After a few years of sharing comments on wine threads online on WineBerserker with a few of the Orange County contingency, one reached out to suggest getting together in person as it was clear we had many wine preferences and experiences in common.
That was Chris Seiber, and thanks to him, he organized the event and coordinated the invites and restaurant venue and thus began the first of many wonderful journeys to the area to commune with the amazing Orange County contingency who share the same passion for all things wine, enjoyment and quality of life as well.
Since there was one of me and 7 or 8 of them, it was easier for me to make the drive down and the first time I did so was in 2017. Eight of us dined at a fine restaurant in Laguna Beach, Broadway By Amor Santana.
In attendance was {from L-R} Sean Kennedy, Frank Murray, Brig Campbell, Andrew Christianson, Steve Nordoff, me, Viet Ly and Chris Seiber.
I have since returned many times to rejoin these and extensions of the group and am super grateful and feel blessed for this connection and shared fellowship with each and every one.
I just returned from the most recent journey and it was another wondrous day that included a round of golf with Chris and Brig {Frank was a late scratch} and a fantastic dinner with 4 others joining at the Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa.
The golfers: Chris, Brig and me
Chris is the organizer par excellence and he coordinated this day with his Club and us attendees. We opted to do the wines blind and initially each was assigned a type to bring:
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Sparkling: Astrid Keel and Blake
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Still White: Chris Seiber and Kit Natland
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First Lighter Reds: Brig Campbell and Frank Murray, filled in by Chris
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Second More Serious Reds: Joanne Seiber and Andrew Christianson
One additional bottle was added to each of the red flights; so, we had 10 bottles in all.
I also took a champagne to share after golf and before dinner:
2006 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- I’ve had many a bottle of this fabulous champagne and most of the more recent bottles were showing more maturity with more complexity and a fruit profile beyond citrus with honeyed yellow apple most prevalent, but this bottle was reminiscent of the earlier releases being more about elegance, finesse and charm; I loved it; following its lemon yellow color came inviting aromas of toasty brioche laden lemon and lime that continued all the way to the back end where it finished with the consistency of all before it; it had a fine bead, a frothy mousse and was in perfect balance. This was a fitting treat to the end of a fun and enjoyable game of golf with the guys on a bluebird day.
We began our evening in great style sitting outside on a patio overlooking the golf course. With an unlighted fire place center piece in the middle, the 7 of us sat around it on comfortable pillow and cushioned type seats while tasting the 2 sparkling wines and enjoying some fine appetizers before moving inside for dinner.
Astrid and I were assigned the sparkling wines and we both had prepared them for the blind format. We poured them for the others as the bottle shapes and sizes were too telltale to pass the bottles around.
So, for 3 of us, we already had a start on the bubbly, but as F. Scott Fitzgerald stated, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right.”
When it came time for me to pull a bottle for this part of the evening, I had already decided to bring the 2006 Comtes for after golf, the 19th hole if you will. So, it seemed to be a natural to take it up a notch and bring the 2008; however, as it turned out, the 2006 was in a much better place IMHO.
The first flight of 2 sparkling wines:
2008 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- served blind to the others; I expected this to showcase more of what the vintage is all about with loads of energy, power and complexity as many of the earlier bottles displayed, but if anything, it was the antithesis; the light yellow color was the first clue and then the somewhat muted nose confirmed it with mild aromas of lemon, green apple and pear devoid of the delicate toastiness previously experienced; the taste profile was more of the same and was also devoid of the autolytic fatness of past bottles thus resulting in a light weight texture; James Suckling has called this “the greatest Comtes ever”, but he didn’t have this bottle.
I put my glass aside and went back 30 minutes later and now some of the more expected attributes were starting to express, but it was too late on an evening with many more wines to go. Some in the group had it as a blend from a small grower and some had it from a big house. Astrid called it Comtes out of the gate.
BTW, I do not think this was an individual bottle variation, but more of a timing issue catching this in a shut down phase before it climbs out of the valley and reaches toward the peak.
2008 DOM PERIGNON P2- served blind by Astrid who graciously brought it; this is comprised of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir and was disgorged in March 2024 with a dosage of 5 gpl; it spent 15 years on the lees and as such, expressed some oxidative notes without being oxidized; after that, I would have expected the color to have a darker hue, but it was light yellow; the nose offered super pleasing aromas of brioche laden citrus fruit which on the palate translated into ripe and focused lemon lime soda with a twist of orange and a sprinkle of hazelnut and a coat of honey; initially it was pointed out that there was some reductive notes with a sulfur residue, but it blew off and left us with pure gold; it featured bright acidity and great mouthfeel which enhanced the finish which deposited a hint of chalk on the back palate.
During there identification process, I actually thought this was more likened to what the 2008 Comtes should have been expressing, but then again, I had another thought or three and included 2008 Dom Ruinart in the mix of choices.
What a great start!
We moved on to the dining room for the 2nd flight of 2 white wines brought by Chris and Kit:
2011 BOUCHARD PERE & FILS CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE RAND CRU- blind; the bottle was quite chilled and the glass was fogged a bit revealing a cloudy light yellow color; one nose and I knew this was a great white Burg that I guessed to be from 2014 or so, but now for more speificis; it gave aromas and tastes of honeysuckle, lightly toasted lemon, apple and pear which was enhanced by the nicely integrated oak that also added richness and pizzaz plus a mild streak of minerals coming in late; it had elegance and charm and enough body, depth and structure to make it super delightful; this is cool climate Chardonnay at its best sourced from an east facing vineyard on the hill.
2023 DOMAINE aux MOINES ROCHE aux MOINES SAVENNIERES- blind; as Brig said after first sniffing this, “we’re on a different reservation now”; the clear amber yellow color was followed by floral aromas that included white flowers, chlorophyll and honeysuckle joined by mineral laced mandarin orange, peach and pear on the palate; it had an oily, feel good texture that served to lengthen the welcomed finish; I went with my first thought that this was Chenin from Loire and had the vintage at 2018; this comes from a mother/ daughter duo who source their fruit from a vineyard close to the Loire River and it’s superb.
Next up, the first of 2 flights of reds brought by Brig and filled in by Chris for Frank with 3 wines in all:
2019 SCHERRER WINERY PLATT VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- blind; following its medium red purple color came aromas of my childhood candy, jujube, the red cherry kind with some strawberry and raspberry in the background; it was fruit forward and typical of many youthful new world Pinots I’ve had and especially those made by Nik Stez {a protege of Burt Williams} of Woodenhead including the Sonoma Coast, RRV and Anderson Valley; it was nice and smooth and finished as it started with a big dollop of red cherry, jujube if you will; the vineyard is located in sight of the Pacific Ocean and the town of Bodega and therefore this is ultra cool climate Pinot as this tended to suggest.
2007 WILLIAMS SELYEM COASTLANDS VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- blind; sporting a dark red purple color, this wonderful, well made wine fooled me big time as it expressed chocolate covered, cola and spicy red cherry and raspberry berry fruit in perfect balance throughout; it had a smooth texture and lots of grace and charm, yet enough body and substance to add a note of seriousness; I was all over the place with the varietal and never landed on Pinot Noir thinking it was Sangiovese or Nebbiolo; once revealed, I was very surprised to discover its source and type and at the end of the evening, this was one of my favs of all.
It was barrel aged 16 months in 71% new oak and 29% 1-year-old, had an abv of 14.3% and was released in the fall of 2009.
2006 RHYS SWAN TERRACE VINEYARD SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS PINOT NOIR- blind; after struggling to ID the new world Pinot before this, I had no problem recognizing this as being such although it was an entirely different wine; nice, soft and elegant aromas of talc and sandalwood accented the red and black cherry fruit that was delivered in an equally soft textured medium that added to the wondrous sensory pleasures this provided; it finished a little dry, but seemed to be moving toward a good state of balance.
We moved into our final flight with 3 more serious reds:
2011 G.D. VAJRA BRICCO DELLE VIOLE BAROLO- decanted and served blind; the dark red purple color suggested something super serious forthcoming and it did have lots of power, but also lots of finesse, sort of the iron fist in a velvet glove analogy; it featured wild fruit with red cherry and red and black raspberry most evident with embellishing notes of violets, fig and black tea; it was full bodied with layered depth and had a long finish that was a bit dry from the underlying tannic structure which should fully integrate in the next few years; I did think this was Italian, but wavered between Nebbiolo and a Super Tuscan, finally going with the latter thinking it was a Sangiovese based blend.
The fruit is sourced from one of the historical vineyards of Barolo and is the highest and closest to the Alps; this wine was aged 22 months in large Slavonian casks of 25 and 50 hectoliters capacity.
2010 COPAIN HAWK’S BUTTE YORKVILLE HIGHLANDS NAPA SYRAH- blind; violets, lavender, tar and roses provided the perfect accents to the ripe blueberry and blackberry fruit that prevailed in the nose and on the palate; it was medium bodied with a soft and smooth mouthfeel and in nice balance; this was a delicious wine that kept changing in the glass and I needed more time to properly track its evolution, but my palate was getting fatigued and I knew it was a good one and guessed it to be about a 20 year old Barolo.
2018 SINE QUA NON ZIEHHARMONIKA CALIFORNIA SYRAH- blind, the dark, almost inky red purple color was only the tip of the iceberg as to how serious this fully extracted wine was; the nose and taste profiles included coffee, pepper, spek {showing off my Dutch} and spice laden blueberry, blackberry and black raspberry; it had a weighted, smooth texture and a looong finish that the last wine of the night certainly must be mandated to possess.
This is made of 82% Syrah, 6.7% Mourvèdre, 5% Petite Sirah, 2.3% Grenache, 2.7% Viognier and 1.3% Muscat including 14% whole cluster, largely destemmed and brought up in 51% new French oak.
“The vineyard sources for this wine are 51% The Third Twin, 43% Eleven Confessions and 6% Cumulus – all estate owned vineyards.
The wine was bottled in August 2020, after 23.5 months of aging. It was reared in 51% new French oak, 46% in used barrels and 3% in terracotta. (The terracotta is only used for whites.)”
As Chris stated, “every bottle was good and interesting and showcased something different . I would be hard-pressed to name my favorites after the Dom, and it would be a disservice to the ones I didn’t include.”
As to how special this day was, for me, it was extra stellar and I remain grateful for the brotherhood/ sisterhood connections with my Orange County family who are the genuine article and dearly loved.
Cheers,
Blake
@Chris_Seiber @brigcampbell @AstridKG @Andrew_Christiansen @Frank_Murray_III @Steve_Nordhoff @Viet_Ly
