Last night Mike Grammer from Toronto was in town so we hosted. Sasha Verhage of ENO Cellars, Andrew & Xiaopei Gelb, Christianne P, Douglas, Traci and myself.
We had the following for dinner:
Tuscan (aka Dinosaur) Kale Salad with balsamic vinegar, red currants, toasted pine nuts
Butternut Squash Soup
White Cheddar Macaroni N Cheese with truffle oil and bacon
Short ribs with coffee-ancho chile braise…superb
Here are Mike’s notes as posted on the other board. My commentary is at the bottom.
2001 Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuveesparkling
I’m hoping someone will provide more details. It was a nice starter, but nothing more for me—however, my dislike of Champagne is legendary…
2007 JC Cellars The First Date
75% Roussanne, 25% Marsanne–nice to see someone still doing something with this mix. Lanolin, honey and a little pear comprise the bouquet. Palate is very pear, has a nice mouthfeel. Kind of kiwi-mango on the sides of my cheeks.
2004 Claude Chevalier Ladoix Bois de Grechons
Well, I was certainly interested, since I believe this is the first white Ladoix that I have had. Minerally, lemon and apple present on the nose. Le gout is nice, lemon/grapefruit. Fresh stuff, though not deep.
2003 J.J. Christoffel Urziger Wurtzgarten Riesling Auslese
Petrol and peaches—pretty pure aromatics. Very sweet, apple and peach cobbler, limpid at first. BUT, it picks up amazing life when paired with the soup. Really an incredible transformation.
2006 Domaine Maroslavac-Leger Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes
Well, this was a new one on me too with respect to producer. Lemon-balm, smoke, lots of apple and some spices make up an interesting bouquet. Tasty, this has some pear and apple finish. Very apple on the aftertaste. Not one I’d seek out, but good.
2006 Keefer Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir
The nose is gorgeous. Florals and strawberries just take over and don’t let go. And the palate is beautiful—velvety, some nice raspberry bite, a little spice and all in tremendous balance. It’s awesome, probably my WOTN and the best pinot of the whole trip so far. This is a purely personal observation but, for me, I’m starting to think of Keefer pinots for California as to Volnays for Burgundy—a place that always gives me at least very good wines and, in the best examples, can be mindblowing.
2002 Switchback Ridge Napa Peterson Vineyard Merlot
big, bold blackberry, blueberry and sweet touch of raisin greet the sniffer. Softer than I might’ve expected, but plushly mouthfilling—and controlled (only 14.8%, about what I would have thought), cherry and plum tastes here.
1991 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon
Andrew was very thoughtful to bring us a mini-vertical of this and the 1992. This one has olives, rosemary, touch of dill. In the mouth, just lovely lines—just like bordeaux in structure and those lines, but California in the more blueberry-accented fruit and still a small amount of dill. Very good wine though
1992 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon
Brighter, fruitier, some soy sauce here and sandalwood—absolutely. Sweeter, rounder this is—yes, the same wine but treated more gently and, while we get a sense of the winemaker, the wines are still undeniably different. I think I prefer the 91, but it’s closer than I might have expected.
2004 Broc Cellars Bennett Valley Grenache
Uh-oh, another grenache. Well, read on brave troopers. Baking spices surround yummy plums, really quite nice bouquet. in the mouth, it’s soft and sweet, with very lovely cherry and strawberry without any herbs. I like this. Yes I said it. I liked a grenache. I like this, it’s just very nice.
2001 Switchback Ridge Peterson Vineyard Petite Syrah
Chocolate-covered blakcberries and big spice here. Some say bordeaux–me, I think bandol. Very chewy dans la bouche, still such a baby. Might’ve guessed 15.2%, but this is also only 14.8%. It has lots of sweet berry fruit and should be at least excellent in 5 years.
2001 Castelnau de Suduiraut
I had not yet had the second wine. I will call it a no-frills version of Suduiraut. Which still makes it a heck of a wine. Almost the regular but not quite the intensity in the nose, maybe a touch of gasoline too. The pear, flowers and botrytis all have a say as well. To taste, it’s dialed back, the core elements of the great wine are present, but without the (exciting) extremes.
2005 Chateau Rieussec
Botrytis, apricot, honey and butter tart show up in the aromatics. Yup, remains very soft indeed. Botrytis, apricot and honey continue but really no acidity. Don’t love it.
I think your notes on the wines are pretty spot on with my recollection. So here’s a couple of observations from the chef!.
I love the Broc Cellars Grenache…terrific wine!
My absolute WOTN was the 91 Forman. Just a beautiful Cabernet with layers of flavor and complexity. The 92 seemed a little more fruit forward and slightly less complex but what a treat to drink these side by side.
I thought the Keefer “Keefer Ranch” Pinot was excellent. Glad to have a few more of these in the cellar. I won’t go crazy like others and claim it the best Pinot I’ve had this year but a superb effort.
The Switchbacks - the Petite is dark, tooth staining monster that seems a cross between a densely packed CA Cab, Bdx and I liked the comparison with Bandol. Sweet fruit up front and through the middle but that tannin still grips, grabs and holds on all the way. The Merlot was a little softer than I anticipated too. I liked it but wasn’t blown away.
The Castelnau…yum! I love Suiduraut and this baby brother was pretty precocious last night. This is pretty packed for a second wine…wow!
The 05 Reiussec was a disappointment to me. It was softer than I thought it would be, less spicy and just a little bland. The Castelnau blew it away.
The Ice Wine…well that went so fast that by the time I went to take a second look the bottle was bone dry…
Great times! Just finished cleaning what seemed like a thousand stems…
