Spectacular Wine Flight highlights Etta Restaurant Dinner

Spectacular Wine Flight highlights Etta Restaurant Dinner

Our hosts Mike and son Matt

Friend Mike D flew in from NYC to host a special wine dinner and brought a spectacular wine flight for the occasion. He generously featured a few of his favorites as well as some extraordinary premier labels representing the best of the best of their varietal or appellations and vintages.

This dinner follows an earlier gathering of this group when colleague Matt hosted a dinner with Chef Zubair Mohajir who prepared a Wazwan Supper Club dinner.

Tonight's dinner was held at Etta neighborhood restaurant in trendy Bucktown Wicker Park on the near northwest side of Chicago, one of the hottest new venues in the City.

Etta is the latest sensation of Danny Grant who earned two Michelin stars for RIA Restaurant and who also overseas popular Maple & Ash steakhouse on Chicago's Gold Coast.

“For the Table”

Etta is rustic, bright and lively with large windows and an open patio deck upstairs. The main ground floor dining room is centered around a wood-fired hearth serving wood-fired pizzas, six different house-made pastas, and salads all featuring farm fresh ingredients from locavores across the region, served in their “For the Table” family style.

For the dinner, Mike selected a special menu to accompany and complement the spectacular wine flight featuring a selection of the finest labels from some of the best vintages from a range of old world and new world regions, that he brought from his cellar for the occasion.

The Etta staff provided superb attentive, professional wine service of the BYOB wine
flight.

Mike D's wine flight for the occasion

 The menu and wine pairing selections:

First Course  

Marinated hamachi crudo with sesame, citron-chile vinaigrette and cilantro

Bubbling shrimp with ginger, chiltepin chile, smoked tomato and mint

Bubbling Shrimp

Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill Champagne 2006

 

 

Second Course

Etta chopped with hearth smoked salmon, oak leaf, green goddess,
stracciatella, everything bagel spice, avocado, grains & seeds

Jean-Louis Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 2015  

Third Course

Spicy meatballs with "Sunday sauce", pecorino on a bed of hearth bread

Rigatoni with lamb ragout, olives, calabrian chili and pecorino

Bucatini cacio e pepe

Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso del Bepi
Veneto IGT Corvina Blend 2002

Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse)
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 2004

Fourth Course 

Hearth glazed lamb, fall spices, pickled turnips, mustard greens, yogurt

Grilled dry-aged ribeye, roasted caulilini, confit garlic, chimichurri, jus

Château Mouton Rothschild
Pauillac Bordeaux 2000

Bryant Family Vineyards
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

 Penfolds Grange (Hermitage)
Shiraz/Syrah Blend 2005 

Glazed Lamb and Big Reds flight

Dessert Course

Aya's chocolate sabayon tart with vanilla bean ice cream

Château d'Yquem
Sauterne Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1990 

Tom R and buddy, Owner/proprietor
checking out special menu and wine flight

The Etta proprietor/owner checked in on us and our special menu selection and joined us for a taste of some of our premier labels.

The flight shown below featured a selection of the finest labels from some of the best vintages from a range of old world and new world regions.

Rick Wine Note and Comments:

Pol Roger "Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill" Brut Champagne 2006 

This is a classic special labeling, made only in the very best vintages, from this legendary Champagne house. This label is a blend that is predominantly Pinot Noir, as preferred by the label namesake, Sir Winston Churchill, the exact blend is a closely guarded family secret.

This vintage release got 98 points from Wine Enthusiast, 95 points from Wine Spectator's James Suckling and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 

Readers of these pages know, while I love Champagne, I do not represent to have a discriminating palette for such, hence I defer to the pundits on such tastings. Robert Parker wrote about this label, "Very clear, precise, ripe and complex bouquet with fruity and refreshingly chalky, nutty and brioche notes. Full-bodied and complex on the palate, the 2006 is supple, round and rich but also fine, elegant, fresh and well structured. It has a harmonious yet tight, persistent and very promising finish that puts this silky textured,  with rich and expressive flavors of peach tart, raspberry sorbet, candied ginger and orange peel, and sleek acidity that leaves a mouthwatering impression on the satiny finish."
 
92 points from Wine & Spirit - "A classical style of grande marque Champagne, Pol Roger’s tête de cuvée has seamless elegance and clarity of fresh citrus flavor. Rather than minerality and ripe fruit, it’s more about airy fragrance and spicy lemon zest, firm and cool."


Jean-Louis Chavy Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Perrières 2015  

Giuseppe Quintarelli Rosso del Bepi Veneto IGT Corvina Blend 2002 

Rosso del Bepi is named after Valpolicella founding father Giuseppe Quintarelli. The 2002 Rosso del Bepi was a declassified release of their legendary Amarone yet showed the Quintarelli signatures, according to Vinous Anthony Gallous.

This was imported by the legendary Kermit Lynch who brought Loire Valley and many other French wines to America. This is the first non-French label I've seen from them.

Dark garnet color, medium full bodied, more approachable than a fully classified vintage Amarone, never-the-less big, bold, deep and complex yet nicely integrated and balanced black cherry fuits with notes of prune, earth, spice, tobacco leaf, hints of cigar box and vanilla.

RM 90 points.

Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Sangiovese 2004

 

Mike cited this as his absolute favorite or one of this favorite wines. Anthony Gallon of Vinous gave this 97 points and wrote in his review of this wine, "Soldera’s 2004 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is just as beautiful as it has always been. Super-refined and finessed, the 2004 is one of the most aristocratic, nuanced wines Soldera has made over the last four decades. I imagine the 2004 will reward readers with several decades of exceptional drinking. It is of course quite young today, but all the elements are so balanced, the wine is pretty much impossible to resist." (AG) 1/2015.

I love Sangiovese, especially with zesty Italian pasta dishes with cheese and bolognese sauces. Unfortunately, this was served with the Spicy meatballs with "Sunday sauce" that was very bold and aggressive and overpowered my pallet and this wine. Thankfully, I begged off finishing the course to save my discernment for the rest of the wine flight. I may tolerate big over the top bold assertive wines, but I'm a wimp when it comes of pepper spices.

Cellartracker consensus score for this wine is 95.2 - high praise, indeed.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=939979

Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac Bordeaux 2000 

A classic First Growth Bordeaux from a classic vintage. Mouton Rothschild of course are known for their artist labels, each vintage release adorning a customized label featuring art from a renowned artist - even the empty bottles are collectors items!  I have a Mouton  Rothschild Artist Series Label Library page devoted to the subject. The 2000 vintage release replaced the painted label with an enamelled illustration of the gold-encrusted Augsburg Ram from the Chateau’s own Museum of Wine in Art. 

This release was awarded 97 points by Wine Enthusiast, 96 points by  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points by Vinous and Wine & Spirits, 94 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, 93 points James Suckling and Wine Spectator.


Dark blackish ruby garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex but balanced and polished with black fruits accented by smoky cedar, violet, kirsch, coffee and notes of mocha, floral, spice and oak with elegant silky tannins on the lingering finish. 
 .
This is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot and while balanced, polished and elegant has firm full tannins that should provide graceful aging for fifty years. 

RM 94 points.

Bryant Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 

Another classic label, from Napa Valley, Bryant Family Vineyards from Pritchard Hill, in the neighborhood of exclusive legendary cult-producers Harlan, Screaming Eagle and Colgin, and more earthly yet respectable premium labels David Arthur and Del Dotto's newest ultra-premium brand and label from their new property Villa Del Lago.

This 2009 Bryant Family release got 97-98 points from Wine Spectator's James Suckling, 97 points from Vinous, and
96 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast and Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and 95 points from Wine Spectator. (I share these metrics because many of us find our preferences align with certain reviews and it provides a good basis of comparison). 

Robert Parker cited this is a candidate for 'wine of the vintage'. Wine Spectator cited it a "Cellar Selection" as a notable Collectable.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich concentrated and powerful yet elegant and polished with nicely balanced and integrated bright vibrant blackberry, plum and black currant fruits with tones of spice, oak, mocha, expresso and hints of cassis and cedar turning to a firm but silky smooth long lingering finish. 

RM 96 points.  

For all the pomp and fist pumping through the flight, while some of the other wines were more complex, or richer or more concentrated fruit, this had the best balance of complexity and pure enjoyment of bold vibrant flavors, my favorite of the evening! Not surprising perhaps that California Napa Cabernets represent the largest holding in our cellar.

Penfolds Grange (Hermitage) Shiraz/Syrah Blend 2005  

It is always a treat and special pleasure to taste Penfolds Grange. In the photo above of flight of the Big Reds above, this one is on the right, based on tasting order of lightest to heaviest, most concentrated wines. I suggested that tasting order and it proved to be correct, being the biggest and most concentrated, complex of the Big Red portion of the tasting flight. This is a style we love and hold much of in our cellar. Its a bit over the top for some, but a style we favor.

Penfolds Grange is the 'First Growth' wine of Australia if there was such as designation. Penfolds Grange has been Australia's classic premium label going back to the 1950s, it is highly sought after by collectors. It has been listed as a "Heritage Icon of South Australia."

 One of my prized holdings in my wine cellar is a OWC (Original Wood Case) of this label from the 1990 vintage, designated Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator, and birthyear of son Alec. I still remember picking that case up at Berry Brothers & Rudd wineshop in London and carrying it back on the plane! So it was back in the day!

Another fond memory of this wine was tasting it with Penfolds Grange Global Ambassador, DLynn Proctor. What fun to meet DLynn in person having enjoyed watching his pursuit of his Master Sommelier Certification in the entertaining documentary movie SOMM which is a feature on Netflix. What irony that I read recently that DLynn is now Wine Director for Fantesca Winery in Napa, one of our favorite collectables.

Folks that have followed this wine over the decades still refer to it as "Hermitage", a moniker if carried from the early years till it was dropped in the early nineties.

This release was awarded 97 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator, and 96 points by James Halliday.  

This vintage release is a blend of 4% Cabernet Sauvignon highlighting the Syrah, aka Shiraz fruit, 85% of which is from the Barossa region of South Central Australia with the remaining proportions coming from McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.

Dark inky garnet colored, rich concentrated, full bodied, Wine Spectator describes the nose as "a bit animal with some smoked game, mincemeat and bacon notes'. The fruit is ripe blackberry and black currant with a hint of blueberry with notes of tar, coffee, earth, black truffles, anise and hints of pepper and spice on the long finish of fine grain nicelly integrated tannins and crisp acidity.

RM 95 points.

Château d'Yquem Sauterne Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1990  

This Classic First Growth Bordeaux dessert wine is pure nector in a glass. From the historic 1990 'vintage of the century' that was provided no less than three Wine Spectator 'Wines of the Year' (1992,93,94).

This vintage release was awarded 99 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 pointsby Wine Advocate's Neal Martin, and 95 points by Wine Spectator and 94 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar.

Parker wrote that this "is one of the richest Yquems I have ever tasted, with 50-100 years of potential longevity. An awesome Yquem! Anticipated maturity: 2003-2050+"

Medium gold honey colored, full bodied, unctuous, concentrated and layered but superbly balanced and elegant, spice, honey and dried orange peel aromas. flavors of caramel, toffee, honey with smokey notes. extraordinary sweetness cut by harmonious acidity on the long finish that lingers for a minute or more.

RM 94 points.

Arns Syrah

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah

We discovered and tasted this wine during our visit to the picturesque Arns Estate during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013.

Arns are a small boutique producer of Estate Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their twelve acres of vineyards on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain on the eastern slope above St Helena.

Proprietor and viticulturist John Arns and his winemaker partner Sandi Belcher produce this limited production single vineyard designated Syrah from fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill.

Rick, Linda and John Arns

This vintage year they produced 200 cases of this label. It represents the style and profile that we favor in a Syrah. We pulled this bottle to enjoy with artisan cheeses and fruit for enjoyable casual sipping watching a movie.

ARNS starting producing this SYRAH back in 2004. They admit, "It was a great surprise to be able to craft such a beautiful wine from Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley. We have enjoyed many spicy vintages from this time forward."



Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2013

This 2013 ARNS SYRAH was aged four years in two year old French Oak barrels.

Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, concentrated flavors of gooseberries, plum and what Arns refer to as 'wild black cherries' are accented by notes of spice, black pepper, and what Arns refers to as 'beef and violets'.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

https://arnswinery.com/






https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

Napa Wine Experience 2013 - Arns Estate (Blog post at http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/)

Montagna Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Montagna Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

As I wrote a while back when we first discovered this label, "We've seen the Montagna Napa Valley label but didn't connect it to the property we passed on Long Ranch Road on our way up to David Arthur vineyards at 1100 feet high atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range overlooking Napa Valley from the east. Interesting that Montagna is the project of Bob Long, one of the founders of David Arthur with his brother David.

Pritchard Hill Vineyards at David Arthur
high atop Long Ranch Road

It is said that these vineyards are part of the nine hundred acre parcel purchased by their parents back in the mid-sixties and seventies. We were already big fans of Pritchard Hill Cabernet and our visit to David Arthur was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2013. We visited Chappellet Vineyards during our Napa Wine Experience in 2009.

According to published reports, in May 2015, the 80-acre Montagna property on Pritchard Hill owned by Bob Long, with 32 acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, was put up for sale for an asking price of $55 million. Included in and contributing to that astronomical price is the fact the property also included more than 20,000 feet of caves, a 50,000-gallon winery permit, a hospitality area and a potential home site. The fact that the vineyard was already planted and the property already has a winery permit are also huge factors in valuing the property given the anti-development sentiments in Napa Valley that challenge any potential development.

Pritchard Hill is becoming one of the most exclusive sub-areas in Napa Valley. It is planted with about 350 acres of vines and is home to some of Napa's most extraordinary premium and super premium labels - Bryant Family, Chappellet, Colgin, Continuum, David Arthur and Ovid.

Montagna proprietor Bob Long and his family have been involved in the development of Pritchard Hill properties since the 1960’s. It is among the best terroir in Napa to not have a sub appellation designation.

Montagna is so named as it means 'mountain' in Italian. Fourteen acres of the Estate are planted in Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. An adjoining 18 acres are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon on the site of original vineyard of David Arthur’s flagship premium label “Elevation”, named for its Elevation at 1147 feet above sea level.

I got this wine from fellow Pour Boy wine buddy Dr Dan who acquired a case. He introduced me to this wine when he brought a bottle BYOB to our dinner at Folklore Argentine Grill steak house in Wicker Park in Chicago before a Hawks game.

This evening's tasting was consistent with earlier tasting notes when I wrote, "This was dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, earth and leather predominate almost like a left bank Bordeaux, giving way to black cherry, black currant and black berry fruits accented by spice, cigar box and hints of cedar with firm lingering tannins".

I held half the bottle and opened it the next evening and found even more pronounced fruits had taken over and the earth and leather were more subdued.

Selecting this as a Ricks Pick in an earlier tasting, I wrote: "This was simply terrific - big and bold with great depth, complexity, richness and concentration. Very much in the style of a traditional Napa cabernet with ripe, rich cassis and other dark fruits, a big, firm structure, full-body, velvety, smooth texture and a long finish. Adds aromas of tobacco and leather, and the fruits turn even darker after about an hour. This is an "in-your-face" style that somehow reminds me of many of the big Napa cabernets of the mid-to late 80's and 90's."

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1641170

Del Dotto Sangiovese for Family Lasagna Dinner

Del Dotto Sangiovese for Family Lasagna Dinner

With the family gathered for the Holiday weekend, Linda prepared baked Lasagna for a gala dinner and I pulled from the cellar two Italian varietal Sangiovese based wines - Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese and David Arthur Merritaggio. The comparison illustrated contrasting styles and profiles of two wines based on the same core.

Del Dotto is a family favorite paying tribute to the close knit family there, and our family having 'grown up' with the brand over the years, and many of us having visited Del Dotto during our many visits to Napa Valley.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1998 - 2016

I have written often in these pages about Del Dotto pioneering Sangiovese in Napa Valley back in the late nineties under the collaboration with legendary winemaker Nils Venge. Del Dotto continues their lineage of Sangiovese wines with this offering under the Piazza label, the recent addition to the growing list of Del Dotto brands.

We discovered the Piazza brand during our Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Tasting during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017. We then targeted the just opened Piazza Winery Delicacies Wine and Food Tasting Experience during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2018. It was the highlight of our entire Napa trip. We tasted and acquired this 2015 release during our Cave Tour tasting.

For the record and for reference for anyone tracking such details, the Cellartracker dossier, our inventory management system and normally reliable reference guide, is confused and misguided on this wine. It contains two references to this wine, both partially right and wrong. It lists the wine twice, Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese and Del Dotto Sangiovese Piazza. For the first, it lists vintages 1999, 2003 (wrong) and 2013, '15 and 2016 (correct). For the latter it correctly lists 2013, '14, '15 and 2016, and errantly lists 1998 and 2003.

Del Dotto offered Napa Valley Sangiovese under the historic flagship 'David' label (shown right) from 1998 through 2003 and also appeared as Rutherford Estate Sangiovese 2013. (The 1998 label is shown here. The 1999 label calls it St Helena Sangiovese. We tasted and acquired these wine during our Del Dotto Napa Estate visit and Del Dotto Wine Producer Dinner back in 1999, and again at our Napa Wine Experience in 2003.

Del Dotto then offered Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Blend Sangiovese under the Cave Blend brand from 2004 through 2016. I believe Cellartracker references to this label from 2001 are in error and should refer to the 'David' branding. There is no photo evidence of this (Cave Blend 2001) label in the Cellartracker library or in internet searches.

The Piazza brand appeared with the 2013 release and continues to this day.

Del Dotto Vineyards was established in 1990 when David and Yolanda Del Dotto planted vineyards on 17 acres in Rutherford at the homestead Estate on the corner of Highway 29 and Zinfandel Lane in Napa Valley. It truly is a family affair with David's father John being involved in the early days, and daughter Desiree and son Giovanni being involved in the business and having their own labels as well. I had the pleasure of meeting John back in the late nineties and working with Desiree as she took on marketing duties during that era.

Rick and Linda with David Del Dotto circa 2003

The Del Dotto first release vintage was 1993. Since then the estate has grown significantly to 437 acres of vineyards producing 8,000-12,000 cases annually. Around 2010, the Del Dotto brand expanded further with the release of Villa Del Lago, an ultra-premium label from Pritchard Hill.

Indeed, Del Dotto is one of the largest holdings in our cellar dating back to the inaugural vintage release back in 1993. Our association with Del Dotto dates back to our Napa Wine Experiences and wine producer and winemaker dinners back in the mid-nineties.




Del Dotto Piazza Napa Valley Sangiovese 2015

This was delicious and everyone loved it making me wish I had more than the single case we acquired last year. I'll be looking for more.

We tasted and acquired this wine during our Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Tasting last year. Our first recorded tasting note was just three months ago when we took it took it BYOB to our favorite neighborhood Italian Trattoria, Angelis Italian. Tonight's tasting experience was consistent with my notes from that evening (caution about the color and slight opaqueness aside, which was not present tonight.)

My notes from previous tasting three months ago. "This was dark garnet colored ((with a slight grayish hue that signaled caution but the wine was fine, we'll monitor the next bottle (s) with interest to see if this is an early warning of trouble ahead) (as noted, this was not present tonight)); medium full bodied, this was delicious with sweet ripe raspberry fruits accented by notes of vanilla and almond with supple smooth silky tannins on the lingering finish.


RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2579868

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/08/del-dotto-piazza-sangiovese-at-angelis.html

We also opened this second wine, a Sangiovese based blend.

David Arthur Napa Valley Meritaggio 2003

David Arthur is typically known for premium Estate Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards on Pritchard Hill overlooking southeast Napa Valley. We visited the winery during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2013.

This is a serious wine with fun name - Meritaggio is a play on the word Meritage - a US trademarked moniker for a Bordeaux Blend - a red blend of Bordeaux varietals. This is a rendition of a Sangiovese based Bordeaux style blend, with fruit sourced from Napa Valley. As such, this was more complex than the single varietal Sangiovese, and more akin to the traditional Italian Sangiovese based wines - more earthy - leathery and a touch of cedar. This exceeded expectations with vibrant bright flavored dark and red berry fruits with layers of complementary flavors. Complex and sophisticated but easy drinking wine.

Dark garnet color - full bodied - bright, vibrant, rich, mouthful of black raspberry, currant, ripe plum, layer of anise and hint of spice, smoke, cedar and leather with nicely integrated fine tannins.

RM 93 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=85665

Cloud View Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Cloud View Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Following our Hemingway's Bistro dinner Saturday which featured seafood entrees wherein we bought white wines BTG - by-the-glass, we corked this bottle and brought it home to taste another day. Tonight we reopened the bottle to enjoy with grilled strip steak and baked potatoes.

This wine was produced by Linda and Leighton Taylor with fruit sourced from their Cloud View estate on Pritchard Hill (also home to Bryant Family Vineyards) that sits overlooking south eastern Napa Valley from its perch high above the Silverado Trail. Five hundred and fifty cases were produced of this limited release boutique offering. We visited the neighboring David Arthur Vineyards during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2013. 

Winemaker Karen Turjanis crafted this proprietary red blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot and aged it for 22 months in new French oak.

We hold a half dozen vintages of this label from 2000 to 2006. The 2006 was the last vintage bottled by Cloud View from its Pritchard Hill vineyard, as the property was purchased by Tim Mondavi, who proceeded to start building the winery for his ultra-premium Continuum project there.

This was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, with firm concentrated structured core of brambley earthy black currant and black berry fruits with a layer of sweet caramel and dark mocha accented by tones of cassis, sweet spicy tangy oak and silky tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=417380

Hemingway's Oak Park BYOB BTG Dinner

Hemingway's Oak Park BYOB BTG Dinner

Culminating an event filled week with Valentine's Day, Linda's birthday and starting a new job, we celebrated with Saturday evening dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park, located in the Write Inn, a euro boutique hotel. Fittingly, Hemingway's was still decorated for Valentine's Day.

As I've written in these pages, I conduct tours as a docent interpreter at the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, so this is a convenient dining spot following my tours.

Tonight's special was Alaskan Halibut with a mango pepper relish, rice and asparagus (shown left) which we both opted for as our entrees.

We both started with one of our favorite dishes, and draws to Hemingways - I had the Foie Gras du jour and Linda has the Tuna Tartar with avocado, cucumber and spicy aioli. The Foie Gras alone was worth the trip, absolutely delicious served with puree' of parsnip and peaches.


For the occasion, I brought BYOB from our home cellar a California Cabernet Bordeaux blend from Cloud View Napa Valley Pritchard Hill. In the end it was great with the Foie Gras but too much for the Halibut entrees and we opted for BTG (by-the-glass) selections from the wine list, a Lake Sonoma Russian River Valley Sonoma Chardonnay, and a Lemelson Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.

Hemingway's offers an authentic Provencal or Parisan dining experience in all respects. As always, everything was spectacular for an intimate, dining experience - food, services, atmosphere and ambiance.

Lemelson Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Gris 2015

Bright golden butter colored, light-medium bodied, tangy crisp acidic backbone, bright pear, peach, hints of apple and melon with notes of mineral and citrus. An ideal complement to the tuna tartar and the Alaskan Hailbut.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2369756

Lake Sonoma Winery Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2015

According to the producer, the Russian River Valley is ideal for Chardonnay due to its cool climate, from the regular infiltration of Pacific Coast fog that ebbs and flows through the Petaluma Wind Gap and up the Russian River, making the Russian River Valley one of the world’s most celebrated Chardonnay growing regions. This natural air-conditioning allows Chardonnay grapes to develop full flavor over an extended growing season while maintaining their life-giving natural acidity.  The result is a chardonnay of both character and depth.

We visited the Russian River Valley Sonoma County appellation during our wine region visit last summer.

I believe this producer sources grapes from numerous growers in the region producing a region or appellation specific, but not Estate (produced from grapes grown on the property).

This Chardonnay from Hemingway's BTG (by-the-glass) winelist was straw colored, medium bodied, with notes of citrus, hints of creme brulee, vanilla, and honey with moderate acidity and depth.

RM 88 points. 
 http://www.lakesonomawinery.com/

http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/

http://www.lemelsonvineyards.com/ 

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Pritchard Hill Syrah 2010

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Pritchard Hill Syrah 2010

Saturday quiet relaxing evening at home, we brought home carry-out barbecue beef brisket and opened this Arns Syrah for what turned out to be the perfect meal. Linda prepared baked sweet potatoes and baked beans for an ideal set of side dishes. I cannot imagine a more ideal food and wine pairing. Absolutely delicious!

We were already fans of Arns Napa Cabernet when we arranged a visit and private tasting with producer John Arns at the estate on lower Howell Mountain during our 2013 Napa Wine Experience. John's wife Sandi Belcher is the winemaker. It was during that visit that we discovered their single vineyard designated Syrah made with fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill which I write about in an earlier blogpost.

This wine is so good, I almost don't want to let out the news for fear I'll create more demand and have to compete for it in the marketplace. Supplies are limited as for this vintage of this Syrah, only 80 cases were produced. Arns is available directly from the winery, in select stores in Napa Valley, and at Bassin's MacArthur Wines in Washington DC, (as I explain in separate Arns blogposts) which is where I first discovered it. I pick some up every trip to DC.

As I write this, before I hit 'publish', I just ordered more of this from the winery to ensure I can obtain the latest release and to fill out our vertical collection with the latest release of the Cab.

We just picked up the entire lot that we acquired on Winebid and waited until Saturday evening and this special dinner to open our first bottle. Wow!

This is serious juice. The 2010 vintage was aged in one year old French oak for three years. The concentrated extracted fruit is apparent as soon as you  pour the dark inky purple juice into the glass. Full bodied, thick, concentrated black and blue fruits are accented by a pronounced layer of sweet spicy oak laced caramel that turns to black licorice on the rear pallet with smooth sinewy tannins on the lingering finish.

As noted above, this was a perfect accompaniment to the barbecue beef brisket and baked sweet potato with baked beans making for a wonderfully delicious meal.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1809227

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/11/arns-melanson-napa-syrah-08.html

http://arnswinery.com/

Arns Melanson Napa Syrah 08

Arns Melanson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 2008

For a midweek grilled steak dinner at home, following a milestone family transaction achievement, we opened a 'special' bottle for dinner. We just acquired a 1/3 dozen bottles of this wine from auction so in essence we already replaced this bottle with a newer vintage.

John Arns, Rick, Linda, Bill C

We first discovered Arns wines at Andy Bassin's McArthur Wines in WDC during my several years being based there. The presence of Arns there is due on the heritage of the winemaker Sandi Belcher Arns being from Virginia and distributing wines to her home marketplace back there. We visited John Arns at the Estate on Howell Mountain during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013. We discovered and acquired this varietal offering during that visit.

This wine is indicative of one of our favorite wine styles with its rich, concentrated, full bodied, forward fruits.  As my tasting notes from that period stated. "Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more."

This is a very limited production bottling from this boutique producer so when we saw it on-line, we snatched up the entire lot. Of course, Arns primarily specialize in Cabernet Sauvignons, which we also love from this producer, which makes this Syrah label all the more rare and cherished. For the 2012 vintage, 127 cases were produced.

While Arns Estate Vineyards are located up on lower Howell Mountain, hence the Napa Valley appellation designation*, I recall from or discussions with the producer that the fruit for this label is actually sourced from the Melanson Vineyard down south end of the Vaca Mountain range down on the slope area known as Pritchard Hill.

The Melanson Vineyard sits on Pritchard Hill on the rugged eastern ridges above the town of Rutherford overlooking the Napa Valley below with views of Lake Hennessey. The distinctive terroir of the site consists of rich Sobrante Loam soils loaded with volcanic rock at elevations averaging 1,400 feet and distinct southern and western exposures produces better than average fruit due to its exposure, clones, soils  and most of all, care.  The elevation places the vineyards above the fog line and allowing maximum sun exposure throughout the day providing even ripening.

Arns Syrah comes from a small corner of this vineyard and sits in a major rock pile.  There was soil added so a vine could be planted in something other than boulders. Syrah berries are large, about the size of a quarter and their skins are tough and can endure sometimes even the most unfavorable conditions.  John Arns notes that "with above average sunshine, (this site is above the fog line) it truly demonstrates that terroir really matters."

* Interestingly, it is at the 1200 foot elevation, the level of the fog line, that is also the line of demarcation between the Napa Valley appellation below, and the Howell Mountain appellation above, up on Howell Mountain.

My notes from 2013 - "Dark inky garnet color, full bodied, powerful but polished forward flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of cassis and mocha, hints of clove, violets, leather and olive with a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. Much like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz.'

Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more."

At going on ten years of age, this wine is still very much in its peak drinking window and only beginning to show a slight sign of diminution with hint of raisin and whisper of menthol. While it will not likely improve or benefit from further aging, it certainly has another half dozen years of life left at the apex of its profile. We love this wine and are eager to obtain our recently acquired allocation, and taste and compare it to this bottle, second to last one of our lot acquired at the Estate.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1498990

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/arns-napa-valley-estate-vineyards.html

Arns Estate Visit on Rick's WineSite ... 
http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa-2013/arns/napa-2013-arns.htm

http://arnswinery.com/

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

For a quiet mid-week movie in front of the winter fireplace, I pulled from the cellar this premium David Arthur Napa Cabernet to celebrate a family business transaction, with leftover grilled steak, artisan cheeses, fresh fruit and chocolates.

Our visit to David Arthur estate and vineyards high up on Pritchard Hill overlooking the famed Rutherford Bench of southeast Napa Valley with sis Dr Pat and Rodger (right), and wine buddy 'pour boy' Bill and Beth, was a highlight of our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2013.

We hold about a dozen vintages of David Arthur Cabernet and selected this 1999 vintage label since it was good year, and was the oldest vintage in our collection.

When opening the bottle, the perfect, high quality extra long cork should be an indication that this is a special bottle. This is not even the top of the line ultra-premium flagship David Arthur 'Elevation 1147' label, but it was delicious none-the-less.

Dark inky garnet color with hues of deep purple, medium-full bodied, concentrated and complex but silky smooth and polished, a symphony of aromas and flavors of layers of ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruits, accented by spicy oak, tones of floral lavender, and currants with hints of cassis.

RM 93 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2018788

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Long Vineyards Napa Cabernet 1999

Long Vineyards Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon1999

We pulled this from the cellar for a grilled steak dinner.

Named for Bob and Zelma Long, Long Vineyards was established in 1977 on 120 acres up on the slope of Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Range on the east side of Napa Valley looking down on the Oakville appellation. The property is just south of Lake Hennessey and north of the Stags Leap district.

The area had been planted in vines since the earliest Italian immigrants arrived in the 1880s. The vines are planted at elevations ranging from 700 to 1,200 feet above sea level. The Longs were among the first Napa Valley vintners to ferment Chardonnay in oak barrels.

The vineyards are down at the base of Long Ranch Road which leads up to David Arthur vineyards and winery at the end of the road high at the top of Pritchard Hill overlooking Napa Valley (shown below). All indications are that the winery is no longer in operation and the vineyards are being managed by others for production under new different labels.

Our visit to David Arthur was one of the highlights of our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013.

David Arthur was named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, which 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 are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura runs the office and daily operations. 

David Arthur Vineyards at the top of Long Ranch Road
on Pritchard Hill

This was better than a bottle of the same label and vintage that we had a back in 2011 when I wrote in my tasting note, "Starting to show its age as the dark garnet color has taken on a tinge of brown forming at the rim".

This bottle was holding much better and did not show signs of diminution from aging. The fruit was holding and showing nicely with the same taste profile as before. This was dark blackish garnet colored, medium-full bodied; black cherry and black currant fruit flavors give way to smoke, leather, earthy cedar and hints of cassis on the tangy finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=95144

Festive Holiday Dinner Showcases Premier Napa Reds

Festive Holiday Dinner Showcases Premier Napa Reds - Quintessa, Fantesca, Clark-Claudon, David Arthur

Three mountains and five hills of Napa Valley sourced the fruit for a flight of top Napa big reds.The greatest joy of having a wine cellar collection is to pull special bottles for a special occasion such as a festive holiday dinner. Tonight provided the opportunity to showcase a line-up of favorite Napa Reds with beef tenderloin. Linda prepared her delectable beef tenderloin and imaginative twice baked potatoes, brussel sprouts, hericot verts and fresh dinner rolls. I pulled decade plus one year old Napa big reds to highlight the meal. Showcasing our favored Napa mountain fruits profile, we tasted wines from three corners of Napa Valley.

I wrote recently about the distinctive Howell Mountain terroir. We featured Howell Mountain Clark Claudon, Fantesca Estate from the opposing Spring Mountain District, and a pair of David Arthur wines from Pritchard Hill in the southeast corner of the valley. To round out the flight, Bill brought from his cellar Quintessa from the geographic center of that triangle featuring its five hills estate, and David Arthur Elevation 1147. To accompany the flight, Bob brought a St Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux.

Visits to the estate wineries of Fantesca, David Arthur and Quintessa have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley Wine Experience excursions, and Tom and Laurie Clark-Claudon were featured producers at one of Napa wine producer dinners. Indeed, we hold close to a dozen vintages of each of these producers - certainly of Clark Claudon and David Arthur, both in about their 25th year or so of production. For Fantesca, they've just finished their first decade since their 2004 inaugural release, when Duane and Susan Hoff took over the estate.

Prior to dinner, we featured a selection of artisan cheeses and Linda prepared her baked brie with toasted nuts and berry puree, accompanied by an Austrian Riesling and Italian aperitif wine.

The 2004 dinner entree flight ....

Fantesca Estate Winery Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

As mentioned, our visits to the spectacular Spring Mountain Estate of Duane and Susan Hoff have been highlights of our Napa wine excursions in 2007 and 2009. We hosted Duane at our home on one of his first release tours when he was traveling the country building the Fantesca brand. Their classic packaging with their etched glass bottles provide a festive bottle for such a gala dinner.

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, at eleven years, the complex Spring Mountain bright forward fruit flavors of cherry, black berry and black currant are giving way to a layer of cassis, tobacco, black tea and hints of dark chocolate and dried herbs with a refined tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=355836

http://fantesca.com/ 



Clark Claudon Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

We hold more than a dozen vintages of this wine going back to their early releases in the mid-nineties.

Deep inky garnet colored, full bodied - aromas of ripe dark berry fruits, big mouth-full of forward complex but balanced, smooth, spicy black cherry and black currant and edge of red berry fruits, tones of cassis and dark mocha and turning to a predominant forward accent of sweet smooth sweet spicy oak on the smooth tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229261

http://www.clarkclaudon.com/ 





David Arthur Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Meritaggio 2004

As I have written in these pages, Meritage is the trademarked/licensed label attached to American releases of Bordeaux varietal blend wines. David Arthur uses creative license with this play on words to bring us 'Meritaggio', an Italian influenced Napa Valley blend of Bordeaux varietals accented by the Italian varietal Sangiovese - that associated with 'Super Tuscan' wines.

I thought this would provide an interesting comparison to the other Napa cabs, perhaps more approachable easier drinking early in the wine flight. Wow, what a surprise as this presented a big firm tight profile that ended up being the culmination (end) of the flight, with its firmness and complexity overpowering the rest of the wines.

As I update my records of this wine tasting depletion from our cellar, I realize we have a half dozen vintages of this label. I'll be mindful how to position this wine in future tastings.

This wine, a super Tuscan style blend anchored by Bordeaux varietal Cabernet Sauvignon (68%) with 12% Sangiovese made for an interesting diversion in the flight. The big full black berry and black raspberry fruits gave way to a layer of creosote with tones of dark mocha, black tea and leather with hints of vanilla and smoke on the firm gripping tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=199677

https://www.davidarthur.com/

Bill punctuated the tasting with these two bold flavorful premium Napa Cabs....

Quintessa Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

The name Quintessa refers to the five hills on the Rutherford estate property. Our tasting at the stylish winery estate on Silverado Trail was a highlight of our Napa Wine Experience 2003.

This was lighter than expected and ended up being our opening red wine providing the transition from the pre-dinner whites to the big reds.

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, smooth, elegant and polished with bright vibrant dark berry fruit flavors accented by huge floral bouquet, tones of violet, cola and hint of clove spice with tangy bright acidity on the smokey tannin laced finish.

RM 93 points.

Bill's notes from Cellartracker:

"Excellent transition wine from pre dinner whites to the heavier Napa cabs served with beef tenderloin. This was lather than I remembered. Still the same characteristics though. A hint of clove and spice on the nose. Bright plum, cassis and a bit of cherry on the palate with a medium finish. This needs at least 30 minutes of air to reveal the fruit and complexity. Was a but surprised that this did not have the same weight or body of the '04 Fantesca or Clark Claudon that followed."

WCC - 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=493471

David Arthur Cabernet Sauvignon Elevation 1147 2003 

Of course the name refers to the topographical elevation of the vineyard from which this single vineyard designated fruit is sourced.

This was our last tasting of the evening so I saved some for the next day to taste again. The huge bouquet and powerful big forward blue fruits accented by licorice stood out and punctuated this. This was summed up and consistent with my tasting notes from last year for this label:

"Elevation is flawless, extraordinary in its refined elegance and harmonious balance. While full bodied it has no sense of weight in its symphony of seamlessly integrated flavors, silky smooth and polished balance of floral, dark fruit and accent tones from start to finish - lavender, sweet ripe black and blue berry fruits, whispers of cinnamon, clove, exotic spices and tobacco leaf on the soft lingering finish. At eleven years of age it seemed to be at its apex as I can't imagine it getting any better. It was delightful and delicious. I sense I drank my earlier Elevations too early to allow them to come together so nicely."

RM 95 points. 

Bill's tasting note on Cellartracker - "Love the depth and complexity of this wine. Earthy Bordeaux like nose of moss and forest floor. Blackberry, cola and tobacco on the palate. Deep indigo color. Full bodied with a long lingering finish. I have the sense that this will not improve with more age. Tannins are fully integrated."
WCC - 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=85663

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 76 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, 2011

Bob brought this to contribute to the flight. I've written often herein about Ninety-Plus cellars negociant practice of obtaining surplus wine for private labeling. After pouring at the St Emilion Grand Cru producer's release event in Chicago last month, its hard to imagine a private label version of any of their wines. 

Deep inky garnet, medium bodied, rather subdued aromas and flavors of blackberries with under currant of purple/blue berry fruits accented by a layer of woody pain grille, earthy cedar with tight firm gripping tannins on the finish.
RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1994433

http://www.ninetypluscellars.com/wines/lot-76-saint-emilion-grand-cru-bordeaux/


Prior to dinner, we tasted a selection of whites with artisan cheeses, fresh fruit, holiday cookies and chocolates, and salad.




 


  
Freie Weingärtner Wachau / Domäne Wachau Riesling Federspiel Terrassen 2007

Straw colored, light-medium bodied, crisp clean, slightly tart citrus apple with stone fruit with bright acid finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=509866






Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004

Originally straw colored, this has turned to tea color, medium bodied, the apple fruits, subtle tangerine and hint of apricot and peach flavors have given way, overtaken by tones of burnt caramel, smoke and nut on a flavorful lingering finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=436980