Our Monday night dinner group enjoyed another fabulous evening at CA Dario Montecito with a blind wine theme of white wines from anywhere and red Grenache blends from Rhone. As you will see, not all met the criteria.
On this night we expanded from 4 to six folks and while feasting on numerous delicious appetizers and personally selected main courses, we tasted and discussed each wine while tracking them during the evening made possible by keeping the group small.
Tasting blind is humbling and extremely educational and doing so in this manner provides more insight about those wines and their makeup.
Here’s some notes:
We started off with 4 blind white wines, all properly chilled.
2017 CHATEAU LES HAUTS de SMITH BLANC PESSAC- LEOGNAN- 100% Sauvignon Blanc; light yellow color; a couple of us got it as a Sauv Blanc and a white Bordeaux; the wine kept on changing within a short period of time before settling in although it was consistently pleasant throughout and eventually landed in a really good place with mineral infused white peach, apple and citrus notes; it was delivered in a soft and smooth medium, elegant, super pleasing and nicely balanced.
2007 BERINGER PRIVATE RESERVE NAPA CHARDONNAY- dark gold color suggesting oxidative effects; the nose had mature notes of honeyed, buttered and baked apple, yellow peach and pear which continued on to be joined by a streak of spice; it had an oily mouthfeel and a long pleasant finish; I liked it even though it was a bit oxidative, but not oxidized. Most got this as a California Chardonnay especially with oaky notes.
2019 ROTEM & MOUNIR SAOUMA COTES du RHONE BLANC INOPIA- this comes from a winery named after the couple that runs it and owners of the micro-negociant, Lucien Le Moine; it is called INOPIA, latin for “made from nothing” referring to the land which was empty and everything was done simply without a lot of material; it is a blend of 65% Grenache Blanc, 10% Bourboulenc, 10% Clairette and 5% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne and 5% Viognier; yellow color; I struggled to identify the varietal and like most others concluded it was a Rhone blend, but of what? Certainly, it seemed quite youthful as it expressed enticing floral and citrus aromas along with a taste profile of mildly spiced lemon and apple; it was medium in body and weight and was delightful from the nose through the tail.
2019 GUIGAL CONDRIEU- this consistently lovely Viognier was such a treat; following its yellow color came aromas of tropical fruit, minerals, honeysuckle and sweet peach which were also found in the taste profile along with some tangerine; its oily texture and bright acidity added to the sensory treat in this delightful wine; I did not get the varietal correct as I had it as a Marsanne/ Roussanne blend.
We moved on to 6 blind red Rhone Grenache blends:
2019 DOMAINE de la MORDOREE LIRAC LA REINE des BOIS CHATEAUEUF du PAPE- a blend of 80% Grenache, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% Vaccarèse; this was just a wondrous wine from the get go as it offered enticing aromas of violets and fresh blueberries that highlighted the taste profile as well; joining in was a nice addition of plum, blackberry and black raspberry; it was rich and full bodied and finished on an uptick; a couple found band-aid like notes, Brettanomyces, before they said it blew off; I am pretty sensitive to this form of Brett, but did not detect it; also I called this a N. Rhone with a predominance of Syrah, obviously not correct.
2015 ROTEM & MOUNIR SAOUMA ARIOSO CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE- 100% Grenache; medium red transparent color; nose of fresh flowers, red fruit and especially clove; in the taste, I got more clove along with black raspberry, plum, blackberry and a touch of fennel in this fruit forward, delicious wine; I did pick up on this being a S. Rhone blend.
1996 M. CHAPOUTIER LE MEAL ERMITAGE ROUGE- the color was a dark purple and certainly not indicative of an “older” wine; the nose put a smile on my face as it was redolent with spice and black pepper that I so enjoy in many N. Rhone and thus, it got my vote for such; once tasted, it gave generous amounts of licorice, pepper and spice laden blackberry and raspberry; it was super smooth and easy on the palate and finished with a note of pepper; loved it so much, it was my WOTN.
1996 PAUL JABOULET AINE LA CHAPELLE HERMITAGE- this is one of the last wines made by Gerard Jaboulet before he passed in 1997 and as some have claimed, one of the last great La Chapelle`s; I’m not in that camp, but there was a noticeable drop in quality for a few of the wines for a few years and then they got it together and made some beauties; dark purple color, no bricking; there was some pepper and spice, but I wanted more and when the vintage was revealed, I understood why it was less expressed; it showcased smoke and earthy, mature blue and dark fruit while being delivered in a medium to full body; I did not identify it nor did I get it was 26 years old, but in retrospect, it really was showing its age albeit with many gifts to share.
1999 E. GUIGAL “CHATEAU D`AMPUIS” COTE ROTIE- this is a blend from 6 hillside vineyards, La Garde, La Clos, La Grande Plantee, La Pommiere, Pavillon Rouge, and Le Moulin and usually features a blend of 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier; our bottle was in a perfect place giving nice spicy, chocolate accented blackberry and blueberry fruit while exuding elegance and sophistication throughout; its rich, pure purple color and profile suggested something much younger; it personified all the good things about a N. Rhone Syrah and was my 2nd fav on the night.
2017 ROTEM & MOUNIR SAOUMA OMNIA CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE- and here comes another R & M, this one from my cellar; having had a bottle recently, I chose to decant it 3 hours out as this youthful, vibrant beauty needs some time to evolve and mature; it’s in a good enough place now, but it opened up nicely and was much more expressive than the first bottle; it is comprised of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah and is made using whole clusters and aged 2 years in barrel without racking; it is serious and beginning to ease up on the tannic sting on the palate; the nose was inviting with hints of pepper, spice and red fruit which translated into red cherry and cranberry once tasted along with some blueberry and raspberry; it possesses lots of energy and serious layered depth and still has a bit of astringency from the super ripe tannins which should dissipate with time; I did not detect this as the wine I brought, but liked it especially for its potential.
We had another great night with good food, wines and fellowship while getting a lot of learning and palate training.
Cheers,
Blake