Labor Day Family Cook-out features some old and new classic collectable wines
Son Alec and d-in-law Viviana hosted a Labor Day Holiday family cookout that provided an opportunity for a gala family get-together that included all our kids and grand-kids.
Alec and Viv (below) prepared grilled tenderloin
that they served as small bites on artisan bread. Here shown are Alec and sister Erin. Everyone chipped in and brought a salad
or dessert or other.
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Our three sons.
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Ryan and I both brought a classic collectable or highly allocated special wine.
I took from our cellar this aged vintage collectable Marilyn Merlot
in tribute to their daughter, grand-daughter Marylin. This follows
taking another aged vintage bottle of this label to their cookout just a couple weeks ago. That bottle, from the 2005 vintage surpassed my
expectations so I was eager to try another vintage, and continue to
enjoy this fun collectable wine with Alec and Viv and the rest of the
clan.
Ryan brought from his cellar this special, very limited release highly allocated Sta Rita Hills Pinot Noir.
Alec prepared grilled tenderloin of steak that he served as small bites on artisan bread. There were numerous salads and accompaniments followed by a broad selection of desserts.
Domaine De La Côte Sta Rita Hills Bloom's Field Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014
Ryan brought this very special selection rare, highly allocated bottle he acquired at auction.
Domaine de la Côte
translates to 'Estate of the Slope' and is an estate of sixty acres in
the Santa Rita Hills wine region planted to a collection
of six vineyards planted over forty acres on the furthest western edge
of the
Sta. Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County.
The vineyards, as shown on the rear label (shown left): Memorious (3.5
acres), Bloom’s Field (7.5
acres), Siren’s Call (3 acres), Clos Juliet (1 acre), La Côte (9.5
acres), and 15.5 acres of appellation Sta. Rita Hills.
The property
rises to an elevation of 700 feet above the Santa Ynez River, lying on
an ancient 25 million year old siliceous (silex) and
diatomaceous seabed 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Although the Domaine spans a mere forty acres, the
diversity of its climats or unique terroir of each vineyard is staggering: each with a
unique geology, aspect, elevation and microclimate. Such distinct
expression of site, or terroir, in such close proximity, is unparalleled
in California.
A source of superior California Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir,
Sta. Rita Hills is a relatively new AVA (Agricultureal Viticulture
Area). It is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger
Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. The climate
of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and
Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained,
limestone-rich calcareous soil allowing the vines and grapes to ripen
optimally, while
retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.
Winemaker Sashi Moorman discovered the site and with Chris
King developed several former Evening Land vineyards in the far western Santa Rita Hills in
2007. Under his direction, the vineyards were planted entirely
to California heritage selections at extremely high vine densities
between 4,000 and 7,000 vines per acre, unprecedented at the time for
the appellation. Sashi Moorman along with Raj Parr purchased the property at the beginning of 2013.
The Domaine
was purchased by Moorman and superstar sommelier-turned-winemaker Rajat Parr,
who sources grapes from his estate in the Sta. Rita Hills of Santa
Barbara County. Rajat Parr was the 2017 James Beard Foundation “Who’s
Who Award” Winner, joining a short and impressive list of wine industry
luminaries including Kermit Lynch, Marvin Shanken, Larry Stone, and Jim
Clendenen.
When not in the vineyards, he’s been writing his second book, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe (Ten Speed Press, 2018), with co-author Jordan Mackay.
The La Côte vineyard covers a steep southeast-facing hillside on the leeward slope
of the domaine. Unimpeded by the persistent continuous winds that confront the continguous Bloom’s
Field parcel located to the west, and the Memorious vineyard plot to the south, La Côte enjoys more optimal
pollination and less shatter. The vineyard possesses the most
heterogeneous soils of the estate: its bedrock varies from Monterey
Shale to Diatomaceous Earth to alluvium, and the associated soils range
from shallow and rocky with a covering of broken stones, to rich downslope.
The Domaine organically farms its vineyards and
makes its wines with the philosophy of “add nothing; take nothing away.”
All the wines are produced and bottled at the winery in the town of
Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, three miles from the domaine.
Domaine De La Côte Bloom’s Field Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2014
Ryan acquired this very special highly allocated bottle at auction and brought it to share.
This wine gained widespread critical acclaim and notoriety through coverage on the
wine documentary, Somm 3, the latest installment in the documentary series that explores the
world of sommeliers (wine professionals). It featured legendary wine industry experts and veterans
Fred Dame,
Jancis Robinson and
Steven Spurrier, in conjunction with the next generation of primarily New York-based influencers that include
Aldo Sohm,
Laura Fiorvanti (nee Maniec),
Pascaline Lepeltier and
Sabato Sagaria.
The series featured biographical sketches of the participants and wine topics including arguments over the merits of
blind tasting. The film spoke about the concept of tastings inspired by the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris that was the break-out for the American wine industry when, in that famous blind tasting, California wines outshined their
French counterparts, setting the stage for the modern wine marketplace.
In
this series feature, they discuss Pinot Noir as the wine in question,
rather than Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon which were the basis of
the historical tasting. The show featured two separate tastings of six
Pinots from acclaimed producers from around the world. Included was this
2014 Bloom’s Field bottling by Domaine de la Côte. Some of the judges considered it on par with, if not more “Burgundian,” than two celebrated wines from Burgundy!
Winemakers' notes: The 2014 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is composed from declassified
parcels and barrels of La Côte, Bloom’s Field, and Memorious vineyards. La Cote is from all 4 parts of the 9 acre
vineyard parcel. La Cote lies behind a massive cliff of diatomaceous earth and is
protected from the direct influence of the cold marine air from the
pacific ocean. With its south-east exposition the vineyard absobs the
energy of the morning sun and the exposed shale quickly warms the vines
from the night time chill. The wine seems to have dark fruits on the
nose with aromas of black cherry, sandalwood cola and sage. Like Bloom’s
Field, La Cote is fermented with 100% whole bunches and aged for 20
months in 20% new Ermitage barrels. La Cote takes longer to open us.
Decanting or ageing for 10+ years will greatly reward those with
patience and cool cellars."
Winemakers' Notes: "The 2014 bottling was fermented with roughly 50% whole bunches and small
amount of new oak used in the élevage. This wine has a pale red color
with perfumed flavors of bing cherry, all spice and leather. The wine is
open, softly textured, and finishes with silky tannins. We believe the
wines have a long life in the bottle if properly cellared and should
develop aromas and flavors of great complexity over the next 7+ years."
Decanter
awarded this release 97 points and named it their top California Pinot
from the 2014 vintage. Pundit Natalie MacLean scored this release
96/100, while this vintage release was awarded 93 points
by Vinous, 92 points
by John Gilman and 18/20 points by Jancis Robinson.
1,020 cases were produced.
This
was bright
ruby colored, medium bodied, smooth texture, harmonius and
balanced, red berry fruits with dusty rose petal, cinnamon and earthy
spices and herb tones, turning to fine-grained tannins, tangy acidity
and grip on the long, complex and nicely balanced finish.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2409152https://domainedelacote.com/
Nova Wines Marilyn Merlot 2007
I published a blogpost last month about an earlier Family Cookout at which I brought another vintage of aged Nova Wines "Marilyn Merlot" Napa Valley Merlot with grilled beefsteak. As I wrote at that time, we have fun with this wine as a fun tribute to Alec and Viv's daughter, our grand-daughter Marylin.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/08/marilyn-merlot-with-grilled-beefsteak.html
I've written extensively in these pages about Marilyn Merlot and Norma Jean Wines - A Study in Branding
including a blogpost back in 2021 about the brand and our fun
collecting the label, especially now that we have a similarly named
grand-daughter!
I've written in these pages before about wine geeks, aka oenophiles, often take their passion for wine way too
seriously, or certainly so, to those not so compulsive or fixated, which
is most folks. Its important to back it down and simply have fun with
wine too.
This blog focuses on wine tasting and collecting. Another discussion
thread is a study in wine branding and marketing. Several producers
release an artist series with each label featuring a piece of artwork to
adorn that vintage release. One unique approach to wine branding and marketing is
Marilyn Wines, of the entity Nova Wines, who since 1985, have featured iconic imagines of Marilyn Monroe, captured by many of
the most talented portrait photographers of her era, to grace the
labels of their Marilyn Merlot and Norma Jeane wines.
In addition to Marilyn Merlot, Norma Jean is a lesser label with
'younger' second label grapes. Continuing the whimsical play on names, Norma Jean features a photograph taken of the
young actress in the years just before she captured the imagination of
the American public as Marilyn Monroe.
They have created an entire franchise on one
celebrity identification theme based on a play on words - Marilyn
Merlot featuring the iconic starlet Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Wines holds an exclusive agreement with the estate of Marilyn
Monroe for the use of the name and the images in their wine marketing
and packaging.
The brand is the creation of Bob and Donna Holder of Rutherford in Napa
Valley, who initially crafted a homemade Merlot back in 1983 using some
purchased grapes and some grapes from the Holder property. They started
selling their wine and created the brand. In the early days, they
purchased bulk wine, then, in 1997, they shifted from purchasing bulk
wine to purchasing
grapes. The wine is made at the Napa Wine Co. in Oakville, CA.
Marilyn Wines has extended the brand to a broad portfolio of labels
based on Marilyn Monroe. The portfolio has expanded to also include
Marilyn Meritage, Sauvignon Blond, Marilyn Cabernet, Red Dress and Blonde de Noirs, a sparkling wine.
Building upon the collectables
theme, they also produce an ultra premium Velvet Collection based upon a
photo session on May 27,
1949 in Hollywood with photographer Tom Kelley. That two-hour photo
shoot made history and established the
aspiring but unknown actress, Marilyn Monroe as the ultimate
sex symbol of the 20th century. The series features ten stunning
photographs
from the historic session, known as the "Red Velvet" series, each
one a portrait of Marilyn Monroe posing on a red velvet drape.
Each label of Velvet Collection of wine is covered with a protective
vinyl
overlay that, when removed, reveals the complete, original portrait.Continuing
the collectables theme, in many vintages, they also produce special
process etched and painted bottles of Marilyn Merlot in limited
production large format bottles, usually around 6 to 36 bottles of
1.5 Liter magnums and 2 to 10 bottles of 3 Liter double magnums. The
bottles are placed in a sand
carving cabinet where the artist utilizes instruments to hand
carve out the design image on each of the bottles then to be hand
painted.
The brand has
grown further with the release of Marilyn Merlot Rose and Marilyn Monroe
Chardonnay. For 2021, they also offer 2021 Marilyn Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley.
Of course the most famous or notable iconic collector series based on
wine labels is the ultra-premium luxury French first Growth Chateau
Mouton
Rothschild. A study in wine branding and marketing at some point invites
a
discussion of art label series featuring original or reproductions of
notable art or artists on the wine labels. No wine producer in the world
captures the imagination or attention of wine collectors and wine art
enthusiasts more than Mouton Rothschild with their annual artist series artist featured wine labels.
Each year a renowned artist is commissioned to do the artwork for that
vintage. The featured artist is said to be paid ten cases of various
vintages of the classic Chateau Mouton Rothschild for their work. Every
collector dreams of collecting a 'vertical' collection (wines of
multiple vintages of the same wine) of the classic premium First Growth
Bordeaux to display the 'artwork' of Mouton.
As of this writing, the latest release available in Chicagoland stores in the 2018 and 2019 vintage releases of Marilyn
Merlot, the 35th and 36th vintages of the iconic brand. Also available is the 2018 Norma Jeane, the 23st vintage of the Norma Jeane brand.
Playing on the name of the famous cinema starlet, Marilyn Monroe,
the
marketers at Nova Wines have built the brand on an annual release of
moderate priced Merlot varietal featuring an authentic Marilyn Monroe
photo on the label. Each year the new vintage and label is released on
June 1, Marilyn Merlot's birthday! What might have started out as a
whimsical or even
corny idea has turned into a fun wine that has an almost cult following
in some precincts of collectors.
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Some of our close to two dozen vintages of Marilyn Merlot
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The producer tries to maintain a delicate balance and moderate the hype
of the collectability of the wine and the valuation of bottles over time
versus the novelty and fun of the wine. It appears they've earnestly
worked to improve the pedigree and quality of the product to produce a
wine more worthy of and capable of long (er) term cellaring by sourcing
from notable vineyard sources and producing a Red Bordeaux varietal
blend. As such, the release price of the wine has crept up in recent
years as well. As it has been since the 2018 release, that year's release price is $40 and the 'street
price' has followed accordingly. This year's current release (2021) and last years (2020) are currently $45 from the producer.
However, in secondary markets, the price can be elevated even above the release price.
The producer site says, "Each new vintage of Marilyn Monroe Merlot sells out quickly. While
collectors have made Marilyn Monroe Merlot one of the
fastest-appreciating wines on the market, it is wine enthusiasts with a
sense of humor who have long enjoyed the playful spirit behind Marilyn
Merlot wines that are now also seeking the Marilyn Monroe Merlot because
of the emphasis on making a notable wine from prized Napa Valley
grapes. While the concept and engaging label of these wines has given
these bottles a degree of fame, it is the wine in the bottle that merits
the enthusiasm of those who seek it out every year.'
"This wine is every bit as special as its package," says Donna Holder,
one of the owners of Marilyn Wines. "It is a must for collectors, but is
also a Napa Valley Merlot that stands beautifully on its own."
The producer promotes highly escalated prices for vintage bottles of the label asking high
prices that far exceed the pedigree of the wine, explicable only due to
the marketing/branding of the label collection. I know of one reputable
wine shop in a mid-size midwestern city that a few years ago held a 1985 Marilyn
Merlot that they were offering at $3500.
I've assembled a portfolio of Marilyn labels in my label library on my winesite.
And, I admit I've collected a 'vertical' collection of the wine and am
still holding what now spans more than fifteen vintages. Indeed, we drank a dozen
year old 2006 recently and it was drinking quite nicely. We do have fun
gifting these wines to
friends for suitable occasions, great for those not into the wine so
much, but taken by the clever packaging. The Marilyn Merlot label is now
in its 35th year.
After that tasting of the 2005 vintage that exceeded my expectations, tonight I brought and we opened and drank the 2007 vintage release Marilyn Merlot.
Marilyn Merlot 2007
This was the 23rd release of this iconic
label. Like other releases, the grapes were sourced from "some of the
finest vineyards in the heart of Napa Valley", and "this vintage was
produced in one of California's oldest wineries."
Producer notes about this release:
"Diamonds may
still be a girl's best friend, but in challenging times an outstanding
Napa Valley Merlot that appreciates in value year after year offers a
safe and savory haven for wine collectors and connoisseurs alike.'
"Frankswine.com of Franks Union Wine Mart said, "A collector's and
connoisseur's Merlot! This is a very drinkable wine, not just something
to be collected by her fans, but by people who enjoy what's going on
inside the artful bottle as well. This wine will continue to improve
with age..."
"With the release of the Marilyn Merlot 2007 on June 1st (Marilyn's
birthday) a Napa Valley icon continues to offer its fans not just
glamour but great value, too. "Marilyn Merlot wines are known to
appreciate in value with most selling for several times their original
price" notes Bob Holder, one of the owners of Marilyn Wines. "They offer
great value as fine Napa Valley wines on release, and they evolve and
appreciate with age."
That said, this release is offered from the producer's library
at an offer price of $160 for a standard sized bottle, $600 for a etched
1.5 liter magnum, and for $800 for a three liter large format etched
image bottle wherein "Each bottle is carefully masked, hand etched and
hand painted, resulting
in a truly unique work of art on this 2007 (1.5 liter) 3 Liter Marilyn
Merlot."
"The 2007 vintage of Marilyn Merlot continues this tradition and promises glamorous evenings of enjoyment to its many fans."
About this release, Stephanie of Champion Wine Cellars wrote:
"More than Pretty Labels! Stephanie on Mar 01, 2021'
"Wanted
to report that we actually drank a bottle of the 2007 Norma Jean. We
know the Marilyn wines are sound and generally a pleasure to drink.'
"This was above and beyond! A lovely surprise. Bright and rich with a
full middle palate and complex, extended finish! The bottle had sediment
caked on the glass (from being on its side in one spot). Wine was
dense, but well-balanced with cedary and blueberry jam aromas. We drank
it over 3 days and it did not lose any character by the end of the
bottle.'
"2007 was an exceptional vintage, and the Tallerico
Vineyard near Lodi produced a wine with good aging potential. This goes
to show that these wines are more than pretty labels!"
Interestingly, more wine reviews speak to the collect-ability and
potential appreciation of the bottles, rather than the wine itself.
Indeed, "The Vintage Stuff Store" writes as a caveat on its page featuring this wine, "The wine has been meticulously stored but serves ultimately for its
collectable beauty and not necessarily for its drinkability. There is no
guarantee for the wine itself, but the bottle and label are in perfect
condition."
But alas, as posted on the header of these pages, this blogpost is all about, "Enjoying wine - perspectives on wine buying, collecting, tasting, a
study in wine marketing & branding; observations, experiences and
ruminations of a winegeek & frequent traveler. Sharing so others can
'unwindwine' for greater wine discovery, understanding and
appreciation."
While
we collect and study wine, we also like to drink it, and observe how
(certain) wines age and reach a peak then diminish as they reach the end
of, and beyond their drinking window. Many, all age-worthy wines follow
a bell shaped curve of improving with age, then eventually diminishing.
The height and length of that curve is subject to the quality, depth,
breadth, structure and chemistry of what is in the bottle. And, that
curve will be different for each wine, and for each vintage of each
wine. Hence, for the
benefit of collectors, those that may be holding similar bottles, I
focus on, and report on the 'fill level' of the bottle, and the
condition of the cork, as each diminishes with age at some point. The
fill level and condition of the foil and label affect the
collect-ability value of the wine.
This
2007, at sixteen years of age, the fill level of the bottle, the
condition of the foil and label, and most importantly, the cork were all
in ideal, pristine condition. The wine was drinkable, even enjoyable,
but clearly reaching the end of its ideal drinking window.
The
wine was garnet colored, with some purple, with some bricking and
orange, brown - rust hues beginning to set in, yet, after a half hour,
the dark berry and black cherry fruits emerged to reveal themselves,
with notes of dusty, earthy leather, some dried tobacco leaf, black tea
and hints of cedar under the surface.
RM 88 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=741423
https://www.marilynwines.com/product/2007-Marilyn-Merlot
https://www.marilynwines.com/
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/08/marilyn-merlot-with-grilled-beefsteak.html
As I have written in earlier posts, Tensley was one of the great surprises of our Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley wine experience was the revelation of Syrah
being one of the lead varietals in the area. 
