Friday, October 7, 2022

Tallgrass Lockport Fine Dining

Tallgrass Fine Dining in Lockport IL

Friday date night out, we dined at Tallgrass Restaurant in nearby Lockport (IL). A fixture in town since 1981, it is situated downtown in the picturesque river town on the banks of the Des Plaines river valley. 

The town straddles the valley that contains the working navigable Illinois Michigan Sanitary Canal and the historic Illinois Michigan (I&M) Ship Canal, and the Des Plaines River. The section of the canal that runs through Lockport, includes the remains of the canal's Lock No. 1 from which the town received its name.

The waterways flow from the City of Chicago, meeting with the Des Plaines and continue south past Joliet to meet the Kankakee River to form the Illinois River. 

Following the waterways are the Illinois and Michigan Canal Gaylord and Donnelly Trail along the canal right-of-way that is now the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor. 

Tallgrass is in a restored turn of the (last) century 1895 red stone and brick Victorian building, in a small narrow single storefront on busy State Street opposite the Roxy Theatre.

The small dining room has rustic dark wainscot paneled walls, authentic ceramic mosaic tile floors, tin ceilings, original gas chandeliers and artglass windows, with a mere eight dining tables adjacent a small bar in the corner, allowing for intimate dining and attentive service.

 

Tallgrass is the work of acclaimed Chef Robert Burcenski and local native Tom Alves. Tom studied oenology in France in the Rhone, Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux wine regions, and worked with winemakers in Oregon, Washington and California, and curates the Tallgrass wine program. 

The dining offerings are solely price fixe with diners selecting three, four, five or seven courses from the menu selections that range from seafood, poultry, beef, pork, lamb, vegetable dishes, salads and desserts, plus a couple of specials for the evening. Diners choose combinations with each offered as an entree or an starter. 

Dinners include a broad selection of fresh baked breads. 

There is a carefully selected winelist of a dozen WBTG - Wine-by-the-glass selections, and range of two hundred labels by the bottle to accompany each entree selection, primarily American. The wines are good values with a 1.5 to 2x multiple of retail prices. Note that while the actual winelist selection was greater than shown on the website, the prices as listed and shown on the website are woefully understated.

Linda selected the onion soup, the mixed green salad and a seafood medley entree selection. 

For my main course I selected one of the day's specials - Beef Tenderloin with foie gras mousse in a dark brown sauce with scalloped potatoes. For my starter I selected a Lump Crab, Lobster and Shrimp cake with Prawn in a lobster creme fraiche sauce. My vegetable course was an imaginative spinach ravioli with truffle and regianno cheese. 



Due to their fair and reasonable wine prices, we did not bring BYOB, which is our usual practice given our extensive personal cellar. We selected from the wine list Miner Napa Valley Chardonnay. 

Miner Family Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018

Miner is a family-owned winery sited up against the eastern hills of the Oakville appellation in the heart of Napa Valley. Founded in 1998 by former Oracle software executive Dave and Emily Miner, Miner Family Winery crafts wines sourced from fruit from estate and select grower's vineyards. This release was sourced from the Napa Valley Holman, Hyde and Genny’s Vineyards.

Winemaker Notes: "Sourced from low-yielding vineyards in Napa Valley, this Chardonnay is characterized by crisp apple, ripe melon and citrus flavors gently balanced with toasty French oak."

This was rated 92 points by James Suckling, 90 points by Wine & Spirits and 87 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Straw colored, medium bodied, rich forward green apple, pear and tangy citrus fruits with notes of mango and mineral on a creamy finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3448852

https://minerwines.com/ 

With my entree beef tenderloin I ordered from the WBTG selection this Raymond "R" California Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Raymond "R" Collection California Cabernet Lot No. 1 2018

This is the budget value collection of Raymond Family wines. The Lot No. 1 refers to the first grape varietal produced by the winery, Cabernet Sauvignon. 
 
The Raymond family arrived in Napa Valley in 1933 and became connected to the Beringer family via marriage in 1936. Roy Raymond worked as winemaker for Beringer from 1933-1970. 

In 1970, Ray and his two sons set out on their own with the 90-acre estate property in Rutherford just south of St. Helena off St Helena highway at Zinfandel Lane where the winery is located. The first Raymond Vineyards label was released in 1974.

Today Raymond is affiliated with the French Burgundy Boisset Collection of global properties.  

This was basic easy casual sipping as a nice accompaniment to the beef tenderloin and dark brown sauce.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3451525

https://raymondvineyards.com/

For the dessert course Linda selected Raspberry Creme Brulee and I the Chocolate souffle.  This turned into a bit of a kurfuffle as they served us the wrong entree's from another table and never really were able to recover in correcting the situation. 

https://www.tallgrassrestaurant.com/

Saturday, October 1, 2022

Pour Boys Fall Wine Dinner

Pour Boys Fall Wine Dinner features spectacular wines and food pairings

We hosted our Pour Boys wine group fall wine dinner. Bill & Beth came in from South Carolina, escaping Hurricane Ian, Dr Dan & Linda from Indiana, and Lyle and Terry out from the City. 

We were joined by son Sean and Michelle and grand-daughter Lavender, recently new neighbors, and son Ryan and wine buddy Dave M. 

 Each time we think we have out done ourselves with a spectacular wine flight, we seem to step it up another level, and tonight was another such occasion. 

We started with a pair of premium California Chardonnays with grilled scallops in beure blanc sauce, baked brie in pastry with toasted almonds and figs, with fresh berries and toast points, and deviled eggs. 


Nickle and Nickle Sonoma County Russian River Valley Stiling Vineyard Chardonnay 2013

Sea Smoke Santa Rita Hills Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2010

Dan brought a recent release of this label which we set aside to drink this older vintage release. 

Lyle wanted to try a certain St Julien Bordeaux from his cellar so I opened an older vintage of the same label for a mini vertical tasting of Château Branaire-Ducru. We then opened another Bordeaux from the same vintage for a mini horizontal tasting as well. 

Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien 2005 and 2010

Linda and I visited and toured Château Branaire-Ducru Chateau winery and vineyards (below) during our St Julien Bordeaux Wine Experience in 2019. We also visited Pauillac and the vineyards and grounds of Château Pichon Lalande (below), one of my absolute favorite producers' labels.


 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac 2010

As we then moved to the dinner courses we opened a selection of California Bordeaux varietals and blends, starting with Linda's stuffed mushrooms followed by chopped wedge dinner salad. 


Linda then served grilled Tomahawk Rib-eye beefsteaks with a medley of grilled vegetables - corn, brussel sprouts, carrots, haricot verts, and onions, and scalloped potatoes.



Linda then served with the grilled Tomahawk Rib-eye beefsteaks a delicious medley of grilled vegetables - corn, brussel sprouts, carrots, haricot verts and onions, and her super scalloped potatoes.

Flight of California Bordeaux varietals and red blends - 

Chateau St Jean 'Cinq Cepages' Sonoma Red Blend 1997

We have visited the magnificent Chateau St Jean in northern Sonoma Valley numerous times over the years during trips to Napa and Sonoma, including a couple visits with Bill and Beth. 

Most recently we visited Chateau St Jean in Sonoma and did a Reserve Private Tasting with Dr Dan and Bill during our Napa Sonoma Wine Experience in 2017 (shown left).

Peter Michael 'Les Pavots' Red Blend 2011

Fellow wine buddy Ernie couldn't make it tonight. He's a wine club member from this producer and often brings this wine to our dinners. We've been fans and collectors of this wine for decades and pulled from the cellar this vintage release of a favorite label to match/compare with the same vintage Diamond Creek, another legendary label. 

Peter Michael hails from Newbury in Berkshire, England where I worked for fifteen years back in the eighties and nineties. I regret this was in the early days before he became a legendary American wine producer and hospitality entrepreneur over there, and that I never got to meet him during my almost two hundred trips to the region. 

Diamond Creek Vineyards Napa Valley Diamond Mountain Gravelly Meadow Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

We've visited Diamond Creek Winery on several occasions over the years. We did a private tasting with Bill and Beth during our Diamond Mountain Wine Experience - Diamond Creek Vineyards back in 2011, and then again with Bill and Beth and Dan for the Diamond Creek Open House 2015 Release Tasting in 2017 (shown left).

Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 2009

Brandlin Mt Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

We were then joined by son Ryan and his neighbor, wine buddy, Dave; Ryan brought a couple of big reds from Napa Valley and Dave brought a classic Aussie Shiraz/Syrah. 

Ryan and Dave recently hosted a spectacular Boy's Night Out cellar tour and tasting that I wrote about in these pages.


Phillippe Melka 'Metisse' MontBleau Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Seven Apart 'Expedition' Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

To accompany and pare with the Melka I pulled from our cellar a vintage release for a vertical comparison. It was fun to compare these Phillippe Melka labels in light of our recent visit to Galena Cellars Vineyards and Winery where we met Eric White, President and Winemaker for Galena Cellars who in 2015,  went to cult-cab Napa Valley producer Brand, and worked with Phillippe Melka there.

Phillippe Melka 'Metisse' Napa Valley Red Blend 2000

Wine buddy Dave brought from his cellar this classic Australian Shiraz/Syrah signed by the producer.

Mollydooker Velvet Glove McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006

 This signed bottle is especially appreciated as a special bottle as it is signed by Mollydooker co-founder producer Sparky Marquis (who has since left the business). Sparky is a personal friend and fellow racing enthusiast with a colleague and business associate,  Peter F, who manages Australia and the Asia Pac region in my business.  

For dessert, Linda served her delectable chocolate mousse with homemade profiteroles with fresh berries and whipped cream. 

To accompany the dessert course we pulled from the cellar an aged birthyear vintage port from Ryan's birth year.

Warres' Late Bottled Vintage Port 1982

As the evening progressed, to settle or substantiate debates and claims, and open questions about the Napa Valley vintage years 2004 and 2005, the guys ventured back down to the cellar to pull a couple Napa Cabernets from those vintages.

Ryan and Dave - photo from
Caroline Ct Wine Boys 22

Darioush Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvigon 2004 

This was somewhat special because we were first introduced to Darioush and first had a wine dinner together with Bill and Beth at a Cress Creek Country Club wine dinner back around the millennium.

We've visited Darioush several times over the years. Most notably was a private wine dinner hosted by Darioush and Domaine de Chevalier at Everest Dining Room. Chicago, with a special dinner matched to a flight of wines from Darioush and Domaine Chevalier. 
 
This fabulous private dinner was hosted by Darioush & Shaptar Kaledi of Darioush Winery and Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier (shown left with a much younger me). Dr Dan attended with us as our guest for this special dinner.

Most recently, we all visited the Darioush Napa Valley Estate Winery Visit & Tasting during our 'Pour Boys'  Sonoma/NapaValley Wine Experience back in 2017.
 
Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvingnon 2005
 
Linda and I visited the Paradigm Oakville estate winery and vineyards and were hosted by owners Ren and Marilyn Harris back in 1999, as part of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 1999, and have been collecting this label every since.

Unless we manage another group dinner in the meantime, we'll next meet for our annual OTBN - "Open That Bottle Night", as is customary, the last Saturday in February. Following the seasons, we'll meet down on Seabrook Island in Charleston at Bill and Beth's. We hope then to possibly be joined by Bob & Gloria from Palm Beach County, and perhaps Ernie, and possibly Eric and Cathy, whom were all unavailable for tonight's gala.

Friday, September 30, 2022

Smith Wollensky backup

 

Chicago Experience - Museums, Parks, Architecture and Smith & Wollensky LKunch with Private Reserve Wines

Last weekend we took advantage of living near the City of Chicago and all that it has to offer with world class museums, architecture, and restaurants - all things we love to explore and experience.

Saturday we toured the magnificent Art Institute of Chicago, attending the final weekend of the Cezanne special exhibit. We've been members for decades and frequent there often and take in all the major exhibits. The Art Institute was rated No. 1 in the world on their list of the World's Best Museums. It has 300,000 pieces of art from the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Rembrant, and many other famous artists. Among the most famous works is “American Gothic,” that famous 1930 farmer/pitchfork painting by Grant Wood, and my favorite, (shown below), Night Hawks by Edward Hopper.

Linda and Cezanne's "Bathers"

Rick and my absolute favorite -
NightHawks by Edward Hopper

We then walked through Millennium Park with its unique iconic CloudGate (aka the Bean), Lurie Gardens, and the Pritzker Pavilion which this weekend is hosting Jazz Fest. one of the many music festivals held in the park throughout the summer. 

We then toured the new 6-acre Lakeshore East Neighborhood Park with its urban botanic gardens and fountains adjacent the spectacular architecture of the new neighborhood development that includes the undulating 101 story 1,198 ft supertall skyscraper St Regis Tower Hotel and Residences designed by award-winning architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang, originally known as the Wanda Vista Tower.

We capped off the afternoon with lunch on the esplanade overlooking the Chicago River Walk at Smith & Wollenksy steakhouse in Marina City, one of our favorite dining spots on a sunny summer afternoon downtown Chicago.


The River Walk was bustling with people and the river was full of boat traffic with the Water Taxi and the numerous tour boats filled with tourists and weekenders amidst the flotilla of private boats and hoards of kayaks.

With lunch we ordered two WBTG selections from the Smith & Wollensky winelist to go with my BBQ ribs and Linda's crispy battered shrimp in spicy lobster butter sauce and our side of creamed corn.

The Best of Award Wine Spectator winelist is presented on an electronic interactive tablet that showcases its 350 selections from the inventory of 5,500 bottles.

Smith & Wollensky Private Reserve Meritage Red Blend

This is a private label special bottling is from Girard Winery in Calistoga, Napa Valley.  It is crafted by Girard vintner Pat Roney and winemaking team, Marco DiGiulio and Glenn Hugo. Girard offer a dozen Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietal premium wines sourced from their estate as well from numerous vineyard growers across Napa Valley.

This private label offering is sourced from some of the finest Napa vineyards select fruit from the best sites ranging from mountaintop to valley floor sources that reflect wines that are authentically Napa.

This Meritage, which is registered trademarked term for an American Bordeaux varietal blend, is a rich, aromatic cuvée (blend) comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. 

Winelists' notes: "Shades of plum and spice mingle with a hint of French oak to complement the intense flavor of our USDA Prime beef. The lengthy, warm finish lingers on the palate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec."

This vastly exceeded our expectations for a 'house wine' - especially one offered BTG - by-the-glass! This is a testament to the wine team at Smith & Wollensky and shows the care and attention they give to their wine program. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex, nicely integrated, smooth polished blackberry, black raspberry and plum fruits with notes of leather, subtle oak, mocha chocolate, hints of vanilla and tobacco with a pleasant lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4425168 

https://www.smithandwollensky.com/our-restaurants/chicago/

https://twitter.com/smithwollensky

https://twitter.com/girardwinery

Next ....

GROTH Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville


https://www.smithandwollensky.com/our-restaurants/chicago/

Thursday, September 29, 2022

FLW Home & Studio Tour and Hemingway's Bistro Oak Park

FLW Home & Studio Tour followed by Hemingway's Bistro dinner - two venerable Oak Park institutions

I conducted a public-private tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, IL, which I do regularly as a Docent Interpreter for the FLW Trust

On this occasion, we hosted several friends, three AXO sorority sisters couples, for the Home and Studio interior tour, then the neighborhood walking tour, followed by a gala dinner at Hemingway's Bistro, one of our favorite French cuisine eateries.

We started with a round of their fresh oysters, followed by their delectable crab and corn bisque soup. With these the group enjoyed the house Champagne.


For the dinner entree course, all in the group except me ordered the daily special Walleye or the Crusted Whitefish, both served with their delectable beure blanc sauce. 


 Campet Ste Marie Chardonnay 2020

We ordered from the carefully selected winelist a bottle French Chardonnay to pair with the fish course. 

This Pays d'Oc wine is from Limoux in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the South of France, along the Mediterranean coast to Provence. It is named after the specific terroirs on which the grapes are grown, sourced from small and hilly vineyards, that the French call “Campets”. These “Campets” and the Mediterranean climate offer ideal conditions for the production of ripe and fruit forward wines. 

This is a blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Picpoul white grapes, popular in the region.

Winemaker's Notes: "Limestone and clay soils coalesce on steep, rolling hills to make up the soil, but it is specifically the cooler areas of the vineyard, which contribute to creating their burgundy- style chardonnay. Each year, a proportion of the wine ages on wood for approximately six months, with regular battonage, to enhance the texture, the aromatic character and overall balance of the wine. The soil composition gives the wine structural acidity and makes this Burgundy-style wine unique. "

This was nice pleasant easy drinking - ideal for the pairing with the fresh fish entrees - a great value high QPR (quality price ratio). 

Straw colored, medium light bodied, aromatic, crisp, floral and stone fruit notes accent apple and pear with subtle lime citrus. 

RM 89.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3943285


I brought a BYOB from our cellar a couple of bottles - a Rhone and a Bordeaux, from which to I selected one to pair with my dinner entree. 

I chose the La Croix de Beaucaillou 2000 to accompany with my dinner entree selection, Strip Steak au Povre, with their delectable scalloped potatoes, creamed spinach and tomato (shown).

La Croix de Beaucaillou St Julien Bordeaux 2000

This was very timely as just yesterday I was notified by Binny's, the Chicagoland beverage supertore that my futures order of the current release of this wine just arrived for pickup. 

Our visit to Château Ducru Beaucaillou in St Julien was one of the highlights our Bordeaux St Julien Wine Experience in 2019

We've collected the Grand Vin Château Ducru Beaucaillou for more than three decades going back to the late seventies. We declared it one of the signature wines of son Ryan and served his birthyear vintage from large format bottles at his wedding. It was sharing that declaration and experience that prompted the Chateau to invite us for a private tour during our trip to the appellation. 

I wrote about the history and current portfolio of producer Jean Eugène Borie SA in my blogpost at that time. Today, the estate is managed by the Jean Eugène Borie SA, the company owned by Mrs Borie, her daughter Sabine Coiffe and her son Bruno-Eugène, who took over as CEO in 2003. He is the third generation of the Borie family to head the estate which has been closely held for five generations over two centuries. 

The magnificent Château sits on a promontory overlooking classic formal gardens with the Gironde estuary in the distance. The Victorian-style Ducru-Beaucaillou castle is built directly above the original barrel cellars, adjacent the new modern era barrel facility. enveloping its owners, who have lived here for over sixty years.

This is Château Ducru Beaucaillou's second wine, made from the property's younger vines and vats that are not selected for the grand vin. This wine has been bottled at the château since the 1995 vintage. La Croix de Beaucaillou, generally contains more Merlot than the grand vin - this release was 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot.

Winemaker Notes: "The wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou is the essence of elegance, symmetry, balance, breed, class, and distinction. it is never one of the most robust, richest, or fruitiest wines of St.-Julien and by its nature is a stubbornly slow developer. Most of the finest vintages of Ducru-Beaucaillou usually take at least 10 years to reveal their stunning harmony of fruit and power.'

'Ducru-Beaucaillou is a great wine for a number of reasons. The meticulous attention to detail, the brutal selection process - whereby only the finest grapes and finest barrels of wine are permitted to go into the bottle - and the conservative viticultural practices all play major rules in the success of this wine."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded this 89 points.

At twenty-two years, the fill level, foil and label were in pristine condition. The cork, not surprisingly pulled in half when our server Lapone tried to extract it using a traditional waiter's cork screw, which is why I invariably use an 'ah-so' two pronged cork puller for aged bottles. Otherwise it was in good customary condition. The waitstaff appropriately decanted the bottle for serving. 

Initially this was a bit funky and earthy but, as I predicted it would, but this burned off to reveal the dark berry fruits that emerged after about 45 minutes. Dark garnet colored, a very slight bricking, brown rust hue starting to show revealing its age, medium full bodied, the dark berry fruits, Parker calls them 'red fruits', emerged accented by subtle earthy leather, tobacco and moderately sweet clove spice, with moderate smooth polished tannins on the finish. 

RM 90 points. 

This was a wonderful accompaniment to my strip steak au povre.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2649169

http://chateau-ducru-beaucaillou.com/  

https://twitter.com/DucruB 

 http://www.hemmingwaysbistro.com/

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Nozzole Chianti Classico Italian Village Chicago

Nozzole Chianti Classico Sangiovese with Pasta at Italian Village Chicago

Hosting a valued business partner leader, we dined at Italian Village Restaurant, Chicago, our usual locale for such occasions, downtown in the middle of the Loop, merely blocks from our office. 

We took advantage of the private dining tables and the superb authentic Italian cuisine and accompanying quality wine by the glass offerings. 

We both ordered the handmade Ravioli pasta, my guest the meat filled pillow shaped pasta, with the red meat bolognese sauce, and I selected the pasta stuffed with cremini and white mushrooms, garlic, ricotta and parmesan cheese with mushroom cream sauce (shown). 

We were served by one of the IV veteran long tenured staff, Hans, and Wine Director Jared Gelband who gave my guest and me a quick tour of their magnificent extensive Italian Village wine cellar that serves all three of the IV (Italian Village) restaurants.  

To accompany our power lunch, he served from the extensive Wine Spectator Best of Award winelist, glasses from the WBTG offerings - Nozzole, Toscana, DOCG Chianti Classico Riserva - an ideal pairing with our pasta entree dishes.

Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva, Toscana, DOCG 2018

This 100% Sangiovese is from Villa Nozzole run by owners Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, heirs of the historic estate that dates back to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

The founder, Lorenzo Folonari, was born in Valtellina in 1729 and moved his family to Val Camonica, where they were entrepreneurs in trade and then producing wine.

In 1882, the brothers Italo and Francesco Folonari moved the company, then known as Fratelli Folonari, from Val Camonica to Bresci. 

In 1911, they bought the historic Tuscan winery and producer Ruffino, widely known for its Chianti Classico wines, bottled in traditional wine flasks wrapped in straw.

The Villa di Nozzole, located in the heart of the historic Tenuta di Nozzole, was taken over by the Folonari family in 1971. The classic Renaissance architecture castle and estate overlooking the vineyards, olive groves and surrounding hills dates back to the seventeenth century.

Principle Giovanni Folonari worked for Robert Mondavi in 1989 and Ruffino from 1991 to 2000 before forming Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute.

The Nozzole estate produces a broad portfolio of wines starting with this Chianti Classico Riserva sourced from their estate just north of the village of Greve at Passo dei Pecorai in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, and several single vineyard designated premium labels. The estate covers a striking, rugged, mountainous area of about 1,000 acres at 300 meters in elevation. Yields are kept low in order to obtain concentration and complexity in the wines.

Winemaker Notes: "Cherry and violet aromas, persistent and rounded flavors of spices and mushroom. Great structure with elegant finesse."

This release was awarded 93 points by James Suckling and 91 points by Wine Spectator.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, bright cherry and raspberry fruits with notes of floral, earth and tobacco on a moderate tangy acidic soft finish. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4001918

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/the-village/

https://twitter.com/jzgwine

https://twitter.com/italianvlg

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Viader Napa Proprietary Red Corley Reserve

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend, Corley Reserve, Scount's Honor with grilled beef tenderloin for gala family celebration dinner

The entire Berganzi family came to town and gathered with clan McNees (below) to celebrate the dedication of grand-daughter Marylin, son Alec and Vivianna's baby.

Following the ceremony at Compass Church, Alec and Vivianna hosted all for a gala family dinner of grilled tenderloin beefsteak, salmon, roasted potatoes, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and carrots. 

Alec grilled two whole beef tenderloins on the grill. Before dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses and charcuterie followed by ceasar salad with a Champagne toast. 

We opened the wine-flight with Hill Family Estate Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay

There was so much to celebrate across the family - Marylin's dedication, Alec and Viv's second anniversary, Henry and Grace's engagement, Sean and Michelle's new home, and Johnny's birthday!

To celebrate the occasion and accompany the festive dinner, I pulled from the cellar a magnum of this Viader Napa Valley Red Blend. As I have written in these pages, this is one of the numerous "V" labels we have fun with as a tribute to our daughter-in-law, Viv. We wrote about fun with this branding in an earlier blogpost, Viader Napa Bordeaux Blend 1997.

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 spans a decade of releases dating back to the mid-nineties vintages. 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 blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Cabernet Franc in the profile of a top Graves from Bordeaux.

We expanded our collection of Viader wines following our visit to the Viader winery estate on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008.  

A travelogue of photos of our visit to the Viader are shown here or a selection are featured in the follow-on blog.  

The Viader 23-acre estate sits on the lower mountain at 1200 foot elevation overlooking Napa Valley. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Viader is known for its Bordeaux-style blends. 

The 1200 foot elevation of the estate is significant and notable as that is the height that the fog reaches above the valley floor and hence is the point at which below is designated Napa Valley, and above it designated Howell Mountain. This climatic difference creates a distinctive terroir due to the effects of the fog on the ripening vines.  

Napa Valley view from the Viader estate

This follows our tasting last evening of another of the 'V' series of labels we enjoy with and in tribute to to Viviana, the Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor.

The 'V' is the prominent branding of the producer and winemaker Delia Viader, a remarkable and impressive lady who was born in Argentina and educated in Europe before earning graduate degrees in the U.S., a notable role model for any career minded female. Delia spent much of her formative years in Europe and in France where she earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University in Paris, then pursued advanced business studies in the US at MIT, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Recognizing the potential Napa Valley wine industry in the 1980's, Delia acquired the Howell Mountain property and set out to create a world class wine estate, and continued studying Enology and Viticulture at University of California, Davis.  During this time she also raised her four children in the wine environment and culture.

Shown here is our meeting Delia Viader during a producer tasting evening sponsored by Binny's here in Chicago back in 2005. 

Delia Viader was a visionary pioneer in Napa Valley investing in developing a mountain estate at a time when most of the vineyard plantings were on the valley floor.

Born in Argentina, Delia Viader came to the United States after spending many years in Europe. In 1986 the love of wine Delia acquired during her time in Europe lead her to purchase a 25 acre property 1200 feet above the Napa Valley floor northeast of St. Helena on the steep, rocky slopes of Howell Mountain. During this time when 99% of Napa’s vineyards were planted on the valley floor, Delia was considered a bit crazy-headed to plant vineyards in such foreboding terroir. But it was exactly terroir that she was after.

Delia’s first release of this proprietary red blend called simply Viader, was the 1989 vintage , a blend of almost equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine has gained an international reputation as one of the iconic wines of the Napa Valley and has become the signature wine for the winery.

 In the last few years, Delia’s children have come back to help manage and operate the business making this a true family concern. Alan Viader is Director of Operations and Winemaking, Janet Viader is Director of Marketing and Sales. Mariela Viader (married to Alan) is in charge of the Culinary Program.

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Bordeaux Red Blend 2004

Winemaker Notes: "Since its first release in 1989, Delia Viader has made her Proprietary Blend using only the best fruit from her Howell Mountain Estate vineyards. The Viader blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc captures an ideal balance between the two varieties. The Cabernet Franc contributes to the early approachability, elegant structure and violet-like aromatics while the Cabernet Sauvignon adds complexity and character as well as providing the backbone structure for long aging potential."

"The 2004 Viader is intense, upfront, floral bouquet laced with chocolate, coffee, anise, earth and leather. Lingering, complex tannins firm up in the finish which is rounded by the powerful aromas of blackberry, blueberry and mint. Approachable now, bottle aging will further develop bouquet and complexity. Awonderfully elegant mountain beauty!"

This release was awarded 92 points by Vinous,  17.5/20 points by Jancis Robinson.

We love this blend of Napa Valley 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon accented by the structure, grip and spice of 40 percent Cabernet Franc. At eighteen years this was wonderful, probably at the apex of its drinking window, but likely with a decade of life still left. The fill level, label and cork were all pristine. As a result, I pushed the Cellartracker drinking window for my remaining bottles of this vintage release out to 2024. I raised my earlier rating from 92 to 93 points.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied and firmly structured ripe black raspberry fruits with notes of coffee, mocha, leather, graphite, sweet oak and spice with firm gripping by elegantly smooth polished tannins on the long finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=224306

@viader_napa

Alec followed with a big Napa Valley Cab, closing out with another Napa Valley Big Red blend from another one of our whimsical fun 'V' labels, Venge Scout's Honor Red. 

Corley Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

We were introduced to this wine when Alec served it at a father-brothers-sons dinner last year.  I wrote about this wine in an earlier blogpost at that time - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/father-son-wine-dinner.html.

This is produced by the Corley family who are long time grape growers in Napa Valley that produce a small limited amount of wine of their own label, only in extraordinary vintages. The Corley family owns and manages some of the finest vineyard properties in Napa Valley at their 80 acre Monticello Vineyards estate with vineyards and winery, tasting room, as well as culinary and hospitality center.

Founded by Jay Corley in 1970 when he began searching for sites to grow wine, in pursuit of his personal passion for Burgundian-style wines led him to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in what is now known as the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley.

They produced this wine at Monticello Winery on Big Ranch Road in the Oak Knoll District of south Napa Valley. We visited this winery estate back in the late nineties when it was operating as a custom crush facility and we did a tasting of boutique producer Elan Wines with producers Patrick and Linda Elliott-Smith

This was a special bottle as the boys know and are friends with one of the members of the Corley family and were able to source this special limited release bottling.Today, Corley is managed by their third generation.

Since it’s first bottling in 1982, our Corley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the Corley Family flagship wine. It is sourced from each of their five estate cabernet sauvignon vineyards and the diversity of four distinct sub-Appellations - Rutherford, Yountville, St. Helena and Oak Knoll District.

This is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.

Ken's Wine Guide Tasting Panel summed this up perfectly when they wrote about this label, "This very dark garnet colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Corley opens with a mild black currant and black licorice bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a fruit forward fruit bomb featuring stewed plum and black currant with notes of graphite and toasted oak. We also detected a hint of blackberry. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins show very nice length. The Panel suggested pairing this Cab with a New York strip steak. Enjoy - KWGTP"

I echo their tasting experience and give this 92 points. Dark garnet color, medium-full body, nicely balanced and integrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of anise, hints of graphite and toasted oak with smooth polished moderate tannins on a lingering finish.

Winemaker notes: "Typically luscious, powerful and richly textured our Reserve is full-bodied and while ready to drink is also a wine to lay down for the years to come. This wine once again shows nice consistency and balance throughout the entire experience – from the aromatics through to the finish. The mouth-feel is rich in texture and with a finish framed by firm but rounded velvety tannins, one of the hallmarks of this wine."

Dark garnet color, medium-full body, nicely balanced and integrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of anise, hints of graphite and toasted oak with smooth polished moderate tannins on a lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3237704

https://www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com/ 

https://twitter.com/monticellonapa 

Alec opened another Big Napa Red, another of the 'V' series of labels we enjoy with and in tribute to to Viviana, the Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor.

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Red 2019

As I have written often in these pages, we've been enjoying Nils and Kirk Venge' wines since the early 1990's when Nils was featured by Wine Spectator Magazine in a 1994 article on up and coming wine producers. 

One of the labels of the Venge portfolio is Scout's Honor named for the family Labrador Retriever. I remember Scout walking the rows in the vineyards with Nils during a visit to the Rutherford Penny Lane estate back in the nineties (shown right from our 2002 visit).

This wine was initially meant to be a fun sipper for the Venge tasting room, yet it became — and remains — one of the most popular wines of the Venge portfolio which has now grown to nineteen labels. 

 Scout's Honor is based on a tradition of producing a full bodied, delicious and enjoyable red wine that can be opened and enjoyed immediately upon release however when cellared correctly it will age for 5 to 8 years.

Scout's Honor starts as a unique proprietary red blend anchored by a base of old-vine Zinfandel and builds upon that with dry-farmed Petite Sirah, old-vine Charbono, and finish with mountain vineyard Syrah.

We have been collecting this label since the earliest releases in the mid-nineties and hold a half dozen vintages. We typically keep a half dozen vintages of this label on hand for easy, enjoyable smooth sipping with everyday fare, great with BBQ, burgers, pizza to hearty cheese, beef, fruits and chocolates. I was surprised when I went to write up this tasting note that this was my first recorded tasting of this vintage.
Nil's has stepped down into retirement and winemaker and production duties are now with son Kirk who has raised the bar taking this label to new heights in recent years, earning 93 or 94 points from Wine Advocate for vintages 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

 Wine buddy Andy and I visited Kirk and Nils up at the Calistoga estate and the Signal Fire Vineyard back in 2002 (shown right).  

From a branding perspective, this may be the last year you see this packaging with a paper label as the 2018 release went to a more upscale painted on glass bottle label marking, moving to a more premium positioning for this label. It remains to be seen what happens to the price point. It is already priced at the high end of the Zinfandel range, but well worth it with its sophistication and complexity and quality of the blend.

Winemaker's Notes: "Full-bodied, concentrated and gorgeous, this vintage features an assemblage of violets, dried cinnamon, white flowers, fresh cut blue herbs, and a touch of barrel toast. The palate has loads black fruits and sweet currants, pepper spice, and an enveloping masculinity of char and tannins from the Syrah, Charbono and Petite Sirah. A seamless balance and mouth coating deliciousness lead to a wine that is quite pleasing to the senses. Cellared correctly it will age for 7 to 10 years."

The 2019 blends 63% Zinfandel with smaller amounts, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah and 9% Syrah aged 50% new American Oak and the balance in once-used tight grained French Oak.

The Zinfandel was picked from two, old-vine, 60 to 100+ years old, dry-farmed vineyard sources: Venge’s Estate “Signal Fire Vineyard” and the Frediani Vineyard, both located in the heart of Calistoga. The Charbono was sourced from old, dry-farmed vines 60 to 100+ years old, also planted in the Frediani Vineyard. Robbie Mondavi’s Oso Vineyard located on Howell Mountain supplies the Petite Sirah, and, Napa’s finest Syrah from Stagecoach Vineyard, high in the mountains of the Atlas Peak AVA.

This was rated 93 points by The Wine Enthusiast.

After the more subdued and focused Viader red blend, this was a monstrous super sweet fruit bomb, begging for hearty cheese, spicy pizza pasta or dark bitter chocolates. Dark garnet purple colored, full bodied, rich, thick concentrated sweet super ripe black currant fruit with notes of that Howell Mountain cinnamon spice, violet floral notes, pepper and pain grille.

RM 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3525137

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/vengevineyards