Chiarello Family Vineyards Petite Sirah Roux Old Vine 2003

Chiarello Family Vineyards Petite Sirah Roux Old Vine 2003

For a quiet relaxing evening watching Christmas movies with Linda over pizza, I pulled this aged Chiarello Vineyards Petit Shirah from the cellar as a literal and classic 'pizza wine' - aka moderately priced 'every day' wine for drinking with pizza. Based on the price I paid nearly a decade and half ago, this exceeded both of our expectations being big, fruit-filled, forward and complex. Researching it further I see I got a good deal on this wine at $20 as the ASP, average selling price today is $60 and $65 for later vintages. What a nice surprise to find this gem in the cellar!

I admit that prior to opening and tasting, and subsequently researching this label further to produce this blogpost, I don't recall having prior knowledge of this producer or winemaker.

This wine is produced by Michael Chiarello, noted Napa Valley chef, Emmy-winning TV personality, author, founder of NapaStyle, who applied his culinary skills and personal flair for layering flavors to a new challenge—making small productions of handcrafted estate wines. His small winery, Chiarello Family Vineyards, makes five estate grown wines from 20-acres  around his home in the central Napa Valley. This wine is from his 4-acre parcel of 96 year-old vines that yield a mere 100 cases of wine.

Chiarello is collaborating with Thomas Brown, one of the top "old vine" winemakers in Napa Valley, known for crafting rich, dynamic wines from the ultra-ripe fruit of from the 94-year-old Petite Sirah and Zinfandel vines on the Estate.  Thomas Brown was "2010 Winemaker of the Year," by Food & Wine Magazine.

Chiarello Family Vineyards and their wines have consistently been recognized with 90+ ratings and accolades - named Editors Pick, Top Scoring California Sirah (Wine Spectator) with a 92 Rating; Editors Pick, Top Scoring California Zinfandel (Wine Spectator) with a 90 Rating; Top Ten Bottle From Napa (Food & Wine Magazine) and In Napa, Zinfandels Show Off Their Grace, (New York Times, Frank Prial, 11/13/02).

Thomas Rivers Brown hails originally from South Carolina. After graduation from the University of Virginia he traveled the wine regions of France, and eventually made his way to Napa Valley in the mid-1990's. He worked with and earned the craft as cellar hand and lab enologist for notable winemakers Ehren Jordan and Larry Turley of Turley Wine Cellars. In 2000, Thomas got his chance to produce his own wines when he was appointed winemaker for the new winery project Chiarello Vineyards. 

Since then, in addition to Chiarello, Thomas has overseen winemaking operations or consulted for many well known Napa Valley wineries including Schrader, Outpost, Maybach, Revana, TOR, C. Mondavi, Jones Family, Harris Estate, Hestan, Seaver, Black Sears, and Casa Piena. He also has his own wine label, Rivers-Marie, where Thomas Brown focuses his efforts on Pinot Noir.
 
Thomas Brown has been called "the nation's hottest winemaker." by David White of The Terroirist Wine Journal., He is one of but a few winemakers globally to have received multiple 100-point wine scores from the penultimate wine critic Robert Parker Jr. of The Wine Advocate, as well as from wine noted critic, James Laube of The Wine Spectator. It was in 2010 that Thomas was honored as Food & Wine Magazine "Winemaker of the Year."

Chiarello Family Vineyards Petite Sirah Roux Old Vine 2003  

This was dark inky black/purple colored, big full bodied, rich, concentrated but nicely balanced and polished blackberry and black cherry fruits with layers of mineral, licorice, Asian spices, hints of smokey creosote with nicely integrated oak on the lingering clinging tannin finish.

At fourteen years of age, this 2003 was drinking well and seemingly still at the apex of its drinking window, although certainly not likely to improve any with further aging.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=146614

http://www.chiarellovineyards.com/

Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Syrah 2016

Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Syrah 2016

We discovered, tasted and acquired this wine during our Whitehall Lane Napa Valle Vineyards and Winery Estate visit and tasting during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2018 back in August. We opened this for casual midweek sipping with bar-be-que and some artisan cheeses and fruit.

As written in our recent tasting notes when we opened this on release and receipt, "This showed dark inky purple colored and full body with layers of blueberry and currant fruits accented by notes of subdued pepper and hints of cinnamon. I defer to the eloquent and artfully drafted tasting notes from the winemaker below."

"The 2016 Luchtel Vineyard Syrah offers fragrant notes of mixed berry compote, violets, blueberry fritter, white pepper, and baking spices. On the palate, the tannins are soft and supple, while the flavors are showing sweet red currants, stewed black plums, beetroot, rhubarb, and a touch of cinnamon."

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2990406


Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery - https://whitehalllane.com/

Del Dotto Connoisseur Series wine comparison for steak dinner

Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series wine comparison for steak dinner

We hosted a wine dinner with colleague Ken and his wife Daniella. Touring our cellar to select some wine to pair with our steak dinner they saw our collection of Del Dotto Vineyards Estate wines, one of the widest held producers in our cellar. They talked of their visit to the Del Dotto Cave Tour and Tasting at the Estate winery in St Helena so we pulled a Del Dotto Cab to consider for our dinner flight.

As I've written often in these pages, the Del Dotto Estate Tasting is an attraction in itself and the experience is one of the standouts in Napa Valley. My blogpost features our last visit there during our Napa Valley Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Barrel Tasting in 2017.

We selected two bottles of Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2001 vintage, an Estate and a bottle from their Connoisseur's Series. This provided a comparison tasting of this vintage release aged in barrels comprised of two different oaks, the premise of the Connoisseur's Series. 

Del Dotto Connoisseur Series Cabernet Sauvignon
served at a previous wine tasting

Del Dotto Vineyards and Winery in Napa Valley produce a unique offering featuring a wine aged in different oak barrels with different types of oak sourced from around the world. The premise is that different varieties of oak have specific characteristics that will act upon the wine differently resulting in subtle flavor variations.

The Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series features as many as nine different oaks in which they age the same wine. Oaks barrels are produced with wood sourced from numerous forests around the world including America and France - French Allier, Bertranges, Colbert, Juppilles, Marsannay and Troncas oaks, and American Missouri and Minnesota oaks. Del Dotto also produce a 'D' Barrel (as in David Del Dotto) comprised of staves intermixed from several of the sources of oak. As with the whole collection, the resulting differences are subtle and may not be discernable except to the most discriminating oenphile, but they provide a unique and interesting tasting experience.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

At seventeen years this wine may be past it's prime and won't improve with further aging, but it is still holding its own and may still be at or near the apex of its drinking window, which demonstrates the longevity of Napa Valley Cabernets. While it will not likely improve any further with aging, it may still have a few more years to go at this level.

Medium to full bodied , deep dark ruby color - black berry and tangy black cherry fruits accented by clove spice and a hint cassis and whisper of English toffee on the 'Rutherford Dust' moderate silky tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=485814





Del Dotto Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseur Series Colbert French Oak 2001

The same wine as above from the same vintage release except aged in a different oak barrel as described above. Many folks might not recognize a difference between the two, and such differences could be due to bottle variations or differences in provenance (aging and handling history). Never-the-less I sensed slightly more oak in this release than the Estate bottling above, and slightly increased sense of sweetness in the oak. Of course I admit this could be conditioned on the suggestion of the packaging.

In any event, the option provides for a comparison tasting and an interesting and fun experience. It might've been more apparent with more selections and variations on which to compare. Perhaps we'll have the occasion for this experience as we still hold a couple more bottles from the Series Collection.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=199930





After dinner we opened this Nittnaus TBA dessert wine with a selection of fudges, artisan cheeses and Seasalt Caramel Chocolate Cake. Staying with the 2001 vintage of the Del Dotto cabs, we chose this vintage release dessert wine as well.

Nittnaus Trockenbeerenauslese Burgenland Austria Premium White Blend 2001

Tea or honey color, full bodied, thick unctuous, bright full aromas and tastes of apricot accented by tones of fig, hints of peach and a layer of leather and smoke.

The apricot fruit aromas are more pronounced than the tasted flavors which were a bit more subdued, giving way to the non-fruit notes of smoke and leather. Delightful and satisfying none-the-less.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=551992

Northstar Merlot 2008 for Casual Wine and Cheese Sipping

Northstar Merlot 2008 for Casual Wine and Cheese Sipping

For casual sipping wine with some cheese during the midweek, I pulled from the cellar this Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot. We've been drinking this label for more than a decade for reasonable QPR casual sipping for a Bordeaux varietal. We gained increased appreciation for labels such as this from our two trips to Washington State this summer where we explored and discovered several Bordeaux varietals from the Columbia Valley that provide high quality at reasonable prices relative to their California or Old World, French peers.

We passed by or near Northstar Winery during our recent Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 and will definitely schedule a visit there on our next visit to the area. 

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008

According to my Cellartracker records for this label, we hold a dozen and half bottles from eight different vintages dating back to the milenium. I normally would pull from the older or oldest vintages in such cases for effective cellar vintage management. Tonight, I simply selected the label and pulled a bottle when I saw I still had multiple bottles from the vintage.

I opened several cheeses and crackers to accompany the wine and found the old aged sharp cheddar to go especially well, as well as he creamy havarti.

Tonight's tasting was fairly consistent with my last tasting note for this wine which was six years ago back in 2012, when I wrote:

"This 2008 is a bit tight and closed, not as smooth, polished and fruit filled as some earlier vintages of this wine that I remember - perhaps due to its age or period in its aging profile. This is medium to full bodied, with dark inky color, this is a bright, balanced wine with notes of black cherry, tobacco, spice box and nut leading to a long, smoky moderate tannin finish."

Tonight's rating, RM 88 points is consistent with what I gave it back at that time.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1210721

https://www.northstarwinery.com/

Italian Village Dinner features Amarone and Brunllo di Montalcina

Team Dinner at Italian Village features Amarone and Brunello di Montalcina

With my management team in town for planning meetings we ended the day with dinner at my usual host site, Italian Village.

As is customary, we dined in our usual private room so we could have an intimate working dinner. And. as usual, friend and Wine Director Jared Gelband selected a couple of ideal wines to complement our authentic Italian dinners.

Several of the group had the trio of vitello with three different preparations. I had my favorite, Veal Marsala entree with the brown mushroom sauce which is a perfect complement to the Amarone Volpolicella red wine.

For our starters and salad course had a Sangiovese based Brunello Di Montalcino from Caprili. As we moved to the entree course we drank an Amarone della Valpolicella from Giuseppe Lonardi.

Caprili Brunello di Montalcino 2013

I asked for a Sangiovese varietal wine which calls for Brunello di Montalcino. Jared served this Caprilli which paired well with our salad and  Anitposto courses.

Brunello di Montalcino is from the area surrounding the town of Montalcino which is located south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello is the designation for wine produced with 100% Sangiovese varietal grape.

Since 1980, Brunello di Montalcino has been designated DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status, which refers to quality controls and guaranteed designation of origin. This is akin to the American AVA with regards to to place of origin, and the French AOC - Appellation Origin Controlee system which regulates quality. DOCG labelled wines are analyzed and tasted by government–licensed personnel before being bottled. To prevent later manipulation, DOCG wine bottles are sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork.


This was garnet colored, medium bodied, lighter than I expected, slightly astringent with bright acidity, bright red fruits accented by notes of spice, minerals, leather dusty earthiness and hints of smoke with fine tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2607727
 

Giuseppe Lonardi Amarone della Valpolicella

Corte Lonardi is a small winery located in Marano, in the heart of Valpolicella. The owner, Silvia Lonardi is the daughter of founder and namesake Giuseppe Lonardi whose life was immersed in wine and cuisine, growing up in the vineyards and the family owned tavern.

Silvia’s great-grandfather Giuseppe, was a restaurateur, as was her grandfather Aldo. Giuseppe began producing wine in the early 80s with his friend and winemaker Roberto Ferrarini.

Today Silvia produces high-quality wines which reveal the terroir of the Valpolicella region and the soil of the Marano hills 1000 feet above sea level above the Marano di Valpolicella valley. Valpolicella is in the province of Verona, within the large Veneto region near Venice in northeastern Italy.

Amarone della Valpolicella, also known as Amarone for short, is a red wine blended from the Corvina (45–95%, of which up to 50% could be substituted with Corvinone), Rondinella (5–30%) and other approved red grape varieties (up to 25%). 

In Italian, the name Amarone literally means "the Great Bitter" which distinguished it from Recioto and Repasso wines produced in the same region, which tend to lighter and slightly sweeter in taste.

What distinguishes Amarone from other wines is that the grapes are partially dried for approximately  90 days before pressing, which results in higher degree of residual sweetness and lower acidity. The resulting wines allows long aging and have a distinctive flavor profile described as full, warm, velvety notes and notes of ripe fruit and woodland tones. Amarones are often consumed ten to fifteen years after harvest.

Volpolicella wines are designated DOCG status.

Giuseppe Lonardi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2011

This was bright deep garnet colored, full rich concentrated ripe sweet red fruits accented by notes of leather and tobacco leaf with hints of forest on the firm but polished finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2114460

http://www.lonardivini.it/wines/?lang=en

http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/

Mouton Rothschild Wine Label Art Series

Mouton Rothschild Wine Label Art Series

A study in wine branding and marketing at some point invites a discussion of art label series featuring original or reproductions of notable art or artists on the wine labels. No wine producer in the world captures the imagination or attention of wine collectors and wine art enthusiasts more than Mouton Rothschild with their annual artist series artist featured wine label.

Each year a renowned artist is commissioned to do the artwork for that vintage. The featured artist is said to be paid ten cases of various vintages of the classic Chateau Mouton Rothschild for their work. Every collector dreams of collecting a 'vertical' collection (wines of multiple vintages of the same wine) of the classic premium First Growth Bordeaux to display the 'artwork' of Mouton.

Mouton Rothschild Artist Labels have been produced by the world's most famous contemporary artists, Chagall (1970, Dali (1958), Picasso (1973), Miro (1969), Andy Warhol (1975), as well as other luminaries such as Prince Charles (2004) and Hollywood director John Huston (1982). Many other producers have established artist series, but there is only one Mouton Rothschild.

In 1945, Baron Philippe de Rothschild conceived the original idea of crowning the Mouton label with a work of art created for this purpose by famous artists; these have included paintings by Miró, Chagall, Braque, Picasso, Warhol, Bacon, Balthus, amongst others.

Since then, only 4 vintages have not had Artist's labels: 1953 which celebrated the initial purchase of the Mouton property, 1977 when the Queen Mother stayed at Mouton and the Baron dedicated that year's vintage to her, 2000 where the label is enameled in gold with a reproduction of Jakob Schenauer's Augsburg Ram (below), and 2003 which is devoted to Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild depicted in a period photograph celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1853 acquisition of the Mouton estate by the family. These are all shown on my legacy McNees.org/WineSite Mouton Rothschild Art Label Library.

The official library is presented on the original Mouton Rothschild Official Label Art Site.

My Winesite Label Library lists the Mouton Rothschild Label Library Series Artists and associated works by the artists for reference or to aid in further exploration or research of the library and its history: 

Alpha Listing of Mouton Rothschild Label Artists

Chronological list of Mouton Rothschild artists with links to Wikipedia profiles and other artwork by Mouton Rothschild selected artists.

Mouton Rothschild Label Library

2019	Olafur Eliasson

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Syrah 2011

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Estate Syrah 2011

A couple years ago we were planning a trip to the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Valleys' wine districts along the South Central California coast. In preparation for the trip we embarked on exploration of wines from the region and acquired several labels from the various appellations to taste so as to establish a baseline of knowledge and understanding of the varietals, styles and terroir effects of the different areas.

Back at that time, niece Jenna was attending UC Santa Barbara and we were hoping for a dual purpose visit and wine trip. In any event, for various reasons our plans were disrupted and we canceled/postponed our trip. This label is one from that collection. We still hope to visit the area at some point to explore another wine region and it's wines. Stay tuned for such a trip report.

This weekend would've been an ideal time to visit as the Big Ten sends three out of the four teams to the NCAA Final Four College Cup soccer tournament in Santa Barbara. Our Indiana Hoosiers are favored to win their ninth National Championship after they defeated Notre Dame Friday night to advance to their twentieth College Cup. They will play University of Maryland. Tonight, Michigan State advanced to the semi-final to represent a command performance by the Big Ten.

We opened this for casual but serious sipping with some artisan cheeses while watching weekend sports, including the NCAA Soccer Tournament.

This was ideal with ten year old Aged Sharp Cheddar as well as creamy Havarti, with fresh berries and pear fruits. Neutral soda crackers were more suited to reveal the native flavors of the wine, cheese and fruits, as opposed to butter crackers or others with overt tastes.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our earlier tasting of this label back in 2015.

Dark red-ruby, full bodied, aromas of floral and mocha, complex, concentrated big, forward black and blue fruits, tones of anise/licorice, hints of mocha chocolate and herbs, turning to a very long soft savory fruit filled finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1652929

http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com

Stolpman Santa Ynez Valley Hilltops Estate Syrah 2011

A couple years ago we were planning a trip to the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez Valleys' wine districts along the South Central California coast. In preparation for the trip we embarked on exploration of wines from the region and acquired several labels from the various appellations to taste so as to establish a baseline of knowledge and understanding of the varietals, styles and terroir effects of the different areas.

Back at that time, niece Jenna was attending UC Santa Barbara and we were hoping for a dual purpose visit and wine trip. In any event, for various reasons our plans were disrupted and we canceled/postponed our trip. This label is one from that collection. We still hope to visit the area at some point to explore another wine region and it's wines. Stay tuned for such a trip report.

This weekend would've been an ideal time to visit as the Big Ten sends three out of the four teams to the NCAA Final Four College Cup soccer tournament in Santa Barbara. Our Indiana Hoosiers are favored to win their ninth National Championship after they defeated Notre Dame Friday night to advance to their twentieth College Cup. They will play University of Maryland. Tonight, Michigan State advanced to the semi-final to represent a command performance by the Big Ten.

We opened this for casual but serious sipping with some artisan cheeses while watching weekend sports, including the NCAA Soccer Tournament.

This was ideal with ten year old Aged Sharp Cheddar as well as creamy Havarti, with fresh berries and pear fruits. Neutral soda crackers were more suited to reveal the native flavors of the wine, cheese and fruits, as opposed to butter crackers or others with overt tastes.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our earlier tasting of this label back in 2015.

Dark red-ruby, full bodied, aromas of floral and mocha, complex, concentrated big, forward black and blue fruits, tones of anise/licorice, hints of mocha chocolate and herbs, turning to a very long soft savory fruit filled finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1652929

http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com

Montagna Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Montagna Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

As I wrote a while back when we first discovered this label, "We've seen the Montagna Napa Valley label but didn't connect it to the property we passed on Long Ranch Road on our way up to David Arthur vineyards at 1100 feet high atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range overlooking Napa Valley from the east. Interesting that Montagna is the project of Bob Long, one of the founders of David Arthur with his brother David.

Pritchard Hill Vineyards at David Arthur
high atop Long Ranch Road

It is said that these vineyards are part of the nine hundred acre parcel purchased by their parents back in the mid-sixties and seventies. We were already big fans of Pritchard Hill Cabernet and our visit to David Arthur was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2013. We visited Chappellet Vineyards during our Napa Wine Experience in 2009.

According to published reports, in May 2015, the 80-acre Montagna property on Pritchard Hill owned by Bob Long, with 32 acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, was put up for sale for an asking price of $55 million. Included in and contributing to that astronomical price is the fact the property also included more than 20,000 feet of caves, a 50,000-gallon winery permit, a hospitality area and a potential home site. The fact that the vineyard was already planted and the property already has a winery permit are also huge factors in valuing the property given the anti-development sentiments in Napa Valley that challenge any potential development.

Pritchard Hill is becoming one of the most exclusive sub-areas in Napa Valley. It is planted with about 350 acres of vines and is home to some of Napa's most extraordinary premium and super premium labels - Bryant Family, Chappellet, Colgin, Continuum, David Arthur and Ovid.

Montagna proprietor Bob Long and his family have been involved in the development of Pritchard Hill properties since the 1960’s. It is among the best terroir in Napa to not have a sub appellation designation.

Montagna is so named as it means 'mountain' in Italian. Fourteen acres of the Estate are planted in Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. An adjoining 18 acres are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon on the site of original vineyard of David Arthur’s flagship premium label “Elevation”, named for its Elevation at 1147 feet above sea level.

I got this wine from fellow Pour Boy wine buddy Dr Dan who acquired a case. He introduced me to this wine when he brought a bottle BYOB to our dinner at Folklore Argentine Grill steak house in Wicker Park in Chicago before a Hawks game.

This evening's tasting was consistent with earlier tasting notes when I wrote, "This was dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, earth and leather predominate almost like a left bank Bordeaux, giving way to black cherry, black currant and black berry fruits accented by spice, cigar box and hints of cedar with firm lingering tannins".

I held half the bottle and opened it the next evening and found even more pronounced fruits had taken over and the earth and leather were more subdued.

Selecting this as a Ricks Pick in an earlier tasting, I wrote: "This was simply terrific - big and bold with great depth, complexity, richness and concentration. Very much in the style of a traditional Napa cabernet with ripe, rich cassis and other dark fruits, a big, firm structure, full-body, velvety, smooth texture and a long finish. Adds aromas of tobacco and leather, and the fruits turn even darker after about an hour. This is an "in-your-face" style that somehow reminds me of many of the big Napa cabernets of the mid-to late 80's and 90's."

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1641170

Del Dotto Sangiovese and Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve for Angelis Italian Dinner

Del Dotto Sangiovese and Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve for Angelis Italian Dinner

Winding down the holiday weekend, we dined at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. For Italian dining, we took two Del Dotto Sangiovese based wines, Del Dotto Sangiovese and Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve Sangiovese blend. This was a replay of our Sangiovese Italian dinner the day before when we did a Sangiovese and a Sangiovese based blend.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1998

I wrote yesterday in these pages about Del Dotto Sangiovese. This is the last of our bottles of this label from this era. I've written often about the 1998 Napa vintage releases, how they were panned by the media and pundits as an off vintage, yet they proved to impress and over-perform with pleasurable drinking, even two decades later. The 1998 vintage was overshadowed by the 1997 and 1999, which in retrospect were over-hyped and over-rated. For years, the 1998 has proven to be the top performer for a go-to wine.

Tonight, at twenty years, this 1998 release was holding its own very nicely and showed no signs of diminution from age, whatsoever. This, despite having a partially saturated cork that came apart on removal.

According to Cellartracker, this was the first release of this label. My last tasting note was nine years ago in 2009, the last of nearly a dozen. Interesting that tonight's tasting was consistent with that report:

"Medium bodied, flavorful black cherry, black berry, and currant fruits, with notes of cedar and floral. Getting down to the end of a case and this one definitely more vibrant than earlier tastings. Earlier leather and earthiness gave way to the lively floral and cedar - perhaps age served it well?'

That night I have it a better rating than my previous review a year earlier when I wrote, "Del Dotto's first release of a 100% Sangiovese, grown on the mountains of Calistoga in Napa Valley. Medium bodied, fruity nose with a smoky slightly earthy floral flavor - chunky fruity wine."

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=48662


Del Dotto Giovani's Tuscan Reserve Napa Valley Sangiovese Blend 2002

From my earlier blogpost on this wine. Tonight's tasting was consistent with this earlier experience.

We have about a decade of vintages in our horizontal collection of this label. I've written about Nils Venge and Del Dotto and their venturing into the Italian Sangiovese varietal in Napa Valley. Del Dottto were the featured wine producer of several of our Napa Valley Wine Experiences during the mid to late nineties and after the millenium.

This Sangiovese based blend is named after the Del Dotto's first born son, Giovanni. I remember first discovering this wine and buying it at the Wine Stop wine shop in Burlingame near SFO back in the mid-nineties, and then obtaining more from the producer over the years. I recall the early releases of this label came in 500ml bottles rather than normal 750's.

Del Dotto remain one of our favorite Napa producers whose wines from their early days continue to impress with their longevity and endurance. True to that style, there remains much life in this twelve year old.

This 2002 is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon and exhibits dark garnet color, medium to full body with the full forward, complex tight black fruits masked by tones of smoke and charcoal before giving way to aromatic floral and bright tangy black cherry fruits with spicy, firm tannins on the aromatic, lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=289974&searchId=17744031

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/11/del-dotto-giovanis-tuscan-reserve.html

Big Red Petit Verdot for Serious Sipping

Big Red Petit Verdot for Serious Sipping

Searching for a sipping wine with cheese and fruits and a movie, son Alec was looking through our Cellartracker cellar selections. "Petit Verdot?", he asked. I explained that Petit Verdot is one of the Bordeaux varietals but subordinate to the primary Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and lesser than Cabernet Franc which is used in the blend to add a bit of depth and spiciness. Petit Verdot, I explained is blended in, usually in small amounts, to add color and tannin structure, depth and concentration and flavor. It is characterized as adding intense black and blue fruit flavors and tones of pencil shavings, violet and leather. And some producers will bottle 100% Petit Verdot as a wine with special character. Sounds perfect for such an occasion, so we pulled a bottle of Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Petit Verdot.


Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2014

We discovered, tasted and acquired this wine during our Whitehall Lane winery visit and tasting at the Estate on Hwy 29, St Helena Highway just south of St Helena, Napa Valley. Whitehall Lane is the small road that abuts the property. They have 140 acres of vineyards of which just 2.4 acres are planted in this Petit Verdot varietal grapes which is used primarily for blending in the Bordeaux blends and for this special bottling.

Winemaker Jason Moulton says of this wine, "This Petit Verdot is like experiencing the dark side…with concentrated, full-bodied flavors. It is extraordinarily balanced with aromas of black currants, clove, blackberry pie, Agen prunes, cedar, and a hint of earth and dust. Its palate exudes flavors of black cherry cola, crème de cassis, tar, fresh black plums and toasted almond croissant. Its powerful chalky tannin mouthfeel truly lets you know THIS is Petit Verdot."

Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, structured concentrated rich tongue coating black fruits, hints of clove spice and earth, with tongue puckering chalky tannins that form distinct 'legs' on the glass. This wine begs for hearty cheese, grilled steak or darkest mocha chocolate.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2545349

To accompany this wine, we pulled out award winning ten year aged sharp cheddar cheese from Fair Oaks Farm in Northern Indiana.

https://fofarms.com/

https://whitehalllane.com/

Del Dotto Sangiovese for Family Lasagna Dinner

Del Dotto Sangiovese for Family Lasagna Dinner

With the family gathered for the Holiday weekend, Linda prepared baked Lasagna for a gala dinner and I pulled from the cellar two Italian varietal Sangiovese based wines - Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese and David Arthur Merritaggio. The comparison illustrated contrasting styles and profiles of two wines based on the same core.

Del Dotto is a family favorite paying tribute to the close knit family there, and our family having 'grown up' with the brand over the years, and many of us having visited Del Dotto during our many visits to Napa Valley.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1998 - 2016

I have written often in these pages about Del Dotto pioneering Sangiovese in Napa Valley back in the late nineties under the collaboration with legendary winemaker Nils Venge. Del Dotto continues their lineage of Sangiovese wines with this offering under the Piazza label, the recent addition to the growing list of Del Dotto brands.

We discovered the Piazza brand during our Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Tasting during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017. We then targeted the just opened Piazza Winery Delicacies Wine and Food Tasting Experience during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2018. It was the highlight of our entire Napa trip. We tasted and acquired this 2015 release during our Cave Tour tasting.

For the record and for reference for anyone tracking such details, the Cellartracker dossier, our inventory management system and normally reliable reference guide, is confused and misguided on this wine. It contains two references to this wine, both partially right and wrong. It lists the wine twice, Del Dotto Piazza Sangiovese and Del Dotto Sangiovese Piazza. For the first, it lists vintages 1999, 2003 (wrong) and 2013, '15 and 2016 (correct). For the latter it correctly lists 2013, '14, '15 and 2016, and errantly lists 1998 and 2003.

Del Dotto offered Napa Valley Sangiovese under the historic flagship 'David' label (shown right) from 1998 through 2003 and also appeared as Rutherford Estate Sangiovese 2013. (The 1998 label is shown here. The 1999 label calls it St Helena Sangiovese. We tasted and acquired these wine during our Del Dotto Napa Estate visit and Del Dotto Wine Producer Dinner back in 1999, and again at our Napa Wine Experience in 2003.

Del Dotto then offered Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Blend Sangiovese under the Cave Blend brand from 2004 through 2016. I believe Cellartracker references to this label from 2001 are in error and should refer to the 'David' branding. There is no photo evidence of this (Cave Blend 2001) label in the Cellartracker library or in internet searches.

The Piazza brand appeared with the 2013 release and continues to this day.

Del Dotto Vineyards was established in 1990 when David and Yolanda Del Dotto planted vineyards on 17 acres in Rutherford at the homestead Estate on the corner of Highway 29 and Zinfandel Lane in Napa Valley. It truly is a family affair with David's father John being involved in the early days, and daughter Desiree and son Giovanni being involved in the business and having their own labels as well. I had the pleasure of meeting John back in the late nineties and working with Desiree as she took on marketing duties during that era.

Rick and Linda with David Del Dotto circa 2003

The Del Dotto first release vintage was 1993. Since then the estate has grown significantly to 437 acres of vineyards producing 8,000-12,000 cases annually. Around 2010, the Del Dotto brand expanded further with the release of Villa Del Lago, an ultra-premium label from Pritchard Hill.

Indeed, Del Dotto is one of the largest holdings in our cellar dating back to the inaugural vintage release back in 1993. Our association with Del Dotto dates back to our Napa Wine Experiences and wine producer and winemaker dinners back in the mid-nineties.




Del Dotto Piazza Napa Valley Sangiovese 2015

This was delicious and everyone loved it making me wish I had more than the single case we acquired last year. I'll be looking for more.

We tasted and acquired this wine during our Del Dotto Estate Cave Tour and Tasting last year. Our first recorded tasting note was just three months ago when we took it took it BYOB to our favorite neighborhood Italian Trattoria, Angelis Italian. Tonight's tasting experience was consistent with my notes from that evening (caution about the color and slight opaqueness aside, which was not present tonight.)

My notes from previous tasting three months ago. "This was dark garnet colored ((with a slight grayish hue that signaled caution but the wine was fine, we'll monitor the next bottle (s) with interest to see if this is an early warning of trouble ahead) (as noted, this was not present tonight)); medium full bodied, this was delicious with sweet ripe raspberry fruits accented by notes of vanilla and almond with supple smooth silky tannins on the lingering finish.


RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2579868

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/08/del-dotto-piazza-sangiovese-at-angelis.html

We also opened this second wine, a Sangiovese based blend.

David Arthur Napa Valley Meritaggio 2003

David Arthur is typically known for premium Estate Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from vineyards on Pritchard Hill overlooking southeast Napa Valley. We visited the winery during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2013.

This is a serious wine with fun name - Meritaggio is a play on the word Meritage - a US trademarked moniker for a Bordeaux Blend - a red blend of Bordeaux varietals. This is a rendition of a Sangiovese based Bordeaux style blend, with fruit sourced from Napa Valley. As such, this was more complex than the single varietal Sangiovese, and more akin to the traditional Italian Sangiovese based wines - more earthy - leathery and a touch of cedar. This exceeded expectations with vibrant bright flavored dark and red berry fruits with layers of complementary flavors. Complex and sophisticated but easy drinking wine.

Dark garnet color - full bodied - bright, vibrant, rich, mouthful of black raspberry, currant, ripe plum, layer of anise and hint of spice, smoke, cedar and leather with nicely integrated fine tannins.

RM 93 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=85665

Thanksgiving Feast Features Rhone Wine Flight

Thanksgiving Feast Features Rhone Varietal Blend Wine Flight

Twenty members of immediate family and dear friends gathered for our Thanksgiving feast. . For the occasion we selected a flight of Rhone varietal wines from our cellar and from son Ryan's.

We started with a aged vintage birth year selection celebrating son Alec and partner Viv joining us from NYC, a classic Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Following the protocol of wine tasting, we moved from lighter wines to larger more complex wines. We progressed to more recent vintage Rhone Blend selections from our recent trip to Washington State Walla Walla and Red Mountain AVA, and then moved to a Rhone varietal Blend from Paso Robles.


Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 1990

We discovered and acquired this label during our trip to Châteauneuf-du-Pape back in 1998.

Nearing thirty years of age, this is nearing the end of its drinking window but still suitable for such an occasion. This is beginning to lose clarity and taking on an slight opaque tone and the garnet color taking on a sight brownish hue. We still hold three bottles from this case acquired decades ago representing son Alec's birth year, holding them for family occasions.

Consistent with earlier tasting notes, this was medium to full bodied with slight earthiness and leather fronting layers of herbs, black and green pepper that accompany the slightly subdued black cherry and black berry fruits with a hint of spice, moderate lingering tannins.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=30341


https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/chateau-boisrenard-and-bbq-beef-brisket.html

Progressing in weight and complexity, this GSM Blend (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre) in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape style is from Washington State Red Mountain AVA. We visited the producer Force Majeure during our recent Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018.

Force Majeure Collaboration Series VI Ciel du Cheval Vineyard 2011

We acquired a collection of Force Majeure wines including this vintage after meeting and hosting Force Majeure winemaker Todd Alexander and marketing, distribution and branding exec Carrie Alexander during their Chicago visit last year.  


Bright vibrant, garnet/purple in color full bodied, concentrated complex Blackberry fruits predominate with tangy red berries, tones of pepper and tar, earth and meat, hints of expresso, anise and smoke accented by nicely integrated smooth lingering dusty tannins. Another CT'er rightly noted this 'benefitted with time and warmer than cellar temps'.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=1788937

The Collaboration Series has ended as Todd has taken over general management and winemaking duties and his handiwork is now coming on line; this historic label was made by James Mantone of Syncline Winery. This is a blend 47% Mourvedre, 42% Syrah and 11% Grenache.

We just received our current release of Force Majeure 'GSM' blend, Parata, that we tasted and acquired during our recent Force Majeure Vineyards and new winery facility site visit and tasting, and were eager to open it and compare but didn't get that far in our consumption. We will look forward to a comparison tasting in the future as we hold several bottles of each.

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/

We continued in our flight to a bigger, heavier, more concentrated Rhone varietal blend from Paso Robles L'Aventura that Ryan brought from his cellar.

L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate Paso Robles 2011

Ryan brought this Rhone Red bruiser vintage 2011 providing a mini-horizontal tasting aside the Force Majeure.

Another GSM blend, very similar in style and taste but bigger and more concentrated with a whopping 15.8% alcohol content. Amazingly approachable considering the high alcohol content.

This is the handiwork of legendary winemaker Stephan Asseo who has been making wine since 1982. After graduating from L'Ecole Oenologique de Macon, in Burgundy, France, he started his wine career when he established Domaine de Courteillac in Bordeaux, then later purchased Chateau Fleur Cardinal and Chateau Robin in the Cotes de Castillion, Bordeaux. Over the next 15 years he honed his winemaking skills there.

In 1996 he embarked on a year long global search of the world's great wine regions for a great terroir when he "fell in love" with the unique terroir of Paso Robles in Central California in the rolling hills  of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. There, Stephan began his adventure, "L'Aventure".
 
Bright garnet colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated, firmly structured, complex but nicely balanced and integrated forward fruits of ripe blackberry and red berry fruits accented by menthol, bacon fat, tones of black olive, anise and herbs with firm but well behaved silky tannins on the long finish.

RM 93 points.

This is a blend of 40% Syrah, 38% Mourvedre and 22% Grenache, similar to above but more Syrah and less Grenache.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1578540

http://www.aventurewine.com/

Later after dinner, watching a movie, we opened this big Syrah Blend from Washington State that we discovered and acquired during our Seattle Culinary and Woodinville (Washington) Wine Tour 2018. 

Long Shadows Wineries Sequel Syrah 2015

As chronicled in my recent blogpost on the Long Shadows Vintner's Collection, this is part of the portfolio of premium wines produced by legendary winemakers from around the world who are masters for their artwork with specific varietal wines.  

This Sequel Syrah is crafted by legendary Syrah winemaker John Duval, known for the leading Syrah label from Australia, Penfold's Grange. We hold a OWC (original wood case) of the 1990 Penfold's Grange, commemorating Alec's birth year. That label was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year for the year 1993. 

Dark inky purple colored, rich, thick concentrated ripe black berry and black raspberry fruits, black pepper, smoked meat, notes of vanilla and caramel. 

RM 93 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2777751

https://www.longshadows.com/

This could likely improve with some further aging as it could benefit from some time to settle and should improve with a couple more years to achieve more balance and harmony as it reaches the apex of its drinking window, which clearly will be another decade or more. With our deep cellar, we'd normally hold a bottle like this for a while before consuming but we tried it now since it is available still at Binny's, our local wine super store so we can go get some more to replace this bottle and stock up some more, (even though we're in the highest level of the Long Shadows wine club and will be receiving some in our shipment allocation; but that will be the next 2016 vintage and we'll want to hold the '15, as it is birthyear of two grandkids, Reid and Jessie.). 

Finally, late in the evening we opened this TBA dessert wine. Viv just returned from an extended trip across Europe that include visits to Budapest and Prague in the Danube River Valley. There they visited several wineries. So, I pulled this Kracher dessert wine from the Burgenland wine region in Eastern Austria which I visited back in the early 2000's.

Alois Kracher Chardonnay TrockenBeeren Auslese (TBA) #7 Nouvelle Vague 2001



We hold more than a dozen labels of Kracher wines from this era. Its fun to watch quality dessert wines mature and change color over time, from straw color, to butter, then weak tea, and progressing darker and darker over time. Note this color of tea at seventeen years of age.

At their most desirable (to my taste preference) these wines are rich, thick, unctuous, and voluptuous with apricot marmalade, mango, toffee/brown sugar, and caramel notes. This may have been there at some point and perhaps passed that stage of its aging profile. If so, then it is time to drink although it will no doubt continue to age gracefully for several more years. But the rich, sweet apricot fruits nectar was gone and has turned more to a smokey charcoal layer over the fruits which were more subdued. Delightful never-the-less.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19086

Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Blend

Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Blend

Following our Walla Walla (Washington) AVA Wine Experience week before last, and our visits to Spring Valley Vineyards vineyards and tasting room, we opened this  Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Bordeaux Blend for a grilled steak dinner.

As written in my Spring Valley Vineyards blogpost, the branding of Spring Valley wines is based on the rich family history and heritage. The wine portfolio is comprised of labels named for family members dating back to Uriah Corkrum, who is the inspiration and namesake of their Uriah label, their Right Bank Bordeaux Blend. Their other Bordeaux Blend, a Cabernet based blend in the Left Bank style is this Frederick, named for Uriah's son, father of current vineyard owner Shari Corkrum Derby.

Meeting Dean Derby, son-in-law of Frederick was one of the highlights of our Walla Walla wine region experience. Dean and Shari Corkrum Derby started planting the first grapes at Spring Valley in 1993 and the first vintage of Estate grown and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were released with the 1999 vintage.

We tasted the latest current release of this label, Frederick Red Wine Blend 2015 in the Spring Valley Vineyards tasting room there downtown Walla Walla. This evening we opened a vintage bottle from our cellar ten years older from the 2005 vintage.


Spring Valley Vineyard Walla Walla Columbia Valley Frederick Red Bordeaux Blend 2005 -

Dark inky color, full bodied, big, firm, complex but balanced, brooding ripe sweet dark berry - blackberry & black raspberry fruit flavors, tones of cassis, spice, lead pencil - firm but smooth nicely integrated polished tannins on a full lingering finish.

As I have been writing in my blogposts on Washington wines, like many of the other high quality labels coming from the region, this represents high QPR (quality price ratio) relative to comparable wines from the stories more established Bordeaux or Napa Valley regions.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=425182

At thirteen years of age, this wine is likely at the apex of its drinking window and won't likely improve any further with age, but it should last another five years before falling off, and should be consumable for a decade yet. I wish I had more to try over that time. Pick up this label when you get a chance.

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/


 

Domaine Des Chirats Rockpile Vineyard Syrah 2013

Domaine Des Chirats Sonoma County Rockpile Vineyard Syrah 2013

This is produced by Jeff Cohn, former winemaker at Rosenblum Cellars in collaboration with Yves Cuilleron from the Northern Rhône, third generation proprietor of Cave Cuilleron founeded by his grandfather Claude Cuilleron in 1920. Yves took over in 1987 from his Uncle. The 150 acre estate produces over 430,000 bottles of wine annually. Jeff Cohn and Yes Cuilleron teamed up in 2013 to produce this wine in the historic Northern Rhône style from fruit sourced from Cohn's Rockpile vineyard. Through their collaboration they have crafted this wine in the style of a Northern Hermitage or Côte-Rôtie.

Fruit for this label is sourced from the Rockpile vineyard in the Rockpile appellation in Sonoma. Cohn calls it "a special place for Syrah". Sitting at 2010 ft. elevation, Syrah 20 plus year-old vines are grown above the fog line allowing for plenty of sun to reach full ripeness. The vineyard gets its name from the rocky soil that stresses the grapes resulting in richness and concentration. Jeff began working with the Rockpile Vineyard over fourteen years ago.

While working at Rosenblum Cellars, Jeff Cohn began his own Jeff Cohn Cellars label in 1996. His first vintage was but 75 cases in of 1996 Rhodes Vineyard Zinfandel. Production at Jeff Cohn Cellars slowly increased to over 5,000 cases annually.  In 2006 Jeff parted ways with Rosenblum to focus exclusively on his own winery, but not before crafting the 2003 Rockpile Road Zinfandel, which placed 3rd on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list that year. This was a milestone accomplishment not only for Jeff, but the entire California winemaking industry, the first Zinfandel to appear so high on the list, the first time for a Zinfandel from California to reach the top ten.

Jeff strives to achieve the aspects of terroir and minerality found in France's legendary historic winemaking regions in wines sourced from California fruit. He has traveled across California, from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, searching for the finest fruit and the best vineyards. Among Jeff's most important discoveries was the Rockpile region in Sonoma where he began sourcing Syrah grapes for a portfolio of wines including this label. He strives for elegant and complex wines and he believes the craggy soil of the aptly named Rockpile produces some of the most complex and distinctive minerality in all of California.

The 2014 vintage of this wine was rated 95 Points by Robert Parker.

Dark purple garnet colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated but polished and elegant, blueberry and blackberry fruits with notes of floral, anise, meaty bacon fat and spice, crisp acidity with firm but approachable tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 92 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2320444

https://www.jeffcohncellars.com/