Gala Dinner - Awesome Reds Wine Tasting
Almost like the alignment of the sun, moon and stars for a celestial event, our autumn gala dinner tasting get-together at Dr Dan's featured an awesome line-up of memorable reds and a spectacular aged vintage white. What might have been billed as a battle of dueling reds turned surprisingly harmonious with intriguing complements and smooth transitions across a tasting of disparate styles of master class selections. One had to pay attention for fear of missing a spectacular wine in the mix! Ironically, this also provided an unplanned almost mini-horizontal of dozen year old disparate Napa Valley Reds from 1998 and 1999. Even the vintage selections proved to be well matched as the mid-flight included 2003, a pair of nicely 2004's and recent releases.
Joining L & I at Dan's with Linda were Bill and Beth, Bobbie, Ernie and Gina. Dan and Linda prepared a marvelous dinner of grilled beef tenderloin, marinated pork tenderloin, butternut squash with creme fraisch, artisan cheeses, and chocolate cakes and truffles to finish.
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| Awesome Reds Flight minus the Sea Smoke (not shown) |
The line-up included, listed in order of tasting after thoughtful assessment and lively discussion, explained further in the discourse below:
- Sea Smoke 'Ten' Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2009
- Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Napa Valley Red 1998
- Joseph Phelps Backus Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
- Peter Michael 'Les Pavots' 1999
- Freddie Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
- Barbour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
- La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Riserva Vürsù Vigneto Starderi 2008
- d'Arenberg 'The Dead Arm' Shiraz 2002
- Mollydooker 'Carnival of Love' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010
- Coutet-Barzac 1959
- Joseph Phelps Eisrebe 2004
Sea Smoke 'Ten' Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2009
The name 'Ten' is from the clones on which this Pinot Noir varietal is based.
Ruby colored, medium bodied - silky, polished - a symphony of nicely balanced delicate fruit flavors, nice tart acidic, expressive elegant aromatics, nice floral scents turn to strawberries, plum and black cherry, hints of cola, nut and dusty rose with a touch of soft oak on the smooth finish.
Winemakers' notes - "A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with notes of chocolate cake, dried blueberry and lavender, then cassis and dusty black berries. Firm, mature tannins—evidence of Ten’s ageability—are followed by a long, velvety finish.
RM 93 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1025981
https://www.seasmoke.com/index.asp
Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Napa Valley Red 1998
It would have been easy for this to be overshadowed by the full forward concentrated fruit bombs except that we staged this as the transition between the Pinot and the 'big' Cal cabs to follow, before closing with the Aussie Shiraz'.
Garnet colored, medium bodied, this was a symphony of smooth polished
nicely integrated black berry and black cherry fruit flavors accented by a layer of tobacco, hints of leather, a bit of earthiness with a finish of moderate oak. After about two hours delicate floral notes emerged as a highlight like a lower left bank Bordeaux. This wine has held up well and was very Bordeaux like in showing well despite its pedigree of a modest vintage - more like the challenging years more often found in Bordeaux than the more consistent seasons of Northern California all seemingly make more Bordeaux like than Napa-esque.
RM 89 points.
Joseph Phelps Backus Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
A wonderful transition and progression adding weight and structure at each step in the flight. Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, this was silky smooth, nicely balanced, polished and elegant with black berry and black raspberry fruits with hints of currant, chocolate truffle and touch of vanilla bean with a layer of soft oak and silky smooth tannins. Dan likened it to a refined St Julien Bordeaux.
RM 94 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=165835
Peter Michael 'Les Pavots' 1999
This was my favorite of the tasting flight. I still remember my first encounter with this wine back around 1990 when we had it at dinner dinner at Cab's Restaurant and Wine Bar in Glen Ellyn, IL, one of our then favorite dining places.
Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, a backbone core of concentrated but smooth polished and balanced black currant, blackberry, more subtle black cherry and hints of blueberry fruits with nicely integrated layers of mocha, soft oak and hints vanilla, cassis and tea on a lingering silky tannin finish. This was a delicious balance of a full throttle Cal-Cab and a Pauillac Bordeaux.
RM 94 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=8110
http://www.petermichaelwinery.com/
There is remarkable irony here as the principle Sir Peter Michael happens to be in the technology business, like me. He is also owner of two lodging properties located in Newbury, Berkshire, England. That was the home to Micro Focus, the software company that brought the Cobol programming language to the PC, and eventually to over six hundred platforms. I was with Micro Focus during those formative years from 1983 to 1996 during which time it grew from $3.5 to $140m becoming the 20th largest software company in the world, and largest in the UK at that time. During those years, as a Group VP, I visited Newbury almost two hundred times. I've not yet had the opportunity to meet Sr Michael but look forward to doing so one day, either in Newbury, or at the Winery Estate in California. .
Freddie Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
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L, Bill and me with Freddie at
Constant Diamond Mtn Vineyards |
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We refer to it as Freddie Constant Wine based on our adventure having met the producer Freddie Constant during our visit to the magnificent winery high atop Diamond Mountain during our
Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Wine Experience in 2011.
What an amazing pairing with the Les Pavots above! On initial opening and decanting, it was almost as if this were the core central component of the blend, this exhibited the same profile of full bodied backbone core of concentrated but smooth polished and
balanced black currant, blackberry, more subtle black cherry fruits with hints
of blueberry fruits but lacking the moderating tones of the blend. After about two hours, this opened up even more to reveal more concentrated and forward black fruits with a hints of black pepper and olive - separating itself from the moderating effects of the more elegant and polished blend.
Bill's tasting notes from CellarTracker - "Inky purple in the glass. Full of dark fruit, pencil lead and coffee.
Opened after 2 hour to reveal notes of pepper and spice. Very unexpected
and absolutely outstanding."
RM 93 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=43558
http://www.constantwine.com/
Barbour Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
If we did this flight again, I think this would better fit between the Bacchus and the Peter Michel. It was narrower (than the Les Pavots) and more modest than the Constant and others to follow and hence overshadowed such that it probably didn't show nearly as well as it likely would if held up stand-alone or against more similarly situated peers. Not bad company to be compared against indeed, it suffers from damning with faint praise in this comparison flight of blockbuster wines!
All in all this is a dark inky purple full bodied smooth polished cab with forward black berry fruits, accents of dark chocolate and sweet oak with nicely integrated fine silky tannins on a lingering finish.
RM 93 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1155213
La Spinetta (Rivetti) Barbaresco Riserva Vürsù Vigneto Starderi 2008
Forgive the repetition but I'll reiterate my comments above about the Barbour, if we did this flight again, I think this would better fit between the
Bacchus and the Peter Michel. It was narrower (than the Les Pavots) and
more modest than the Constant and others to follow and hence
overshadowed such that it probably didnt show nearly as well as it
likely would if held up stand-alone or against more similarly situated
peers. Not bad company to be compared against indeed, it suffers from
damning with faint praise in this comparison flight of blockbuster
wines! Perhaps too, these both were consumed too young and would reveal themselves more fully after a couple years in the cellar.
How can you not take seriously a wine with a Rhinocerus on the label!?! Its either farcical or to be taken very deliberately - this is another blockbuster wine that is caught in between the more polished elegance of the blends and the bigger full-throttle varietal Cabernets.
First we should parse the wine label to explain this wine. From the producer La Spinetta, the grower and winemaker is George Rivetti; fruit for this wine are sourced from the single vineyard Vigneto Starderi in the Barbaresco appellation in the Langhe district in the Piedmont region. The varietal is the Nebbiolo grape.
The Nebbiolo black-skinned Italian variety is the basis for some of the best and longest lived red wines of Italy, however, despite the preeminence Nebbiolo has in its native Piedmont region in northern Italy its is relatively unknown beyond. Because of its success in DOCGs of Barolo and
Barbaresco, it has begun to be planted in the new world in the Central Coast near Paso Robles and Santa Ynez Valley, and in drier regions of the Pacific North West, such
as Washington’s Columbia Valley and Oregon’s Rogue Valley, in South America, and Australia.
The name derives from nebbia, the Italian word for ‘fog’, which
regularly enshrouds the foothill vineyards of the region. Benchmarks for Nebbiolo wines are Barolo
and Barbaresco, Piedmontese wines known for powerful tannic structures, finesse, intense, earthy, dark noses, and hints of
floral. Aroma of classic Barolo are characterized to reflect tar,
tobacco or smoke, combined with violets and rose petals. Neighboring
Barbaresco Nebbiolos tend to be slightly more feminine. While Barbaresco can be more approachable when young than Barolo, it should not be
consider light in weight or structure, both Barolo and
Barbaresco Nebbiolos can possess muscular tannins and high acidity requiring extensive cellaring to fully show off
the grape’s more subtle fruit character.
This selection exhibited dark purple color, medium full body, black berry fruits with hints of smoke, tar and touch of leather on a lingering moderate tannin finish.
RM 89 points.
As of this date, the CellarTracker community has not yet discovered or encountered his wine, hence the most recent listing is the 2007 vintage.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=791203
http://www.la-spinetta.com/
Still a work in progress - more to follow ! Stay tuned for the Mollydooker Shake!
d'Arenberg "The Dead Arm" Shiraz 2002
Dead Arm refers to the (one armed) vines that when afflicted in the early days of the last century were spared from being turned under and emerged to produce highly concentrated fruit from the single remaining arm that survived after the loss of the other side of the vine. Always a big fruit forward complex wine, the 2003 is true to form with its big forwardness but what was an off-tone of
minerality. It has uber ripe almost raisin-fig with a layer of cedar
predominating over complex black berry fruits with tones of
pepper, spice, and cassis and hint of vanilla with a big long bold
finish that has a slight tone of tangy cherry. Linda likes this ripe
boldness but its a bit too much to my liking it needs to be tasted with hearty meats, even bar-b-que, or artisan cheeses, such as tonight when it complemented the beef tenderloin, marinated pork tenderloin and then the course of dark chocolate deserts.
RM 89 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27221
Mollydooker "Carnival of Love" McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010
From Sarah and Sparky Marquis, these left-handed winemakers so named their label 'Mollydooker' which is Aussie for what we call a 'south-paw'. Their wit and sense of humour is further indicated by their cartoon-esque labels and whimsical names of their wines such as this 'Carnival of Love' their high end Shiraz. Just reading their winelist and looking over their labels is like a journey through the Sunday comics, but rest assured there is nothing funny about this big bold intense Shiraz that is not for the feint of heart. .
Being a recent release, Bill had to conduct the
'Mollydooker shake' to this bottle. You had to be there!
Building up to this crescendo indicated by its 15.5% alcohol content, this boasts dark opaque inky purple color - full bodied, huge bursts of dense syrupy ripe black berry and dark plum fruits, layers of cassis, spice, sweet dark chocolate, cedar, black pepper and spicy oak with huge but mercifully balanced tannins, that go on and on and on.
RM 94 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1181887
http://www.mollydookerwines.com/web/index.cfm
Château Coutet a Barzac 1'er Grand Cru Sauterne 1959
What a rare treat to indulge in a 50+ year old vintage wine. This Sauterne brought by Ernie (along with the Les Pavots) would have been straw or butter colored upon release, then turn darker to weak tea color and eventually to a maple syrup color. Amazingly, as 53 years of age, it is rusty brownish orange colored with life still although not likely to improve from further aging. It showed a slight citrus edge on the nut flavors with a subtle layer of smokiness, I wonder if it held more sweet fruit at one stage that bled off with age.
From the producer's website: "Tasting Notes
- The year was marked by an early
spring and flowering took place at the beginning of June. The summer
was very hot and sunny. On September 24
th and 25
th,
strong rains accelerated the development of Noble Rot in the vineyard
that required a team of 150 harvesters. These conditions contributed to
the making of a great Sauternes. The harvest took places from September
20
th to November 2
nd.
The wine is of a dark yellow amber color. Its well-developed nose is
rich and complex, an experience that is shared by the palate."
RM 87 points.
The CellarTracker community had not encountered and hence not entered this vintage selection however they list the two adjoining vintages from 1958 and 1960 as noted below respectively:
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=31099
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=222509
What fun to enter the 1959 vintage selection along with my tasting notes and bottle and label photos!
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?AllV=True&iWine=1484667
http://www.chateaucoutet.com/
Joseph Phelps Eisrebe Napa Valley Scheurebe Ice Wine 2004
This is consistently one of California's very best dessert wines from a region not known for such.
It's vinified from the relatively obscure
Scheurebe
grape grown in a the small Spring Valley vineyard near the St. Helena estate. Unlike German or
Canadian ice wines (see
recent post in Inniskillin Ice Wine), where the grapes are left on the vines until
they freeze, Phelps uses commercial refrigeration to freeze the grapes
before pressing. This results in low yields as the water in the grape freezes leaving the remaining resulting must high in sugar such that the wine
ends up with about 8% alcohol and 25% residual sugar. Full bodied, thick and chewy with intense apricot
aromas and flavors. A deliciously sweet, unctuous wine, which still has
enough acidity to avoid cloying on the palate.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=94617
http://www.josephphelps.com/
The book talks about the difficulties associated with this particular grape varietal. I've contended that, as written by Devillers, Pinot Noir is the most finicky of grapes and one of the hardest to find a high QPR - (Quality to Price) ratio value - a moderate priced pleasant drinking label. The book talks about the challenges and difficulty of growing this grape and producing great wine. My experience with this wine is further evidence to this truth. Being a wine aficionado and frequent taster of fine wines, I find this challenge is exacerbated by the characteristics of Pinot Noir - its sutble fine nuances and subtle delicate nature. Its harder to discriminate between the subtleties of one fine Pinot to another. As my wine palate has matured and become more sophisticated, I've come to appreciate the delicate refinements of Pinot, but I must admit, I find a truly great Pinot harder find than a Cabernet or a Shiraz, but I am partial to the bigger more expressive forward fruit of these other varietals. In the end its all about price and for enough money its easy to find a great wine. The search for a great one at a modest price is the fun of tasting and collecting wine. 
6/27/2012 - 87 Points
The book talks about the difficulties associated with this particular grape varietal. I've contended that, as written by Devillers, Pinot Noir is the most finicky of grapes and one of the hardest to find a high QPR - (Quality to Price) ratio value - a moderate priced pleasant drinking label. The book talks about the challenges and difficulty of growing this grape and producing great wine. My experience with this wine is further evidence to this truth. Being a wine aficionado and frequent taster of fine wines, I find this challenge is exacerbated by the characteristics of Pinot Noir - its sutble fine nuances and subtle delicate nature. Its harder to discriminate between the subtleties of one fine Pinot to another. As my wine palate has matured and become more sophisticated, I've come to appreciate the delicate refinements of Pinot, but I must admit, I find a truly great Pinot harder find than a Cabernet or a Shiraz, but I am partial to the bigger more expressive forward fruit of these other varietals. In the end its all about price and for enough money its easy to find a great wine. The search for a great one at a modest price is the fun of tasting and collecting wine. 
6/27/2012 - 87 Points
