Vino, grub and fun at Vine in the OC

I had an opportunity to meet with some of the west coast boys last evening in San Clemente. Seven thirsty souls converged at Vine restaurant on a beautiful November eve. Some new friends were made as we broke bread and enjoyed some very great wines. I’ll summarize how the wines showed in the order I liked them.

2014 MACDONALD Cabernet Sauvignon.
My actual first time with MACDONALD and it was a stunner. 6 hour decant as recco`d. Beautiful structure with reserved black/red fruits, balanced and grace. Truly worthy of the hype the last few years that has attached itself to it.

2014 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Weitz vineyard. Served before the MAC, this was awesome, maybe a bit of boldness/ brashness, some say slutty, I was not in agreement with the term but I got the sentiment. After a few older cabs, some were in need of a post-apocalyptic-classic- age them like its nineteen ninety nine cabernet fix. Two thousand zero zer…awww, forget it.

2016 Kutch McDougal Pinot Noir.
A very fragrant style which I really like. Packed with red berries and a tiny note of lemon which I dig (hey, I am in Cali!).

2006 Larkmead Solari Cabernet Sauvignon.
Came out of the gate slow, but within a half hour turned truly nice. Somewhere between old and new style. Really nice. I did get a bit of dill initially and I did question the oak country of origin, but it did fall into place nicely.

1995 Dalla Valle Vineyards Cabernet sauvignon. No doubt a classic cabernet made by one of the most talented winemakers to walk the valley floor. The big question is, is this for me? Is this the type of Cabernet I want to drink? I can well respect those who say yes. It is an awesome wine that has risen to its peak of perfection. Twenty-five years old and it shows; what was once some fruit now shows as tertiary forms of road tar, slight mushroom and flattened cassis. Very pretty, very precise and very classic Napa. I know 5 dozen people who would swoon over this and another 5 dozen who won’t. am on the precipice of one of those groups….

2012 Alpha Omega Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon. I am not a fan of this terse style of Cabernet.

2009 Clos Saron Home Vineyard Pinot Noir. With some interesting controversy these had in the past, this one sure showed the miles of the bottle malolactic fermentation it must have endured.

2006 Champagne David Leclapart L’Artiste. Interesting Chardonnay based Champagne that made me confused when I had seen it decanted for 30 minutes before serving. I usually enjoy my Champagne with bubbles, the smaller the better. This one, while tasty did not hit me as Champagne. What do I know?

Champagne Geoffroy (not sure of vintage). First up on the evening, this rose Champagne was bright and fruity and a real palate awakener. Chik, the dinner guest that brought this has a tremendous knowledge and passion for Champagne and it was a pleasure meeting him and listening to his comments of both Champagnes.

Thanks to everyone for bringing such interesting wines. I always learn new thing when I am part of such dinners like this. I also find such dinners reinforce my opinionated point of views on wines like the DV and really, old wines in general. Special thanks to Andre for putting it all together and receiving my wines via FedEx and decanting the MACDONALD in his hotel room earlier that day.

I will return to San Clemente again and would not be surprised when nobody responds to my ‘I’m coming to town!’ post….lol

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I’m like…”Heitz Vineyard…when did that happen!!!”

Lol.
It didn’t.

Any notes on the 1994 DV?

The 94 DV was great. Classic, aged cab. Of course, Mike didn’t like it:)

Great to meet Mike and his familia as well as Joe D. Always great to see Andre and was good to met his friend Chik. Had a few choices queued up for the night and knowing some of the other wines coming I figured I’d mix things up with something with some age. I redeemed myself In the eyes of our honored guest by bringing my friend Jeff who I knew would bring something in Mike’s wheelhouse. Next time I’ll bring a true “Pobega wine”.

Food was solid though apps far outshined the mains imo. The company as usual outshined the wines in a night filled with fine food, wine and laughs. Thx to all who attended and looking forward to Mike’s return next Fall.

After recounting the nights festivities with Jeff today the only unanswered question was how much wine does Chik really have? The answer we settled on, was probably a lot more than he’s willing to admit.

Cheers!

Updated post 1

Sorry I missed it, but amazing variety of wines!

You’d never had a MacDonald before? It must’ve been just the time that you traded in your CLONYC membership for your PLONYC membership

So glad you had such a fine time, Mike—well done to the crew for fete-ing you so.

Best,

Mike