Special tribute wines for Special Mom’s Mother’s Day Dinner

Special tribute wines for Special Mom’s Mother’s Day Dinner

For Mother’s Day dinner, we were joined by sons Sean and Alec, their wives, Michelle and Vivianna, and their daughters.

Linda prepared grilled Tomahawk Rib-eye beefsteaks, served with mashed potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole and grilled mushrooms, with veggie and fruit plates and ceasar salad.

For a wine accompaniment with dinner, I pulled from the cellar a wine flight that included a special label that is itself a tribute to mothers, and one that is a birthyear vintage tribute to daughter-in-law Vivianna.

With the appetizer, veggie and fruit plates and the salad course we opened this high QPR easy drinking Santa Barbara Chardonnay. 

Diatom Santa Barbara Chardonnay 2023

We featured this wine in recent blogposts - Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023.

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Chester Kidder Red Blend 2017

Wine legend Allen Shoup created the Long Shadows Collection of wines and named one wine in honor of his mother, Elizabeth Chester, and his grandmother, Maggie Kidder. He selected Long Shadows' Director of Winemaking and Viticulture, Gilles Nicault, to craft this New World blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other classic Bordeaux varieties.

The Chester-Kidder Red Blend is from Long Shadows Vintner’s Collection which I have featured often in earlier blogpost pages … Long Shadows Cellars feature a portfolio of limited release premium wines crafted by world class winemakers who specialize in particular varietal wines, all sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley fruit. 

We visited Long Shadows and featured their unique wine offerings in this earlier blogpost. 

Long Shadows was the creation of Allan Shoup, leader of Chateau St Michelle from 1983 to 2000. There he introduced Washington State grapes to winemakers from around the world in collaboration to produce quality wines. Under his leadership, Chateau St Michelle became the largest producer of Riesling varietal wines in the world. 

After retirement from Chateau St Michelle he founded Long Shadows to produce world class ultra-premium wines in Washington with fruit sourced from there. He built a state of the art winery in Walla Walla and recruited a team of legendary producers to craft signature wines from the best vineyards' fruit from the Washington Columbia Valley. Three years into the new venture Long Shadows was awarded the Winery of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine. 

Shoup recruited a top winemaker with expertise and a track record producing best in class wine in each category or type of wine based on a style and varietal grape. Marketed under the Vintners Collection, each of the Long Shadows labels is a testament to the legend of the winemaker for each label based on each 

varietal.

Since the beginning, Long Shadows' Director of Winemaking and Viticulture Gilles Nicault, has overseen the operations of the winery and worked closely with the vintners to bring each winemaker’s vision to completion. Internationally renowned winemakers Randy Dunn (Feather Cabernet Sauvignon); John Duval (Sequel Syrah); Philippe Melka (Pirouette Red Wine); and the late legendary Michel Rolland (Pedestal Merlot) as participating partner winemakers in their respective wines. 

Gilles also crafts Poet’s Leap Riesling and Saggi, a Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, in styles that remain true to their original winemakers, Armin Diel and Giovanni Folonari respectively. And finally, Gilles crafts this Chester-Kidder, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend, independently.

Gilles Nicault has served as director of winemaking and viticulture since Long Shadows inception in 2003. As resident winemaker overseeing daily operations at Long Shadows' state-of-the-art winery in Walla Walla, Gilles works with a group of celebrated vintners from around the globe. It is his job to ensure that each winemaker's vision is realized in the vineyard and the cellar.

Gilles grew up in southern France and graduated from the University of Avignon with a four-year degree in viticulture and enology. He honed his craft in the fabled hillside wineries of Côte du Rhône, Provence and Champagne. In 1994, already a vintner of rising fame in his homeland, Gilles traveled to Washington State to expand his winemaking skills. Here he worked for several top Washington wineries, including Woodward Canyon, before joining Long Shadows. Seattle magazine named him Washington State’s Winemaker of the Year in 2016.

Gilles works closely with the state’s top growers to execute a diverse winemaking protocol at Long Shadows’ state-of-the-art facility in Walla Walla to produce wines of exceptional quality, true to the Columbia Valley’s terroir. 

We wrote about this label in several blogposts, most recently ‘Long Shadows Chester Kidder with Filet of Beef.’

It is a unique blend of Bordeaux varietals plus Shiraz/Syrah for a big bold expressive red wine, ideally suited for pairing with the grilled beefsteaks. 

We hold a half dozen vintages of this label acquired as part of our Long Shadows Vault Club allocations. For this dinner, we pulled the 2017 vintage, the same vintage and from the same appellation that we served for Linda’s birthday dinner, of another favorite Columbia Valley Red Bordeaux Blend, Force Majeure Epinette, featured in this blogpost of that special dinner - Birthday celebration dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse Naperville.

The 2017 Chester-Kidder is a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Syrah, and 6% Petit Verdot. it was aged 30 months in French oak barrels with 85% being new. 

The grapes were sourced from vineyards in Columbia Valley, Washington. The Cabernet Sauvignon was from Candy Mountain AVA and gives this wine structure and textured mouthfeel; Stone Tree Vineyard (Wahluke Slope) adds juicy, ripe cherry flavors; Dionysus Vineyard Petit Verdot, a standout site for this variety, is blended to contribute balanced acidity and dark fruit character that lifts the finished wine.

This release was rated 95 points by pundit Owen Bargreen, 94 points and Highly Recommended by International Wine Review, 93 points and Editors' Choice by Wine Enthusiast, and 93 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 92 points by Stephen Tanzer.

Winemaker’s Note - Dark in color with generous aromas of wild blackberries wrapped around a pleasantly earthy core that’s accented by hints of oak spice. On the mid-palate, graphite and black licorice are complemented by a burst of vibrant fruit that lingers across a lengthy finish. A beautifully integrated wine with a broad, polished mouthfeel.

Deep dark ruby colored, full-bodied, rich, vibrant, bold concentrated savory black plum, black currant, wild blackberry and blue berry fruits accented by cassis, herbs, graphite, black tea, bacon fat, tobacco and hints of cinnamon spice and eucalyptus and oak with velvety tannins on a lengthy tongue-coating finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3566693

https://longshadows.com/library/2017-chester-kidder/471

https://longshadows.com/

Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 

In a tribute to daughter-in-law Vivianna, the latest/newest mother in our growing family. we also opened a birth-year vintage Napa Cabernet Sauvignon we were holding in our cellar, from an iconic producer that we served at her and Alec’s wedding reception, and several other special events, as featured in these blogposts…. 

Big Bottle Birthyear wines for Wedding Celebration

Special Silver Oak Birthyear wines for Festive Holiday Open House, 

And, we recalled and shared our special unique visit to the Silver Oak cooperage, that is a foundation of the Silver Oak profile and brand … Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon is aged four years exclusively in this Missouri Oak before release … Cooper's Oak Winery and SILVER OAK Cooperage

We opened this producer’s Napa Valley label Cabernet from Viv’s birthyear vintage. We also still  hold the Alexander Valley and Bonny’s Vineyard labels of that vintage. 

At 34 years, while the label was a bit soiled, the foil, and most importantly the fill level and cork were still ideal. 

While past its prime, reaching the end of it optimal drinking window, showing a slight bit of haze or cloudiness, and taking on a bit of tartness in the aged fruit, this was still drinking nicely. 

Winemaker Notes - The 1991 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has a vibrant ruby-red color. It has a nose of bing cherry and red pepper. This wine is light to medium bodied with a medium length finish. Enjoy now. May need decanting due to light sediment.

This was rated a whopping 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate back in 1995, 93 rating from Wine Spectator, and 90 points by Wine Spectator. 

Blogger, wine writer Tom Lee publishes the Zinfandel Chronicles and featured this wine in 2018 giving it 91 points, and advising to ‘drink soon’.

https://zinfandelchronicles.com/2018/01/1991-silver-oak-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley-bottle-notes/

Garnet colored with a slight bit of rust color and cloudiness setting in, medium bodied, dark ripe black cherry and black berry fruits starting to give way to a slight tartness, with notes of tobacco leaf, herbs, dusty rose and spice notes finishing with hints of that signature sweet oak and soft tannins and glycerin. 

RM 88 points at this stage. Time to drink up. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/21346

https://silveroak.com/

Old and recent reds with ribeye steaks

Old and recent Big Reds with Grilled Ribeye Beefsteaks

We hosted son Alec & daughter-in-law Vivanna and their girls for grilled rib-eye beefsteaks dinner, served with roasted potatoes, grilled mushrooms and onions, which Alec grilled while Linda prepared most of the rest of the meal, 

They came over to bring cupcakes and to have cake for/with cousin/grandaughter Lilac’s birthday for whom we were babysitting. 

I was going to pull one of the wines from the producers we visited together during our Rhône Valley Wine Experience back in 2018, but I pulled from the cellar a special, vintage aged wine from Alec’s birth year, from that southern Rhône appellation that we visited. We had just tasted this producer’s wines at the SoWal Wine Festival in (San) Destin, FL, featured in these pages in blogpost - SoWal Wine Festival Sandestin.

We also pulled a more recent vintage big red for those not so inclined to enjoy an aged vintage release, and a white to pair with the artisan cheese that Alec and Viv brought. 

On their way over, Alec & Viv picked up an artisan English Stilton Blue Cheese at Murray’s cheese-shop inside the local Mariano’s grovery. We have fun with these cheeses ever since we used to visit the original Murray’s Cheese retail shop and adjacent wine bar restaurant on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, Manhatten when we visited them when they were living in nearby Chelsea. 

I love this cheese selection which provided a perfect pairing with the remains of the Barsac Sauterne we had left over from our neighborhood wine tasting last week in Destin - featured in this blogpost  Neighborhood Wine Tasting and Small Bites Gathering. 

Château Cantegril Barsac Bordeaux 2019

This is a highly-regarded, unclassified sweet dessert wine produced by the Dubourdieu family, owners of the winery since 1924. The Dubourdieu family also owns Chateau Doisy Daene a producer of Classified Sauternes.

Chateau Cantegril has a 22 hectare plot on the chalky plateau of the Haut Barsac. It is located where once a fortified castle of the same name stood back in the Middle Ages.

Barsac dessert wines tend to provide high QPR - quality price ratios, as more modest variations of the neighboring Sauternes, which tend to be slightly sweeter and richer, and far more expensive, due to the very small yield of the late harvested grapes ‘Botrytisized’ grapes. 

It is a blend of primarily Sémillon, 65%, and Sauvignon Blanc, 35%, grapes grown in limestone-rich soils.

Fermentation takes place in barrels having separated each sorted pick of each individual plot. It is aged 12 months in french oak barrels.

Annual Production is 30 000 bottles

Golden colored, full bodied, thick unctuous, rich, sweet nutty caramel fruits, with notes of pear, white flowers, ginger and passionfruit, citrus, honey, and spice with balanced acidity.

RM 89 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wineFamily/1407573

Château Boisrenard Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1990 

We opened a wine from Domaine de Beaurenard whose wine we tasted at the recent SoWal Wine Festival. It is from Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in the Rhone Valley that we visited together during our Rhone Valley Wine Experience (We visited to Château La Nerthe and Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe as the other highlight of our visit to the appellations Châteauneuf-du-Pape.)

The Domane de Beaurenard has been a family run estate for seven generations and is today run by brothers Daniel and Frederic Coulon. The estate includes 80 acres in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and 62 acres in the Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau appellation. Robert M. Parker Jr. calls Domaine de Beaurenard “one of the old, classic estates of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Their two offerings include the dark-colored regular cuvee and the barrique-aged Cuvee Boisrenard…Both are top flight Chateauneuf-du-Papes…”

The winery has a tasting room located on Av. Saint-Pierre de Luxembourg, the main route as you enter the village Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the south. 

Domaine de Beaurenard is another Chateauneuf du Pape estate that can be called a true, family affair. That’s because the vineyards have been in the same family for 7 generations. Domaine de Beaurenard dates way back to 1695. At the time, it went under the name of “Bois Renard,” which as you might guess, is where the special Cuvee, used for both their red and white wines got its name.

Today, Domaine de Beaurenard is managed by Frederic Coulon and Daniel Coulon. Domaine de Beaurenard has been producing, bottling, and marketing their own wine for close to 100 years. They began making their own wine at Domaine de Beaurenard in 1929.

Domaine de Beaurenard sits in the village Chateauneuf du Pape. The estate consists of just under 80 acres of vines in the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation, 70 planted to red wine grapes and 10 are reserved for making white Chateauneuf du Pape wine. The vines are located in 25 separate parcels, with much of their Grenache planted in the Cabrieres lieu-dit east of the village.

The estate is classic, typical appellation terroir with clay, limestone, and large stones in the soil. They have old vines, with some of the Grenache dating back over 100 years. Domaine de Beaurenard also owns abiout 35 acres of vineyards in the Cotes du Rhone Villages and 150 acres of vines in the Rasteau AOC. 

While Domaine de Beaurenard grows all 13 Rhone allowed grape varieties for use in their red wine, the primary grapes used in the blend are the three required varietals; Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, plus  some Cinsault, and tiny amounts of Counoise, Muscardin, Terret and Vaccarese.

The winemaking facilities were modernized in 2004. 

This is their premiere label, sourced from the same estate vineyards and produced at the same winery as their other production labels. We’ve held this bottle in our cellar for three decades since acquiring it upon release. 

At thirty five years, the foil and label, and more importantly, the fill level and cork were still in ideal condition - evidence of the cellaring conditions for long term aging in our cellar. 

This was still in its drinking window although nearing the end as it is showing its age slightly with a slight amount of rust coloration and small bit of funkiness upon opening, which blew off for more approachability on day two. Still enjoyable drinking, it is time to drink up soon, in the next couple of years. 

This release was rated 95 points by Wine Advocate back in the summer of 2000.

The wine is aged in three different sized vats, 30 hectoliter foudres, 80 hectoliter truncated oak vats, and 228-liter oak barrels for between 9 to 18 months depending on the wine and the character of the vintage.

Winemaker Notes - “Made from parcels of old vines (60-90 years in age) planted in terroirs of great personality and complexity. Grapes picked when fully ripe and meticulously hand-sorted for extra concentration. Very low yield: 15-20 hl/hectare. These old vines were planted in a mix of varieties: the symphony of 13 varieties is thus in evidence, but with a majority of Grenache. This wine spends a long time in vats, and is matured in the most traditional ways: no filtration, 18 months' ageing in oak casks, fined with fresh egg whites, bottled and left to rest in the cellars.”

Dense ruby/purple-colored, full bodied, black fruits with hints of black tea, cassis and spice box touch of oak.

RM 90 points 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/30341

I also pulled a more recent Big Red Syrah for the ladies, less inclined to enjoy the mature, aged CDP. 

Lewis Cellars Ethans Syrah 2016

We love this big full throttle style of Syrah with thick, concentrated, rich round fruits. True to the wine profile, it was packaged in an extra heavy glass bottle. 

I've often written in these pages about the fun we have with this Lewis branding, with its signature 'L' on the label, ala the sit-com Laverne and Shirley, where Laverne always wore a large “L” on her sweaters,  which we also attribute to wife Linda, or her mother Lucy, or our daughter Erin Leigh, or her daughter, our first grandchild/daughter Lucy, and other grand-daughters Lavender and Lilac, when opening it for special family occasions such as tonight 

We’ve featured this producer and this label in several previous blogposts in these pages - Father's Day Special Dinner features favorite BBQ Ribs, Syrah and Zin, and Lewis Ethan's Syrah - Piazza Del Dotto Sangiovese, excerpted below.

We visited Lewis Cellars with our wine group during our Pour Boys' 2017 Napa Wine Experience, and, Alec and Viv also visited Lewis during their Napa Valley honeymoon getaway. 

We also have fun paying tribute to the ‘Hoosier’ heritage of proprietor Randy Lewis who was also a Indianapolis 500 race driver from our native Indiana, and, their affinity to family, naming labels after their grandkids - Alec, Ethan and Mason. We adopted Alec's Blend as a signature label for son Alec and feature it at family celebrations, we more often than not open Lewis wines for family occasions, such as tonight. 

This label, Ethan's Syrah, is made from cooler-climate vines, from mountain fruit crafted from small lots selected from Mt. Veeder and Pritchard Hill at the south end of the Vaca range on the eastern range, and Mayacamas range, respectively, on the western range forming and overlooking Napa Valley in between. 

Lewis Cellars Syrah is a nod to the great Rhône wines it's modeled after. It is aged in American oak. 

We love Lewis' style of big, spicy, concentrated wines that are balanced, yet full of black fruit and mature, mouth-coating tannins.

This was aged in American and French oak for 19 months.

This was stunningly good. Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, concentrated, dense rich, the 100% Syrah fruit explodes in the mouth with flavors of ripe blackberries and blueberries, notes of clove spice, smoke and toast. and spice, tongue coating, chewy tannins on the long finish. Spectacular! 

RM 94 points.  

Winemaker's notes on this wine, "Savory  and  sweet  with  ripe  boysenberry  and  blue  fruit, lavender,  pancetta  and  white  truffle,  it  exudes  an  earthy,  engaging  character.  Vivid,  clean  and focused   on   the   palate,   the   wine  finishes   with  a  flourish  of  mineral   and  white  pepper."

Wine Spectator also gave this 94 points; "Plush yet well-structured, with luxurious blackberry, mocha and smoky spice flavors that build richness toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2025. — T.F."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3060607

https://www.lewiscellars.com/

MR Pedestal Merlot Tribute Remembrance Dinner

Michel Rolland Pedestal Merlot Tribute Remembrance Dinner 

Readers of these pages might think I’m obsessive and make too much out of a bottle of wine or its label, and they might be right. But selecting and tasting a wine often brings back memories of friends, good times, travel, and evokes many stories. You be the judge.  

Tonight was such a case. Friday evening, end of a busy event filled week, I longed for an enjoyable casual sipping wine with dinner. Scouring the wine cellar I was looking at Merlot for its complex but velvety soft drinking, and pairing with food. 

Wife Linda grilled quality prime chopped beefsteak prepared in my favorite Pittsburgh-style (charred with hot pink center). We also enjoyed a plate of olives and fine olive oil produced by and gifted from our French friend Philipe from fruit from the tree in their backyard in the Luberon in Provençal France. Philippe brought a large container of their fine olive oil during his visit last fall. A visit to the Speziani family home was one of the drivers and highlights of our visit to Aix-en-Provence and the Luberon this past summer. Our relationship with them dates back to our hosting Philipe as a French exchange student in our home when son Alec was his sponsor back in High School.

I selected a bottle of Merlot from the Long Shadow’s Vintners Collection, crafted by the legendary master of Merlot, Michel Rolland, producer of and consulting winemaker to the world’s most iconic Merlot labels. We own several of his and his clients’ labels including his proprietary Michel Rolland Napa Cabernet, Chateau Clinet and Chateau Figeac, one of our signature birthyear labels we collect for our son’s birthyear.  

Long Shadows created their special Collection of wines, each crafted by a world renowned winemaker selected for their particular expertise in a specific varietal and style of wine. Michel Rolland was chosen to craft the Pedestal Merlot label. 

Michel Rolland was a French Bordeaux-based oenologist, with hundreds of clients across 13 countries as consulting winemaker to produce Merlot based wines. Wine Enthusiast memorialized Roland in a feature, ‘The Master Blender Who Turned Bordeaux into a Global Sensation Leaves the Wine World Forever Changed“, excerpted below.

The celebrated Bordeaux-based oenologist and winemaker who pioneered a style of wine that became fashionable in the 1990s and 2000s, died suddenly of a heart attack on March 20 at age 78.

“Rolland was a master blender who developed the style known for its ripe fruit, extended maceration, low yields, and new wood, crafting wines that were soft, lush, and generous, with unusually high alcohol for the time. Some loved it, especially in the American market; others found it too heady and alcoholic. But everyone can agree that he changed the wine world forever.’

“Born in 1948, into a Libourne wine family, owners of Château le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol, Rolland grew up surrounded by Merlot vineyards. His career began in 1973 after he graduated from Bordeaux University’s Wine Faculty. Rolland became known as the original “flying winemaker,” traveling the world and advising wineries as far-flung as California, where he created the cult Cabernet style in Napa, Chile, and Argentina.”

It just so happened that this week, I also lost a dear friend, for whom I just recently traveled to Florida to visit in what turned out to be his final days. LLL, or L3 as we called him, grew up on 105th in the Beverly section of Chicago, and we reminisced about him growing up in his neighborhood amongst historic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and legendary associate Walter Burleigh Griffin. He was unaware of Griffin, and I was able to share the importance of the legacy and history of Griffin for whom 104th Place is today called “Griffin Way”, for the large number of turn of the century prairie style homes he designed and built there. Griffin is a key character of my tours that I give at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in historic Oak Park. 

Below shows some of the historic Frank Lloyd Wright and Walter Burleigh Griffin homes in my friend’s old neighborhood. This is a screenshot from The Prairie School Traveler, an amazing source of prairie school architecture sites. 

Such is the backdrop of my selection of a special Michel Rolland label, as a dual tribute to two recently departed special individuals. 

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Pedestal Merlot 2017

I wrote about Long Shadows Vintners Collection in this blogpost, Long Shadows Cellars feature world class winemakers and Columbia Valley fruit, and this Pedestal Merlot and other Collection wines in several blogposts back in 2022 - Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot 2015, and Long Shadows Duo Showcase Katy Business Dinner, and Catch 35 Naperville Surf & Turf and Wine Dinner, excerpted here. 

Long Shadows Vintners' Collection 

I have written in these pages about Long Shadows, the brand portfolio of several labels, all crafted by world famous winemakers from fruits sourced in the Washington State Columbia Valley. This was the vision of Allen Shoup, former CEO of Chateau St Michelle, champion and evangelist for Washington State wines. He formed the brand and recruited a world famous winemaker for each varietal based label. 

As noted above, Michel Rolland, Pomerol vintner and consultant to many of the world’s top wineries, was selected to produce this Right Bank Bordeaux Blend wine. He is the 'Master of Merlot', winemaker to some of the leading Bordeaux labels from the Right Bank where Merlot is the predominant varietal in the blend as well as the Napa based Merlot based Red Blend release cited herein. 

We've long known about the brand and joined their club while visiting their tasting room hospitality center in Woodinville WA during our Seattle Wine / Dine Experience in 2018. We remain Vault Club Members of the allocated portfolio and get a case each quarter of two of the varietal based selections including this Pedestal label.

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Pedestal Merlot 2017

We know this wine well as I have several vintages of this label in our cellar collection, having been a wine-club member for close to a decade. As noted, we also know and hold several vintages of the winemaker Michel Rolland's flagship labels, legendary Pomerol Bordeaux and Napa Valley oenologist, vintner and consultant to some of the world’s best wineries. 

This was the best tasting vintage of this label I have had as this vintage selection and food pairing met my lofty expectations. As I write often in these pages, an optimal food/wine pairing amplifies the enjoyment of both. 

At nine years, the bottle was pristine and this is drinking at the apex of its drinking profile, but should continue to age for pleasurable drinking for perhaps another decade. 

This vintage release is a blend of 82% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, that was aged 22 months in French oak barrels, with 86% being new.  

The 2017 Pedestal Merlot was predominately grown on the Wahluke Slope, a warm area of the Columbia Valley that produces Merlot with layers of fresh, dark fruit and beautiful aromatics. A small amount of Merlot from Dionysus Vineyard and The Benches was used to build layers and complexity. Red Mountain’s Tapteil Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon added backbone. Petit Verdot from Dionysus Vineyard contributed to the finished wine’s rich mid-palate.

This release was awarded 95 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 94 points by Wine Advocate and International Wine Reviews, 93P points and a Cellar Selection by Wine Enthusiast, and 92+ points by Stephen Tanzer.

Winemakers tasting notes - “Vibrant and deep in color, with a beautiful array of red and dark berries woven around a hint of well-integrated oak spice and refined tannins. Soft and rich on the mid-palate extending through a lengthy finish that leaves an elegant impression.”

Dark inky ruby purple in color, full bodied, bright vibrant opulent black raspberry and blackberry fruits with notes of cassis, spice, dark mocha chocolate, cigar box, black tea and hints of vanilla with a smooth polished medium silky tannin laced finish.

RM 94 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3581700

http://www.longshadows.com 

@LongShadowsWine

  

Fabulous Top Rated Wines for Filet Steak Dinner

Fabulous Top Rated Wines for Filet Steak Dinner

Just returned from Spring Break skiing in the Rockies, son Ryan and d-in-law Michelle invited us over for Saturday night dinner to watch her Alma Mater University of Illinois in the NCAA Final Four basketball tourney. 

Ryan prepared prime filets of beef steaks with balsamic rice and salad. Dessert consisted of cherry pie and ice cream. 

For wine accompaniment with the beefsteaks he pulled from his extensive cellar this ultra-premium single vineyard designated Cabernet from a producer we know well, Venge Vineyards’, Bone Ash Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon;

To pair and compare, I took from our cellar another ultra-premium single vineyard designated Big Red Napa Cab, Cakebread Dancing Bear Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon blend,

Venge Bone Ash Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

We have long enjoyed Venge Vineyards wines dating back to the elder Nils Venge, winemaker Kirk’s dad, and their Family estate vineyard in St Helena. 

We visited Nils at Saddleback and at other wineries, several times during the nineties. One of our more memorable days, featured in this blogpost, Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge, we toured Saddleback, then lunched together at Tre Vigne in St Helena, then we drove up to Calistoga to meet Kirk at the new Rossini Ranch location where they were developing the property and digging wine caves. 

Kirk has since gone on to earn great notoriety with his own highly acclaimed wines such as this which was rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 91 points by James Suckling.

This Cabernet Sauvignon Bone Ash Vineyard is from that 23-year-old Calistoga estate vineyard.

Calistoga’s earliest settlers arrived in the 1840’s and planted various field varieties of vineyards, some of which still stand today with vines that are 80 to 110 years old.

The old Rossini Winery in Bell Canyon, had a historic stone building that dated back to 1891. The Venge’s purchased this property in the mid 1990s and completely restored this old ‘ghost’ winery which had sat vacant from prohibition until their purchase. 

They produced their wines there until they sold the winery in 2008 to the Foley Wine Group, (although they kept the rights to the Venge brand and name). Nils sold that property to vintner William Foley and it is now home to Merus Vineyards. We had Robert Foley Napa Cabernet yesterday, wine the day before this tasting at a wine lunch featured in these pages - Lunch at The Cellar Door Bistro & Wine Shop DG.

After selling the Rossini property, Kirk acquired their Calistoga property including the Bone Ash Vineyards, as well as taking over the Venge Vineyards brand from Nils. They built a new winery that was completed two years later. In the fall of 2020, the winery survived a very close encounter with flames from the Glass Fire burning right onto the property and almost up to the winery itself. 

Calistoga is today its own AVA, bearing distinction for its climate, its aspect, and its soils. As the season wears on and the soil dries out, light plumes of volcanic ash will dust up, looking like the ashes of the bones of those early settlers. Hence, the name “Bone Ash Vineyard” on the Calistoga Estate, one of three estate vineyards Venge own and farm in Napa Valley. 

Winemaker’s Notes - “This wine begins with concentrated purple color and blue fruit aromatics. Black and blue berries, jelly jar jam notes fill the senses. As this wine opens, the background notes of French Oak vanillin and fresh earth come forth. A wonderful, pure Cabernet expression. Great fruit, mid-palate, body and streaming length, this wine has it all! The palate is polished and sophisticated. Cranberry, black currant, blackberry and black cherry are all intertwined. The acid and tannin balance promises a wine that will hold for well over a decade in proper cellaring conditions.”

Dark ruby inky purple colored, full bodied, concentrated, round, oppulent but velvety smooth, pure and polished, black berry and black currant fruits accented by spice and hints of bitter dark mocha on the long lingering finish. 

This would be my WOTN - Wine of the Night in many tastings of several selections. It was a fabulous pairing with the steak and a fabulous tasting with the Cakebread. 

RM 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2476591

https://vengevineyards.com/our-wines/bone-ash-vineyard-cabernet-sauvignon/

Cakebread Dancing Bear Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

We tasted and acquired this bottle at the winery during an estate vineyard visit and tasted back in 2018 - Cakebread Cellars Reserve Tasting during our 2018 Napa Valley Wine Experience..

https://www.cakebread.com/2013-dancing-bear-ranch-cabernet-sauvignon-howell-mountain-napa-valley.html

Like the Venge Bone Ash above, this wine is also a single vineyard designated bottling, and was also rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and it got 92 points by Decanter.

Unlike the 100% Cabernet Venge label, this 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Dancing Bear Ranch was a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot.

This release was aged 22 months in about 50% new French oak.

Cakebread Cellars Dancing Bear Ranch Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

In 1998, Cakebread purchased 200 acres on Howell Mountain and commenced development of these hillside vineyards into what becomes Dancing Bear Ranch. The property got its name from Black Bears the roamed the site and 'danced' amonge the vines tearing them up during the night. The first vintage of Dancing Bear Ranch is released in 2002.

Dancing Bear Ranch is located on the upper slopes of Howell Mountain in the Northeastern Napa Valley at upper elevations ranging from 1450’ to over 1600’ above sea level and a near 360 degree exposure. The mountainous site spans 194 acres of which only 29 are planted. The varietals planted there are all Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The vines there are stressed, being rooted in shallow, rocky soils, ideal growing conditions for wine grapes. With its isolated mountainous locations, the site is home to a wide range of wildlife, including: turkeys, mountain lions, bobcats and of course, bear. 

This vintage release is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot.

As noted, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave this wine 96 points.

Dense ruby/inky black purple color, full bodied, rich thick concentrated but nicely polished and integrated  flavors of blackberry and black raspberry fruits accented by tones of cassis, hints of tar, dark mocha and a touch of cinnamon spice on the lingering tongue coating finish.

RM 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2822548

https://www.cakebread.com/2013-dancing-bear-ranch-cabernet-sauvignon-howell-mountain-napa-valley.html

Amuse Bouche Premiere Napa Valley at Polo Grill, Tulsa

Amuse Bouche Premiere Napa Valley at Polo Grill, Tulsa

Traveling to/through Tulsa, OK, we dined at Polo Grill in the Utica Square Shopping Center.

Polo Grill was founded in 1983 by chef/proprietor Robert Merrifield with a view to offer the finest cuisine and service to guests. Early success allowed for expansion in 1996 adding a combination wine cellar / private dining room (shown below) and an expanded bar area. Further expansion provided growth to a total of five private dining rooms, plus patio dining and an expanded Polo Lounge. 

Polo Grill has become one of Oklahoma’s best restaurants winning many industry awards including Wine Spectator Magazine’s Best of Award for its wine cellar/ list, since 2000. The restaurant wine collection grew to 4,250 bottles and was expanded again in 1998 to a wine inventory of 10,000 bottles with over 1,000 selections. It is since grown to an impressive wine selection/collection with over 1,100 labels and 17,000 bottles. They offer a diverse range of both vertical and horizontal choices, along with half bottles and large format bottles. Also, their Wine by the Glass program features a wide range of 40 rotating options across wine types and budgets.

Polo Grill has also been recognized as the only DiRoNA and AAA Four Diamond restaurant in Oklahoma. 

The wine cellar has been reported to now house 25,000 bottles showcasing ‘1,478 vintages’ featuring extensive selections from California, Burgundy, Champagne, France, Washington and Oregon.

One of the interesting notable key strengths of the wine collection is distinctive offerings from several wine auctions including Premier Napa Valley barrel auction wines with 276 PNV selections of Napa Valley Premiere labels, and Sonoma AVA’s offerings from the SoCo Barrel Auction (barrelauction.sonomawine.com), and boutique wines from Reveal Walla Walla barrel auctions (revealwallawalla.com), and the Willamette Valley (willamettewines.auction) regional selections.

The famous annual PNV is hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), a week-long celebration of Napa Valley wine and community and provides a first look for the wine trade of each year’s highly anticipated vintage. 

We were drawn to Polo Grill because of its culinary reputation coupled with its extensive wine list selection. They bill themselves as “Tulsa’s Best Steakhouse” and their menu selections also include lamb, chicken and seafood specialties, and all the customary starters and side dishes. 

For starters we shared a wedge salad and an order of the cheese bread with olives and olive oil. 

For my entree, I order the filet of beef, prepared ‘Pittsburgh’ style, with a side of mashed potatoes. As one would expect in a top steakhouse, they understood my ‘Pittsburgh’ (charred with hot pink center) request and prepared it perfectly, although it was served less than ideal warm rather hot. 

Linda ordered the shrimp and grits with a petit filet of beef accompaniment. The shrimp was a bit slightly undercooked and the plate, like mine, was warm rather than hot. 

We were served by Parker, who is billed himself as Director of Wine. On Parker’s suggestion, we ordered from the extensive wine list a Napa Valley Premiere auction limited release vintage selection, to meet my request for a red blend to accompany the steak. He provided attentive service including impeccable handling and serving of our wine, extracting and presenting the cork, dutifully and carefully decanting the bottle, and offering a taste. Despite the attention to detail, and representations of their extensive cellar, the wine was served at room temperature, as opposed to the preferred cellar temperature, or cooler.   

At fifteen years, the label, foil and most importantly, the fill level and cork were nearly perfect, although the cork was a bit dry and separated upon extraction with a traditional corkscrew. 

Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Premiere Merlot 2011

This special limited release bottling was produced exclusively for the Premiere Napa Valley auction from a quarter barrel. It is a’ Pomerol-style’ (predominantly Merlot with Cabernet Franc) blend crafted by owner and legendary winemaker Heidi Barrett.

In 2002, Heidi partnered with longtime friend John Schwartz to create Amuse Bouche, a Pomerol-inspired Merlot from Napa Valley. “Recognizing that the cult-wine phenomenon had created an ‘almost aspirational class structure among collectors’, the partners set out to make this limited-edition wine available to a much broader consumer base.”

This special label offering is a blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, sourced from estate vineyards, specially selected and blended, aged in Gamba and Taranasaud barrels, resulting in a wine that the producer describes as ‘rich in cassis, red licorice and mocha flavors’.

This special label was from the 2013 Napa Premiere Auction 17, Lot Number 36, featuring the 2011 vintage Amuse Bouche Winery Napa Valley Merlot. Only five cases were produced. The special (below) label shows this being bottle number 25 of the 60 produced and is initialed by Heidi Barrett. 

Many of the top wine producers support the Premier Napa Valley auction with special limited release bottlings. Our visit to our local Total Wine beverage superstore featured several PNV labels in their Reserve Wine locker. 

Winemaker, co-owner Heidi Barrett grew up in the Napa Valley in a winemaking family and has become one of California's leading winemakers.

After graduating from UC Davis in 1980 with a B.S. Degree in Fermentation Science, she went to work for Justin Meyer at Franciscan Vineyards and Silver Oak. After working ‘crush’ jobs at both Lindeman's Wines in Australia and Rutherford Hill, Heidi Barrett became assistant winemaker to Jerry Luper at Bouchaine Vineyards. In 1983, at age 25, she became winemaker at Buehler Vineyards where she first attracted critical acclaim by greatly improving the wine quality and taking the production from 6,000 cases to 20,000 cases. 

Her bio on the Amuse Bouche website writes: “In 1988, she left Buehler to become an independent winemaker (freelance), making wine for a number of small wineries. Within a week she was hired by Gustav Dalla Valle and was winemaker at Dalla Valle Vineyards until spring 1996. It was there that she took her abilities to the next level creating some powerful yet elegant Cabernets, including the famous "Maya" cult wine, a proprietary Cabernet blend that received two perfect 100 point scores from Robert Parker ( the '92 and '93) as well as record breaking bids at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. She started making wine for Screaming Eagle in 1992, which has also received two perfect 100 pt scores (the '92 and recent '97). A 6-liter bottle of '92 SE set a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction selling for $500,000. A vertical offering of this cult wine went for $650,000 at the 2001 NVWA.”

Since 1988 she has developed an impressive client list of ultra-premium wineries. In addition to her own wines from La Sirena, she is currently the winemaker for Amuse Bouche, Paradigm, Lamborn, Kenzo Estate, Revana, Au Sommet, Vin Perdu, and Fantesca, many labels we hold in our cellar (highlighted) Past winemaking clients include Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Jones Family, Grace Family, Vineyard 29, David Arthur, Barbour Vineyards, and Showket. 

In 1994, Heidi started making her own wine, La Sirena (Spanish and Italian for ‘Mermaid’), starting with a tiny production of Sangiovese, and her first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1996, and in 2000, the first Syrah.

She was winemaker of the year, made Robert Parker's list of wine personalities of the year 1994,1995 and is on Parker's wine heroines list of 1998 (one of two from the US). Parker has dubbed her the "first lady of wine".

Her Winemaking Philosophy:”Balanced, less is more”.

She founded Amuse Bouche with longtime friend John Schwartz in 2002. Their wines consistently gain high marks from wine reviewers. Their general release bottlings are an artist series featuring unique artwork on each label. 

The general production bottling of the Amuse Bouche 2011 was their 10th vintage, a blend of 96% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. The Amuse Bouche website describes that vintage release - “Harvested on October 24 and aged in a combination of Taranssaud, Radoux and Gamba cooperage, and bottled in March 2013. Heidi described this wine as boasting flavors of sweet black cherries and ripe plums with underlying aromas of chocolate, coffee bean, red licorice and exotic spice box.” 560 cases were produced compared to just 5 of the special PNV bottling. 

The general release of this vintage got 92 points from Steven Tanzer and Int'l Wine Cellar.

This wine/food pairing was a perfect compliment/accompaniment to the grilled beefsteak, which increases the enjoyment of both. 

Bright ruby-red colored, medium full bodied, balanced, bright expressive, concentrated fruit forward ripe sweet black raspberry and currant fruits accents of with accents of spice, smoke, herbs and floral, with tangy acidity and smooth tannins on a lingering finish. Some might be taken aback by the forward full sweetness of this wine. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.winespectator.com/restaurants/316/polo-grill

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1812223

https://www.amusebouchewine.com/

https://pologrill.com/