Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101 Syrah 2009

Lot 101 Columbia Valley Syrah paired with hearty cheeses, roasted nuts and fruit

 For March Madness, watching/celebrating Indiana beat Kentucky, we pulled from the cellar this favorite Syrah, to sip with a selection of fresh fruit and cheeses, including eighteen year aged cheddar and Brie with roasted nuts and honey.

I've written several times in these pages about this high QPR (quality-price-ratio) negociant label, 90+ Cellars, Collector's Series, Lot 101, Washington, Columbia Valley Syrah at less than half the price of some of the vineyard designated Napa Syrahs, maybe one of our favorite drinking wines in our cellar right now. 



We bought out the entire selection at a couple local merchants and continue to be rewarded enjoying this tasty, high quality, high QPR sipper. It is perfect for such occasions.

Dark inky garnet/purple colored, full bodied, rich concentrated, this full throttle Syrah reveals layers of blackberry and black currants fruits with tones of sweet vanilla, caramel and spice with hints of black pepper on a lingering smooth silky tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1742790

http://www.ninetypluscellars.com/wines/lot-101-collectors-series-syrah

Baked Brie Tranche Slice of Pape Blanc Columbia Valley White Blend 2010

Baked Brie highlights Tranche Cellars 'Slice of Pape Blanc' Columbia Valley White Blend 2010

One of the highlights of our recent gala French cuisine wine dinner at Hemingway's Bistro in Oak Park was their decadent baked brie cheese with honey and toasted almonds. So, for a casual midweek tasting of an interesting white wine, Linda crafted her own rendition of this preparation - Baked Brie in crescent wrap with mixed berries, honey and toasted almonds (shown below).

 

The delicious crescent rolls with baked brie, mixed berries with honey and toasted almonds were ideally suited to a moderately complex Rhone style white blend.  

To accompany this decadent treat, we tasted this interesting, odd named proprietary white blend from the producer Corliss, otherwise known for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Wine Advocate says "Tranche Cellars consistently delivers serious, impeccably made wines that over-deliver". 

This label, "Slice of Pape Blanc" is a blend that would characteristically be found in Chateauneuf du Pape Blancs, white blends from the southern Rhone River Valley known mostly for big reds. 

This is a blend of 59% Roussanne and 41% Viognier aged in 100% neutral French oak. 

The complexity and depth of the wine was a perfect compliment to the symphony of flavors of the brie, crescent, berry, honey and almonds.  


Tranche Cellars 'Slice of Pape Blanc' Columbia Valley White Blend 2010

Straw colored medium bodied with a silky texture, this opened to rich, crisp, bright vibrant tones of lemon citrus with accents of peaches, hints of apricot, floral and just the right amount of acidity.

RM 91 points. Wine Advocate gave it 92

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1611401

http://tranchecellars.com/

Vindicated Tre Leoni Napa Reds with DOC Butcher's Cheese Plate

Vindicated Tre Leoni Napa Reds with DOC Butcher's Cheese Plate

For a casual impromptu wine tasting experience, Linda and I stopped in at DOC Wine Bar and Restaurant at Yorktown in Lombard. We selected two new release Napa Reds BTG (by the glass) from the dozen plus offerings, to accompany the Butcher's Platter cheese and meat plate - Vindicated Napa Cabernet and Whitehall Lane Tre Leoni Red Blend. We selected the blue cheese, Old Amsterdam Dutch cows cheese, aged cheddar, brie with pear and  Nueske's Wisconsin Smoked Duck Breast, with fresh bread.


Vindicated Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Lot #4 2012 

The stylish branding features an interesting artistic label that provides attribution on their published trade targeted tasting notes download, but not on their front or rear labels (shown below). Is the grecian angelic figure pencil sketch figure seeking to mimic or follow the super premium Harlan Estate 'Maiden' red wine label (shown below)? According to their web download, the label art is attributed to a lithograph from the Thomas Addis Emmet Collection of illustrations at the New York Public Library, (1828 -1919).

There is little information provided about the source of the fruit other than the "Lot #4" designation on the rear label. A major large production, highly prolific negociant uses the 'lot' designation to identify the source of the product so that subsequent releases from the same source can be so associated.

There is also similar lack of information provided on the producer who according to the rear label 'vinted and bottled' the product, other than their website url and city of origin, Healdsburg.

I suspect this is a negociant produced wine with its vagueness and anonymity of attribution and lack of 'estate' designation, which would indicate the fruit being sourced from the producer's property.

As I have written in the past, subsequent releases of this label may be from the same source, or not, hence the lack of terrior, or sense of place of the site should be considered. It will be interesting to compare such releases, if they appear.

This 2012 release has dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, ripe black cherry and black raspberry fruits with tones of cassis and hint of cedar and spicy oak on the tangy moderate tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2067509

 vindicatedwines.com




Whitehall Lane Tre Leoni (Three Lions) Napa Valley Red Wine 2012

A newly discovered label that offers a pleasant easy drinking wine that is also complex and sophisticated enough for food from this long time popular producer, that provides great QPR - quality price ratio if you can find it.

The name Tre Leoni refers to three generations of the Leonardini Family, proprietors of Whitehall Lane. This is an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. This is the third release of this label.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, smooth and nicely balanced black berry and raspberry fruits with layers of sweet spicy oak and mocha on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2023928

http://www.whitehalllane.com/

Murrays Cheese - Ultimate Wine Cheese Experience

Cheese Murray Cheese - Ultimate Wine Cheese Experience

For the ultimate cheese and wine experience, Murray's Cheese Bar on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village offers an extensive cheese selection from Murray's Cheese shop a few doors down. Artisan cheeses are selected and served as learned and imaginative pairings with meats, beer, wine or even aperitifs- select your own or let their 'Cheesemonger' prepare a flight for you. Visiting son Alec for a NYC getaway weekend, he took us to Murray's, one of his favorite haunts for dinner.

Cheese and or meat selections are available ala carte, in pairs of three, four, five or eight different selections. All this in combination with an imaginative list of wines or craft beers, the cheese course can be the pre-dinner starter, the dinner main course, or the after dinner option. Tonight, thirty four cheeses and eight meats were available from which to choose on the daily menu.

Murray's Cheese, name for founder Murray Greenberg, has been a fixture on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village since 1940. In the early ‘90s, Rob Kaufelt bought Murray’s and transformed the downtown flagship store into a destination for food lovers. He sourced rare cheeses from around the world, built cheese caves to age and ripen them, and started cheese classes for foodies and professional alike in Murray's own classroom.  

Today,  Murray’s ships cheese across the nation to chefs and supermarkets through an extensive wholesale business. In 2012, Murray’s Cheese Bar opened nearby serving brunch, lunch, and dinner featuring the broad selection of cheeses from the cheese caves beneath Bleecker Street. 

On this evening, two flights of meat and cheese, paired with two wines, a white and a red, were our dinner, if you add in a bowl of the tomato bisque soup. We also had their Burrata Crispy artichoke & grilled bread plate.

For the wines, since we're in New York, I selected a New York State, Long Island wine, Cabernet Franc from Bedell Cellars. For the white, we had a Loire Valley Sancerre Chenin Blanc. In retrospect the white was too timid to stand up to some of the hearty cheeses and meats so next time, I'll select a heavier more robust expressive white wine - Vionier, Chardonnay, an Alsatian, or even a Riesling.

We selected two 4X4 flights (shown) - two plates of four meats and four cheeses, each accompanied by a garnish highlight such as a pistachio nut paste, a blueberry compote, natural honey paste, or cranberry glaze. Of the eight cheeses we selected, five were notable and worth repeating: my favorites were:

La Tur, from the notable Italian wine region of Piemonte, described by Murray's as "a dense, creamy blend of pasteurized cow, goat and sheep milk. Runny and oozing around the perimeter with a moist, cakey, palette-coating paste, its flavor is earthy and full, with a lingering lactic tang."

From the Vermont Cellars of Jasper Hill comes 'bacony and creamy Bayley Hazen Blue, (below right) named for a Revolutionary War road in Vermont’s Northeast Region, a raw milk, farmhouse blue. Produced by the Kehler brothers, this is a like an English Stilton with its 'dry yet dense paste, full of balanced chocolate, hazelnut, and licorice flavors".


From France comes Selles-sur-Cher (left, leftmost) goat cheese. While traditionally, fresh cheeses were dusted in wood ash to encourage the development of a molded rind with patches of blue and gray mold, Murray's imports unaged rounds so they can control the development of a perfect rind: thin and cohesive in their own aging cave. The result is "a tiny, oozing creamline atop a fluffy interior paste with the pleasant texture of damp clay. The rind delivers insistent mineral notes, while the center is all briny, goaty tang and new-mown grass."

Another French cheese, La Tremblaye Persille de Rambouillet, "an incredibly smooth, creamy goat’s milk blue from La Tremblaye dairy in the countryside surrounding Paris. Originally a grain farm, it now boasts a herd of 150 cows and 600 Alpine goats and is located on picturesque farmland, surrounded by ponds and fields, lying adjacent to Rambouillet forest. From its ashy exterior to its “parsley veined” interior, the cheese’s supple texture melts on the tongue and fully coats the mouth with nuanced, terroir-driven flavors like clean lactic notes, white pepper and sweet cream. Simple companions, such as walnuts and honey add complementary and contrasting textures".

Lastly, St Stephen from New York Hudson Valley creamery/producer, Four Fat Fowl, a cow cheese named for the "colonial rental fee charged by the last landlord of Rensselaerswyck (what’s now Rensselaer county”), which amounted to a day’s labor, including ten to twenty bushels of wheat. Their small, bloomy rounds are delicately buttery, with hints of sun-dried wheat and sweet cream beneath its pillowy rind, making St. Stephen a true expression of local terroir." This was served with local, NY honey and fresh berry compote. 


Bedell Cellars North Fork Long Island Cabernet Franc 2013

Bedell Cellars produce a range of hand-crafted wines that get the most out of the unique North Fork maritime terroir - sandy soil, warm summers moderated by sea breeze cooled nights. I visited Bedell Cellars back in 2001 and thought they were one of the highest quality producers in the area, especially of red wines.

Slight opaque ruby colored, medium bodied, smokey, slightly earthy black cherry fruits with a hint of leather and cigar box on a slightly astringent tangy finish.

RM 87 points.



https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1984796

http://www.bedellcellars.com/



http://www.murrayscheesebar.com/ 

http://www.murrayscheese.com/

Dunn Vineyards Howell Mtn and Napa Cabs 1987

Dunn Vineyards Howell Mtn and Napa Cabs Anchor Howell Mountain Flight for Festive Dinner

For a gala wine dinner, upon learning Dr. Dan was announcing daughter Hill's engagement, we pulled from the cellar 1987 birth year wines to celebrate the occasion. The feature wines were 1987 vintage Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain and Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. This lead to a flight of Howell Mountain Cabernets as the wine theme for our dinner, which is one of absolute our favorite Napa appellation/wines.

My records show that we hold a vertical collection of sixteen vintages of Randy Dunn's classic Howell Mountain Cabernet and eighteen of the Napa Valley, going back to the 1980 vintage.  This is a suitable collectable wine as it is known for its legendary longevity, which was evidenced by tonight's tasting. Their age worthiness begs for an occasion such as tonight to open an aged vintage selection.

Meeting Randy and Kristina Dunn at the winery up on Howell Mountain was a highlight of our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience in 2008.

To round out the Howell Mountain flight, we pulled O'Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Cab and Viader Napa Valley Red Blend 2000's, and Bill brought along a Camiana Howell Mountain Cab 2007.

If we had more participants, the next likely wine in the flight would have been Clark-Claudon as we have a vertical collection spanning almost two decades of that notable Howell Mountain label as well, or a Palmaz Napa Valley Cab which is also crafted by Randy Dunn.

Adding to the Dunn Howell tasting experience was the fact that Bill just tasted the 2001 vintage at Morton's Grill in NY last weekend.

The selected course for the wine dinner was beef tenderloin, roasted gold potatoes, haricots verts, dinner salad and desserts.

Prior to dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses with fresh fruits - apple and pear slices and mixed berries.

The cheese flight consisted of Bellavitano, Danish Blue, Smoked Gouda, and 4 year old aged white Cheddar (shown left).

Dan prepared a scampi dish and a flatbread with dates, onions, cioppino and blue cheese (see below).

The scampi and flatbread starter course, as well as the cheese flight were accompanied by a white wine flight of Lanson Brut Champagne NV, Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2002, Nikolaihof Wachau Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Im Weingebirge 2006, and a Mollydooker 'Violinist' Verdelho 2008. We also had open a Royal Tokaji Birsalmas 5 Petunyos.

Dan brought a Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012. Ironically, I already had chilled and open the 2002 which we opted for as its time to drink being near the end of its drinking window.

We normally don't get so invested in a white wine flight but Dan's scampi and flatbreads that he brought and prepared on site warranted more attention to the pairing. The Verdelho and the Royal Tokaji were already open in the cooler, left over from an earlier tasting, and holding sufficiently to be part of the flight.

The Red Cabernet Flight

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1987

I opened and decanted this about four hours before dinner. The cork crumbled completely requiring a further fining through a coffee filter. Having never opened a 28 year old Dunn Howell before, with the obliterated cork I was prepared for anything, but all my hopes and expectations were fulfilled as there was no sign of diminution from age whatsoever. Resembled a Left Bank Bordeaux more than a Napa Cab, dark garnet colored, full bodied, the Dunn exhibited aromas of leather, blackberry, black currants and floral tones. Complex but nicely balanced, the berry fruits were accented by a layer of leather and floral with tones of dried tobacco leaf and hints of creosote and earth on the firm but nicely integrated silky smooth tannin finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=7963

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 

Selection from Vertical Collection of Dunn Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignons

I opened and decanted this about four hours before dinner, but unlike the Howell, the cork was perfect, as if it were a two year old! Like the Howell, this too showed no sign of aging. Very Bordeaux like with dark inky garnet/purple colored, medium to full bodied, complex and balanced black berry fruits with tones of lead pencil, tea, tobacco and hints of cedar and leather with acidity turning to modest tannins on the moderate finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=7960
http://cellartracker.com/w?7960

 O'Shaughnessy Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

This was better than I remember and as written in an earlier journal post three years ago this week when I wrote; 'Dark inky color, full bodied, the black berry, black currant and black raspberry fruit predominate but are a bit flabby lacking the more typical depth and concentration of greater vintages, a layer of lead pencil and a slight herbaceous tone, hints of tobacco and charcoal linger on the firm tight tannins indicative of Howell Mountain terroir.'

Tonight, this bottle was more vibrant and expressive than the previous one, lacking that 'flabbiness' and having more depth and concentration than previously. This was my second favorite wine of the evening behind the Dunn Howell Mtn Cab.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=15897




 Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2000 

We met winemaker and principle Delia Viader and tasted this wine on a snowy early winter evening at a Viader tasting at the Chicago Lakeview  Binny's. We then visited the winery during our 2008 Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience. We hold several vintages of this wine dating back to the nineties and tonight's tasting experience puts an exclamation point on the word 'hold'. 

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, this resembled a top tier Bordeaux with its complexity, balance, integrated flavors and tasting profile, but was tight and a bit closed, begging for much more time to settle and open to reveal its true character. Dark berry and black cherry fruits were muted turning to leather, tea, hints of graphite and tobacco box. As we learned with many of our topflight Bordeaux, that we drank them too early, give it several more years.

This is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Cabernet Franc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6703


Camiana Blue Hall Vineyard Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Bill and Beth's son Matt discovered this wine and arranged for each of us to pick up a mini-vertical - 2004-2007 of this Howell Mountain Cab, which we have in the cellar.

Ironically, we also tasted this wine two years ago this week when I wrote, 'The wine is full bodied and dark inky purple color, the nose is perfumed with violets, cedar box and dusty earth; The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon flavors are complex, tight and dry, with big firm tannins masking the intense concentrated black berry and black cherry fruit accented with tobacco, hints of cassis and sweet oak. This wine is great now but should be laid down for five to 10 years.' Tonight, the fruit seemed more expressive and open, but coming across boldly, lacking finesse, balance or polish, coming across as youthful and, as written before, needing time to settle and harmonize.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1268057





The white wine flight ...

Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Im Weingebirge 2006 

Light straw colored, medium light bodied. Bright tangy citrus aromas, clean and crisp bright expressive citrus on open that turns to complex layers of white fruits - melon, pear, lychee fruit and stone, finishing with tangy mineral citrus on the palate cleansing finish.

This was the best match of the white flight with the scampi dish.

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=421066







Mollydooker Violinist Verdelho 2008

Butter colored, medium bodied, complex and intriguing, this wine from this uncommon varietal is an interesting cross between the body of a full complex Chardonnay and the crispness of a Sauvignon Blanc - full essence of pear predominates with subtle melon and tropical fruits on a firm mineral finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=566718






Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2002

This was a surprise bottle I found in the Chardonnay rack in the cellar but it wasn't in our cellar inventory so I pulled it to drink as its was one of the oldest and time to drink since its likely approaching the last chapter of its drinking window.

Gold colored, medium bodied, this packs complex full pear, green apple, mineral and a layer of buttery oak and bright acidity on a round finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=49190






Other pics ...

Grilled Beef tenderloin

Dr Dan's Flatbread

Dr Dan's Scampi

Festive '14 Holiday Dinner Features Extensive Wine Flight

Festive Holiday Dinner Features Beef Tenderloin Wellington with Extensive Wine Flight

Our 'pour boys' wine team gathered for a festive holiday dinner that featured an extensive wine flight to pair and compare. We were joined by Bob L, Mark and Shirley. Linda prepared a spectacular Beef Wellington Tenderloin dinner.

To kick off the evening Bill brought a Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir based sparkling wine. I pulled a Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs to compare. These were paired with fresh Driscolls raspberries and strawberries, shrimp cocktail and a selection of artisan cheeses, and deviled eggs, meatballs, and shrimp brought by Lyle and Terry.

The white wine flight continued with Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008. The cheeses included Stilton with Cranberries, Floralie Goat Cheese with Cranberries and Cinnamon, Smoked Gouda, and Expresso laced Bellavitano.

We kicked off the red wine flight with Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve 2004, followed by Caymus Estate 40th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 for the pre-dinner pairing flight.

For dinner, following caprese salad, Linda prepared extraordinary individual beef wellington tenderloins accompanied by roasted carrots, asparagus and twice baked potatoes.

With dinner we opened the elegantly packaged etched glass bottle of Fantesca Estate Spring Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 which set the stage perfectly for Chateau Lascombs Margaux 2000 with their similar central core of bright black raspberry fruit.

Following the Bordeaux blend, Lyle had brought a Chateau St Michelle Cinq Cepages 2010, but we pulled from the cellar an aged 1997 release to compare with the aged Lascombs instead.

Following dinner, with coffee, Linda served Turtle Cheesecake and a carrot cake roll, with Chocolate Caramel Truffles with sea salt brought by Bill and Beth. With the dessert course, we opened a dessert wine flight of three aged disparate varietals and styles from three different regions - Austrian Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97, Italian Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004, and Hungarian Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000.

The wines:

Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir 2011
NV Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru
Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008
Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve 2004
Caymus Estate 40th Anniversary 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
Fantesca Estate Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Chateau Lascombs Margaux 2000
Chateau St Michelle Cinq Cepages 2010
Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97
Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000
Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004

Sparkling wine flight - 

Part of holiday tradition is to serve sparkly bubbly wines as part of the festive holiday celebration. Bill's vintage Sea Smoke Sea Spray set the bar for this Sparkling White Wine flight. Of course authentic refers to the fact that only wine produced in the méthode champenoise sourced from grapes from the French Champagne region in northwest France is legally and appropriately labeled Champagne. Champagne is typically sourced from Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Bill's Blanc de Noir is named such since it is sourced from Pinot Noir while this Blanc de Blanc is name for its Chardonnay sourced varietal. This provided a great comparison tasting to two varietals from two sides of the world.

Sea Smoke Sea Spray Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir 2011

The name Sea Smoke refers to the fog that drifts inland from the nearby ocean that graces the vines and cools them at night providing some relief of the midday sun and heat. The producer Sea Smoke and the Santa Rita Hills appellation on the south central California Coast are both known for Champagne and Burgundy varietals, premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker - "A delicious complement to quiche, ham and biscuits for Christmas morning brunch. A beautiful blush color, this Pinot Noir based sparkler from Sea Smoke is rapidly becoming one of our favorites. Crisp and clean with a medium body, there is a hint of grapefruit on the palate which is nicely balanced by notes of yeast. A bit pricey but delicious."

WCC 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1572346

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

Like last year, this 1st Cru Champagne is part of a case we acquired several years ago. Sourced from anywhere else, bubbly is simply 'sparkling wine'. This Champagne is NV, non-vintage, or a blend of fruit sourced from multiple years or vintagers. Champagne producers do this to maintain a more consistent branding in their wines, moderating the effects of variations from vintage to vintage. Only the most premium selections are 'declared' a vintage designated specific bottling.  We visited Champagne during our Champagne Wine Experience 2006.


RM 88 points.

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

Mollydooker 'The Violinist' Verdelho 2008

Verdelho is a white grape varietal that has been grown in Portugal for centuries and is
one of the most popular grapes planted on the small island of Madeira where vines were first planted in the 15th century. The variety produces highly acidity wine if they are aged, but when drunk young they provide some of the most fruit filled flavorful wines of the Madeiras. It is now a popular grape being widely planted in the new world wine regions from Argentina to South Australia.

No wimpy white wine here. Medium bodied, a cross between the body of a chardonnay and the crispness of a sauvignon blanc - full essence of pear predominates with subtle citrus, melon and tropical fruits on a mildly acidic full mineral finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=566718


Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2004

Linda and I discovered this wine at a memorable outing during one of our get-away weekends to Chicago,  at Smith & Wollensky sitting outside overlooking the river for a summer afternoon wine, salad and cheese interlude. 
 

One of our perennial favorites although if you read this blog you'll know we don't do a lot of Pinot Noir compared to other varietals.
Domaine Serene produce at least three ultra premium priced Pinots above this one, none of which have I tasted. I look forward to doing so at some point as I love this wine. I am not a fan, however of their lower priced entry level offerings including Yamhill Cuvee. But then I've often written how elusive is a low priced high QPR Pinot Noir.

The fruit was more subdued than I remember. At ten years old, I wonder if this is past it prime drinking window or just a more subtle vintage release. Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, the black cherry and black raspberry fruits are a bit subdued and compete with tones of leather, earth, anise, spicy cinnamon with a touch of smoke and oak on the moderate tannin finish. 

RM 89 points.

http://www.domaineserene.com/  


Caymus Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 - Special 40th Anniversary Bottling

If you read this blog often, you've probably already seen me praising this amazing wine. As I've written here several times, the 2012 vintage of Caymus Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is spectacular and was a perfect compliment to our cheeses, tenderloin beef steak dinner and dark chocolate truffles dessert. Not only did they release a blockbuster for the vintage, they packaged it in a celebratory bottle and commemorative label, and then they lowered the price! A wine that typically sells at the street price of $65, this was widely available at ten dollars off the regular price or $55 at release. The street price has now crept up to $59. For drinking now or saving for a couple years, this is a great buy for the price point, and for special occasions or anniversary celebration dinners. And for better value, they also offer a one liter bottle. This is a showcase wine that shows Napa Valley Cabernet at its best with consistency, early gratification and moderate aging potential.

As featured in my recent earlier blog journal tasting reports on this wine, this is the 40th release of this legendary label and it features a special 40th Anniversary release label for the occasion. The 2012 vintage release also  shows the classic characteristics of Caymus Estate Cabernet at its best - early approachability and drinkability as a young wine.

Typical legendary Caymus Cabernet style - dark blackish ruby/garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely structured, complex but smooth, well balanced and polished, it opens with sweet ripe blackberry and raspberry flavors highlighted by layers of milk chocolate, subtle tones of cinnamon, vanilla and hints of caramel and kirsch, giving way to a smooth lingering modest tannin finish. Against the more elegant and complex Fantesca and the sophisticated blends, this appeared much more one dimensional that when consumed standalone.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1805868

http://www.caymus.com


Fantesca Estate and Winery, Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

To compare against the Caymus Napa Cabernet and to set the stage for the Chateau Lascombs we opened this 2004 Fantesca Spring Mountain Napa Cab. We visited Duane and Susan Hoff at their spectacular mountainside estate of Fantesca Spring Mountain Estate and Winery during our Napa Wine Experiences in 2007 and in 2009.  With their elegant etched glass bottles, we enjoy serving this wine at special occasions, and we love their sophisticated and elegant wines too. This was the first vintage release under their ownership. 

Fantesca Napa Valley,
Spring Mtn Cabernet Sauvignon
Etched glass, painted bottle.
(2006 shown)

Returning to the '04 Cabernet, the Fantesca was medium-full bodied, dark garnet colored, complex but smooth and polished with bright forward fruits of black currant, dark berry and black raspberry, accented by sweet dark chocolate, a hint of cassis, and a tone of spice on the lingering refined tannin finish.

RM 93 points.

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

http://www.fantesca.com




Château Lascombes Margaux 2000

Bill shared this classic aged Bordeaux Margaux from a classic vintage from his cellar. At fourteen years, this exhibited more subdued fruits and floral than earlier tasting two years ago. I wonder if its just entering an 'closed' period in its aging or perhaps we didn't allow it enough time to open.

Often, such sophisticated and complex wines need a whole day to open to truly reveal their native character and profile. Decanted but aged for about and hour to ninety minutes, this showed medium-body, deep ruby/purple-color, opening  to a classic Margaux bouquet of earthy floral with flavors of earthy, leathery firm blackberry, black currant, and black cherry fruits with a layer of tar, vanilla and moderate tannins on a long, berry, soft oak finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6403



Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 

We debated about what to open next following the Lascombes to pair with the tenderloin and compare with the Bordeaux Blend. This mating dance of flight selection that we go through at such dinners is a great part of the fun. Having a deep cellar with lots of choices allows us the option to design the flight based on what the guests happen to bring.

Lyle brought the most recent 2010 release of Cinq Cepages California Bordeaux blend. We considered pulling from the cellar another younger vintage of the Lascombes, but following the 2000 Lascombes blend, we opted to open an older 1997 Cinq Cepages release instead. We pulled this from our vertical collection that spans ten vintages of this classic wine that was wine of the year with its 1996 release.  Cinq Cepages means 'five flavors' ala a Bordeaux style Meritage blend.

There was still much life left in this seventeen year old - medium bodied, vibrant bright black raspberry, red currants and kirsch flavors highlighted by a layer of tea and hint of caramel and touch of spice on a moderate short light polished tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2205

Dessert wine flight - 

We finished with three dessert wines from different regions with contrasting styles and profiles. These were no doubt straw colored upon release, over time they darkened to butter color, then weak tea colored, eventually darkening to the dark orange rust color they possesses now. Allowed to continue to age, they will likely eventually darken to dark strong tea color, and then maple syrup color, although I suspect none will necessarily improve the flavor and suitability of the wine.

Some classic dessert wines are built to last decades, I suspect none of these will improve further and the Ruster Ausbruch and Cavalchina Veneto Passito are likely at or even past their peak drinking window. All were moderately priced high QPR values enabling a triple treat comparison tasting such as tonight.




Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Birsalmás 2000

Burnt orange colored, medium full bodied, sweet apricot with tones of peach turning to pink grapefruit citrus on a tongue coating smoky almond finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=381819

Herbert Triebaumer Ruster Ausbruch 1996/97

We still have a case of this wine, so stay tuned as we monitor this over the coming months and years.
This is a Chardonnay blend. The thick almost syrupy extracted sweet fruit was offset by a smoky roasted almond nut flavor. Rather than the highly desirable apricot or peach flavors, this tended to be more citrus focused this tended to be more citrus focused with a tone of tangerine predominating.

RM 87

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1455246

Cavalchina Passito Veneto IGT 2004 

Medium-full bodied and thick - apple fruits, subtle tangerine, hint of apricot and peach flavors are overtaken by wet wood, smoke and nut on a full flavorful lingering finish.

RM 87 points.

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

The Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

Preparing the Beef Wellington -