Breaking the fast, part 2 . Same question: “What to open?”
Part 1: What wines to open after a 31 day abstinence? Here's what I chose:
Following a one month self imposed sabbatical from all alcohol intake in December, 2024 for newly experienced health issues, I chose to have another month of abstinence in March/ April this year following a surgical procedure to address some of those health issues.
As with the first re-entry, the question was “ what wine to open?” and the answer fell into a similar vein with a wine made by dear friend, Burt Williams:
1996 WILLIAMS SELYEM HIRSCH VINEYARD SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR- high neck fill; decanted and poured into Sophienwald red Burgundy stems; the color was a dark, rich red purple and the nose offered first a metallic note and then a bounty of ripe dark fruit which on the palate translated into delicious black raspberry and blueberry with an accent of talc arriving late along with some black cherry; it had an oily texture with some weight and seemed to improve tis time in the glass; the metallic note never blew off, but fortunately, it was really only noticeable in the aromatics; I’ve had many better bottles of this SVD and vintage, but it was good enough to allow for easing back into wine and looking forward to many more wondrous experiences.
When i shared this experience with a few local friends, one remarked “Burt would be honored”.
My intent next is to open a Cristal soon and hope that Louis Roederer would be honored as well.
Cheers,
Blake
