Our dinner group enjoyed a fine outing at Chuck’s Steak House, a local fav ands great venue for Cabs and Bordeaux. Nine of us were seated on the makeshift outdoor sidewalk patio and poured way too many wines although I did not hear any complaints but did notice some palate fatigue.
Our wine theme on this occasion was for the usual champagne and white Burgundy plus top tier American Cabernet Sauvignon which we brown bagged and tasted blind.
We enjoyed 2 fine champagnes:
2002 LAURENT-PERRIER BRUT MILLESIME- the previous day, most of us in attendance had attended a champagne party where 12 fabulous champagnes were opened including 08 and 09 Cristal, 95 Charles Heidsieck Brut de Millenaires, 02 Bollinger Grande Annee, 99 Philipponnat Reserve Millesime, 06 Egly-Ouriet Brut Millesime and many other winners; amazingly, many of us thought this bubbly was as good as any we’d had on that day; it was truly fabulous; this is the 5th bottle I’ve had and all have been really good, but this one took it to another level; it was super rich and creamy, full bodied and yet had so much finesse and loads of sophistication; following its medium yellow color came aromas of honeyed lemon zest which continued on to be joined by ginger and spice laden citrus, apple and pear; a huge hit of spice finished it off nicely; of all of the attributes this had, it was its unexpected power, mouthfeel and balance that stood out.
2008 LOUIS ROEDERER BRUT VINTAGE- I was happy to see this arrive albeit quite late in the evening, as I bought a lot and have enjoyed each bottle in their early stage, but it`s been a year since the last one and this confirmed how righteous it is; it shined brightly with perky acidity within its balanced state and had a wonderful taste profile that included vanilla, ginger, toasted brioche, citrus, especially lemon, lime and pear flavors with a touch of minerality; it showed beautifully and improved in the glass over time becoming richer and creamier.
Next up, 4 white Burgundy:
2018 PIERRE-YVES COLIN-MOREY LE BANC ST-AUBIN- this was splendid with mlld notes of flint and minerals in the nose, followed by fresh and ripe citrus fruit on the palate while being delivered in a creamy textured medium; another fine PYCM that just consistently pleases.
2018 DOMAINE de MONTILLE PULIGNY-MONTRACHET- this is not your usually village wine as 80% of this comes from declassified premier cru Les Chalumeaux; it was really good having fresh citrus fruit prevailing throughout; it gave generous amounts of lemon oil, honeysuckle and fresh white flower notes along with a touch of almond butter; elegance and balance are additional highlights.
2018 LATOUR CORTON CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- falling right in line with the first 2 before it, here comes another stellar white Burg that has it all; this was creamy and rich, giving concentrated citrus notes especially with lemon and lime plus hazelnut, apple blossom and an unexpected accent of pine; it was full bodied and possessed a long, welcomed finish.
2018 DOMAINE DELARCHE CORTON CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- we`ve just had 3 super fine white Burgs and now here comes a 4th and maybe the best one of all; this was thick and creamy, luscious and lovely; honeyed and mineral laced citrus was dominant throughout; lemon and lime zest was joined by white peach and yellow apple while the underlying streak of minerals provided the right accent all the way to the back end where everything gathered and hung out providing a grand finish.
3 flights of 3 Cabs tasted blind followed. The first 3:
2005 TWO HANDS CHARLIES PATCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- this was pretty big from the color on and as such, I found myself taking small sips and being satisfied that was enough to get the pearls this had to offer; it was full bodied with lots of power and yet some finesse, close to the iron fist, velvet glove analogy; talc and sandalwood infused dark fruit contributes to a nice taste profile; theres still some evidence of underlying tannins that are now mostly integrated and their contribution to the overall acidity should ensure longevity.
1996 PETER MICHAEL WINERY LES PAVOTS KNIGHTS VALLEY SONOMA- 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc; this was amazingly youthful from the vibrant dark red purple color on and once revealed, I was surprised to discover the vintage as I had it much younger; it possessed lots of finesse and charm; talc laden blackberry fruit was most prominent with a bit of plum and black cherry; it was medium bodied and had a soft and smooth texture.
2014 KAPCSANDY FAMILY WINERY ESTATE CUVEE STAR LANE VINEYARD NAPA- 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot; aged 20 months in 80% new French oak, 15% second fill French, and 5% new Hungarian oak; each time I write up notes on this winery, I keep thinking I’m misspelling it, but after repeatedly checking it out, that’s not the case; here comes my early childhood, communion related descriptor= it was “grapey”, not the Welch`s Grape Juice that was so often used, but pretty close, at least initially; with time it changed a bit and black cherry/ berry fruit became more evident before black currant showed up past mid palate; this had some depth and complexity and needs a few years/ decades before reaching its apex.
The next blind flight of 3 Cabs:
2009 HOURGLASS BLUELINE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- I did not recognize my own bring; I bought a lot of Hourglass wines after the son of the owner, Jeff Smith, attended a few of this dinner group`s outings in the early/ mid 2000s and brought some of his wines, all of which were stupendous; I had to get some and even visited the winery and got an inside tour and tasting from Jeff as well as a cave tour; this bottle showcased many of the fine attributes I’ve been accustomed to experiencing in these wines; milk chocolate, mint and eucalyptus accented black cherry was most prominent in this full bodied, complex beauty that was enhanced by its super soft mouthfeel.
2001 VERITE LES DESIR BORDEAUX BLEND SONOMA- 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec; 2/3 came from Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 30% from Chalk Hill and the remainder from Knight’s Valley; even though this did not fit the Cab dominate theme request, it was very good and received lots of accolades; nice ripe blackberry and black currant runs all the way through while being delivered in a soft, silky medium; it had good balance and finished on an uptick to complete the deal.
2005 SWITCHBACK RIDGE PETERSON FAMILY VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- I’ve enjoyed this producer`s wines across the board over many vintages but our bottle was flawed with VA dominate compounds, in this case, ethyl acetate, which gives off nail polish remover like aromas/ flavors.
We finished off with the last blind flight of 3:
2008 VENGE VINEYARDS BONE ASH VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- initially, this came off hot and almost unapproachable, but things changed for the better with time and a lot of swirling and it actually ended up in a good place giving some tasty dark fruit notes of blueberry, plum, blackberry and black currant with accents of leather and tar.
2003 PRADO MADERA CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- this is a new producer to me and comes from Saint Helena where many fine wineries exist {Pride, Joseph Phelps, Duckhorn, Beringer et al}; this bottle offered inviting aromas of mildly oaked dark fruit that became predominantly earth and leather laden black cherry once tasted; it was pleasant and in decent balance with lots of depth and length.
2004 CAYMUS VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- this showed really well with lots of varietally correct notes from the nose through the tail; aromas of milk chocolate and dark fruit previewed more of the same on the palate plus leather and vanilla accented blackberry and black currant; it was full bodied and had lots of layered complexity and once revealed, I wondered how it would compare to the Special Selection, as this was really good.
We finished up with a dessert wine:
2003 CHATEAU LA TOUR BLANCHE SAUTERNES- 375 ml; this was honeyed and burnt apricot nectar at its best served up in a honey like textured medium.
Cheers,
Blake
