Last night my wife and I finished off an enjoyable bottle of the Clarendelle 2005 Red Bordeaux from Clarence Dillon. Must confess that I had a “sneak preview” glass on Wednesday night, but the final polish came last night as we celebrated the early end to the work week. This Bordeaux accompanied shell steaks, grilled to taste, and a delicious salad of field greens, baby potatoes, blue cheese–and bacon!
Most times, a dinner glass of wine is about the taste, or a combination of tastes. Yesterday, though, it was about celebrations instead. With that spirit in mind, I sampled this rich red from a great birthday gift mug during the dinner hour and afterwards as I packed up all my black and orange for Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Helped kick off a fun weekend!
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Wente Vineyards Morning Fog 2011 Chardonnay
If you remember our last post about Wente, you know we’re fans and were looking to echo the success of our last bottle with another of the finest from this Livermore Valley vineyard. We anticipated sharing this one with good friends–originally from Park Slope in Brooklyn and now in Yonkers–for the Easter weekend. My wife’s dear friend is a professional chef, and this light, nearly sweet Chardonnay was intended to accompany a mushroom lasagna and other festive plans we had in mind.
Wente Vineyards 2011 Morning Fog Chardonnay, Livermore, California, USA.
Unfortunately, our plans fell through and Becca and I were left with nearly two dozen eggs to color ourselves, a pile of delicious snacks, and a Paas kit ready to go. Thankfully, we’re creative folks, and we do love our eats. Makes for a powerful combination!
Anyway, we set up the kitchen table–cups for dunking, pens, crayons, and rubber bands, and this delicious white. Perfect way to celebrate Easter! You can see in the accompanying photo both our empty bottle as well as the colored treasures we created ourselves. The wine was great, the occasion sound, and the company best of all.
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2008 Expo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Expo Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA. Featuring artwork by Carol Schinkel of Fort Collins, CO.
Second tasting of the 2008 Expo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m really a fan of this Cab and trying to think of a way to explain in simple terms: On a day where you are reluctant to break out a proven superstar but are looking for some grapes that bring it, the Expo is a great option. It’s not a home run, but it’s a solid double into the gap and you’re looking to advance. The Expo kind of has a boutique feel to it and was paired last night with a killer green salad and pan-seared steaks. The fresh ground pepper on the salad, combined with the red meat, seemed to bring out some of the flavors (dark reds, spices) of this great cuvee.
Since I cheated a glass from this bottle earlier in the week (a great, heart-healthy after-work drink, incidentally), I was about one short last night but am already looking forward to the next taste.
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Buena Vista 2009 Ramal Vineyard Cardonnay Musque Clone
A delicous-smelling mushroom beef risotto is going to accompany this last glass of the Buena Vista Musque Clone Chardonnay 2009 tonight. The Chardonnay–my first white in some time–is a really nice, sweet Californian. Buena Vista always rings true for me, and this bottle is no exception. It’s got a great scent about it; some yellow fruits that I can’t quite pinpoint but surely enjoy on the nose and the tongue.
In addition to their usual language about the boutique approach, Buena Vista writes of this Sonoma beauty, “This Musque Clone selection showcases our most aromatic expression of Carneros Chardonnay with aromas of honeysuckle, orange blossum, and floral notes. The aromatic fruit and muscat-like characters carry through with a rich, oily texture that pairs well with intensely flavored foods and is also enjoyable on its own.”
Even now I’m just sipping the glass, drawing out the inevitable conclusion to a fun bottle. Wish they didn’t all come to an end, but all good things, right?
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Gascon Malbec 2009
We’ll call this a “birthday wine”, because we opened while celebrating a milestone for Ma. I’ve seen it shelved and/or displayed in NJ wine stores and must be a relatively mass-produced Argentinian red because it was all over Rochester too. The Malbec followed a Tormaresca that we had gifted (and written about) previously, and that’s one of the fun things about having more people enjoying a bottle together–with the portions divided, you get to open more bottles and do more sampling at a given sitting. In any case, we uncorked the Gascon Malbec 2009 to accompany an Asian green salad, grilled asparagus, twice-baked potatoes, and perfectly cooked Wegman’s steaks. It must have worked well in this capacity, because it was long gone by the time we got around to some fantastic desserts.
Gascon 2009, Argentina.
Here’s the usual run-down from the winemaker: “Don Miguel Gascón Malbec is a full-bodied wine with a deep violet color, showcasing flavors and aromas of blackberry, blueberry, plum, dark cherry, and a hint of mocha. The wine is elegant and rich in texture, with soft, round tannins and a long velvety finish.”
Apparently the growing season in 2009 had some crazy temperatures that resulted in variations to the grapes–their thickness, acidity, vibrancy, freshness, concentration–a host of factors far beyond my taste. I was just glad it was such a welcome addition to the glad event.
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Petizos Malbec 2007
Have wanted to revisit a Malbec for some time and the 2007 Petizos was good company this evening. This nice Argentian red is named for a breed of South American horse that is descended from Persian warrior horses now devoted to the sport of polo (the term “pulu”, the Tibetin word for ball, is part of the word’s origin). I’m sure it is not really intended to accompany shellfish–we did have crabcakes, scallops, and shrimp with the Petizos (along with some spicy chicken strips and baked macaroni and cheese)–but this grape did work better than expected. This rich, fragrant red wine better accompanied the pepperoni pizza we had too while wishing our friend and neighbor a happy birthday.
The red underpinnings of the Petizos made themselves known and were very enjoyable to this casual consumer. A portion of the proceeds from this Malbec will help make a “better life for animals near and far”. Not the reason I’d flagged this wine originally, but a welcome benefit nonetheless. Looking forward to the next bottle soon!
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2008 Expo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Started this bottle Friday evening, and polished it off Sunday night with a delicious dinner of steak (perfectly done), asparagus, and baked potato. Believe me, it took a crazy amount of restraint not to down the entire bottle in one sitting because it is flat-out excellent. We have several bottles of this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on hand, so Notes will have a photo in subsequent posts–the Expo’s artwork (contributed by Colorado artist Carol Schinkel) is also great.
Know that the 2008 Expo is striking. It has been grown and produced by Alison Crowe and reminded me of several recent Bordeauxs we’ve been lucky enough to try…will break out additional tasting thoughts in our next sampling but first recommendation is that you put your hands on one right now. You’ll thank me.
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Monte Degli Angeli Piemonte Pinot Noir 2011
The last bottle of our Monte Degli case, this 2011 Angeli Piemonte Pinot Noir escorted us into our weekend here in NJ. Looking back on the Monte Degli, I think it might be the only Pinot Noir I’ve ever had from Italy. As chronicled here, I have enjoyed many grapes from Italy but this isn’t one I’m likely to repeat.
We’d left this on the shelf, not to age it or anything so grand, but to see if absence would make the heart any fonder. I think the Angeli is best described as “adequate” and leaves us excited to try other–and better–wines currently on our shelf. Onward and upward, friends.
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2010 Buena Vista Attila’s Selection, Dry Creek Zinfandel
This bottle of Buena Vista Zinfandel graced our table Sunday…either because we’re heart healthy or putting off the Sunday night blues just a while longer. Or, as my wife would say, “Probably some of Column A an some of Column B.” Light, red berries were immediately evident, and this was one of the milder zins that I’ve had–even immediately upon uncorking. I had it with a rare Omaha(?) steak and some sides that now escape my memory. Not an unusual occurrence for me, when I’m having a Buena Vista, to forget what else the menu held for us.
Additional information here from the winemaker: “Harvested in early October, the must was then fermented in separate, open-top vats for each vineyard block and aged separately in French oak barrels for 11 months before final blending.”
This numbered bottle (#2261) is from just 250 total cases and the varietal is named for the son of Count Agoston Haraszthy–the founder of Buena Vista and the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society, which he formed in 1863 to advance the winemaking prowess and expand its vineyards. The BVVS has been restored as a collection of small-production wines that, according to their press, “honor the winery’s pioneering spirit and contribution to California winemaking. Available only at the winery and for club-members, the diverse selection of Vinicultural Society wines explores clonal selections, varietals, vineyards and the incredible terroir of Sonoma County.”
The steak was good; the Zin was better.
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Chateau Potelle 2005 V.G.S. Cabernet Sauvignon
Dear friends of my folks, upon hearing of our love of things Napa, sent us home from their beautiful Massachusetts lake house with this bottle of red last summer. Our host pulled me aside, saying “The V.G.S. stands for ‘very good shit'” and advising that we break out this Cabernet Sauvignon for a special occasion. We held this in check for the better part of a year before deciding to open in conjunction with our Valentine’s Day (which we celebrated on Friday the 15th instead). It flat-out blew me away!
Chateau Potelle 2005 V.G.S. Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA
By no means is my nose or vocabulary for wine worldly, but I’ve had enough grapes to know this was the real deal. So smooth and easy, it vaulted immediately into my all-time top five wines, trailing a Bordeaux or two and some Pinots of particular note. You can look up its “points” some other place; just know you’d crawl across broken glass for just one more good pull from the V.G.S. We had it with a combination of four-cheese and spicy ravioli, and every bite was almost…odd. I usually love this pasta but on this occasion it was just a distraction keeping me from more of the killer Cab.
“Nine different soil types high up on Mt. Veeder, sustainable farming, natural yeast fermentation, unfiltered bottling, and gentle traditional winemaking shape these mountain wines with great personality.” That’s straight from the winery, which produced just 895 cases of this heavenly stuff.
I sometimes wonder if I’ve learned any damn thing after all these bottles, but if I look closer the lessons are more easily discerned. (I find lessons all the time by bottom’s up.) The V.G.S. taught me–or at least restated in loud, proud lettering–that sometimes it is the opening of a good wine itself that is the cause for celebration. A big thank you to the Lewandowski family for the amazing gift/memory!
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