Showing posts with label Spatlese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spatlese. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Zinfandel Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner

Zinfandel Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner - Hearty Zinfandel America's Varietal for the American Holiday

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for seventeen members of the extended family. Ryan brought a flight of white wines and I pulled a couple of hearty Zinfandels - America's Varietal for the American Holiday. I selected three zins from three classic Zinfandel producers - Lamborn, Ridge and Biale.

The whites are profiled below .. . here are the Reds ... 

In the evening, Jared G stopped by and we opened some special wines to cap off the holiday

Andy, Jan & Bill and Linda with Mike and Terry Lamborn
Lamborn Family Vineyards is a small boutique family operation focusing on distinctive terroir handcrafted Estate Cabernets and Zinfandel from their vineyards high up Howell Mountain. We visited the wonderful and hospitable Mike and Terry Lamborn (shown right) at their estate high atop Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008.

Lamborn have the legendary wine maker Heidi Barrett to craft their wines. She joined Lamborn  in 1996, while Terry and Mike, and now his sons, focus on the business and tending their 4 acre Zinfandel and 4 acre Cabernet vineyards. Lamborn is unique in being the first to have Heidi craft Zinfandel varietal wines for them.

Lamborn Family Vineyards Zinfandel The Team Connection 1997

This may be the first Zinfandel to be crafted by Heidi Barrett. We've enjoyed more than a half dozen vintages of Lamborn Zinfandels and hold as many of their spectacular Cabernets.

We found this 1997 Zin languishing in the cellar. At nineteen years of age, it was time to drink as it is reaching the end of its drinking window.

The rich dark concentrated Howell Mtn fruit has given way to non-fruit flavors as the ripe brambly black cherry and black raspberry fruits have been overtaken by black pepper, spice and tones of creosote and hints of licorice predominating.

RM 87 points.

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=25065

https://www.lamborn.com/ 

Ridge Lytton Springs 2011

Ridge are a tale of two cities, or counties ... they actually produce two dozen labels including many vineyard designated wines from no less than a dozen vineyards. They have the historic Ridge Monte Bello Estate high above Cuperino and Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where they produce the legendary Monte Bello Cabernet blend. And they have the Lytton Springs site up in Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley where they produce a range of two dozen varietal wines. But Ridge are most notably known for their range of vineyard designated select Zinfandels.

Since 1972, Ridge have produced this Lytton Springs label from vines planted back at the turn of the last century, blended with fruit from vines from the early 1990s. The vineyard is planted to zinfandel and its principal complementary varietals. This Lytton Springs Zinfandel blend continually receives high marks and accolades and is a must have for every cellar to have around for BBQ, and in this case, Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

This is actually a blend of  82% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, and 2% Carignane.

This is full bodied, dark garnet with brambly black raspberry, black cherry and currant fruits accented by tones of cassis, black olive and hints of toasted oak and graphite with gripping acidity and well coated tannins on the finish. The non-fruit flavors tend to detract from this on the finish.

RM 89 points. 

This was rated 93 and 91 by leading reviewers, who cited it may need a few more years to settle and come together. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1588534

https://www.ridgewine.com/

I pulled two vintages of the Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel to compare but with the white wine focused crowd we put them away for another day.  
 

Thanksgiving whites ....

Ryan brought this flight of assorted white wines for our Thanksgiving dinner feast, several light easy casual sipping whites in different styles, a sparkler, a dry and a sweet Riesling.

Segura Viudas Cava Brut NV

There is always room for bubbly - especially preceding a big meal. Sparkling wine is produced around the world in all major wine growing regions. Of course, only Champagne region in France produces true Champagne. Other areas simply produce sparkling wine, some in the Methode Champagnaise style and process methode, such as this one from Spain.

True Champagne is a blend of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay grape varietals. This is a blend of Spanish varietals Macabeo-Xarel-lo-Parellada.

Served from a magnum.

Light straw colored, light medium bodied, tangy crisp clean tones of grapefruit citrus and hints of lemon with green apple and toast with tangy short slightly acidic finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=1688853


Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Dry Riesling 2015

Brian brought two Rieslings, one in a sweet style and this dry one from New Zealand.

Light straw colored, light bodied, crisp clean slightly tart subdued hints of grapefruit citrus, quince and whisper of lime with chalky minerality.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2304771










Hofgut Falkenstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese feinherb

This German white wine is from the Mosel Ruer Saar river valley. German Riesling wines are selectively and specifically labeled according to their style - from dry to sweet - Kabinet, Riesling, Spatlese and Auslese. Spat is the German word for 'late', as in late picking of the grapes, hence 'spatlese' or late lying on the wines, wherein they'll pick up more residual ripeness or sweetness, hence sweeter style of wine.

We toured the Mosel Ruuer Saar River Valley during our wine country trip there back in the mid-eighties.

Straw colored, medium bodied, light grapefruit citrus highlights the thick slightly tart pear and subtle peach tones with a layer of wet stone, the acidity is a slight bit soapy that takes away from its crisp clarity.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2429972




Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Brunch Festive Dining with Fine Wines

Easter Brunch Festive Dining with Fine Wines

Easter weekend featured festive dining with family with home cooked preparations matched with fine wines. Easter eve featured Mayacamas Napa Valley Mt Veeder Merlot 2006 and Chardonnay 2009 served with lasagna and baked chicken respectively. We tasted and just received these wines from our recent Napa Valley Mt Veeder Appellation Trail Wine Experience visit to the winery. We featured these for sister Jan visiting from Cal accompanied us on the trip but left early and missed the Mayacamas visit and tasting.

 Easter brunch at home after church featured Eggs Benedict with lobster medallions, with hollandaise and asparagus spears. Also featured was a remarkable blueberry french toast bake. The wine accompaniment was Dr. Heidemanns-Bergweiler Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese 2006.




Easter evening we tasted Elan Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 with artisan cheeses and medallions of beef filet with carmelized onions. The Elan tasted remarkably like a vintage Bordeaux with huge floral scents, earthy leather, black fruits, smoke and black cherry with hints of anise and cedar. This wine originally tasted at the winery with producer Richard Elliott-Smith and his lovely wife Linda back during our 1998 Napa Wine Experience (see picture and caption below).

It was true to Richard's Bordeaux roots in flavor, character and apparent age-worthiness as this seventeen year old is not only holding well but is revealing itself more profoundly than earlier tastings. Tasted with artisan cheeses and medallions of beef filet with carmelized onions it went well with the hearty blue cheese and aged cheddar. RM 90 points





Linda & Rick, Richard & Linda, Phil W. and AJ
tasting Elan Cabernet Sauvignon at Monticello Winery in 1998.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Diverse Cabernet - Bordeaux Blend Comparison Tasting - Aging Wine

Son Alec's brief visit home from university - spur-of-the-moment (yes, my bride is amazing) celebratory dinner - serving favorite surf & turf - poses wine opportunity/challenge. Go with it and have fun... three diverse aged vintage Cabernet - Cabernet blends to compliment the beef tenderloin and Riesling Spatlese highlights the broiled lobster. 

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 - - Bought a case of this big Napa Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon following a winery visit during our 1999 Napa Wine Experience.   This is one of the joys of a wine cellar - to conduct periodic comparison tastings over the years to see how a wine ages. (More on that in another unwindwine blogpost). My last tasting notes were three years ago but are totally consistent with this time. Needed an hour to open and shed an initial slight tart cherry edge, which it did. Dark inky color - medium to full bodied. Full forward black cherry and black raspberry fruit flavors starting to show its age a bit with earth and leather emerging over the subtle currant, ripe plum, cedar and a hint of anise on a full firm finish. Earlier notes talk of a milk chocolate layer which was very subtle. I would say the aging of this bottle seemed no more-so than the previous tasting as it is holding its fruit quite well. RM 91 - WS 92. 

Chateau Calon-Ségur Grand Cru Classe St. Estephe Bordeaux 1995 - Had to pull out this Valentine wine - noted as such due to the heart on the label (below) since this turns out to double as our Valentine's dinner too. Once again we have a case of this wine and look forward to periodic tastings in the years to come. Notably reflecting the age-worthiness of this wine (compared to the Napa Cab above), we're only a couple bottles in to this case while only a few bottles remain of the Napa. No signs of age whatsoever here with a long life ahead - Classic Bordeaux with earthy, leathery black berry and black raspberry fruits accented by a long smooth floral finish - this exhibited a bit more fruit and floral the next day at the expense of the firm full but smooth tannin structure. http://cellartracker.com/w?1577  RM 90; WS 96; RP 92


Matthews Cellars Yakima Valley Red Wine 1999 - A Bordeaux mix blend 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc. Dark inky color - medium - full bodied - spice from the Cab Franc comes through, firm black berry and black raspberry fruits are giving way to a tar, leather, cassis and hint of tobacco as this wine is passing its prime. http://cellartracker.com/w?79548 RM 88.
 
Dr Heidemanns-Bergweiler Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese 2006 - Paired with the broiled lobster.

Guenoc, Guenoc Valley Vintage Port 2000 - Paired with cheese cake, fresh strawberry and chocolate fondue dessert. Full bodied - black and deep purple color - taste of brandy, black berry, black raspberry, deep blueberry, dark chocolate, cassis and black cherry, sweetness a nice complement to the dessert - would be great with a stilton cheese - nice close to a great meal. http://cellartracker.com/w?54302 RM 88