TNs: Ed Kurtzman come to OC

WINE TALK
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I want to thank FMIII and the Dr. Mrs. for having us in his home on Saturday. As much as I enjoy the large-format tastings he organizes, these types of dinners offer a more intimate and decorous setting in which to enjoy and understand the wines. Peter Phan was our chef for the evening, and he did a terrific job creating and executing a rather ambitious menu. And last but not least, much thanks and appreciation goes to Ed Kurtzman for coming down to OC to share his wines and company with us. A wonderful night all! [good.gif]

As for the wine, although many showed extremely well, my two favorite of the evening were the 2003 Pisoni Estate and 2004 Freeman Keefer Ranch. Both wines showed a richness and complexity that I think are proof of the quality (and future potential) of Pinot Noir in California, as well as the amazing talent that exists to shepherd this variety to greatness. My least favorite flight, unfortunately, was the Syrah flight. I have never been a huge fan of cool climate Syrah, especially those with very pronounced black pepper notes, so please take my palate preferences into consideration when reading the notes.

ED KURTZMAN COMES TO OC - Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA (2/28/2009)

Ed’s Selection of Whites
New style tuna sashimi, seared scallop with peach, miso glazed black cod.

  • 1997 Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay Estate Grown - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
    Musty and mature aromas of caramel, butter, sweet cream, and sea spray. Oily on the palate with soft acidity and a sweet caramel finish. Enjoyable, but I’m not sure it will improve with further aging. (88 pts.)
  • 2004 Freeman Chardonnay Ryo-fu - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Lush yet elegant aromas of orange blossoms, honeysuckles, mangoes, nectarines, and sea shells. Balanced and supple on the palate with nice acidity. A terrific Chardonnay and my WOTF. 91-92 points. (91 pts.)
  • 2004 Fort Ross Chardonnay Reserve - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Muted aromas of pineapples and crushed minerals. Straightforward on the palate with a touch on heat on the finish. (87 pts.)
  • 2005 August West Chardonnay Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Rich aromas of hazelnuts, nectarines, unripe pineapples, crushed shells, and ocean spray. Delicate and refined on the palate with a tangy acidity and a nice burst of fruit at the finish. (90 pts.)

Some Of Ed’s Favorite Producers
Chicken paillard, pan seared and topped with arugula salad.

  • 2005 Melville Pinot Noir Estate Clone 777 - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
    This wine was quite different from the first time I tasted it. Herbal aromas of shiso leaf, black cherries, sarsaparilla root, and raw jalapenos. Juicy and structured on the palate. (86 pts.)
  • 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Parsons’ Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    I am generally not a fan of 2006 for Pinot Noir and this wine seems pretty typical of the vintage. Underdeveloped notes of plums, clove, pink peppercorns, and diet cola. Finishes with a touch of aspartame. (85 pts.)
  • 2003 Pisoni Pinot Noir Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Pure and intense notes of black cherries, black raspberries, raspberry puree, and cola. Rich and silky on the palate with a nice kick of acidity on the finish. WOTF and tied for WOTN. 93-94 points. (93 pts.)
  • 2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
    Having had this wine (at least) twice before, I can only conclude that this bottle was flawed. Not only was the nose muted and herbal but the palate was austere and confected. NR (flawed)
  • 2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Sweet aromas of black raspberries, black cherries, and cocoa powder. Rich and syrupy on the palate with notes of wild berries and cola. 89-90 points. (89 pts.)

Ed’s New Wines
Steamed salmon in sake ginger soy broth with ginger, scallions, chilies and sugar snap peas.

  • 2007 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    This wine showed better than the last time I tasted it (at Falltacular). Rich and densely layered notes of black raspberries, black cherries, cola, wet soil, and crushed minerals. Creamy and decadent on the palate. An outstanding wine and WOTF. (92 pts.)
  • 2007 August West Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Interestingly, this wine did not show as well as it did at Falltacular. Bright notes of framboise, bing cherries, red beets, and loamy earth. More structured across the palate finishing with a note of sour cherries. Still a winner. 90-91 points. (90 pts.)
  • 2007 Freeman Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Brett-infused aromas of cherries, green peppercorns, loamy earth, and citrus. Muted palate with a zesty acidity. (84 pts.)
  • 2007 Roar Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Rich and complex notes of black cherries, licorice, cola, cocoa powder, and wet soil. Luxuriant and polished on the palate. I was a little rushed in tasting this wine, but the quick taste I did have made an impression. I suspect it has the potential to score even higher. (91 pts.)

Some Of The Best Ed Has Made
Pan seared duck, vanilla apricot bourbon glaze, roasted potatoes and green beans.

  • 1999 Testarossa Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
    Mature notes of clove, pine sap, sour cherries, red plums, and green peppercorns. Sappy on the palate with a lip-smacking acidity. 89-90 points. (89 pts.)
  • 2003 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Fort Ross Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    This wine was remarkable for the purity of fruit and a stunning mouthfeel. Polished and seamless notes of black raspberries, black cherries, plum, wet soil, and minerals that just glide effortlessly across the palate. 92-93 points. (92 pts.)
  • 2004 Freeman Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Earthy and complex with refined notes of black cherries, framboise, red beets, clay, and wood smoke. Like the Fort Ross, this wine was polished and seamless and very appealing. WOTF and tied for WOTN. (93 pts.)
  • 2004 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Opulent notes of cherries flambé, black plums, sarsaparilla root, and wood smoke. Polished and seamless on the palate with an impressively long finish. (91 pts.)

Ed Does Rhones
Lamb chops, coconut curry sauce, hearts of palm, black rice risotto and baby carrrots.

  • 2005 Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    Heavy notes of black pepper and charcoal over bacon fat and black plums. Extremely tight and tannic. (85 pts.)
  • 2005 August West Syrah Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Earthy notes of black pepper, charcoal, and black olive over a dense core of blackberries and plum. (86 pts.)
  • 2004 Fort Ross Pinotage Fort Ross Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    A very unusual wine. Nose of black cherries and rice wine vinegar. Reminds me a little of gyoza dipping sauce. This could be the best example of this type of wine, but I’m afraid it just did not do it for me. (82 pts.)
  • 2003 Roar Syrah Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Unappealing aromas of mashed peas and canned asparagus. The palate, however, displays dense notes blackberries, soy, and mocha. (86 pts.)

Dessert
Flourless chocolate tort with a raspberry sauce.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for the detailed notes, Paul - I’m still sorry I missed it, perhaps even more so now.

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Thanks for getting it rolling Paul. My project for this evening is to finish these notes up.

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Thanks for the notes and a bit of crazy talk … I’ll try to add some thoughts later.

J

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Great, more crazy talk. [emot-v.gif]

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Yeah we must have got the “non-bretty” Clos Pepe because I think that might have been my wine of the night. I’m sure Wes would LOVE to hear about how bretty his wines are. :wink:

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Pictures can be found here. BTW, where did Frank and Jim get their clothes? ShamWow? [gheyfight.gif]

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Here are the pics Leslie took also.
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I wanna know if the Shelties herded the guests.

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Looks like you are guilty of “reading fail” because I never said there was brett in the Clos Pepe. I just said it was flawed.

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I’m channeling Frank’s notes from other places and sticking them to yours since you rascals both seem to think it was “flawed”. [tease.gif]

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I also found Paul’s note on clos pepe confusing, only cause he uses big words that I had to individually search on dictionary.com and once i searched for one I forgot the other. Really an endless cycle.

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Paul has the food and round up covered. Frank puts on some great events and this was yet another. Hats off to my man! And a big thanks to Ed for joining us and hosting his wines. [cheers.gif]
I would agree with others who said the foods didn’t necessarily pair all that well with the wines but they didn’t disrupt each other either. The black cod dish was my favorite with the sweetness and spice in just the right balance and truly complimented the fish without over powering its fresh flavors.

ED KURTZMAN DINNER - HIS FAVS AND HIS - Casa Murray (2/28/2009)

Chardonnay’s Ed Made
Interesting mix here. Though very different the 97 Chalone and the 05 AW were my favs.

  • 1997 Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay Estate Grown - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
    Hay nose I find often on Chards with little oak and some mineral character. Soft mouth feel with plenty of weight still, especially on the mid palate where the fruit has a touch of sweetness. Nose was fairly inexpressive but the palate still seemed young. Probably should have revisited this later in the night.
  • 2004 Freeman Chardonnay Ryo-fu - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Oak shows on the nose along with an odd sulfur like aroma. Fat, long and sweet. Not my cup of tea but I imagine its pretty popular.
  • 2004 Fort Ross Chardonnay Reserve - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Tight nose with touches of vanilla and caramel. Very big fruited yet well balanced. A nice mouth feel with lots of ripe stone fruit flavors. Very atypical for Chardonnay but a very nice wine. Again, not my style but would recommend this to many Cali white drinkers.
  • 2005 August West Chardonnay Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Sweet vanilla and ripe apples followed by some slatey minerals. Big sweet fruit that isn’t fat and a big finish with some crunchy minerality. This was a terrific interplay of sweet fruits and minerals that I really enjoyed and was yet again another white on the evening of an atypical style to me. Very nice.

Pinots Ed Likes
Good selection of makers. The Pisoni didn’t seem as expressive as I would have hoped. One of the better recent showings for a KB for me. I liked the balance on the Clos Pepe making it my fa of the flight though its young.

  • 2005 Melville Pinot Noir Estate Clone 777 - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
    Lean hot nose showing plenty of typical stem inclusion along with lots of cranberry and the slightly piney character I get from SRH. Palate is a bit tight and short though it grows in the glass becoming chunky. Lots of spice. Interesting mix. Would let this sleep a couple more years.
  • 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Parsons’ Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Dark fruited nose with brown sugar. Fleshy, rich and tannic. Nice balance but needs some time. Squarely to the big Pinot side of things.
  • 2003 Pisoni Pinot Noir Estate - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Tight nose showing a touch of spice. Broad, rich and tannic yet balanced with some sweet cranberry. This wasn’t as expressive as usual and seemed a bit tight to me.
  • 2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
    Initially some funk, then dark cranberry and Christmas spice. Really nice balance and mouth feel with a soft mid palate. The fruit wasn’t real expressive today and on the tight narrow side but this wine clearly has some potential. Might have been my favorite Pinot on the night.
  • 2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Cranberry nose with some dark pine forest. Big and sweet with a short finish this did show some of the typical Sonoma Coast character so the hugeness didn’t completely overwhelm the the locale in the wine. Hedonistic.

New Pinot Releases Ed Makes
Not quite as good as I remembered from Falltacular but the AW Rosella’s and the Roar Gary’s are best here though they probably need a few months rest.

  • 2007 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Spicy nose with some grape skins and heat picking up some sweetness later on. Big, juicy and sweet with lots of black cherry and cherry cola. Full throttle big Cali RRV styled Pinot. These are drifting from me in flavor and character but is very good for the kind.
  • 2007 August West Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Subtle nose with lots of cranberry. Expressive wine in a big sweet sort of way. Dark cranberries with a touch of spice and citrus. I prefer this over the Graham’s quite a bit. Very good.
  • 2007 Freeman Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Some odd funkiness which seems to lean to brett. Juicy balanced palate with lots of black cherry fruit though. Bummer about the brett as it dominates the nose.
  • 2007 Roar Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Tight nose with some vanilla. Identifiably SLH with smokey cranberry. Spicy citrus finish with plenty of tannins. On the sweet side.

More Pinots Ed Has Made
This flight was a bit rough going. Not wild about any of them but the Fort Ross was probably the best of the 4 on the evening.

  • 1999 Testarossa Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
    Funky nose with some grape skin notes. Black cherry and citrus but tart acids dominate. I think its best days are behind it.
  • 2003 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Fort Ross Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Dark heavy nose of dark cherry and cranberries with some spice. Big juicy tannic palate of cherries. A big wine but nicely done.
  • 2004 Freeman Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Nose is a bit odd but eventually the nail polish VA was hard to look past. Very lean feel and tannic I think the VA was dominating this wines expression.
  • 2004 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    Nose doesn’t give up much. Juicy and sweet with a lean feel and plenty of acids. Nice X-Mas spice character but seems to lack some concentration to balance the fruit against the acids.

Syrahs And Other
The whole cluster dominated the 05 Syrahs but I think both could be good wines in a few more years. Pinotage was fun but doesn’t come together for me.

  • 2005 Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    Heavy nose showing its 100% stem inclusion on its sleeve with asparagus and pepper. Dark berries among a tight palate with a green grip. This needs some time to unwind and integrate.
  • 2005 August West Syrah Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Tight nose showing some rubber tire reduction and a touch of heat. Very even palate well balanced with dark expression and plenty of green stemmy pepper. Another one with 100% whole cluster that really shows it. This has some potential.
  • 2004 Fort Ross Pinotage Fort Ross Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Interesting nose of BBQ, tart tomato and bright berry candies. Big and broad palate of berry candies and a complex aromatic grippy finish. Interesting wine and one of the better Pinotages I have had but that is damning with faint praise. Good wine but wouldn’t be seeking it out as I’m not sure the pieces add up to something enjoyable.
  • 2003 Roar Syrah Rosella’s Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
    Dark fat nose of roasted meats, chocolate and pepper. Palate is heavy and on the flabby side. Just makes you want to move on.

Posted from CellarTracker

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2005 AW Rosella’s Syrah, 100% stems? Do not recall that, I thought the only 100% Syrah that year was Sandler Connell (fruit arriving at 9PM, long story). Green pepper stemmy notes is a descriptor I never got in any AW wines, Syrah especially, need to pop a bottle soon to check it out.

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Yeah I wrote that in my notes as if he mentioned it though I could be wrong and wrote it twice for the Connell. Definitely showed some stem qualities though but not in the overriding way the Sandler did.

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Gee, Cris, what wine wasn’t tight to you?

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I do wonder how much the food had anything to do with some notes, I know many of these wines from barrel to bottle, so to speak, and some descriptors just do not sound “right”. But hey, sounds like a fun night.

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Who knows Greg. Considering how all over the map Frank’s, Paul’s and my notes are you might be right about the food. I think we are all farther apart than usual and that’s saying something.

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Greg, I can’t believe we’re writing in the same thread, this is a miracle. I hope to see you soon.

The 2005 AW Syrah was 100% whole cluster. The '04, '06, '07 and '08 are 50%, more or less. All of the Sandler Connell Syrahs have been 100%.

Thanks to all of the FMIII dinner participants who invited me down to the OC, fed me Peter’s (including Jill’s excellent dessert) incredible cuisine, and didn’t mind spending a Saturday evening with an old winemaker. That was a lot of fun for me, and I enjoyed all the comments about the wines. Of course a special thanks to Frank and Jill for everything they do to make their parties/tastings/dinners so perfect.

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maybe something else is on his mind?

D’OH! [rofl.gif]