Finally did Thanksgiving right...Carlisle/Mondavi/Pegau/Pichon/Coutet/Donnhoff

WINE TALK
1

Every year I promise my relatives I will get a good slate of Thanksgiving wines from my warehouse, but this year I finally pulled it off. A good lineup (someone else brought the whites n’ fizz, I brought red and dessert):

2001 Pichon Baron
1997 Mondavi Reserve
2001 Pegau Reservee
2008 Carlisle Gold Mine Ranch Zinfandel
2001 Coutet Sauternes
2001 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Auslese

Everything performed well and was appreciated by all.

2001 Pichon Baron – nice light year, still has a solid vein of that black-fruited Bordeaux cassis in it, but also good acidity, definite red fruits mixing with the black, and a pronounced herbal quality. Still some noticeable tannins but they are mostly receded to the background. In early phase of drinking window – can last many more years though. Most of the crowd were California wine drinkers and they remarked on the elegance and balance of this wine. It vanished quickly. I thought it was the best red of the night, as did most others. But if you like fruitier wines or ‘blockbuster’ type Bordeaux or California than you might not want to spend the coin, this was definitely a lighter year.

1997 Mondavi Reserve – a bit crude compared to some other 1990s Mondavi Reserves I’ve had – 1994, 95, 96 can all be really spectacular wines. This was not spectacular, but it was solid. Tannins were mostly melted away, but wine was still solidly there and feels middle-aged, not really old. Just a bit jammy and sweet on the palate, lacks finesse and a bit low on acidity, but not heavy or overbearing, and still had a reassuring note of green pepper to let you know you were drinking cabernet. A solid mouthful of well aged Cal-cab, works well with food or alone.

2001 Pegau Reservee – a solid whiff of barnyard up front, but then the fruit came out. Strong raspberry jam essence, pretty sweet in that grenache-y kind of way, can stand on its own without food. Tannins mostly faded but can age further on its strong fruit. A warm, sweet-ish wine, not too heavy though. Solid wine, maybe a notch above the Mondavi if you like that Grenache sweetness, a notch below if you’re a cab fan.

2008 Carlisle Gold Mine Ranch Zinfandel – ah, Carlisle. Fresh fruits and juicy berries still popping on this one, terrific fruity spice on the initial attack and midpalate. Just what you’re looking for from a juicy Zin. But had some noticeable alcohol and some raspy heat on the back end that took it down a notch for me. Very California, very Zinfandel and a definite crowdpleaser, really hits the spot if you’re looking for that. Tasted next to the Pichon Baron the difference in sophistication was obvious, but who would expect otherwise? Certainly not the best red at the table, but at the price might well have been the best QPR. [NOTE: Corrected the name of this wine, some responses below were based on my initial misnaming].

2001 Coutet – far below a 2001 Suduiraut I had a couple of months ago, this had a bit of alcohol and felt slightly unbalanced on the finish. The acidity was good and was enough to keep it from being cloying, but didn’t have that spectacular lifting, aerial quality you get from really great acidity on a dessert wine. But 2001 Suduiraut is very tough competition and this was a fine Sauternes that delivered all those allspice/clove/honeyed elements you look for from a well botyrized Sauternes from a good year. Good concentration and balance, and a perfect match with pumpkin pie.

2001 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Auslese – my first Donnhoff, and I don’t get the fuss. Slightly fizzy for a while after opening, had some pleasant but non-descript pineapple elements. Improved as it stayed open but never got above pretty good. Maybe in a bit of a dumb phase, maybe I just don’t like the style.

2

The 1995 is one of the best “AFWE” wines ever to come out of Napa.

Maybe even THE best.

That’s kinduva controversial topic around here.

There’s one very prominent board member who insists that Donnhoffs can’t age and that they fall very much in the “Drink Now” category of wines.

And then there’s another board member who will argue just as vociferously that the Donnhoffs of that era are still in their infancy.

The only thing which I would add is that a 2001 Donnhoff Auslese is the kind of wine which deserves [if at all possible] to be followed for up to two weeks [or more], to see whether it might blossom and become something really special.

Maybe even two months, if you have the discipline [or the Alzheimer’s] necessary to stick it in the back of the fridge and forget about it.

3

The board member who believes 2001 Donnhoff wines are far from mature (I would not go so far as infancy) thinks something was off with the bottle of Brucke Auslese. Either that or it was totally not the OP’s type of wine. In fact I might bet the latter based on the reaction to the 2001 Coutet.

4

Marcus - Can you give more details on the Carlisle Dragon Zin? I have been on the list for many years, and don’t recall Mike making a wine by this name.

5

That is because there is no such wine.

6

Sorry! Wrote those notes from memory. It was the 2008 Carlisle Gold Mine Ranch Zinfandel – will correct in OP.

I had been choosing between the Carlisle and a Turley so I had Dragon Vineyard stuck in my head. Memorable name, especially for Turley, which tends to breathe alcoholic fire.

7

The best bottles of 1995 that I have had rank as one of the top Napa Cabs I personally have ever experienced (although part of that may be my income limitations). But I would hardly call it lacking in flavor – it has this beautiful fresh-running-water acidity, just extraordinary purity and elevation, along with a delicate leafiness, but it also has a tasty vein of California fruit right alongside too. It is a both-and kind of wine, that gives you unmistakeable California terroir along with European elegance.

YMMV of course – I’ve had wonderful bottles and bottles that seem to have become a bit muddied by storage or whatever.

8

For reference, my favorite dessert wines have been Huet Clos De Bourg/Le Mont.

9

Exactly.

And what it doesn’t have is limp flaccid hole-in-the-mid-palate fruit esters.

Or a shiny oil-spill sheen of rotten coconut suntan lotion.

Whatever Tim Mondavi did that year [in concert with Mother Nature], he should write down the exact recipe and never change a single thing.

10

Actually, looking back on my notes, I can see it was 1995, not 1996, that was my favorite Mondavi, to which my enthusiastic praise above fully applies. The 1996 is excellent too but I’ve had better 95s – still has that lightness of touch and sophistication, but just a bit more fruit to pair with it.

My second embarassing error in this thread!