Chappellet and Rivers-Marie Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd

Chappellet and Rivers-Marie Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd 

Traveling to Destin, FL, visiting The Cove, our vacation rental home, we were joined by fellow Pour Boy Bill C, and Beth for a get away get-together. We introduced them to several of our favorite food and wine venues including lunch at Vin’Tij, Grand Blvd Destin. 

We’ve featured Vin’Tij often in these pages, in blogposts such as these - 

Wine tasting at Vin’Tij Grand Boulevard (San)Destin

David Arthur Chardonnay at Vintij Grand Blvd

Delightful wine lunch at Vintij Grand Boulevard

We dined al fresco on the patio, enjoying the Florida autumn sunshine! 

Beth ordered the MARYLAND LUMP CRAB CAKE, Charred Corn-Black Bean Salsa & Lemon Caper Butter.

Bill ordered the Shrimp and Grits, House Made Andouille, Plum Tomatoes, Parmesan Basil Grits & Lemon Caper Butter.

Linda ordered her regular favorite, the SEARED TUNA, Marinated Cucumber Salad, Sriracha Kewpie Mayonnaise, Chili Oil & Ponzu.

I was a bit under the weather and went with the zesty soup, and then the WARM BLEU CHEESE & GRAPE TART - Red Wine Crust, Roasted Grapes, Roasted Red Peppers, Candied Walnuts & Balsamic Reduction.

We paired with our food a couple of hearty Chardonnays from the Vin’tij retail wine shop.

Chappellet Napa Valley Sangiacomo Vineyard, Carneros Chardonnay 2021

We all visited the Chappellet estate vineyards and winery, high atop Pritchett Hill, Napa Valley during our Wine Experiences back in 2009 and 2013. 

We’re big fans of Chappellet Cabernet wines but had never experienced any of their Chardonnay labels so this was a new discovery. 

Label from 2023

This 100% Chardonnay is sourced from the Sangiacomo Vineyard in Carneros AVA at the bottom of the conflucence of Napa and Sonoma Valleys.. 

The Sangiacomo family are master viticulturists and multigenerational winegrowers who have been farming since 1927. Their cool, windswept vineyard in Sonoma’s Carneros region is ideally located bordering San Pablo Bay, where the grapes slowly mature, developing intense varietal character, while retaining excellent acidity and finesse. 

Winemaker’s Growing Season & Harvest Notes - “The 2021 growing season began with one of the driest winters on record, followed by a mild spring and summer with no adverse heat events. Due to the lack of precipitation, canopy growth was limited and the vines produced very small berries and clusters. To ensure ideal ripening and flavor development we closely monitored vine water stress and applied a highly targeted irrigation strategy.’

“While the drought conditions yielded a small crop, the long, temperate growing season combined with ideal weather during harvest produced exceptional quality Chardonnay, with lovely structure and concentration, excellent underlying acidity and soaring varietal flavors.”

Wine Notes and Statistics

Winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus

100% Chardonnay; Robert Young, Hyde and Catarina Clones

Harvested Sept. 6 – Sept. 16, 2021

100% Malolactic fermentation, aged in 100% French oak, 35% new

Bottled July 2022 - 1,020 cases were produced

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes - “ Made from this coveted fruit, this mouth-filling wine displays beautiful layers of  stone fruits and citrus, as well as French oak-inspired layers of vanilla and spice. This tantalizing Chardonnay displays lavish aromas of honeydew melon, lemon zest, white peach, nectarine and tropical flowers, with sophisticated hints of vanilla, nutmeg, clove and brioche from aging in French oak. While the palate is creamy and rich, with lovely depth and structure, enlivening natural acidity adds poise and energy to the juicy citrus and stone fruit flavors as they glide to a long, vibrant finish.”

This release was rated 95 points and “Cellar Selection” by Wine Enthusiast, 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck,93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 92 points by Wine Spectator.

Golden straw colored, full bodied, full round complex, forward pear and peach fruits with nutty spices and brioche notes on a lengthy buttery finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4458839

https://chappellet.com/

Rivers-Marie Sonoma County Anderson Valley Chardonnay 2021

This limited release label is from up and coming superstar winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. He founded 
​Rivers-Marie in 2002 with Genevieve Marie Welsh, a boutique winery in Calistoga, California, renowned for its single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They focus on minimal intervention and sustainable practices, seeking to showcase the unique character of each vineyard and vintage. 

In 2010, they acquired the notable Summa Vineyard, from which they produce highly acclaimed Pinot Noirs.

Since 2016/2017 they have produced six select vineyard designated Chardonnays from the Sonoma Coast and Sonoma County. 

The Sonoma Coast vineyards for our Chardonnay program are closer to each other than any other varietal they produce.

This single vineyard designated label is distinctive, sourced from the Bearwallow Vineyard, from a small 1.5 acre block deep in Anderson Valley. Thomas says of this label, “The epitome of meticulous farming is what always comes to mind first when I think of Bearwallow. This deep end Anderson Valley site has been a part of our program since 2016 and we enjoy its different nature from all the tiny clustered Sonoma Coast vineyards that make up the majority of our program. This bottling always has a distinctive yellow fruited character complemented by a saline and roasted nut character. Our little 1.5 acre Wente clone block has matured into one of the unique coastal Chardonnays we taste every year.”

This release was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 91 points by Vinous

Deep golden colored, full bodied, full round, rich concentrated and forward yellow apple, pear with notes of nuts and mineral and hints of apricot, herbs and floral with a sharp focused finish.  

RM 92 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4503440

https://www.riversmarie.com/wines/chardonnay/

https://vintij.com/

Belle Glos Pinot Blue Point Duck NC

Belle Glos Clark and Tellephone Pinot Noir at Blue Point Restaurant in Duck, Outer Banks (OBX) NC

For Saturday lunch we dined at Blue Point Restaurant in Duck, NC on the Sound waterfront of the Outer Banks (OBX) island. For entrees we had the daily fresh catch - seared tuna steak with cherry tomatos and chick peas in a sweet and very slightly spicy tomato ragu. For a wine pairing we selected from the wine list Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 2015, a perfect accompaniment. 

Blue Point have an outstanding wine selection of mostly American wines reasonably priced from modest entry level to many premium and several ultra-premium labels. The winelist was carefully and creatively selected with many of our favorite producers' labels such as Kongsgaard, Dunn Vineyards, Robert Craig, Spottswood, Joseph Phelps. Domaine Serene and Venge. The list includes a very small selection of European wines of well known premium labels such as Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape and Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Tuscany, Italy. There is also an acceptable selection of wines by the glass, again carefully selected and reasonably priced. 

I've written often in these pages about the frustration of mediocre or substandard wine lists and poor inadequate wine service. This might be forgiven if prices are reasonable or moderately priced, but this is inexcusable and intolerable when wines are expensively priced. So it was a pleasure and notable that Blue Point not only offer an outstanding selection at reasonable prices, but their wine service was exceptional as well with proper glassware and wine served at the ideal temperature. The host attributed this to having the only certified sommelier in the Outer Banks. It is also the result of care and attention being paid details of the fundamentals with excellent execution! Well done Blue Point! 

That said, the tuna entrees, while delicious, were slightly overcooked beyond the medium rare prescribed preparation.

Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Santa Barbera Pinot Noir 2015

This is the wine of owner winemaker Joseph Wagner, son of Chuck Wagner of Napa Valley Caymus notoriety. Belle Glos was the name of his grandmother, Chuck's mother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, Matriarch and co-founder of Caymus Vineyards, original land and vineyard owner. Joe focuses on single vineyard designated Pinot Noirs including this Clark and Telephone Vineyard from down in Santa Barbara County in the Santa Maria Valley.

This was a big bold forward full bodied wine, more like a Syrah or even a Zinfandel than a Pinot, very, much in the style that we favor.  Dark deep scarlet colored, full bodied, rich, complex, concentrated layers blackberry, black raspberry and notes of black currant fruits accented by vanilla, nutmeg, tones of sweet caramel and strawberry, with hints of smoked meat, and pain grillé, yet this is nicely balanced, smooth and polished with refreshing acidity, velvety tannins and a hint of toffee lingering on the long finish.

This was the most enjoyable and best drinking Belle Glos I recall every tasting.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2523260

http://belleglos.com/

https://www.thebluepoint.com/

Paul Hobbs Cab highlights cityscape dinner

CrossBarn Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon highlights post City Series Cross-town Classic Dinner Amidst Historic Industrial Building

With Dr Dan and Linda, we watched the white hot Cubbies (eight wins in a row, 14 out of 15) defeat the host White Sox in the opener of the second installment of the Cross-Town Classic Series. Afterwards we dined at our well kept secret (no more) nearby steakhouse, May Street Cafe. Pronouncing Contemporary Latin cuisine featuring Allen Brothers steaks, this neighborhood eatery in the Pilsen neighborhood sits next to a quaint, cozy neighborhood Dvorak city park, opposite the giant Com-ed Power Plant, next to the historic classic early 20th century gothic ornamented tower building (2211 So. Throop St), topped by the radio tower reminiscent of Dick Tracy or a Superman cartoon series. I'm no doubt one of the few that love that tower and imagine such a setting. Reinforcing the image, adding to the cityscape is the classic Steak-n-Egger Diner in the shadows of the tower.

My interest in history and architecture takes over here. 

Image capture from Google Streetview

The mysterious tower building is the 400,000 square-foot, 14 story landmark building designed by noted Chicago architect George Nimmons (1926). The building originally served as a warehouse and garage for the adjacent Commonwealth Edison Fisk Generating station. The 198-foot-high radio tower served the communication system to dispatch emergency equipment.

Today, the building is home to artist studios, exhibition spaces, classrooms, a cafe, a library and home to Mana Contemporary Chicago, an expanding art center. It houses the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art and Art History, the Propeller Fund which is administered jointly by Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Three Walls.

Propeller Fund provides grants to artists, curators, and groups living and working in Cook County, Illinois, and seeks to support projects that are independent, informal, and self-organized. The facility houses several dozen artists in residence.

According to the Mana Contemporary literature, "Mana serves as a nexus for both established and emerging artists and organizations from across the city. Artists of diverse disciplines, including painting, sculpture, photography, dance, film, sound, and performance work alongside each other in a campus environment which fosters experimentation, collaboration, and mutual inspiration. A hub of programming and activity for Chicago artists and art lovers, Mana Contemporary also provides a central platform for art schools and organizations dedicated to educating and supporting emerging artists. As Mana Contemporary Chicago grows, it will continue to expand its services to the city’s artists, showcasing their practices, processes, and ideas to the public."

George Nimmons, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed mainly large commercial and industrial  buildings, most notably the mail order plant headquarters for Sears, Roebuck and Company (1905-06). He did many other buildings for Sears - warehouses, mail order plants, and retail stores across the country. He also designed the R. W. Sears home in Grayslake, Illinois (1906), and the twenty-room Prairie-style mansion built for Sears, Roebuck and Company president Julius Rosenwald in Chicago (1903).

Nimmon's other major works in Chicago include the Reid, Murdoch & Company Building (1913), the clock tower building that overlooks the Chicago River opposite Wacker Drive at North Clark Street, the Franklin Building (1912), the C. P. Kimball & Company Building (1913) at 39th and Michigan, the Adams Schaaf Piano Company Building on Fillmore Street (1916), the Union Special Machines Company Building (1918), the W. M. Hoyt Building in nearby Armour Square (1909), Kelley Building (1921) and the American Furniture Mart Building (1923, 1926), now known as 680 N Lake Shore Drive. When built it was the largest building in the world for a short time.

We discovered May Street Cafe for a wine and dine dinners and now dine there often before and after Sox games with its proximity to Sox Park, yet hidden away and separated from Bridgeport and the Sox area by an expressway, the adjoining river and the industrial belt. Its the kind of place you would drive by regularly and never notice, or consider for a wine-dine retreat, but their attention to serious cuisine and their thoughtfully selected wine list make it perfect for such occasions. And it offers outside dining as well, if you don't mind the power station and radio tower views (which as I wrote, is part of its allure and charm)!

Alas, following this study, dinner at May Street Cafe will never be the same. Unless you're into history and architecture, you'll want to avoid that evening, or sit at the other end of the table. It begs for a destination trip just to the Mana site, followed by a wine and steak dinner...

Tonight, Dan ordered the foie gras starter, then red tuna steak entree, Linda J, the petit filet, and Linda (A) and I, the bone-in pork chop.

'CrossBarn' Paul Hobbs Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

This is the another label of Paul Hobbs who grew up in upstate New York on a rural farm where he learned the influence of terroir on the character of fruit, when his father had him taste apples of the same variety grown in different orchards several miles apart from one another.

The name is a tribute to a "cross barn" that sat amidst the hundred fifty year old family farm in upstate New York. A favorite haunt for Paul and his ten siblings, it took on a life of its own and is a fond remembrance as a place of great mystery and adventure.

Paul initially worked for Robert Mondavi where his understanding of oak aging landed him a position on the inaugural Opus One winemaking team.  He later worked at Simi Winery as Winemaker before going on to consult for Peter Michael, Fisher Vineyards, Lewis Cellars, Bodegas Catena and others.  He founded Paul Hobbs Winery in 1991, and Vina Cobos in 1999, and also serves as a leading consultant winemaker.

We love this style of wine - vibrant, expressive Napa Valley fruit at its finest for approachable tasty drinking wines. CrossBarn Paul Hobbs label is known for notable Sonoma County Pinots and Chardonnays, but they recently introduced Cabernets from Napa and Sonoma Counties.

No wimpy wine here, this 2012 version from Napa is dark garnet/inky purple colored, full bodied with rich concentrated forward fruits of black currant, ripe black and blue berries, accented by clove spice, mocha and sweet oak, with soft acidity and nicely integrated sweet and smooth tannins.

This is a great discovery and I look forward to trying the other selections from this CrossBarn. A testament to this great vintage too - check out other producer's line-ups, the rewards and delights of a spectacular vintage where their 'lesser' labels often excel and even meet or exceed the first label, and offer tremendous QPR - Quality to Price ratios. This was a blockbuster, enjoyed by all, and a great value at under $90 on May Street's winelist. Pick this up if you can find it for early aging gratification as well as longer term cellaring.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1883620

Winemakers notes and comments: "The 2012 growing season has been described by many as “textbook perfect”. Temperate summer days moderated plant growth, contributing to smaller cluster and berry size during lag phase, leading to increased concentration of flavors. An idyllic Indian summer finished the maturation process, producing fruit with exceptional character and intensity.

Dark ruby in color, our Cabernet Sauvignon offers enticing aromas of dark cherries, ripe blueberries, anise and fresh lavender.  A tantalizing palate offers a medley of boysenberry, currants, violets, clove and cocoa.  Tannins are sweet and smooth; balanced acidity brightens a lengthy finish.
Color: Saturated crimson
Aroma: Black raspberry, boysenberry, violets, caramelized tobacco leaf, spicebox, pencil shavings
Flavor: Concentrated, juicy red fruits, damp earth, cedar, baking spices
Texture: Round and focused with sweet, fine-grained tannins and a long, slate-like finish"

http://www.crossbarn.com/

http://www.maystcafe.com/

Other selections from May Street Cafe ...

May Street Cafe Foie Gras

May Street Cafe Red Tuna Steak Entree

May Street Cafe Bone-in Pork Chop with
Sweet potoate mash, and pineapple relish and grilled vegies

Favorite Aussie Shiraz - Flinders 2005 Aging Gracefully

Favorite Aussie Shiraz - Flinders 2005 Aging Gracefully

I raved about this wine when I discovered it several years ago and have featured it numerous times since in this blog. Like the recent experience where I discovered this wine downstate in a local wineshop, I then found and purchased more on-line. Then I convinced local mega-merchant Binny's to carry obtain some and we cleaned them out too. Happily, we still hold and continue to enjoy this big bold fruit filled Shiraz. Holding more than several bottles into their ninth year, one rightfully wonders how is it aging and how long will it last?

For a quiet causal evening at home, we opened an old favorite, Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005. Our Cellartracker inventory says we still hold about two cases of this vintage release, with a slightly lesser number of the '06 release remaining. I noted when we were opening this that it came on the scene with these two vintage releases and disappeared, not to be seen again. According to their website, it appears to still be in production, but its not to be found in distribution in Chicagoland, or in the on-line wine community.

Indeed, the Flinders Run website (http://www.flindersrun.com.au/) states, "We knew from the first trials of the 2001 and subsequent 2003 vintages that the Flinders Run wines were going to be something special, but nothing prepared us for the overwhelming success, we would experience with the release of the 2005 Vintage. Subsequent vintages have been crafted in the same careful manner exhibiting a consistency in flavour and style and most importantly capturing the elegance of region climate and above all varietal character."

Of course that 2005 vintage got a raving 95 point review from legendary wine critic Robert Parker. He wrote,"Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish. For a wine of this size, it is remarkably light on its feet. Give it 2-3 years to more fully evolve and drink it through 2020. This is quite a debut for Flinders Run!"

I must admit, I do not recall knowing about this rating or having read his review. I did know he shared our love of big bold Aussie Shiraz's, even if we did think his enthusiasm was at times 'over the top' and even exceeded ours. That said, I am pleased to see his projected drinking window extending through 2020. That certainly seems to ring true with our experience tonight.

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz is the artwork of Emanuel Skorpos whose winemaking heritage goes back many generations to the Greek Island of Samos where his Grandfather Manoli Skorpos and his father attended to the olive grove and vineyard in the rugged mountainous region known as Morteri which they still farm to this day.

In 1991 Emanuel, after travelling to Samos to visit the Family Estate, set out to return to Australia to locate the perfect piece of land in which to establish the vineyard and olive grove in the Skorpos tradition. Emanual has been working in Viticulture/Horticulture  in the Riverland and Southern Flinders Ranges regions in South Australia since then. He worked with Ian Smith, Vineyard Manager and Vitticulturalist for Leasingham wines who identified the Southern Flinders Ranges as one of the best kept secrest in Australia’s wine industry. Emanuel manages the vineyards and olive grove and works closely with the Flinders Run winemaker to produce artisan boutique wines that emeplify the distinct  flavour and personality of the Southern Flinders Ranges. Emanuel’s wife, Laura manages the logistics and operations of winery business.

My recollection of these two vintages was that we liked the 2005 more than the 2006, being more approachable, more polished and balanced, while the '06 was bigger, more brooding and bold, but less polished or in no sense elegant. I selected the '05 tonight, dutifully to work off the older vintage, but also to test my recollection of it being my favored of the two, and to monitor its aging.

While more subdued than the bigger '06, it retains all the nuances and character it exhibited in its youth - nicely balanced, polished, and flavorful. While the fruit is not as big and bold as its follow on vintage, the '05 still holds full, dense, complex layers of blue and black berry fruits, accented by licorice, hints of black pepper, and tones of black tea and what Parker refers to as 'pain grillé' which is the French word for 'toast'.

RM 93 points. 

Our original plan was to grill a beef steak but after the spectacular starter course that Linda prepared, a grilled tuna tartare (above), we enjoyed the rest of the bottle with a selection of cheese and chocolates.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=421985

http://www.flindersrun.com.au/