June 1, 2010 at 4:44 pm (Age, Barolo, Black Fruit, Bordeaux, breathable glass, Brunello, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellaring, Collecting, Comparisions, Cooking, Earthiness, Food, Fruit, glasses, Italy, Red Fruit, Sauces, Soil, Storage, Super Tuscans, Tasting, Tiganello, Winemakers, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Black Fruit, Brunello, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellaring, Cherry, Earthiness, France, Italy, Soil, Super Tuscan, Tasting, Tuscany
It is rare to have a chance to drink some high quality Italian wine. But I was afford the opportunity this weekend. And what wines they were.
I have always felt that Italian wine is perfect for any meal. Sunday, at our friend’s house, we had some roasted tri-tip, a salad and brie and basil ravioli. So we had tow bottles to enjoy with the meal.
The first was the 2003 Altessimo Brunello. Brunello, a clone of Sangiovese, comes from a small town in Tuscany. Made in limited quantities, Brunello is often considered the queen of Italian wine. (People thing Barolo is the King of Italian Wines) This bottle was no exception. Bright cherry, black cherry, nutmeg and toasty oak greeted the nose. The wine was ultra smooth./ The tannins were muted. It went down so well. We decanted the wine in breathable glass decanter. We could not wait a few hours for the wine to soften. I kept thinking about my brief visit to Tuscany and the smell of the wine and the soil was taking me back there.
This bottle was a highly rated wine and top wine from the very hot vintage of 2003.
But then we opened bottle number two. A 2000 Tiganello. This is one of the top super Tuscans made. A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. These wines are now becoming the most valuable wines of Italy. This was a deep red, thick rich wine that when I think about french Bordeaux, this wine is truly got more going for it. I like Bordeaux, but when drinking something like this, the intensity is almost overwhelming. This wine had just about everything right going for it.
Made by Antinori, Tiganello is one of the classic examples of the art of blending non-Italian varietals that are grown in Italy. There are a number of Super Tuscans to look for. And they seem to age very well with proper cellaring.
We were only sad that we had the one bottle. But the experience was worth it. And the Cannolis and pot du creme was a nice way to end the night.
The whole night was themed around watching Angels and Demons. It was fun to see parts of Rome and remember the plazas, statues and fountains. So plan a theme a night with some food and wine. fun will be had by all. That is how we uncork happiness.
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February 23, 2010 at 7:35 pm (Age, Bordeaux, breathable glass, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Cellaring, Collecting, Comparisions, Earthiness, Food, Francec, glasses, Laguna Niguel, Malbec, Napa, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot, Soil, Tasting, wine critics, Winemakers, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Black Fruit, Bordeaux, Boyd 2006 Big Ranch Cuvee, breathable glass, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Cellaring, Cherry, chocolate, Clos du Val, cornerstone 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Earthiness, Hope and Grace 2006 Napa CAbernet, JR 2005 rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Modis Operandi 2007 Vicarious Red, Napa Valley, Petit Sirah, Retail Wine Stores, Rutherford Dust, Soil, Stags Leap, Tasting, Value Wines
It is not often that I say I love a certain wine tasting, but that was just the case this last Friday. We featured a few boutique wines from Napa and one solid Cabernet Sauvignon from Stags Leap district. All of the wines were big reds. The few I got to sample the day after the tasting were even better.
Which brings me to a slight digression. I am finding more and more that the wines in our tastings typically taste better on day two than day one. At California Taste Fine Wine, we do not decant that often before a tasting. The thinking goes, that if we are going to sell a bottle of wine, we like to have it just as you would at home. You are going to open and then just pour yourself a glass. That is kind of how we want to do the tastings. We want to mimic the home experience.
But Friday, these wines were all so good. We started with the Cornerstone Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc. I wrote a bit about the wine earlier (See my Cabernet Franc Post). Suffice to say, this was an excellent wine to start a tasting with. Then came the 2006 Clos du Val Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This is actually a blend of a few wines, much like a Bordeaux. The trick with Clos du Val is to let them age a few years. The rewards are immense. This is a solid bottle of wine, with lots of black and red fruit and a long finish. The idea is to stock up and put a few into the cellar. Go back to the older vintages while you wait. At least that is what I do. And I recently had a 1981 Clos du Val Cabernet that was drinking beautifully.
We also tasted the Boyd 2006 Big Ranch Cuvee. This is a blend of 40% each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Syrah. This is a big, luscious red blend that lingers. Aged in oak, they only made 325 cases. So this is one to collect.
We opened the Modis Operandi 2007 Vicarious Red. The tasters really liked this wine and this is another sudo Bordeaux blend were one of the grapes is Syrah. This is one of those wines that lingering in the head and on the tongue. Big fruit and a long finish. Again one of those low production wines. Only 12 barrels produced.
Hope and Grace 2006 Napa Cabernet was at first just okay. But on day two, it was absolutely incredible. The wine unwound to a lush nose of violets and Cassis, coupled with Oak and blackberry. Wow! Totally unexpected and quite a treat. And so smooth.
The JR 2005 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon was yet another sleeper. The first night, the wine should the dark fruit and a hint of the famous Rutherford dust. Rutherford dust is a special earthiness that wines get in a special are of Napa. There is an alluvial fan of dirt, dust, stone and gravel that spread out eastward from Mt. St. Helena after an eruption many thousands of years ago. Wines grown in this region have a very distinct taste. There are a few areas in Chile that are similar, but a Rutherford Cabernet is a very tasty thing. On day two, this wine was in full swing. If you like Napa Cabernets, this wine would be at the top of your list.
We finished the tasting with the Cornerstone 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 500 cases were produced of this black beauty. It is a very concentrated wine with plum, cherry and mocha. This was a very smooth wine and on day two, it was absolutely spectacular.
I have often thought that there are amazing values in the $30-$60 range of wines out of Napa. These wines certainly prove that point. But what I am really discovering is that so many wines are tasting better the second day. So now I think I need to open two bottles at once. I need to enjoy half of each and wait for the rewards that come with drinking the wines on day two.
And yes, this is indeed happening with a number of whites as well. You will have to experiment for yourself, but the journey is well worth it. Ask your local retailer for help in finding these boutique wines. Great reds from premier wine areas such as Napa do not have to cost $100 or more. Value is what tastes good and delivers. These wines did just that.
So think like me and open two at once. Swirl them around your mouth and enjoy as they go down like silk. Then cork them as you save save some of each for the next day. Let me know if I am not absolutely correct. If you cannot wait, decant or use breathable glass. So now you are Uncorking Happiness, times two.
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February 16, 2010 at 9:55 pm (Age, Bordeaux, breathable glass, Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Campagne, Cellaring, Chablis, Chardonnay, Collecting, Comparisions, Earthiness, Food, Francec, Fruit, glasses, Malbec, Merlot, Napa, Petit Verdot, Soil, Storage, Sushi, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Black Fruit, Bordeaux, breathable glass, Burgundies, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cain 5, Cain Cuvee, Cellaring, Chablis, Cherry, chocolate, cornish game hens, Crown Roast of Pork, Fourchames, France, Iron Horse, kimmeridigian, Kubota Squash, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, red currants, William Fervre, Zinfandel
It starts simply enough. You have a few friends over for diner and then decide to do a vertical tasting. The friends brought the appetizers. So we decided that we would start with something white. Not just any white, but a Burgundy. And not just any Burgundy.
We opened the night with 2002 William Fervre Chablis Bourgeois and Fourchames. Both of these regions are renowned for their quality of wine. The Kimmeridigian clay/chalk soil makes these wines very minerally and brings out much of the fruit flavor. The high acidity and use of neutral oak make these a long-lived wine. Just now , they are coming into their own. The long finish and incredibly smooth nature was tempting m e to drink these all night long and with nothing else.
But then we said, okay, it’s Valentines, we need something pink and red. The pink was Oriel Femme Fatale 2007, a mix of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Talk about an amazing Rose. Bordeaux is not really known for Roses produces this gem. It has amazing depth of flavor, strawberry cherry and small hints of cranberry. The dry finish makes this a wine that pairs well with food.
Okay, so what about the food, we had small balls of rice with Fontina cheese inside, hot artichoke dip, lollipop sushi, and one other thing that escapes me. The white and Rose worked well with these items. We then sat down to seared shrimp topped with Kubota squash soap, then red and yellow beat ravioli,crown roast of pork stuffed with wild rice and dried fruit, red currant glazed Cornish game hens, roasted heirloom carrots (yellow, tan, purple) and a few orange ones as well. By the way, orange carrots are relatively a new thing, just few hundred years old.
For dessert we had chocolate pots du creme with caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream. And fresh strawberries.
But back to the wine. Because the main goal of the night was to do a vertical tasting of cain 5. We were missing a few years, having enjoyed a random bottle or two. So we started at 1999 with a bottle of Cain Cuvee. This is also a red blend from the winery on Spring Mountain. Cain Cuvee is a wine that is made with the juice that does not make it into the Cain 5 or Cain Concept. For a wine that was basically ten plus yeas old, it was very fruit forward with black and red fruit coupled with cinnamon and oak notes. It was a great way to get us in the mood for the main event.
Cain 5 is a wine that is made just like a French Bordeaux, blending Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Each year the blend changes. We used breathable glass for this as we wanted the wines to decant very rapidly. More on breathable glass later.
We started with the 1992. Lots of Cabernet and Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Interestingly enough, this wine had a lot of fruit and was starting to get a hint of age. But the nose and taste had a lot of green bell pepper. A sort of stemminess from the wine making process. We then moved to the 1994, which was similar in taste and the blend was almost identical.
The big turn came at 1995. Here the fruit was very upfront and the acid was balanced and the oak was very evident.It was smooth like the other wines, and tasted like something special. Then came the 1996. The big change was that the amount of Petit Verdot went from 2-4% in all of the others leapt to 19%. This was a stunning wine. The kind that you wish you had a case of. Unfortunately for us, we had only a single bottle. The luscious black fruit was tempered by cherry and toasty oak. Wow.
We then jumped to 2001. This was still a young tasting wine. Very fruit forward and loaded with acid. This was a wine that needs a few years to age and will reward the faithful in a few years. We never made it to the 2003, 2004 and 2005. We will save those for another day.
Soon we will go back and try the rest. These wines are incredibly and pair so well with food. Especially the crown roast of pork.
I did want to mention that with dessert, we had some Iron Horse Brut Rose Champagne. This was perfect with the chocolate and the sparkler brought out the tastes of the strawberries as well.
So if you can find a wine you like and start building a library, give it proper cellaring, you too can Uncork Happiness. What an amazing night.
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January 17, 2010 at 7:06 pm (breathable glass, California Taste Fine Wine, Chardonnay, cleaning, glasses, soap, Tasting, wineries)
Tags: Ballentine Vineyards, California Taste Fine Wine, Chardonnay, cleaning, glasses, soap, St. Clemnet. Three Clicks, Tasting
Clean glasses are essentail to enjoying wine. One customer at California Taste Fine Wine had said he was drinking Chardonnay and it was bubbly like champagne. He had this happen with three bottles of wine. The taste and smell were not off, but it seemed unusual. I asked about the glasses, since he had brought an open bottle back to the store and we used our glasses. No bubbles.
We found out that the dish washer had broken and they were hand washing everything. Not a bad thing, but the y were not rinsing the glasses very well, leaving a small trace of soap residue in the glass. So a very hot wash/rinse is essential for clean glasses.
So let’s spend a few moments talking about washing wine glasses. First, you want o not use soap if at possible. Most glasses get really dirty on the outside, where people touch them. If you do want to use soap, use a mild soap and the least amount possible. Be sure to rinse the glass thoroughly. Do not forgot to wash the base and the stem. If there are lipstick smudges, you need to gently roll the edge of the glass around your thump and for finger. It will take a few rolls to get it off, but it has to go.
The tricky part is drying the glass. Most people say that when they break a glass, it is when they are drying it. So take these words to heart: Do not dry the glass by twisting the stem. The point where the stem meets the bowl is the weakest point of the glass. do not put pressure on the stem. Twirl the whole glass around a few time when drying. Use a linen cloth as opposed to cotton. Cotton leaves fibers which can affect taste and appearance of wine. If using paper towels. Do not get them overly wet as they then tend to require more pressure to dry and then there is a greater chance of breakage.
Store clean glasses with the bowl side down so that dust and other particulates do not get into the glass. Before service, try and gently wipe the glass with a clean cloth, again not cotton. If there are smudges, an easy way to clean the glass is to wipe with a clean cloth after applying a bit of steam to the glass.
If using a dishwasher, the best way to clean glasses is to add a cup of white wine vinegar to the dish washer. The vinegar prevents soap scum form attaching to the glasses. But you also need to make sure the glass’s base is clean as well. Nothing is as depressing as getting a dirty glass with a nice amount of good wine.
I just washed about 70 glasses from last night’s tasting of Ballentine and St. Clement. Everyone had a nice clean glass and we had plenty to choose from. It was an event where we really did Uncork Happiness.
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January 17, 2010 at 3:39 am (breathable glass, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Collecting, Comparisions, Merlot, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot, Tasting, Winemakers, wineries, Zinfandel)
Tags: Ballentine Vineyards, Bruce Devlin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Danielle Cyrot, Merlot, Petit Sirah, Petit Verdot, St. Clement Vineyards, Three Clicks Winery, Zinfandel
This idea has been perculating around my head for over six months. I ahve had the extreme pleasure of meeitng the winemaker sand trying these wines beforew today. They are all packed with flavor. We iwll break it down as we go. I will have comments here from both winemakers as well.
The first wine in the tasting is the Ballentine Chenin Blanc. Awarded a Wine Spectator top 100, this is a dry Chenin with tastes of stone fruit and citrus. I servedthis wine at Thanksgiving and it was just fantastic. It paired well with all of the food on the table. I even drank a glass while carving the turkey.
First, Helen Benziger, red wine lover, says the whites are very good. Hell has not frozen over. A new concert to good white wine.
Krazy Ken Spears has done it again…this could be the best tasting ever! The wines keep getting better and better with each one tasted. These Napa beauties are really tasty. Bill Benziger
Bruce Devlin here, as long as my wife is not listening, I’m winning the battle. Well I have to admit her Merlot might be kicking my butt in the throwdown, but I can hold my own in the Cabernet battle. A great tasting.
Danielle here….My husbands Petit Verdot is fantastic. The best wine he makes. I think my St. Clement Merlot might win the throwndown though between St. Clement and Ballentine. But I need to be careful. I still sleep with him at night so as far as he knows….he is the best winemaker in Napa Valley!
Bill here again..it seems that everyone loves the Ballantine Chenin Blanc. It would be great for some many different occasions. Helen says it tastes like summer.
Ann here, I love it here! The wines are awesome and Ken & Kim are great! Tonight’s tasting had a big surprise at the end…you have to be here to experience the taste! I will be back to experience more wine.
So here we are at the end of the St. Clement/Ballentine throwdown. The wines were amazing. Many liked the St. Clement Merlot. But people were stunned by the Ballentine Petit Verdot. The Three Clicks Sauvignoin Blanc andPetit Sirah were very good and many thought the two of them working together.
It was a very good event, so much so that we just decided to repeat with different wines in the late summer, early fall. So look for some incredible Zinfandels and single vineyard cabernets. Tonight we Uncorked a lot of Happiness.
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January 9, 2010 at 6:12 pm (breathable glass, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Cellaring, Comparisions, Paso Robles, Storage, Tasting, wineries)
Tags: Acid, breathable glass, California Taste Fine Wine, Chateau Montelena Riesling, Hammersky Zinfandel, Napa, Paso Robels, PAtel Cabernet Sauvignon, PAtel Zinfandel, Retail Wine Stores, Tasting, Zinfandel
It is not everyday that an open bottle of wine will stay that way in the house. Unfinished and with just a cork shoved in it. Most wines are drinkable only for about four days. A few make it to a week. And then there are the rare few that go beyond that. I have discussed storage and ways to keep wines in previous blogs.
The first wine that was good after about three weeks was a Chateau Montelena Riesling from NApa. We had a bottle and then put the cork in it when we did not finish it. The bottle got buried in the refrigerator. A little over three weeks later, I was getting ready to sit down to a meal of baby back ribs. We had a few bottles open at the time, but for some reason, I stumbled upon the buried bottle in the refrigerator. Being curious, I pulled out the cork and gave it a smell. It was very nice, then i put a sip into a wine glass and tried it. It was absolutely amazing. It still had citrus and melon flavors ad was ultra smooth. The small amount of oxygen had helped tame this wine. And tasted great with the ribs. I finished the bottle, which was three quarters full.
The next wine we had a chance to recently play with was from Hammersky Vineyards in Paso Robles. PAso Robles is known for big wines, but the Zinfandels from Hammersky are over the top. These are small production wines but they have a very firm tannic, acidic and fruit structure. These wines really come into their own after about four days of being opened. I had some n decanter for seven days that tasted great at day seven. It is amazing when something like this happens. And though most people do not have bottles open for so long, it is fun to see how long some of these things last. At the house, we sometimes hit on a great bottle and it tends to last all of about twenty minutes. So often, when we do experiment with time, there are a number of bottles open.
On December 26th, 2009, I met up with Raj Patel of Patel Vineyards. I tried his Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. My friend Ken Nicholas I loved the wines and they were big and bold. They tasted very good right out of the bottle but were even better in breathable glass. More on the glasses later.
But with all of the holiday goings on and store tastings, once again the wine got shoved aside. Last night,yes fourteen days later, we got to finish and see if the Patel Cabernet held up. At this point, this Cabernet might be the best mad wine I have ever experienced. Originally, there were notes of black cherry, black berry and cassis, leather and earth/tar. After two weeks, the wine had all of that and a very smooth finish. It was better than many wines that have enjoyed right out of the bottle. Patel wines are very limited production wines, but you can go to www.patelwinery.com or pop into California Taste Fine Win for a bottle.
I recommend wines from these wineries because they all have amazing structure and balance. The acid, Tannin and fruit are aligned and that makes for a wine that each time you open it you will be Uncorking Happiness.
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