Drinking red wine with the guys at Euclid
(11/29/2006)
- 2004 Core Blend 163 Alta Mesa - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
This is a delicious bottle of Grenache blend from Core. The wine has ripe strawberries and lots more red fruit. The wine simply slides down as the tannins are soft and well-integrated. Major crowd pleaser. There is a little licorice and spice, but it is still focused on primary fruit.
- 2004 Château de Mattes-Sabran Corbières Close Redon - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Corbières
Deep, complex wine for ~$14. It was darker than the two previous wines, showing off its 100% Syrah make-up. Ripe blackberry and black pepper were the highlights for me. This is a great QPR wine.
- 2000 Charles Joguet Chinon Clos de la Dioterie - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
I picked this up from the sale bin at Kermit Lynch - it was thin, vegetal, and had some decent red fruit. Typical Chinon from a non-ripe vintage. Not bad with the salad lyonnais, but not appealing to most people.
Good article about tasting terms used by wine critics
Jancis Robinson, a well-known British critic, listed out most of terms used by critics
on her website.
Dinner at Barresi's with the Levy family
The Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/10), my family went to
Barresi's in Deer Park (Cincinnati). The restaurant has been around forever, but I'm not sure why. Not to ramble too much about the food but wow, it was a garlic, olive oil, and butter fest. I ordered the lamb osso bucco and it lacked the rich flavor I expected. On the other hand, the sauteed artichoke appetizer tasted great, but was covered in olive oil and garlic. It reminded me of the garlic fries at Pac Bell Park.
Looking at the
wine list ahead of time, I saw some reasonable prices and got excited about the opportunities.
When the wine came out, it was a different vintage and I asked about this. The waitress's response was pretty funny - she said, "you know, wine is like cars... a new one comes out every year but it is basically the same car." I decided not to discuss, but it was entertaining.
- 2005 Vigne Regali (Banfi) Gavi Principessa Gavia - Italy, Piedmont, Gavi
Very fruity nose with pear, peach, and maybe some rich apple (not granny smith). The palate fills up with a little minerality and some citrus peel (some oiliness). Went well with a little buttery sauce.
- 2003 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Superiore La Court - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Barbera d'Asti
I thought I was ordering the 2000 so when the 2003 arrived with appetizers, I asked her to open it so we could pour it into glasses. The wine clearly evolved in the glass - initially, it was very primary black fruit, like black raspberry. It had a kirsch characteristic with some pepper and tar that came out after about 1.5 hours. Very good... $40 in retail?
Overall, the wines were both good reasonably priced. The food was average and the portions huge, but
the prices were high... so I would not recommend.
November 10, 2006
After pressing the 2006 LeFavre Alder Springs Syrah, Jon and I checked out the Slow Club for dinner. I had invited Jamie Kutch and he joined us after the appetizers. Jon and I decided to focus on Pinots, so he brought the '99 Alder Springs in honor of the LeFavre A.S. He also generously bought/brought a beautiful aged Burgundy that he purchased from Premier Cru that day.
- 1966 Maison Leroy Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Aloxe-Corton
: A beautiful wine. Served blind, I never would have guessed it was 40 years old. The nose was fresh and full of lively cherry scents. The Mouth was all cherries, earth, and some spice. Great acidity... drinking this wine was unadulterated pleasure. Many thanks to Jon for buying and sharing this wine. This wine was so good that I talked him out of buying more, under the assumption that the next bottle could not live up to this experience.
- 2001 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
: Lots of acidity and minerality, lime, and melon. This wasn't a mindblowing wine next to the Corton - there was just a touch of sourness that turned me off. I think it was probably mismatched in this tasting... will save it for more appropriate pairings in the future.
- 1999 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Alder Springs Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
: This was the weakest Pinot... just disjointed and overly alcoholic at this stage in its evolution. It had the blue and black fruit, along with some oaky/woody aspect, but the wine just didn't come together. Would not have rated over 85 points on that night.
- 2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
: Very SLH-style Pinot - lots of black fruit and spice. The mouthfeel was more full than the Corton, but it lacked the sexiness. I think this is a better value than many of the $40 Pinots, but not sure if I would run out to by a bunch of it.
- 2004 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
: I think this shows how my preferences eventually lean towards the true Sonoma Coast style of Pinot. The Lucia was very well-made and showing nicely for such a young wine, but I preferred this wine even though it clearly too early. Cold-climate Pinot nose - very nice. Upon tasting, it was just tight as anything. We only drank about 1/3 of the bottle, and I brought the rest home. Raspberries and spice the next day.
The Slow Club was very generous with corkage, only charging us $20 for all five bottles. I hope this was due to our sharing of the Leroy with the manager. In terms of the wines, we probably didn't need to open the Pur Sang - it didn't show well in this setting, with these foods/accompanying wines. The food was very good in a comfort sort of way. The Leroy Corton was a beautiful wine. I talked Jon out of purchasing another one, because I couldn't imagine a better wine experience.
Inaugural tasting with unnamed tasting group - November 19
So the new group got together at Dustin and Kelly's place for a Sunday afternoon bbq and zinfandel tasting. The food was excellent - Dustin was masterful on the bbq and the white bean-truffle dip was killer. The wine tasting was more casual -- we started with a couple white wines, a Chappelet Chenin Blanc and a Sauvignon Blanc that I didn't check out.
The stated theme was zinfandels, but interestingly, almost all of the wines were blends. I.e. they were technically zinfandels because they had more than 75% zin, but they had other characteristics based on the blended varietals.
My favorite wine was the Rafanello Zin, which seemed to be a popular choice. The Acorn also got a couple votes - it seemed to lack the strong peppery aspect that can really dominate zinfandels. Some wines were clearly young and could benefit from time. The Syrah was also well-liked... it would have been interesting to see if people could pick it out as non-zinfandel. Probably not, as most wines were blends anyway.
I am looking forward to tasting more with this group. It seems like everyone enjoyed the tasting and would be down for more organization at some events. Thanks to everyone.
- 2003 C.G. Di Arie Zinfandel - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
Simple and pleasurable, though not much of a finish. Warm dark berries with good vanilla flavor. Simple, but worked because it didn't need food. By the way, this wines is from the inventor of "Cap'n Crunch."
- 2004 Acorn Zinfandel Heritage Vines Alegría Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
This wine is a field blend with 78% zinfandel, 10% petite sirah, and 10% alicante. The remaining 2% is a bunch of random varietals. It is pretty soft for a zinfandel with red briary fruit (wild cherries and raspberries). It also had some spiciness, but was pretty creamy in the middle.
- 2005 Orin Swift The Prisoner - USA, California, Napa Valley
I just wasn't impressed by this wine - it is 48% zin, 26% cabernet sauvignon, 14% syrah, 10% petite sirah, and 2% charbono. It was sweet and confusing... lots of dark fruit and some smokiness, but unclear what direction they were trying to take it. Maybe its zinfandel characteristics would come out over time.
- 2004 Cakebread Cellars Zinfandel Red Hills - Lake County - USA, California, Napa Valley
The palate of this wine was a little flat and its finish was tart and short. Some berry and chocolate aromas, but just not very impressive especially considering its price.
- 2004 A. Rafanelli Zinfandel - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
This was the most complete wine of the tasting, in my opinion. The alcohol is in check, it is balanced, and it has a long life ahead of it. It is spicy, but peppery and cinammon-y. It has lots of blackberries too. I think it is very young and it will get better over the next 5 years.
- 2003 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County
Ready to drink immediately... I wonder if this Geyserville will age like past vintages. It had a raisin-like, floral nose with lots of red berries and acidity on the palate. There are definitely tannins in there for the aging, but this wasn't what I expected from a young Geyserville... I expected more structure and potentially more austerity.
- 2004 Linne Calodo The Outsider - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
The nose was surprisingly similar to the Ridge Geyserville... some raisiny, portlike aspects with bright red fruit and floral characteristics. The mouth feel wasn't as chewy as I expected, more pure red raspberry. Should age a few years, but not sure if it has the backbone of the Geyserville.
- 2003 Morgan Syrah Tierra Mar - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Very solid wine that offered a great counter-point to all of the zinfandels we drank. It had some of the same spiciness (pepper) but the fruit characteristics were more black/blue fruit instead of red fruit. Still ripe and modern, very fruit-forward... it would have been hard to pick out blind.
Low key dinner with big California Rhone varietals
Dinner with Tony Velebil at LaneSplitter in Temescal, Oakland, CA. Great New York style pizza to go with a couple of California Rhone rangers.
2004 Saxum James Berry Vineyard Cuvée - crushed raspberry liqueur, wet stones, and creamy texture.
2004 Outpost Howell Mountain Grenache - nose filled with mint and sage, then the mouth hits you with chocolate and caramel... a much bigger finish compared to the Saxum.
I mixed up the glasses and could really just identify them based on the noses. The Outpost had a more stemmy/sagey/minty nose... while the Saxum was all crushed raspberry fruit. It was also interesting that the Outpost had more chocolate-like undertones; I would have expected that from the Saxum (which is about one-third Syrah). Tonight I would give the nod to the Outpost for its performance start-to-finish, but both wines were very good. I also agree with Joe that the high alcohol in the Saxum was only apparent when I stood up at the end of the night.
Haas Wine Club Italian tasting - November 16
2004 Parusso Dolcetto d’Alba “Piani Noce” - an alcoholic nose just turned most of us off. There was some bright fruit in the middle, but it fell off really quickly. Definitely needed the delicious tomato bruschetta to balance it out.
2003 Palazzo Bandino “le Colombelline” Rosso di Montepulciano - earthy, with earthy tannins, and earthy mid-palate. This is what Italian wine should be like.
2003 Poggionotte Nero d’Avola - really the baffler of the tasting. It had this layer of smokiness that just overwhelmed your nose and your mouth. In the glass, it quickly gave way to some very dark fruit and a brooding wine overall. It fell off a little in the glass, but a good wine for $10.
2003 Paternoster “Synthesi” Aglianico del Vulture - this was my favorite... no surprise because I am a huge fan of aglianico. This was full, dark, and intense. Lots of ash and tar, with big blackberry fruit. The tannins, minerality, acidity... all in balance. Would have been even better with some rustic red meat.
NV Col Vetoraz Prosecco - refreshing and sweet at this point in the night. Intense bubbles and huge lemon/lime component. Also like a cross between 7-Up and white wine. There was some sharp apple flavor in the middle that gave additional character. Not sure if I would pay $16, but good prosecco.
Some wines that I opened with dinner and then drank after the tasting.
1986 Barossa Vineyards Chardonnay - super-interesting, starting with the orange-ish yellow color. Slightly oxidized layer on top, but also layered honey and vanilla. Definitely on its downslope, but still interesting to taste.
1997 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese - tasty peaches and strong minerality, still some funk layer on top. Unctuous, great acidity, and just alive in the mouth.
Wine tasting at my house
I guess business school students are pretty busy... so busy that they cannot enjoy a few wines on a Sunday night... along with a beautiful sunset. Fortunately, I recruited McClure and Ellie to join me, so wine was not wasted. Cathy made it as well (priorities in line), while Matt swung by on his way home.
We opened the following wines, all procured at North Berkeley Imports.
2005 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre
If this is the modern version of Sancerre, I can dig it. It was ripe and fresh, but it maintained the steely, chalky notes that define Sancerre. The fruit was defined by sliced pear, along with some spiciness. Very subtle.
2005 Shenandoah Vineyards California Sauvignon Blanc - typical Cali-style wine with very ripe flavors and a touch of oak. It seemed like there were flavors of lime, vanilla and coconut.
2004 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Grenache - no oakiness, but super-ripe and smooth to drink. This is a full-bodied ripe Grenache with vanilla, coconut, and lots of dark fruit like black rasperries, blackberries, and good 'ol California jamminess. It was a great contrast to the:
2001 Domaine La Milliere Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes 375ml
The first bottle was muted and maybe a little corked, so I opened another one. This one was brighter and more what I expected - kirsch, earthy, spicy. Its layers start with flowers and raspberry, then finish with earthiness and some crushed stone. I am happy to have found an old world style CdP.
Some information about Domaine La Milliere.
All of Arnaud’s Châteauneuf vines are located in Cabrières, just below Mont Redon. This region is blessed with the best soils of Châteauneuf—round galet stones the size of fists, well-draining sand, and mineral-rich limestone. Vines that have seen close to a century of life in Châteauneuf sit north/west on Arnaud’s vineyard slopes.
Thanks to all those who made it... hope to do it more often.
PAX and Willi's
PAX open house on Saturday, November 4, 2006
I sprinted up to Santa Rosa from San Francisco, with the hope I would arrive before 2:00 PM. It looked good until I hit the Santa Rosa bottleneck... I ended up arriving at 1:45. I might have been the last to arrive, but the PAX team was still gracious. They answered all of my questions, served me seconds, and provided the personal service that will make me a lifetime customer.
I tasted the following wines:
2005 Pax Roussanne, ‘Venus’, Bennett Valley - honeyed and oily with some ripe melon-like fruit. This seemed very rich to me, so not really my style.
2005 Pax, Alder Springs Cuvee - these are the remnants from the Cuvee Moriah bottling. It is 40% Grenache, 30% Counoise, and 30% Mourvedre. All whole cluster but no oak. It seems like a pure food wine, like a very high-end Cotes du Rhone.
2005 Pax Syrah, Kobler Family Vineyard, Russian River Valley - this was the most interesting wine I tasted. Not sure if the stemminess will be out-of-balance as this wine matures, but it added really interesting tertiary characteristics on Saturday. Herbal, but with ripe fruit and a sweet mid-palate.
2005 Pax Syrah, Lauterbach Hill, Russian River Valley - linear and focused. I didn't love this wine even though it tasted great. Dark black fruit, good acidity, but a somewhat short finish. I asked if it was showing well, and he said yes... maybe just not my style.
I think there were 1-2 other wines that I am not recalling right now...
Barrel samples:
2005 Pax Syrah, Walker Vine Hill, Russian River Valley - this was a big wine made in the big California style. Reminded me of the Saxum wines because it was loaded with blackberry, cassis, and chocolate. Big and long - not my favorite, but all of these barrel samples were kickin'.
2005 Pax Syrah, Alder Springs Vineyard, 'The Terraces', Mendocino County - this was the sexiest wine of the bunch, potentially with the longest aging curve. I didn't get a ton out of it, but the potential was obvious.
2005 Pax Syrah, Griffin's Lair, Sonoma Coast - oh boy, now we are talking about my favorite. Meaty, layered, brooding, rich, gamey. This was the masculine side of Pax coming out. If I was ever making wine to represent me... I would want this vineyard. I went back for seconds.
2005 Pax Syrah, Cuvée Keltie - upfront this is silky and sweet. It finishes with chewiness, bacon, and big tannins. In the middle, there is an interesting note of iodine (salty), mint, and black fruit.
Francisco and Kara hung around till I finished tasting wines, then we decided to go have some lunch.
Willi's Wine Bar with Francisco and Kara
2004 Copain Madder Lake Syrah
Drank alongside Acorn Winery's Medley, and really liked this wine. Both well-made wines, but the Copain was meatier and spicier. It had a nose of wild fruit and dark backberries. While ripe and juicy, it still had some Northern Rhone characteristics.
2002 Acorn Medley Alegría Vineyard
Nice wine for the money (~$40 on restaurant list). A little bit of spiciness, loads of blueberry, plum, vanilla, and toastiness. Sweet tannins gave it a nice finish. Interesting that all grapes sourced from same vineyard (~15 different varietals inside).
In 2003, more than 15 grape varieties (48% Cabernet Franc, 16% Zinfandel, 13% Syrah, 7% Cinsaut, 2% each Alicante Bouschet, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, and Merlot; 1% Petit Verdot, and 7% various red and black muscats) were hand-harvested on five days, over a five-week period. They were fermented and aged in five different lots, each a field blend.
In 2002, it was single-vineyard blend of 38% Cabernet Franc, 28% Zinfandel, 5% each Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, and Cinsaut; 3% Alicante Bouschet, 2% each Mourvedre, Viognier, and Merlot; and 10% various red and black muscats. In other words, it is 45% Bordeaux varieties, 28% Zinfandel, 17% Rhone varieties, and 10% Muscats. For the 2002 Medley, 15 grape varieties were handharvested on six days, over a seven-week period, from 13 different blocks.
Recent wines tasted
We stopped at Siduri first, where Kate was a super hostess. We started with the Novy Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay (Garys'?), and the Four Mile Creek. The we moved on to an impressive collection of 2005 Pinots.
2005 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - rich with raspberries and spice, pretty light and easy to drink.
2005 Siduri Sonoma County Pinot Noir - a little more weight, more cherries, and earth. Unmistakly California, but not overblown.
2005 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir - good to see the vineyard characteristics really shine through - mushrooms, earth, sour cherry, and sweet cherry.
2005 Siduri Pisoni Pinot Noir - this is the Cali Pinot that is so controversial. Big, ripe, dark cherry, very sweet fruit... but still has freshness.
2004 Novy Judge Family Vineyard Syrah - I didn't think this was drinking very well so I will withhold commentary.
I had the pleasure of tasting all of the Peay Vineyards current releases. The Syrahs are being sold right now, but the Pinots will be coming soon.
2005 Peay Pinot Noir Pomerium
2005 Peay Pinot Noir _______
I cannot remember which Pinot we started with, but the first one was super sexy. More explosive nose and brighter red fruit profile. The second Pinot was darker and higher in acidity, but also still fresh. Both wines were chock full of minerality and almost Sancerre-like flintiess.
2004 Peay La Bruma Syrah - lots of fruit and spice
2004 Peay Les Titans Syrah - darker, more brooding. Classic meaty nose with spicy palate, and earthiness. I bought 3 bottles to watch them age.
2005 Dr. Loosen Dr. L - great acidity and high sweetness for this level of wine. Really should find some of the higher pradikat Loosen wines.
2000 Peter Nicolay Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett - it might have been a little past its peak and it had a little VA going on, but it had some classic scents of aged Riesling. It still had acidity, but the minerality was really shining through with some apricots and some apple.
