Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Tribute to Dean Derby - Spring Valley Vineyard

Tribute to Dean Derby - Spring Valley Vineyard - Derby Cabernet Sauvignon

We were saddened to read the announcement from Spring Valley Vineyard of the passing of Dean Derby, patriarch owner proprietor of the family owned and operated SVV in Walla Walla, Washington.

According to their memo sent to wineclub members yesterday morning, "Spring Valley was built on the strong foundation of grit, authenticity, hard work, love for this land, and love for family. Papa Dean was the epitome of these values, and raised our family with the same strong foundation.' 

"Papa Dean passed away peacefully at home with family by his side Early morning on Friday, October 29. We will miss his larger than life smile (shaded by his cowboy hat), his storytelling, and so much more, but the memories we have of him will be shared forever.'

"Please raise a glass of Spring Valley with your family or friends, and cheers to my Papa Dean, a man who lived an amazing life and whose legacy will live forever!"

So, last night we opened a Derby Spring Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, namesake wine named for Dean Derby, and toasted Dean and our fond memory of meeting him.

I've written in these pages, and sent out an email to our wineclub that, one of the highlights of our trip to Walla Walla was when we had the pleasure of meeting Dean Derby during our visit to the vineyards during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2019

We ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancestor and co-owners of the family business.

As I wrote in that earlier blogpost, we drove north from Walla Walla, out Middle Waitsburg Road, around the Walla Walla airport, to Corkrum Road, aptly named for the early ancestors of the Spring Valley producer's family, to the winery and vineyard site. 


There we ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancestor and co-owners of the family business. What a treat and honor to meet Mr. Derby and what a delightful visit we had.

We encountered him on the driveway to his farm. As he approached us, I yelled out that we came out to see the site, that we were big fans of his wine. “We admire your artwork,” I said upon encountering him on the country farm. “It’s not my work, it’s the Lords!”, he exclaimed! What a delightful man, he was.

 

Linda followed up and appended my email with a note: "What an incredibly welcoming man he was. We were heading north to Spokane for a later flight and decided to go cross country near to where Rick thought was the Spring Valley Farm. It was beautiful. We were encountered by a man and his dog in a John Deere 4X4 who then engaged with his humble story of the farm not disclosing who he was nor what he did. Rick asked directly if this was his farm…the rest is now his personal eternal history as a man of God." 

Dean Derby moved to Walla Walla where he met Shari in the 6th grade at Sharpstein Grade School. Shari and Dean graduated from Walla Walla High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. Shari Corkrum and Dean Derby were married in 1954 and had two children, DeAnn Derby and Devin Corkrum Derby.

Dean Derby was football captain for UW. He still holds the record for longest run from scrimmage for a touchdown at Husky Stadium (92 yards against Illinois).

Dean was drafted into the NFL as the 1st pick of the 4th round by the Los Angeles Rams, then traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 1st league game in September 1957. He was named All Pro Defensive Cornerback and played 4+ years with the Steelers and 1+ years for the Minnesota Vikings.

Dean and Shari planted wine grapes on the ranch in Spring Valley in 1993. The first wine – URIAH, a Merlot-based red blend was released in 2001. 


The Spring Valley Vineyards from a distance down Corkrum Road. 


The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the farmstead site

 The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the farmstead site

Toast to Dean, indeed. I am sure he will be missed immensely by family, friends and many of us distant followers. May he rest in peace. 

Spring Valley Vineyards Wines Portfolio
labels named for Corkrum Family Members
The Derby's devotion to family was profoundly apparent in their naming each of their wines for a member of the family. I write about their branding and the portfolio of the wines in many of my blogposts in these pages. 

We acquired one of the horizontal vintage release collections that featured a bottle of each of the labels that feature a family member. We've also had fun gifting this collectable OWC - Original Wood Case boxed set to folks on special family oriented occasions. 



Thank you, Kate Derby Raymond for thinking of us and reaching out and sharing the sad news. 

Linked referenced in this blog:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/10/spring-valley-vineyards-tasting-and.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/11/spring-valley-vineyards-nina-syrah-2017.html

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/


Saturday, October 30, 2021

Halloween eve dinner with Dragon's Tooth Red Blend

Halloween eve dinner with Dragon's Tooth Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Halloween wine? Well, no there isn't any such thing that I know of, but the closest I could come up with in our cellar was Dragon's Tooth Red Blend by Trefethen. We selected this from our cellar to take BYOB to dinner at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria.

R&L in the Trefethen
estate gardens
We discovered and acquired this wine during our visit to the Trefethen winery estate in the Oak Knoll District Appellation of southern Napa Valley, along St. Helena highway, just above the town of Napa. 

The Red Dragon on the label of this Dragon's Tooth Napa Valley Red Wine originated in ancient Welsh ancestry of the proprietors. 

According to British legend, two dragons, one red, one white, fight in the sky. The boy Merlin watches them with King Vortigern and when the red prevails, driving the white across the sea, the boy foretells the coming of King Arthur who will lead Vortigern's people, the Welsh, to victory over the invading Saxons.

Catherine Trefethen, Matriarch, First Lady of the Trefethen estate family, was Welsh. Her loves for wine, gardens and family were the inspiration for the estate in Napa Valley's Oak Knoll District. Although she has departed, her spirit is said to be still felt, especially in the cool foggy mornings when mist envelops the vineyards. 

This label showcases the newest plantings of Malbec and Petit Verdot of the rockiest part of the estate vineyard where obsidian flakes occasionally remind one of the toothy smile of Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) guardian and symbol of Wales. 

 

Trefethen Dragons Tooth Napa Valley Red Wine 2009

The 2009 Vintage release of this label was a Bordeaux Blend of 67% Malbec, 18% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Merlot, all 100% sourced from the Trefethen Oak Knoll District Appellation, Napa Valley Estate Vineyard.

It was aged 21 months in 67% French 20% American 13% Hungarian oak. 

Winemaker's Notes: "The Vintage 2009 was an excellent, even-keeled vintage in Napa Valley. Consistently mild weather throughout the growing and harvest seasons resulted in stress-free vines, long grape hang times, and fruit with finely developed flavors at lower-than-normal sugar levels. The third vintage of this lively wine is deep purple in color with aromas of black currant, blackberry and cinnamon. The palate is full with flavors of plum, cherry and chocolate. This voluminous wine finishes with balanced, structured tannins that emphasize the rich fresh fruit and hints of spice. Food Affinities The addition of some blackberries or blueberries to smoky grilled or roasted beef, lamb, pork or duck brings out the best in both food and the wine."

Trefethen Dragon's Tooth 2011 labels

This wine has been sitting in our cellar for a decade, waiting for the right occasion for this peculiar label. It was ideal this evening, so much so, I ran out the next day and picked up the current release vintage of this label to replace the one we drank. I had forgotten this was a Bordeaux Blend, noting the prime anchor varietal is Malbec.  

This label was awarded 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

This was the third vintage of this distinctive blend, medium-full bodied, deep purple in color with aromas and flavors of black currant, blackberry and cinnamon turning to tones of plum, cherry and mocha and hints of spice, finishing with nicely balanced but structured tangy acidic laced tannins.

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "This is so smooth, rich and mellow, you hardly notice how intense the tannins are. But they are hard, and lock down the flavors of black currant and black licorice, plus the complex notes of minerals, roasted game and dark spices."

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1370334

https://www.trefethen.com/

 




Thursday, October 28, 2021

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

We discovered and acquired this wine during our recent visit to the Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery estate and hospitality center in northeast Indiana north of Ft. Wayne, which I featured in a chronicle of our estate visit recently. 

We opened this for pleasant casual sipping with roast beef and pasta leftovers - a suitable pairing and occasion for this wine. 

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Winemaker's Blend NV

According to the winery tasting wine flight offering sheet, this is a non-vintage blend sourced from grapes from Calaveras County, CA.

Dark garnet purple colored, medium-full bodied, somewhat complex tangy gripping blackberry and ripe plum fruits accented by a layer of smoke, tobacco box, woody leather with notes of toasted poppy seeds, soy and black pepper with a lingering menthol and whisper of cognac laced acidic finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4136331

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago features Galatrona Toscana, Caprili Brunello di Montalcino and a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

My leadership team (engineering, development, operations and strategy) gathered in Chicago again as we continue to build out our strategic plan. Once again, we dined at Italian Village, Chicago, our regular dinesite due to its broad menu, extraordinary wine cellar list, proximity to the office and our hotels, and our long standing friendships with staff there. 

Being what is becoming a regular outing, as somewhat regulars there, tonight we had fun presenting to Gina Capitanini, third generation owner of the historic restaurant, a 'team picture' of this part of our group with wine director Jared Gelband and Garardo, one of the floor managers. Look for it/us on the walls of pictures of celebrities, notables, and some of us regulars.

Wine Director Jared Gelband, recently returned from his wine tour to Italy, pulled from the cellar a couple wines for our dinner, a Sangiovese and a extraordinary Tuscan Chianti Classico Merlot Bordeaux varietal, and a blend of the two. 

Prior to dinner we met to plan a special event dinner for an upcoming global team gathering and we had a glass of this classic unique premium label.

Vignamaggio Monna Lisa Gran Selezione Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

This producer estate, Vignamaggio, has been in operation since 1404. The estate sprawls over more than 400 hectares, with vineyards, vegetable and ornamental gardens and a historic winery. The state-of-the-art working farm has Chianti Classico vineyards, olive groves, thriving vegetable gardens and fruit trees, forests, and also raises animals.

This label is named in tribute to the daughter of the original owners of the estate, who became eternally famous after Leonardo da Vinci painted her portrait.

It carries the distinctive "Gran Selezione" designation and is only made in the best years. It is produced from select grapes from Vignamaggio top three, most prized vineyards – Prato, Solatio and Querceto. It is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged partially in French oak barriques for 18–20 months and partially in larger barrels. The entire ageing process takes a minimum of 30 months, of which at least six are in the bottle.

The Gran Selezione designation, established less than a decade ago, was created to allow Chianti producers to compete with Brunello Riservas and the best of Montalcino, with longer aging requirements and a high quality standard, showcasing and representing the best of Chianti.

The 2016 vintage release was one of the best ever  with both Vinous and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate scoring it as their favorite vintage ever, such that this is considered the best version of Monna Lisa yet.

Only five pallets of this superlative Gran Selezione made their way to the US, a tiny amount for a wine  with such a reputation as a can’t-miss for Tuscan lovers and collectors. Its not surprising that Italian Village with their extensive deep and broad cellar offer this on their winelist.  

This was awarded 94 points by Vinous.

Dark, bright ruby purple colored, somewhat translucent yet full-bodied, this is complex and concentrated, combining Sangiovese’s savory, red-fruit richness with the velvety softness of Merlot and powerful structure from a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated yet elegant with black and red cherry fruits, wine, allspice, notes of tobacco and leather turning to gripping but polished tannins on the long long finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3602213

https://vignamaggio.com/

Amazingly, after dozens of meals at Italian Village Chicago over as many years, tonight's meal was one of the best ever. I write often about the importance of pairing the right wine with food, or vice versa, which can have a multiplicative effect when done perfectly. 

Reading the Italian Village menu, I was drawn to the "House Specialty" designation of the Lasagna, with meat sauce, white cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, baked in Mozzarella cheese (shown right). Selecting this for my dinner this was the best Lasagna I have ever tasted, and was perfectly matched with the exceptional Galatrona Toscana. 

While opening, decanting and serving the Galatrona, Jared described the wine, the producer, and the profile and character of this aged vintage release. Listening to this, colleague Kevin changed his entree selection to the filet of beef steak with sauteed shrimp (shown left), topped with a sauteed garlic and olive oil sauce served over spinach, which proved to be another extraordinary pairing. 

A couple of the fellas had what is becoming another regular favorite, the Pheasant Agnolottini - pillow shaped pheasant-filled pasta in a butter sage sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Of course, our dinners there are all about the pairing of the food with extraordinary, spectacular wines - taking advantage of the extraordinary Italian Village cellar and winelist selection!

Galatrona Petrolo Toscana 2001

Petrolo produces estate bottled terroir driven wines from vines of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, focusing on careful selection of grapes from low yields and artful winemaking.

Back in 1716 Cosimo III de Medici, the Great Duke of Tuscany, stated with an edict which areas had the most valuable production of fine wine and quality olive oil, recognizing 4 areas, Chianti center (between Panzano and Greve), Carmignano (west of Florence), Pomino (east of Florence) and the Val d’Arno di Sopra (the western and eastern hills along the Arno river between Florence and Arezzo, where Petrolo is located) .

A century later, in 1834, agronomist Giorgio Perrin, owner of Petrolo and member of the Accademia dei Gergofili of Florence, noted Sangiovese from this area, especially that spot called Campo Asciutto (now Bòggina), was commonly planted and blended with “French grapes” in Chianti to combine with Sangiovese. 

The Estate was acquired in the 40’s by the family Bazzocchi that followed up the tradition of carefully producing high quality wines. Petrolo’s vineyards extend across 75 acres in the DOC Val d’ Arno di Sopra appellation, bordering the south eastern area of Chianti Classico. The vineyards are found at an altitude between 250 and 450 meters elevation consisting of loose-packed soil with different mixture of rocks like marl, sandstone and shale typical of the Chianti area.

The Galatrona vineyard consists of 7 1/2 acres, planted in 1990, the first Merlot vineyard that Petrolo planted. This label, Galatrona has been produced from this vineyard since it’s very first bottling in 1994, composed of 100% Merlot.

The Feriale vineyard, added another 12 acres to the Galatrona vineyard, when it was planted in the 90’s, almost entirely of Merlot plants, with a few vines planted to Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, intended for the production of Galatrona. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.

Petrolo’s wines are crafted to achieve the greatest quality that also best represent the terroir of the historic Estate. Galatrona wines were ranked among the ten best merlot in the world according to Wine-Searcher.com in November 2018. 

Galatrona is the “Gran-Cru” of Merlot of Petrolo, only made with the finest select grapes from the vineyard of the same name.  

This label was awarded 96 points and a Collectible by Wine Spectator,  and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate who said: "The 2001 Galatrona confirms its status as one of Tuscany’s better Merlot bottlings." Production has grown from 850 cases in the early years to 2500 cases in recent year. 

At twenty years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, with perfect cork, but not likely to improve any further from aging. Look at the difference in the color of the residue on the corks between the two bottles of our flight - the Sangiovese (ruby) and the Merlot (dark garnet).

Opened and decanted for an hour, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a symphony of elegant flavors, soft, silky, polished, dense blackberry and notes of black cherry and plum fruits with tones of mineral, spice, tobacco and leather with smooth polished fine grained tannins on a long seductive finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97792

https://www.petrolo.it/

 Caprili Brunello di Montalcina 2016

The estate was founded by Alfo Bartolommei in 1965. The Bartolommei family settled in the Municipality of Montalcino at the beginning of the last century.  The family originated from Podere Marzolo in the Municipality of Cinigiano (Province of Grosseto).

In 1911, the family moved to Podere Poggi, moving several times from one country home to another on the Villa Santa Restituta estate until they finally arrived at the Caprili farm home in 1952 which they took over and continued to work the land by sharecropping.  

In 1965, the Bartolommei family decided to buy the property from the Castelli-Martinozzi family, owners of Villa Santa Restituta estate.  In the same year, 1965, they planted the first vineyard, still called “Madre” to this day, where the clones for the new vineyards planted on the estate are selected.

The first bottle of Brunello di Montalcino was the 1978 harvest and was put on the market in 1983.

A great representation of Sangiovese at its best from a spectacular vintage, this 2016 release was awarded 96 points by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectato, and 94 points by James Suckling and Vinous.  45,000 bottles were produced. 
 
Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant tangy slightly tart cherry and ripe plum fruits with floral, dusty rose, cedar and hints of mint and camphor with tones of leather, and smoky creosote on a zesty acidic found tannin laced finish. 
 
RM 91 points.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery

 Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery in northeast Indiana

Visiting northeastern Indiana we visited Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery outside the hamlet of LaOtta, Indiana, north of Fort Wayne. I chronicled Indiana wines in an earlier blogpost.

I've written before about Indiana wine and the challenges of growing terroir driven quality grapes in the climate and soil there, hence our expectations were fairly modest. Like many midwest producers, Country Heritage craft wines from estate grown grapes, grapes imported from around the region, and grapes imported from as far away as California and Washington State. 

We were surprised and impressed with the vastness and extent of the Country Heritage Vineyards, Winery and hospitality center. This is a serous operation with intent on producing quality fine wines as well as every day sipping wines. They vastly exceeded our expectations in every respect - their vineyard operations, their craftmanship in winemaking, their winery operations, and their marketing, branding and promotions. 

Country Heritage Winery & Vineyards are owned and operated by Jennifer & Jeremy Lutter on the Lutter family farm that has been in the family over several generations going back over a hundred years. 

On their several hundreds of acres of croplands across Noble County, Swan Township (shown below), they have planted over 70 acres of vineyards - practicing serious viticulture to grow select grapes suited to the terroir - soil, climate and all elements of place. 

Country Heritage also source grapes through contracts with numerous growers around the region, and from growers as far away as California. 

Shown adjacent below are the land holdings of the Lutter Family farms across Swan Township in Noble County, Indiana.

They brought in Kevin Geeting as Head Winemaker - locally born and raised, he learned winemaking through his own studies and experimentation, then learned the tradecraft as assistant winemaker at a winery in Virginia before returning to Indiana to take on responsibilities with the Lutters at Country Heritage. 

Teaming with the Lutters and their generations of experience growing excellent crops, they've developed an extensive estate of vineyards and winery production facilities to produced a broad extensive portfolio of wines. 

Traveling north from Fort Wayne on State Route 3, one comes across the vast Country Heritage estate vineyards and winery. The vast hospitality center consists of a retail tasting bar and giftshop, a vast tasting hospitality room that extends out to patios, gardens and an amphitheater with stage for concerts and entertainment. There is also a wine cellar with private dining room and barrel room for private tastings and dinners. 

The wine cellar dining room features a vast dining table that seats sixteen, handcrafted personally by proprietor Jeremy Lutter (shown below). 



The tasting bar offers tasting flights of personally selected flights featuring their broad portfolio of red, white, blush rose, sparkling and fortified dessert wines as well as fruit wines - estate, private label, special selections and vintage library wines.


They source grapes from notable wine regions to craft French and American varietal own label wines such as Petit Verdot from Sierra Foothills, CA, Petit Sirah from CA, Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, and Merlot from Walla Walla, Washington, and a Proprietor's Reserve vintage Bordeaux Blend from various sources in California. While these were not available for tasting, based on the quality of some of the tasting selections, we picked up some of these premium labels to try at home. 

As always, our goal was to explore their signature wines that best represent their estate viticulture and terroir as well as their winemaking craftsmanship. 

Focusing on their estate (home grown) wines, our tasting flight consisted of these Country Heritage labels:

Traminette 2020
Vignobles 2020
Petit Pearl 2018
Norton 2018
Vintner's Cuvee - Winemaker's Blend (Calaveras County, CA) - Tasting Note
Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Commemorative Bottling 2020
Ice Age White - Late Harvest blend of La Crescent and Vignobles 

They also produce this commemorative bottling of the annual car festival at the northwest Indiana classic car Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Museum in nearby Auburn, Indiana, another regional destination, attraction.


Purchased Wines from their select premium and library collections

Ice Aged White Dessert Wine





Special private label bottling - New Year's Eve
also owner/proprietor's birthday - 1231



Special release - Proprietor's Blend Bordeaux Blend

Watch for future wine tasting postings as we explore these wines further. 

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Waygu Beefsteak dinner with Diamond Mtn Cab Franc

Waygu Beefsteak dinner with Diamond Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Son Ryan came over to discuss joint business engagement and he brought Waygu Beefsteaks to cook on the grill. I pulled from the cellar a Constant Diamond Mountain Cab Franc for the occasion. 


Linda prepared ceasar salad, brussel sprouts and baked potatoes and ceasar salad for the dinner. 

Purebred Wagyu Japanese cattle are crossbred with traditional beef cattle breeds to create American Wagyu Beef, considered the finest,  ideal combination of the exceptional intramuscular marbling of purebred Japanese Wagyu, and the intense meaty flavor of traditional American cattle. The result is a perfect blend of famous Wagyu buttery marbling and the robust beef flavor for which American beef is known. It was made famous in the Kobe region of Japan and was traditionally known as Kobe beef, much akin to Champagne hailing from the famous wine region in France.

Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2007

We tasted and acquired this wine at the magnificent Constant Diamond Mtn. Vineyard and Winery estate high atop Diamond Mountain during our Diamond Mtn Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2011.

Shown right with the late Freddie Constant is fellow Pour Boy Bill, Beth, Bro-in-law Bill, Jan, Linda and me.

Tonight's tasting was consistent with our previous tasting of this label way back in 2014. 

At fourteen years, this is aging well, perhaps continuing at its apex, and showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. It was delicious and a perfect pairing with the ultra premium Waygu beefsteaks. 

My last tasting note as posted on cellartracker, and blogspot back on 11/21/2014 - I like this wine: 93 Points.

Bright dark ruby/purple colored, medium to full bodied, this was bright vibrant full forward black berry and black currant fruit with a bold punch of sweet almost cinnamon spice accented by tones of mocha chocolate, soft sweet oak with dusty lush pleasing tongue coating lingering tannins.

RM 93 points.

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2014/11/constant-cab-franc-and-eileen-hardy.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1262714

https://www.constantwine.com/

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Italian Village Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo duo

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo Nebbiolo wines

For a team dinner we dined at our regular go-to venue in the Chicago city centre, a few blocks walking distance from our office and our hotels, Italian Village Chicago, in one of their select private tables. 

We chose two wines from the extensive Italian Village winelist from their extraordinary cellar which serves all three restaurants under normal times, two Italian labels to accompany our dinner.

Normally we'd be served by Wine Director and dear friend Jared Gelband but he is touring Italy visiting several producer estates. We were served by Gerardo who in normal times would manage the upscale Vivere restaurant but is helping manage the Italian Village floor during these crazy Covid times.

Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna di Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013

This is a 'Super Tuscan' Blend meaning it is from French Bordeaux varietals grown in the Italian Tuscany region. The producer, Tenuta di Arceno is an old historic Tuscan estate with a diverse portfolio of the highest quality wines across two classification levels – three wines centered on the native Sangiovese grape in the Chianti Classico DOCG collection; and three wines from the estate’s international (French Bordeaux) varieties under the Toscana IGT designation. 

The estate is situated at the southernmost-edge of the Chianti Classico region in the butterfly-shaped commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near the village of Siena, often referred to as ‘the most Senese Chianti Classico,’adjacent the scenic ancient walled town of San Gusmè.

The sub-region is home to several world-renowned producers who produce stylistically distinct wines. 

The Tenuta di Arceno estate is 1,000 total hectares (2,500 acres) of which 92 hectares (220 acres) are planted to vineyards – the remaining land preserved for native vegetation including 50 hectares (125 acres) of olive orchards. The vineyards are separated into 63 blocks, the vineyards planted to 50% the region's native Sangiovese, and the remaining 50% with international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This is a Merlot-based blend sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia vineyards' blocks, known to produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The Merlot blocks, located in the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by a nearby stream, with sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical, are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.

The recent 2019 vintage release of this label received the coveted Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award. Each yeara a panel of prominent wine experts review wines from each of Italy’s 20 regions evaluating over 23,000 wines from 2500 producers and awarding scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses (“Bicchieri”) according to the quality of the wine. Tre Bicchieri wines are generally recognized in Italy and by the international wine community as Italy’s best. A Tre Bicchieri award is a really big deal for a winery. The tastings are done blind so there is no favoritism or influence on the outcomes.

Winemaker's tasting notes: "The 2013 was a classic vintage, yet on the cool side, which favors the perfect ripening of Merlot. The Valadorna Merlot was picked on October 1st, allowing ample time on the vine for perfect maturation and tannin development. The nose jumps from the glass with exotic spices of jasmine, cumin and vanilla bean. The fruit expression is of raspberry and black cherry. The mouthfeel is dominated by long flexible tannins framed by slight tingling acids. The immediate sensation of blueberry pie gives way to an uplifting bright sour cherry finish. As the fruit subsides, what remains on the palate are hints of sweet cedar and cigar box notes. The 2013 is an elegant vintage and will age gracefully."

This is a Bordeaux varietal blend of 74% Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and
1% Petit Verdot. 

This was an ideal compliment to my pasta with a tangy meat sauce. 

Dark purple-garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex and intense but well integrated and nicely balanced vibrant blackberry with notes of black cherries and currants, highlights of dark chocolate, espresso, and Tuscan terroir cedar, dried spice, smoke and tobacco with hints of vanilla, and leather, with firm but approaching tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3296253

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/enFor a second wine, I selected from the IV winelist this Italian Barolo, a native Nebbiolo varietal to accompany our Italian cuisine. Ideally, we would've tasted this stylistic varietal first ahead of the more complex, more concentrated Tuscan blend however it was an appropriate pairing with several of the folk's Italian entree dishes.

Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambroglio Barolo 2014

This is from the Bruna Grimaldi family estate in the hills that between Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of Langhe, part of the Unesco Heritage. The Grimaldi family have been in the wine business since the 1960's when Giacomo Grimaldi started selling grapes, then his son, Giovanni Grimaldi began produce wine and selling it in bulk. 

Giovanni bottles estate wines in the best vintages with a long library of releases over the following decades. 

Since the 1990's the property and brand have been managed by the next generation, Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino. They built a new upgraded winery and produce wines only from their own vineyards. Franco tends to the vineyard management and winemaking, and is the driving force in the company focusing on Langhe sourced Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Bruna manages the family business, an oenologist, she is a member of “Donne del Vino” Association. 

Since 2013, the next generation, Simone and Martina, son and daughter of Bruna and Franco, have joined their parents’ learning from their experience and their studies to promote and continue on with the Bruna Grimaldi brand. 

The best Langhe plots are selected for the production of Barolo, the Bricco Ambrogio Barolo known for great elegance. The vineyard terroir have a perfect exposure to the sun with a hot microclimate ideal for Nebbiolo which tend to picked earlier and differentiate themselves in the rainier and cooler vintages.  Their estate Barolo is known to show warm, open perfumes, tending to ripe fruits and spice notes with structure that lean on silky and enjoyable tannins.
 
This is 100% Nebbiolo from the MGA Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in the municipality of Roddi. The terroir boasts southern exposure with very steep slopes, with grey-blue layers of clay in limestone and sand. 
 
This was awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 
 
Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright red cherry fruits with spicy notes of clove and accents of earth, leather, oak, hints of smoke with a tangy acid on a moderate tannin finish. 
 
RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3073416

https://www.grimaldibruna.it/en/wines/barolo-bricco-ambrogio-docg/

 

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner

Italian Village Chicago Team Dinner features Super Tuscan and Barolo Nebbiolo wines

For a team dinner we dined at our regular go-to venue in the Chicago city centre, a few blocks walking distance from our office and our hotels, Italian Village Chicago, in one of their select private tables. 

We chose two wines from the extensive Italian Village winelist from their extraordinary cellar which serves all three restaurants under normal times, two Italian labels to accompany our dinner.

Normally we'd be served by Wine Director and dear friend Jared Gelband but he is touring Italy visiting several producer estates. We were served by Gerardo who in normal times would manage the upscale Vivere restaurant but is helping manage the Italian Village floor during these crazy Covid times.

Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna di Arcanum Toscana IGT 2013

This is a 'Super Tuscan' Blend meaning it is from French Bordeaux varietals grown in the Italian Tuscany region. The producer, Tenuta di Arceno is an old historic Tuscan estate with a diverse portfolio of the highest quality wines across two classification levels – three wines centered on the native Sangiovese grape in the Chianti Classico DOCG collection; and three wines from the estate’s international (French Bordeaux) varieties under the Toscana IGT designation. 

The estate is situated at the southernmost-edge of the Chianti Classico region in the butterfly-shaped commune of Castelnuovo Berardenga, near the village of Siena, often referred to as ‘the most Senese Chianti Classico,’adjacent the scenic ancient walled town of San Gusmè.

The sub-region is home to several world-renowned producers who produce stylistically distinct wines. 

The Tenuta di Arceno estate is 1,000 total hectares (2,500 acres) of which 92 hectares (220 acres) are planted to vineyards – the remaining land preserved for native vegetation including 50 hectares (125 acres) of olive orchards. The vineyards are separated into 63 blocks, the vineyards planted to 50% the region's native Sangiovese, and the remaining 50% with international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

This is a Merlot-based blend sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia vineyards' blocks, known to produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The Merlot blocks, located in the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by a nearby stream, with sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical, are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.

The recent 2019 vintage release of this label received the coveted Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award. Each yeara a panel of prominent wine experts review wines from each of Italy’s 20 regions evaluating over 23,000 wines from 2500 producers and awarding scores ranging from 0 to 3 Glasses (“Bicchieri”) according to the quality of the wine. Tre Bicchieri wines are generally recognized in Italy and by the international wine community as Italy’s best. A Tre Bicchieri award is a really big deal for a winery. The tastings are done blind so there is no favoritism or influence on the outcomes.

Winemaker's tasting notes: "The 2013 was a classic vintage, yet on the cool side, which favors the perfect ripening of Merlot. The Valadorna Merlot was picked on October 1st, allowing ample time on the vine for perfect maturation and tannin development. The nose jumps from the glass with exotic spices of jasmine, cumin and vanilla bean. The fruit expression is of raspberry and black cherry. The mouthfeel is dominated by long flexible tannins framed by slight tingling acids. The immediate sensation of blueberry pie gives way to an uplifting bright sour cherry finish. As the fruit subsides, what remains on the palate are hints of sweet cedar and cigar box notes. The 2013 is an elegant vintage and will age gracefully."

This is a Bordeaux varietal blend of 74% Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and
1% Petit Verdot. 

This was an ideal compliment to my pasta with a tangy meat sauce. 

Dark purple-garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex and intense but well integrated and nicely balanced vibrant blackberry with notes of black cherries and currants, highlights of dark chocolate, espresso, and Tuscan terroir cedar, dried spice, smoke and tobacco with hints of vanilla, and leather, with firm but approaching tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3296253

https://www.tenutadiarceno.com/en

For a second wine, I selected from the IV winelist this Italian Barolo, a native Nebbiolo varietal to accompany our Italian cuisine. Ideally, we would've tasted this stylistic varietal first ahead of the more complex, more concentrated Tuscan blend however it was an appropriate pairing with several of the folk's Italian entree dishes.

Bruna Grimaldi Bricco Ambroglio Barolo 2014

This is from the Bruna Grimaldi family estate in the hills that between Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, in the heart of Langhe, part of the Unesco Heritage. The Grimaldi family have been in the wine business since the 1960's when Giacomo Grimaldi started selling grapes, then his son, Giovanni Grimaldi began produce wine and selling it in bulk. 

Giovanni bottles estate wines in the best vintages with a long library of releases over the following decades. 

Since the 1990's the property and brand have been managed by the next generation, Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino. They built a new upgraded winery and produce wines only from their own vineyards. Franco tends to the vineyard management and winemaking, and is the driving force in the company focusing on Langhe sourced Nebbiolo and Barbera.  Bruna manages the family business, an oenologist, she is a member of “Donne del Vino” Association. 

Since 2013, the next generation, Simone and Martina, son and daughter of Bruna and Franco, have joined their parents’ learning from their experience and their studies to promote and continue on with the Bruna Grimaldi brand. 

The best Langhe plots are selected for the production of Barolo, the Bricco Ambrogio Barolo known for great elegance. The vineyard terroir have a perfect exposure to the sun with a hot microclimate ideal for Nebbiolo which tend to picked earlier and differentiate themselves in the rainier and cooler vintages.  Their estate Barolo is known to show warm, open perfumes, tending to ripe fruits and spice notes with structure that lean on silky and enjoyable tannins.
 
This is 100% Nebbiolo from the MGA Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in the municipality of Roddi. The terroir boasts southern exposure with very steep slopes, with grey-blue layers of clay in limestone and sand. 
 
This was awarded 92 points by Wine Spectator and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast. 
 
Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright red cherry fruits with spicy notes of clove and accents of earth, leather, oak, hints of smoke with a tangy acid on a moderate tannin finish. 
 
RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3073416

https://www.grimaldibruna.it/en/wines/barolo-bricco-ambrogio-docg/