Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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.
Friday, September 25, 2009
News From Last Night's Great Event
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Kistler Tasting
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.
Darker and deeper color than the 2002. Oily, rich mouth-feel, with honey and petrol. Viscous.
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.
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.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Marc Colin Chassagne Montrachet “Chenevottes” 2002 1er Cru:
Monday, August 10, 2009
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.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Decanting Explained
Which wines should we decant? I cannot tell you how many times