Conn Valley Anthology Highlights Capital Grill Board Room Dinner

Conn Valley Anthology Highlights Capital Grill Board Room Dinner 

For an important client dinner, we dined in the Board Room at the Capital Grill in Chicago. Readers of this blog know that I place high emphasis on the wine and food combination pairings, coupled with value, and hence choose the restaurant and my entree based on the winelist selections, offset or influenced by the corkage policy. That said, one would be right to infer that I lost the vote (or deferred to rank) on the restaurant selection to dine at Capital Grill this evening. Sorry Jared.

I find it more than a bit irritating that they don't publish a more complete list online to aid the diner in advance dinner planning. While this may be okay for a personal social outing or impromptu dinner, I believe an important client business dinner warrants and deserves better info for appropriate planning. 

Capital Grille tout their winelist as "having more than 350 world-class wines ....  hailing from nearly every wine growing region on earth. Old World and New World gems, little-known labels on the brink of stardom, and a Captain’s List featuring some of the world’s most celebrated wines." The Sommelier  Selections they feature on their website are very limited and mostly uninspiring wines.

While this description of their wine offerings may be technically correct, it leaves an impression of depth and breadth in a wine selection. I consider it rhetoric as I don't think it offers either, unless you look at California Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet, Merlot and Blends. The European and ROW (rest of world) selections are very limited.

Perhaps this limited selection would be acceptable for the serious wine drinker if it was selective in signature wine offerings -  those that are at the critical intersection of 'reasonably' priced and delectable wines. Naturally if you can afford $200 for a bottle, then you can find a pleasant impressive sipper. I find it hard to pay $110-125 for a mediocre uninspiring wine. Sure, the winelist is filled with many of my cellar favorites that I own and enjoy at home and am pleased to serve guests, but those wines that cost $40 to $50, the mainstay of my and many serious consumer cellars, but those wines cost $150 or more on the CG winelist.  Even on a business expense account, I find this difficult to justify.

Again, as is typically the case, I cant afford to drink my own cellar in most fine dining restaurants.

This angst is exacerbated by the vintage selections, or lack thereof.  I carefully selected a quality classic, favored Napa Valley mainstay label, Joseph Phelps, Cab 2010, but they were out of this vintage and tried to sell an alternate.

I craftily selected from the Captains List a unique boutique label - a single vineyard designated Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir 2011, winning out over a colleague's preference, Domain Drouhin 2011. I discovered Ken Wright during my years commuting to a large software firm in suburban Seattle back before the millennium. In the end, we were served a 2012, and while I thought this would be a great discovery to share with colleagues, it turned out to be a disappointment - certainly not worthy of a Captain's List feature selection.

In the end, we did discovered a gem on the Captain's winelist that was a huge hit. Even then, we captured the last two bottles, so this will not available on our next visit, or to the next diner.

Our server was apologetic and noted they will soon be offering a interactive tablet based virtual winelist. Perhaps this will result in greater accuracy and currency in the data, but it won't address the selection and pricing challenges or concerns.



Ken Wright Cellars Carter Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012

I hold several of these wines going back to the turn of the millennium when I discovered it in the Pacific Northwest. I distinctly remember a tasting featured in my wine journal with a wine post for the 1997 vintage of this wine tasted back 1999.

Located in rural Carlton, Oregon, near the farm of a dear friend, Ken Wright Cellars specializes in featuring quality select vineyard designated wines - most notably Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with special emphasis on Pinot which they believe is best at reflecting the unique character of the location where it is grown - terroir.

Ken Wright sources fruit from nearly a dozen sites in the Northern Willamette Valley, known especially for outstanding  Pinot Noir. Compared to other Pinot Noir regions around the world, the region is extremely cool, offset by a long growing season. The Wright Cellars source Pinot Noir vineyards span five different appellations or AVAs including well know Dundee Hills, McMinnville, the Coastal Range and this one, Eola Hills.

Tonight's selection is from the Carter Vineyard near Canary Hill in the Eola Hills AVA and features mature vines planted back in the mid-eighties. Sited low on the hillside at just 325 feet elevation,  the leaner, less fertile soil stresses the vines to produce more concentrated extracted fruit. Carter Vineyard wines tend to be firmer than Canary Hill when young, then age nicely to reveal darker vibrant earthy fruits.

This wine in recent years has been highly acclaimed with rave reviews. Tonight the 2012 vintage of this wine was lean and astringent lacking balance and polish and coming across rather flabby, ruby colored, light bodied, cherry and hints of cranberry with a layer of earthy dusty rose on the tangy spicy moderately tannin finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1499592

http://kenwrightcellars.com/
 

Conn Creek Napa Valley Anthology 2010

This was a big blockbuster stand-out hit, enjoyed by all. When finished, rather than switching to another bottle for a comparison tasting, which I would normally do, we had a second bottle, which happened to be their last. It was smooth, polished and nicely balanced which is a bit surprising given the blend of all five Bordeaux varietals was sourced from no less than twenty-one different vineyard sites across the range of diverse Napa Valley appellations.

The Blend:
 - Cabernet Sauvignon, 78% from Atlas Peak (Stagecoach), Calistoga (Surber & Frediani), Stags Leap District, St. Helena (Collins), and Spring Mountain (Crowley)
 - Petit Verdot, 8% from Napa Valley (Rodeno)
 - Cabernet Franc, 7% from: St. Helena (Carpenter), Atlas Peak (Stagecoach)
 - Merlot, 4% from Atlas Peak (Stagecoach)
 - Malbec, 3% from Yountville (Herrick


Medium bodied, dark garnet colored, rich, nicely balanced symphony of smooth soft sweet black berry and black raspberry fruits highlighted by layers of vanilla mocha, cinnamon, and sweet spicy oak, with silky fine grained tannins on a smooth polished lingering finish.
 
RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1392790

https://www.conncreek.com/Wines/anthology/2010-anthology

https://www.thecapitalgrille.com/

Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004

For a relaxing dinner on the patio at our favorite neighborhood trattoria, Angelis Italian, we took this aged Mr Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz, BYOB from the cellar. The large heavy oversize bottle packaging hints at what is to come.

This wine typifies everything we love in a Aussie Shiraz - big, thick, chewy, sweet forward fruits - a perfect compliment to the Italian pasta and soup with red meat, tomato and ricotta cheese. It was sinfully good with the caramel and sea salt gelato. I can't wait to finish the remaining partial bottle tonight with some hearty cheese. I'm already mourning the fact we only have a few bottles of this left in the cellar. I pushed the CT (Cellartracker) drinking window out a couple more years too.

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, rich, concentrated, complex, full forward sweet black and blue berry fruits, accented by a layer of mineral and tones of sweet caramel, cassis and graphite on a lingering tongue coating full tannin finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=128274

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Highlights Grilled Filet Steak Dinner

When #1 son Ryan invited us over for a gourmet dinner if I'd bring the wine, the deal was done. The menu selection was endive and radish salad in lemon dill dressing, scallops in a beet and parsnip purée with crispy bacon, filets of beef with balsamic and rosemary, potato and carrot mash, finishing with bananas foster.

I pulled from the cellar the following wine flight to accompany the dinner courses: Robert Craig Durell Vineyard Sonoma Valley Chardonnay 2005, Viader Proprietary Red Wine 1996, Chateau La Rose Lussac-St Emilion Bordeaux 1982, and to finish, Linden Cellars Late Harvest Vidal 2005.

Robert Craig Durell Vineyard Sonoma Valley Chardonnay 2005

We tasted and obtained this wine at one of several visits over the last decade at the winery up on Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2008, and later acquired an additional case at auction. 

Producers notes -  "Hand-crafted in very small quantities, this Chardonnay has the qualities of a fine white Burgundy in its balance and deep fruit, mineral character and clean, crisp acidity that are hallmarks of the Durell Vineyard and of this great old world-leaning estate."

Light butter colored, crisp, medium to full bodied but nicely balanced pear and tropical fruits, almond and mineral with finely balanced acidity on a long finish.  

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=294150

http://www.robertcraigwine.com

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red 1996

We met proprietor winemaker Delia Viader at a tasting hosted by Binny's Chicago Lakeview back in 2005, and visited the property on lower Howell Mountain in 2008. Our collection of Viader dates back to the 1990 vintage so it was with interest to see how this vintage has held  up over the years to calibrate the lifespan of the other vintages. In the style of many Viader releases, this is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Cabernet Franc.

While sited on Howell Mountain, since Viader sits below 1200 feet elevation, their wines carry the Napa Valley rather than Howell Mountain Appellation. This is because the fog rise up to but sits below that level and thereby affects the micro-climate and growing conditions of the grapes - characteristics that help make up what is known as terroir.

Dark blackish garnet colored with a slight rust edge on the rim, medium to full bodied, while it certainly is beyond gaining advantage from further aging, it seems to be holding at eighteen years but is entering the last stage of its prime drinking window. Deep complex, tight yet balanced , the restrained black fruits are overshadowed a layer of tar, leather and tobacco flavors with tar/tobacco underpinning and hints of smoky spice and lead pencil finishing with firm, tongue-coating tannins.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=8493


Chateau La Rose Lussac-St Emilion Bordeaux 1982

To commemorate our father-son wine tasting dinner, I pulled from the cellar this aged vintage release Bordeaux from Ryan's birthyear - a remnant of our horizontal collection of his birthyear wines. Being a lesser producer, despite this classic vintage, this was a gamble on whether or not it was still drinkable. Having most assuredly passed  its prime drinking window, tonight was as good a time as any to open this bottle.

Having low expectations, we weren't disappointed since it was drinakable despite lacking any redeeming characteristics. Brownish garnet in color, medium bodied, remnants of berry and black cherry fruit flavors hid beneath the layer of smoky creosote, tar, wet wood and leather with moderate lingering tannins. It was a tasting adventure in perserverance on the agabilty of Bordeaux wines suitable for a tasting experience but not as an accompaniment to food or standalone as a drink. It wasn't flawed, rather passed its suitable drinking window. Surprisingly, it was still approachable.


RM 81 points. 



Linden Vineyards Vidal Late Harvest 2005

For a period of several years, I was commuting to and working in Washington DC. During this time Linda and I toured the Virginia wine country and discovered Linden Vineyards. At a visit to the vineyards and winery, we discovered impressive well crafted wines including this late harvest Vidal dessert wine which we tasted in the winery cellar with owner/winemaker Jim Law.

Light butter colored, full bodied thick tongue coating almost syrupy, sweet - subtle aromas of dried apricot, lychee, and hint of mango - flavors of tangy persimmon, lychee, hint of apricot.

RM 91 points.

http://cellartracker.com/w?567768

 

Ryan's scallops in a beet and parsnip purée with crispy bacon

Marilyn Merlot and Norma Jean Wines - A Study in Branding

Marilyn Merlot and Norma Jean Wines - Now That's Branding! 

Another blog post on wine marketing and branding - one of the more imaginative and marketing driven labels is a study in the ultimate branding exercise that totally transcends the wine experience. I wrote in a recent blogpost about wine branding about a couple of labels which were lacking a theme and absent of typical recognizable elements in accordance with branding practices. To the other extreme, Nova Wines have created an entire franchise on one celebrity identification theme based on a play on words - Marilyn Merlot. 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.

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. 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. Vintage bottles of the label fetch 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 holds a 1985 Marilyn Merlot that they're offering at $3500.

Marilyn Merlot 2003

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 that spans the past dozen years. 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 26th year.

Evidence of the Nova team marketing savvy and building upon the success of their branding, the portfolio has grown to more than a half dozen labels all playing to the 'Marilyn' theme, bearing whimsical names, Marilyn Meritage, Sauvignon Blond, Blond de Noirs, and this label, Norma Jeane.

Playing on the name Norma Jeane, the given name of the starlet before she became 'Marilyn' famous, the wine is a modest priced entry level sipper intended to be consumed young or soon after release, lacking the sophistication and pedigree for aging. As with the Marilyn label, "each vintage of Norma Jeane Merlot features a photograph taken of the young actress in the years just before she captured the imagination of the American public as Marilyn Monroe", according to their website.

Norma Jeane is the low end, budget priced label in the portfolio which continues to grow in a range of varietal offerings and price points. The family has grown to also include Marilyn Cabernet and a recently released Velvet Collection. According to their marketing, "Norma Jeane wines have captured the imagination of collectors and as well as those who simply enjoy the exuberance of young and delicious Merlot." Indeed, its more marketing than viticulture and winecraft as the wine's appeal exceeds its wine pedigree. They're striving to address this with their premium Velvet Collection label.

Evidence of their marketing success is in the pricing of their 'vintage' wines. Today, their winesite offers ten vintages of the otherwise 'modest' Norma Jeane label. The release price from Nova for their 2013 vintage is $13 and its generally available from $10 to $14. The 2012 release is also available at $13. But note the price escalation for earlier vintage releases - the 2011 is offered on their website at $70! The 2010 vintage is a bargain at $35 if you look the hefty $110 price for the 2009! The rest of the flight is available at 2008 - $70, 2007 - $55, 2006 - $65, and the 2005 is priced at $100. But wait, after the bargain priced 2004, available at $50, the 2003 is $155 and the 2002 is $175. Hold on, the 2001 and 2000 are offered at $225 each, and you can round out your vertical collection with the 1999 at $110 and the 1998 at $160. Don't fret, the 1998- 2009 Vertical Collection is In Stock and available for $1500. I can't make this up. Don't forget, this is a $12 every day sipper. Marketing!

I refer to Nova Wines as marketers as opposed to producers, since I believe they are more negociants than producers - purchasing fruit or wine from others and remarketing it under their own branding and labeling. I am not aware of land holdings or vineyards attributable to Nova Wines.

According to their stated history, "Marilyn Wines traces its origins to 1981, when a small group of friends started making wine at their home near St. Helena in the Napa Valley.  One evening in 1983, over dinner and a bottle of homemade merlot, the concept of "Marilyn Merlot" was born.  The wine enjoyed a good deal of popularity around the valley and was often donated to charity auctions and given as Christmas gifts.'

"In 1985, the playful idea and the fine wine that bore its name led to the limited production of Marilyn Merlot for sale to the public.  Over the 25 years, continuing acclaim from critics, collectors, and lovers of fine wine have led to the production of Marilyn Merlot, Marilyn Cabernet, Norma Jeane, the Velvet Collection, Marilyn Blonde de Noirs, Marilyn Red Dress, and Marilyn Sauvignon Blonde, and Marilyn Meritage."

While they may own some land, and make some of their own wine, I suspect their incredible success has grown beyond that capacity such that they now source their product from other growers and or winemakers to meet their demands.

As I wrote in earlier blogs about negociants and their practices, while this often provides notable wines at extraordinary prices, since their sources may change from vintage to vintage, there may be no such element of terroir, sense  of place with consistent predictability or uniformity in the product. Here again, this isn't about the wine, its about the brand. Kudos to the Nova team for creating an marketing case study in branding, contrary to my earlier citations on the practice.

 

Norma Jeane Red Wine 2013

Ironically, I picked this up at the local wine shop while I was there to pick up the absolute last available bottles of another negociant label - Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101 Syrah. Now that its gone, its gone forever. I scoured the market to find the last stock and grabbed it all.

While I follow the releases of Norma Jeane, based on their marketing and labeling featuring images of the starlet early in her career, I've not been a consumer of this wine. I don't have a palette for or particularly enjoy low end modest red wines, despite their affordability at around $10. Its a double edged sword, that as one tastes and studies more wine, and develops a conscious palette for such, one's preferences tend to elevate to more sophisticated wines, which naturally cost more. This is one of the perils of wine enjoyment, one's 'tastes' tend to become more expensive with the more educated palette. As I've written before, this isn't continuous, one reaches their limit of sophistication and preference at a particular level, that typically reflects a pricepoint, whether it be $20, $35, $50 or more. Above that level, I contend that price does not equate with wine quality or appeal, rather marketing and label 'cache' takes over and dictates prices as much as the product itself. Aside the rarified air of certain ultra premium wines, certainly there is a point of diminishing returns for the vast majority of labels. 

This wine was vegetal in character with green pepper predominating over any essence of berry fruit, almost to a point of airing wet grass with woodiness. Buy it for the label, not the contents. Indeed, people will.

RM 83 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1866352

Ninety Plus Cellars Lot 101 Collectors Series Columbia Valley Syrah

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

This may be one of the most enjoyable drinking wines in our cellar right now at any pricepoint.  

Looking for a 'special' bottle to enjoy for some casual drinking at home I pulled this from the cellar to enjoy. 

I reviewed this wine earlier in the spring in my blogpost. I love this style as my preferred profile of a Syrah, thick, chewy with sweet forward fruits. 

Dark inky colored, medium to full bodied, this full throttled Syrah reveals layers of blackberry and black currants fruits with tones of sweet vanilla, caramel and spice with hints of black pepper on a lingering smooth silky tannin finish.

RM 93 points.

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

2001 Vintage Napa Cab Comparison Reveals Contrasts in Terroir

2001 Vintage Napa Cab Comparison Reveals Contrasts in Terroir

Bach'ing it for the weekend, we invited Bill and son Ryan over for a grilled steak dinner and impromptu wine tasting. Following our tasting of the blockbuster 2001 Cliff Lede Cabernet recently, I suggested we try '01 Cabs as the theme for a comparison tasting. Bill brought from his cellar a HaLo, the flagship wine of Trefethen Vineyards which we visited together during out Napa Wine Experience 2013. We scoured our cellar for a similar wine to compare. While I had several '01 Napa Cabs from which to select, most were from mountain appellations reflecting our penchant for that style. Seeking the closest geographical source for a comparison tasting, we pulled from the cellar a 2001 Snowden estate bottled cab. Snowden is from the lower southern end of Oakville district in the foothills about 700 feet elevation. Halo is from the Oak Knoll District at the lower end of Napa Valley nestled up against the base of Mt Veeder. The two wines ended up being in stark contrast in terroir and style - both well suited to the grilled strip steaks.


Trefethen Halo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Befitting the flagship brand name, HaLo is named for the producer's children, Hailey and Loren, who grew up in the middle of the Hillspring Vineyard, source for the wine. Hillspring is located in the foothills tucked up against the base of Mt Veeder in the lower Mayacamas range on the western edge of Napa Valley. The estate vineyard sits west of the winery and tasting room at the entrance to Napa Valley just north of the town of Napa. The historic building on the property suffered extensive damage in last week's earthquake.

The '01 Halo was smooth, polished and elegant, a symphony of layers of fruit flavors - berry, black cherry and nuances of soft oak and delicate floral. While complex, it was sophisticated and almost soft, lacking any pretense of muscular structure or backbone on the layer of silky tannins.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=621303

http://www.trefethen.com/


Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

We discovered Snowden shortly after their inaugural release in the early nineties and still hold several vintages dating back to then. We met Scott and Randy Snowden during our early Napa Wine Experience events from that era.

The '01 was dark garnet colored with a subtle rust on the rim, full bodied, firm and a bit tight, forward black cherry, black currant and black cherry fruits, accented by tones of black tea, black olive, herb, cedar and spice, finishing with a gripping tannins.  A layer of funky earth, leather, and musty wet wood hung over the fruits and didn't dissipate until late into the night.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=244995






Flora Springs "Trilogy" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2010

I picked this up today and wanted to try it against a couple benchmark cabs to see if I wanted to buy more. We hold numerous vintages of this wine going back to the 1991 vintage. It used to be a perennial favorite. This 2010 vintage release is as good as any in my recollection and definitely warrants being included in a cellar collection. I will most certainly go back and buy more. This release is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. It has the best of both worlds, all the positives of a nicely crafted, balanced Bordeaux varietal blend, with the new world 'instant gratification of a full forward rich concentrated Napa Valley fruits. 

This was dark inky purple colored, full bodied, concentrated rich black berry and black raspberry fruits accented by complex layers of cassis, tobacco, dark chocolate mocha, hints of caramel and soft sweet oak on the smooth silky tannins on the long lingering finish.

RM 92 points. 92 points Wine Enthusiast, 91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1455817

http://www.florasprings.com/ 

Fog Dog Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2012

Prior to dinner, Linda broiled two lobster tails to serve lobster medallions with drawn butter that we served with Fog Dog Chardonnay.

FogDog is the label of Sonoma Coast wines from famed Napa producer Joseph Phelps. FogDog is the whimsical name for the expression used when there is a slight break in a fog bank, and clear skies can be seen.

This release is 100% Sonoma Coast Chardonnay sourced from the Phelps owned Freestone estate vineyards and the Dutton Ranch Mill Station Vineyard.
 

Light straw colored, light bodied, bright, crisp, nicely balanced acidity, tangy citrus, stone fruit giving way to green apple tones with hints of pineapple and tangy lemon on a smooth lingering finish.

RM 90 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1916269

http://www.josephphelps.com/2012-fogdog-chardonnay

Groth Reserve Napa Cabernet 2010

Groth Reserve Napa Cabernet 2010 Highlights Harbor Side Sunset Dinner

On the eve of a special tour outing to the Frank Lloyd Wright Meyer May house in Grand Rapids, we stayed in Grand Beach, MI. We dined with our hosts, friends Gayle and Mark harbor-side at Brentwood Tavern at the Marina Grand Resort in New Buffalo. From the winelist we selected Groth Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon - a perfect accompaniment to the tenderloin steak with twice baked potato.

Prior to dinner we did a tasting on the rooftop deck and watched the sunset over the harbor and lake. We enjoyed a bottle of Uriah from Spring Valley Vineyard in Walla Walla that I brought BYOB from the home cellar.

Groth Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 

We first visited the Groth Vineyards Oakville Estate back in the mid-nineties during one of our Napa Wine Experience trips.  We still  hold Groth Cabernet in our cellar going back to the 1990 vintage (part of our 1990 vintage horizontal collection commemorating son Alec's birthyear). The Groth flagship Reserve bottling is sourced from the Reserve Block vineyard at the winery's 27.78-acre estate on the eastern side of the Oakville appellation. It also contains some Merlot from Groth's Hillview Vineyard. It is aged for 22 months in all new French oak.

The 2010 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was considered one of the top Napa Cabs from the 2010 vintage release. The 2010 harvest is regarded as one of the most intriguing, most difficult and may prove to be one of the best vintages of the early 21st century.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, dry, concentrated and complex yet nicely structured, balanced and polished, rich in tannins, dark fruit flavors of black currants and black raspberry accented by a moderate soft layer of sweet cassis and licorice with hints of dried herbs and toasty cedar.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1238027

Spring Valley Vineyard 'Uriah' Walla Walla Valley Red Blend 2004

Our vertical collection of this wine dates back almost a decade to the 2002 vintage, capped by the current 2010 vintage release which received rave reviews and a Top 100 wine of the year accolade. Brought from the cellar for this casual pre-dinner tasting, this Merlot based blend offered an interesting and pleasant conversational wine experience. 

Consistent with earlier tasting notes, this Merlot based Bordeaux blend is dark garnet colored with slight brownish tones, medium to full bodied, the fruits are starting to subside a bit and give way to non-fruit tones. It opened with a barnyard funkiness that dutifully burned off as predicted in less than a half hour. The black berry fruit is accented by a layer of truffles, black tea and fresh sauteed mushroom with anise tones and a layer of spicy black cherry fruits accented by subtle smoke creosote on a tangy lingering tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=215438


Barossa Old Vine Company Barossa Shiraz 2003

The following evening we did a casual tasting at the lake house of Barossa Old Vine Co '03 brought from our cellar, tasted with artisan cheeses, crackers, salami and chocolates. This is a limited release bottling produced from 109, 127, and 152 year old vineyards.

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, big dense concentrated rich tongue coating ripe fruits of blueberry, black raspberry and currant, accented by cedar, spicy oak and hints of licorice on the full tannin finish. The ripe fruit is so forward and rich that it comes across with a slight offset of an mineral tone with an almost metallic edge.

Robert Parker 94, REM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=222403

Del Dotto Napa Valley Merlot 1998

Del Dotto Napa Valley Estate Merlot 1998

For a casual wine and cheese tasting, I opened this vintage Merlot from a half bottle. At sixteen years old, from a much maligned vintage, from a small format (375ml) bottle, this had all the makings for a pop and pour (out). Fortuitously, this was still very approachable, tasty, holding its own, a nice complement to the selection of artisan cheeses and dark chocolate.

This is another example of the steadfastness of this unheralded '98 Napa vintage that was severely overshadowed by what I contend was the over-rated '97. This is also further testament to the age-ability of  Bordeaux varietals from Napa. I have said and written often that the '98 vintage offers more enjoyable drinking than the much higher rated '97. Its ready to drink now, while the 97 seems to be withholding its potential and remains a bit tight and closed. I said this five years ago and am surprised to still be saying it today.

We visited and dined with Del Dotto during several of our Napa trips going back to our Napa Wine Experience 1998 up to 2005. We hold a vertical collection of their Napa Cabernets that spans about a decade. 

This '98 Merlot was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied with earthy black berry and black cherry fruits accented by leather, dark tea, hints of tangy spice, and tones of creosote and smoke with a tongue coating mouth puckering lingering tannin finish - a nice accompaniment to hearty cheese, biscuits and dark chocolates. Amazingly, it showed no signs of diminution from age. Amazingly, I opened this, had a small glass, corked it and threw it in the cooler. When I found and reopened it three days later,  it was even better!

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=24686

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/