Dinner with Maynard

WINE TALK
1

Last night had the pleasure of going out with Maynard James Keenan, and his Arizona wine making partner in crime Eric Glomski (also Todd, Maynard’s body guard who’s a great guy and REALLY in to wine.) Company and wine were awesome, food was mixed, some good, some bad.
I wasn’t able to take great notes, but these are some quick over views.

Caduceus Primer Paso 2007- Wild blend of 88% Syrah and 12% Malvasia Bianco. This is their hommage to Cote Rotie. Great weight and mouthfeel, not syrupy or over ripe at all. The Malvasia was really only there aromatically, but gave the wine a great nose. Should develop nicely over the next several years.

Caduceus Judith 2007- 100% Cabernet from the home estate. This vineyard is planted 666 vines to the acre, and the ashes of his mother (Judith) were spread across the vineyard. I have a huge compliment to pay this wine; with a little bit of a tobacco note and a brown bag around the bottle, the argument could be made that this was a very young Paulliac. It’s elegant, balanced, complex, earthy. Wicked good. (That’s for Eric.)

Caduceus Nagual De La Naga 2006- I could bathe in this stuff. If I’m going to drink some thing that’s got some fat and some big fruit, I want it to be in this style. Spicy, minerally, floral, great red and black fruit. It’s got the overwhelming wow factor to it, but it ain’t cheap.

We also had a white from Caducues too, I didn’t catch the name, but it was a 50/50 of Chardonnay and Malvasia. Anything these guys touch with Malvasia in it is VERY good. Arizona Stronghold Tazi (blend of Sauv Blanc, Riesling, Chard and Malvasia) is a killer summer wine. All the grapes really come in to play.

Other wines:
1996 Lamarche Vosne Romanee Les Malconsorts- SICK. Great smoke and spice with a little bit of a moldy/funky quality on the nose. The texture was unreal, and the wine had loads of fresh acidity. This was awesome. Todd liked it too, and he claims he really didn’t like Burgundy.

1998 Vieux Telegraphe- Last one, and I went 6 for 6 with no corkiness. Showed a lot of funk on the nose, but had great ripeness and sweetness on the palate. Nice chalky tannins and spice on the finish. Also great stuff.

2006 ZH Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain Riesling- Slightly jellied, with just a hint of sweetness. Mango compote, orange marmalade and just a hint of gas. This needed something MUCH richer than what we were eating.

There was a myriad of other things, but these were the show stoppers.

Earlier in the day we tried the rest of the wines. I am a big believer in what Arizona brings to the table now that I have tasted with these guys. I previously only had stuff from Callaghan (good, but the alcohol was obscene) and Dos Cabazas (which these guys bought). I also tasted Page Springs Petite Sirah (which Eric owns and makes) which was awesome.

5 more years, and Arizona will be on the shelf with Washington and Oregon.

2

Color me jealous! I’m a huge fan of Maynards music. I haven’t had his wine yet though.

3

Ian,

I’m sure it was a fun night. I’ve had the pleasure of dining with Maynard a few times and the first time I met him, he wasn’t what I had expected based upon my exposure (limited) to his music.

4

too old to be into Tool but maybe end of next winter/early spring i am gonna ride down to AZ and taste.

5

Yeah, we’re more in the Maynard G. Krebs generation. [berserker.gif]

6

Ian, how much wine do you think he would sell based on the wine alone at those prices if it wasn’t for Tool?

7

Thanks for the notes. Surprised that you didn’t have any Grange as MJK is known to be a world class collector of Penfolds.

Our very own Linda Baehr was the winemaker there a few years back…although not sure of the vintages she produced.

8

Totally agree, He’s very mellow and humble.

9

Tough call. The quality is very high, and the production is very small, so it’s not like there is a ton to sell. I think the zip code is working against them at the moment, but this brand could change that quickly.

Bill- I don’t own any Grange! I totally would have too.
When I asked him what I should bring, he said CDP, and that he liked VT.

10

I am down to only three bottles of Grange [cray.gif]

VT doesn’t suck though.

11

Any word from on their Tempranillo? He seemed very enthusiastic about it the last time I saw him.

12

That we did not try. Curious to see how it comes out, as I am not a huge fan of domestic Tempranillo.

13

Ian,
What are the odds you could get him to attend an offline? Perhaps, the Luger Lunch?

14

Don’t know. Probably would work on a small basis, but not for a huge crowd.