Sunday, October 27, 2019

Queensyard Hudson Yard NYC Dinesite

Queensyard Hudson Yard NYC Restaurant

Sunday afternoon dinner in NYC we visited the spectacular new megaplex Hudson Yards mall with its twenty plus dining options. We traversed the six levels exploring several checking out the view, ambiance and menus. We settled on Queensyard for our Sunday afternoon dinner site.

Hudson Yards is located in Manhatten on Tenth Avenue between 30th and 34th streets above the railroad yard at the Hudson River. It is the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States with investment exceeding twenty-five billion dollars. It is the new heart of New York and is a metroplex where people come together to work, live and play, and enjoy chef-driven restaurants or shop the world’s iconic brands. 


queensyard is a British restaurant where the layout is inspired by the rooms of an English country home. The all-day dining destination has seating for numerous styles - a wine bar in the café, a light lunch in the Kitchen, a board room for business or private dinners adjacent the wine cellar, and an airy light filled open dining overlooking the Hudson Yard Grand Plaza, the river and views of Hoboken across the river.

Having been to Britain literally two hundred times over the decades, having worked for a British company for over a decade, I am only too familiar with British 'cuisine', or lack thereof. I accepted queensland as our dining destination presuming it was Australian. If I had known it was British themed, I would have likely been resistant. What a pleasant surprise that the food was so good, and the ambiance and setting so delightful!


There are three dining options in queensland, the bar, the cafe or the restaurant. Sunday afternoon dinner in the restaurant is a two course price fixe menu, which we chose for our dining experience. It was spectacular in almost every aspect.



The north and south ends of the grand dining room features two great murals that pay homage to the English countryside entitled St. James Park and Somerset Countryside, created by Sarah Moore, a well-respected American artist.




The queensyard menu is modern British fare, that focuses on British cooking but features influences from both sides of the Atlantic.

For our starter course we chose three different selections. Each was tremendous. 

English Rose / chicken liver & foie gras parfait, bittersweet chocolate & stout,
pickled mushroom & pumpkin


Brooklyn Burrata / muscat grapes, local wax beans, pear mustard

 Marinated Yellowfin Tuna / avocado wasabi, fermented kohlrabi, lychee, finger lime 


For our main course, we all chose the Braised Atlantic Halibut with carrot & ginger purée, yuzu glaze, lobster grapefruit sauce. It too was delicious except for the fact that the lobster accompaniment was not fresh and was gamey or a bit too strong fishy. The lobster meat was not of the tail but rather from the claw, but that was not the reason for its diminution. Furthermore, Linda's Halibut was a bit undercooked, while Viviana's and mine were good. 



For dessert we shared Sticky Toffee Pudding with caramel sauce, rocky road and ginger ice cream.

Interesting that even the selection of sparkling water was British from Wales.  



To accompany our dinners, we chose from the winelist this white wine - a French Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc. 

 Jack Pinson Sancerre Domaine de la Voltonnerie Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018

'Old World' wines are named for the region or area from which they are sourced such as, in this case, the commune of Sancerre in the Loire Valley. Those wines invariably are sourced from a single predominant varietal grape. Wines from Sancerre are generally comprised of Sauvignon Blanc. In the New World, wines are named for the predominant grape that is in the bottle, and this would be referred to as Sauvignon Blanc. 

Jack Pinson founded his 2.5-acre domaine in 1970 in the village of Crézancy-en-Sancerre. Today, the property is overseen by his daughter Alix. The property includes 31.5 acres planted in Sauvignon Blanc and 8.5 acres of Pinot Noir.  The terrior soil is generally clay and limestone. 

This was straw colored, light-medium-bodied, dry with aromas of orange blossoms and honey with a notes of lemon citrus, grapefruit, and herb turning to notes of with minerals on a crisp mildly acidic finish. 

RM 89 points. 


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3447970 

https://www.queensyardnyc.com/ 


Saturday, October 26, 2019

Parents-Son Dinner features Birth Year Wine of the Year

Parents-Son Dinner features Birth Year Wine of the Year

Visiting son Alec and his fiance' Vivianna in New York City for the weekend, we took a couple of very special wines from Alec's birth year. We drank the first bottle, Château Calon-Ségur that we took BYOB to Bobo French Wine Dine Experience on Friday night.

Tonight, Alec and Viv were preparing dinner and to celebrate their engagement and the occasion, we took from our home cellar a very special bottle that I acquired upon release for his birth year. The 1990 vintage was a very unique year in the release of vintage wines in that three times, the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year was from that vintage year.

In 1993, the WS Wine of the Year was Caymus Special Select, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 1990. In 1994, the WS Wine of the Year was Chateau Gran Vin Latour Pauillac Bordeaux, from the 1990 vintage. In 1995, the ‘Red Wine of the Year’ by Wine Spectator magazine was Penfold's Grange, 1990. 

This is testimony to the fact that 1990 was a blockbuster vintage in all three hemispheres' top wine regions - US Napa Valley, France Bordeaux and Australia. Someone want to collect a birthyear vintage wine for a given year has several options from which to select. For this year, any one of these three regions offered top rated wines!


Tonight's bottle was part of an OWC - Original Wood Case of the 1990 Penfold's Grange that I picked up on release back in 1993. I actually purchased it a Berry Brothers & Ruud in London during one of my very frequent monthly trips there. In those days, they had a wine shop in Terminal Three at London Heathrow Airport. I purchased and hand carried the case of wine on the plane enroute home, and have stored it in our home cellar ever since.

For dinner, Alec and Viv prepared ribeye steak with wine reduction mushroom sauce, grilled diver sea scallops, asparagus and pomme frites.


For the starter wine, they opened a Orin Swift Abstract California Red Wine 2016



Penfolds Grange Shiraz 1990

For the main beef entree course, I served the Penfolds Grange. Readers of this blog know we drink a lot of Australian Shiraz' and that we like them big and bold. This Aussie Shiraz was a totally different profile than the usual shiraz we encounter. Naturally, this is an extraordinary wine that is in a totally different class, with a totally different profile than the once a week, once-a-month, or even the once-a-year wines that we drink. This is one of those very special occasion, or even once in a lifetime wines. Of course, this wine sells for more than $500, a price-point higher than we normally spend on once a year, once a month or other wines.

Grange is arguably the most prestigious and most historic, famous wine from Australia, first released back with the experimental vintage release in 1951. For its first four decades, the label was called Penfold's Hermitage Grange. With this 1990 release, the Hermitage moniker was removed and thereafter it is simply known as Grange.



The fruit for Grange is sourced from south central Australia Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra. The 1990 is one of the top Granges ever produced. The vintage year was an ideal completely trouble-free growing season that enabled the grapes to ripen perfectly and to be harvested at the perfect time under ideal conditions. The producer says the 1990 Penfolds Grange is one of the best ever, with the potential to eventually rival the classic vintages of 1955, 1962 and 1971. It should be aged carefully for a minimum of ten years and preferably for 25 to thirty years.

The blend of the 1990 vintage is 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged 18 months in new American oak hogsheads.

The fill level was proper and appropriate for its age, the cork was perfect, and of course the foil and label were perfect as it was still packaged in the original tissue and OWC - original wood case. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, flawless, elegant, polished, harmonious, perfectly balanced, silky smooth flavors of concentrated black berry and black raspberry fruits with notes of vanilla, licorice, spice, black truffles and oak with hints of spice and cedar turning to fine grained tongue puckering tannins on the long lingering finish.

RM 95 points.

Wine Spectator gave this 98 points, James Halliday 97 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 95 points, and Jancis Robinson gave it 18 out of her twenty point scale. 

James Halliday said it was 'destined to be one of the greatest Granges'. Wine Spectator called it  'magnificent, exotic, a veritable cascade of opulent flavors'. The Rewards of Patience - Fifth Edition (2004) called it Outstanding and projected its Drinking Window from now to 2040. Southcorp Wines said, 'The 1990 vintage was the kind that winemakers only expect to see once or twice in an entire career'.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6295

https://www.penfolds.com/

https://twitter.com/penfolds

@penfolds


La Fine du Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape 1988

After dinner, Alec opened this special extremely limited release Chateau La Nerthe La Fine 1988.

We discovered, tasted, and Alec acquired this wine during our visit to the Château La Nerthe estate this summer.

La Fine de Château La Nerthe comes exclusively from the distillation of white wine in bottles of the Château. White wine is aged in bottles in the cellars before being tasted and distilled.

Château La Nerthe perform a triple distillation to obtain the finest and delicate aromas possible. They seek the spirit of their old white wines that make the reputation of Château La Nerthe. By its origin, its extraction, its requirement and its refinement of 10 years minimum in oak casks, the Fine of the Castle La Nerthe is the expression of the exceptional finest spirit of their wines.


Château La Nerthe have been producing these fine wines in the true tradition of fine wine distillation in Châteauneuf du Pape since this, their first vintage, 1988.

Tea honey colored, full bodied, delicious, smooth, harmonious, nicely balanced.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3330760

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/



Beaubourg Le District NYC Wine Tasting

Beaubourg Le District NYC Wine Tasting

During our weekend visit to NYC we dined at Le District, a collection of three different French Markets and wine and dining options. Like Eataly, where we ate earlier in our trip, the Italian focused destination for all things Italian, Le District is a destination for all things French.

Le District has four different restaurants Beaubourg, classic French Brasserie, Le Bar featuring bar food and an extensive wine list, Bar A Vin offering 32 different rotating wines that can be paired with over 200 cheese and home made charcuterie, and L'Appart, a Michelin-star restaurant with a weekly, seasonal changing menu prepared under the direction of notable Chef de Cuisine Nicolas Abello.

The Market District features a series of market settings - a Boulangerie, Delices du chef, Bar a Frites, Cheese and Charcuterie, Rotisserie, Boucherie & Poissonnerie.
For our wine selection we ordered from the extensive winelist this Echo de Lynch-Bages Pauillac. 

There is an broad selection of wines by the glass, and an extensive wine list showcasing French wines from modest to extraordinary First and Second Growths from outstanding vintages. There are more than a hundred carefully chosen labels, mostly in the $100 to $400 range, and also some outrageous selections such as Chateau Petrus 1982 for $7500.

Following our recent trip to Bordeaux, I was hoping for a St Julien and was tempted by the Second Growths, Château Ducru Beaucaillou ($360), Château Gruaud-Larose ($260), two of the estates that were highlights of our tours, a broad selection of Chateau Talbot vintages, and several second labels of some top producers Pichon Lalande and Lynch Bages. In the end we chose this Echo de Lynch-Bages, the second wine of Lynch Bages, one of favorite producers we visited during our trip.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Bobo NYC French Wine Dine Experience

Bobo NYC French Wine Dine Experience

Visiting NYC we dined with son Alec and fiance Viviana at Bobo's in the West Village. For the occasion, celebrating their engagement, I brought a birth year vintage Bordeaux from our cellar to take BYOB with dinner. We also had a recent release Bordeaux with our French faire from the winelist.

Bobo is set in a stylish hundred year-old brownstone in the heart of the West Village. Opened in 2007 it is one of Carlos Suarez's Casa Nela restaurants, that include the Village hits Rosemary's, Claudette, and Roey's.

Like its sister restaurants, Bobo is a residential setting, 'paying homage to La Maison de Campagne - a neighborhood restaurant inspired by nature and by family.'

Bobo is entered off the bustling street corner to the subterranean street level into the bar, then upstairs are multiple levels of dining rooms. The restaurant is decorated in natural French country decor to match its country French cuisine.

Bobo's offers an imaginative well selected wine list of French wines from small and interesting producers as well as well known houses. The selection is superbly chosen for the menu with excellent wines at reasonable prices. They also accommodated our BYOB for a fee ($35).




For our dinner selections we ordered: 

Rainbow Trout Almondine with haricots verts, toasted almonds
Duck Leg Confit with  orange-scallion salad, green olives, truffle vinaigrette
Roasted Sasso Chicken with pommes purée, roasted brussels sprouts
Filet mignon au poivre with pommes frites 

The Menu



Château Calon-Ségur St. Estephe Grand Cru Classe 1990


From our cellar collection I brought BYOB this special birth year vintage selection. This label is famously popular for occasions such as the engagement celebration with the predominant heart on the label. This was also a special selection as we visited the Chateau in St Estephe during our visit to the Medoc this summer.

At twenty-nine years, while showing its age in the somewhat 'tired' color as being a slight bit cloudy, the full aroma and taste profile was predominant floral with hints of mushroom over the black berry fruit. This is still drinking very nicely, thoroughly enjoyable. It is time to drink over the next couple of years as it will not improve with further aging and will diminish further as the fruit gives way to non-fruit flavors.

The fill level was good, the cork was very saturated almost 7/8 of the way. I had my two pronged cork puller with me in my wine carry bag which I used to open the bottle. It would not have surrendered intact to a traditional cork screw.

I always wonder why Sommeliers don't use such a tool, also known as an 'ahso', especially in such cases. It's hard to believe they don't have the skill or technique for using such. I use mine almost always except when the cork is synthetic for which they do not work.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced, elegant and refined, Jancis Robinson speaks of its "very attractive voluptuousness.. .and beautifully balanced". Aromas and bright taste profile of floral and violets, the layer of black fruits accented by the floral and tones of mushroom, spice, licorice, earth and leather and soft, velvety tannins.

RM 91 points. 

Wine Spectator gave this 93 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90 points, and Jancis Robinson 18.5 on her 20 point scale.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5039

@ChateauCalon 






 


Grand-Puy-Lacoste Lacoste-Borie Pauillac 2012
 
From the winelist, we also ordered this Pauillac from the legendary Borie family who also own Ducru-Beaucaillou and Haut-Batailley. Our visit to the classic second growth Ducru-Beaucaillou was one of the highlights of our trip to the Medoc.

The history of Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a family saga going back to the 16th century.

The name Grand-Puy comes from the ancient term "puy” which means "hillock, small height” as true to its name, the vineyard sits on outcrops, with a terroir similar to that of the Médoc's first growths. The property was held by a single family from generation to generation, in a direct line through marriage from the 16th century until 1920, before connecting with another family in 1978—the Borie.

The family's history took a decisive turn in 1978 when the owner of Grand-Puy-Lacoste "chose” Jean-Eugène Borie to buy the property. Borie and Raymond Dupin, owner of Grand-Puy-Lacoste since 1932, were close friends which led Dupin to sell him the domain. After acquiring the estate Borie turned to his son François-Xavier to manage it; his challenge was to awaken this "sleeping beauty”.

François-Xavier Borie has directed the estate since its acquisition in 1978. He lives on the estate in the at the château, a rather rare occurrence in the Médoc. With him at the estate is his wife Marie-Hélène. Also involved in the business are their three children, the next generation who will manage the property.

Over time, the château became a true family home, with its traditions, celebrations, and ceremonies in its chapel. The three Borie children, Emeline (1982), Laurence (1983) and Pierre-Antoine (1986) were born there, grew up at the property, and attended school in Pauillac.

Today, François-Xavier and Marie-Hélène's eldest daughter Emeline is in charge of communication and public relations at Grand-Puy-Lacoste. She travelled widely as a student and received valuable international experience during two years with an importer of wines in Vietnam. I've had the pleasure of meeting Emeline at industry events over the years. 

François-Xavier Borie on the brand, "Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a classic Pauillac, that is to say, characterized by class, allure, harmony. We are fortunate to have one of the finest terroirs in Pauillac and our wines display what may be called a French taste: aromatic, with body and a great sense of balance."

We drove by the estate during our visit to Pauillac this summer. 

"These wines are structured, with a fine attack, great presence in the mouth and a remarkable length. Each stage of tasting gives harmonious pleasure. The tannins are never aggressive, an expression of elegance is always present."

Wineamaker notes on this label, "This wine presents a very ruby red color. The nose is dominated by black fruits with black cherry very much to the fore and by coffee aromas. The mid palate has the sweetness of ripe fruit and rounded tannins. The richness is well balanced by some bilberry freshness. This wine will need a little bite of patience before starting to enjoy it."

This is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely balanced and structured, black berry fruits, notes of coffee, hints of anise and forest, well integrated tannins and some nicely balanced acidity.

RM 88-89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1646786

https://www.chateau-grand-puy-lacoste.com/en/#/en/ 


https://www.bobonyc.com/menus/#dinner

https://twitter.com/boborestaurant

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Pavillon Leoville Poyferre 2014

Pavillon Leoville Poyferre 2014

Following a casual dinner at Eataly on our NYC weekend getaway, we walked back to son Alec's apartment along the highline in trendy Chelsea. We stopped in at the Chelsea Wine Cellar and picked up this St Julien Bordeaux for casual sipping after dinner.

We toured Châteaux Leoville Poyferré in St Julien Bordeaux during our recent visit to the region, hence we were eager to taste this label from the producer.

Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré is the second wine of both Châteaux Leoville Poyferré and Moulin Riche. Made from younger vines, it is balanced, fruity and easy to drink.

As the second wine of Leoville Poyferre it is available at a fraction of the price of the grand vin thereby representing significant QPR - quality price ratio. Tonight at Chelsea Wine Cellar, this was almost 1/5 the price of the grand vin, albeit a relatively recent release 2014 vs. an slightly aged 2010 vintage. Never-the-less the price differential is substantial relative to the wines.

I have written in these pages numerous times that in top vintages, as 'all boats rise with the tide', where in good or great vintages second labels can be very good and therefore offer substantial savings or QPR relative to the grand vin flagship labels, which will command much higher prices.

Châteaux Leoville Poyferré on the shelf at Chelsea Wine Cellar is shown here.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, flavors of currant, blackberry and black cherry with notes of bell pepper, olive, spice, with hints of oak, vanilla, smoke, tar and tobacco.

RM 89 points.
 https://www.chelseawinecellarnyc.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2370672

http://www.leoville-poyferre.fr/en/ 


Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner

Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner

Our first night in NYC for a getaway weekend, we dined with son Alec at Eataly in the Flatiron neighborhood, one of our favorite visits when there. Eataly is a unique destination experience of all things Italian food and drink in a small village market like setting. There is a an Eataly in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, LA, two in New York, Toronto and in Las Vegas.

Dining at Eataly is an experience of an Italian village market with a market section featuring meat, cheese, seafood, pasta, wine, desserts, and a corresponding adjacent restaurant for that selection. Restaurants at the Flatiron location include Serra which means  “greenhouse” in Italian,, a seasonal rooftop restaurant, Il Pastaio di Eataly, which means "pasta maker,", a new fresh pasta bar, Manzo, meaning "beef" in Italian, a vibrant butcher-focused restaurant offering meat of all kinds, La Pizza & La Pasta featuring two of the best-loved Italian dishes: Napoli-style pizza and al dente pasta, and Il Pesce offering fresh seafood that is also sold in a market type seafood counter. There is also a wine bar with adjacent restaurant, and a Piazza village like setting offering wine, cheese and charcuterie.

As has become almost a ritual for our visits east, we ate in the Eataly Il Pesce (seafood) restaurant. We ordered for sharing the grilled flounder, one of our favorite dishes.  It is such a large portion that it is easily shared by two people and could probably accommodate another person as well.

Alec order one of his favorites, octopus.

From the winelist we ordered this white wine as an accompaniment to our seafood dinner selections.

 Bastianich Vespa Bianco Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2016

The winemaker notes say of this wine; "A tightly-wound balance of minerality and citrus, evolving over time into a denser expression of wildflowers, honey and ripe pear. Its tannic structure and acidic backbone lend it not only immediate impact, but also a long life."

This is a white wine blend of mostly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, with a touch of Picolit. It is from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, from the most north eastern corner of Italy, one of the twenty different wine regions of Italy.

One of the reasons I don't invest intellectually and economically in Italian wines is the complexity of having more than 500 different grape varietals, from twenty different wine regions. 

Picolit is one of those obscure grape varietals, also known as Piccolit and Piccolito. It is a white Italian wine grape varietal that is primarily grown in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. Historically it was planted in poor and infertile vineyards. It reached its height of popularity in the 1960s & 1970s, however Picolit's extremely small yields made it economically difficult to grow and therefore has limited the number of plantings.

Butter colored, light body, nicely balanced, bright tangy flavors of crisp green apple with accents of pear and citrus, nice acidity and minerality on the pleasant lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

This got 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 90 points from Wine Spectator.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3276554





Monday, October 21, 2019

Sassicaia Owner Dinner and Vivere Vertical Tasting

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia Owner Dinner and Vertical Tasting at Italian Village Vivere

Special wine dinner featuring a flight of eight vintages of Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia paired with a tasting accompaniment four course dinner - hosted by Italian Village Chicago and Wine Director Jared Gelband and featuring producer co-owner Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta.

Background - The Story

In the 1920s the Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta dreamt of creating a ‘thoroughbred’ wine and for him, as for all the aristocracy of the time, the ideal was Bordeaux. This is how he described it in a letter to the esteemed wine critic, Luigi Veronelli dated 11 June 1974: “…the origins of my experiment date back to the years between 1921 and 1925 when, as a student in Pisa and often a guest of the Salviati Dukes in Migliarino, I drank a wine produced from one of their vineyards…which had the same unmistakable “bouquet” as an aged Bordeaux….”

In the 1940s, having settled with his wife Clarice on the Tenuta San Guido on the Tyrrhenian coast, he experimented with several French grape varieties (whose cuttings he had recovered from the estate of the Dukes Salviati in Migliarino) and concluded that the Cabernet had "the bouquet I was looking for."

A wine made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon was a fundamental change to the Tuscan and Piedmont tradition of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, respectively. The innovative decision to plant this variety at Tenuta San Guido was partly due to the similarity Mario Incisa had noted between Tuscan terrain and that of the Graves area in Bordeaux.

‘Graves’, or ‘gravel’ in French refers to the rocky terrain which distinguishes the Bordeaux area; similarly, the gravely vineyard sites in Tuscany impart the same characteristics on Sassicaia, "stony ground", as its cherished French brother.

The Marchese's first vintages were not warmly received. Critics accustomed to light, local wines were not encouraging; it was not taken into consideration that wines made from the more complex Cabernet Sauvignon grape would need more time to mature and develop. And thus from 1948 to 1967, Sassicaia remained a strictly private affair, only to be consumed at Tenuta San Guido.

Each year, a few cases were stored to age in the Castiglioncello di Bolgheri cellar. The Marchese soon realized that by ageing the wine it improved considerably.

Friends and relatives now urged Mario Incisa to experiment further with his project and perfect his revolutionary winemaking style. It was not until 1968 that Sassicaia was first commercially released – the welcome was worthy of a Bordeaux Premier Cru.

Over the next few years, the cellar was moved to a temperature controlled location, steel fermentation vats replaced wooden vats, and French barriques were introduced to the aging process.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, Sassicaia has been produced in the style of a Left Bank Bordeaux Premier Cru - 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc.


On this night, Italian Village in Chicago hosted co-owner of Tenuta San Guido co-owner Pricilla Incisa della Rocchetta. A special menu course was prepared to complement a flight of eight vintages of Sassicaia, served from the cellars of Italian Village by Wine Director and co-host Jared Gelband and the Vivere Restaurant staff.

The dinner was featured in a Forbes.com article submitted by wine write Tom Hyland and included a picture of Ernie seated next to Priscilla


 In attendance were the 'Pour Boys', our wine group, below, above, Dr Dan, Vivere manager Gerardo Castillo, Rick, and Vivere wine director Jared Gelband.

 

Priscilla spoke of the history and heritage of Tenuta San Guido, then introduced each course with an exposition of the vintages and the releases.



 
Prior to the courses we were served Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto Toscana 2017- a Bordeaux varietal comprised of Merlot.

With the dinner courses we started with Sassicaia 1998 and 1999, two contrasting vintages - a warm year and a moderate year - served alongside chanterelle mushroom plate - a perfect food wine pairing!

Antipasta 

Portabella Mushroom Guanciale
White Polenta Mascarpone and Tomini


Next was an incredible lamb ragu in bolognese sauce with pasta served with Sassicaia 2000 and 2001. This was another incredible food wine pairing experience - perfectly matched complementary tasting profiles.

Primi

Braised Lamb Shoulder Ragu - Saffron Tagliorini
Charred Tomatoes - Shallots - Parmesan Regiano


This was followed by ribeye steak in a rich red wine reduction sauce served with Sassicaia 2004 and 2005, another contrast in two disparate vintages - a warm and a moderate year.

Secondi

Rib Eye Fiorentina - Salsa Verde
Purple Peruvian Potato Puree - Guidalberto Jus


Finally, Italian Pecorina cheese with toast points served with young brash, bright, brilliant Sassicaia 2015 and 2016.

Formaggi

Pecorino Capriano
Fig Jam - Crostini







Italian Village - Chicago Vivere Restaurant - http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/


Sunday, October 20, 2019

Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2012

Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2012

One might say this is one of our signature wines for our son Alec, along with 'Alec's Blend from Napa Lewis Cellars. We pulled this from the cellar for sipping with cheese, fruit and chocolate with a Saturday night movie as we prepare to go visit in Alec in NYC this week.

This is a full throttle powerful high octane Shiraz. If you think that is over the top with the superlatives, try this wine. It's actually over the top for my liking and I like big bold style wine. Linda actually likes this style. some Cellartrackers talked about using the Mollydooker Shake on this wine. No wonder the producer introduced the Mollydooker 'shake' where they actually prescribe shaking the bottle before opening to awaken or to settle the fruit! We own and drink a lot of their wine and I have never gotten into the habit of doing so, perhaps tonight we should have!

Reading up on the Mollydooker Shake, it is prescribed only for still red wines of two years of age or less. It is to release the nitrogen in the bottle that they use instead of the normal sulphites commonly used to preserve wines.  Sulphites can cause an allergic asthma type reaction in some people and Mollydooker realise a lot of people are sensitive to them. So, wherever they can, they use nitrogen to protect the wine so that they can reduce the amount of sulphites.

We served an earlier vintage release of this wine at a graduation celebration for Alec back in his college apartment.

This was dark blackish inky purple, full bodied, powerful, rich forward fruit of super ripe savoury extracted raisin, notes of expresso coffee, soy and anise, with a bit of heat with almost a medicinal or metallic layer. I wonder if this is indicative of this vintage or if perhaps we held it a bit too long, or perhaps this is an aberrant bottle. We have some more of this vintage and will watch it carefully.

The pundits and Cellartracker collectors give this 92 points. I give it 88.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1762926

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/default.aspx

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Long Shadows Chester-Kidder 2016

Long Shadows Winery Chester-Kidder Red Blend 2016

Just received my wine club allocation which included this label and the 2016 Pedestal Merlot. We discovered and signed up for this during our Washington Wine Experience when we visited the winery tasting room in Woodinville last fall.

Another note and point of interest of these wines is a personal family connection. As I wrote in our blogpost during our Washington Wine, Seattle Wine and Culinary Experience, a subplot to the story is that our niece Anna Long, married last fall into the Van Hoed family, farmers, wine growers, viticulturists and winemakers from the famed Walula Vineyards in the Columbia River wine region. Her great uncle-in-law, is Andy Den Hoed who manages some of the vineyards for Long Shadows wines.

As I wrote in this blogpost at the time, Long Shadows was the creation of Allan Shoup, leader of Chateau St Michelle from 1983 to 2000. There he introduced Washington State grapes to winemakers from around the world in collaboration to produce quality wines. 

After retirement from Chateau St Michelle Shoup founded Long Shadows to produce world class ultra-premium wines in Washington. He built a state of the art winery in Walla Walla and recruited a team of legendary producers to craft signature wines from the best vineyards' fruit from the Washington Columbia Valley. Three years into the new venture Long Shadows was awarded the Winery of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine. 

Shoup recruited a top winemaker with expertise and a track record producing best in class wine in each category or type of wine based on varietal grape. Marketed under the Vintners Collection, each of the Long Shadows labels in a testament to the legend of the winemaker for each label based on each varietal. Talented winemaker Gilles Nicault manages the estate and all its different cuvées in collaboration and with consulting advice from a selected world class winemakers for each label.


Allen Shoup named this wine in honor of his mother, Elizabeth Chester, and his grandmother, Maggie Kidder. Long Shadows' director of winemaking and viticulture, Gilles Nicault, crafts this New World blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and other classic Bordeaux varieties.

Long Shadows Winery Chester-Kidder Red Blend 2016

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (58%), Syrah (30%), and 12% Petit Verdot. The Cabernet and Syrah fruit is sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley Red Mountain and Candy Mountain vineyards to which the winemaker attributes firm structure and intensity; from the Stone Tree Vineyard on Wahluka Slope adds red fruit characteristics, and a small selection of the Petiti Verdot is from the Dionysus Vineyard which adds layers of ripe flavors and tannins.

As noted above, distant cousin in laws Den Hoed's manage some of the vineyards for Long Shadow's wines.

Winemaker notes for this 2016 release: "The vintage was another hot growing season that required extra care in the vineyards. Building on the success of our canopy management program over the last few vintages, we worked with growers throughout the season to encourage growth of the canes and outside foliage to protect against the sun while opening up the fruit zone for even maturation. Warm temperatures in the fall hastened ripening, while the Columbia Valley’s cool autumn nights protected the grapes’ acidity resulting in rich, concentrated wines.'

"Select Cabernet Sauvignon lots underwent an extended maceration of 40 days to produce intense color, flavor and firm tannins that stand up to 30 months of barrel-aging in tight-grained French oak barrels (80% new). The extended barrel-aging helps to both enhance the wine’s rich mouthfeel as well as integrate the fruit and oak. The result is a supple, layered winethat drinks well on release but also rewards time in the cellar."

JAMES SUCKLING gave this 94 points and wrote:  Inky in color and brimming with layered aromas and flavors of black cherries, baking spice and a subtle earthiness, the 2016 Chester-Kidder offers an impressive concentration of refined tannins and a lively mouthfeel.  Wonderfully rich and well-balanced, the wine gains fullness across the mid-palate and leaves a vibrant impression on the finish.

Contrary to James Suckling's note, I found this dark garnet colored, medium to full-bodied, complex, and layered, but slightly disjointed as if the boldness of the Syrah was competing for attention with the firm structured Cabernet Sauvignon. I suspect that with some time in bottle this will settle and become more balanced and harmonious. The Syrah predominance showed a layer of sweet red fruits, accented by notes of spice, tobacco leaf, smokey sweet oak and smooth tannins on the lingering finish. 
RM 91 points.  

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Andrew Will Sorella 2001


Andrew Will "Sorella" Columbia Valley Red Blend 2001
 
Andrew Will is the work of winemaker Chris Camarda who started working out of his house in Vashon, Washington in 1989 which doubled as a tasting room, influenced by Italian industrial design and sitting on 5 acres. Andrew Will is named for Chris's nephew Andrew and son Will. 

Andrew Will produce a portfolio of single vineyard Bordeaux varietal blends that explore the primacy of vineyard over varietal. They focus on Bordeaux varietals from each vineyard, where they produce blends to express that site. The differences between the vineyard wines are of particular interest.

We pulled this aged Columbia Valley Red Bordeaux Blend from the cellar for beef tenderloin dinner at home. Fruit for this release was sourced entirely from the Washington State Columbia Valley Champoux Vineyard, the core of the 2001 Sorella is blended from a 29 year-old block of Cabernet Sauvignon (68%) with the balance being Cabernet Franc (15%), Merlot (10%), and Petit Verdot (7%).

Our web journal records show we last opened this label vintage release back in 2004. At eighteen years, fourteen years later, it is past it's prime drinking window and is time to drink. 

Robert Parker gave this label 93 points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar and Wine Spectator gave it 92 points. 

Dark Ruby colored, medium-full bodied, tightly wound firm structured, the black berry and black currant fruits are starting to give way to a layer of smokey non-fruit flavors of tobacco, herbs and minerals with notes of cassis, spice and dark mocha chocolate turning to tongue-coating firm tannins on a long  structured finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3588

http://www.andrewwill.com/home/