WINE WITH NEIGHBORS (BARTON, BEVAN, DAMPT ++) - Next Door (3/26/2017)
Last night was one of the first sort of warm nights of the spring. Temps soared into the 50’s. Our neighbors and friends Tom and Betty pulled out their pizza oven and stoked it to 500F (or higher). Their son joined us from Chicago and a couple of other neighbors came for a while. It was a fun night of conversation and all sorts of wines. Tom and Betty were quite generous. We threw in a couple.
We started outside on their patio with Maple Manhattans from Tom’s special recipe. Excellent! Then on to food and wine.
Some starters outside
Sitting outside we nibbled on crackers with Manchego and Goat Brie and olives. Then the pizzas starting coming out with all sorts of ingredients including Brussels sprouts, dark truffles, various cheeses, buffalo cauliflower, lamb “Meat” balls and more. Thin, flat crust, home made dough, just perfect.
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2015 Bevan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Dry Stack - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
First bottle of this in a while. The best yet. Pop and pour, it was great. A few people took the bottle to write down the label. Light gold in color. Gorgeous nose of papaya, pineapple, very slight grass, with a nice mineral note. Creamy texture, it seems to have put on weight. Deep. Seamless presentation. Lots of melons and slight mango notes. Long finish. Great with some goat cheese brie and assorted wood fired pizzas. (94 pts.) -
2015 Sebastien Dampt Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Great value here. This is a $25 Fass Selection wine and in fact, I think yesterdays letter had other vineyards from this producer in 2015. Light gold in color. The nose has green apple, minerals, slight copper note, chalk and salinity. Very nice but understated. On the palate, this is steely with green apples. Nice acidity not bracing. Great with food. Nice finish. Coming after a Bevan SB, it took some time to adjust and wood fired pizzas certainly helped a lot. Seemed to get better all night. (91 pts.) -
2009 Maison Bouachon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Dedication - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My neighbor brought this back from CdP. It had been open for a while to breathe. Purple in color with some ruby. The nose has cherries, some dark cherries, garrique and slight violet notes. On the palate, this is medium bodied. Still has plenty of life left though I think it is close to peak, it probably doesn’t get better. Good balance. Nice finish. Went well with food. (91 pts.)
Inside
As it started to get a bit chilly, we moved inside for a bit more pizza and dessert.
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2013 Markham Merlot - USA, California, Napa Valley
My neighbor had been given this as a gift. The interesting thing was that it had been covered with chocolate. It was two layers of milk chocolate with some caramel in between. The idea was to remove the chocolate (there were strings to pull in the chocolate) and drink with the wine. It had a consume on date by the end of April, so she shared it with us last night. I am not sure, but I would think putting hot or warm chocolate on the bottle can’t be good for the wine. As it is not a proper bottle, it didn’t seem fair to me to score it officially, but I was not a fan. Others liked it more. Otoh, the chocalate was nice and the thin caramel layer was a nice touch. Nevertheless, the wine is purple. The nose is still all about oak and hints of cherries and chocolate. On the palate, i found this to be most saw dust with some cherries and pretty hot especially on the finish. Others may have enjoyed it more but I moved on. I am sure it was a nice gift, and it was a lovely gesture having it shared with us, but not something I would recommend. -
2000 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
This rocked. My neighbor bought this recently. It was opened the night before to breathe and decanted for sediment before serving. That seemed perfect. This is still young but with all the air it got, seemed to be at least close to peak. Purple with some ruby swirls in color, slight ruby at the rim. The nose is really nice. Cassis, cedar, slight dusty cigar box, hint of funk and loam. Complex and not huge but very present. On the palate, this is gorgeous. What a classified growth from a great vintage should be. That said, I would think this has a couple of decades left to mature and develop. Deep. Tight layers that unwind in the glass. Cassis, cigar tobacco, earthy damp forest floor. Great balance. It starts out as pieces and comes together to be almost seamless. Nice finish. This is a really special wine. Perhaps some more upside potential (96 pts.)
A bit o Whiskey
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NV Green Spot Finished in Château Léoville Barton Cas - Ireland, Cork
My neighbor poured this after opening a 2000 Leoville Barton. It is hard to find the similarities, for me anyway, but this is really good. Copper/gold/orange in color. The nose is gorgeous and that is probably the closest to the wine. Butterscotch, hay, slight malt notes with a bit of cedar. Drinking it, it is very smooth IMO. A hint of sweetness and very clean. A bit of warmth on the way down. I just had a bit but that was perfect. (92 pts.)
And a beer chaser
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2016 The Bruery Mash and Vanilla - USA, California, South Coast, Orange County
I bought this on a trip thru Indiana (Roanoke) to pick up my daughter at Purdue. Comes in a 750. I really enjoyed it. Light brown in color. The nose is sweet with caramel and vanilla along with a malted milk ball quality. Very smooth and easy to drink. 13.7% alcohol. Nice barley wine with just a hint of vanilla. 4.25/5
It is great to live in such a nice neighborhood with really great quality people. Jane and I are again very blessed.
Posted from CellarTracker