Ducru Beaucaillou & Bollinger La Grande Année at Joseph’s Steakhouse Iowa City

Ducru Beaucaillou & Bollinger La Grande Année at Joseph’s Steakhouse Iowa City 

We traveled with son Ryan and his family to Iowa City, IA to tour his alma mater, the University of Iowa. 

Ryan gave us and the kids/grandkids a campus and town tour that included the spectacular sports facilities - Kinnick Football stadium, Carver-Hawkeye Basketball Arena and adjacent sports facilities, and the world class Medical School and Hospital Complexes. 

We then toured the academic campus, most notably the Tippe School of Business that Ryan attended, the Memorial Union and the historic campus, old state capital building and adjacent museum. 

We then toured the city center with its ped mall, shops, boutiques, restaurants and of course, campus bars. 

A highlight was dinner at Joseph’s Steakhouse downtown, a short walk from our hotel. 

For our dinner entrees, we ordered steaks, petit filet, ribeye and Waygu Beef sirloins. Each was served with whipped potatoes and asparagus spears with Demi-glaze au jus.  All were high quality delicious cuts of beef, superbly prepared and presented. 

Linda and Michelle both ordered one of the house specialities, Ribeye Filet & Fettuccine - house-made pasta, roasted mushrooms, sauteed kale, roasted garlic, demi-glace, with white truffle butter. This was delicious and perhaps the best choice, most likely my choice for next time if we have the opportunity to visit again. 

We ordered a side order of the Fresh Sourdough Bread and the Brussel Sprouts & Bacon. 

For the special outing festive dinner, I brought BYOB from our home cellar an aged birthyear vintage bottle of Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1983 commemorating D-in-law Michelle’s birthyear. 

We also ordered from the extensive Joseph’s Wine List a bottle of vintage Bollinger La Grande Année Brut Champagne 2014. 

https://josephs-steak.com/wine/

Château Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 1983 

Our visit to the magnificent historic Château Ducru Beaucaillou estate, vineyards, winery and cellars was one of the highlights of our trip to St Julien back in 2018 featured in these pages in this post - A visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou - (https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/ducru-beaucaillou.html). 

We hold an extensive collection of Ducru dating back four decades. We served Château Ducru Beaucaillou at our kid’s, Erin and Ryan’s weddings, from large format Jeroboam and Double Magnum bottles. This bottle is one of the few last remaining in our cellar from this vintage. 

Robert Parker awarded this release 98+ points saying upon release, “this is a blockbuster, fabulous Ducru Beaucaillou that should be at its best a good decade from now and last 40-50 years. The proprietor is not alone in thinking this is the finest Ducru Beaucaillou since the 1961.” This is saying a lot given the 1982 vintage was considered one of the best of the century for the region. 

Julien Graves of Boutellier Wines awarded this release 95 points. This release was awarded 94 points by reviewer John Gilman and was considered one of the finest wines of the vintage on either bank of the Gironde and ‘still has several decades of fine drinking ahead of it, now entering its peak period”. 

Amazingly, at 42 years, the fill level was customary lower neck (shown left), the label and foil were pristine, and the cork, while intact and complete, was starting to soften and pulled apart at the bottom of the grip of my Ahso two pronged cork puller, as the extended length cork was longer than the prongs of the implement. 

Upon opening, we decanted this before serving. 

Had we allowed the server to extract the cork using typical means of a corkscrew, it wouldn’t most assuredly disintegrated, or at least pulled apart. She was happy and intrigued to watch me use my ahso, with which I was able to remove the cork gracefully, including the separated tip. She had never seen such a device, nor did the restaurant have one for such occasions. 

Drinking very nicely, still within its drinking window, but likely starting to diminish here forward. 

Slightly opaque garnet colored, medium full bodied, classic St Julien characteristics of structured, tannin laced backbone, yet, pure, elegant and polished, complex and nicely balanced, bright dark berry and black cherry and currant fruits with notes of tobacco, dried roses, wet rock and gravel with hints of creosote and cassis, turning to polished tannins on the smooth, soft, lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2922

https://chateau-ducru-beaucaillou.com/en

Bollinger, La Grande Année, Brut, Champagne, FR, 2014

This is one of Ryan’s favorite producers/labels. Champagne Bollinger produce this special limited release La Grande Année label only in exceptional harvest years, made only from Grand and Premier cru grapes.

La Grande Année is “the embodiment of the carefully preserved traditional expertise of Champagne Bollinger, vinified in oak barrels, sealed with natural cork and riddled by hand, then aged patiently for 10 years in Bollinger’s chalky cellars”.

La Grande Année 2014 is a blend  sourced from 19 crus (vineyards), mostly in Aÿ and Verzenay, for the 61% Pinot Noir, and Chouilly and Oiry for the 39% Chardonnay.

We toured the region and the Bollinger vineyards with son Alec during our Champagne Wine Experience back in 2006 - ((https://mcnees.org/travelsite/trips/champagne/champagne.htm), prior to publishing these pages).

To remove the sediment deposit that forms over the years of aging, they invented the very unique method of riddling: gently and gradually moving the bottle to progressively remove the sediment and guide it into the neck of the bottle, to be disgorged during the bottling process. 

This release was awarded 98 points by Antonio Galloni, 97 points by Alison Napjus and 96 points by Richard Juhlin. 

Winemaker’s tasting notes on this release - “Tinted with golden glints that reflect the wine’s maturity and Bollinger vinification.’ 

“A precise and fruity nose with a slight scent of sea-air. Aromas of cherry and lemon mingle with quince and bergamot. Then notes of hazelnut and almond, peach and mirabelle plum complete this wine’s range of aromas.’

“The initial sensation is a fine and intense effervescence, followed by a wonderful vinosity, and then balanced with delicate acidity. Its very fine texture and sea-air finish bring excellent length on the palate, accompanied by a delicate minerality and the complex flavours of orchard fruit and citrus. This wine unfurls gradually, revealing its full potential and intensity.”

RM 96 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4254330

https://www.champagne-bollinger.com/en/the-collection/grande-annee/

For dessert we enjoyed the Joseph’s CRÈME BRÛLÉE and BREAD PUDDING.

https://josephs-steak.com/

Clark Claudon Napa Cab with grilled beefsteaks

Clark Claudon Napa Cab with grilled beefsteaks 

Summer grilling continues with beefsteaks served with sweet corn on the cob and fresh pasta with tomatoes, onions, squash, corn and fresh homegrown herbs. Notably, I’ve written in the past that when we lived in California, years ago, early in my career, despite the culinary riches of that state, I missed and longed for good beefsteaks, succulent fresh sweet corn and tomatoes, which we enjoy so much, sourced  here in the midwest.  

To accompany the steaks I pulled from the cellar an aged vintage Napa Cabernet from one of our favorite and most deeply held producers. 

Clark Claudon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 

We hold nearly two dozen vintages of this label and at twenty-three years this bottle was holding on, still hanging onto its drinking window, but the fruit may be starting to fade giving way to non-fruit earthy tones, but still has a few years remaining. 

The label, ‘capsule’, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were pristine, showing now signs of diminution whatsoever. I put capsule in quotes because their unique packaging features a wax ‘cap’ on the top of the cork, (shown left), rather than a traditional capsule, or the annoying dipped wax collar on the top of the entire neck of the bottle, which while looking dramatic is a pain to remove. 

We’ve featured many vintages of this label in these pages and have written about our collection and this producer often, encapsulated and excerpted here below. Following is an updated re-post of earlier posting about this wine and this producer - Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.

The producer, Clark-Claudon estate is situated on the ‘backside’ of Howell Mountain in an area known as Pope Valley. We have fun with this label as fellow Pour Boy Bill and Beth C's maiden name is Pope. Clark-Claudon's 17 acres of vineyards are carved out of a 117 acre property located on the north east side of Howell Mountain between Ink Grade and Howell Mountain Road, from 800 ft to 1,200 ft elevation. It’s shallow, mountain soils, cool evening breezes and excellent sun exposure are ideal for a low yield of small, intense Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes. 

Their 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted with clone 7 which grows well in hillside rocky soil and produces small berries with concentrated flavors. A small vineyard block is planted to Petite Verdot. After completing their initial vineyard planting, Clark decided to leave the  remaining 100 acres of forests, creeks, meadows and ponds in their natural state which serves as a preserve for native birds and wildlife.

Interesting, following my discussions in recent blogpost about the terroir and appellation specificity line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, we have another such-situated Napa/Howell Mountain Cabernet. Similar to the Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Red Blend from earlier tastings, and the Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that we drank the other night, this Clark Claudon Napa Cab vineyard is at 1000 foot elevation on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain. That terroir distinction doesn't apply here as the Clark Claudon property is on the backside of Howell Mountain which never sees the fog that is experienced on the Napa Valley side of the hill. 

We have been collecting this label since its introduction back in 1993 and hold two decades of vintages since. 

We first met Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon-Clark during our Napa Wine Experience 1999 when we hosted them at one of our wine producer dinners. That night, held at what was then Pinot Blanc Restaurant in St Helena (pictured left), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old BYOB 1989 Bordeaux. 

During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the "'Undisccovered Dozen', emerging new wine producers to watch", featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage. These producers represent a large portion of our collection cellar holdings to this day and are featured variously throughout these pages. 

A more complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection even today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections, several dating back to those early release vintages.   

We love the distinctive unique Clark-Claudon packaging with the tall slender bottles and wax caps mentioned above, an interesting and trivial wine-geek's observation about the Clark-Claudon branding and packaging. We know of no other producer employing this packaging concept. 

As mentioned, we hold close to a score of vintages of this label. We’ve recently acquired several more labels from this producer to augment our vertical collection of this, their primary estate label.

Wine Enthusiast gave this release 91 points and a *Cellar Selection*.

Both Wine Enthusiast and Connoisseurs Guide both advised to hold this release for several years CG writing “this one promises to develop famously if allowed to rest in a quiet, dark spot for the next five to eight years or so.”

Wine Enthusiast wrote, “From lower Howell Mountain, this 100% Cab has bigtime tannins and tremendous authority. It's dry, shut down and slightly rustic now, with an edgy feel, but the core of ripe Cabernet fruit suggests that it will blossom and improve by 2008, and then hold until at least 2015. *Cellar Selection*”

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, rich, full, concentrated, but nicely integrated and elegant black berry and black currant fruits with earthy accents and hints of black tea, cassis, creosote and notes of spicy oak and hints of black cherry on a lingering fine-grained silky tannin finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=436562

https://www.clarkclaudon.com

@ClarkClaudon 

Something earlier tasting posts of this label  ...   

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/clark-claudon-howell-mountain-napa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/festive-holiday-dinner-showcases.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/05/clark-claudon-napa-valley-cabernet.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/03/clark-claudon-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Turnbull Oakville Cabernet with grilled beefsteaks

Turnbull Oakville Cabernet with grilled beefsteaks

Saturday night dinner, we grilled out steaks and served with grilled corn and baked potatoes. 

I pulled from the cellar an aged vintage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for an accompaniment. 

This is from Turnbull Wine Cellars a small family run producer of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from four estate vineyards in Oakville and Calistoga, Napa Valley.

Turnbull Wine Cellars was founded in Oakville in 1979 by William Turnbull, a noted Bay Area architect, and Reverdy Johnson, a lawyer. The two had worked together on developing the famous Sea Ranch development on the coast north of San Francisco. The winery was then called Johnson Turnbull. 

In 1993 the estate was bought by publisher Patrick O’Dell, who updated the winery and bought additional property, bringing the total estate holdings to 148 acres. Their vineyards are planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. 

Wine Advocate rated Turnbull’s 2010 Fortuna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon at 100 pts and called it “perfection…A magnificent effort that should turn out to be one of the great modern classics of Napa Valley.

Turnbull Wine Cellars winemaker is Peter Heitz, a fourteen generation Vigneron hailing from Alsace,  and fourth generation Napa Valley Winemaker. Peter grew up in Napa Valley Carneros on one of the pioneering vineyards in the region. He gained his vineyard experience farming in the Calistoga Appellation property first planted to vines by his great grandparents in 1904. He has been winemaker at Turnbull Wine Cellars in Oakville since the 2007 vintage.

The four Turnbull estate vineyards four are: 

The Turnbull Oakville Estate Vineyard, covering fourteen acres on the eastern slope of the valley where the climate is generally warm and agreeable, resulting in year after year of favorable vintages. Summer days see a gentle moderation of the warmer inland air from cool air coming in from the San Pablo Bay to the south, creating an ideal environment to grow red varieties. Oakville's diverse soils, namely ancient sea bedrock, clay and gravel, are well-drained, and perfect for high-caliber viticulture.

The Lopoldina vineyard in the Oakville AVA covering 62 acres, situated high on the crest of the Oakville Bench, with an expansive Southwest view of the valley from Calistoga in the North to the San Francisco Bay in the South. The vineyard is an extreme growing environment, with scarce, volcanic rock soil that gives us spectacular and complex fruit that lends fine texture and structured tannins to the wines. This site is planted to predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon plantings, with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Syrah and Lagrein vines as well. It was previously known as the Weitz Vineyard but wines we crafted from the site today are designated Leopoldina Vineyard.

The Turnbull Fortunate Vineyard lying at the base of the sloping Oakville bench facing Southwest in the Fortuna Ranch covering 59 acres from pre-Prohibition and originally sourced by the venerable Christian Brothers winery. The vineyard features ancient red volcanic soils that produce darker fruit notes with an identifiable spice box component. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and some Sauvignon Blanc. 

Finally, up in Calistoga lies the 101 acre Turnbull Amoenus vineyard. Situated in the remote Western rolling hills of northern Napa Valley at higher elevations and exposures it is influenced by the ocean air and fog, cooling the fruit at night. The temperate micro-climate and a variety of volcanic soils produces wines with good acidity, density of flesh, plush mid palate and a unique minerality, with dark cherry notes. It is planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Turnbull wines are vinified in small lots from each vineyard block, vinified separately in small stainless steel tanks. The wine is barreled down into individual lots and aged in French Oak barrels for twenty months.

Turnbull produce a broad portfolio of labels including several single vineyard and single appellation designated bottlings, as well as several blends. They produce mostly Cabernet Sauvignons, but also a small production of Cabernet Franc and Merlots. 

This was a perfect accompaniment to the grilled beefsteak - the ideal food wine pairing amplifiying and enhancing the enjoyment of both. 

Despite the difficult 2011 vintage for many in Napa Valley, this label was an high achiever. 

At fourteen years, the label and foil, and most importantly the fill level and cork were in perfect condition. Packaged in a heavy, slightly oversized bottle with an extra deep bung (cavity in the bottom where sediment collects around the cavity), this was still at the apex of its drinking window and likely to hold for another couple of years. 

Winemaker notes of this release. “Aromatics of spicy red fruits, dusty raspberries, white pepper and hazelnuts. Red berries up front, with a rich, mid palate density and finishing with smooth black cherry and baking spices. A concentrated and spicy finish. the process From our Oakville estate vineyards, each with varying soil types bringing character and depth to the wine.” 

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, bright vibrant round and full flavored black berry and black current fruits were accented by spices and notes of anise, black tea and hints of cedar with tangy acidity and plush tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1391695

https://www.turnbullwines.com/

Château du Tertre Margaux with grilled beefsteaks

Château du Tertre Margaux with grilled beefsteaks

Saturday dinner at home, Linda grilled some beef tenderloin beefsteaks, served with a medley of roasted potatoes, corn, onions and cheese. I pulled from the cellar a middle aged vintage Bordeaux blend for the occasion, served with toasted bread. 

According to the label, this is a trade sample bottle which would’ve been acquired from the producer for serving at the UGCB 2014 Release Tour in Chicago.

The UGC Bordeaux' (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)) annual release tour traverses America showcasing their vintage release wines. The tour visits some combination of Miami, New York, Chicago, LA and San Francisco.

As we have for fourteen years, our 'Pour Boys' wine group helps host the event in Chicago at the Drake Hotel in the elegant grand ballroom (shown left).  

More than a hundred producers were participate at the event that is attended by over five hundred members of the trade, media and industry.

Earlier UGCB and related events are featured in earlier unwindwine blogposts. More than once, winter storms delayed or disrupted travel prohibiting some of them to get to Chicago for the event which started our standing in, hence we coined the name the 'pour' boys.

Château du Tertre Grand Cru Classe Margaux 2011

Château du Tertre is a Fifth Growth property in Margaux, one of the oldest properties not just in Margaux, but in the entire Left Bank dating back to 1143. The name, “Tertre,” refers to its geography, the word tertre means, “hill,” or, “rising ground," referring to the location, a couple km inland from the Gironde River estuary, the Margaux terroirs there are the highest, with one of the most elevated gravel outcrops of the Médoc. 

The estate sits in the hamlet of Arsac, where it has historically been called “beautiful Tertre d’Arsac”, just 4 km south of the Chambres de Margaux in the Margaux village centre where we stayed during our Margaux Bordeaux region tour in 2019,  just a 1/2 km south of the village perimeter. 

The footprint of the 52 hectares, 125 acres of vineyards, has not changed much since the 1855 Classification when it was designated Margaux Grand Cru Classe. The graveled, sloping soils are planted to customary Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with the majority of the vines planted near an ambient forest, which yields cooler temperatures and preserves the freshness of the wines. 

The estate began to rise to prominence in the 1700's, when it was owned Pierre Mitchell of Bordeaux, known as a famous glassblower. Mitchell was known to have created the first jeroboam (a five liter bottle), and given his expertise in crafting glass bottles, it is likely that the first wines in Bordeaux were bottled at Château du Tertre.  

The Château du Tertre estate was very popular with the Dutch wine market and was acquired by Henri de Koenigswarter from the Netherlands before being taken over by the Cruse family, a famous négociant, in the 1900s.  

During the turbulent disruption of World War II, the estate fell into disrepair and its sterling reputation declined as a result. 

In 1961, the property was acquired by Philippe Gasqueton, the well-known owner of Château Calon Ségur in Saint Estèphe, who embarked on the long, intensive process of turning the estate around.  

1n 1997, Dutch businessman, Eric Albada Jelgersma bought the estate and invested in the large-scale overall restructuring, returning its former noble personality to the Chateau du Tertre. Since March 2021 the Helfrich family has taken over the property with the intent to continuing the tradition and pursuit of excellence. 

The viticultural team is headed by Alexander Van Beek, who made some critical changes such as eliminating machine harvesting.  Frédéric Ardouin from Château Latour was hired as Technical Director and winemaker in 2008, and the property has been on the rise ever since with biodynamic transformation of the viticulture and rebuilding of the production facilities with new technology. Château du Tertre wines are known to be versatile, able to be enjoyed younger with one to two hours decanting and show improvement with 10 years of bottle age. 

The 54-hectare Chateau du Tertre vineyard is planted to the Appellation designated Bordeaux varietals, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. This marks a major change from the historic mix in the vineyard with less Cabernet Sauvignon and more Merlot.

The du Tertre vineyard is planted in one large single block of vines and is one of the largest single blocks of vines in Margaux, as well as in all of the Medoc.

Notably, the vineyard is also one of the few estates that is the same size today, as it was at the time of the historic 1855 Classification of the Medoc.

The terroir is mostly gravel, with some sand soils on two, gentle, sloping hills. The elevation close to the chateau graduates up to 27 meters, making it one of the highest peaks in the Margaux appellation. The location for much of the vineyard is situated close to a forest, which produces a slightly cooler, micro-climate.

The cooler ambient temperature adds more freshness to the wines. Geographically, they are next to their sister property, Chateau Giscours. In fact, only a small stream separates the two vineyards. Their best parcels are located just behind the chateau, and as well as on the peaks of their gravel hills.

At fourteen years the foil, label and most importantly the fill level and cork were still in pristine condition. This is probably at the apex of its drinking window and profile, not likely to improve with further aging, but certainly will age well for another decade or more.  

Château du Tertre Grand Cru Classe Margaux 2011

The du Tertre is a blend of 10% Merlot, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 20% Cabernet Franc.  

The relative high percentage of Petit Verdot, brings firmness, structure and deep color to a blend. 

This release was awarded 92 points by Wine Enthusiast and Jane Anson of Decanter.com, 91 points by James Suckling, 90 points by Wine Spectator, and 88 points by Robert Parker Jr., The Wine Advocate.

 

A nice pairing with the grilled beefsteaks. 

Dense dark garnet purple colored, medium bodied, floral notes with black berry and black currant fruits with notes of anise, black tea, earth and leather with supple tannins and well behaved acidity on the finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1362619 

http://chateaudutertre.fr/en/home/

 

https://twitter.com/tertre_gcc 

 

@ Tertre_gcc

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/06/chateau-du-tertre-grand-cru-classe.html