Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1999

Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1999

With Beth C back from SC for the week, we met for a midweek dinner out at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. I took BYOB this Del Dotto Napa Valley Sangiovese 1999, one of our go-to wines for Angeli's since we don't have an extensive Italian collection in our cellar. We consumed all of our early vintage releases of this label so we recently acquired a few bottles of this 1999 at auction for immediate consumption.

We discovered this label during several visits to the winery and vineyards back in the nineties. At that time, it was unique as Del Dotto were pioneers in Napa Valley Sangiovese under the direction of legendary Nils Venge,  wine maker for Del Dotto at the time. They planted some in front of the estate on the burm along Hwy 29 just south of Zinfandel Lane. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The wine pairing was ideal with our entree selections, simple, cheese ravioli with bolognese sauce and an order of their Italian Sausage and Peppers.

With Dave Del Dotto during one of our Napa
visits to the Estate around the millennium

While clearly past its prime and showing its age as the fruits start to subside and give way to tones of leather, tobacco leaf and tar, this is still drinking nicely and has some life left and pairs well with pasta and hearty sauce.

Dark blacksh garnet with a slight hue of brickish rust starting to set in, medium full bodied, tones of black cherry and black berry fruits starting to give way to a layer of leather tobacco leaf. hints of creosote and a bit of fig.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=134845

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

Lede Vineyards Duo for Surf-n-Turf Dinner

Cliff Lede Vineyards Duo for Surf & Turf Family Dinner

For a gala (pre-) Mother's Day Sunday Brunch family dinner with four generations of family, great-grandparents, and grandkids, Linda prepared a delicious surf-n-turf with grilled marinated sirloin beef and lobster tails, with boiled buttered potatoes, grilled asparagus, and sweet corn on the cob.

Our wine accompaniment, a duo of Cliff Lede Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc were perfect matches for each of the highlight entree courses.

Also complimenting dinner was a caprese salad with beefsteak tomatoes and a dessert of Erin's homemade cheesecake with fresh whipped strawberry puree'.

Our visits to the sixty acre Cliff Lede Vineyards and winery estate in the Stags Leap district of Napa Valley with its art gardens and gallery were a highlight of several of our Napa trips including Ryan and Michelle's recent getaway Napa weekend just last month.

Cliff Lede Vineyards Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015

This is our latest release of one my favorite Sauvignon Blancs which I consider among the best representations of Sauvignon Blanc, which typically is the truest expression of the varietal fruit. This vintage release is actually a blend composed of 82% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Sémillon, 3% Sauvignon Vert, and 1% Muscat Canelli varietals. The result is a complex wine with layers of fruit flavors that blend together in a harmonious pleasant drinking wine.

The fruit for the Lede label is sourced from vineyards in the eastern Rutherford appellation (old vine Musqué clone and Sémillon), a vineyard in the southeastern hills of Napa Valley, grapes from a cooler climate vineyard on the east side of Napa, and some old vines of Sauvignon Vert from the Chiles Valley in eastern Napa County.

Light straw colored, medium-light bodied, harmonious nicely balanced layers of subdued citrus, peach, pear and lychee fruit with a refreshing crisp clean, smooth acidity finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2324460

Cliff Lede Vineyards Napa Valley Stag's Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

We stocked up on this vintage release of this Estate label back in '06 to hold to commemorate the wedding year of daughter Erin and son-in-law Johnny. The vintage was ideally suited with conditions perfect for the fruit set and ideal ripening that resulted in very concentrated wines that will mark 2006 as one of the great Napa vintages.

Fruit for this vintage release was sourced from the finest blocks of the Lede estate Twin Peaks Ranch vineyard on Napa Yountville Cross Road, as well as from the hillside terraces of their legendary Poetry vineyard on the eastern foothills of the property overlooking Silverado Trail and the eastern valley. The blend in this release is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 2% Malbec.

Consistent with tasting notes three years ago when I wrote, "Six years after release, the 2006 Lede Estate Cabernet seems to be reaching its stride at the apex of its tasting curve. Medium full bodied, deep ruby color with full forward blackberry and black and red currant fruits with tones of mocha, clove spice and hints of tar and sweet oak on a smooth polished flavorful lingering finish."

The notes of mocha were replaced with tones of leather, tobacco leaf and hints of cedar as this passes its tenth year. 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=571785

http://cliffledevineyards.com/

Italian Village Chicago Wine Dinner

Italian Village Chicago Wine Dinner

For our team bootcamp gathering in Chicago, I arranged a wine dinner at legendary Italian Village nearby in the center of Chicago's Loop. Wine Director Jared Gelband, and Liz Ramirez, Event Director, arranged for a price fixe dinner with a selection of five wines, two reds and two whites plus a dessert wine, matched accordingly to entree choices and the courses.

Third generation Gina Capitanini
and Jared Gelband Wine Director

As I've written in these pages, Italian Village is Chicago's classic oldest Italian Restaurant, continuously operated by the Capitanini family since 1927, now in its 90th year, with the largest wine cellar in the Midwest that holds over 45,000 bottles.

There are actually three restaurants on premise, each with their own kitchen, chef and waitstaff, all served by the Wine Spectator Best of Award Wine Cellar/Wine List with over 1200 selections. The vast collection, mostly Italian, also features French, American and other regions, with many vintage releases, still at vintage prices for some extraordinary values.

On the day of our dinner, The Wall Street Journal featured Italian Village in their "7 Insider Wine Bars That Sommeliers Belly Up To". 'Lettie Teague asked seven sommeliers in seven cities where they like to drink on their days off. Follow their lead to the best under-the-radar wine bars, deepest cellars, most daring lists and savviest crowds to drink with across the country."

 We dined in the lower level, La Cantina Enoteca, in one of the numerous private dining rooms in the three restaurants on the property, one perfectly suited for our group of twenty.

After soup/salad course, the dinner entree choices were:

Chicken Piccata
Sauteed chicken breast with lemon capers in white wine butter sauce. 

Veal Marsala
Veal medallions sauteed in Marsala wine with fresh mushrooms. 

Three Cheese Tortelli
Pillow shaped pasta filled with Mascarpone, Mozzarella and Ricotta cheeses in a cherry tomato-garlic-basil broth. 

Salmon Puttanesca
Broiled Atlantic salmon topped with olives, capers, tomato, garlic, basil and white wine.

The accompanying wine selections were:

Castella di Farnetella, Chianti Colli Senesi, DOCG 2014

Paitin di Pasquero-Elia, "Elisa" Rosero Arnies, DOC 2015

Maculan, "Brentino," IGT (Cabernet/Merlot) 2014

Piazzo, Chardonnay, DOC 2015

And with the dessert course, Jared served
Maculan, "Dindarello," Moscato IGT, Veneto

Throughout the evening, small groups were taken on tours of the extraordinary wine cellar featuring over ten thousand bottles on the premises from 1200 different labels.

Maitre-d Hans presided and Mark served our group with superior service in an extraordinary setting for an ideal evening of wine, food, team building collaboration and commraderie.

Silver Oak Alexander Valley 1993

Silver Oak Alexander Valley 1993

Bob and Gloria visiting from Florida came for dinner and Linda prepared grilled beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. I pulled from the cellar a vintage '93 Silver Oak Alexander Valley.

Silver Oak Alexander Valley has been somewhat of a special memorable tribute wine with them ever since we tasted it together when they treated us to a special 35th anniversary celebration at Morton's in Naperville. That night I took a 1990 vintage bottle commemorating our sons' Alec's and Bryan's birth year. For a mini-horizontal tasting that evening, we compared it with a '04 from the Morton's wine-list.


September 4, 2009 - Silver Oak Alexander Valley 1990 and 2004 - Contrast of vintages, young and old. The 1990 was tight, dark, and exhibited black cherry, black berry, slight astringency, leather and cedar on the oaky tannin finish. (RM89) The 04 was much lighter, simpler with accents of sweet red currant and hint of chocolate with sweet oak on the finish (RM88)

Tonight, we pulled this '93 from the cellar which was tasting very nicely, still near its prime in its twenty-fourth year, consistent with my earlier tastings of this vintage back in April, 2003 and then again in December 2008. 

April 93 - Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 1993 $75 RM/WS (CS) 90 That classic SO oak flavor predominates with berry, plum and currant - dark with medium body. 12/23/2008 - I wrote:  90 Points. 

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium bodied, black berry fruits with tones of ripe plum and black currants, accented with a layer of oak, with hints of tobacco leaf and creosote on the lingering finish. 
RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3545

Afterwards with chocolate cake and fresh berries, I poured the remains of this vintage port and dessert wine. 

Chateau Guiraud Sauterne 1er Grand Cru Classe 2006

Croft Vintage Port 1994

Pride Mtn Napa Cab 1997

Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

For a quiet Saturday evening dinner at home, Linda prepared grilled NY Strip steaks, roasted beets and roasted potatoes. I pulled from the cellar a 20 year old vintage Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Cabernet.

Wow! I've written often in these pages about how the much heralded '97 Cabernets were not living up to their lofty expectations, often being closed and subdued, as if still sleeping, not yet awakened to their potential greatness. Well perhaps its time has come. This was the best '97 Cab I recall having experienced, showing all the characteristics of a spectacular vintage, twenty years hence. This was a perfect accompaniment to the grilled steak dinner.

We tasted and acquired this wine during our visit to the winery high atop Spring Mountain during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999.  

As shown in the picture below, at twenty years, the cork was perfect, as was the fill level, indicating our cellar conditions are ideal for aging fine wines.

Consistent with earlier tasting notes in its profile, it seemed to show more polish and balance than I remember. Previous reviews I have given over the last several years have been increasing by a point indicating this vintage release is hitting its stride, at the peak of its drinking window.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, a firm structured backbone props up the vibrant complex black berry and black currant fruits showing tones of spice, cedar and hints of smoke, anise, leather and subtle mocha turning to a tangy gripping tannin finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=96717

Rombauer Carneros Merlot 2010

Rombauer Vineyards Carneros Merlot 2010

We tasted, enjoyed and acquired the then current 2012 release of this Rombauer Carneros Merlot at a winemaker dinner at Adelle's Restaurant in Wheaton just about a year ago, so I was delighted to see the 2010 vintage on closeout at the local wineshop last week. I picked it up to enjoy with beef tenderloin dinner back at the hotel and then at home the following evening.

The fruit for this label is sourced from Rombauer and contract grower vineyards in the Carneros region, down south and west of Napa where the San Pablo Bay meets the southern end of Napa and Sonoma valleys. Perhaps it is the slightly cooler and milder climate there that contributes to the rich concentrated fruit of this wine. 

With its bright full forward concentrated bramble black berry and black cherry fruits, this tasted more like a Zinfandel than a Merlot, with tones of sweet vanilla, cedar, oak, leather and tobacco leaf. It begs for bbq, sharp cheese or bitter dark chocolate.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=1736805

http://www.rombauer.com/

Rivetti La Spinetta Nebbiolo

Train Day Adventure culminates in lunch at Italian Village featuring wine selection Rivetti La Spinetta Nebbiolo

We took the grand-kids into the City of Chicago for a 'train day' adventure riding all forms of trains around the city to some landmark locations. Our train adventure included Metra into the city, boarding the Elevated CTA at historic Quincy Station, riding the Pink Line to switchback via the overhead bridge on the Green Line, riding around the loop, connecting to the Red Line at Roosevelt/McCormack Place, riding through Chinatown, and switching back in the middle of the Dan Ryan at landmark Sox Park, ending on the Red Line Subway at Monroe Street station, a short walk to legendary Italian Village restaurant, where we dined for lunch.

I've featured Italian Village often in these pages including their historic wine cellar. We visited the wine cellar and met with Wine Director Jared Gelband where he was busy updating the volumnous wine-list with recent acquisitions (shown pictured) - almost a full time job in of itself.

We discussed his planning for an upcoming wine dinner, and planning for a business dinner I am hosting there at the end of this month.

Like a kid in a candy store, I scoured the cellar for a wine selection to accompany today's lunch, for my upcoming business dinner, as well as to spot some legendary wines and favorite selections for future visits.

With such an extraordinary extensive selection, its not hard to find spectacular wines and special finds for any occasion. My short list of such wines for my ultimate wine tasting for the ultimate special occasions might be:

• Grange Hermitage 1990 - special birthyear wine
• Romani Conti St Vivant 1991 - another special birthyear wine
• Konigsgaard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - one of my all time favorite, memorable wines
• Azienda Agricola Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Toscana IGT 1997 - a classic
• La Tenuta Ornellaia Masseto 2003 - another classic - featured in an earlier IV wine dinner

These wines are pictured below at the bottom of this post.

But back to reality and the task at hand, to select wine for today's lunch to accompany our entrees of my Veal Parmigiana, and Linda and Erin's Eggplant Parmigiana. I chose a La Spinetta Nebbiolo.

We dined in one of their private alcove tables offering a unique intimate dining experience. 

Rivetti La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo 2011.

The winemaker's notes for this wine ... "typical light red of Nebbiolo musky aromas of strawberry, tobacco and wild herbs sweet and spicy in the mouth, with good grip and firm acidity to the flavors of strawberry and mint, aromatic and elegant" ...

I found this dark garnet colored, medium bodied, black currant and black berry fruits accented by tones of tobacco, herbs and spice with hints of eucalyptus on a firm acidic gripping tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1865224

http://www.la-spinetta.com/winespiedmont.html

Italian Village - https://italianvillage-chicago.com/

Social Table Wine Dinner

Social Table Lincoln Park, Chicago Wine Dinner

Dr Dan arranged a special dinner at the Social Table in Lincoln Park, Chicago, a venue where your group, lead by a Chef/instructor prepares your own dinner, then dines in a private dining room.

It's a perfect setting for an extraordinary wine/dine adventure, allowing wine aficionado diners to conduct a self paced wine tasting and wine/food paring of BYOB wines in a relaxed comfortable setting.

Our Chef/instructor this evening was Alysa, who trained at the CIA - Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, NY.

The dinner menu was Beef Wellington with red wine mushroom reduction sauce, roasted beet salad with goat cheese, pine nuts and greens, garlic mashed potatoes and Chocolate Pots de Crème dessert.

The wine flight was primarily Bordeaux for the evening as our Pour Boys wine group, Dan, Lyle and I all brought Bordeaux wines to accompany the beef entree dinner.

The Theulet Monbazillac was superb with the goat cheese salad. The Bordeaux paired ideally with the Beef Wellington main extree, especially the pate' layer. The chocolate dessert was highlighted perfectly with the Croft Port and the Giuraud Sauterne. 

The main dinner course wine flight in order of tasting ...

Sea Smoke 'Gratis' Santa Rita Hills California Grand Cru Chardonnay 2009
Château  Theulet Antoine Alard Monbazillac 1998
Château  Figeac St Emilion Grand Cru Classe' 2009
Château  Lanessan Haut Medoc 1995
Château  Lafon Rochet St Estephe 2003
Château  Gruaud Larose St Julien 1989
Château  Ducru Beaucaillou St Julien 1989
Château  Pontet Canet Paulliac 2009
Château Guiraud 1er Grand Cru Classe' Sauterne 2006
Crofts Vintage Port 1994

Other wines to complement and fill out the wine flight ...

Ferrari-Carano Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2014
Decoy Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2013
Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Dinner group

Pour boys (& girls)

more to come ...

Lewis Alec's Blend 1997

Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Alec's Blend 1997 - Son Alec's Signature Namesake Label selection for his birthday eve dinner

On the eve of son Alec's birthday, we pulled a Lewis Alec's Blend from the cellar for dinner.

I've often written in these pages about the fun we have with this branding, with its signature 'L' on the label, ala Laverne and Shirley, or wife Linda, or her mother Lucy, or our daughter Erin Leigh, or her daughter, our first grandchild/daughter Lucy! That coupled with the Hoosier heritage of Randy Lewis, Indy 500 race driver from our native Indiana, and, their affinity to family, naming labels after their grandkids - Alec, Ethan and Mason,  we adopted Alec's Blend as a signature label for son Alec and feature it at family celebrations.

Lewis wines are family favorites for such special occasions, punctuated by this namesake Blend for son Alec. Lewis Cabernets are some of our favorites and we have a decade long vertical of Alec's as well as their Cabs, dating back to this '97. This blend is dedicated to Randy and Debbie Lewis' first grandson Alec who was born on the day of the harvest of the grapes for this wine leading to the name. I believe this may be the, or certainly close to the inaugural vintage of this label/blend - its certainly the oldest I have ever seen (or tasted).

It should not be a surprise that we love this wine with its blend of our favorite varietals - Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, from our favorite region Napa Valley.

This was a great accompaniment to Linda's grilled marinated beef flank steak and twice baked potatoes dinner.

Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Alec's Blend 1997

We hold more than a dozen vintages of this label dating back to this 1997, our last bottle of the oldest vintage in our vertical collection. Now at twenty years of age, this is just starting to show any signs of aging with the bright fruits starting to give way to tobacco and leather non-fruit flavors.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, it showed full, concentrated complex black raspberry and black berry fruits accented by tones of clove, hints of black tea and cedar starting to give way to notes of tobacco leaf and leather on a spicy oak moderate firm but smooth tannin finish.

This vintage blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, and 15% Petit Verdot. The Bordeaux varietals no doubt contribute to its longevity, impressive none-the-less, drinking this well at twenty years. As I've noted before, tastings like this leave me confident to be patient with our vertical collection of this label.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=51612

http://www.lewiscellars.com

90+Cellars Lot 94 Napa Cab

Ninety Plus Cellars "Lot 94" Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

I wrote a feature on Ninety Plus Cellars and their negociant business where they buy excess fruit from growers, or bulk wine, or in some cases bottled but unlabeled wine from producers, and bottle or release it under their own private label series. Once in a while this results in an extraordinary value in a wine offered at a fraction of the original producer's or grower's offering price, hence the need to keep the source secret and release under their own or private label. This Lot 94 may be such a wine.

The challenge of course is that you can't get too attached to a wine because there may not be a follow on vintage, or there may be sporadic intermittent releases every couple of years, or perhaps only in lesser years when the quality of the product is not up the standards for the primary label. Or, you may get lucky, and the producer has excess inventory or product available and is eager to release it to a trusted outlet. 

Ninety Plus Cellars have built an extensive brand with an extensive selection of wines from around the world, released under their own label. Their nomenclature of the Lot number for any particular wine indicates the source of the product so consumers can identify such from one vintage to the next. The challenge of course is that true identity of the source is not revealed, although there are times when it can be determined, either through mis-steps in the packaging (once the bottles had already been filled and corked with corks branded by the original producer), or there have been times when the original wine can be determined by the unique blend of the vintage.

There have been several Ninety Plus wines that I have discovered where I acquired all that I could obtain to keep for enjoyment and value over time, Lot 101, Washington State, Columbia Valley Syrah was one such example.

Ninety Plus Cellars "Lot 94" Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

According to Ninety Plus Cellars, "This distinguished Cabernet Sauvignon was made from fruit picked from vines situated on the east side of the valley in a vineyard that was first planted in the 1890s. Upon alluvial and volcanic soils these densely planted vines produce Cabernet Sauvignon that makes some of the best wine in Napa. This is an all-star Cabernet with a pedigree that's unrivaled by anything we've put in a bottle."

They assert that the offering price for the wine under the source producer's label is double the price of the discounted private label. That may indeed be the case. In any event, I'll testify that this is a high QPR - quality price ratio, great value wine that is comparable to product twice its price.

This was one of the wines of the week, featured at the Saturday tasting of local Vin Chicago outlet. So it was, that after tasting at the Vin Chicago Saturday tasting, I grabbed a couple bottles to bring home and try again with different foods or accompaniments. I expect I'll be going back to buy more for great value high quality every day drinking, as well as for special occasions.

This was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, complex sweet black currant and berry fruits, with notes of mocha, herbs, tobacco and hints of spicy oak and vanilla with a smooth polished finish.
I look forward to opening a bottle to taste with a savory meal.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2520637

https://store.ninetypluscellars.com/lot-94-cabernet-sauvignon-rutherford-napa-valley-california-p67.aspx

Cune Rioja Reserva 2010

Cune Rioja Reserva 2010

I first wrote about this wine after tasting it at Son Ryan's and then buying some for our consumption. This Cune Rioja Reserva is a Tempranillo based blend.  As I wrote in my review of this wine back at the time,  Cune is actually named after the initials of the production company, C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España). By their testament, this is produced in the style of "a red ‘clarete’ wine was made as a fine wine in the style of the Bordeaux “Claret” produced by the great chateaux’s of the Medoc." While we picked up the initial bottles of this 2010 vintage release at Binny's, our local beverage superstore, this is now on the floor at Vin Chicago, our other local discount wine merchant.

 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Reserva 2010

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, well balanced acidic backbone, smooth and polished, nicely integrated oak flavors predominate, forward dark berry fruits and soft floral accentuate the classic Rioja smoky creosote with hints of vanilla on a lingering finish.

This is a blend of Tempranillo: 85%, Grenacha, Graciano and Mazuelo 15%.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=1925300

http://www.cvne.com/ 

Hahn Meritage Central Coast Red Table Wine 2006

Hahn Meritage Central Coast Red Table Wine 2006

We bought a lot of this 2006 vintage Central Coast Red Table Wine label back upon release and enjoyed it as our every day drinking red wine and recommended it to others. I wrote back in 2014 that this was the last remaining bottle from that era and as such it was time to drink, showing its age and clearly being at the mature end of its drinking window. Still it was good that night with pizza. In that wineblog post, I chronicled the terminology and licensing and branding details of the phenomenon of the 'Meritage' term.

Well it wasn't our last bottle as I found two more languishing down in the cellar so I pulled one to sip with cheese, chocolates and Italian beef sandwiches this weekend. It was still holding its own after eleven years, although past its prime drinking window. The fruit is still bold and vibrant, taking on a bit of a raisin notes showing its age. 

My earlier review, "This is a high QPR - quality price ratio red wine blend of Bordeaux varietal grapes. Showing its age, the dark berry fruit is showing at over ripe with taste of raisins with hints of tobacco and leather as the fruit starts to subside. Still dark blackish purple, medium to full bodied with hints of oak, its time to drink up".

My rating at this stage of its life - RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=462555


http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/11/hahn-central-coast-meritage-2006.html

Chateau St Jean Robert Young Chardonnay

Chateau St Jean Robert Young Vineyard Alexander Valley Chardonnay 2012

With Will and Sarah visiting from LA, Linda prepared shrimp scampi with garlic, lemon butter and breadcrumbs, so I pulled from the cellar this Sonoma Alexander Valley Chardonnay. There is good QPR - quality price ratio in this single vineyard designated label that can be found discounted in stores, perhaps due to availability from large production, and perhaps also because of its simpler lighter profile and character.

Our visits to Chateau St Jean have been highlights of several of our trips to Sonoma Valley wine country such as the feature of our 2009 visit on or winesite. It is the most authentic wine Chateau setting and experience in Sonoma. We know Chateau St Jean for their Chardonnays, dessert wines, and their well known flagship Cinq Cepage, 'five flavors' bordeaux varietal cabernet sauvignon blend, and their premium reserve label wines. This is one of a series of several labels of single vineyard designated Chardonnays from this producer.

Chateau St Jean Sonoma County Alexander Valley Robert Young Vineyard Chardonnay 2012

Pale yellow colored, light bodied, lemon citrus and stone fruit tones give way to notes of pear and peach with nice balanced acidity on a tangy lemon laced smooth finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1568206

https://www.chateaustjean.com/

Zinfandel Flight Anchors Family Dinner

Ridge Vertical and 1990 Vintage Horizontal Zinfandels Anchor Family Dinner

With son Alec visiting laying over on a cross country trip, the family gathered for a gala dinner to celebrate his return and his birthday. Son Ryan brought a highly rated Ridge Zinfandel, so I pulled from the cellar two vintage Zins from Alec's birthyear - two Howell Mountain labels from Ridge and Lamborn. This provided a vertical tasting of two Ridge vintages, and a horizontal tasting of two 1990 vintage labels.

Linda prepared her delectable beef tenderloin (shown right) with fried onions, twice baked potatoes, broccoli, and mac-n-cheese for the kids (and some adults (me)). Ryan brought a dinner salad and Erin brought a fruit plate. Before dinner included shrimp cocktail and afterwards we had a chocolate birthday cake and cupcakes.

We visited Lamborn Vineyards high atop Howell Mountain during our Napa Howell Mountain Wine Experience  back in 2008. I am not sure where Ridge sourced their Howell Mountain fruit for this label and find it conceivable that both these bottles were from the same source. Even at 27 years of age, they were very similar, almost identical, in condition and profile.

Ironically, the last time I tasted either of these wines, I drank them both together at the same time back in November, 2009.

Tonight, both the 1990 Ridge and Lamborn were garnet colored with a brownish rust hue and a bit of murkiness setting in - the predominant sign of diminution from aging. Both were clearly nearing the end of their drinking window, but were still holding their fruit. There were accents of leather and tobacco leaf but no funkiness that one might expect from wines this age. Setting the clarity and color aside, one might not know how old they were.

Both wines warranted a rating of 86 points. 

Lamborn Family Vineyards Napa Valley Howell Mountain Zinfandel 1990 

My last review of this Lamborn label was back in 2009 when I wrote, "Dark inky color with a tinge of separation on the rim... predominantly earthy, leathery, black bramble fruit accented with black pepper and an edge of creosote."


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=573684

Ridge California Howell Mountain Zinfandel 1990 

My last review of this wine was also back in 2009 when I wrote "Dark inly color - earthy leathery, black cherry and black berry fruits accented with black pepper and hint of black olive."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=69252

Ridge Vineyards "Lytton Springs" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2013

This recent release got rave reviews with a 95 and 92 point rating from Vinous and Robert Parker. Compared to the subdued aged fruit of the vintage Zins, this was over the top and almost overbearing, more suited to tangy bbq or rich foods than the beef tenderloin. This needs several years to settle and come together.

Bright garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, rich concentrated forward black raspberry and blue bramble fruits accented by clove spice, Kirsch, floral, anise and hints of tangy oak (aged fourteen months in American Oak). There is 16% Petite Sirah in the blend and it is apparent in adding breadth and depth complexity and a backbone of a firm but not overbearing tannin finish.

This is a blend of 74% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignan and 2% Mataro (Mourvèdre).

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1904753

This received 95 points from Vinous and 92 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.
RM 92 points.

Twice baked potatoes, mac-n-cheese, broccoli.

Hazyblur Baroota Shiraz 2002

Hazyblur South Australia Baroota Shiraz 2002

Sunday afternoon in front of March Madness basketball, Linda prepared a hearty pizza and I pulled from the cellar a big bruising 'pizza wine', hazyblur South Australia Baroota Shiraz from 2002.

Last time we tasted this, two years ago, I wrote "its time to drink as this vintage release has entered the last phase of its drinking window, with the fruit taking on a more ripe raisiny character and the berry and plum flavors starting to give way to non fruit tones of leather, wood and smoke or tar."

Fortunately, this is drinking very nicely, still, and is showing some very nice floral aromatics to compliment the remaining fruits.

Taking into account the slight diminution of the fruits as described above, tonight this showed consistency with our last tasting which was in 2009.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, concentrated, nicely integrated ripe plum, blackberry and black currant fruits with tones of cedar, hints of leather, licorice and dark mocha with a slight bit of heat on the full firm lingering finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=25284

Rivea Restaurant Best Award Wine Cellar Tour

Rivea Restaurant Best Award Wine Cellar Tour

For our annual bootcamp and academy, to be followed by our international conference hosting over 20000 guests in Las Vegas, we held a gala reception at the Skyline Lounge and Rivea Restaurant atop the Delano Hotel / Mandalay Bay.

I took the opportunity to tour the magnificent Rivea wine cellar. There are so many extraordinary highly rated wine cellars in Las Vegas that each is overshadowed by the next. No less than 77 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence awarded winelist restaurants are in metro Las Vegas with 46 holding the prestigious Best of Award of Excellence. This ranks with the 78 in Los Angeles, 79 in San Francisco and 83 in Chicago.

An Award winning designation is a mark of distinction and such a wine cellar is one of the crown jewels of awarded restaurants. Of course, I'm a wine geek oenophile and I start with the wine list awards as a requisite criteria when I'm searching for a restaurant for a fine dining outing.

Rivea is the highly acclaimed Las Vegas restaurant, of international super-star chef Alain Ducasse, following his legendary venues in Saint-Tropez and London, with French and Italian influenced cuisine.

Rivea and the Skyline lounge sport direct express access via private elevator, a vibrant elegant, chic but laid back atmosphere, and arguably the best views of the Las Vegas skyline from high atop the Delano Hotel, hence the namesake Skyline Lounge.

The atmosphere controlled working showcase wine cellar adorns the interior wall of the main dining room. Its divided into three separate sections with appropriate temperature controls for whites, reds and special collectable selections. The wine collection and winelist features 8500 bottles of 1700 different label selections.

The high end prestigious labels is predominant with the best First Growth Bordeaux, Burgundy and premium and super premium California wines, as well as mid-tier labels and a selection of carefully chosen more modest entree level labels for those not wanting to part with a car or house payment for a bottle of wine.

The high end First Growth Bordeaux selections included the most expensive bottle on the list I found, Chateau Lafite Rothschild for $17000, several Chateau Mouton Rothschilds dating back to 1982, and an extensive selection of Chateau d'YQuem vintages (shown left).

Some of the other highlights include some of my favorite super second Bordeaux including a double magnum of Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1989 and several vintages of numerous other Bordeaux such as Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

From California, they hold several of my favorite wines which I hold in my cellar including Clark Claudon and Dunn Vineyards from Howell Mountain and Napa Valley.

They also hold some imaginative selections such as the large format five liter Imperial of Washington State Columbia Valley La Sorella 1999 (shown right), and rare Sadie Family Columella Castro Bonae Spei Syrah from South Africa.

I was graciously hosted by Sommelier Matthew George, pictured, who works under the leadership of Wine Director Harley Carbery, who is also assisted by Sommeliers Coltin Short and Norman Acosta.

George, a Las Vegas native, has been working on his wine tradecraft for close to a dozen years. He's in pursuit of his Advanced Sommelier certification having passed parts of the certification exams in each of the last two years.

We enjoyed sharing numerous vintage reviews and tasting encounters, restaurant and cellar reviews, as well as wine stories such as our mutual acquaintance encounters with SOMM sommelier DLynn Proctor, global ambassador for Penfold's legendary Grange.

Watch for our wine dinner reviews of Rivea and plan an evening there for a notable wine dining experience. Tell them you read about them here!

https://www.delanolasvegas.com/en/restaurants/rivea.html

Delano Hotel Las Vegas Skyline Lounge
and Rivea Restaurant

One of three cellar compartments

Chateau Leoville Las Cases
Double Magnum