Holiday Family Dinner features special wines

Gala Easter Holiday Family Dinner features selection of special wines

The family gathered for a gala Easter Holiday dinner and we pulled from the cellar several select special wines for the occasion. Two of the wine highlights were a couple of birthyear vintage wines to commemorate special occasions. Son Alec and Vivanna are staying with us as they transition to their new Illinois home as soon as their furniture and belongings arrive from NYC. Moreover, it is Alec's birthday, hence we pulled a birthyear vintage label from a producer with a legacy of roots from Ryan's employer. Similarly, son Sean and Michelle are celebrating a family milestone announcement so we pulled a select label from a premier producer from his birthyear vintage. 

The boys also pulled from the cellar some special selections to taste for the occasion.  

Linda prepared beef tenderloin with baked potatoes, grilled asparagus and salad. Prior to dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses, fresh shrimp and fresh fruits that we served with champagne. From Magnum we served Peiper Heidseick special bottling followed by a bottle of Moet Chandon Imperial. 

For the dinner course we had a selection of Bordeaux varietal wines from some special select producers and a range of vintages including two aged releases from son's birthyears:

Oakville Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990

Chateau Leoville Las Cases St Julien Bordeaux 1985 

Dunn Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Cliff Lede Stags Leap District 2017

 

 

Château Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, St Julien-Beychevelle, Bordeaux 1985

Our visit to Château Léoville Las Cases was a highlight of our visit to the St Julien appellation a year ago. I wrote about it in detail in a chronicle in these pages. Indeed, we booked the estate visit and arranged our travel and other events around this cornerstone event. At that time we were focus on our collection of 1990 vintage bottles to be served at son Alec's wedding. Tonight, we focused on the 1985 vintage release to commemorate son Sean's special family announcement. 

We hold a half dozen bottles in an OWC case that we acquired back upon release that we are at this stage holding for such special occasions, so I was eager to try this bottle to see how it is holding up and aging in our cellar. Indeed, our Cellartracker records include a tasting we did of this label for dinner the night before he set off for college fourteen years ago. 

Our last tasting of this label was in the month leading up to our Bordeaux trip and our visit at the Chateau. We opened a bottle when we received our invitation to visit the estate.

This is a classic Bordeaux Blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

At thirty-six years this is on the cusp of the end of the posted drinking window set for this wine by Cellartrackers - indicating it is at the end of its prime drinking window, not expect to improve further, rather expected to start to diminish from this time forward with further aging. 

True to form, I tasted and rated this without any indication or reference of earlier tastings or reviews for this label. My review was the same as the prior tastings and notes were consistent therewith as well. Tonight's tasting largely was consistent with that last experience twenty months ago, except that tonight the color held up well and did not exhibit any of the diminution of slight orange bricking. Notably, the cork was a bit saturated and softening and would soon be at risk of losing its integrity in the intermediate term.

Consistent with my last tasting back on 7/8/2019, "Deep garnet colored, medium-full bodied, elegant, complex but nicely integrated dark berry and black cherry fruits with notes of floral violets, tobacco, oak and hints of graphite, cigar box and leather on a tangy black cherry lingering finish of supple smooth, polished tannins. Over the course of the evening, it opened more to reveal layers of floral and fruits and accents."

RM 93 points.

This wine got 98 points from Wine Spectator who called it "A fabulous wine; one of the first great Las Cases.", 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 95 points Wine Advocate's Neal Martin.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4819

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/07/chateau-leoville-las-cases-1985.html

Oakville Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990

To celebrate son Alec's birthday and relocation to Illinois from New York we opened a Napa Cab from his birthyear vintage. This producer was the family of the legendary co-founder and primary developer of Oracle software, son Ryan's company. So it was fitting and fun that we could open it with Ryan and son Alec in a special vintage release.  I wrote about the Oakville Ranch property, its history and terroir in a detailed blogpost at the beginning of last year.

This release was awarded 93 points by Wine Spectator and 92 points from Robert Parker. 

At thirty plus years of age it was still holding its body, color and fruit and was not showing signs of diminution from aging. The cork was most but still intact. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright expressive concentrated but nicely balanced and integrated black currant, cherry and plum fruits with notes of cedar, cassis, spice and oak with moderate balanced tannins on the long finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=83701

https://www.oakvilleranch.com/ 

https://twitter.com/OakvilleRanch

@OakvilleRanch 

 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Dunn Vineyards is one of he most extensive holdings in our cellar spanning four decades of vintages split between the producer's two labels, the Howell Mtn and this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. 

For our gala wine dinner, the boys pulled from the cellar this classic Napa Cab from this legendary producer from the 2001 vintage, one that should be at its peak and drinking at its prime right now, as part of our flight spanning 35 years of vintages selected.

We also collect and hold numerous vintages of winemaker Randy Dunn's "Feather" Cabernet produced from Washington State Columbia Valley marketed under the Long Shadows Vintners Collection that features world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit.

We visited the Dunn Vineyards estate up on Howell Mountain and met legendary producer Randy Dunn during our our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008.

 Randy Dunn Cabernets are known to be long-lived and we are holding many vintages dating back four decades - longer than we would similarly situated wines. We pulled this one at two decades to get a taste of a vintage likely showing well, perhaps at the peak of its drinking profile.

This label was awarded 91 points by Connoisseurs Guide and 90 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Deep ruby/purple colored, medium to full-bodied, expressive forward black berry and black currant fruits with notes of floral, oak, earthy leather and hints of cola, pencil lead and what Connoisseur's Guide referred to as "black walnuts".

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=25531

http://www.dunnvineyards.com/

@dunnvineyards

Cliff Lede Stags Leap District 2017

Ryan brought this from his cellar as a young recent release comparison in our diverse flight of reds. He's a member of the Lede wine club and has an extensive selection of labels. We've visited the Lede estate and vineyards in Stags Leap District on several of our trips to Napa Valley. 

The fruit for this label was sourced from the hillside terraces of the Poetry Vineyard, the Twin Peaks Vineyard estate surrounding the winery, and a few neighboring vineyards in the Stags Leap District. The wine is composed of small lots selected from the best blocks, representing a diverse range of carefully selected clones and rootstocks. The diversity of Poetry’s exposed, rocky terraces boasting volcanic origins, to the ancient riverbed alluvial soils of Twin Peaks, the breadth of contributing sites translates into a wine of impressive complexity. We hold a vertical collection of this label going back a dozen vintages.

Winemaker Notes

 

The 2017 Stags Leap Cabernet is darkly ruby/purple colored and possesses vibrant aromas of violets, lavender, blackberry, huckleberry, black licorice, and warm chocolate covered cherries. Juicy, penetrating, and conveying terrific depth, this gorgeously flavored wine possesses layers of blood orange, cardamom, cocoa powder, and slate. The long opulent finish continues on with notes of minerals, loam, pan grille, cassis, whilst the supple tannins go on supporting the well framed structure.

Production was 5,648 cases.

 

This wine was awarded 95 points by Wine Enthusiast, 94 points by Vinous and 91 points by  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. It contains small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc for complexity and structure. 

 

This was the standout of the diverse flight being the youngest, but also was the most vibrant and expressive with dark garnet color, medium full body, complex bright bold dark fruits, notes of menthol and clove spice turned to mocha, floral and hints of menthol on a soft tannin laced lingering finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://cliffledevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/CliffLedeWine

@CliffLedeWine

A selection of photos from our visit to Château Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, St Julien-Beychevelle, Bordeaux

The Grand Vin is the product of exceptional terroirs from the former Léoville estate. The estate vineyards are located mainly in the Clos Léoville Las Cases along the D2 route running along and overlooking the Gironde River. They lie at the northern edge of the appellation just outside the village of Saint-Julien Beyechevelle village as you descend the hill heading north toward the appellation and village of Pauillac. There they meet and are adjacent to the legendary First Growth Chateau Gran Vin Latour estate and Pichon Longueville Comtess de Lalande, and Pichon Baron just across the road, in the Pauillac appellation. The vineyards extend over nearly 135 acres comprised of Bordeaux sanctioned varietals Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), Merlot (24%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) with an an average age of 52 year old vines.

 

The Clos represents a terroir of very great complexity composed of Quaternary gravel ("graves") over gravelly sand and gravelly clay subsoils. The vineyards run along the Gironde River and the proximity to the river has created the wide diversity of soils, formed over various geological periods.

The legendary estate produces distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc Bordeaux grape varietals that are predominant in the blend resulting in a complex, polished expressive  characteristics which are unique to the Grand Vin of Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases that has been widely recognized as one of the premier producers of the Medoc for decades. 

 

 

The chai contains a series of connected buildings with production facility, blending halls with laboratory and command and control center, the barrel storage halls, bottling room, shipping and storage room and the historic vintage library storage area.  

The grand vin is kept in the prime tanks while the second wine is produced in the square tanks in the another production hall. The control center has precise control over each tank during all phases of the process.

The barrels are racked monthly to remove any sediment and top off the level that is lost to evaporation. The aging barrels are kept in a precise temperature controlled facility.

It was a great treat to tour the cellars and see the extensive Las Cases library of vintages dating back in the 20th century including historic legendary top vintages such as 1959, 1961, 1975, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990 and others. Here is our 1985 vintage!

The historic Chateau contains lounges, meeting rooms and a elegant formal tasting room. The Chateau overlooks a formal garden and fountain with views of the Gironde River in the distance.

The Clos du Marquis vineyard to the south of the Leoville Las Cases Grand Clos vines, overlooking the Gironde river, covers 12 acres. It is planted with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Château Cantemerle Haut Medoc Bordeaux 1985

Château Cantemerle Haut-Médoc 5ème Cru Classé Bordeaux 1985 

For Super Bowl festivities and feasting with son Sean on his birthday, I pulled a vintage wine from his birth year to share watching the big game.

Château Cantemerle is a Bordeaux Fifth Growth, located in the Haut-Médoc on the left bank of the Gironde river near the communes of Ludon and Macau about twenty km north of the town of Bordeaux. We passed through the village near the property on the route up to Margaux during our Bordeaux Wine Experience in 2019.

Château Cantemerle has a long rich history ic estate dating back to the 12th Century. Lord of Cantemerle bought beside Henri III of England in 1242. The chateau was part of a series of fortified structures that defended the Gironde and had its own port. The earliest records of viticulture date back to 1354 shen Lord Cantemerle paid his tithes in in clairet wine. 

When the great 1855 Classification of Bordeaux occurred, Cantermerle vineyards covered 255 adjacent to La Lagune. In 1867 Château Cantemerle received a silver medal at the World's Fair in Paris.

The modern history of the château began in 1892 when Théophile-Jean Dubos' purchased the estate which was passed down through the family until the 1980s. 

Many of Cantemerle's vineyards were pulled out during the two world wars, and were replanted in the 1980s, expanding the vineyard area from 20 hectares (50 acres) to 90ha (220 acres) by 1999. Since then, the estate has expanded considerably and has undergone modernization of the production and winemaking facilities. Production today is about 400,000 bottles each year.

The vineyards are planted to 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. The vines, the majority of which are Cabernet Sauvignon, are on average 30 years old.

The soil in Cantemerle's vineyards is a mixture of silica sand and gravel, reasonably poor, thereby forcing the vines to struggle, resulting in grapes with high levels of aromatic concentration. 

Château Cantemerle Haut Medoc Bordeaux 1985 

The cork was moist and reasonably intact, however it broke and crumbled in two upon extraction, despite using a ahso two pronged cork puller (below). I removed the last quarter using a traditional screw. I was too hasty and aggressive in extraction and believe it would've remained in tact had I exercised more patience and care.

 Still holding on at thirty-five years, a testament to the ageworthiness of Bordeaux, still somewhat elegant, dark garnet colored with edges of brown starting to set in, medium bodied, the blackberry and black cherry fruits are giving way to non-fruit notes of bacon fat, cigar box, tobacco with hints of leather, tar and earth with subtle tannins on the moderate finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=96170 

https://cantemerle.com/en/

 

Birthyear Vintage Wine for Family Birthday Dinner

 Birthyear Vintage Wine for Family Birthday Dinner

We joined son Ryan and his family in celebrating his birthday with a gala dinner featuring grilled tenderloin steaks, twice baked potatoes and haricots verts, and ceasar salad. Ryan opened from his cellar a Robert Foley Napa Valley Claret and I took from our cellar a classic historic label Napa Cab. 

Shafer Hillside Select is a classic Napa Valley premium label dating back to 1983. The prior year, 1982, was Ryan's birthyear, and for that vintage, Shafer produced this hillside vineyards Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which thereafter would be known as Shafer Hillside Select. 

Hillside Select is sourced from a collection of rugged, arid vineyard blocks that surround the winery in the Stags Leap District in Southeast Napa Valley. 

Founder John Shafer was a native of Chicago, hailed from northern suburb Glencoe, and lived for a time in nearby Hinsdale, Illinois. He moved to Napa Valley in 1972 when the Shafer family purchased a 209-acre property including 30 acres of Scansi’s vineyards. In 1973-74 Shafer planted Cabernet Sauvignon, creating small hillside vineyard blocks such as Sunspot and John’s Upper Seven.

 In 1978, John produced his first Shafer Vineyards wine, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from fruit sourced from John’s Upper Seven vineyard, a precursor to Hillside Select.

Doug Shafer joined his father John as winemaker in 1983. When he tasted the 1982 lot from the Sunspot vineyard block he was so impressed he talked John into keeping it separate from the others. With the Sunspot lot, Doug created this label, Shafer’s one and only Reserve Cabernet. Starting with the 1983 vintage, in 1984, the Reserve was rebranded as the first release of Hillside Select.

That inaugural release of Hillside Select, and those since, are sourced from the collection of 14 small vineyard blocks planted within an eons-old amphitheater-like structure of rock and volcanic soil that surrounds the winery. With scant soil nutrients and moisture, yields at harvest are meager and the berries are small, producing lush Cabernet Sauvignon fruit with dark color and intense, classic flavor.

Shafer Reserve hillside vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1982

Looking back on my records and published tasting notes, we last served/tasted this label at Ryan's birthday family dinner fifteen years ago on Nov 6, 2005 when I wrote, "Shafer Reserve Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon 1982 - RM 92 $49 - Final vintage before this wine was re-labeled the legendary Shafer Hillside Select - Full forward fruit of black cherry, plum, leather and cedar thru to the end. Amazing fruit and life in this 23 year old Napa from a modest vintage - birth-year of Ryan - tasted on his family birthday dinner."

 

My records also show we tasted this wine back on Jan 15 2003 when I published essentially the same tasting note. That bottle was consumed at Capital Grill in Tysons corner, VA. I actually remember that trip and dinner, but not necessarily that bottle tasting. 

 

The Shafer Hillside Select tasting notes date back to the 1983 vintage. They write, "Fully mature color and aromas. Nice acidity complements mature flavors and resolved tannins." Their 1984 release notes speak of 'herbal aromas'. These notes could also describe this release.

 

Tonight, this bottle showed amazing life for a 38 year old vintage bottle, exceeding our expectations. The color was ever so slightly tinged with a minor brownish hue and the slightest bit of cloudiness, still nicely structured and bodied with black cherry fruits offset by a slight layer of funky mustiness of dusty earthy leather with sprites of aromatic perfume and notes of herbs and cedar. A fun and intriguing tasting of a historic label, ready to drink as it is in decline approaching the end of its drinking window. It was remarkable for its age, never-the-less. 

RM 87 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=353028

 

https://shafervineyards.com/index.php

 

@ShaferVineyards - https://twitter.com/ShaferVineyards

For son Ryan's birthday, I also presented him with this limited release premium label Fantesca King Richards Pinot Noir 2008. 

 

This is fitting in that Ryan is actually my namesake, Richard, and this bottle was crafted and produced in limited quantities for the patriarch father of wine producer/ower Susan Hoff and husband Duane. 

 

We'll look forward to sharing this bottle at some point in the future. 

Ryan opened from his cellar this Robert Foley Napa Valley Claret.

 

Robert Foley Napa Valley Claret 2004

 

Robert Foley Vineyards is on Howell Mountain, in northeast Napa Valley. It was founded in 1998 when Napa Valley winemaker Robert Foley started making his own wine.

Robert (Bob) Foley began his wine making career in the Napa Valley in 1977, having just graduated from UC Davis with degrees in both Viticulture and Enology. He spent his first year working for Heitz Cellars, followed by 15 years as the founding winemaker for Markham Vineyards.

In 1992, Foley began another 15 years as the founding winemaker for Pride Mountain Vineyards. During this period, he also crafted wines for Switchback Ridge, Hourglass, Paloma, and School House wines. 

Primarily focused on Robert Foley Vineyards wines, he also works with Shelter, Padis Vineyards, Engel Family, Herson Family Vineyards, and Jenna Marise in the Napa Valley.

Foley’s first wine was this signature Claret, the term the British used to describe a French wines based on Bordeaux Blended varietals. He progressed to expand the portfolio with Petite Sirah, Merlot, Charbono and most recently a blend called 'The Griffin'. Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Foley “one of California’s most talented winemakers…(His) are consistently top-notch efforts with impressive personalities.” 

 

This is the Foley flagship, a Napa Valley appellation left-bank Bordeaux blend comprised of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot.

 

This label release was awarded 94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar and 91 points by Wine Spectator.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced with well integrated bright vibrant ripe black cherry and black berry fruits with sprites of cherry cola, notes of vanilla, sweet oak, creme de cassis and spice with slight astringent bright acidity, moderate tangy tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229008

https://www.robertfoleyvineyards.com/  

@RobertFoleyWine - https://twitter.com/RobertFoleyWine

 

 

 

Birthyear vintage labels and large format bottles

Gala wedding celebrations to feature special birthyear vintage labels and large format bottles and more ...

For son Alec and Vivianna's wedding celebrations, I assembled from our cellar a collection of birthyear vintage wines including several in large format bottles. I've written often in these pages about our collection of birthyear vintage wines for our kids, and our collection of large format bottles of special labels for special occasions. This, our final child's wedding is our last perfect storm to showcase and enjoy our wine cellar selections, one we've been preparing for for literally three decades. Indeed, our collection of 1990 vintage bottles of wine spans no less than 195 bottles from 65 different labels. 

A complication or added dimension to this whole concept and philosophy is that the bride is from a different vintage/birthyear. Hence, if we add the 1991 vintage to the inventory search of our cellar collection, we add another 42 bottles from 16 different labels. Of course, we did not anticipate and plan for this in our collecting over the decades, it just happens that we have these in our collection. 

So, for the festivities, there are numerous story lines, themes and approaches to how we will serve these wines. Non super wine geeks may tune out at this point and move on to the next blogpost. 

Birthyear / vintage highlights: I've written in these pages about the vintages of the birthyears of our kids, and how the 1990 vintage, birthyear of son Alec was extraordinary, one of the best of the century and perhaps in history. Not only were there three Wine Spectator Top 100 #1 wines from this vintage, three years in a row, but they hailed from three different disparate regions of the Old and New world, France, US Napa Valley, and Australia. All three were spectacular wines from ultra-premium absolute premier legendary labels:

Chateau Grand Vin Latour Pauillac Bordeaux 1990 - Wine Spectator Top 100 #1 Wine of the Year for 1993

Moreover, for this vintage, nine of the Top Ten Wines of the year were from the 1990 vintage. 

Caymus Special Select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvigon 1990 - Wine Spectator Top 100 #1 Wine of the Year for 1994

Penfold's Grange (Hermitage) Shiraz 1990 - Wine Spectator Top 100 #1 Wine of the Year for 1995

So, if you had a child born in 1990 and wanted to collect special birth year wines to enjoy sometime in the future, it was easy to do, or hard to go wrong.  We got lucky and were blessed in so many respects, this being but another one. We'll have the luxury of tasting each of these wines this weekend. Watch for our tasting experiences.

The second dimension, the bride/groom's birthyear. In our case, our son's fiance, Vivianna was born a year later, in the following year, the next vintage, so to speak. Here I got lucky, I already had picked up the Caymus Special Select 1990 and 1991. The #2 wine in 1995 was, alas, Caymus Special Select 1991. That turns out to be the premier finest label selection from the vintage, during this era. Bingo! The other 1991 vintage labels from this period in the top tens were FLORA SPRINGS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 1991 and CROFT Vintage Port 1991. I happened to have also picked up the Flora Springs Napa Cab 1990 and 1991 over the years, so we have another perfect pairing for the betrothed couple. And we'll serve vintage ports collected from the vintage as well.  

Watch this space as we open and enjoy these vintage select special bottles as part of our celebrations. 

The next dimension of our celebrations is large format bottles. We have a collection of large format bottles from the vintage that we'll serve this weekend, and on special occasions in the future. This includes four six liter Imperials, and numerous Magnums of select wines. Watch for these as they are presented and served as part of our family and friends celebrations.  

Lastly, as you have seen in these pages, we have fun with various labels and producers based on numerous criteria. One example is namesake labels, wines sharing names of our family or friends. One of our favorite such producers and labels is Alec's Blend by Napa Valley Lewis Cellars. This is one of our namesake labels for the groom, Alec. Watch as we serve a decade vertical of vintages of Alec's Blend Napa Valley Red Wine this weekend.  

Lastly, we also have find with labels in other ways. Watch for how "V" (for Vivianna) becomes centerpiece of some of our wine selections this weekend as well! 

 

 

One other factor in a horizontal collection (a collection of multiple wines from the same vintage) of a particular vintage, is the intersection with a vertical collection, where we hold a series of vintages of the same label. In this case, there are a number of labels where we have collected a series of vintages including each of the birthyears of our four kids, and in many cases, now, also the birthyear vintages of our grandkids. This allows for comparison tastings of a particular label from different vintages seeing how the wine ages over time and how it compares in different vintage harvests. A top vertical collection will invariably also include top rated years as well, as standard bearers and benchmarks for comparison. There are a dozen or more labels where we hold such vertical collections that include key vintages including, of course, birthyears and anniversaries. Many of these are the basis for our studies into the producers' and their histories, estate vineyards and their terroir, and contributing producers' winemakers and consultants. 

 

These pages are filled with references and features of our visits to producer estate wineries and vineyards where we hold deep vertical collections of such wines. Our visit to Bordeaux last year featured tours of estates of which we hold extensive collections spanning several decades - Château Ducru Beaucaillou, Léoville Las Cases, Château Gruaud-Larose and Pichon Lalande, for example. 

 

Lastly, a wine flight over the course of a dinner can include champagne, white wine, multiple red wines matched to food pairings, a dessert wine and an after dinner port or aperitif.  Watch how many different wines or wine types we can present from multiple (large) formats or vintage year releases over the course of a dinner or multiple events.

The 1994 Top 10
Rank	Wine	Score	Price
#1	CAYMUS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 1990	98	$75
#2	E. GUIGAL Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 1990	98	$135
#3	FLORA SPRINGS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 1991	97	$33
#4	LEONETTI Merlot Washington 1992	96	$25
#5	FERRARI-CARANO Chardonnay Alexander Valley 1992	93	$20
#6	DOMAINE ZIND-HUMBRECHT Gewürztraminer Alsace Grand Cru Goldert Vendange Tardive 1990	96	$45
#7	LUCIANO SANDRONE Barolo Cannubi Boschis 1990	96	$46
#8	JEAN-LOUIS CHAVE Hermitage 1990	96	$63
#9	CROFT Vintage Port 1991	94	$32
#10	RIDGE Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Pagani Ranch Late Picked 1992	93	$16

 

#1

CAYMUS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 1990

98

$75

The 1994 Top 10
Rank	Wine	Score
#1	CAYMUS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 1990	98
#2	E. GUIGAL Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 1990	98
#3	FLORA SPRINGS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 1991	97

The Top 10 Wines of 1993

Wine	Score	Price*
1. CHÂTEAU LATOUR Pauillac 1990	100	$80
2. GAJA Barolo Sperss 1989	96	$60
3. SILVERADO VINEYARDS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Limited Reserve 1990	97	$40
4. CHÂTEAU LA LOUVIÈRE Pessac-Léognan 1990	94	$22
5. LOUIS LATOUR Corton-Charlemagne 1990	95	$83
6. CHÂTEAU PICHON-LONGUEVILLE-LALANDE Pauillac 1990	97	$40
7. MOUNT VEEDER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1990	94	$15
8. TENUTA DELL'ORNELLAIA Ornellaia 1990	96	$42
9. CHÂTEAU LAGRANGE St.-Julien 1990	95	$26
10. CHÂTEAU LAFITE ROTHSCHILD Pauillac 1990

 The 1995 Top 10

Rank	Wine	Score	Price
#1	PENFOLDS Shiraz South Australia Grange 1990	97	$100
#2	CAYMUS Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Special Selection 1991	99	$100
#3	THE HESS COLLECTION Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1992	94	$18
#4	FONSECA Vintage Port 1992	96	$45
#5	COMTE GEORGES DE VOGÜÉ Musigny Cuvée Vieilles Vignes 1993	96	$140
#6	ZACA MESA Syrah Santa Barbara County Zaca Vineyards 1993	94	$13
#7	CAMPOGIOVANNI Brunello di Montalcino 1990	95	$43
#8	KISTLER Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Kistler Vineyard 1992	94	$40
#9	BERINGER Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Private Reserve 1992	95	$45
#10	TRIMBACH Riesling Alsace Cuvée Frédéric Emile 1990	96	$27

Big Bottle Birthyear mania for Wedding Celebration

Our Cellar Collection and Gala Wedding Celebration includes Large Format Birthyear Vintage Wines

The large format big bottle mania continues for Sean and Michelle's wedding celebration weekend, we opened several birthyear vintage wines we have collected and were saving in our cellar for just such an occasion. We opened a six liter Imperial Napa Cabernet the night before. 

Fortunately, the 1985 vintage produced age-worthy wines suitable for long-term cellaring for thirty-five years. 

People often ask me about the practice of obtaining wines from a particular vintage year. Check vintage charts for your chosen region for your favored wine (s). If that region had a difficult vintage, check the other regions of the world. Chances are you'll find at least one that had favorable age-worthy harvests suitable for collecting.

My fixation on collecting birthyear wines for our children, and now grandchildren is evident in the cellar statistics - for just the 1985 vintage year, we hold 95 bottles in different 39 wines. I believe that is overstated somewhat by the lack of removing bottles consumed over the years. Never-the-less, it reflects the challenge to consume those bottles before they waste away, and offers an opportunity for an extensive, intensive vintage study. 

For the celebration weekend, I pulled the following bottles for a horizontal comparison tasting:

From St Julien Bordeaux,

• Leoville Las Cases 
  
• Ducru Beaucaillou 
• Gruaud Larose, 

Other Bordeaux: 

• Cos d' Estournel St Estephe
  
• Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
  
• Sociando-Mallette Haut Medoc

Others:

• Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Bosche Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
• Rutherford Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• Flora Springs Trilogy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• Freemark Abbey Bosche' Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• Dow Vintage Port
• Warre's Vintage Port

For the reasons noted, we will hold the following bottles for future tastings:

We hold vertical collections of these labels hence an opportunity for a broader tasting: Chateau Palmer and Silver Oak. this includes a collection of magnums for each of our four kids' vintage birthyears. 

Amazingly, several labels have projected tasting windows for further aging and consumption several years into the future, hence hold these bottles for an anniversary or baby or other notable celebration tasting. These include, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Dominus Estate Napa, Dunn Vineyards Howell Mtn, Diamond Creek Napa, and Chateaux Lynch Bages,  Pichon Baron and Pichon Lalande. 

We opened these bottles, in large format magnums for tasting at the reception dinner:

• Sociando-Mallette Haut Medoc
  
• Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien
  
• Château Gruaud Larose, St Julien
  
• Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 
• Dow Vintage Port

Château Sociando-Mallette Haut Medoc 1985

Château Sociando-Mallet is a 225-acre estate in St.-Seurin-de-Cadourne, which is part of the Haut-Medoc appellation just north of the St Estephe appellation, north of the city of Pauillac, Bordeaux. 

The estate is today considered by some reviewers, including Robert M. Parker Jr., to be the jewel of the Haut-Medoc.  Though the estate is unclassified, Parker says the château makes “uncompromising wines of extremely high quality….Sociando-Mallet is easily the equal of many of the classified growths….” 

The vineyards are planted to 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

This release got 92 points from Vinous and 91 points from Wine Spectator.

The label and foil were in good condition, the cork was soft and partially saturated but extracted almost intact using a two pronged cork puller. 

I wrote about this label back in 2010 when we also tasted it from a magnum. At that time I wrote, "Medium bodied - bright lively forward red fruit flavors highlight with hints of raspberry, black cherry, anise and leather on a moderate tannin flavorful finish.Tasted from magnum - lots of life left - no signs of age in this 25 year old. RM 90 points."

Tonight this was dark garnet color, medium bodied, black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of black truffle, smoke, black tea with subtle notes of vanilla and tangy spice on a lingering modest tannin finish. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=40950

https://www.sociandomallet.com/en

@Sociando_Mallet

Château Gruaud Larose St Julien Bordeaux 1985

Our visit, tour and tasting at the Gruaud Larose estate was one of the highlights of our tour of St Julien Bordeaux a year ago last month. We hold a horizontal collection of more than a dozen vintages of Gruaud Larose dating back to 1981, daughter Erin's birthyear, and the other kids' birthyears, several including this, Sean's 1985, in large format bottles.

We shared a virtual tour of our visit to Château Gruaud-Larose estate grounds, cellar, chai, library and hospitality center in St Julien from our unwindwine blogpost in these pages. 

This release got 93 points from Wine Spectator,  91 points from  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 90 points from  Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. Neal Martin from K&L Wine Merchants in the SF Bay Area gave it 92 points. 

Having a reputation for long lived wines, this 1985 Gruaud Larose showed few signs of diminution from aging and seemed to have a few years of life left although it was more closed and less expressive than the other labels. Earlier in the year I wrote it was showing its age - no doubt the difference in aging effects of a small versus large format bottle. At that time I gave it 89 points.

Like the other bottles served tonight, this was also acquired upon release and has been held in our cellar since. The label, foil and fill level were all pristine, in ideal condition. The cork, like the others was a bit soft and partially saturated, but extracted intact with a two pronged cork puller.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/03/covid19-shut-in-prompts-curbside.html

Dark garnet colored, medium to full-bodied, a bit closed and slightly subdued complex, ripe earthy blackberry and black current fruits with tones of tobacco leaf, truffle, hints of cassis and spice box, turning to slightly tart black cherry on the long floral full tannin laced finish.

RM 89 points.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/03/covid19-shut-in-prompts-curbside.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=20848 

https://www.gruaud-larose.com/

 

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1985

Our visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou in Beychevelle St Julien was one of the highlights of our trip to the Medoc last year. It has long been one of the signature wines that we collected for a horizontal of vintages that includes the birthyears of our four kids including large format bottles of this label and this magnum for the 1985 vintage. 

This release got 92 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 95 Points from the Zachy's Buying Team from the wine merchant in Scarsdale, NY.

As we have held this bottle in our cellar since release back in the eighties, the bottle label, capsule and fill level were all in near perfect condition. The cork was a bit soft and slightly saturated from the bottom but extracted intact using a Ahso two pronged cork puller. The photo shown here shows the cork after having been reinserted and removed for a tasting of the remains the following day. 

This was dark garnet-colored, medium-full bodied, concentrated, pure, red and black currant fruits with a layer of cedar and notes of  truffle, damp earth, tobacco and cinnamon; a hint of mint with with super firm tannins on a long, silky finish.

RM 91 points.  

The Zachys Buying Team Notes from their trip for the 2014 releases: 

"95 Points, Zachys Buying Team: "We had this wine over dinner while in Bordeaux tasting the 2014s - easily one of the highlights of the entire trip. Perfectly mature and is currently drinking the way Bordeaux was intended to be consumed - with age and enough sweet fruit to complement the tertiary development. This wine is all about elegance, no hard edges, classic St Julien cedar, truffle, and damp earth are joined by tobacco and cinnamon. Tongue-staining, long finish. It is a wine that transports you back to old world style claret, where the wine doesn't clobb er at 12.5% alcohol. It is truly a special treat to have this wine with this provenance and condition."

 
Marilee Bostic, Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) and most recently, the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in Wines and Spirits (DipWSET), works at The Grape D’Vine, a boutique wine store in Sparkill, New York, writes in her notes of this wine:

"The 1985 Ducru-Beaucaillou still packed a punch with primary aromas and flavors, including cassis, black raspberry, and soft rose petals.  Secondary notes included a layer of vanilla and chocolate mint.  Tertiary notes dominated as this wine was fully mature, with a patina of cherry pipe smoke, damp forest floor, and black truffles.  This wine was dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, pronounced aroma and flavor intensity, medium body, and medium tannins that were velvety-soft.  The finish was no doubt long."  

 

I wrote about this wine earlier this year and gave it 93 points, when I wrote; "Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, muted aromas on the nose but elegant, balanced and full flavored, bright and expressive on the palate with black currant fruits accented by sensuous floral, cedar, tobacco leaf, hints of damp earth with super firm tannins and a long, silky finish."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/01/ducru-beaucaillou-birthyear-vintage.html

Last year, in anticipation of our visit to the Chateau, we opened this label when I wrote; "Dark garnet-colored, medium- to full-bodied, Parker describes it as "a wine of extraordinary charm and elegance", a floral, cedary nose with red and black currants, plum, notes of spice and cassis, firm tannins on a long, smooth silky finish. Still has some years left but assuredly not likely to improve with further aging."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/07/chateau-ducru-beaucaillou-1989-1985.htm

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17635

www.chateau-ducru-beaucaillou.com

@DucruB

 

 

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac Bordeaux 1985

 

We visited the estate and walked the vineyards and grounds during our visit to the Medoc last year.  This was the BOTN - best-of-the-night, showing the greatest balance, elegance and complexity with nicely integrated fruits and flavors.

This label has been my favorite of many tastings occasions and continues to be one of my perennial favorites and has more often than not surprised us with its longevity and aging potential. 

 

This release got 93 points from John Gilman and 92 points from Wine Spectator.

 

John Gilman writes, "The 1985 has aged quite beautifully and is now drinking with great style and grace. The bouquet is a superb blend of cassis, dark berries, coffee, cigar wrapper, a dollop of fresh herbs, gravel, black tea and toasty oak. On the palate the wine is pure, fullish and beautifully complex, with a good core of fruit, lovely soil signature, melted tannins and fine length and grip on the very classy finish. This is not a powerful vintage of Pichon, but it is an utterly complete one!"

 

This was also served from a magnum. 

 

While this bottle was also acquired upon release and has laid in our cellar magnum rack adjacent the other bottles, the label was soiled and had completely detached from the bottle. The capsule was rather deteriorated but the cork, while slightly soft and partially saturated, extracted intact using a two pronged cork puller. 

This was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, elegant and polished with nicely integrated black berry and black currant fruits accented by notes of cassis, black tea, coffee hints of spice and earth with a long smooth tannin laced polished finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1779

http://www.pichon-comtesse.com/

@PichonComtesse

Dow's Vintage Port 1985 

For after dinner sipping and to close out our vertical tasting of 1985 wines for the evening, we opened this 1985 Vintage Port. 

We hold in our cellar several cases of Vintage Port wines but only from a few select vintages, mostly birthyears of our children, and classic Vintage Port vintage years. Note that only in years with an acceptable harvest that they declare it a Vintage year and release vintage designated release wines. 

Son Sean's birthyear 1985 was such a year, hence there are 1985 vintage release ports available. Such wines are notably ageworthy for long term cellaring, hence popular collectables for cellaring and holding for special occasions - classic 'special occasion' wine! 

Note that one should ensure they have an appropriate place with temperature and humidity consistency to cellar and store wine before investing in buying bottles to cellar for an extended period of time.

This wine got 93 points from James Suckling and Vinous and 92 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

This is classic Vintage Port, what one is supposed to taste like. Naturally, in its 35th year, we see the ageability of such a wine and the art of the possible, or what is to be expected when properly cellared. Too often, if consumed too early, they will present a medicinal or 'hot' alcohol tones until they have integrated, smoothed and settled. 

Dark black garnet colored, medium bodied, aromas of walnuts, dried fruit and fig/raisins, rich concentrated black and red-berry and ripe plum fruits nicely integrated with layers of clove spice, anise liquorice, notes of raisin, creosote and leather with a smooth long lingering clean silky smooth tongue coating finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1897