Covid Breakout - Engagement Celebration Dinner

Covid Breakout - Dual Engagement Family Celebration Dinner

With son Alec and fiance Vivianna visiting from Manhatten, we met son Sean and his fiance Michelle for dinner at Angelis Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. This  was our first dinner out since the opening restaurants for outdoor dining only in Illinois as the Covid lock-down is relaxed. For Alec and Viv this was their first dinner out since NYC is still shut down.

This was our first time getting together since both Alec and Sean got engaged so it was also a special celebration dinner. Alec and Viv were due to get married next weekend but due to the Covid disruptions, their event has been postponed. Sean and Michelle's is slated for September but the outcome remains to be seen due to the uncertainties of the Illinois handling of the crisis and associated regulations.

For the celebration we took a Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose Champagne.

Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Rosé NV

We served this last month at a Bridesmaid's Luncheon for Michelle. 

This got 91 points James Suckling, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and 90 points from John Gilman and earlier from Wine Spectator.

This is a a blend of 53% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier.

Rustic orange color, crisp, full-bodied, complex and zesty, lively red currant, red berry and citrus fruits with a good core, fine acidity, crisp texture, chalky minerality and hint of apple, smoke and spice with a long, vibrant finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27316





For the dinner entree's I took BYOB from our home cellar this Piazza Del Dotto Petit Verdot. Below is from my posting of this label from a BYOB dinner tasting on Linda's birthday earlier this year.

Del Dotto Piazza Napa Valley Petit Verdot 2014

We tasted and acquired this wine as part of  our Del Dotto Piazza DELICACIES Food and Wine Experience Tasting at the winery during our Napa Wine Experience in 2018. 

Readers of these posts know we can be over-indulgent, even obsessive, we have fun with wine. Part of the fun is serving wines with 'V' when dining or tasting with Vivianna. Popular labels are from Venge or Viader for such occasions. Tonight, on a different twist, we served a Petit Verdot. 

This was a big hit for our dinner tonight, everyone loved this wine. 
 
Of course, Petit Verdot is one of the Bordeaux varietals, appellation authorized for inclusion in the blend. Most often, Petit Verdot is the fourth varietal in the mix, subordinate to the primary Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the secondary Cabernet Franc.

Petit Verdot is added to a red blend for structure, backbone and colour, to round out, augment and enhance the profile of the blend. Standing alone, without the core Cabernet, and the softening roundness of Merlot, and the hint of tangy spice added by Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot comes across as huge, bold, muscular and forward, perhaps awkward or obtuse and overpowering to some.

Indeed, those are the characteristics we love in a wine and while lacking polish and balance of the harmony of the overall blend, its a wonderful wine with bold and full flavored food such as tonight. I wish I had ordered more and will savor what we have, and miss it when it is gone. I'll be looking to top up our holdings of this label.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, reasonably balanced, firm forward concentrated black berry and black currant fruits, with notes of licorice, spice and hints of mocha and subtle pepper spice with bold but approachable lingering tannins.

RM 92-93 points.

We also acquired some of the 2015 vintage of this label which I took to a gala tasting of which I blogged about last winter in this posting below.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/12/gala-holiday-dinner-features-napa-cab.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/02/del-dotto-piazza-petit-verdot-2014.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2757017

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/visit/piazza



We also ordered from the wine list a white wine to accompany dinner, a Jordan Sonoma County Chardonnay.

Jordan Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2016

This is a popular widely available label from a long time iconic Sonoma County producer.

The winemaker's notes for this label, "Mirroring the classic elements of a grand cru Chablis, this is a rare expression of Chardonnay that shyly but exquisitely excites the senses. Pretty aromas of citrus blossom and passion fruit spring from the glass. Its elegant palate reveals flavors of lemon, Asian pear and kumquat with a beautiful weight and roundness—all supported by an attractive, crisp backbone of acidity. A lingering finish laced in succulent citrus begs you to take another sip.“

"There’s a beautiful balance to this wine. The opportunity to work with such delicately spiced fruit with such lively acidity was especially fun, offering so many aromas and flavors to employ on our vintage canvas. Similar to 2015, the 2016 Jordan Chardonnay will be remembered as very Chablis-like upon release. Expect this wine to take on more Puligny-Montrachet qualities with another 1-2 years of bottle age.” —Winemaker Rob Davis

https://www.jordanwinery.com/wines/russian-river-chardonnay/vintages/2016

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2901151

Lewis Cellars Ethan's Syrah 2009

Lewis Cellars Ethan's Napa Valley Syrah 2009

Son Alec and Viv are home, visiting from NYC. We grilled filet steaks with baked potatoes and opened this Lewis Cellars Ethan's Syrah. Our normal go-to wine with Alec is his signature namesake Alec's Blend from Lewis. Trolling the cellar, adjacent to the Alec's blend rack was the column of Ethan's so he pulled that to introduce this Lewis label, another of our favorites. 

Lewis Cellars are one of our favorite Napa producers with their 'L' branding and labels named for their grandkids, and their Indiana 500 racer heritage. 

Founded in Oakville, Napa Valley, in 1992 by Debbie and Randy Lewis, they own no vineyards but source their grapes from contract growers around the region from Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford, Oak Knoll, and Carneros in Napa Valley to the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. The Oak Knoll estate produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Lewis produce 9,000 cases annually. Paul Hobbs was their original winemaker, but today the winemaker is Brian Mox. 

Despite not owning their own vineyard sources, they hold long-term contracts so they have developed a top reputation as California wine writer James Laube cites "all the estate’s wines are of unusually high quality.” 

Indeed, Lewis Napa Valley Cabernet 2013 was the Wine Spectator #1 Wine of the Year in 2016. That vintage also received a 100 point Robert Parker rating, the first wine to accomplish both accolades in the same year

Our visit and private tasting at the Lewis Estate Chateau was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017. 


Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Ethan's Syrah 2009

Like Alec's Blend, this is named for one of Lewis' grandsons. Unlike Alec's Blend, it is 100% Napa Valley Syrah. 

This is bold, fruit forward and concentrated in the full throttle style that we love.

This release got 94 points from Wine Spectator. Four hundred and seventy five cases were produced. 

This is dark inky blackish purple colored, full-bodied, intense, concentrated, rich, briary black fruits accented by mineral, vanilla, nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon spice leading to ripe but firm tannins that linger with the spice on the finish. This lacks finesse or polish as there is a slight edge to this that detracts a bit from the overall experience.

Ironically, according to our Cellartracker tasting notes, the last time we tasted this was a year ago to this day, on Father's Day weekend when I wrote, "At ten years, this is starting to show its age a bit with a slight bit of an edge and alcohol heat, hence deducting a point from my previous score. I attribute this to age although it could be a bottle variation but I doubt it." 

As is so often the case, my tasting notes were consistent and I gave this the same score as earlier. 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/06/fathers-day-special-dinner-features.html

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1190459&searchId=2459

Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz 2007

Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz 2007

With bbq grilled ribs and baked potatoes, we opened a Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz. Kilikanoon is a boutique Clare Valley winery founded in 1997 when winemaker and proprietor Kevin Mitchell purchased the property of the same name in the hamlet of Penwortham in South Australia's picturesque Clare Valley.

The Kilikanoon property, featuring a circa 1860s stone cottage housing Kilikanoon tasting room, was originally settled by early English migrants who named it after an historic old mansion in Cornwall. By purchasing the property, Mitchell acquired 30 year old Shiraz, Cabernet, Grenache and Riesling vineyards, many of which were planted by his father, Mort, in the 1960s.

Kilikanoon has grown from producing 25,000 bottles in that first vintage, to now exporting to over 25 countries and has become one of the leading brands in Australia.

In the 2002 Clare Valley Wine Show chaired by prominent Australian wine writer and judge, Huon Hooke, Kilikanoon gained notoriety by winning 6 of the 7 trophies awarded. Oracle Shiraz has twice won 'Best Shiraz' at International wine shows, and James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion named Kilikanoon 'Winery of the Year' in 2013. In 2014, Kevin Mitchell was inducted into the inaugural Clare Valley Hall of Fame as Winemaker of the Year.

The Oracle label has long been the flagship wine since Kilikanoon first opened doors back in 1998. Starting off as a single vineyard wine from the famed 'Mort’s Block' Clare Valley vineyard, it has been cited as the benchmark of what Clare Shiraz can achieve, a low yielding Shiraz from single 40 year old vineyard, it typically has an ageing potential of at least 12 - 15 years with careful cellaring.

We love this full throttle, complex, concentrated style of full fruit forward shiraz and hold a half dozen vintages of this flagship label. Tonight we pulled the oldest vintage as part of cellar management.

The 2007 vintage release of Oracle was awarded 93 pts by Wine Enthusiast, 92 pts by Stephen Tanzer, 91 pts by Wine Spectator, and 90 pts by Robert Parker and Wine & Spirits Magazine.

Dark inky purple, full bodied, bright vibrant blackberry, black raspberry and cherry cola flavors are accented by notes of licorice, dark cherries and mocha chocolate and hints of graphite and oak with nicely integrated firm tannins leading to a smooth finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2151943

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kilikanoon

Two Rock Solid Big Reds for Family Celebration

Two Rock Solid Big Reds for Family Celebration - Carnival of Love and Scarlet Love

For grandson Reid's birthday, son Ryan served two spectacular giant red wines, Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz and a Cliff Lede Rock Block Series, Scarlet Love. It was a family gathering of cousins and in-laws, with pizza, DQ Ice Cream cake and snacks on a perfect summer day on the deck and with a bounce house and yard games.

The Mollydooker brand of wines is named for the affectionate Aussie term for 'Left-Hander' - because Sarah Marquis, the powerhouse winemaker based in McLaren Vale Australia, is a lefty!
Prior to Mollydooker, Sarah was involved in various Robert Parker high-scoring wineries including Fox Creek, Henry's Drive, Parson's Flat, Shirvington and her own label with former husband and distributor partner, Marquis Phillips.

The whimsical colorful labels are cartoonish with the premium labels styled as circus posters. This is the premium estate bottled Shiraz.

Mollydooker Carnival Of Love Shiraz 2013

This label was No.2 of the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of the World 2014 (Carnival of Love Shiraz 2012) and has been among 8 appearances of Mollydooker wines in the Wine Spectator Top 100.

This release was awarded 95 Points by The Wine Advocate and 94 Points by Wine Spectator.

This is produced of 100% Shiraz from a single vineyard, the 2013 Carnival of Love was aged in American oak, 97% new.

Winemaker's Notes:

Dark opaque violet with deep crimson hue, this wine bursts from the glass a dense melange of berry fruits, dark plum, licorice, and fragrant spice. The palate displays layers of sweet fruit with creamy mocha oak, black pepper hints and superbly balanced tannins, seeming to last for an eternity.

Very deep purple-black in color, full bodied, dense concentrated, complex, intense nose of blueberry preserves, creme de cassis and warm black cherries, the blackberry fruit is accented by licorice, mocha, vanilla, with notes of baking spices, toast and hints of eucalyptus, turning to supple firm velvety smooth tannins on a very long finish.

We love this style and character profile of wine with intense colour saturation, intense aromas and dense textured, super concentrated and ultra rich palate.

RM 95 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1973768

Cliff Lede Rock Block Series Stags Leap District "Scarlet Love" 2014 

Cliff Lede Estate, Winery (right) and Wine House (left)
as seen from hillside Poetry Inn and surrounding vineyard

The Cliff Lede estate vineyard blocks (shown right) in the Stag's Leap District, called the 'Rock Blocks' as they are named after Cliff’s favorite rock songs.

The name of this blend is derived from Grateful Dead’s "Scarlet Begonias" from the Twin Peaks vineyard and from Cream’s "Sunshine of Your Love" in the flagship steep hillside Poetry vineyard above the Silverado Trail overlooking the estate across the valley.

We've visited the estate several times and our tastings there have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley trips. 

Lede describes this vineyard sources for this wine, "The Cabernet Sauvignon in “Sunshine of Your Love” is planted in shallow volcanic soil and farmed to low yields, contributing concentration and classic Stags Leap character to the backbone of the blend. “Scarlet Begonias” is a small block of Petit Verdot that provides depth, structure, and a luxurious perfume of floral and spice notes."

Ryan gets this label through his Cliff Lede club allocations. This ultra-premium label got 97 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points from Vinous.

This is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Dark blackish inky purple, full bodied, intense, concentrated, complex yet nicely balanced, elegant, smooth and polished black and blue fruits are accented by graphite, licorice, smoke, leather with a long silky smooth tannin laced finish. 

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2617225

Flora Springs Trilogy Napa Valley Red Blend 2008

Flora Springs Trilogy Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

This is a Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend that has been around for decades. Its one of the go-to wines in our cellar, one that we collect from vintage to vintage, as it represents a style we like, is reliable, produced in sufficient quantity to be generally available and provides reasonable QPR - quality price ratio, despite the fact the price has crept up precipitously over the years.

For midweek dinner at home with grilled steaks, baked potatoes and grilled asparagus spears I pulled from the cellar this Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley. We have collected and served Trilogy from Floral Springs for decades and still hold nearly a dozen vintages dating back to 1990 in our cellar.

I chronicled this wine earlier this year when I wrote the following: Trilogy is Flora Springs’ flagship wine, dating back to 1984 when they decided to make the finest wine possible sourced from the highest quality wine lots from their estate vineyards in Napa Valley. Back then it was one of Napa Valley’s first proprietary red blends. 

It has long provided sophisticated drinking at good value. Indeed, the name Trilogy refers to the three primary Bordeaux varietal grapes in the blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc although they also grow and sometimes include in the blend the other Bordeaux varietals, Malbec and Petit Verdot. In line with that theme, four different generations of the branding and label imagery going back to the 1980's have all adorned the three grape varietals' leaf shapes in the label artwork.

To this day, this Bordeaux-style wine continues to be sourced from the Floral Springs Komes-Garvey estate vineyards. The Komes and Garvey’s have always been farmers first, and over the years the family has acquired 500 acres throughout Napa Valley, 300 of which are planted to vineyard. With estate properties stretching from the cool, rolling hills of Carneros to the famed sub-appellations of Oakville, Rutherford and St. Helena, Flora Springs produces varietal wines ranging from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and the other red Bordeaux varietals.

Each year the family selects a small percentage of the yield for their own wines, selling the remaining fruit to neighboring Napa Valley wineries. This selection puts the focus on quality, not quantity, resulting in hand-crafted wines that meet the family’s exacting standards.

Flora Springs was founded by the children of Jerry and Flora Komes. Jerry and Flora were married back in 1935 in San Francisco but moved throughout California and Texas over the years as Jerry pursued an engineering career with the giant San Francisco engineering firm Bechtel. The couple had three children, Mike, John and Julie, and eventually settled back in San Francisco when Jerry settled in a corporate job in international relations at Bechtel HQ in the Bay Area.

When Jerry retired in 1976, he and Flora began looking for a place to retire in Napa Valley. They came upon a property at the end of West Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, and Flora saw magic hidden behind the decades of neglect, overgrown ivy, and the shifting rock walls of the old ghost winery.

“There are so many wonderful things about Napa Valley and St. Helena. I just fell in love with that property and that was it.” Jerry and Flora purchased the estate believing it to be the perfect place to grow grapes and become farmers. But when their son, John, proposed that the old winery building on the property be revived, Flora Springs became a new career for Flora, Jerry and their children.

They had the wisdom and prescience to craft a Bordeaux style blend from Napa Valley sourced Bordeaux varietals in the early days as Cabernet was becoming the king of Napa Valley. We've collected this wine since those early days and still hold bottles dating back to our kids' birthyears in 1990-91.

Perhaps whimsically, I latched on to this as a regular favorite partly due to the namesake that wife Linda is a descendant of the Flora family, founders of her hometown Flora, in Indiana, no relation of course to the California Napa Flora (first name) Kombs. but fun and a tribute none-the-less.

To this day, Trilogy is a mainstay go to label in our cellar offering quality sophisticated drinking at reasonable value relative to the premium Napa and Bordeaux Blends. Hence, to fullfil the urge for a Bordeaux with our steak on this evening, we opened this decade old Trilogy.

Flora Springs Trilogy Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2008

Perfect complement to grilled steak.  Wine Enthusiast gave this release 94 point, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave it 91 points.

With dark inky color, this exhibited medium-full bodied, nicely balanced and well integrated forward black and blue berry and black currant fruits with a layer of mocha and hints of sweet oak - a pleasant, very tasty, simple easy drinking wine, smooth soft tannins on the lingering finish.

As indicated by the three grape leaves on the label, Trilogy is a blend of  79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. It was aged for 22 months in 100% new French Oak.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1091239

https://www.florasprings.com/ 

We've enjoyed Trilogy since the 80's and still hold vintages dating back to 1990 and 1991 in our cellar. This one is as forward and flavorful as any I remember however perhaps not as complex as some vintages.

Covid Curve Rebound Wine Dinner

Covid Curve Rebound Wine Dinner

After three months shut in due to Coronavirus, we hosted a wine dinner with neighbors Mark and Shirley and wine buddy fellow 'Pour Boy' Dr Dan and Linda.

Linda prepared grilled Ahi Tuna steaks and filets of beef for the ladies and prime rib-eye steaks for the men, along with a wedge salad with ceasar and blue cheese, a special preparation of potatoes-au-gratin with herbs, and grilled asparagus.

Prior to dinner we served a selection of artisan cheeses and olives - Old Amsterdam Gouda,  Gouda Farmhouse Truffle, Danish Harvarti and Campo de Montalban Spain Mixed Milk.

With the salad and cheese course we served Lansom Rose NV Champagne and a Villa Andretti California Chardonnay 2017. This is the every day collection of Andretti wines sourced partly from the estate, but also blended with grapes sourced from across Northern California.

The cheeses paired perfectly with the Champagne and the modest Chardonnay. The hearty bolder Old Amsterdam, one of my favorites, accompanied the reds as well as the whites.

As we moved to the Ahi Tuna course we opened a Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

Gary Farrell "Russian River Selection" Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2015

We visited the Gary Farrell estate and winery in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County during or Napa / Sonoma Wine Experience in 2017.

This was ideal with the grilled marinated Ahi Tuna steak.

This was sourced from vineyards throughout the Russian River Valley, including Hallberg and Galante in the cooler Green Valley AVA. It got 94 points from Wine Enthusiast.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, smooth, nicely balanced, polished, dusty rose with fruits of black berry, black cherries, raspberries, smoky earthy, floral notes with crisp acidity, youthful tannins and oak. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2798671

The dinner entree beef course was highlighted by a selection of Bordeaux and Bordeaux varietals starting with a Howell Mountain Napa Cabernet.

Château Clinet Pomerol Bordeaux 2010

Dan brought this Right Bank Bordeaux from his cellar. 

We have had the pleasure of meeting Château Clinet owner Ronan Laborde at the UGCB annual release tour Chicago wine spectacle yearly for the last five years or so. Clinet is one of our favorite Right Bank Bordeaux selections that we hold in our cellar dating back more two decades. 

We've enjoyed this label at several of our special wine events and dinners. A visit to the Chateau was one of the highlights of Ernie's visit to Bordeaux during his trip several years ago. Dr Dan brought this 2010 vintage release as a benchmark wine against which to compare the other labels of the evening. 

The 2010 release was awarded 97 points by James Suckling, 96 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points by Wine Spectator, 92-94 points by Wine Enthusiast and 93 points by Stephen Tanzer. 

This is what Ronan calls a classic (Right Bank) Bordeaux Blend of 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. 

At ten years of age, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window but will age gracefully for a couple more decades.  A Merlot based blend, this was much more complex and multi-dimensional than the 'narrower' and 'deeper', more single dimensional Cabernets. Hence this was ideal as a transition from the Ahi to the beef steaks, and between the softer, lighter Pinot Noir, but before the bigger, bolder, more single dimensional Cabernets. 

Dark inky purple  colored, full-bodied, concentrated and firmly structured, yet smooth, polished and elegant with layers of dark plum blackberry and black currant fruits accented by coffee bean, mocha, and hints of oak with silky polished tannins on a tongue puckering chewy finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1129755

Camiana Blue Hall Vineyards Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/labels/labels_California/lbl-CA-Camiana-Napa-Howell-Mtn-Cab-2004-remc.jpg

From Blue Hall Vineyard,  a 5 acre site on Howell Mountain owned by two medical doctors, Andrew Zolopa & Annie Talbot. Andrew was instrumental in starting the HIV program at Stanford University in 1994 and was a professor at the Stanford School of Medicine for twenty years.

Andrew traveled regularly to Napa to enjoy fine wine and in 1998 purchased property on Howell Mountain to build a home away from home. Sitting near the top of Howell Mountain at an elevation of 1,700 feet above Napa Valley, the property was in the geographic heart of the Howell Mountain sub-appellation, surrounded by world famous vineyards (owned by Beringer) and forested hillsides. 

In 2000-01, Zolopa oversaw the planting of a vineyard divided into two farming blocks by a creek that ran across the property. It was planted by the Pina's a long time Napa family who continued to manage the five acre vineyard of which 3 acres was planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Zolopa named the vineyard Blue Hall Vineyard, deriving its name from the famous Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. In the summer of 1880, while honeymooning in a cabin on the side of Mount St. Helena, Stevenson was inspired by the purity of the blue sky and exclaimed that it was as if he had entered "the blue hall of heaven." The name “Blue Hall” was written about in the book “Silverado Squatters”, written by Robert Louis Stevenson – it featured much about historical Napa Valley.

In 2004, they produced their first wine, a 100% estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Andrew named the wine “Camiana" after his daughters Camille and Juliana. They appointed Ted Osborne as winemaker, who was self taught building on experience working at Passing Clouds in Australia, Rupert & Rothschild in South Africa, and Chateau du Seuil in Bordeaux. Coming to America, he put in time working for two well-known Napa wineries, Cakebread and Storybook Mountain, the northern most winery in the Napa Valley. 

Blue Hall’s first vintage was 2004 with only 80 cases made, which they held until after their first commercial release in 2005. While the 2004 was technically their first vintage, it was released after the 2005 as a library wine. 

Their 2004 despite the additional year in the bottle was their “biggest” wine out of their first few vintages. They produced the label annually until 2013, their last vintage produced.

This is one vintage of a vertical collection we acquired with/from fellow wine buddy and 'Pour Boy' Bill C who acquired a case of vintages with son and fellow collector Matt back in 2012. We're still holding four vintages of that collection and this is the oldest release from the selection.

Bill's tasting notes for this vintage release from his Cellartracker post back in 2015 says, "What a treat! Tasted side by side with the 2005 Camiana and we could not tell the difference between the two aside from additional sediment in the '04. Deep garnet in the glass, big black fruit with a touch of sweetness. Silky smooth tannins and a long, lingering finish. Beautiful Howell Mountain product. We were impressed by this small vineyard when we bought some '07 on sale 3 or 4 years ago. The big, bold, fruit forward style convinced us to try some earlier vintages. This was not terribly expensive at $45 a bottle. Great value and the '04 and '05 were absolutely at peak."

wconnolly - 92 Points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1208115

Andretti Montona Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

In recognition for Mark's career in the auto industry and Dan's long time interest in the Indy 500, I served this Ultra-Premium label from the Mario Andretti winery, named for his birthplace village, Montona. Mario Andretti partners with his auto team sponsor Joe Antonini, former chairman and CEO of KMart, producing wines sourced from the Laird Estate in Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley.

Founded in 1996, their winemaker is Bob Pepi, son of Robert Pepi, founder of Pepi Winery. Ironically, working for these two notable Italians, Pepi is credited with bringing the Italian varietal Sangiovese grape to NapaValley.

We discovered this wine during our visit to the Andretti Winery in Oak Knoll District of southeast Napa Valley during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2018.  As a result of our visit, we joined their wine club and received allocations of this premium Reserve collection. 

This label was better than earlier tastings suggesting it needed a bit more time to settle and mature in the bottle.  It is sourced from select grapes from the Andretti Winery estate as well as from contract grower sources.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, concentrated forward black berry fruits were accented by a layer of dark mocha chocolate with notes of tobacco are spice with mouth filling tannins on a long finish. 

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=3159347

After dinner there was a selection of chocolate centric desserts, Linda's flowerless chocolate cake with fresh berries, Shirley's chocolate cheese cake, and Dan and Linda brought a chocolate cake.

The dessert course was highlighted by a mini-horizontal duo of 1996 vintage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from Nils Venge Saddleback Vineyards and Winery and Paradigm Oakville.


Nils Venge Saddleback Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

We first met Nils at Del Dotto when he was their winemaker while also managing his Penny Lane Vineyard over at his Saddleback Cellars during our Napa visits in the mid and late nineties.  We discovered and acquired this wine during one of those visits to the Winery.   

Tasting Venge Penny Lane Family Reserve Cabernet w/ AJ
and Nils Venge at Tra Vigne in St Helena

Nils Venge is a bit of a legend in Napa Valley. In addition to having been consulting winemaker to many top producers including Groth, Del Dotto and Plumpjack, he has his Venge and Saddleback family labels, and with son Kirk is coming out with wines from their property Rossini Ranch. He and Kirk worked with Dwayne and Susan Hoff at Fantesca in their early releases. We hear Nils has retired and ownership and the operations is now run by son Kirk.

We met with Nils at the Estate and during our Napa Wine Experience in 2002  (below) which featured Venge Vineyards and Nils and Kirk Venge's Rossini Ranch.

During that visit we had a wine luncheon with Nils Venge back at our then favorite Napa Valley dining establishment, Travigne. Sadly, it has been taken over and re-purposed. The staff moved on to the old Factory Outlet site up near Calistoga where they have opened a winery and eatery, one of the highlights of our Napa Wine Experience 2018. 

We did this same mini-horizontal wine tasting during a holiday dinner back in 2018 when we compared 1996 vintages Cabernet Sauvginon releases of Saddleback opposite a Paradigm Oakville.

At that time we also compared the two Saddleback vintages, the Nils 2006 special release above oppsite the 1996 Saddleback Oakville Napa Cabernet.

At the time, I wrote of the '96, "Initially a bit tight and closed, we decanted and aerated this bottle and it opened a bit more and reveal its native character and fruits over the course of the next hour.'

The two Saddleback wines had remarkable similarity, being potentially the same wine but ten years removed. They showed the same basic profile and character but the '96 showed darker blackish garnet with slight hints of gray color, the same fruit profile albeit slightly subdued, accented by the same notes above of smoke, dusty leather, earth and tea.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=73478

Like that night, tonight we did the same comparison of the '96 Oakville Napa Cab above, we also opened this Paradigm Cabernet from the same appellation and same vintage.

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

Tonight was a replay of that tasting back in 2018', "This provided an interesting comparison with the other '96 Oakville Cabernet sitting side by side. This wine had the same color and body as above. We also decanted and aerated this bottle which accentuated its bouquet and flavors which emerged further after about thirty minutes. The Paradigm showed fewer aromatics and more subdued fruit than the Saddleback above, but opened a bit more over the next hour.'

We tasted and acquired this wine during a winery visit back in 1999. 

 Tonight was a different experience than as reflected in my tasting notes for this label from back in 2009 when I wrote. "This wine is showing its age, probably beyond its apex, or any chance for improvement, but still within the drinking window. Showing some diminution of fruit, giving way to non-fruit charcoal and earth tones, yet, revealed some of its native fruit character at some point during the evening.'

"I opened, decanted and then rebottled and recorked this wine an hour before setting out for the restaurant. Upon decanting it released huge aroma's of berry fruits and some floral. After opening for serving the fruit was a bit muted for almost an hour before revealing black berry and hints of sweet black raspberry, giving way to a layer of charcoal, anise and spice. Tannins were moderate on the lingering finish. This wine is still showing okay but should be consumed over the next few years."

Tonight, this was bright vibrant and fruit filled from the beginning, showing well with great aging potential as it nears its 25th year since release.  A fun and rewarding tasting experience indeed.

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/08/vintage-napa-reds-vs-bold-barolo.html

More Cheese Cheese Cheese ....

More Cheese Cheese Cheese ....

Adding to the cache of cheese Linda picked up at the grocery recently, she brought home additional selections to enjoy with wine, or not, this summer. Here are additional cheeses to watch for in our upcoming wine tasting features.

Artikaa Reserve 18mo Gouda

Black River Gorgonzola

Carr Valley Apple Smoke Cheddar

Farmhouse Truffle Gouda

Long Clawson Blue Shropshire

Blueberry Lemon Goat Cheese

KerryGold Dubliner Stout

Villa Andretti White Wine for Casual Sipping

Villa Andretti California varietal white wines for every day summer sipping - Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc 2018

We picked up a special offering mixed case of Villa Andretti California white varietal wines for casual every summer sipping.

We visited Andretti Winery Estate in Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017. We tasted a wide range of wines from extensive Andretti portfolio that consists of Estate wines sourced from grapes grown on the 41 acre property vineyards, a premium brand sourced from estate fruit and contract sources, and a more modest pedestrian brand sourced from fruit from growers beyond the Napa region.

While Andretti grow Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc on the estate vineyards, these labels from that last brand, Villa Andretti are designated California as opposed to Napa Valley or more specific sub-appellations such as Oakville or Rutherford.

The appellation rules call for the wine to be labeled based on the source of at least 75% of the grapes in the bottle. In this case, the fruit is from California, but not necessarily from Napa or other regions, and most likely, not from the Oak Knoll District estate.

While the published price or release price is comparable to estate labels of top producers such as Cliff Lede, Pahlmeyer, Markham and so on, we acquired these through this special offering at a 40% discount. Another lesson to be learned by many folks learning the branding and distribution strategies of wine producers, a producer will set a price to establish the value of the label in the marketplace. If or when they discount that price, they serve to undermine the 'street' price of their brand and label in the marketplace. Hence, producers will endeavor to prop up or maintain their 'published' price to support their brand. They'll offer discounts to valued, repeat customers who buy in quantity via a allocation distribution subscription or membership. Premium and super premium labels with strong brands and healthy demand, may only be available through such methods.

We joined the Andretti wine club and obtained several allocations of the premium Andretti Montona brand, Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. We canceled our membership when we received the same vintage label release two years apart, in a row. The reason a collector would subscribe to such an offering would be to compare vintage releases from year to year.

Another lesson to be learned here is that Andretti is not an owner of vineyards, rather a tenant of the winery and surrounding vineyards. This might be fine however it may not be a brand to collect for long term cellaring or tasting over an extended period if it exceeds the terms of the lease. There are some long term arrangements of growers supplying producers that span several decades. And some of the most famous or notable vineyards are owned by long terms holders of the property who sell the grapes under long terms contracts to notable producers.

Lastly, like many producers, Andretti offer many brands and labels that are sourced from contract suppliers. This low end entry level every day drinking selection may or may not be such a brand.

In any event its a more modest priced set of labels geared for every day drinking. To that end we acquired a mixed case of three labels, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Moscato.

This is our first tasting of this recent purchase and receipt. Notably, we acquired this mixed case at the height of the pandemic shut in period when we were locked in, and running low of our every day drinking whites, as we entered the summer season. We'll look forward to enjoying it over the course of the summer.

Villa Andretti California Sauvignon Blanc 2018
 
Light silver golden peach colored, light medium bodied, somewhat muted aromatically, subdued notes of citrus, stone fruit, hints of pear and lychee - roundness but lacking focus or crisp precision on a moderate finish.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3401248
 


For our Covid Curve Rebound Wine Dinner we served Villa Andretti Chardonnay as an opener with the salad course and a selection of artisan cheeses.

Villa Andretti California Chardonnay 2017 

This was a nice complement to the selection of artisan cheese.

Golden butter colored, medium bodied, notes of green apple, pear and citrus, with hints of peach on a modest finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3638729

Domain Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir and French Morbier Cheese

Wine cheese pairing French Morbier with Domain Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir 2007

I wrote last weekend I am going to attempt to write about and review my experiences in pairing wine with cheese. As I begin focusing on the art of pairing wine with cheese, I pulled from the cheese cooler this French Morbier cheese selection and was eager to try this with an appropriate wine.

Jani & Simonetta have a wine site called Cards of Wine - Wine School for Normal People, a comprehensive site about all things wine with encyclopedic depth and breadth of information about wine, grapes, regions, tasting, and pairing wine with food, and with cheeses.

They have a citation about Morbier as "a semi-soft Cow Milk Cheese named after the village of Morbier in France. It is soft and elastic, and recognizable by a thin black layer in the middle.
The aroma of Morbier is strong, but the flavor is rich and creamy, with a slightly bitter aftertaste."

Jani & Simonetta suggest Semi-soft cheeses such as Morbier need medium bodied White Wines. Their favorite pairing is with a French Gewürztraminer. They also suggest Sparkling White Wine with Semi-soft cheeses such as Morbier. I was looking for a Red Wine pairing and they suggest the most suitable is a light red wine such as Pinot Noir, a French Beaujolais, or Italian Barbera. The only such light red we have in our cellar is Pinot Noir, as we tend towards bigger bolder styled wines. I pulled one of the better known favorite labels, Evenstad Reserve from Domaine Serene, as it is one our favorites, and a seemingly natural choice for this pairing. We have several vintages of this label and I pulled the 2007, not only one of the oldest vintages in our collection, but also one that is a highly rated, according to the pundits.

As I write often in these pages, I'm not a 'Pinot guy' but keep some on hand for entertaining Pinot drinkers, and for occasions calling for a Pinot Noir pairing. This is one of the few Pinots we keep in the cellar and is one of our favorites, and a top rated vintage release. 

Domaine Serene "Evenstad Reserve" Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2007

This release got 95 points and was designated a 'Cellar Selection' from Wine Enthusiast and 91 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "Although it is drinking like a mature wine, there is every reason to cellar wines such as this - it can develop like a fine Burgundy, over decades." So, there shouldn't be a hurry to consume this if this is the case. We hold several bottles and will be mindful to be patient with those remaining. Wine Spectator wrote, 'Best from 2012 through 2015', which isn't a long drinking window for a 2007, five to eight years. In 2009 Parker said, "Give it 1-2 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2011 to 2019." Here we are in year thirteen, just beyond the prescribed ideal drinking windows, and, while this wasn't showing any diminution from aging, its will likely not improve with any further cellaring.

This is one of our perennial favorite Pinots, I've written in previous tastings, the 2007 vintage is fairly typical of this label although seemingly slightly lighter and more subdued fruit than some years; ruby color, medium bodied, raspberry, hint of black berry, strawberry, rhubarb, dusty rose with a touch of cinnamon spice.

Wine Enthusiast says this release is "A very elegant and refined Evenstad Reserve .... the fruit is immaculate, the concentration focused and lengthy, and the flavors are so artfully blended that the wine is seamless and perfectly balanced."

RM 90 points. 

I sense and fear the Morbier clashed with the graceful elegance of the Pinot. The Evenstad was a nice complement to the Morbier but not an ideal match. Next time I will endeavor to try pairing Morbier with a white wine, for which it is apparently better suited. 

I am going to attempt to 'rate' the cheese, and the subsequent combination of the wine with the cheese. While this is totally subjective and perhaps arbitrary, my years of rating wines has produced a consistency that have been tested and proven, that I have grown to trust and rely upon. We'll see how this plays out going forward. 

The Wine, 90 points, the French Morbier cheese, RM 89 points; the pairing with the Eventstad Reserve 2007, 88 points. This says, the pairing of the wine and the cheese rendered a pairing score that was less than the rating of the wine, or the cheese, hence not a desired or suggested pairing.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1027405