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

Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes

Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes Grand Vin de Bourgogne 2005

Linda prepared pork chops and I pulled from the cellar this authentic Grand Vin de Bourgogne,  Burgundy Pinot Noir as an ideal accompaniment. 

This is from Côte de Nuits in the northern part of the Côte d’Or, home to some of the most famous vineyards and wine communes in the world. There are more Grand Cru appellations in the Côte de Nuits than anywhere else in Burgundy. Of the fourteen communes, or villages in the Côte de Nuits, six produce Grand Cru wines. They include Gevrey-Chambertin, as well as Morey-St.-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Flagey-Échezeaux and Vosne-Romanee. 

Some of the vineyards within the Côte de Nuits are tiny, which adds to their prestige. The fabled Grand Cru vineyard La Romanee is barely two square acres. Altogether there are twenty-four Grand Cru vineyards. The region takes its name from the village of Nuits-Saint-Georges. Côtes de Nuits produces mostly reds from Pinot Noir, and the wines have been in demand for centuries. During the 18th century King Louis XIV’s physician recommended that for his health the king only drink wines from Nuits-Saint-Georges. Like most of Burgundy, the soils of the Côte de Nuit can vary greatly from one vineyard to another, though most are a base soil of limestone mixed with clay, gravel and sand.

Domaine Tortochot consists of four appellations sites totaling 27 acres. The Tortochot family have managed the property as vine growers in Gevrey for four generations. In the 19th century Paul Tortochot was a modest “vigneron” on the “Place des Marroniers”. His son Félix married Louise Liébaut from Morey Saint Denis, the neighbouring village. Liébaut's Family was well-known in Morey, there was even a variety of Pinot Noir named after the ancestor Eugène. Gabriel, the son of Félix ran the estate for many years before moving aside to let his two daughters, Brigitte & Chantal, take over. Today, Chantal runs the estate’s day-to-day activities.

After graduating from business school, Chantal spent 15 years working for an American petrochemical company in finance. At the urging of her father, Gabriel, she set out in industry and gained experience before eventually joining and taking over the family estate. Both Chantal's children are studying medicine and her husband is a doctor.

After years in America in industry, Chantal returned to the family wine estate. At 35, she passed key certification exams at the Dijon wine university, before taking control of the estate. Chantal is one of a growing breed of “viticulteurs” in Burgundy, bi-lingual and with valuable international business experience. Chantal is knowledgable and passionate about her vineyards and their distinctive terroir. “We are blessed with having some of the best terroir in Burgundy. When the hills first formed hundreds of millions of years ago, the tectonic plates were displaced in such a way as to produce a unique sub-soil made up of different types of limestone and a perfect mixture of clay & marne.”

When talking about her style of Pinot Noirs, Chantal explains: “Here we make a more traditional Gevrey Chambertin, with lots of fruit, strong tannins and good acidity. These are not really Pinots that can be drunk early…you have to be a little patient.”

Gevrey Chambertin has a rare and unique “Terroir”, with its “alluvial fan” in a valley situated to the west of Gevrey called “La Combe de Lavaux”. Its is notable that 9 of the 33 Grand Crus come from this village including the famous Chambertin as well as 26 Premier Crus!

Producer supplied map of Gevrey Chambertin and
Domaine Tortochot parcels

 

Domaine Tortochot is in the village of Gevrey Chambertin, also the name of the wine appellation. The town boasts over 100 wine estates with Tortochot one of the more famous estates. Tortochot have parcels dispersed in 4 village appellation sites, Morey Saint Denis and those in Gevrey Chambertin, each with distinctive terroir that produces wine with its own style. The appellation formed on the lower slopes of Côte St. Jacques and Brochon. The wines produced here include Au Vellé, En Champs, Jeune Roisare and this Champerrier - powerful and fleshy, rich and aromatic wines with great ageing potential. 

The Champerrier parcel has old vines and is their oldest in all of Gevrey. The vines were planted by Félix Tortochot in 1920. They produce a wine with marvelous density and texture. Like so much of Burgundy, the vineyards are incredibly fragmented with many diverse small parcels, Champerrier is just slightly under two acres. Tortochot is noted as a "charming and impressive estate with professional ownership, a premier producer of Gevrey"!

That characteristic of Burgundy, the Bourgogne, being so fragmented into so many small distinct parcels, is one of the primary reasons that Burgundy wines are so maddeningly complex and confusing there being so many different labels and brands. 

Pictured at left is tonight's bottle. Pictured below is bottle from earlier tasting a decade ago, both from our cellar. 

Domaine Tortochot Gevrey-Chambertin Champerrier Vieilles Vignes Champerrier 2005

This label is made from 40+ year old vines and as such is a very different wine than some of the others in the portfolio with a more forward concentrated style.

Its hard to believe but its been almost ten years since I last tasted this label from our cellar. Back then, on 12/26/2011 - I wrote: "Very open and expressive - bright berry, strawberry, mulberry, spice and wood with long moderate tannin finish."

Consistent with my tasting ten years ago, this had the same tasting profile and I blindly gave it the same rating. It showed no diminution of aging whatsoever and it likely still at its apex of its drinking profile.

This was garnet colored, medium bodied, bright, concentrated ripe red and blue berry fruits with earthy minerality and violet notes, smooth silky texture with firm forward tannins.

Both times I gave this RM 89 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=537162

http://www.tortochot.com/

Ridge Vineyards "Lytton Springs" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2014

Ridge Vineyards "Lytton Springs" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2014 

We ordered out pizza for a quiet New Years Day watching football and I pulled from the cellar a suitable 'pizza wine' for the occasion. We always keep a selection of big robust fruit forward wines for pizza and barbecue - Zinfandels, Syrahs and Petite Syrah varietals to name a few. We typically hold a half dozen different labels from the various offerings of Ridge Vineyards.

Ridge Vineyards are a legendary producer of a broad portfolio of wines with an extensive line-up of Zinfandels, all from single vineyard designated label sites.

Ridge have been producing Lytton Spring vineyard wines since 1972 with 100 plus-year-old Zinfandel vines interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, a small amount of Mataro (Mourvèdre), and Genache. The site has produced the quintessential example of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. 

We have written recently in these pages about some classic Dry Creek Valley wines, Kinsella Dry Creek Valley Cabernet  and Quivera Dry Creek Cabernet and noted they were exceptions to the norm,  that the area is primarily known for Zinfandel. 

The Lytton Springs site lies just north of the town of Healdsburg, just west of Highway 101 in the Dry Creek Valley. The topography consists of a benchland and gently rolling hills. The climate provides foggy mornings turning to warm, sunny afternoons and breezy late evenings. Soils are varied with a predominance of gravelly clay, which aids in moisture retention, ensuring that the grapes ripen slowly. The Lytton Springs terrior with weathered, agronomically poor soils in the benchland have proven to be an ideal site for Zinfandel vines to produce classic Zinfandel varietal wines.

The Lytton Springs vineyard was part of land once owned by Captain William Litton, who during the last half of the nineteenth century developed the springs and built a hotel just east of the vineyard for San Franciscans who arrived by train to “take the waters.” 

Ridge Vineyards dates back to 1959 when three scientists from Stanford University's Research Institute (SRI) and their families formed a partnership and bought a property owned by Dr. Short up on Monte Bello Ridge high atop the Santa Cruz Mountains. One of them, David Bennion, made a half barrel of cabernet from the ten year old vines. The partners re-bonded the winery and named it Ridge Vineyards in 1962. That year they produced their first Monte Bello vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ridge produced its first Zinfandel in 1964 from 19th century vines on the Pichetti Ranch near the base of the Monte Bello Ridge. Ridge produced it's first Sonoma County Geyserville Zinfandel in 1966, from vines planted in 1882.

Paul Draper joined the partnership as winemaker in 1969. He first saw the Lytton Springs vineyard in 1972 and, based on its age with 80 years old vines, purchased grapes and produced Ridge’s first Lytton Springs bottling that year. In 1991, on the 20th anniversary of their first vintage, Ridge purchased the Lytton Springs winery and the old vines surrounding it, making it a true estate vineyard.

Paul Draper went on to become a legend with Ridge Vineyards. The Ridge brand grew to a broad portfolio of more than four dozen single vineyard designated label wines from more than two dozen different vineyards. They operate two wineries and hospitality sites, Lytton Springs in Healdsburg up in north Sonoma County and Monte Bello high in the Santz Cruz Mountains above Silicon Valley. 

Paul Draper retired in 2016 at age 80, after 47 years as winemaker. Ridge continued on expanding with additional vineyard site purchases include the purchase that year of Whitton Ranch, a 36-acre parcel in the heart of Geyserville.

Ridge Vineyards "Lytton Springs" Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2014

This Ridge Lytton Springs Vineyard selection from Ridge’s Dry Creek Valley Estate is a blend of 69% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 11% Carignane and 2% Mataro (Mourvedre), aged in 20% new American oak.

This was awarded 94+ Points by Antonio Galloni, Vinous, and 91+ Points by Jeb Dunnuck, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Connoisseurs Guide.

Very dark purplish garnet colored, medium to full-bodied richness, round complex and potent depth yet elegant and smooth with nicely balanced acidity and tannins - blackberry, black cherry with notes of pomegranate accented by a layer of mint with tones of sweet spices, black tea hints of green olive and cassis. 

RM 92 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2132119

https://www.ridgewine.com/wines/2014-lytton-springs/

@RidgeVineyards

Bibi Graetz "Testamatta" Rosso Toscana 2015

Bibi Graetz "Testamatta" Rosso Toscana 2015

Ryan also brought from his cellar this Sangiovese produced by one of Tuscany’s most popular garagist cult winemakers, Bibi Graetz. With no formal training, Graetz burst on the wine scene in 2000 when he began crafting wines from his family’s ancestral castle, the Castello di Vincigliata, and its five acres of vines. Focusing on creating singular wines with their own identities separate from the traditional Brunello/Chianti DOCs or the Super Tuscans, Graetz has gained popularity making some of the most distinctive wines in Tuscany. 

He is now considered  “one of Italy's finest growers" accordingly to Antonio Galloni. This release of his flagship Testamatta 2105, 100% Sangiovese, was declared by James Suckling as “the best Testamatta ever made". He cited it the #5 Italian wine of the year (out of 3500 tasted), giving it 99 points, he said, "Tuscan artist/winemaker Bibi Graetz has helped redefine the modern super-Tuscan by crafting IGT wines of tremendous distinction in his home town of Fiesole."

This needed some tangy pasta as a proper pairing to showcase its character. A bit closed and tight, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, black berry fruits gave way to notes of black tea, and what Suckling called 'bark, wet soil and leather' with silky smooth tannings on a luscious finish. 

RM 92 points. 

 

Close out 2020 with Diamond Mtn Cabernets

Close out year with two top flight Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernets

Family gathering to close out the year, son Ryan and I pulled two diverse Diamond Mountain Cabernets to share and compare. The Diamond Mountain appellation label was Ryan and Michelle's favorite of all those served during their tasting at the Cliff Lede estate. They acquired this as part of their wine club allocation shipments. 

Cliff Lede Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Robert Parker writes that Cliff Lede Vineyards is one of the best-run wineries in Napa Valley. Cliff Lede Vineyards was established in 2002 by Canadian born Bordeaux enthusiast, Cliff Lede, when he acquired the sixty acre estate in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. 

We've visited the Cliff Lede estate on several of our Napa Valley wine trips and our wine several of our wine buddies including son Ryan source allocated wines as members of their club. 

Determined to produce optimal top rank Bordeaux varietal wines from estate vineyards, Lede tapped David Abreu, considered the best viticulturist in Napa Valley, to replant the vineyards. Lede decided to name each vineyard block after some of his favorite rock songs and albums—from “My Generation” to “Dark Side of the Moon,” creating what is known today as the Cliff Lede Vineyards “Rock Blocks.”

In 2005, he built a state of the art, 25,000 square foot winery and cave system was etched into a hillside overlooking the estate vineyards. Lede spared no expense in creating a magnificent property, and assembling a top rank team to achieve his vision of top quality wines. He also sourced grapes from prime properties across Napa Valley. Winemaker Christopher Tynan crafts Cabernet Sauvignons from the flagship, Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the steep eastern hillside portion of the estate to appellation designated labels from Stags Leap, Howell Mountain, and this label from Diamond Mountain in Northwest Napa Valley. 

This Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from an exceptional, low-yielding vineyard with classic, legendary volcanic ash and gravelly loam soils in the Diamond Mountain appellation. The site is on the Mayacamas Range on the northwest side of Napa Valley above Calistoga.The sun-drenched mountain vineyard with steep hillside slope of old vines has northeastern exposure and late afternoon breezes that ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. The vineyard was planted and is farmed by David Abreu Vineyard Management.

Christopher Tynan, Winemaker writes of this release: "A deep,dark purple in color, this extraordinary mountain Cabernet offers loads of Pauillac-like aromas of graphite, cedar, cassis, and blackberry. Layered in with these classic scents area lovely array of powdered cocoa, black fig, and tobacco.The essence of terroir is echoed in the gravelly loam and pine forest notes that appear in the generous aromas and flavors. The long opulent palate tastes of liquefied minerals and possesses a voluptuous velour-like texture. Lucky imbibers of this rare elixir are privy to a wine made from a legendary site in an epic vintage."    

This is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot. Production was 466 cases. 

This was dark, inky purple, full bodied, rich concentrated but elegant and polished with lush black berry and black raspberry fruits with layers of cassis, clove spice, sweet oak, black tea, mocha and vanilla bean, with smooth silky soft tannins and nicely balanced acidity on the finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1748175

https://www.ledefamilywines.com/

@CliffLedeWine 

 Marco Di Giulio "Mark K Vineyard" Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

To compare in a side by side tasting, I brought to daughter Erin's this rare limited release Diamond Mountain vineyard private label from winemaker Marco Di Giulio. We hold a half dozen different labels of Marco Di Giulio releases from legendary vineyard sources, Mt Veeder Pym Rae, Progeny and this Diamond Mountain Mark K, all between 2001 and 2004 vintages, this 2001 being the oldest. 

Marco Di Giulio unique hand-crafted wines minimalist style wines were available under the winemakers' label and branding in limited quantities. They could be found in the boutique and specialist wine shops in Napa Valley or in the 'after market' via wine auctions. They were classic vineyard expressions of terrior, that unique expression of each vineyard's distinctive character, produced in very small quantities of 200 to 300 cases. His approach to winemaking was minimalist, letting the vineyard and each vintage speak for itself. As he says, he wants to “taste” each vineyard.

Marco produced his wines at Bin to Bottle, a high quality custom crush facility for a number of small Napa Vintners in South Napa where he is a partner.

As he writes on his Marcowines website, Marco was born and raised in San Francisco, California, shortly after his parents had emigrated from Tuscany and become successful Bay Area restaurateurs. Along with wonderful Italian meals, wine was an everyday part of their North Beach household life. As a result, Marco inherited his family's appreciation for great wine and food.

Marco developed an in-depth knowledge of winemaking and viticulture through education and experience in the industry. He graduated with a degree in Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis in 1985.

After two years at Buena Vista Winery, Marco worked as cellar master at Pine Ridge Winery for more than four years. His next stint was as the production manager for Atlas Peak Vineyards, followed by his 1994 appointment as winemaker for Pezzi King Vineyards. Just before the 1995 harvest, he became the winemaker at Pepi Winery in Oakville. While making Pepi Wines, he also took charge of the Lokoya brand after the death of celebrated winemaker and mentor Greg Upton. It was at Lokoya that Marco's reputation for making world class Cabernet Sauvignon was first established.

Marco release his own label wines between 2001 and 2004. Today, Marco serves as consulting winemaker to many top labels and devotes attention to his personal projects: Vintage Wine Estates, Bin to Bottle, Lookout Ridge and Marco DiGiulio Wines where he strives to produce wines that reflect the rugged landscapes of the vineyard sources.  

Marco Di Giulio "Mark K Vineyard" Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Marco Di Giulio obtained the fruit for this label from Norm Kiken Cabernet Sauvignon from his Diamond Mountain Mark K Vineyard. Marco began working with the Kiken vineyards when he was the winemaker for Lokoya. Norm Kiken became renowned for his Reverie wines and collaborated with Diguilio in sharing a few tons of Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The grapes were sourced from rows that run East-West at a little over 1000 ft. above sea level on a steep south-facing slope. The soil consists of a well-drained volcanic loam and the vines are trained on a vertical trellis.

The 2001 vintage was a classic example of what Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon appellation has to offer.  The aromas that jump out of the glass are pure Diamond Mountain District with loads of cherry cough drop and black cherry fruit.  The oak adds layers of spice and a warm vanilla character. 

Giulio wrote of this release, "On the palate, the wine exhibits exceptional balance and nuanced character while still being big enough to handle anything you put it up against.  As in the nose, black cherry is the predominant fruit.  The mouthfeel is silky smooth and rich and the finish seems to go on forever.  Layers of brown spices and red fruits show themselves as the wine opens up in the glass."

On release, Di Giulio wrote of this wine, my sense is that with proper cellaring, this wine could easily continue to improve for another 8 to 12 years.

It took ninety minutes to open and reveal its true character. This was similar profile to the Lede but not as dark, rich or concentrated. There was still life left in this twenty year old, showing no signs of diminution from age.

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, black berry and black raspberry fruits with notes of cassis, black tea and hints of clove spice, oak and vanilla bean with smooth polished tannins on a lingering nicely balanced acidic finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=302285

http://www.marcowine.com/Marcowine/Marcowine.html