Holiday Wines- To try or not to try

The holiday season is now upon us, and there are always different opinions on which wines go well with the typical holiday fare (turkey, ham, and all the accompanying side dishes with their varying taste profiles). We will try to keep this as a running list throughout the course of the season. I will start off by saying there are very few disastrous pairings- and of course, everyone's personal preferences will supersede even the most well known, traditional pairings. In general terms, the main course is somewhat neutral, meaning there are no strong or robust flavor characteristics to contend with. That would usually dictate that an extremely big, forceful wine of any color, such as a young California Cult Cab (or equally tannic equivalent red from elsewhere) or a heavily-oaked Chardonnay, would overwhelm the meal. This would seem to suggest a medium bodied red, rose, or white selection, or a more mature Cabernet Sauvignon (or other big structured red wine) which has fully integrated most of it's exuberant tannins. This would give us a proper weight balance. When we move on to flavor profile, in general, the same would apply here-bold, robust flavors would overwhelm the meal. It even becomes more intricate when the sides are added (for example cranberries) since they could clash with certain wines. The upside of the many flavors in the side dishes, is that it allows more freedom of flavor choices in the wines as well, since the palate will be use to so many different sensations. Within the parameters listed above, this gives you a range of many wines to choose from- whites, roses, or reds from all over the world, with vast flavors which will accentuate or embellish the ones on the dinner table. We will be adding specific wines we have had over the next few weeks (we even hosted an event a few years ago where we paired wines with the typical Thanksgiving/Holiday foods) and describing how they worked in our Holiday meal experiences.

News From Last Night's Great Event

A thanks to all who made last night's Wine event (9-24-2009 Going For The Gold- Fun With Wine's Prospector's Party) a rousing success. And for those of you who missed it, here are some of the highlights- hope to see you soon. One of the unexpected bonuses occurred when I (Joe Sears) was able to bring 2 new wines which have just made their way to New York. I just began working for Lions Wines- a relatively new, small boutique wine distributor here in the city. The first of 2 Rose wines, the 2008 Bertaud Belieu Cuvee Prestige was a light, elegant Provence blend with fresh fruit and limestone aromatics. Nice balance and character which lingered on the palate. The second wine was the 2007 Domaine Tropez "Black" Rose (distinctive, sexy black bottle)- deeper salmon color, a complex, perfumed nose with a great mouth feel comprised of various fruit and spice components. Well balanced and classy, this wine is made from 5 different Provence varietals (Grenache, Cinsault, Tibouren, Rolle, and Syrah). For those of you who inquired about these wines- please ask your favorite wine store for them. If they do not carry them, please ask your wine store to contact me (joe@funwithwine.com) to obtain the wines. If anyone has any questions about these or other wines from the event, please email me and I will try to help out. We will add more recaps to this post over the next few days.

Kistler Tasting

Tasting Notes from FunWithWine.com's 10th Annual Kistler Vineyard Dinner at Red Eye Grill.

In our opinion Steve Kistler of Kistler Vineyards makes some of the best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs in California, that is why we this was our 10th Kistler Vineyard dinner.

Entry Wine:

Kistler Vineyard Stone Flat Vineyard Chardonnay 2006, Sonoma Coast (RP - 95-96 pts)

This is the second vintage for the Stone Flat Vineyard. Concentrated citrus, orange, mineral, and wet stone notes (a little off putting at first, blew off). Full bodied with a touch of almonds and high acidity.

Flight #1:

Kistler Vineyard Kistler Vineyard Pinot Noir 1999, Russian River Valley(RP - 93-95 pts)

Raspberry, cherry soda, some earth/mineral, and well integrated.

Kistler Vineyard Kistler Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005, Russian River Valley (RP - 93-95 pts)

Dark red, raspberry/blueberry, jammy, ripe,spicy, youthful, though well balanced.

Flight #2:

Kistler Vineyards' McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay 1995 (RP - 90 pts)

Coral, honey, lemon, caramel, well balanced with a good mouth feel.

Kistler Vineyards' McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay 1999 (RP - 92-94 pts)

Oily/petrol minerals, citrus (pineapple) and edgy.

Kistler Vineyards' McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay 2005 (RP - 93-95 pts)

Perfume and spice on the nose. Vibrant concentrated citrus, lemon zest with good acidity.

Flight #3:

Kistler Vineyards Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay 1999 (RP - 93 pts)

Dark, lean, mineral, chalky citrus notes, with butterscotch and caramel.

Kistler Vineyards Kistler Vineyard Chardonnay 2005 (RP - 95-98 pts)

Mineral, orange honey/butterscotch, rich with subdued acidity, full bodied (round) with a long finish .

Flight #4:

Kistler Vineyards Cuvee Cathleen Chardonnay 1999 (RP - 97 pts)

Mineral notes, lean with some butterscotch and high alcohol presence. Complex and full bodied.

Kistler Vineyards Cuvee Cathleen Chardonnay 2005 (RP - 96-100 pts)

Honey, orange peel, lemon lime, peach, mineral, crisp acidity, concentrated richness, complex and layered with a long finish.

Dessert Flight:

Kracher #7 Welschriesling Trokenbeerenauslese (TBA) 2004

Darker and deeper color than the 2002. Oily, rich mouth-feel, with honey and petrol. Viscous.

Kracher #8 Welschriesling Trokenbeerenauslese (TBA) 2002

Deep golden. Mineral and honey notes. Field scents; herbal; some pine tar.

Harlan Tasting

Earlier this year I was talking with my friend, colleague, and partner in FunWithWine.com, Rick, about drinking a bottle of wine he has been storing in his cellar for me. The wine in question was the 2003 Harlan Estate Proprietary red. Robert Parker rates this wine 95 points out of 100 points.

Well, if you are not familiar with Harlan, Robert Parker says that “Proprietor Bill Harlan, his winemaker, Bob Levy, and oenologist/consultant Michel Rolland continue to produce what may be the single most profound wine in California.” Harlan is located in the western hills of Oakville, California and grows the classic Bordeaux varietals; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Harlan’s production is low and most of the wine is sold via mailing list. It is also not an inexpensive wine; for example the 2006 is offered on the mailing list at $500 per bottle.

A wine as special as a Harlan with a replacement cost of over $400 required some thought about where to drink it, when, who would be invited, and the sequence of the other wines involved for this tasting. In my mind Harlan has always been a wine drunk on special occasions with good friends.

After bouncing ideas around we decided to ask a few people we know who are on Harlan’s mailing list if they wanted to join the party. It would be a great excuse to drink wines that we buy, but never know when to drink. (We did toss around the idea of offering spots for the tasting on FunWithWine.com, but thought poeple would not want to pay over $800). When we were selecting the vintages I opened my big mouth and said that I had a few bottles of the 2005. Let’s put it this way, the 2003 is still in Rick’s cellar. The mailing list price on the 2003 was around $215 per bottle and the 2005 was $450 per bottle.

The lineup was set and Rothmann’s (Manhattan) was picked for the scene of this "over the top" tasting. Big California wines and good steaks made the restaurant choice easy. We have been to Rothmann’s on several occasions and the food is always good and the staff is accommodating to our special needs.

We started with a 1996 Mount Eden Vineyard Chardonnay to cleanse our palates. This was golden brown, with roasted nuts, citrus and hints of caramel corn. Who says California Chardonnays can’t age (more on this topic when we post notes from the FunWithWine.com Kistler dinner).

The Harlan vintages that showed up were as follows: 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Where do we start? We decided to start with 1995 followed by the 1998.The 2001, 2004 and 2005 would be tasted blind along with a ringer, a 2006 Scholium Project.

Notes:
1995 Harlan: (decanted for 1 – 2 hours) a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, aged in 100% new oak. It had a nose of black fruits, coffee beans, eucalyptus/mint and what we called clay pot. For a wine that was 14 years old it was still young. It was a complex, balanced wine with hints of sour cherry and a lot of depth.

1998 Harlan: (showed up late not decanted) 1,100 cases made, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Nose of tobacco, spice and black fruit. It was full bodied concentrated wine with soft tannins. I think if this wine was decanted it would have shown even better.

My notes blind:

1) Deep, dark color. Nose of violet, cumin and blackberry. Big, concentrated well balanced, velvety blackberry some earthiness. Seemed to close down as it sat in my glass.
2) Deep, dark inky color. Nose of blackberry/blackcurrant, eucalyptus and spice. Well structured, concentrated, rich, ripe/dark berries with some acidity and tannis.
3) Dark purple color. Nose of flowers, BBQ, sweet earth and lead pencil (John Burdick will love my lead pencil description). Youthful, big, concentrated well balanced with a velvet mouth feel with soft tannis.
4) Dark purple color. Dried cherry nose. Big, concentrated, racy almost port like with hints of raspberry.

My order was 3 -2-1-4. The group results 3-1-2-4.

Here is the order:
1) Harlan 2004
2) Harlan 2001
3) Harlan 2005
4) Scholium Project 2006

Jim was gracious enough to bring a 350ml bottle of 1985 Cheval Blanc (St Emilion, Bordeaux) which we almost did not drink. Jim said, “Let’s drink it because I do not want to carry it home”. I was concerned that this wine would fall short after such big California Cabs. I was wrong. Maybe the steak and onion rings helped to soften the blow. It was an earthy, leathery, a little gamey, dark fruit- a well balanced wine with good weight for 14 years old.

I was happy to see that my 2005 was the favorite of the blind tasting and even happier that I still have 2 bottles in my cellar. It was a lot of fun thanks to all who participated.

Marc Colin Chassagne Montrachet “Chenevottes” 2002 1er Cru:

After tasting the 2002 Marc Colin Chassagne Montrachet “Les Chenevottes” at the FunWithWine.com “The Rites of Summer: 2002 White Burgundy Tasting” I decided to share one of my own bottles with my family. I thought that the limestone and minerals would be a good match for the grilled halibut streaks I was preparing. This pairing really worked out. The wine’s expressive terroir, refined fruit with hints of flint and mineral were a nice contrast to the fresh halibut. The lime/citrus flavors along with subtle acidity helped to turbo charge the grilled flavors of the fish. Everyone at the table enjoyed the wine. I wish I would have had more then one bottle chilled. Thanks "Burgundy Bob" for hooking me up with the Marc Colin "Les Chenevottes"!

On the occasion of our upcoming 2002 White Burgundy tasting, I am posting my tasting notes from Domaine Ramonet:

June 2004 with Noel Ramonet

2002 Aligote Bourgogne- Steely, racy, ripe fruit, with some oak (100% barrique)

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Villages- Perfumed/lean, focused chardonnay. Ripe, with some vanilla and butterscotch.

2002 Puligny-Montrachet Les Enseignieres- Ripe, rich fruit, with some mineral, steel, acid and alcohol (youthful). Some vanilla and butterscotch.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot- Smoke, vanilla, perfume; rich, ripe fruit with limestone and good acidity.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet La Boudriotte- Somewhat closed with some perfume. Rich and ripe with good acidity, although leaner than the Morgeot.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Vergers- Lemon custard, spice and vanilla. Concentrated, big fruit with richness and good acidity; clean and focused.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret- Floral, racy, spicy with limestone and lemon/lime. Very deep with good acid.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Les Grandes Ruchottes- Plum and pear with perfume and vanilla. Well-balanced ripe fruit, large wine with much more acid (though well-integrated).

2002 Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet- Rich with high alcohol presence. Spicy, racy and powerful with a sense of the barrique aging.

2002 Chevalier-Montrachet- Somewhat closed, but able to coax out fruit and perfume with complex minerals (limestone). Big and powerful with acidic forwardness.

2002 Batard-Montrachet- Wet limestone and mineral presence, with spice. Large wine, with alcohol and acidity with rich fruit.

2002 Le Montrachet- mineral and smoke, spicy, sweaty, with lemon, mineral and hazelnut. Extremely youthful with acid and toast still integrating.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot Rouge- Earthy, rustic, spicy with ripe cherry and minerals. Good tannins.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de La Boudriotte Rouge- Spicy, rich fruit. More integrated tannins. Fruit forward.

2002 Chassagne-Montrachet La Boudriotte Rouge- Earthy, Espoisses nose, with ripe, rich fruit. Tannins present.

Decanting Explained

Which wines should we decant? I cannot tell you how many times

we get this question. The purpose of decanting is to remove sediment

in more mature wines, and/or for aeration (most often for younger

wines). As full- bodied reds age, they develop deposits of sediment

(as the tannic acids break down the solid polymers, which come

from the skins, seeds, and stems). After the bottle has been upright

for several hours,careful pouring helps to separate the sediment

from the clear wine. Younger full-bodied wines can benefit from

aeration, revealing their tightly wound aromatics. The flavors and

complexities can be coaxed out as the wine opens up. Opening a

bottle and letting it sit without the cork may not be enough, since

there is only a miniscule amount of the wine's surface in contact

with any oxygen (about the diameter of a Nickel or Quarter).

Some people may have noticed that at some of our events we

may pour wine from a bottle into a decanter and then back into

the same bottle (double decanting). This serves 3 purposes. It is a

much more rapid way to aerate the wine. It is also easier to pour

out of a bottle (rather than from a decanter) for larger groups

of people. And finally, the original bottle makes a better

presentation than an unlabeled decanter.

"I only drink white wines"

Recently I met a friend at a wine bar on the upper eastside. I ordered a 2004

 Rioja from a producer I was not familiar with, but thought since it was a 

good vintage and it had some age on it I might like it. My friend ordered a 

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In our discussion I was a little surprised 

that my friend did not like red wine. I know it is common, but I guess I 

never noticed or talked about her dislike for red wine.I started to ask 

questions and realized it was not a dislike of red wine it was the fact 

that she had only tried one red wine she liked. I think she had the same

 problem as a lot of other people- they are afraid to try red wines because 

they have had bad experiences. Well I have tried a lot of bad wines over 

the years and I continue to search for ones that I like.  As I explained to 

my friend she should start out with a lighter red such as a pinot noir. 

The selection was limited to a California Pinot Noir or a Red Burgundy 

(not from a great producer), so we went for the California Pinot. 

It was a good choice, since we proceeded to taste our way up to an 

Australian Shiraz. It was supple, ripe with cherry and blackberry 

flavors ending with some spice. To her surprise she liked almost 

all the wines we tasted.

 The moral of the story is if you think you only like white wine “give red a chance”. 

Tasting Ramey Wines

Recently I went to a tasting with winemaker David Ramey from Ramey 

Wine Cellars. I had not tasted his wines for a few years, so I was 

interested to see what the new vintages were like. David was very 

informative. He pointed out that the Russian River Valley, Sonoma 

Coast and Carneros appellations are suited for cool-climate varieties 

such as chardonnay.  We tasted 3 Ramey chardonnays from the 

2006 vintage. David said the 2006 vintage started out slow, but a 

heat wave in July helped push the season along. He began harvesting 

the last week of September and rain came in October, so there 

was a rush to finish harvesting.

The chardonnays we tasted were the Sonoma Coast, Hyde Vineyard, 

and the Hudson Vineyard. Each of the wines showed characteristics of the

vineyards. 

2006 Ramey Sonoma Coast: Chalky, mineral nose and taste, light with 

some citrus notes and an acidic finish.  The wines were not over chilled, 

but as the wine warmed up I found it developed a hard finish. 

2006 Hyde Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros: Full bodied, smoky oak with

hints of vanilla and pear finishing with zesty acidity. The terroir in the 

Hyde Vineyard was apparent. I could see similarities in this wine to the 

Kistler Hyde Vineyard.

2006 Hudson Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros: Golden, straw like color,

medium bodied with lean citrus, honey, hint of wood.

The Things We Do- Initial Salvo

Being a part of FunWithWine.com enables us to taste a lot of wines. We
taste wines that make it into our events, as well as those, which do not.
We go to wine industry tastings, wine theme dinners and drink wines from

our cellars. We wanted a way to share our thoughts, new wine discoveries,

and answer questions people might have about wine but were afraid to ask.
This area will be a new and ongoing addition to our website. We encourage

people to share their wine experiences and tell us what they may have tried

recently. Even though we taste a lot of wines we can’t taste everything, so

it’s great to share thoughts.

Just post them up on this blog or you can send your tasting notes, thoughts,

new wines or questions to:
joe@funwithwine.com or joem@funwithwine.com. We will post them on

our website and respond to any questions.