Caymus 40th Anniversary Release - An Enchanted Path

Caymus 40th Anniversary Release - An Enchanted Path

For dearest friends, Eric and Cathy's 40th anniversary celebration party, I took two special bottles befitting the occasion. An obvious selection was the serendipitous release bottling of Caymus Vineyards' 40th Anniversary Release special label commemorating their 40th vintage release in 2014, of their 2012 vintage release Napa Valley Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon. For the occasion of several 40th anniversary events this year, I special ordered their special release 1 Liter release bottle. In addition, I took a bottle of Mollydooker whimsically named 'Enchanted Path' Mclaren Vale Red Wine Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, and as a point of comparison tasting, a bottle of Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101: Collectors Series Columbia Valley, Washington, Syrah, 2009


Caymus Vineyards Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 

As featured in my recent earlier blog journal tasting report on this wine, this is the 40th release of this legendary label and it features a special 40th Anniversary release label for the occasion. The 2012 vintage release also  shows the classic characteristics of Caymus Estate Cabernet at its best - early approachability and drinkability as a young wine.

Typical Caymus Cab style - dark ruby/garnet colored, medium to full bodied, nicely structured, complex but smooth, well balanced and polished, it opens with sweet ripe blackberry and raspberry flavors highlighted by layers of milk chocolate, subtle tones of cinnamon, vanilla and hints of caramel, giving way to a smooth lingering modest tannin finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1805868

http://www.caymus.com


Mollydooker Enchanted Path McLaren Vale South Australia, Red Wine Blend 2012

Mollydooker is the handiwork of the husband-and-wife winemaking team of Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Prior to starting their own label the pair produced under the Marquis Philips brand in partnership with their distributor Dan Philips. Previously, they produced award-winning wines for Australian producers including Fox Creek, Henry’s Drive, Shirvington, and others. The term Mollydooker is Australian slang for a left-handed person as both Sarah and Sparky Marquis are left-handed.

Since 2005, they've focused exclusively on making their own exuberant wines which include a range of Shiraz labels and a variety of Shiraz/Cab/Merlot blends, as well as some adventuresome white wines such as The Violinist, a Verdelho varietal.

They source their fruit from 116 acres of vineyards at their winery in McLaren Vale where about 50 percent are planted in Shiraz, with the rest made up of Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. Most of their wines bear distinctive whimsical and humorous names and labels with cartoon characters. Never-the-less, many of their wines, while modestly-priced, Mollydookers are often highly rated. Their premium label, 'Velvet Glove' Shiraz retails for $175, however. 

The 2012 Enchanted Path is dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich thick concentrated and complex with varietal Cabernet notes of ripe black and blue berry and plum with clove, spice and layers of chocolate and anise, with supple creamy mouth-feel and chewy tannins on nicely polished balanced finish.

The 2012 Enchanted Path is a blend of 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1773713

www.mollydookerwines.com

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101: Collectors Series Columbia Valley, Washington, Syrah, 2009

For a comparison tasting against the Enchanted Path, I took this similarly styled Columbia Valley Syrah. 

I reviewed this wine earlier in the spring in my blogpost. I love this style as my preferred profile of a Syrah, thick, chewy with sweet forward fruits. Dark inky colored, medium to full bodied, this full throttled Syrah reveals layers of blackberry and black currants fruits with tones of sweet vanilla, caramel and spice with hints of black pepper on a lingering smooth silky tannin finish.

RM 93 points.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1742790

 

Chez Joel Bistro - Marsannay Burgundy with Authentic French Faire

Chez Joel Bistro - Marsannay Burgundy with Authentic French Faire

For the second time this summer, after a day in the city, we dined at our favorite French Bistro Chez Joël (that happens to be in the heart of Chicago's Little Italy Taylor street dining district), a family  restaurant operated by brothers, Joël and Ahmed Kazouini.

While we love the atmosphere of their elegantly quaint authentic bistro francais dining room, in the summer when weather permits we opt for their outdoor courtyard patio, a perfect setting since we had with us two of our grandkids, Lucy and Richie.

Courtyard dining at Chez Joel

For the wine selection we took advantage of their wine special offer, Domaine Silvaine Pataille Marsannay Bourgnone 2008 which proved to be a proper accompaniment to the Pâté starter and our Duck and Ahi Tuna entrees. I've already tried every Bordeaux on their thoughtfully selected wine list. For summer, and the lighter tuna and duck faire, the more delicate and approachable Pinot Noir based Burgundy is the way to go.


The Duck & Chicken Liver Pâté is always enjoyable. I had the pan seared Duck Breast & Duck Leg Confit, served with Wild Mushrooms Fricassée, Potato Galette and Cranberry Orange Sauce. It very tasty and creatively prepared. The potato galette is a signature dish however I especially like their mashed potatoes. Linda and Erin loved the Ahi tuna daily special entree served in a delicious berry sauce with pomme puree.

Sylvain Pataille makes wines exclusively from the terroirs of Marsannay-la-Côte. He runs the family owned domaine in Marsannay after studying in Bordeaux and working as a consulting oenologist since 1997. He  has been developing his own label since the 2001 vintage, dependent on rented parcels of vineyard around Marsannay, then started with one hectare and today has 10, producing 12 cuvées. His wines are found mainly in France and in the US particularly in restaurants.

Duck Breast and Leg Confit

Sylvain Pataille owns and runs the small domaine in the little known commune of Marsannay just south of Gevrey Chambertin in the Cotes de Nuits. He practices biodynamic farming, so popular in Burgundy like many of his illustrious neighbors – Domaine Leflaive, Domaine Leroy, Domaine de la Romanée Conti. This method of viticulture is thought to bring more minerality, vitality, intensity and most importantly, a sense of the individual terroir which is the essence of Burgundy wines.

Shared portion of the Ahi tuna

The property is on the road from Beaune, past Gevrey-Chambertin on the outskirts of Dijon. The region only received it’s Village AOC in 1987 – before this the wines were ‘regional’ and simply called Bourgogne or Bourgogne de Marsannay. There are no 1er Crus. Marsannay is also well known for its white and Rosé wines. While the AOC belongs to the Côte de Nuits it is not officially within the Côte de Nuits.

I regularly write in this blog about how difficult it is to find high QPR (quality to price ratio) value priced Pinot Noirs. This naturally also applies to French Burgundy wines, which of course are named for the region, whereas in the US, wines are named for the grape varietal. Chez Joël does a nice job offering a selection of moderately priced French based wines to pair with their menu.

This 2008 had a bright ruby red color, light to medium body, it presents cherry, ripe cranberry, hints of strawberry, dusty rose and leather and a whisper of vanilla, it is well balanced with soft acidity and has a nice mouth feel with a smooth lingering fine tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1009374

http://chezjoelbistro.com/

David Arthur Elevation 1147 and Estate Napa Cabernets 2003

 

David Arthur Elevation 1147 and Estate Napa Cabernet Sauvignons 2003

To celebrate brother Pat's visit, and to commemorate his wedding year, Bill C pulled a selection of vintage Napa Cabernet Sauvignons from the cellar including a special 2003 vintage David Arthur flagship Elevation 1147, a 1993 Vineyard 29 Estate from magnum, and a 1999 Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard. I brought the David Arthur 2003 Estate Cabernet to compare against the Elevation.

To showcase the wines, Bill and Beth grilled New York strip steaks and barbecue ribs served with haricot verts and corn on the cob with mixed greens salad. Earlier we had artisan cheeses, crab stuffed champignons and after dinner accompaniments included chocolate caramels with sea salt.

Our visit to David Arthur at the end of Long Ranch Road high atop Pritchard Hill overlooking Napa Valley was one of the highlights of our Napa Wine Experience 2013.

Elevation 1147 is the vineyard named for the height at the mountaintop precipice and sources the fruit for this flagship vineyard designated label. The surrounding vineyards source the Cabernet fruit for the Estate label.

There are distinct similarities in the tasting profile of these two David Arthur wines that come from the site and reflect its terroir. The difference between them is their presentation.

David Arthur estate Cabernet Sauvignon is full bodied, complex, concentrated but nicely balanced. Full forward black berry fruits with essence of sweet spices, tobacco, leather and hints of cedar on the smooth tannin finish. As good as it is, its a shadow of its big brother, Elevation.

RM 91 points. 

Elevation is flawless, extraordinary in its refined elegance and harmonious balance. While full bodied it has no sense of weight in its symphony of seamlessly integrated flavors, silky smooth and polished balance of floral, dark fruit and accent tones from start to finish - lavender, sweet ripe black and blue berry fruits, whispers of cinnamon, clove, exotic spices and tobacco leaf on the soft lingering finish. At eleven years of age it seemed to be at its apex as I can't imagine it getting any better. It was delightful and delicious. I sense I drank my earlier Elevations too early to allow them to come together so nicely.

RM 95 points.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker -

"Found this to be truly exceptional and the hit of the evening. Big, robust with cassis, blackberry and sour cherry on the front palate. Complex and layered revealing a hint of cedar and chocolate on the mid palate. We'll integrated tannins with a lingering finish. Quite elegant and balanced with a floral nose reminiscent of a Margaux though the wine itself is much bigger than a Margaux. A real treat. Friend and wine buddy Rick provided a 2003 David Arthur Estate Cab to taste side by side. Very interesting comparison. The common heritage was evident. Interestingly the estate seemed a bit thinner until it had been open over two hours at which point it really blossomed."


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=85663

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Vineyard 29 Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1993

Bill's notes from last winter - Medium garnet in the glass. Still some fruit left. Nicely balanced with flavors of raspberry, sour cherry, mocha and a hint of cedar. This was the consensus favorite at "Open That Bottle Night" one year ago. A year later, it is still very tasty but tannins are fading and is not as vibrant as it was last year.

WCC 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=72837











Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=81347 

















Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

To round out the tasting Bill pulled this mid year vintage of Freemark Abbey Cabernet, a nice starter before dinner.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker - "A nice way to kick off a gala evening with visiting family and friends. Robust and fruit forward. Deep indigo color. Will get better over the next couple of years but pretty tasty right now. Predominantly dark, black raspberry and cherry on the palate with a touch of oak. A tad smoky in a good way. Would have probably rated higher but had the misfortune of being compared to some really heavy hitters."

WCC 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=932071


My notes -
Dark purple, medium - full bodied, black cherry and black berry fruits, smoky cedar notes with hints of oak on a firm tannin finish.

This is a blend of fruit 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot and fractions of Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.
RM 89 points.