TN: Friends, Flannery, and wine (Riesling, Napa Cabs., & Sauternes)

WINE TALK
#1

Last Saturday the Ovadias had Ashley and me over for delectable dinner. Having never had Flannery beef before, I was very excited to find out what all the hub-bub was about, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.

We started out with some cheese, bread and olive oil (Pasolivo - my favorite! :slight_smile:). With these snacks we had two wines. First up was an '07 German Spatlese Riesling:

  • 2007 Zach. Bergweiler-Prüm Erben Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (4/17/2010)
    – tasted non-blind over 45 minutes –
    N: a bit tight; very nice components: apricot; guava; agave nectar; powdered sugar; but a bit loose.
    B: medium bodied; not spritzy.
    T: a bit fat, but not totally devoid of acid; lots of pear and a hint of lemon; metallic note; short-medium length finish. Overall, nice but not outstanding.

Moving on from the Riesling, Yoni served us a Napa Cab. blind. I’ve previously bagged on this bottling – quite vociferously, in fact – although my experience with it was probably tainted by the worst tasting room experience I’ve ever had. Tasted blind, it wasn’t as bad as I had previously made it out to be, although it’s still not my type of Cab.:

  • 2003 Rubicon Estate / Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon Cask - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford (4/17/2010)
    – decanted for a couple hours before tasting –
    – tasted blind over 45 minutes –
    N: lots of oak and chalk; cherry; floral perfume; cassis.
    B: medium-full bodied; clear; garnet-purple color of great depth; looks very young.
    T: tannic; very oaky; good acid; dark fruits; a tad bitter; somewhat hot in the belly; tastes very young; labeled at 14.1% alc., but I’d be willing to bet that’s as much of a lie as the law allows. Tasted blind, I was guessing this was no older than a 2006. Really not my type of Cabernet, but it’s a good example of its style; is it worth its $65 - $70 price tag? Hell no, but it would be a decent buy at $30 (even though I would still prefer Provenance at that price point).
    – gut impression score: 89 – 91.

Next up: beef! I would be remiss to not mention the fantastic greens salad (with avocado and pine nuts), homemade macaroni and cheese, and sauteed spinach that accompanied the meat, as they were all fantastic, but the real highlight of the meal was the Flannery filets; so incredibly tender, and surprisingly flavorful for a filet mignon. For this course we popped another Napa Cab.; this one I think is drinking at its peak right now:

  • 1994 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (4/17/2010)
    – decanted for sediment approximately 25 min. before first taste –
    – tasted non-blind over 1 hour –
    N: tanned leather; pronounced vegetal streak; red fruits (black cherry and kirsch); moderately expressive nose gained in intensity with exposure to air.
    B: medium bodied; looks very young for its age.
    T: this wine’s flavor profile was very in-line with its nose: leather; red fruits; touches of cedar and cocoa; a strong asparagus element came and went repeatedly throughout the course of the 1.5 hours this lasted; very smooth – tannins integrated; not hot; seemed a little loosely structured to me; I would guess this bottle still had a couple more years left in it before it would have started to go downhill, but I don’t see it getting any better with more time. Drink now.
    – gut impression score: 90 – 92.

To conclude our meal we had some incredible gelato – I opted for the cookie/cream flavor – and a slutty Sauternes:

  • 2003 Château Guiraud - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes (4/17/2010)
    – popped and poured from a 375mL –
    – tasted non-blind over 1 hour –
    N: expressive nose of marmalade, caraway rye bread, florals, and botrytis.
    B: full bodied – viscous; tartaric crystals present; golden yellow color.
    T: extremely rich and fat; lacking in acidity, for which I would deduct a point even though I prefer Sauternes to be a bit fat; wonderful botrytis spice; honey; a bit hot (13.5% alc.); medium length finish.
    – gut impression score: 91 – 93.
#2

Can’t go wrong with Flannery and Spottswoode.

Next time get something with a bit more flavor than the filet.

#3

Dang, that invite must have been lost in my spam folder [tease.gif]

Sounded like a great evening!

Interesting choice to pair with sauternes with gelato; would never have thought of that!

#4

i dunno, brett … are you and yoni fighting right now? [scratch.gif] [wink.gif]

that Sauternes was getting popped regardless of dessert … it just happened to be gelato; the pairing actually worked quite well - i would do it again.

#5

He doesn’t like it when I write about his 1/2 glass of riesling-fueled shenanigans. neener

I enjoy a good sauternes with just about anything! I have a few of the’05 Guiraud, but am doing my best to keep paws off.