted by some special wines brought by Bill C and Ryan ....

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 La Sirena Napa Valley Moscato Azul Dry Musat Canelli 2006 

From the legendary winemaker Heidi Barrett's own label, she makes six wines including this one. Whimsically packaged in a blue bottle with a blue synthetic cork, this is an interesting wine that takes a while to characterize as its evolves on the pallet.

Light straw colored, medium light bodied, dry with a medley of fruit flavors, opens with a a bit of pink grapefruit that gives way to tropical fruits, lychee with hints of papaya and green apple on the finish. 

RM 89 Points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=352456

http://www.lasirenawine.com/

 

Château Haut-Bergey Blanc Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux 2005 

Dark straw colored, medium bodied, aromas and somewhat subdued flavors of wet stone, nut, melon and grapefruit - opened up a bit more with moderate peach flavors with citrus and lemon on with a crisp finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=217536

 

 

 

 

 

Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru Burgundy 2010

Bill also brought this from his cellar. This was a great complement to the Thanksgiving dinner features.

Light butter color, medium-light bodied, crisp and clean, complex tones of  citrus, pear, nut and hints of smoke with a complex lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1271179

 http://www.bonneaudumartray.com/

 

 

 

Domain Saint Damien Gigondas 2007

Bill brought this from his cellar. His tasting notes from Cellartracker. We visited Gigondas during our Rhone Valley wine experience. Sitting up in the foothills overlooking the fabled Chateauneuf-du-Pape region, Gigondas produces expressive full flavored wines that provide some of the best QPR (Quality to Price ratio) values in French wines.

Thanksgiving dinner with all the spicy dishes presents a challenge to find an appropriate accompanying wine that will not be overwhelmed by all the strong flavors. The Domaine St.-Damien nicely fit the bill. Medium red and crystal clear in the glass. Limited nose with a hint of pepper and ginger foretells what to expect. Pepper and spice on the palate, big mouth feel and a lingering finish.

WCC 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=941140

http://www.domainesaintdamien.com/en/domaine/domaine.html

 Lewis Cellars Ethan's Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah Wine 2009

Ryan brought this Syrah from Lewis cellars, producer's of one of our favorite Cabernets. It went well with the pre-dinner proscuitto and cheese plate (shown above), and even better with the chocolates after dinner. We loved it and promptly arranged to obtain some for the cellar.

Dark inky purple color, full bodied, concentrated supple tongue coating fruit filled ripe black raspberry, boysenberry and plum with tones of vanilla, spice and sweet oak with hints of licorice before yielding to a layer of mineral on the lingering smooth tannin finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1190459

http://www.lewiscellars.com/

Selection of pie and cake desserts



Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas wine dinner feast

Christmas wine dinner feast and associated wine flight - a family affair

For a festive Christmas holiday family dinner we opened some festive and some classic wines to accompany a grand surf and turf menu. The main course featured broiled lobster tails and beef tenderloin steak Diane with mashed potatoes and green beans. Pre-dinner included a selection of artisan cheeses and fruits, and dessert was a velvet chocolate cake and holiday sweets.

Shots of our holiday dinner preparation ... 

Michelle preparing cheeses
Alec preparing mushroom sauce




Ryan preparing brandy sauce for
steak Diane

Ryan & L with steak Diane
L preparing lobster tails

The selection of artisan cheeses included my favorite Belavitano Merlot, Danish Blue and Mango Fire Cheddar. 
Chocolate velvet cake

Selection of white wines shown left. The wines listed below in order of tasting, the whites were tasted with the salad course, pre-dinner cheese selection and then lobster. 



Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru N.V. 

Looking back when updating my wine tasting journal index of tasting notes, I realize we last tasted this wine last year with our Christmas dinner. Watch for more as we still have most of this case purchase remaining.

Light gold color - Bright vibrant expressive, smooth silky polished nice drinking - touch of sweetness,crisp acidity, tangy lengthy finish.

RM  90 points. 

http://cellartracker.com/w?389638


Domaine de Roally Mâconnais Viré-Clessé 'Tradition' Grand Vin White Burgundy 2007

Domaine De Roally Vire Clesse Grand Vin de Borgnogne 2007
This is an example for folks who find Burgundy wines confusing or mystifying - a reasonably priced white that provides good QPR - quality to  price ratio. Wine geeks know one reason Burgundy is hard to decipher partly because it is so fragmented with many small producers and labels - some representing but a few hecatres (acres) of vines. Note that White Burgundy represents Chardonnay varietal wines in the old world custom of naming the wine after the geography rather than the grape as we do here in the new world. (And of course, red Burgundy is notably Pinot Noir).

Straw colored, medium bodied, floral notes with hints of citrus and buttery tones and hint of stone, clean and crisp with a smooth pleasant lingering finish. Very nice complement to the broiled lobster.


RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=686097






The Reds; 

Nova Wines Marilyn Merlot Napa Valley 2006

A gimmicky but fun wine that has become somewhat of a cult collectors label with outrageous high prices sought for aged bottles. Each vintage features a classic image of the starlet. The 2006 label photo shows Marilyn in a alluring low-cut dress, taken in 1958, believed to be the one she wore at the debut announcement of "Some Like It Hot".

Fruit for the producer is sourced from longtime contract growers' vineyards from Yountville to St. Helena in central Napa Valley. This vintage release is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.



We first tried the 2006 Marilyn Merlot Napa when we did a vertical tasting of the 06, 07 and 08 vintages. The 06 was the concensus favorite of that tasting.

Today it was medium bodied, dark ruby color, pleasant easy drinking black berry fruits with tones of spicy oak on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 88 points.







Hollywood & Vine Cellars "2480" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Hollywood & Vine Cellars are the creation of two guys from the entertainment industry that joined forces  to make hand crafted, ultra-premium Napa Valley wines. Actor turned director and screenwriter, Doug Barr, relocated to the Napa Valley from Hollywood in the early 1990’s. With Doug's longtime pal, Bruce Orosz, together, they created Hollywood &Vine Cellars releasing their first vintage in 1998. The “2480” refers to the address of the property they purchased for their wine venture from the estate of Maynard Amerine, a pioneer in the California wine industry. An author and professor at UC Davis, he taught many of the noteable names in the American wine business and impacted the art of winemaking world wide.The numbers on the bottle pay homage to Maynard Amerine for his contributions to the art and science of fine winemaking and for his inspirational role in the creation of Hollywood & Vine.

We first tasted the initial releases of Hollywood & Vine from the Cantina while dining out int the courtyard at Tra Vigne in St Helena during our Napa Wine Experiences in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and our Napa Wine Experience 2003.

We decanted this an hour before serving - it was full bodied, dark garnet color, flavorful forward complex black currant and raspberry fruits softened and mellowed to give way to sweet vanilla, hints of clove, milk chocolate and sweet oaks with a smooth lingering tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=46182

http://www.hollywoodandvinewine.com/ 

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

AJ, R & L with producer Randy Dunn
We're long-time huge fans of the artistry of Howell Mountain winemaker Randy Dunn. Our index of tasting notes for Dunn Vineyards cabernets doesn't reflect the fact that we have a vertical collection of Randy Dunn's wines going back to the 1980 vintage.We have many great memories of introducing friends and family to Dunn Howell Mtn cabs at special occasions and special events over the years - many before we started our on-line wine journal back around 1998.

The fact that these are known for being long lived wines, we have kept many since we have vintage selections for the kid's birth years as well as a selection of large format bottles. This collection of our kid's birth year wines and large bottles was the highlight of the feature of our cellar in the Collecting section of Wine Spectator back in June of 2001. So it was not surprising, #1 son Ryan wanted to pull out a Dunn when trolling the cellar selecting wines for our festive Christmas dinner.

Selection of Dunn cab vertical from our cellar
dating back to 1980
We first discovered Dunn Cabernets during our Napa visits going back to the eighties. We last met legendary Randy and his daughter Kristina during our winery and cellar tour/visit during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in  2008.

The Dunn visit was a highlight of our Howell Mountain trip where we focused on but one appellation as is our practice. Its true after many trips, we've learned less is more and we focus on one AVA per trip. We start at the top of the mountain and work our way down the hill when visiting the Mountain appellations. Visit our wine country travel pages on www.unwindwine.com to see our chronicles of Mt Veeder, Howell Mtn, Diamond Mtn, Spring Mountain District, and Atlas Peak Napa Valley appellations.

I keep thinking we'll drink them as part of a vertical tastings or for a special birthday, anniversary or other family celebrations. It was fitting that Ryan pulled a 2000 Napa to enjoy with our Christmas family dinner, and to see how this particular vintage release was aging since it is not know for its longevity.

We decanted the 2000 Napa Dunn an hour ahead of serving. It showed medium body, dark inky color, floral violets and aromas and flavors of subtle earthy wet grass or green pepper that was more approachable than it sounds, with accents of eucalyptus and spearmint masking the black currant and black berry fruits with a firm tight tannin finish.

We pledged to drink another bottle in ten years when we're together for another holiday dinner to compare with the memories of this tasting experience.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=11325

www.dunnvineyards.com/

Long story - never mind