Our Monday Night Blind Wine Dinner Group enjoyed another fun and fabulous evening at Ca Dario Montecito, this time with a stellar crew of 3.
As a result, we kept our wine assignments to one bubbly, one white and one red.
We got off to a grand start:
2006 DOM PERIGNON BRUT- blind; this had a medium yellow color and aromas of spicy citrus fruit with lemon most prevalent and I immediately thought of DP as this is a trademark I’ve experienced over the years, but not so much with some age as in this one; had I not overheard the one who brought it state he had trouble removing the cork, I would have never come close to the vintage as I had it around 2012 or younger; the taste profile was not typical; so, I gave up the DP guess; it had flavors of honey and minty fresh lemon, lime and yellow apple along with a streak of minerals were most prominent; it was a savory, light and frothy delight and a perfect bring in that we had just done a 2006 retrospective a few days prior and this was not included in the 6 bottles opened on that night with 3 others. A tasting of 6 champagnes from 2006 starting with NV Ruinart BdB, then 2006's from Pommery Cuvee Louise Nature, Pommery Cuvee Louise Brut, Billecart-Salmon Nicholas Francois, Taittinger Comtes BdB, Cristal and Krug
2020 DOMAINE JEAN-CLAUDE BACHELET LES MURGERS des DENTS de CHIEN SAINT-AUBIN 1er Cru- blind; following its medium yellow color came enticing aromas of fresh citrus fruit, white flowers and mild minerality; on the palate, it gave delicious citrus notes accented by petrol, minerals and wet stones; the oak was nicely integrated and it was super soft as the acidity was muted; this was an elegant, lovely wine that I’d love to have as an aperitif.
I had it as a white Burgundy and guessed it was a Puligny from 2018. As it turns out, the fruit is sourced from a 0.25-hectare site located in the corner of the vineyard, across the narrow track from Puligny’s esteemed Premier Cru Champs Gain.
2011 RIVERS-MARIE SUMMA VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- served blind to the others; decanted 3+ hours; I’ve long been a fan of this vineyard, especially after Burt Williams added it into his lineup of quality Pinot Noir vineyard designates in the 1990s; Thomas Rivers Brown did a splendid job of creating another stellar wine from this source using the best fruit from all blocks and it even had some similar notes; the color was a grainy red raspberry which perfectly matched the most dominant aroma and flavor; additional notes of talc, sandalwood, cinnamon and spicy black raspberry and strawberry joined in with some red cherry coming in late; it had a super smooth mouthfeel, integrating oak {Thomas aged it in 75% new French oak; thus the sandalwood and talc} and held a steady course throughout; in a perfect world, this goes another 5-8 years before it is perfectly balanced out.
One of my top 5 ever wines was the 1995 Williams Selyem Summa Pinot Noir in magnum with Burt.
From the wineries website: “Where it all started in 2002. Summa holds a storied place in the young history of the Sonoma Coast, connected to other great Pinot sites throughout Sonoma County due to its early inclusion in the original Williams-Selyem line up. This bottling represents the second generation of Pinot here, coming from a massale selection planted in 1998. Its red/orange fruit signature is a telltale sign when tasting Summa blind. It’s as much savory as fruity especially as it ages. This “normal” bottling has crept quietly toward the qualitative level of its old vine sibling.”
As usual, we ate and drank well and enhanced out learning experience yet once again with joy and glee.
Cheers,
Blake
