Wine Musings Vol#88

Wine of Merit: ***+Les Bahans du Chateau Haut Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, 1996: The second wine of the famed 1st growth estate. Wonderful. Classic Graves and very reminiscent of the 1st growth. Lovely autumnal and sous bois elements, minerals, dark red fruit, broad leaf tobacco and cigar box. Good structure, balance and integration but clearly ready to drink, though no drop off. A can't miss wine made for Claret lovers. I believe that 1996 Bordeaux is finally coming around. A great time to check in on them if you are cellaring that vintage.

***+Domaine Serene, Evenstad Reserve, Willamette Valley, pinot noir, 2004: Powerful, concentrated and structured pinot noir. Lovely notes of blackberry fruit, pine, nice florals, pipe tobacco and milk chocolate. With time in the glass the wine exhibits more richness on the palate and excellent length. A wine for now or maybe even better in a few years. Promising.

**+Clos Pegase, Pegase Circle Reserve Port, petite syrah, 1995: A curiosity more than anything. Very sweet, black, juicy petite fruit. A touch of spearmint and blueberry. A little grainy. Gliding palate front to back with a black fruit finish. Not a wine I would recommend nor would I avoid it entirely. Nice with a chocolate desert.

Wine Musings Vol#79

Wine of Merit: **** Domaine Philippe Delesvaux, Anthologie, Coteaux du Layon, chenin blanc, 1997: Wow. Initially I feared this wine had suffered poor storage and had been oxidized; the cork was brittle and the color a very dark amber. Lucky for us this was not the case and the wine was excellent, if of disconcerting color. Initially the nose was pure black mission fig jam; a touch earthy, ripe, sweet (the wine has 535 gr. of residual sugar!) and deep. With time, the wine added more traditional botrytis nuances...lichee, ripe persimmon, thick clover honey, nectarine, vanilla orchid. The palate was thick and excellent, adding orange marmalade, caramel, biscotti and baking spices,a touch of brandy. Perhaps influenced by the color, a few said it reminded them of a vin santo. The finish was excellent; spicy and seemingly endless. I am sure storage has played some role here but the experience was outstanding.

***++Chateau de Baucastel, Chateau Neuf du Pape, 1994: A lovely wine. Initially offering complex, rustic, barnyard and grilled meat notes, this wine unfurled with time to offer very focused blackberry, herb, licorice root and iron aromas. Further development in the glass offered a floral hint of violet and lavender. The palate was lively, with more black fruit, pepper, minerals and brier. The palate is fine and firm. An excellent bottle.

***++Beringer Private reserve, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1991: The essence of Napa. Just stuffed with wonderful, deep, red and black stone fruit, cassis, cedar and a hint of chalky, wet slate. The palate is deep, concentrated and chewy, surprisingly youthful yet still deftly integrated. The tannins are fine and the finish long. A great ambassador for the area - a wine I would consider a first growth, or at the very least a super second, of the Napa Valley.

***++Chateau Montelena, estate, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1995 (from magnum): Speaking of ambassadors! Here is another wonderful example of what the left coast has to offer. Signature notes of mature plum, chocolate, a hint of soy, black tea and licorice. Vibrant. The palate is downright juicy, vivacious and fun to be around. Great balance. More feminine than the Beringer but not fragile or dainty, this wine is stacked. Just plain old yummy. The mag disappeared in a heartbeat. Drinking great right now.

***++Kongsgaard, Napa Valley, chardonnay, 2004: I believe the 2004 vintage of Kongsgaard chards suffers in comparison with the 2003 and 2005. Still very much a worthy wine, it does not show quite the depth and concentration of the other two vintages. That said, this wine is stunning. If a bit demure, it has a stunning mineral focus, accompanied by bright marzipan, Meyer lemon and honeyed kaffir lime notes. the palate is bright and intense, more taught than other vintages, with resounding minerals and a long, Asian spice imbued finish. Great stuff!

***Clos Pegase, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1995: Lovely and surprisingly fresh. Perhaps the first of the "let's take a large fortune and turn it into a small fortune" wineries in the Napa Valley...see Revana, Vineyard 29, Darioush, etc. This wine is nonetheless very legit. Dominated by red fruit, morrels, eucalyptus, tisane and spice, the wine is elegant and expertly crafted. The palate glides, offering good concentration, weight and balance. The finish is fine and medium to long, with spicy oak notes at the tail. Delicious and worth the wait.

***Matanzas Creek, Sonoma, merlot, 1991: I have had some success with older Matanzas Creek merlots, so I had some hopes for the longevity of this wine. It is delicious, if perhaps on the downward slope. Mature plum, blackberry and lavender mix with tertiary bell pepper, garrigue and iodine notes. Hints of mineral, vanilla and violet. The palate is full, receding here and there, with more overripe plum, violet and chocolate. The finish is of medium length and fine. Probably more vibrant and primal in its youth, it is still fun and perhaps more complex now...and very much worth drinking tonight.

A quick P.S.: The ****Aubert, Lauren Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, chardonnay 2004 continues to be a breath taking, wonderful, amazing chardonnay. My notes from January of last year (Musings Vol#46) remain almost identical this week.

Wine Musings Vol#41

Wine of Merit: *****Laurel Glen Estate Sonoma Mountain Reserve, cabernet sauvignon, 1990: Just writing the wine notes for this gives me goose bumps. A quick story: Patrick Campbell, the owner and winemaker at Laurel Glen, has only made a few reserves in the history of this storied winery. He has never submitted them for review. For the 1990 he bottled only 300 magnums, which he only sold through his customer list and gave to friends. And he also bottled a handful of Methuselahs – or 6 liter bottles. And he gave me one as a gift (I assisted him with the naming of one of his wines)! And we opened it for Thanksgiving 2007. I will forever be indebted. I have had this wine once before, over 10 years ago. It was truly an amazing and remarkable wine then. Funny thing, I went back to my notes and they were almost identical to the notes I am about to publish. Then, like now, I noted the signature elements that allow for a favorable comparison to the very best that Leoville Las Cases has ever had to offer – indeed Patrick has always made, in my opinion, very Bordelaise wines, with amazing depth, concentration and balance – the elements I most prize. With moderate coaxing, this wine reveals a whole cornucopia of nuances, loamy earth, truffle, deep red fruit, tar, Gaeta olive, melted licorice, baker’s chocolate. Wow. 15 minutes in, the wine is signing and downright youthful (I am sure the large format helped). Sensational. No surprise, this wine is only 12.5% alcohol, not fooling the palate with numbing thickness but instead relying on the natural weight and structure to provide great, indeed voluminous mouth feel, with more fruit, chocolate, olive and minerals. The finish is long and succulent, gaining power over time, youthful and still very strong. I am sure this wine is good for another 5 to 7 years at the least, but is amazing to drink right now. Thank you, Patrick!

****Aubert, Ritchie Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, chardonnay, 2004: Every bit as good as previously noted. Tonight it is the freshness that strikes me as particularly alluring. Sure, the wine is wonderfully nuanced and complex, sure the viscous oily mouth feel and weight connote a serious effort. Still, with everything this wine has going on, it is fresh and bright, not heavy handed at all. Really special. A delight.

***Medlock Ames, Bell Mountain, Alexander Valley rose, 2006: Different from most rose wines which start fresh and then degrade over time, this wine is actually getting better with a bit of bottle age. The flavors are integrating and the wine itself is becoming more harmonious…an even greater pleasure to drink. As noted, a wonderful food fine – I had this with some sushi and a groovy “Caribbean Roll” - spicy tuna, avocado and fried banana and walnut on top. Lovely.

***Clos Pegase, Hommage Artist Series, Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, 1993: I am a sucker for Artist series labels. Mouton, Kenwood and yes Clos Pegase. While the latter two will never be confused for the former, the labels are beautiful and the wines are expertly crafted – and well worth purchasing. This wine has softened substantially since release but is absolutely not over the hill. In fact some mild coaxing releases lovely, nuanced red fruit, plum, cardamom and Asian spice from the glass. The palate has thinned slightly – offering red fruit, licorice root and nutmeg - but there is no drop off front to back and the finish is resolved but fine and very pleasant. A great wine to have with a yummy herbed soft cheese or a nice roasted bird. Delicious.

*++Deloach, RRV, chardonnay, 2004: This winery has gone through quite a bit of transformation. Initially quirky and making handcrafted wines (some very good some not) the winery was sold by the founders to Big Vino in 2003. Recently Greg LaFolette, he of Flowers and Tandem fame, has been making the wine. While not something to search out (the pinot is in fact something to avoid), the chardonnay is not all that bad –in a Costco wine around $12 kind of way. Not overblown, it is pleasant and well balanced. Hibiscus, pear and Meyer lemon. Not super concentrated…light on the palate but not thin. Finish shows some spice and more citrus. A wine that, if they were serving it at a Bar Mitvah, I would happily drink.

*+Rutz Cellars, Dutton Ranch, RRV pinot noir, 1993: I believe this was a very early attempt by the folks at Rutz…I can only hope the winemaking has improved. The issue with this wine is not that it has aged poorly – in fact my recollection of this wine on release is that it has actually improved a bit with time. Still, this wine is hot, disjointed and over manufactured. It does offer some nice notes of typical varietal fruit, black cherry liquor, vanilla and green tea. It is unfortunately more than a little over extracted, astringent with way too much oak making for a bitter attack and finish. Not very pleasant, though with air it softens a bit.

Wine Musings Vol#32

Wine of Merit: ***++Ramey, Ritchie Vineyard, Russian River Valley, chardonnay, 2003: This Ramey guy may be on to something (David Ramey has been the winemaker at some of Cali’s finest including Dominus, Rudd and Matanzas Creek). Certainly, he knows how to source fruit. The Ritchie vineyard does wonderful things with chardonnay and this is no exception. Perfumed, exotic, white flowers, bosc pears, honeysuckle and lavender waft up from the glass. Beautiful palate which includes lemon zest and vanilla, with asian spice. Lovely, integrated finish. Can’t beat it.

***Clos Pegase, Hommage Artist Series Reserve, cabernet sauvignon 1992: “How do you make a small fortune in the wine business?” asks Jan Schrem when queried about his success, “Start with a large fortune and work your way down!” Here is a guy that is clearly passionate about wine – and it shows in his bottlings. This is clearly a mature wine, though the color is a vibrant garnet to the rim. The nose is nuanced, with pomegranate, mint, lavender, sweet clover honey and powdery necco wafers. The palate offers more red fruit, Malabar pepper and asian spices, though it is clearly thinning. The finish is sweet and furry and of medium length. A very pleasant wine that can be enjoyed now.

**+Robert Sinskey, vin gris of pinot noir, 2006: Nice. Bright acids, muted strawberry fruit, lychee nut and pineapple juice notes. Light on the palate, a nuance of provencal herbs, with a nice fruity finish. Not bad!

***Cornerstone Cellars, Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch, Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, 1991: Mature color, evolved nose of soy, stewed stone fruit, plumy, chocolate covered raisins. Fairly full on the palate, mostly red and some black berry fruit. Integrated and fairly balanced. A wine to drink now. Delicious in the short term.

***+Ramey, Hudson Vineyard chardonnay, 2002: Wow. Lovely, effusive perfumed nose of honeysuckle, citrus and a beautiful lavender note. Full and coating on the palate. Notes of vanilla and more candies citrus. Great, spicy, firm finish. Super classy chard!

***++Barnett Vineyards, Rattlesnake Hill, cabernet sauvignon, 1994: Killer. Mature cab color and nose. Perfumey and sexy. Church incense, cassis, cigar tobacco, black fruit. Velvety, palate coating, black Malabar pepper, blackberry, boysenberry, chocolate and some tar. Really special. Sweet, fine tannins. Drink or hold. Great wine.