Tuesday, January 1, 2013

20 year 93 napa cabs - Freemark Bosche - Del Dotto

Twenty year old Del Dotto and Freemark Bosche '93 Napa Cabs for 2013 New Years Eve Dinner

To celebrate the New Year 2013 at Bill and Beth C's, we featured twenty year old 1993 vintage Napa cabs for a gala dinner. Bill pulled a 1993 Freemark Abbey Bosche Vineyard and I brought a Del Dotto Rutherford to accompany beef tenderloins with shallots and mushrooms, escalloped potatoes and green beans. Prior to dinner we had lobster medallions in drawn butter accompanied with a flight of elegant whites highlighted by Fantesca Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2008. Other whites included Domaine Servin Les Clos Chablis grand Cru 2009 and 90+ Cellars Lot 2 Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2011. To ring in the New Year, the evening culminated in Bill serving a Bollinger NV Champagne

Fantesca Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2008

We first tasted this wine at the winery with Bill and Beth during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2009 visit to Spring Mountain. Heidi Barrett had just joined Duane & Susan Hoff at Fantesca as consulting winemaker and this was the legendary winemaker's first ever Chardonnay, showcased in this video on the producer's website. A superb accomplishment, indeed, in this refined Burgundian styled release fitting its elegant etched bottle and wood case packaging.

Butter colored, medium bodied, a symphony of well integrated and smooth crisp, bright, flavors of tropical fruit, melon, hints of lychee and under current of subtle citrus with a pleasant long lingering finish.

RM 92 points. 

Bill's tasting notes for this wine from Cellartracker:

Golden straw color in the glass. An interesting contrast to the '07. The '08 has overtones of peach and melon on the palate. The '07 leans more toward citrus flavors. Both are very clean and crisp on the palate, making Fantesca my favorite Chardonnay although I prefer the citrusy version. Very light on the oak. 

WC 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=872831

http://www.fantesca.com

90+ Cellars Lot 2 Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2011


I've been looking for the right opportunity to write about this new label.  90+ Cellars has burst on the scene in recent years offering a wide selection of private labeled wines from around the world including Argentinan Malbec, Italian Pinot Grigio, Australian Shiraz and this New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. They buy and resell excess production from various producers under their own 'negotiant' label, often at a fraction of the offer's branded offering price. While such arrangements are typically discreet so as not to undermine the branding and pricing of the supplier/producer, the cat was let out of the bag so to speak when one of their recent offerings still had the original authentic corks in the bottles. Note the labels will  typically be very generic in nature regarding the source of the contents. Check the 'Lot number' on the label to identify each unique offering or to distinguish between various offerings similarly labeled.




90+ Cellars recent promotional tasting at local merchant
Don't count on all labels or subsequent releases to be this good since their offerings will vary from year to year based on what they can negotiate with their producer suppliers, but for the moment, this one is worth checking out.   

Under wide distribution, I've seen their displays of their family of wines at mega merchants Binny's here in Chicagoland to Super Buy Right Liquors in Thoms River New Jersey. This is a prime example of what in some cases are extraordinary high QPR value offerings (QPR - quality to price ratio). 
 
This Sauvignon Blanc is vibrantly expressive with tropical and citrus fruits with ripe melon and lychee with hints of herbal and gooseberry notes. Distributors notes - "Fresh, sweet fruit and crisp acid gives balance and an elegant structure with a smooth finish, a classic New Zealand sauvignon blanc".

RM 90 points. 

http://www.ninetypluscellars.com/

The Cabs ...

My unwindwine.blogspot.com here features many tasting journal postings for these two Napa Valley Cabernets - Del Dotto and Freemark Abbey. New Years eve provided the perfect opportunity to showcase this mini horizontal of these two 93's side by side. 

 I believe the '93 Del Dotto Cabernet was their inaugural vintage release. We've written about discovering Del Dotto back in the early years following their feature in Wine Spectator as one of the 'Undiscovered' new emerging producers on the Napa scene. (See series of Del Dotto features on our unwindwine blogspot.  http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/search/label/Del%20Dotto ).  

The '93 represents the oldest Del Dotto in our cellar and the beginning of a dozen year vertical of this wine. As such, this was the oldest Del Dotto cab we'd ever tasted and our first tasting ever of this vintageI was anxious to see how this had held up and what this meant for our remaining collection holdings.

 D e l D o t t o Rutherford Estate C a b e r n e t S a u v i g n o n 1993 

Based on previous positive tastings of aged Del Dotto cabs, I was not surprised to find this twenty year old still holding up well. We decanted and aerated this upon opening, about two hours before tasting. The only sign of diminution might have been a slight astringency on opening which would be the case according to the tasting notes from the producer and from Wine Spectator for this release, shown below. The wine was most expressive about an hour after opening and then mellowed and softened a bit for the rest of the evening.

This wine was dark inky purple colored as seen in the carafe adjacent to the bottle, and full bodied. It opened with big full forward aromas and flavors of complex floral, cedar and spice with layers of concentrated fruit - cherry, black berry and plum, giving way to toasty oak and hints of cassis on a lingering floral and black fruit filled finish.

The blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This was barrel Aged for 27 months in 100% New French & American Oak

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1000450

Winemakers notes:  
Big, slightly soft, plum jam, berry, violet, vanilla, toast nose, that leaves a slightly floral impression. Lush, softly textured and forward plum, berry, spice cake flavors. It has a supple and gently mouth coating finish lit up by plum, black fig, violet, toast and baking spice notes.
Only 497 cases produced.


Wine Spectators notes: "Packs a wallop with its rich heart of earthy currant, mineral, spice and cedary oak flavors. Smooth and rich, given its size and concentration of fruit flavors. Drinkable now, but should age into the next century with ease. 497 cases made." (04/07) 92 points. 

Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard 1993

Like the Del Dotto above, we have much experience with this wine and have featured it in several earlier wine journal postings - see http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/search/label/Bosche including our recent mini vertical tasting of near vintage 91 and 92 releases of this wine.

This was an interesting tasting of these two '93s Napa Cabs, showing two contrasting styles with the Del Dotto exemplifying bold, forward fruit filled new world against the more subdued, complex old world Bordeaux like style of the Freemark Abbey Bosche', indicative of its longer history pedigree and pursuit of this label.


The Freemark was dark garnet colored with medium body, Bordeaux like earthy leather, graphite and creosote tones accent the cedar, mint and the black berry and black cherry highlights with a subdued finish. 

RM 87 points. 

Bills earlier tasting notes for this wine from Cellartracker:    

Medium red color with slight bricking around the rim. Some cedar and mint on the nose. No noticeable tannins, fairly simple but still significant fruit. Nice bottle of wine but time to drink.

Medium garnet color with a touch of orange on the rim. Opened with a musty nose but evolved over time to reveal some floral notes. On the palate, this evoked overtones of old world bordeaux with terroir dominating fruit. There were still hints of mint and eucalyptus that I normally associate with Bosche. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=13406 

More to come ...

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Anyone thinking Sonoma Cabs are a step down from the king of cabs, Napa, haven't had Arrowood Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignons. We've been fans of this Arrowood Cab for a long time and have selections in our cellar dating back to the 1991 vintage. This 2008 release is another in the series of fruit forward, flavorful wines and is as good as any in memory.   

I was a bit dubious when I picked this up at Wine Discount Center for under $25. The label was redesigned and gone was the long standing yellow-gold foil top, replaced by one burgundy colored but still bearing the Arrowood logo on the crown. 

'Traditional' Arrowood
branding
Furthermore, I noted that this label cites Sonoma County versus Sonoma Valley as the source of fruit, meaning they've reached beyond the Vally to outskirts north in Sonoma County. Unlike Napa Valley where most of its appellations are in the valley bowl or in the mountain districts that overlook the valley from both sides, adjoining Sonoma Valley, straddling Napa on the opposite western slope of the Mayacamas Range, has several appellations in the Sonoma County up north and reaching all the way out to the Pacific Coast. A view of my Arrowood label library shows this is typically County but shifted to Valley in the 2007 release.

These upper reaches of Sonoma have much more varied topographies and climates as they reach north and to the west to approach the coast. This provides for much more variation and different characteristics in the fruit due to distinctively different 'terrior'. Indeed, some such appellations such as Sonoma Coast are known for Pinot Noir rather  than Cabernet Sauvignon based on its suitability to such a different grape varietal. 

The point is that Cabernets from the northern and western Sonoma appellations will vary widely with softer, less structure and lower tannins due to the cooler climes. They produce fine wines, just ones with a different profile. An prime example of such differences can be seen in the wildly popular Silver Oak brand with its Napa Valley and Alexander Valley labelings. Hence I was cautious in approaching this Sonoma County Cabernet, wondering if perhaps it was a 'lesser' offering than the traditional Sonoma Valley release. 

This confusion or wonderment is exacerbated by the fact that the Arrowood website features only its single vineyard designated wines and its Cabernet Sauvignon, Réserve Spéciale  wines from the 2005 and 2006 vintages. They cite on their website, "The 2007 vintage was one of exceptional quality. We were so impressed we decided to single out small lots of four Sonoma Valley vineyards and show them off on their own. Available in limited quantities are Arrowood vineyard designate Cabernet Sauvignon's from Lasseter Vineyards, Smothers-Remick Ridge Vineyards, and Murray Ranch Vineyard. We invite you to indulge in the nuances of these individual Cabernet's from some of Sonoma's finest vineyards." There is no mention of the 2008 vintage release on their website whatsoever

Lastly,  the mystery deepens as Arrowood Cabernet has disappeared from the shelves of Chicagoland wine superstore Binny's, our usual merchant due to their broad and deep offering at discount prices, and vast number of locations as they have expanded dramatically in recent years. They show it as 'discontinued' meaning its no longer offered by their distributor. Never-the-less, it is available at Wine Disccount Center for the bargain price under $24. In the past we have paid as much as $35-40 and sometimes up to $45 for 'this' wine.  

I believe the variation in labeling may be due to the fact that  they source their fruits from varied lots in the Valley and up in the County, and determine which go into the mix with each release according to what that year's harvest yields as they might have done in 2007? This is a common practice with all producers - although many carry multiple labels for the different offerings - see Mondavi, Beringer and Sterling where I explain these variations, as examples. Then this is coupled with a simple re-design of the label and change in foil for this 2008 release

In any event, this wine did not disappoint and was a wonderful pop and pour drinker - especially at this reduced price-point! I'll keep you posted as this unfolds further.

We enjoyed this wine with Alec and Sean at Angeli's Italian - our favorite local Naperville Italian Trattoria.  
We've enjoyed visiting the Arrowood Vineyards & Winery sitting in the rolling hills overlooking the serene valley on several of our Sonoma Valley visits. Its one of the highlights wine destinations when visiting the valley. 

Arrowood Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from fruits from the vineyards neighboring the winery from a mix of mountain and hillside vineyard sites. The Sonoma Valley hillside vineyards give structure to the intense and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend of Sonoma Valley and Sonoma County fruit in this release is undetermined. It drinks like traditional  Sonoma Valley releases.


This wine was medium-full bodied, dark garnet/purple color, this Cabernet is very expressive with full forward rich aromas and flavors of layers of spicy fruits - raspberry, ripe currant and black cherries with a layer of cola and hints of sweet oak, tobacco and chocolate in the background with lingering soft round tannins on the smooth finish. 

Arrowood cabernet continues to be a high achiever at a reasonable price resulting a great value high QPR at around $25.

RM 91 points. 


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1320646


Notably, this wine has a very similar profile and was reviewed very much like the 2007 which I reviewed in these pages last spring - see http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2012/03/arrowood-sonoma-valley-cabernet.html.

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=542192

http://www.arrowoodwinery.com/ 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas wine dinner feast

Christmas wine dinner feast and associated wine flight - a family affair

For a festive Christmas holiday family dinner we opened some festive and some classic wines to accompany a grand surf and turf menu. The main course featured broiled lobster tails and beef tenderloin steak Diane with mashed potatoes and green beans. Pre-dinner included a selection of artisan cheeses and fruits, and dessert was a velvet chocolate cake and holiday sweets.

Shots of our holiday dinner preparation ... 

Michelle preparing cheeses
Alec preparing mushroom sauce




Ryan preparing brandy sauce for
steak Diane

Ryan & L with steak Diane
L preparing lobster tails

The selection of artisan cheeses included my favorite Belavitano Merlot, Danish Blue and Mango Fire Cheddar. 
Chocolate velvet cake

Selection of white wines shown left. The wines listed below in order of tasting, the whites were tasted with the salad course, pre-dinner cheese selection and then lobster. 



Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru N.V. 

Looking back when updating my wine tasting journal index of tasting notes, I realize we last tasted this wine last year with our Christmas dinner. Watch for more as we still have most of this case purchase remaining.

Light gold color - Bright vibrant expressive, smooth silky polished nice drinking - touch of sweetness,crisp acidity, tangy lengthy finish.

RM  90 points. 

http://cellartracker.com/w?389638


Domaine de Roally Mâconnais Viré-Clessé 'Tradition' Grand Vin White Burgundy 2007

Domaine De Roally Vire Clesse Grand Vin de Borgnogne 2007
This is an example for folks who find Burgundy wines confusing or mystifying - a reasonably priced white that provides good QPR - quality to  price ratio. Wine geeks know one reason Burgundy is hard to decipher partly because it is so fragmented with many small producers and labels - some representing but a few hecatres (acres) of vines. Note that White Burgundy represents Chardonnay varietal wines in the old world custom of naming the wine after the geography rather than the grape as we do here in the new world. (And of course, red Burgundy is notably Pinot Noir).

Straw colored, medium bodied, floral notes with hints of citrus and buttery tones and hint of stone, clean and crisp with a smooth pleasant lingering finish. Very nice complement to the broiled lobster.


RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=686097






The Reds; 

Nova Wines Marilyn Merlot Napa Valley 2006

A gimmicky but fun wine that has become somewhat of a cult collectors label with outrageous high prices sought for aged bottles. Each vintage features a classic image of the starlet. The 2006 label photo shows Marilyn in a alluring low-cut dress, taken in 1958, believed to be the one she wore at the debut announcement of "Some Like It Hot".

Fruit for the producer is sourced from longtime contract growers' vineyards from Yountville to St. Helena in central Napa Valley. This vintage release is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.



We first tried the 2006 Marilyn Merlot Napa when we did a vertical tasting of the 06, 07 and 08 vintages. The 06 was the concensus favorite of that tasting.

Today it was medium bodied, dark ruby color, pleasant easy drinking black berry fruits with tones of spicy oak on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 88 points.







Hollywood & Vine Cellars "2480" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Hollywood & Vine Cellars are the creation of two guys from the entertainment industry that joined forces  to make hand crafted, ultra-premium Napa Valley wines. Actor turned director and screenwriter, Doug Barr, relocated to the Napa Valley from Hollywood in the early 1990’s. With Doug's longtime pal, Bruce Orosz, together, they created Hollywood &Vine Cellars releasing their first vintage in 1998. The “2480” refers to the address of the property they purchased for their wine venture from the estate of Maynard Amerine, a pioneer in the California wine industry. An author and professor at UC Davis, he taught many of the noteable names in the American wine business and impacted the art of winemaking world wide.The numbers on the bottle pay homage to Maynard Amerine for his contributions to the art and science of fine winemaking and for his inspirational role in the creation of Hollywood & Vine.

We first tasted the initial releases of Hollywood & Vine from the Cantina while dining out int the courtyard at Tra Vigne in St Helena during our Napa Wine Experiences in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and our Napa Wine Experience 2003.

We decanted this an hour before serving - it was full bodied, dark garnet color, flavorful forward complex black currant and raspberry fruits softened and mellowed to give way to sweet vanilla, hints of clove, milk chocolate and sweet oaks with a smooth lingering tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=46182

http://www.hollywoodandvinewine.com/ 

Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

AJ, R & L with producer Randy Dunn
We're long-time huge fans of the artistry of Howell Mountain winemaker Randy Dunn. Our index of tasting notes for Dunn Vineyards cabernets doesn't reflect the fact that we have a vertical collection of Randy Dunn's wines going back to the 1980 vintage.We have many great memories of introducing friends and family to Dunn Howell Mtn cabs at special occasions and special events over the years - many before we started our on-line wine journal back around 1998.

The fact that these are known for being long lived wines, we have kept many since we have vintage selections for the kid's birth years as well as a selection of large format bottles. This collection of our kid's birth year wines and large bottles was the highlight of the feature of our cellar in the Collecting section of Wine Spectator back in June of 2001. So it was not surprising, #1 son Ryan wanted to pull out a Dunn when trolling the cellar selecting wines for our festive Christmas dinner.

Selection of Dunn cab vertical from our cellar
dating back to 1980
We first discovered Dunn Cabernets during our Napa visits going back to the eighties. We last met legendary Randy and his daughter Kristina during our winery and cellar tour/visit during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in  2008.

The Dunn visit was a highlight of our Howell Mountain trip where we focused on but one appellation as is our practice. Its true after many trips, we've learned less is more and we focus on one AVA per trip. We start at the top of the mountain and work our way down the hill when visiting the Mountain appellations. Visit our wine country travel pages on www.unwindwine.com to see our chronicles of Mt Veeder, Howell Mtn, Diamond Mtn, Spring Mountain District, and Atlas Peak Napa Valley appellations.

I keep thinking we'll drink them as part of a vertical tastings or for a special birthday, anniversary or other family celebrations. It was fitting that Ryan pulled a 2000 Napa to enjoy with our Christmas family dinner, and to see how this particular vintage release was aging since it is not know for its longevity.

We decanted the 2000 Napa Dunn an hour ahead of serving. It showed medium body, dark inky color, floral violets and aromas and flavors of subtle earthy wet grass or green pepper that was more approachable than it sounds, with accents of eucalyptus and spearmint masking the black currant and black berry fruits with a firm tight tannin finish.

We pledged to drink another bottle in ten years when we're together for another holiday dinner to compare with the memories of this tasting experience.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=11325

www.dunnvineyards.com/

Long story - never mind

Monday, December 17, 2012

Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Following the Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 tasting the other evening, I picked up the 2010 release and lo and behold it's even better. This offers good value (high QPR - quality to price ratio) at the release price of $25, but its a great buy on sale at the local Dominic's grocery retailer for $19 ($17 with a six bottle purchase). While it didn't go well with Manchego, it was a perfect complement to Bellavitano artisan cheese. When we served it up with char-broiled beef tenderloin with mushrooms and spinach, you might've thought it was an Estate Howell Mountain cab - heaven in a glass.

Sterling has numerous labels from their Vintners Collection to their single vineyard designated releases to their Reserve. This is their 'Varietal' series, Napa Valley designated Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Estate (producer owned properties) and purchased grower fruits from various appellations throughout the Napa Valley.

Dark inky purple color, medium to full bodied, the Sterling Napa Cab 2010 is bursting with forward black berry, black raspberry and ripe plum fruits, accented by a layer of mocha and hint of cedar and spicy oak. While not overly complex or structured, this had better balance and more polish than the 2009. This wine is set up for affordable, approachable, easy, enjoyable drinking now. Get some and enjoy.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1295434

http://www.sterlingvineyards.com

Thursday, December 13, 2012

2005 vintage - high achievement values

2005 vintage for high achievement values

The year 2005 was a good one for wine lovers, from casual sippers to collectors. Ideal conditions throughout the season resulted in an exceptional year in Bordeaux and Napa Valley for Bordeaux varietal lovers. One Napa producer told us that if you couldn't make good wine in 2005, you never would. In Bordeaux, basically everyone had a good year such that the second labels of the top producers were outstanding. Notably, one could also find some great finds and values from the lesser and lower priced wines, still providing the buyer many quality drinking opportunities at extraordinary value or QPR - quality price ratio. 

The 2005 Bordeaux was a robust vintage with very full bodied and ripe fruits with very high tannins and the acids were high. The fruit was so ripe and round that the young harsh qualities of a new vintage were completely masked by the enormous fruit content. The quality wines had extraordinary high concentration.The great Bordeaux vintage was among the best in the last 40 years such that it was easy to find exceptionally good wines throughout all the regions and types of Bordeaux.

 The 2005 Bordeaux season was marked by low rainfall, with precipitation during the preceding winter, following the 2004 harvest through the 2005 growing season to the harvest that year totalling less than 50% of what is usual, based on an average figure for the preceding three decades. Fortunately, vines with deep roots from mature vineyards can cope well with low levels of rainfall. The drought of 2003 encouraged the vines to search deep for water, setting them up very nicely for dry 2005. The 2005 precipitation was light and came interspersed nicely throughout the year. The weather remained warm but not overly hot throughout, with temperatures generally just above average.

As a result of great years in Bordeaux and Napa, we stocked some lesser labels for future drinking than we would otherwise obtain in normal years. Tonight we pulled two such labels for a BYOB family dinner at our favorite local trattoria, Angelis Italian. Both showed well while presenting contrasting styles to complement our dinner. 
 

Chateau de Reignac Bordeaux Superiere 2005

Dark ruby purple color, full bodied, tight concentrated blackberry and black cherry fruits accented by smoke, cassis and lead pencil with firm tannins on the moderate finish. Simple blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.

RM 90 points - 91-93 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate January 2007

Geyser Peak Winery, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Easy simple drinking with medium body, round ripe berry, black raspberry and plum fruits with moderate to high tannins on a short finish. Blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Shiraz; 4% Petit Verdot.

RM 88 points.