Host of wines and meals during the past weekend

Had a nice collection of wines during the past week for dinner with friends and customers at our house.

2009 Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc (NZ)- crisp and bright showing the usual nz grassiness with a delightful citrusy background. (90 pts) Paired with selected cheeses as appetizers.

2003 Domaine Serene " Grace Vineyard" - Upon opening this wine it had typical 03 attributes which all blew off with about 1.5 hours in the decanter. Opened up to be an elegant wine with very nice mouthfeel and great red fruit flavors with asian spices. (92 pts) Went wonderfully with the duck breast with truffle sauce.

2006 Shea WV Chardonnay- Very nicely done chardonnay with plenty of fruit and a rich coating feel. All 06, but a great chard (91 pts). paired with grilled swordfish.

2007 Saint-Esprit Cotes-Du-Rhone Delas - Decanted for an hour before tasting. Lots of dark currant and blackberries in this young CdR. The wine is very balanced and clean with a solid oak background. This wine will improve with age even though it’s drinking nicely now with a great QPR. (89 pts) This was paired a grilled pork tenderloin with rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes.

2004 Domaine Serene “Mark Bradford” pinot - this wine is always the brute of the DSers. Still bright hued with no bricking. Upon opening, this wine was wound up extremely tight. I purposely starting decanting it 6 hours before the meal and it needed all of it(and maybe more). When it did open up, what a great wine. flirtysmile Still huge black fruit with a bit earth and cedar on a long long finish. This wine is a definite hold for probably another 5+ years or now with the extra long decant. We kept a glass until the next day and it was even better on day 2. (93+ pts) Don’t even try to pop an pour and say you know what this wine is about!
This was served with fresh grilled venison loins with a cranberry sauce and aspargus.


2009 -Archery Summit Vireton Pinot Noir Rose- It was such a gloomy cold day yesterday, and this bright exciting wine reminded us of sunny days on the backkporch. Very pretty strawberries and raspberries flavors made for delightful sipping with various cheeses. (90 pts)

2004- Archery Summit Ribbon Ridge PN- Looney Vineyard -.Decanted an hour before tasting. This 04 leaped from the glass with beautful aromas of flower petals and roses. Solid red fruit flavors with a mix of tea, with a bit of vanilla. Long delightful finish that just kept going! This wine is ready to be drank now, and in its prime. (93 pts). Perhaps it was the greatest match of the week with the pairing of sauted mushrooms over bruthella . It was a love affair.

2006 Davis Family Vineyards Chard -RRV - This got thrown in one night for a customer’s wife that loves Rombaurer Chards of which we didn’t have . Many of the same flavor profiles but perhaps not quite as oaky. It did fine with smoked cheeses and shrimp cocktail we put out with it. (88 pts) Our guest was very happy with it.