Grand Tour Chicago - Wine Tasting Extravaganza
One of the ultimate wine tasting experiences besides actually visiting wine country is
Wine Spectator's annual/bi-annual*
Grand Tour - a wine tasting extravaganza of over two hundred producers. While its not a substitute for visiting wine country, it is an opportunity to meet the winemakers or producer representative directly, rather than their local distributors, which is the case is most tasting events.
There is something for everyone from standard bearer First Growths to breakout producers and new vintage releases, some revealing the artwork of new winemakers. A highlight is discovering new emerging labels or established labels entering new markets. Such was the case with the 2011 Grand Tour bi-annual visit to Chicago. Again this year it was held at Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom.
* Most cities including Chicago host Grand Tour every other year.
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| Grand Tour in the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom |
Such a broad and diverse offering can be daunting. One can approach the challenge of so many choices several ways - look for new discoveries, focus on known producers' new releases, wander serendipitously or randomly, or some combination thereof. We develop a detailed plan of what producers we want to visit and then determine tasting based on what they are serving - avoiding lackluster features and offerings we've already experienced. Our tasting route follows countries and regions that we know and collect - no room for experimentation in our plan.
Tasting so many wines in one evening quickly overwhelms the palate so we taste wines with which we have previous experience or familiarity. Lack of or diminished palate discrimination hinders wandering into new realms.We also focus on the more complex sophisticated wines early and move to the bigger, 'narrower' wines from there. You probably figured out by now - we taste reds and don't spend time on whites at such an event - the sole exception being
Inniskillin Niagara Peninsula Riesling Icewine 2007 which was according to plan.
We tend to focus on our selections and not be tempted to venture off plan otherwise one will never get through their preference list. We've been very diligent in keeping to our plan over the years although we deviated moreso this year than previously due to the size of our group.
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| Rick with Dan Kosta of Kosta Brown |
Our preference list was only fifteen percent of those available which is still thirty wines. I hit all but the most of the last half dozen which were ports as I ventured off and did explore some discoveries in chosen categories, such as the Aussie Shiraz's mentioned below, for example.
In the Pinot Noirs, we tasted perennial favorites
Kosta Browne Russian River Valley 2009,
Domaine Serene Evensted Reserve 2007, and
Freestone Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2007, as all were pouring as yet untasted new releases.
The first growth Bordeaux features were
Chateau Mouton Rothschild serving the spectacular 2005 vintage and
Chateau Margaux pouring their 2004. We started with these as the chance to taste First Growth Bordeaux wines is a special occasion and valued experience. A Pauillac comparison was available with the
Lynch Bages 2005, and the
Pontet Canet 2008. Margaux was best represented of the Bordeaux appellations with
Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer 2004, Brane-Cantenac 2003,
Du Tertre 2005, and
Giscours 2005. St Estpehe was represented by long favorite
Cos d'Estournel. Standouts from the Bordeaux' besides the Mouton were Lynch Bages, Brane-Cantenac and the Cos d'Estournel. Conspicuously modest and subdued was the Chateau Margaux '04 - perhaps too young to reveal itself.
Consensus highlight of the 'Big Cab' offerings was the
Joseph Phelps Insignia 2006 with its rich chewy forward fruit and complexity. Notable entries were
Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon '06,
Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour '07,
Cliff Lede Poetry '07, and
Beringer Private Reserve 2007 Cabernet Sauvignons. We passed on the Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet, Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages and Etude. A new release offering that showed well was
Gemstone Vineyards Yountville Ten (10th Anniversary Release) 2006 which is now made by Phillip Melka. The consensus underachievement was the
Caymus Special Select 2008 as I was alone in our group to give it high marks.
We overlooked and missed the
2007 HALL "Exzellenz" Sacrashe Vineyard Red Wine ($165) not recognizing yet another new label, which was unfortunate given her recent spectacular releases of her Kathyrn Hall label. We skipped the
Provenance having just recently enjoyed their 2007 Cabernet (perhaps their best to date).
The Australian Shiraz category featured several new discoveries including
Two Hands 'Zippy's Block' Single Vineyard Ronnefeldt Road Marananga Barossa Valley Shiraz 2007,
D'Arenberg poured their highly rated 2006 vintage
Dead Arm,
Penfolds their
RWT (we skipped both having already tasted), and
Mollydooker poured their top shelf
Velvet Glove Shiraz 2009. Two other Australian Shiraz discoveries of the evening were the
Chateau Tanunda very limited release Dagmar O'Neill pouring 100 Year Vines Shiraz for Bill C.
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| The folks from |
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| The jury - Rick, Ernie, Bill, Dan, Eric and Lyle. |
The '97 was more complex but more subdued in fruit and flavor. It showed slightly dull with a darkening color and subdued fruit, a bit earthy and leathery with hints of cedar aroma and taste gives way to black cherry with hint of and spicy cherry with a touch of anise.
The producers say the irony of this wine is that "with its beautifully balanced fruit with vibrant acidity and concentrated flavor that it is so affordable". Indeed, its easy to find a flavorful easy drinking American Pinot Noir for $35, harder at $25, and difficult at best under $15. Irony Monterey County Pinot Noir is such a find. 
Easter evening we tasted Elan Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 with artisan cheeses and medallions of beef filet with carmelized onions. The Elan tasted remarkably like a vintage Bordeaux with huge floral scents, earthy leather, black fruits, smoke and black cherry with hints of anise and cedar. This wine originally tasted at the winery with producer Richard Elliott-Smith and his lovely wife Linda back during our 1998 Napa Wine Experience (see picture and caption below).
