“A Night in Sicily” Italian Village Donnafugata Covid Lock-in Virtual Wine Dinner

“A Night in Sicily” Covid Lock-in Virtual Wine Dinner Presented by Chicago's Italian Village Restaurants

Italian Village Restaurants in Chicago hosted “A Night in Sicily” presented by Jared Gelband, Italian Village Wine Director and Chef Jose, and guest host Italian Wine Specialist, Daniele Sbordi, who lead a virtual journey to the island of Sicily and a tasting of wines from producer Donnafugata Winery. 

 A four course dinner was specially prepared for pick-up at the restaurant complete with preparation directions and a wine course selection of three bottles of Donnafugata Sicilian wines. 

 For the occasion, we were joined by son Sean and daughter-in-law Michelle in person in our dining room, and daughter Erin and son-in-law Johnny and their four children, who attended virtually via zoom from their home. We were joined via zoom with another dozen folks. 

 To facilitate and optimize the experience, we set up a large screen TV and our computer in the dining room for the occasion. 

The dinner: 

Antipasta
Crostini con Caponata - Rustic Italian Bread / Caponata Topping

Primi
Ravioli con Ricotta - Hand made Ravioli / Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese / Pistachio pesto sauce

Secondi
Braciole alla Siciliana - Filet Mignon / Proscutto / Provolone / Green Onion / Salsa di Pomodoro 

Dolce
Italian Cannoli / Italian Biscotti 

Vini - The Wine

Donnafugata "Sur Sur" Sicilia DOC Grillo 2019

Donnafugata "Floramundi" Cerasuelo di Vittoria DOCG 2018

Donnafugata "Sul Volcano" Etna Rosso DOC 2017

I wrote in these pages recently about the art and magic of pairing food and wine to magnify the overall experience. Tonight, the masterful pairing of the wines to the food courses by Wine Director Jared and Chef Jose amplified both the food and the wine. As a result, as I wrote Jared in a follow up note, "everything exceeded my expectations, the food, the wine, the pairing, the overall experience".

Even though there were six of us adult family members to share the experience, we quickly regretted not including other members of our Pour Boys wine group. Our Pour Boys wine group attended the fabulous Sassicaia producer wine dinner at Italian Village last year. We'll be certain to do so when we next participate in such an event. Or, ideally, do it together in person when the Covid controls are relaxed or behind us. 

Donnafugata was established in Sicily in 1983 by Giacomo Rallo, the fourth generation of a family with over 160 years of experience in quality wine, along with his wife Gabriella, a pioneer of viticulture in Sicily. Giacomo passed away in 2016, so the company today is run by their children José and Antonio and a team of people focused on excellence. 

The name Donnafugata comes from a novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa entitled Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). The name that means “donna in fuga” (woman in flight) refers to the story of a queen who found refuge in the part of Sicily where the company’s vineyards are located today. The adventure tome also inspired the corporate logo, the image of a woman’s head with windblown hair that dominates the brand and adorns every bottle. All Donnafugata wines' labels and names are inspired by Gabriella Rallo and designed by Stefano Vitale whose original artwork is featured each on the labels of each of the two dozen wines they produce. His works were featured in an exhibition "Art and Wine - Chasing Donnafugata”, presented by FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano in Milan in 2018 in the prestigious Villa Necchi Campiglio.

Donnafugata produce over forty estate wines meaning they are sourced from the producer owned vineyards that span almost six hundred acres of 45 different varieties of grapes indigenous to Sicily. Total production is near 5 million bottles annually.

Donnafugata "Sur Sur" Sicilia DOC Grillo 2019

We discovered and wrote about the Italian Grillo grape varietal earlier this winter, so it was fun to try another producer and label of this wine, another nice QPR pleasant sipper, worth exploring and trying a Grillo wine.

Donnafugatta "Sur Sur" is produced from Grillo, an ancient Sicilian grape varietal. The grape name grillo means cricket, for the crickets that are common in the region and said to bring good luck. The name comes from the classical Arabic language which was once also spoken in Sicily. The label features Stefano Vitale artwork of Gabriella (founder of Donnafugata, with her husband Giacomo) as a girl in flight, running barefoot through the flowers and fresh grass.

This is 100% Grillo classified grapes from the Sicilian DOC, according to Italy’s 'denominazione di origine controllata' (DOC) classification system, akin to France's well-known Appellation d’origine controlee (AOC) and America's AVA systems. DOC, means designation of 'controlled origin', it is the second highest quality classification of the Italian system. 

There are 329 different DOCs in Italy, across a wide range of red and white wines across the country, from Prosecco sparkling wines to the Vin Santo dessert wines of Tuscany. Each DOC has its own rules about permitted grape varieties, maximum harvest yields, alcohol levels, and aging requirements including use of barrels. 

The grapes are from the western tip of Sicily, the Contessa Entellina estate and neighboring areas and in the hilly hinterland between Marsala and Salemi in the Baiata, Alfaraggio, Pioppo district. The region has a distinctive terrior, hilly with altitudes from 200 to 600 meters, loamy sub-alkaline limestone soils, arid with little rainfall, with substantial variance in warm daytime to cool nightime temperatures with Meditteranean breezes, that is ideal for the growing and ripening of Grillo grapes. 

 

Donnafugatta have five hundred acres in eight different sites in the region where they grow both white and red grape varietals. 

This label has been produced since 2013 with 4000 cases annual production. It was awarded 91 points, #86 of the Top 100 Wines of 2019 by Wine Enthusiast. 

This was a wonderful pairing with the antipasta courses. We cheated and added a starter course of Linda's wonderful lobster tails on a ramukan of buttered croutons. Following was the Italian Village Crostini con Caponata - Rustic Italian Bread / Caponata Topping. Linda improvised with this course and chopped the Caponata into a wonderful tapenade. Both were wonderfully complemented by this wine.

 

 Winemaker notes: "Brilliant straw yellow, on the nose SurSur offers a fresh bouquet with notes of white fleshed fruit (peach and cantaloupe melon) combined with scents of wildflowers and mint. A soft palate, the fruity notes return combined with pleasant freshness."

This was straw colored, light bodied, aromatic with sprites of citrus, tropical fruit, floral, melon and hints of peach, dry with crisp clean acidity. Good QPR in this label.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3592197

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/sursur/

Donnafugata "Floramundi" Cerasuelo di Vittoria DOCG 2018

This is a blend of grape varietals: Nero D’Avola, King of the Sicilian red grapes, and Frappato, one of the most ancient native varieties of Sicily, sourced from 88 acres of eight Donnafugatta estate vineyards from the prestigious denomination: Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG, in the territory of Acate on the western side of the southern tip of Sicily. 

The terroir is gently sloping terrain from 120 to 150 meters with sandy medium tectured limestone soils with warm temperate Mediterranean climate of warm temperate days moderated by sea breezes, and cool nights.

This label is classified DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), the highest quality classification designation for Italian wines. , while the Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), has less strict guidelines. The rules for DOCG are stricter than DOC, yields must be lower and the wines must be aged in barrels longer. Also, DOCG requires the wines be submitted for technical analysis and tasted for approval by a government committee before they can be sold as DOCG wines. Interesting too, DOCG wines even have a numbered, government seal across the neck of the bottle to prevent counterfeiting.

Floramundi, a refined red, the dialogue between two souls: the one of Nero D’Avola, King of the Sicilian red grapes, and the one of Frappato, one of the most ancient native varieties of Sicily.

Like all Donnafuggati labels, Floramundi features distinctive colorful artwork by Stefano Vitale artwork, sponsored by proprietor  Gabriella Rallo. This label features the stylistic figure of a woman in a rainbow of symbols, of the tradition of the historic Pupi Siciliani (Sicilian Puppets).

This is the third vintage release of this label; it was awarded 92 points by James Suckling, and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 

This was a wonderful complement to the Italian Village Primi Course; Ravioli con Ricotta - Hand made Ravioli / Ricotta and Parmesan Cheese / Pistachio pesto sauce. Linda was the favorite wine, food and pairing of the rest of our group. I preferred the Secondi course and pairing. 

Winemaker notes for this release: "Intense ruby color with bright purple reflections; Floramundi offers intense fruity aromas, among which the notes of black cherry and berries (blueberry) stand out; the bouquet opens with delicate balsamic nuances of laurel and characteristic spicy notes of black pepper. The tasting is supported by freshness and softness that make it juicy and very pleasant to drink. The tannin is fine and well integrated. Floramundi 2018 expresses the harmonious balance that Cerasuolo di Vittoria can reach."

Bright Ruby colored, light-medium bodied, bright vibrant cherry and cranberry fruit flavors accented by tangy acidity, dusty rose floral tones and hints of white pepper.  

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3888200

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/floramundi/ 

Donnafugata "Sul Vulcano" Etna Rosso DOC 2017

For the main Secondi course, Chef Jose prepared this imaginative Braciole alla Siciliana - Filet Mignon  with Proscutto, Provolone and Green Onion in a robust tangy Salsa di Pomodoro. The Chef's directions called for this to be mixed with the accompanying Italian Village signature rosemary potatos. 

Linda called an option and served the potatos on the side which was a great move - they were akin to a whole additional course in of themselve and provided another complete wonderful tasting pairing experience.  

The Donnafugata Sul Vulcano label is from the Etna Rosso Denomination. It is a Etna Rosso DOC classified wine. It is a blend of Nerello Mascalese, the main red grape variety from the prestigious Etna appellation, with a small percentage of Nerello Cappuccio grape varietal. 

The fruit for this label is sourced from Donnafugata 45 acres of estate vineyards in Eastern Sicily, on the north side of the historic volcano of Mt Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano from which it derives its name, between Randazza and Castiglione di Sicilia.

The terroir there is a higher altitude of 750 meters with deep mineral rich volcanic soil, cooler sub-climate with the Sicilian dramatic variations of warm days and cool nights. 

This was more my style of wine, darker, more dense concentrated and complex, more like a Nebbiolo or a Bordeaux varietal. Naturally, this style was ideally paired with the hearty beefsteak, cheeses and tangy pomodoro sauce. As noted above, it also paired superbly with the rosemary potatoes. 

The art series stylistic label features a goddess-volcano with intense colors, red, yellows, and iridescent blacks, another design of artist Stefano Vitale.

This is the second vintage release of this label, first released in 2016.

James Suckling and Wine Critics.com both gave this 93 points. 

Winemaker notes: "Pale ruby red, Sul Vulcano offers an elegant bouquet with notes of red fruits (raspberry and cherry) and flowery scents (violet), along with delicate spicy nuances of cinnamon and nutmeg."

Garnet colored, medium bodied, robust flavors of black raspberry and black cherry with notes of tobacco, hints of graphite, floral violets, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg spices with moderate tannins on the finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3229271

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/sul-vulcano-etna-rosso/

We supplemented Jared's Italian Village Donnafugata wine flight with a dessert wine from our cellar for the Dolce Course of Italian Cannoli and Italian Biscotti. Linda also served her Pots-au-de-Creme Chocolat dessert. 

Château Suduiraut 1er Cru Classe Sauterne 2002

We enjoy sweet unctuous desert wines with salads, cheese or deserts. This was a nice finisher, a perfect complement to the final Dolce course. 

This is a classic Sauterne, a blend of Semillon (94 %) and Sauvignon Blanc (6 %). Château Suduiraut is considered to be one of the finest Sauternes.

The history of Château Suduiraut, dates back to the 1600’s. It was classified as a Premier Cru during the official 1855 wine classification programme. The French conglomerate AXA Millésimes acquired Suduiraut in 1992. 

Golden honey, dark amber colored, full bodied yet delicate, nicely balanced fruit and floral aromas, complex roasted and candied notes of apple, vanilla and honey, medium sweetness and a long smooth silky finish.  Not as sweet and unctuous as some vintages, the fruit is more subdued lacking the apricot nectar and honey of some vintages. This showed plenty of botrytis, with predominate notes of smoke, marzipan, almond, ripe apple, and hints of vanilla on the tongue cloying finish.

RM 91 

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate rated this wine 90-93 points, Wine Spectator, 90 points.

https://www.suduiraut.com/en/vin/1/chateau-suduiraut

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/sursur/

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/wines/floramundi/ 

https://www.donnafugata.it/en/

@DonnafugataWine

@italianvlg 

@unwindwine 

 

Arns Napa Valley Syrah 2013

Arns Melanson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 2013

A quiet evening at home watching a thriller movie we opened this Napa Syrah with hearty beef stew, artisan cheeses and fruits. 

As I reported in follow up to our visit to the Arns Estate back in 2013, Arns wines are produced by John Arns and Sandi Belcher - John managing the viticulture and Sandi tending to the winemaking. The property has been in the Arn's family since the 1950's when it was acquired by Arn's parents as an escape from the city down in Berkeley. The elder Arns planted vines in the 1960's to sell to local wineries. John and his brother, Steve took over the property and John continued developing the vineyards.

The Arns property was originally homesteaded in the late 1880’s by a German immigrant, then taken over by a stone mason whose work on homes and caves throughout the Valley and helped build the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena with stones, shown left, quarried from the property.

The previous owners of the property planted Zinfandel grapes.Today, ten acres of vineyards are sited across the 160 acre property of rocky hillsides, meadows and forests in ten different blocks consisting of seven different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux and Napa Valley. The vines vary in age from 15 to 45 years. The ten blocks planted showcase the clonal differences and with each having varied exposure, the result reveals unique characteristics that contribute to the overall blend that is Arns Cabernet Sauvignon. The result of this combination of clonal selection, low yield, and minimal irrigation is fruit that is concentrated and intensely flavorful and a blend that has complexity, breadth and depth.

Ironically, we discovered Arns Cabernet Sauvignon on our frequent trips to Washington DC and our regular stops at Andy Bassin's McArthur Wines there. Over the years, we accumulated a collection of Arns over the years dating back to the 1996 vintage. It turns out Sandi is from Virginia and developed the resale arrangement during her trips back home.

Since our Napa trips of recent years focused on distinct appellations per trip, we missed Arns over the years during our frequent visits to Napa Valley and mountain districts including Howell Mountain. It was great to finally connect with Arns and see first hand what makes up the artistry of their work.
 
Arns Napa Valley Melansen Vineyard Syrah 2013

Sandi Belcher produced this limited production single vineyard designated Syrah from fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill. John Arns managed the viticulture, overseeing tending the vines for several producers around Napa Valley. This  includes Syrah varietal vines that he planted at 1400 feet up on Pritchard Hill back in the early 1990's. 

The clones for Arns Syrah are from Joseph Phelps Vineyards. This provides fruit for this, the 5th vintage release of Arns Napa Valley Syrah. What a discovery and pleasant surprise to discover this label on our visit to Arns! Readers of this blog know we love big full throttle Syrah/Shiraz which comprises a third of our cellar behind Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet. We didn't expect to find one at a Napa mountain fruit Cab producer. Moreover, ironically, we also spent an afternoon up on Pritchard Hill during that Napa trip.

The rocky terrain of the mountain elevation with the long warm growing season results in powerful but polished, forward  flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of anise and cassis with hints of mocha and clove, violets, leather and olive on a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. This is more like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz. There were only 65 cases produced of the 2008 vintage release that we tasted at the winery during our visit. We tasted it at the winery, purchased some and shipped it home, tasted again... and subsequently bought more, which included this vintage release in a follow on purchase. 

Rick, Linda and John Arns

This vintage year, 2013, they produced 200 cases of this label. It represents the style and profile that we favor in a Syrah. We pulled this bottle to enjoy with artisan cheeses and fruit for enjoyable casual sipping watching a movie.

ARNS starting producing this SYRAH back in 2004. They admit, "It was a great surprise to be able to craft such a beautiful wine from Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley. We have enjoyed many spicy vintages from this time forward."

This 2013 ARNS SYRAH was aged four years in two year old French Oak barrels.

Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, concentrated flavors of gooseberries, plum and what Arns refer to as 'wild black cherries' are accented by notes of spice, black pepper, and what Arns refers to as 'beef and violets'.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

https://arnswinery.com/

 

The 2013 ARNS SYRAH is in the same vein as our previous vintages. Enhanced by four years of two year old French Oak barrels, we have watched this wine evolve into the classic we have witnessed in the past. Captivating on the palate are flavors of gooseberries, red plum, wild black cherries touched by black pepper, beef and violets. A handsome wine with moderate aging potential.

 

 

• Winemaker: Sandi Belcher
• Appellation: Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley
• Varietal: 100% Syrah
• Barrel Aging: 4 Years in French Oak
• Production: 200 Cases 750ml only

Arns Winery is located merely 10 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Silverado Trail in the northern part of Napa Valley yet it seems miles away (note the winery and property was sold in 2019 – the wines are now being made at a winery west of the city of Napa). Here time seems locked in an era that focuses on the land and what it can produce – which in today’s growing urban environments, is mostly lost. This is a farm centered lifestyle focused around agriculture – in this case vineyards. The tiny winery sits on approximately 160 acres of which only 10 acres are planted to vines. Most of the land is still native vegetation on rolling hillsides.

The vineyards are separated into 9 blocks, each with their own clonal differences which makes each block unique. The soils are generally deep and as a result little or no irrigation is required. Their Cabernet Sauvignon vines are a mix of premium cuttings including Caymus Special Selection and Shafer Hillside, clone 337. The yields are generally quite low often 1 to 2 tons per acre.

Long time Napa vineyard manager and owner John Arns tends to these vineyards (with the help of a local long time vineyard management company); he used to manage more vineyards in the valley but over the years has pulled back his other vineyard management duties to focus on this property.

While this is not technically in the Howell Mountain Appellation – it might as well be, as soils on their property and vegetation are very similar to Howell Mountain (the actual appellation starts at 1400 feet). The soils are very rocky – in fact much of the stones for the large stone building that now houses the Culinary Institute of America in nearby St. Helena came from this property. The quarries that produced the stone for this building now serve as deep ponds on the property, well stocked with fish.

John and his wife Sandi are only the 3rd owners in the properties history since it was homesteaded in the late 1880s (the first vines ever planted on the property were Zinfandel). John’s father Robert Arns, a chemist from MIT moved to Berkeley to run the west coast division of Ortho. He purchased this property in the 1950’s as a weekend getaway and began replanting grapevines in the late 1960s.

Over the years fruit from this property has been sold to a variety of wineries including Martin Ray of Santa Cruz, Burgess Cellars, Ballentine, Dunn Vineyards, Spring Mountain and Merryvale.

 Both John and Sandi have enjoyed lengthy careers in the world of wine; Sandi went to UC Davis for graduate work without an plans to become a winemaker. Hooked by the wine bug at Davis, she has been making wine in the Napa Valley since 1972, including at Chateau Montelena and Heitz Cellars (where she worked on the heralded 1974 Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon).

Her longest winemaking stint was for Long Vineyards on Pritchard Hill (now Gandona Estate Winery). She spent 27 years there – she has also worked in the Barossa Valley, Australia and has consulted for wineries abroad including Thailand and China. As a result of their Thailand connections, Arns wine has been one of the few Napa wines available at select locations in Bangkok including the prestigious and historical Oriental Hotel.

John graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a degree in Art and Sculpture, however he has nurtured a passion for growing things all his life. It was while working at Peter Lehmann Winery in the Barossa Valley, Australia where he discovered his interest in working with grapevines. Peter encourage him to pursue his interests – upon returning to California John enrolled at the University of California Davis and completed his degree in Viticulture and Enology.

Both Sandi and John were extremely busy with their consulting and vineyard work but began discussing the possibility of building a winery in the 1980’s. Finally the right timing presented itself; their first commercial release was the 1992 vintage, 600 cases of estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Arns Winery is small; their total production is around 1000 cases of which the majority is their estate Cabernet Sauvignon along with a smaller production of Syrah. All their wines are 100% varietal. And they are not quick to market – Sandi bottles when she feels the wine is ready to do so and often ages the wine in bottle for several years before release. As a result, their current release wines are usually 5 to 6 years behind the vintage date.

A visit here is for the serious wine enthusiast wanting a vineyard tour (typically hosted by Sandi or John although Kathi, Sandi’s daughter is often on site as she is the assistant winemaker). The tall wooden bear standing next to the winery is always a good conversation piece; John and several wine maker friends hauled this chainsaw created back to the Napa Valley from Lake Tahoe during the middle of a harvest a number of years ago.

Their Syrah is one of the more beautiful wines of this varietal from the Napa Valley that we have tasted over the years. The several vintages we have tasted show the characteristic hallmarks of this varietal – the smokiness and pepper nuances – but these characteristics are not overwhelming and are captured as lesser influences, rather then dominating the wine. This wine generally spends 4 years aging in French oak (some new and used barrels).

 The 2013 Arns Melanson Vineyard Syrah (a vineyard located on Pritchard Hill near Colgin Cellars – planted by John) is very dark in the glass showing darker fruit on the bouquet including plum, blackberry and dark cherry. Somewhat meaty in its olfactory approach, its aromatic savoriness immediately invites a sip. As the wine opens additional aromas show including darker dessert spices and hints of mocha. Big flavor with the savory characteristics on the bouquet also present on the palate. Cigar smoke, pepper and well-integrated tannins show on a long lasting finish. Drinking this wine made us immediately think what to pair it with on the BBQ on a warm summers evening.

The 2012 Arns Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is opulent with powerful fruit showing on the bouquet – with aromas of ripe blackberry and blueberry tinged with aromas of old cedar box. Both red and darker fruit shows on the palate; this is a very well balanced wine between fruit, structure and acidity. More red fruit shows on the finish – with a slight red cherry tartness complemented by dusty elegant tannins (no monster gripping finish here). This is a wine that should age very well for years to come.

Two newer wines in the Arns portfolio are IMPROMP2² – a rare non vintage Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and about 200 cases of a Chardonnay sourced from the Heintz Vineyard in Sonoma Coast. These Chardonnay vines are the second oldest Chardonnay vines in all of Sonoma County. Their vineyard source contains some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in all of Sonoma County.

The 4th release of IMPROMP2² is 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon (a compilation of three different vintages). The bouquet is focused on the fruit rather then influences from oak – primarily ripe boysenberry and blackberry jam aromas along with notes of black licorice. As the wine continues to open – the bouquet eventually reveals very subtle aromas of vanilla. Well put together on the palate – with a noticeable intensity of mostly darker fruit flavors and depth of flavor that runs the length of the palate. A lingering spicy fruit combination persists for some time – with well-integrated tannins. Only 200 cases were produced.

Sandi and John often participate in select tastings around the country including the annual Wine Classic at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles – usually held in January (along with a number of other mostly premium Napa vintners). They also showcase their wines at the annual Napa Valley Wine Library tasting held every August at the Silverado Country Club. Their wines are distributed in select markets around the country.

Joining their mailing list gives one the opportunity to sometimes purchase older vintages (when re-released). For more information, visit: www.arnswinery.com

NOTE: as of 2019, the Arns physical winery and property has been sold to David Abreu. The Arns brand was not sold. We will update or archive this review as more information becomes available and or will archive this review if production ceases. This review has not yet been updated based on the sale of the property.

 

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005

Quiet snowy winter evening at home, I pulled from the cellar a favorite big Aussie Shiraz for sipping with fruit, nuts, crackers and hearty cheeses.

As I have written in the past in this blog, this review from back in October, 2014 I wrote, "Favorite Aussie Shiraz - Flinders 2005 Aging Gracefully".

I raved about this wine when I discovered it several years ago and have featured it numerous times since in this blog. When I discovered this wine downstate in a local wineshop, I purchased some, then went back and purchased the remainder, then found and purchased more on-line. When I convinced local mega-merchant Binny's to obtain some more, I cleaned out their allocation too. At fifteen years, we still hold a half dozen bottles and continue to enjoy this big bold fruit filled Shiraz. Amazingly, tonight, it exceeded expectations and tasted as well as any remembrance I have of this label. 

Regretably, as I have noted in the past, this came on the scene with this and one other vintage release, then disappeared, not to be seen again. According to their website, it appears to still be in production, but its not to be found in distribution in Chicagoland, or in the on-line wine community.

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

That 2005 vintage got a raving 95 point review from legendary wine critic Robert Parker, 92 points from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and 91 points from Wine Spectator. Parker wrote,"Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish. For a wine of this size, it is remarkably light on its feet. Give it 2-3 years to more fully evolve and drink it through 2020. This is quite a debut for Flinders Run!"

Winemaker's notes: "The 2005 Shiraz was aged for 18 months in French and American oak hogsheads with 50% new French oak staves. Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish.

Indeed, here were are just closing out 2020, this is drinking as good as ever and we're savoring our remaining bottles, but delighted they're holding up so well and we needn't rush finishing them.

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

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

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

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

RM 93 points. 

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

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

http://www.flindersrun.com.au/-flinders-run-2005-shiraz.html

 

 

Culler Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Culler Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Following our enjoyment of the Ladera 2005 Napa Cabernet the other evening, we followed with another Napa Cabernet from the same vintage, crafted by the same winemaker for a comparison tasting.

This label is the proprietary blend from Ladera winemaker Karen Culler. Karen started her winemaking career as a child, making homemade wine with her father and grandfather in Ohio.  After completing her Bachelors degree in Botany and Agronomy from Ohio State University, she moved to Seattle. After a short period working in marine biology lab, she went to work for Columbia Winery in Seattle for a year, then attended UC Davis and earned her Master’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology in 1984.

She spent two years in the Mondavi Research Department and when Robert Mondavi purchased Vichon Winery, Karen was appointed Assistant Winemaker in 1986, becoming Winemaker in 1989, producing  Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

In 1996, when Mondavi discontinued the Vichon Napa Valley brand, Karen set out on her own starting her Culler Wines brand with the 1997 harvest. She went on to consult as winemaker to other Napa Valley producers starting with Renteria in 1997. adding Ladera in 1998, their inaugural vintage, and later Wolf Family Vineyards and Rivera.

For Culler Wines, Karen sourced fruit from vineyards in Napa Valley and a few select areas in Sonoma. She produceds three Syrahs, a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Ladera vineyards, and this La Palette label, a red blend. 

Culler "La Palette" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This release is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Petit Verdot sourced from fruit from Alexander Valley Ranch. 

The 2005 release of La Pallette was awarded 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 91 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. 

This label release should not be confused with Culler's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain (from Ladera vineyards). It was awarded 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

This was dark inky garnet colored, medium full bodied, intense dense black fruits, tight and firmly structured, lacking the polish of the 2005 Ladera Napa Cab we drank the other evening. Notes of wood, lead pencil graphite, herbs, licorice and leather with hints of dark mocha, turning to firm tannins on the layered lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=499912

Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

We took this BYOB to our favorite neighborhood trattoria for a cozy early bird Friday evening dinner. 

We've written numerous times in these pages about Ladera and our visits to the estate on Howell Mountain in Napa Valley. We discovered this wine and purchased it following our visit to the Ladera Vineyards estate and winery up on Howell Mountain in 2006 and then again during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008. 

We last wrote about this vintage release of label back in 2017 and tonight's tasting experience was consistent with that one when I wrote the note below.

This exceeded my expectations with it bright forward bold fruits, although comparing it next to the thirty-five year old vintage Cos certainly accentuated its firm structure and the big concentrated bright forward fruits.

Dark blackish purple colored, full bodied, rich concentrated chewy forward black berry and black currant fruits with a firm backbone structure accented by notes of cedar and hints of graphite and subtle oak with a tangy nicely balanced lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=451794

https://www.laderavineyards.com/ 

Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015

Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015 

A casual weekend night with soup, cheese and crackers and homemade caramel corn in front of a TV movie, this Napa Chardonnay was a perfect casual sipper for the occasion. 

The producer Gibb's family date back to the early 1950's when they were growing walnuts, dates, and a small selection of grapes in Napa Valley. Dr. Lewis Gibbs Carpenter, psychologist, was a lifelong farmer and cattle rancher in Gilroy, bought land on the valley floor and moved his family to Saint Helena. By the 1970s, he had replaced most of the nut and fruit orchards with several Bordeaux varietals of grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot, which were beginning to gain international attention following the 'Judgement of Paris' in 1976.

Gibbs' flagship vineyards include the Cross Creek Vineyard located in the valley created between Howell Mountain and Glass Mountain, on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain overlooking Silverado Trail, stretching from the perennial Howell Creek in the west to the year-round natural springs of Howell Mountain. Their other notable Napa vineyard is Centa Vineyard located at the narrowest point of Napa Valley on Lodi Lane at the Silverado Trail.

Gibbs' wines are featured in the Studio, a new vintner collective tasting room and retail space in downtown Napa.

In 2000, Lewis’ son-in-law, Craig Handly, and his wife Susan began making wine from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc  estate grown grapes. Over the next decade, Handly honed his skills making private label wines and bottling under the Terroir Napa Valley and Sentall labels. 

 

When Lewis passed away in 2013, the Gibbs label and brand were introduced, based on the fruit that Lewis had been nurturing for 60 years. Today, Gibbs produces Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc come from those same vineyards planted by Lewis over forty years ago.

 

Craig and Susan’s son Spencer Gibbs Handly, joined the family business after college in 2014, growing grapes and making wine from family estate vineyards, Spencer had been working the vineyards since a child when Lewis taught him to drive a tractor at the age of five. Today he is active in all aspects of the business.  

 

Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015 

 

This Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay was aged 6 months in 30 - 40% new French oak. 

 

This is a great value, high QPR wine. 

 

Straw colored with sprites of light mango color, this is medium bodied, nicely balanced with pear and melon fruits accented by predominate notes of butterscotch caramel, with hints of butter, floral and oak turning to a nice  refreshing clean moderate acidic finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3019154

https://gibbsnapavalley.com/wines/

 

 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2013

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 2013

Linda prepared a leafy herbaceous red sauce with spaghetti and meatballs and I opened this Southern Rhone red blend as a complementary pairing.

Our visit to Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe was a highlight of of our tour of Châteauneuf-du-Pape year before last. Proprietor Daniel Brunier was very hospitable and generous with his time hosting our tour of the domaine. 

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe is not only a winery but also an art gallery with a live exhibit of numerous artworks throughout the chai, production facility, cellars, and tasting room and hospitality center.

The wine was surprisingly bright and expressive matching well with the red sauce and spicy meatballs. 

This is a classic CDP blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mouvedre and 5% Cinsault. 

Produced from a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2013&wine=Domaine%20du%20Vieux%20T%E9l%E9graphe%20Ch%E2teauneuf-du-Pape%20La%20Crau

Produced from a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2013&wine=Domaine%20du%20Vieux%20T%E9l%E9graphe%20Ch%E2teauneuf-du-Pape%20La%20Crau

This got 92 points from both Wine Spectator and Vinous. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave it 90 points.

Garnet colored with a bit of opacity and a slight brownish tinge, medium bodied, bright floral perfume notes predominate with tangy smokey cherry fruits with pepper, spice, licorice and a layer of tobacco on the lingering dusty acid laced moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1937705

http://www.vieux-telegraphe.fr/en

  

Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classe 2000

Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classe 2000

On a Sunday winter snowy afternoon, Linda prepared a beef roast with carrots and onions and mashed potatoes. I pulled this hearty twenty year old Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux as the ideal wine pairing. I was pleased to find three additional bottles beyond what I show in inventory so it was an ideal selection to try something that I have more of to return to later. 

Haut-Bailly are regular participants in the annual UGCB North American Release Tour grand tasting in Chicago and we enjoy meeting them and tasting their annual release. We'll miss this event this year with the Covid crisis looming if it isn't held or reduced availability to attend as usual.

Château Haut-Bailly Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classe 2000

This was the best showing and most memorable tasting of this label I recall tasting. This is likely because I may have caught a top vintage at its prime drinking window, further enhanced because I had an optimal food and wine pairing. I wrote about the multiplicative impact of an ideal food and wine combination last week. 

Having been held in our cellar since acquiring upon release, the fill level, label, foil and cork were all in pristine condition.

At twenty years this seems to be just hitting its stride and appears to be at the apex of its drinking profile with several years to go yet at this level. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate in March of 2017 said  "it should continue to drink well for another 15-20 years." In 2013, James Suckling wrote of this label, "Still very youthful but starting to show its wonderful depth, structure and complexity."

This release got 94 points from  James Suckling, 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator, and 91 points from  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and Jancis Robinson gave it 17.5/ 20 points. 

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium-full bodied with nicely balanced complex bright vibrant ripe black berry and plum fruits accented by notes of tobacco and cigar box with hints of clove, cassis, cedar, leather and tar with dusty gripping fine-grained tannins on a tangy acidic long finish. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=16841

https://www.haut-bailly.com/en/home.html

@_Haut_Bailly_ 

Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon VIII

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 'VIII' 2002

We did a drop in at Dunham Cellars tasting room in Woodinville during our Seattle Wine Dine Experience back in 2018. We have acquired a vertical collection of this label spanning nearly a decade over the years but have been holding them thinking we might do a vertical tasting some time. Alas, after a decade it hasn't happened so I pulled this vintage release label from the cellar to drink with roast beef charcuterie, cornichons, fruit, olives, cheese, dip and crackers for a casual midweek dinner. 

As we have nearly a dozen vintages of this label, the vintage was based on selecting an older bottle, likely to be nearing the end of its drinking window, and the same vintage of the wine we consumed over the previous couple of evenings for a mini horizontal comparison tasting. Clearly, the Columbia Valley Cabernet held up better than the Elouis Christman Park Taylor Petite Syrah Eldorado Tempranillo 2002 we consumed earlier this week. 

Reading other Cellartracker notes on this release, we too were pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy and robustness of this in its eighteenth year, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. This exceeded my expectations, both for that, and for its general flavor profile with its complexity and balance.

My previous recorded tasting experiences for this label were the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 releases, hence I was please I selected a different release to try this evening. I could've just as easily picked one that I had already tasted. 

Tonight's tasting experience was the most enjoyable and best showing of the four other vintage releases I had tasted. It was similar to but even better than our last tasting of this label was back in June of this year when I wrote the following:

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

We discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon through Winebid, the online wine auction site. Over the years we've acquired close to a decade of vintages of this label through that vehicle. We've also acquired another Dunham label, Trutina, a Bordeaux Blend from Vin Chicago, a local merchant.  

We stopped by the tasting room during our Washington Wine Experience back in 2018 but it was a drive-by without a reservation and the place was packed. We didn't realize they had the Walla Walla facility and we failed to connect there while we were in town during our Walla Walla Wine Experience back in 2018. 

Dunham was founded by Winemaker Eric Dunham. Eric started his career with a 6-month internship at Hogue Cellars in Washington, moving on as Assistant Winemaker at L'Ecole No. 41 in the Walla Walla Valley. With Winemaker Marty Clubb's blessing, Eric began making small lots of Dunham wine at L'Ecole with his first bottling the 1995 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon I.

After a few successful vintages with Dunham's receiving great acclaim, with some help from his parents, he set out on his own in warehouse space in an old WWII airplane hangar in Walla Walla. A couple of years later, David and Cheryll Blair were introduced to the Dunhams and joined the business to pursue their collective dream of making and pairing great wine with hospitality.

Part of the branding approach from that first vintage was to affix to each vintage the Roman Numeral of the numerical order of each release. Hence, this 2003 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon, the ninth vintage release, adorns IX on the label.

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley vineyards; Lewis Vineyard, Frenchtown Vineyard and Double River Estate Vineyard. It was aged in 60% French and 40% American Oak, 70% new oak and 30% used; 1955 cases were produced of this vintage release. 

At eighteen years of age, this was holding its own, showing no diminution of aging. 

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, a structured core of black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of spice, anise and black tea with hints of oak.

RM 89 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

 

My previous tasting for this label was five years earlier when I had done a mini vertical tasting of two vintages in January 2016 which did not show quite as well when I published the report below.

 Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 and 1998

This is an example of the perils of having a rather extensive wine cellar. Since we first discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon with this 1997 vintage, we have collected a nine year vertical of this wine. With such a selection, one tends to wait until you can open multiple bottles from multiple vintages to be tasted in one sitting, which of course reduces the opportunities to taste these wines.

Tonight provided the opportunity to open a pair of vintages and I was prepared to open more, but we didn't have a large enough group to consume more wines.

Hence, tonight we opened our two oldest bottles of this collection as aging would dictate drinking the oldest first.

An interesting element of Dunham's branding is that each vintage/ label is adorned with the roman numeral denoting the sequence in the series of vintages for that label, this 1997 being III, their third such release in the line.

Previously, I opened their 2003 release (above), noted as 'IX', their ninth release. We've also tasted and noted their 2000 vintage or VI release. 

Dunham are a family-owned winery with several estate vineyards in prime locations around the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. Dunham grow and produce varietal based wines in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay as well as Trutina, their Bordeaux style blend. Dunham wines are sourced from some of the finest vineyards in Washington State Walla Walla, Yakima and Columbia Valleys.

When Dunham's first vintage, a 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon was released, it was deemed one of the finest wines made in Washington by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Subsequent vintages and varietals have consistently earned high marks with both consumers and trade. 

Proprietor Eric Dunham is winemaker and also an artist who creates original artwork that is featured in a series of 'Artist Series' labels for Dunham Cellars vineyard designated and special bottlings.

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit for this 1997 vintage wine was sourced from the Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, and Bacchus Vineyards.

This was showing its age and is most likely past its prime, and as such, is entering the late stages of its drinking window.

Dark garnet colored with slight bricking on the edge, an ever so slight tinge of brown rust color starting to set in. This is medium bodied with bright tangy black cherry predominates followed by tones of black raspberry, smoke, tobacco leaf and eucalyptus with hints of cassis and creosote turning to tangy slightly astringent dark cherry, floral and cedar on the moderate tannin lingering finish.

The 1998 vintage is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this is sourced from Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, Konnawok, Bacchus, Williard, Wauluke, and Vanessa Vineyards.

Upon opening this started as musty, earthy and leathery, but over the course of an hour the tangy cherry fruits emerged and eventually converged to mirror the profile of the earlier '97. By the next day, the '98 was brighter and more lively than the '97 which was somewhat shrouded in the smokey cassis layer.

Time to drink ... RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4275

 

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 'VIII' 2003 

 

Based on these experiences, imagine my pleasant surprise tonight with the 2002 vintage release. As shown in the photo, at eighteen years of age, this bottle is another testament to the provenance capabilities of our wine cellar - the fill level, foil, label, and most importantly the cork, were all perfect, almost comparable to a recent release. 

 

As I wrote above, I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy and robustness of this in its eighteenth year, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. This exceeded my expectations, both for that, and for its general flavor profile with its complexity and balance.

Having tasted previously the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003, this was the most enjoyable and best showing of the four other vintage releases I had tasted.

Most similar to the 2003, this was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced and complex with a structured core of black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of spice, anise and black tea with hints of pepper, graphite and oak with a pleasant lingering finish. 

 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=209854

http://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Elouis Christman Park Taylor Petite Syrah Eldorado Tempranillo 2002

Elouis Christman Park Taylor Petite Syrah Eldorado Tempranillo 2002 

Having the remains of some leftovers of barbecue we had last week with much wine fanfare, I pulled from the cellar an aged Petit Syrah to pair with this dinner tonight. 

This is an obscure label we've been holding for more than a dozen years waiting for such an occasion. This is so obscure I find absolutely no references to any other bottles anywhere including the vast holdings of the Cellartracker community. I often refer to Cellartracker, the leading cellar management tool that I use to track my cellar collection and one repository of my tasting notes. Cellartracker has grown to several hundred thousands collectors tracking an amazing aggregate collection of more than 125 million bottles. The CellarTracker database of community tasting notes has grown to more than 8.5 million such notes, the largest such collection in the world. The site is visited by more than 10 million wine enthusiasts to view the reviews and gain wine knowledge and information. With such a large universe, its very rare to be the sole owner holder of a producer label vintage release but this is such a case. The simple label looks perhaps like a 'prototype', there is no rear label and the foil and cork are utilitarian with no signs of branding or other marks.

My own tasting note records , show an earlier tasting of this label from Aug 22, 2006, prior to my use of Cellartracker which began in 2008. 

At that time I wrote the following wine dining experience posted below where dear friend, protege and wine buddy took this label BYOB to an industry conference. At that time, this was a pre-release of this label and only twenty five cases were expected to be released. I have never seen any further evidence of this producer or this label. Somewhere along the way, I acquired this label and it has been in my cellar every since. 

My Cellartracker cellar record for this bottle shows the following information - 1 (750ml) added on 12/31/2002 (to what would have been my inventory management system at that time); "Purchase note: Found in cellar - Source or purchase data unknown". So the mystery of this rare bottle will likely never be solved. Such is the fun of collecting and having a sufficiently vast collection that bottles such as this can get 'lost' in the cellar. This was not necessarily lost, I come across it regularly, just never having found the occasion to drink, until tonight. 

I vaguely remember my posting from 2006:

"Park Taylor Elouise Christman Woodbridge Petit Syrah Eldorado Tempranillo Blend 2002 - RM 91 - You saw it here first - a discovery by AJ, this is the inaugural vintage release by this emerging producer. Brought by AJ from his cellar, a rare bottle of this as yet unreleased wine bottled from the only available barrel. Upon release there will be only 25 cases available. Dark, forward fruit of blackberry, black cherry, smoky tar and anise on the finish. Tasted w. AJ, Carla M., Jeff M., John G., Mark R., Chris at Palace Arms Restaurant in Brown Palace Hotel in Denver - teaming dinner at Intel-link conference."   

Tonight, my tasting notes were somewhat consistent with that earlier tasting in the profile of the wine. My new conventions of writing about a tasting captures a little bit more data, updated to reflect the current state of this vintage release. The simple label indicates this is a blend of 60% Petite Syrah, 40% Eldorado Tempranillo. It isn't indicated or clear if Eldorado refers to the appellation source of the grape, or perhaps a clone or sub-varietal of the Tempranillo in the blend.  

I can only presume it refers to the El Dorado AVA located in El Dorado County, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The appellation is known primarily for varietals Zinfandel, Barbera, and Syrah. Most vineyards are between 1,200 feet and 3,500 feet elevation where they benefit from cool breezes off the mountains that push hot air off the vines and down to the valley. The soils of the region are volcanic magma based with high levels of acidity.

 

Garnet colored, somewhat opaque, medium bodied, dark blackberry and black cherry fruits with bright floral perfume, notes of smoke, creosote and hints of anise on a moderate tannin laced finish. Showing minor signs of diminution from aging with a very slight brown hue to the color, and a slight aftertaste of green olive on the finish; the cork, foil, label and fill level were perfect. 

 

I rated it 88 points reflecting the diminution tonight vs 91 back in the day.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3543530

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel and Byron's Blend

 Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel and Byron's Blend - spectacular pairing with BBQ

This blog is devoted to wine, collecting, tasting, marketing, branding, trading. It would be fair to argue that not enough time is devoted to food, more specifically, pairing food and wine. I wish I had the discrimination and knowledge of a cook and cuisine to do such justice to the subject. Never-the-less, I note often that the 'force multiplier', exponent of enjoying either food or wine, is the proper pairing of the two. The perfect match of a food and wine combination, when one gets it right, amplifies the experience enormously. We Americans pontificate on the nuances of food and wine and have been doing so seriously for going on fifty years. Lest we forget, the 'old world' oenophiles and foodies have been doing this for more than six centuries. 

This week has been an exhibition in food and wine pairing. I last wrote in my previous post, Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes, about selecting that aged vintage Burgundy Pinot Noir to pair with baked pork chops. That resulted in a wonderful enjoyable meal based on the appropriate wine and food pairing. 

Tonight, Linda prepared barbecue pork with the remaining pork chops, adding celery, onion and Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, served with baked potatoes and grilled spears of asparagus. For a wine to pair with the dinner, I pulled from the cellar this unique Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel. Wow! The combination of the two, each perfectly accenting and highlighting the other, was absolutely amazing - a remarkable sensational sensory experience! 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel 2017

I featured Carpenter Creek Cellars from north central Indiana in an earlier post in these pages when we visited the winery and discovered their wines. They acquire grapes from growers throughout the midwest, California, and also grow some of their own. 

For this Zinfandel varietal selection, they obtained grapes from northern California sources, and aged the wine in used Bourbon Barrels. The result was infusing an exotic smokiness and liquor layer that when combined with the full forward Zinfandel fruits accentuated and highlighted the tangy barbecue wonderfully. 

Linda stopped in at Carpenter Creek during her visit with out of state family several weeks ago in the late fall and tasted and picked up a couple bottles of this label. We were waiting for the right, suitable occasion to try it and clearly this was it! 

This label release from Carpenter Creek Cellars features a striking gold label packaging, the first indication that there is something special going on here.

Garnet colored, slightly opaque, medium-full-bodied, black fruits accented by clove spice, smoke, caramel, vanilla, and hints of black pepper and cocoa. An extraordinary pairing with with BBQ.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3807095

Our wine and dine culinary experience continued when we pulled from the cellar this Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend dessert wine. 

This wine is named in memory of proprietors Ed and Beckie Courtright's son Byron. Byron helped plant the five varietals of grapes in an estate vineyard that would become his namesake vineyard, while at home from college in 2003. Bryon was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2004. Byron's Blend is blended from the five grape varietals sourced from Byron's Vineyard. 

This wine was also a spectacular pairing with the barbecue pork dinner, and a natural and complementary follow-on to the Zinfandel.  

We followed dinner with Linda's homemade molasses cookies that were equally ideally suited as a pairing with these wines. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend 

This would be a spectacular pairing with barbecue, molasses cookies, or hearty cheese and dark mocha chocolate. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich concentrated port style with notes of dark mocha, black cherry, hints of caramel and vanilla and a sprite of ginger and cognac on the sweet lingering finish.

RM 91 points.  

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

@carpenterwines

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Red Wine 2001

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Proprietary Red 2001

Linda prepared grilled beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables and sauteed mushrooms for a dinner with Sean and Michelle. I wanted to serve a distinctive wine so I pulled from the cellar this aged Napa Cabernet based Red Blend for the dinner. 

Neiman Cellars is the project of Drew Neiman, an independent winemaker crafting small batch artisan wines sourcing fruit from some of the best vineyards in Napa Valley. Drew was introduced to the trade by his cousins who owned a wine shop in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He came to California to study viticulture at UC Davis and in 1994 started work under legendary winemaker John Kongsgaard, rising through the ranks from harvest help to assistant winemaker.

Drew established Neiman Cellars in 1997 with 3 tons of purchased fruit. Working with leading growers including David Abreu, John Caldwell, and Pat Haynes, sourcing fruit from arguably some of the best vineyards in Napa Valley, total production grew to 600 cases of minimal intervention, handcrafted, artisan small batch wine.

His craft work drew wide attention and high praise. Wine critic Robert Parker called him “brilliant”, and he was mentioned in FOOD & WINE, Wine Spectator and InStyle. Neiman Cellar wines were featured on the wine lists of notable high end restaurants including the French Laundry, Per Se, Gary Danko, The Beverly Hills Hotel, and the James Beard House in New York City.

This label is a single vineyard designated Bordeaux Blend containing all the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot, sourced from the Caldwell Vineyard high above the town of Napa on the eastern slope of the Vaca Range. At one time, Drew offered tastings in the caves of Caldwell Vineyards.

The Caldwell property is owned and operated by John Caldwell who has become somewhat of a legend in Napa Valley who planted the first vines in 1982. Since then, Caldwell has been the grape source selected by leading winemakers for many notable premium labels including Pahlmeyer (Helen Turley), Joseph Phelps’s Insignia, Moone Tsai (Philippe Melka), Merus, Patz and Hall, Stéphane Derenoncourt and of course, Neiman. We served and I wrote about the Pahlmeyer Caldwell Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 1990 recently in these pages. 

Over time, John has developed the Caldwell Vineyards and estate into one of the most unique wine estates in Napa growing 28 different clone-specific grape varieties. He also was one of the first U.S. wineries to operate its own in-house barrel cooperage, with less than a dozen other wineries in the world doing so.  

Working with his wife Joy and winemaker Marc Gagnon, Caldwell has developed and grown the Caldwell proprietary brand with a portfolio of more than two dozen labels marketed under the Caldwell Signature Collection and Varietal Collection which include the whimsically named labels "Rocket Science" and "Society of Smugglers".

The inaugural release of the Neiman Caldwell label was the 1998 vintage proprietary red wine, crafted from the finest blocks on the vineyard, with 500 cases produced. The blend of Caldwell Proprietary Red consisted of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Syrah,

We acquired and consumed and wrote about that 1998 vintage Neiman release (October 01, 2009, July 23, 2011) as well as the '99 (August 19, 2015), the 2000 (April 11, 2014), the 2004  (August 24, 2017, and May 16, 2015), and this 2001 release. We still hold a few bottles of this 2001 and the 2002 as well. The last vintages I can find evidence of were the 2007 and 2008.

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Proprietary Red 2001

This is the third time I have served and written about this label in these pages. We last had it the fall of 2015 when I wrote: "This wine comes packaged in a heavy oversized, almost magnum weight bottle. Consistent with our last tasting of this wine, it was a perfect complement to the beef and the pork chop entrees, dark garnet/purple colored, medium-full bodied, smooth, polished, complex full flavors of spicy blackberry and subtle red raspberry with tones of clove and sweet dark mocha turning to finely integrated tannins on the smooth lingering finish."

Tonight was consistent with that earlier tasting. Like that Pahlmeyer Caldwell Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 1990, this release, at two decades, this wine is still showing well and showing no signs of diminution. Tonight I gave this 92 points, as I did at that previous tasting. 

According to the rear label of this bottle, 148 cases were produced of this release.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27471

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/09/neiman-cellars-napa-red-caldwell.html

http://neimancellars.com/

@NeimanCellars

https://www.caldwellvineyard.com/

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel - Byron's Blend

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel and Byron's Blend - spectacular pairing with BBQ

This blog is devoted to wine, collecting, tasting, marketing, branding, trading. It would be fair to argue that not enough time is devoted to food, more specifically, pairing food and wine. I wish I had the discrimination and knowledge of a cook and cuisine to do such justice to the subject. Never-the-less, I note often that the 'force multiplier', exponent of enjoying either food or wine, is the proper pairing of the two. The perfect match of a food and wine combination, when one gets it right, amplifies the experience enormously. We Americans pontificate on the nuances of food and wine and have been doing so seriously for going on fifty years. Lest we forget, the 'old world' oenophiles and foodies have been doing this for more than six centuries. 

This week has been an exhibition in food and wine pairing. I last wrote in my previous post, Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes, about selecting that aged vintage Burgundy Pinot Noir to pair with baked pork chops. That resulted in a wonderful enjoyable meal based on the appropriate wine and food pairing. 

Tonight, Linda prepared barbecue pork with the remaining pork chops, adding celery, onion and Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, served with baked potatoes and grilled spears of asparagus. For a wine to pair with the dinner, I pulled from the cellar this unique Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel. Wow! The combination of the two, each perfectly accenting and highlighting the other, was absolutely amazing - a remarkable sensational sensory experience! 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Bourbon Barrel Zinfandel 2017

I featured Carpenter Creek Cellars from north central Indiana in an earlier post in these pages when we visited the winery and discovered their wines. They acquire grapes from growers throughout the midwest, California, and also grow some of their own. 

For this Zinfandel varietal selection, they obtained grapes from northern California sources, and aged the wine in used Bourbon Barrels. The result was infusing an exotic smokiness and liquor layer that when combined with the full forward Zinfandel fruits accentuated and highlighted the tangy barbecue wonderfully. 

Linda stopped in at Carpenter Creek during her visit with out of state family several weeks ago in the late fall and tasted and picked up a couple bottles of this label. We were waiting for the right, suitable occasion to try it and clearly this was it! 

This label release from Carpenter Creek Cellars features a striking gold label packaging, the first indication that there is something special going on here.

Garnet colored, slightly opaque, medium-full-bodied, black fruits accented by clove spice, smoke, caramel, vanilla, and hints of black pepper and cocoa. An extraordinary pairing with with BBQ.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3807095

Our wine and dine culinary experience continued when we pulled from the cellar this Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend dessert wine. 

This wine is named in memory of proprietors Ed and Beckie Courtright's son Byron. Byron helped plant the five varietals of grapes in an estate vineyard that would become his namesake vineyard, while at home from college in 2003. Bryon was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2004. Byron's Blend is blended from the five grape varietals sourced from Byron's Vineyard. 

This wine was also a spectacular pairing with the barbecue pork dinner, and a natural and complementary follow-on to the Zinfandel.  

We followed dinner with Linda's homemade molasses cookies that were equally ideally suited as a pairing with these wines. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Byron's Blend 

This would be a spectacular pairing with barbecue, molasses cookies, or hearty cheese and dark mocha chocolate. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, rich concentrated port style with notes of dark mocha, black cherry, hints of caramel and vanilla and a sprite of ginger and cognac on the sweet lingering finish.

RM 91 points.  

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

@carpenterwines