I went out of state on a short trip and found, upon my return to the office, that a box of wine had arrived while i was gone.
Opening it up, I see it is Poe wines - ordered from Berserkers Day 2012. I count 4 bottles - two Chardonnays and two Pinots. I remember ordering only 3 bottles and make a mental note to find out if the extra bottle was a gift or sent in error. Turns out, Samantha Sheehan sent an extra as a nice gesture. I love that kind of stuff.
So I decide to take a bottle and share it with some friends as a send off to one of our friends leaving to sail, across the Atlantic, from BVI to the Azores.
The wines shared:
2010 Poe Ferrington Vineyard Chardonnay (Anderson Valley) .
Opened this and served it first along with some pate, bread and cheese. This has an inviting color of autumn hay kissed by the sun. The nose showed little, but in the mouth, the flavors explode. Melons, apple, lemons, fresh apricots, all dancing across the palate with an incredible lightness of being. So elegant and refined. The flavors were rich and there is much depth, yet it is so graceful and light. No buttered popcorn here.
1997 Chappellet Napa Cabernet - Signature Series - Still has a deep purple color. Shows good fruit and some tobacco. Quite elegant and smooth. Very nice, although not exciting.
1999 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrasses Priorat - brown and showing its age. Flawed? Some black fruit but the dominant note is cellar stone. A bit of funk. Funky but chic?
2006 Jean Edwards Cellars Napa Cabernet - Opened about an hour before serving but not decanted. Rich and packed with flavor, although it is a bit reticent to give it all up. Opened up with some time in the bottle. Nicely balanced. Could benefit from a good decant or more time in the cellar. This too was a Berserker Day purchase.
I noticed how folks in the group would take a pour of one of the reds, finish it, and return to pour a little more of the Poe Chardonnay. Impressive.
So impressed with the Chardonnay, that in one of those “don’t want the night to end what else do we have to open I’m sure there’s something in the office oh yeah the Poe wines arrived” moment, I opened the 2010 Poe Angel Camp Pinot (Anderson Valley). A quick pop and pour.
Good fruit and nicely balanced. Shows depth and complexity, offering good fruit, framed by the woodsy notes one expects from cool climate vineyards.
While sipping this with a friend, the smartphone vibrates with an incoming email. In one of those moments of coincidence and serendipity, it is from Samantha Sheehan, the owner/founder of Poe wines, writing to check to make sure the shipment arrived safely, and indicating she included the extra bottle. How great is that? Wonderful wine, and a very nice proprietor.
I’m happy.