Santa Rosa Fine Wine

Burgundy Dinner with Friends

2012-01-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

What better way to kickoff 2012 than with a Burgundy Wine Dinner with good friends. Make it pot luck, add a bottle of 2004 Pierre Peters and 1969 Moet & Chandon Champagne to start, and you have the makings of what should be a fun evening!

2010 was filled with a lot of great wine, and quite a few exceptional Burgundy. Some of the best ones that come to mind: 1969 Leroy Echezeaux, 1985 Joseph Voillot Volnay Champans, 1990 DRC Grands Echezeaux, 1990 Jean Gros Richebourg, 1991 Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes, 1998 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet, 2001 Coche Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrieres and a 2004 Domaine Blain Gagnard Le Montrachet. With a little luck, 2012 will rival so many nice wines opened in 2011.

The Inaugural 2012 wine dinner turned out to be a lot of fun. With ten of us in attendance, unfortunately pours were relatively small and there was a limited opportunity to revisit the wines over time. That said, brief impressions follow, and sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Champagne Starter - Both Champagnes were lovely. The Pierre Peters was sweet, a touch of saline, with a refreshing, refined smooth palate, a gorgeous wine. In contrast the Moet & Chandon was lively, fuller in style, and pleasant drinking. It was a bit oxidized, but well within expectations for a 40+ year old Champagne. This was the oldest Champagne I have ever tasted, and was pleasantly surprised.

2004 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons
1969 Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial

White Burgundy - The Corton Charlemagne flight was very good. The Boillot was the biggest most powerful wine of the group, with excellent balance, citrus, toast, and lightly reduced, a highly age worthy wine. Both the Bouchard and Bonneau Martray had much in common, mature, creamy wines, both enjoyable. Sadly, the Louis Latour sulfur was intense, so much so, it grossly took away from wine. Both the Colin Deleger Montrachet and Ramonet Batard Montrachet were oxidized and sadly not very enjoyable.

2005 H. Boillot Corton Charlemagne
2002 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne
2001 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne
2001 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne
2001 Colin Deleger Montrachet
1995 Ramonet Batard Montrachet

Red Burgundy - Easily the wine of the flight, and wine of the night, the Ponnelle Musigy was beautiful. Mint, leather, youthful clean fruit, with tannin well in proportion to the wines other components. The Echezeaux flight was the best overall flight of the night. Mongeard Mugneret was peppermint, spice, blue fruits, Maniere Noirot youthful, tight, dark fruits, and both Jayer Gilles, vanilla, stemy and approachable. Thought the Drouhin Musigny should be aged longer, has not yet fully come together, it showed an interesting cognac quality on the palate.

1961 Ponnelle Musigny
1989 Maniere Noirot Echezeaux
1998 Mongeard Mugneret Echezeaux Vieille Vigne
1996 Drouhin Laroze Musigny
1998 Jayer Gilles Echezeaux
2001 Jayer Gilles Echezeaux

Mystery Wine -Immediately thought this was a California Pinot Noir. Bright clean fruit, surprising lack of tannin, was mature, round, full bodied, but in no way on the decline. It lacked a certain earth, mineral, spice, and tannic quality you might expect from a blind Burgundy knowingly about a decade old. It all became crystal clear once Bonnes Mares was correctly guessed, it was well in line with numerous other bottles tasted from the vineyard and producer. A very nice wine.

2001 Lucien le Moine Bonnes Mares

Barolo Flight - This was a disappointing flight, not so much from the perspective of the wines absolute quality, more so from personal preference. No notes were taken at the time, just did not find anything particularly appealing. The older wines were all decanted, and could not help but be struck by the appearance of the 1950. It looks like milky, muddy water. Have never seen a more unappealing wine, and the taste was equally disappointing. Projecting forward, a strong candidate for worst wine of the year!

1997 Virginia Ferrero Barolo
1982 Borgogno Barolo
1964 Borgogno Barolo
1971 Borgogno Barolo
1950 Franco Fiorina Barolo

Cheese Plate Wine - Second favorite wine of the night, this was a generous surprise bottle pulled from our hosts cellar. Had it been served blind, would have guessed it as something a few years old, not a wine over 40 years old! It was gorgeous, bone dry, tight, grapefruit, saline with firm acidity. An exceptional wine!

1971 Clos de la Coulee de Serrant Savennieres

Dessert Wines - Found both dessert wines just ok. Have very much enjoyed 1995 stickies, and fondly remember a gorgeous 1995 d'Yquem. The two Ch Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac were pleasant, sweet, full bodied, mouth coating, but somewhat one dimensional. Found them good, not great.

1995 Ch Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac Cuvee Madame
1995 Ch Tirecul La Graviere Monbazillac

Cheers to a fun dinner with good friends!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

High End Burgundy Dinner

2011-12-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

This past week, attended a very special Burgundy Dinner with friends at Fifth Floor Restaurant in San Francisco. Part birthday dinner, part end of the year tasting that marked a year of enjoyable wine dinners, we all dug a little deeper than normal into our respective cellars for this special evening. Pictured are two examples, a gorgeous 1969 Leroy Echezeaux and 1969 Henry Lamarche La Grand Rue.

What was remarkable about this dinner, no flawed bottles! All were excellent drinking, profound wines that in and of themselves could have easily been the centerpiece of any fine wine dinner. Given the overall high quality, the preference of one wine over another is minimal at best. Wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight. Brief observations of all wines opened follow.

Champagne Flight

1996 Krug - Youthful, very youthful! Crisp green apple, mild yeast, and sweet honey in time. Acidity was firm and present the full duration. The more it sat in the glass, the more it improved, never peaking. Have had this wine 4 or 5 times now, highly consistent, and really a wine that should be aged many more years before enjoying.

1996 Bollinger La Grande Annee - Sweeter than the Krug, bread dough, some acidity lurking underneath, and creamier. Picked up a hint of what I perceived to be oxidation, but it was subtle and perhaps had more to do with the Bollinger style than anything. The wine improved greatly as it sat in the glass, and paired well with the food. Normally not a big fan of Bollinger, this was a nice bottle.

Montrachet Flight

2004 Domaine Blain Gagnard Le Montrachet - Lemon cake, complex, tight, steely, and slow to open up. In time, picked up an interesting and appealing floral, mint quality. A stunning, exceptional wine that was incredibly slow to open up over the span of the evening. This is one of the wines I kept thinking about for a few days after the dinner, if offered up so much quality.

2004 Jadot Montrachet - Strikingly similar to the Gagnard initially, advanced quickly and became more full bodied and rounder. It was creamier with hints of vanilla and lime. This was likewise an excellent wine, though a far more mature Montrachet that will not likely improve with additional cellar aging. Enjoyed the wine a great deal, and it was fun to taste next to the Blaine Gagnard.

Burgundy Flight # 1

1969 Leroy Echezeaux - Game, earth, asian spice, barnyard, balanced, and excellent structure, this was another outstanding wine. The bottle was in near pristine condition. Interesting enough, had this wine last year, and it showed quite different. This years bottle did not show the brighter blue fruit, and thick dark color of last years, showed more elegant secondary characteristics that made for an extraordinary wine. My top wine of the evening, could taste it for days.

1969 Domaine Henry Lamarche La Grande Rue - Leather, dry, sweaty, earth and meat, was a lighter bodied elegant wine that initially had a funky nose, but blew off in time. Acidity was present, and subdued, did not pickup any signs of oxidation. Tasting this wine reminded me of a lesson learned many times over with burgs, don't judge them too quickly, give them time in the glass and see where they go. In this case, a funky nose blew off and the result was a lovely aged delightful Burgundy!

Burgundy Flight # 2

1991 Vogue Bonnes Mares - Firm acidity, clean dark fruits, and very youthful. This was a big wine, that would benefit by years of additional cellar aging. Thought the Bonnes Mares showed a little more subtle characteristics right now over the Musigny.

1991 Vogue Musigny Vieilles Vignes - Jammy raspberry fruit, firm acid backbone, tart, and also youthful. Another wine that would be wise to cellar for years before enjoying. Of the two Vogue, the more age worthy, and in the long run, suspect the better made wine.

Burgundy Flight # 3

1990 DRC Grands Echezeaux - Ripe sweet cherry fruit, clean and pure, flashy, candied, menthol, thought it was a fantastic wine. Along with the 1969 Leroy Echezeaux, one of the top two wines of the evening. Was interesting to taste this after the 1991 flight and served as a distinct contrast, age worthy 91 vs ready to go 90.

1990 Jean Gros Richebourg -Dense, dark fruits, brooding, reminded me of the 1991 DRC Richebourg opened last year, but more powerful and concentrated. In time, noted some subtle components, barnyard, menthol, it became more open knit in time. A fantastic wine that will age very well, no rush to open.

Burgundy Flight # 4

1999 DRC Vosne Romanee Cuvee Duvault Blochet 1er - Red fruits, clean, ripe and easy drinking medium bodied wine. First time I have ever tasted a Premier Cru DRC, found it a very nice enjoyable wine. Would continue to age this as well, has a long way to go before it hits maturity.

2002 DRC Vosne Romanee Cuvee Duvault Blochet 1er - Barrel sample like initially, took a long time in the glass to open up, and when it did, noted some spice, cherry, and pomegranate. Best to age this wine for many years. Should have opened this flight prior to the Vogue to give it plenty of time to breathe.

Blind Bordeaux Flight

1989 Lynch Bages - Black tar, asphalt, smoke, black berry, a youthful and compelling wine. Have had this wine numerous times and it was beautiful. This wine was served double blind for the group, where it was easy to identify as Bordeaux, but tough to identify the year, it showed young. One of my personal favorite Lynch Bages.

1989 Montrose - Earthy, green and notable brett. Having had this bottle several times, and not perceiving any brett, was surprised to pick it up on this go around. Showed uncharacteristic in style from bottles tasted in the past. Like the Lynch Bages, was served double blind.

Guigal LaLa Flight

1994 Guigal La Landonne - Rich dark fruits, toasty, and meaty, had excellent balance and complexity. Thought this was the best wine of the flight, a lovely Guigal. It was at this flight I started to feel the effects of having no flawed bottles, and limited use of dump buckets.

1994 Guigal La Mouline - Elegant, clean, and earthy wine, picked up coffee, bitter chocolate and black cherry. Also, a very nice wine. Was still thinking about how fortunate we were to have no flawed bottles and wondered what was the ideal number of bottles a person at a wine dinner. We had 18 great bottles among 8 people.

1994 Guigal La Turque - Unapproachable, so youthful, could pickup almost nothing from this wine. Swirled and swirled the wine to no effect. Was a little surprised how barrel sample like this bottle tasted. Sadly, don't think any amount of time was going to bring out the true qualities of the wine, it simply needs to rest in the cellar for a decade.

Massandra Ending

1932 Massandra Red Port - After all the wine we went through this evening, did not take notes on the Massandra. Recollect a fortified quality to the wine, medium body, palate coating. Was not disappointed. Have to admit a strong personal preference for a very aged Massandra to end a special dinner over nearly any other wine!

Cheers to my good friends from San Francisco for what was easily my wine dinner of the year. It combined all that makes for a fantastic evening, good food, good wine, and good friends!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Lupa Pinot Noir Dinner

2011-11-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

Recently got together with friends to enjoy Pinot Noir at Lupa in San Francisco. It was a very informal get together. While most of our palates lean toward Burgundy, looked forward to visiting some California Pinot Noir. The star of the night was Calera, where the top two wines of the evening came from this exceptional producer. What made this dinner stand out more than others unfortunately was the unusually high number of flawed bottles!

All wines were served pop and pour, no decanting. Brief notes follow and are sorted by flight in order of personal preference.

White Flight - While the wine theme was basically Pinot Noir, it is rare for us not to start with a few white wines. The 2007 Sheldon was a pleasant, easy drinking Chardonnay. It leaned more toward a candied, sweet, butter style Chardonnay, not crisp and can easily be enjoyed young. Sadly, the 2006 Marcassin Three Sisters Chardonnay was badly corked.

2007 Sheldon Chardonnay
2006 Marcassin Three Sisters Chardonnay

Aged Pinot Noir Starter - The 1987 Calera Pinot was easily my wine of the night. A perfectly aged, perfectly balanced wine. Nuanced raspberry and underbrush, it showed surprisingly youthful. Have had numerous Calera Jensen over the years, and the style is highly consistent. Had this been served blind, would never have guessed 1987!

1987 Calera Jensen Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir Flight 1 -Prior to the dinner, had a little fun with this flight. Noticed a Robert Parker note on two of them, that the 2000 Peter Michael Moulin Rouge ". . . reveals a La Tache-like perfume of . . . " and the 2000 Kistler Vineyard Pinot ". . . is a Comte de Vogue Musigny-like effort . . . " At the tasting, they were no where near a La Tache or Vogue Musigny! The Peter Michael had a high alcohol, ethyl acetate nose, clipped finish, nothing really thrilling going on and the Kistler, our second corked wine! To make matters worse, the Swan was disjointed, with notable VA. That left the clear top wine of the flight, a 2000 Calera Reed. Stemy, blue fruits, and wonderful balance, thought it the second best wine of the night.

2000 Calera Reed Pinot Noir
2000 Swan Trenton Pinot Noir
2000 Peter Michael Moulin Rouge Pinot Noir
2000 Kistler Vineyard Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir Flight 2 - Both the Williams Seylem Westside and Rochioli showed well in this flight, the William Seylem, more chewy and sweet, the Rochioli brighter cherry with very good balance. Each was enjoyable and aging well, no rush to open. Sadly, the Williams Seylem Allen was another flawed wine, ethyl acetate.

2003 Williams Seylem Westside Pinot Noir
2002 Rochioli West Block Pinot Noir
2003 Williams Seylem Allen Pinot Noir

Have never attended a dinner, where near the end of the evening, 50% of the wines opened were flawed for one reason or another! Fortunate for us, our good friend Eric Lundblad of Ladd Cellars joined us with two delightful Pinots to the end the evening, a 2008 Ladd Cellars Abigail Pinot Noir and 2008 Ladd Cellars Russian River Pinot Noir. Hopefully the track record of flawed wines this night, does not repeat itself in the future!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Double Blind Bungalow 44 Wine Dinner

2011-10-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

This past week, got together with friends at Bungalow 44 in Mill Valley for a Double Blind Wine Dinner. With the exception of the organizer, we knew it would be California and French wines, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Typically not a fan of blind or double blind dinners, this one turned out to be very well organized, interesting and educational. The discussion was fun, guessing the specific wines, years, and regions. In the course of the tasting, found it fascinating how different we each perceived the quality of one wine other another.

Brief notes follow of all wines opened. Within each flight, wines are sorted in order of personal preference, prior to reveal.

Flight 1 – Chardonnay

2005 Rochioli Rachael’s Vineyard - A lovely flinty, sulfur nose that immediately suggested it was a Burgundy A fat, full bodied, creamy sweet palate pointed to California. In the end, guessed it as a Burgundy. Rarely encounter this fantastic flinty nose on a California wine, and guessed our organizer might try to challenge us with a White Burg with California qualities. Thought it was a highly complex gorgeous wine.

2005 Remi Jobard Meursault Genevrieres - Leaner in style, lemon citrus, youthful and tart, a nice firm wine with a touch of cardboard and astringency, but improved considerably with time in the glass. It came across like a 2009 Ceritas Ritchie Chardonnay, a California producer wine made in a Burgundian style. Guessing from this point forward became far easier, went with original instincts!

Flight 2 – Pinot Noir

2003 Kistler Cuvee Catherine - Initially, it was very primary and youthful, it quickly came together. Dry raspberry fruit, in time becoming lightly candied, it kept putting on weight over time. The mouthfeel was full and coating, without being excessive. Overall, it was a highly age worthy and highly complex, the top wine of the flight.

1996 Maillard Corton Renards - At first, thought it was a rather simple wine with light blue fruits and not a lot else going on, with time in the glass however, made a complete turn around. Subtle sweet cake like and barnyard notes, intertwined with blue and black fruits made this highly interesting.

1997 Joseph Swan Trenton Estate Pentagon Reserve - Picked up more cherry fruit in this wine, more concentrated and ripe than the Corton Renards, also, more notable funk. This was a very interesting wine, and enjoyed it a great deal.

2003 Vincent Girardin Charmes Chambertin - Initially liked this wine, twigs and barnyard, easy drinking. In time, became funky, bretty, and vanilla, it seems to have lost the initial qualities that made it interesting. Do not think this one will age particularly well, my least favorite wine of the tasting.

Flight 3 – Cabernet Sauvignon

2000 Lynch Bages - Dusty, Pichon Lalande like, highly age worthy and complex. This was my top wine of the flight and tasting, a complete Bordeaux that had everything in place. Have had this wine at least 5 or 6 times now, and find it highly consistent.

1989 Montrose - Gamey, foxy, earthy, young, sweaty, animal and exotic. Similar to the Lynch Bages, had this wine numerous times, and this specific example showed more youthful than previous times tasted. A fantastic wine, the second best wine of the tasting.

2001 Bond Melbury - Cherry liquor, bright, thick and full bodied, initially thought it was a Shafer Hillside, but then it took on some vanilla qualities, which I never associated with the Hillside Select. Definitely a wine to drink with a big steak, it was huge!

1992 Ridge Monte Bello - Chalky, aged, mineral, sweet, a little simple at first, nuanced and complex later. Really enjoyed this wine, and was more inclined to think it was a younger French wine over an older California. This flight as a whole showed better than the previous two.

Bonus Wines

1991 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet - A wonderful end of meal wine, black fruits, compact, complex, and balanced, had everything that reminded me why I love 1991 California Cabernet.

2009 Oro Puro Vineyards Late Harvest - Thought this was the best Oro Puro I have ever tasted. Bright peach, clean, full bodied, mouth coating, with wonderful balance. Think this will turn out to be one of their most age worthy wines!

Overall, this was a fantastic dinner, and like all good dinners, it ended in planning the next one, tentatively scheduled to be Rhone! Cheers to a great evening!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Wine and Spirits Top 100 Tasting

2011-10-17T19:18:00.001-07:00

This past week, we attended the eighth annual Wine and Spirits Top 100 Tasting at City View at Metreon in San Francisco. It is the first time we have attended this particular tasting. The location was excellent for a wine event. Champagne, Sparkling Wines and whites were served on the outside patio, red wines on the inside. The tasting had the feel of a fun cocktail party with nice small bites from local restaurants circulating the room. It was a delightful, well executed event that was a lot of fun to attend.

No tasting notes were taken during the event, only some brief obversations. Wines are sorted in order of personal preference by group. If a wine is not listed, we either did not taste it, or did not find it particularing appealing to our personal palate.

Champagnes / Sparking Wines - The Bollinger Rose was arguably the best wine of the tasting, absolutely beautiful, well balanced and complex, it outshined all other wines tasted within this group. Notable, but not listed were the NV wines, in particular the Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee and Louis Roederer Brut Premier, both enjoyable. Find that the NV Louis Roederer Champagnes often show better than Cristal, which it did in this case. The 2002 Dom Perignon showed very young, would cellar for years before opening.

2002 Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose
2002 Dom Perignon
1997 Iron Horse Green Valley Blanc de Blancs Joy
1998 Gramona Brut Cellar Batile
2006 Gramona Brut Imperial Gran Reserva
2004 Louis Roederer Cristal

White Wines -The Domaine Leflaive was easily our favorite white wine, lovely reductive flinty quality consistent with the wine, and producer! New to Philippe Colin, was highly impressed with both their wines, plenty of mineral, earth, and citrus. They were delicate wines with subtle qualities that were just delightful. Several other producers were new to us, will track over the next few years to see how consistent they are over time.

2008 Domaine Leflaive Pucelles
2009 Philippe Colin Chevalier Montrachet
2008 Tardieu-Laurent CdP Blanc
2009 Robert Weil Kiedrich Grafenberg Auslese
2009 Guigal Condrieu La Doriane
2008 Tardieu-Laurent Saint Peray
2004 La Castellada Collio Sauvignon
2006 La Castellada Ribolla Gialla
2009 Bouchard Meursault Genevrieres
2009 Jadot Puligny Montrachet Les Combettes
2009 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet La Cabotte
2009 Philippe Colin Chassagne Montrachet Les Chaumes
2008 JJ Prum Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett
2009 C. von Schubert Grunhauser Trocken

Red Wines - Our top wine of this group was easily the Jadot Chapelle Chambertin. The opposite of a fruit bomb, it was restrained, elegant, yet quite approachable given its youth. Stylistically different, also enjoyed the Bond Pluribus. Typically lean toward the Vecina in the Bond lineup, in this case, found the Pluribus superior. It was a big wine, but in no way one dimensional. 2007 Napa Cabernets continue to show very well.

2006 Jadot Chapelle Chambertin
2007 Bond Pluribus
2007 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace
2007 Bond Vecina
2007 Diamond Creek Volcanic
2009 Ant Hill Farms Campbell Ranch Pinot
2008 Cristom Sommers Reserve Pinot
2009 Bergstrom Dundee Hills Bergstrom Pinot
2008 WillaKenzie Estate Yamhill Carlton Pierre Leon Pinot
2008 Cristom Mt Jefferson Pinot
2006 Ceretto Barbaresco Bricco Asili
2005 Ceretto Barolo Brunate
2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards South Block Pinot

Were the wines tasted the Top 100 in the world? Of course not! Were there plenty of very good drinking wines? Absolutely! Cheers to a very good tasting put on by Wine & Spirits!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Fifth Floor Burg Dinner

2011-08-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Being part of a really good wine tasting group has to be one of the great joys of a fine wine collector! You enjoy numerous nice meals, share a variety of interesting wines, and enjoy the company of folks with a similar passion! We got together recently with just such a group. It initiated in Santa Rosa, and has since moved the majority of its tastings to San Francisco. The tasting group is made up of an experienced, sauvy group of well tasted individuals, thoughtful and generous with both their wine and knowledge. The group held its most recent tasting at a fantastic restaurant called the Fifth Floor at the Hotel Palomar. The meal has to rank among one of the best ones we have had this year!

As with previous times tasting with the group, we had a highly interesting selection of wines focused on Burgundy varietals. Very brief notes were taken, and wines sorted in order of personal preference by flight:

Flight 1 - Two champagnes completely new to us, thought the Selosse the superior of the two wines. Awesome balance, nutty, crisp, floral and fragrant. Tasted over the span of an hour plus, kept improving in the glass. The Collin was very nice, a lighter, smooth, easy drinking Champagne. Both proved to be an awesome start to the meal.

Jacques Selosse Initial
Ulysse Collin Extra Brut

Flight 2 - Very excited to see this flight. A previous tasting of the 2000 Dauvissat was one of the best Chablis experiences we have had in a few years, an awesome wine. Unfortunately, this particular bottle showed mature, and in time, took on an oxidative note. Sadly, it did not show well. In contrast, the Raveneau showed extremely well. Lemon and lime citrus, smoke, oak, with a saline quality that made it an outstanding wine!

2000 Raveneau Foret
2000 Dauvissat La Forest

Flight 3 - First time having had a Ponsot Monts Luisants, was impressed by the youth and flintiness of the 1988 in contrast to the young orange citrus and exotic tropical fruits of the 2006. Both wines were outstanding. The 1979 was dry, parafin, and smokey. Showing no signs of oxidation. The separation of which wine showed best in this flight was so close as to be a tossup.

1988 Ponsot Monts Luisants
2006 Ponsot Monts Luisants
1979 Union des Cooperatives Vinicoles de Bourgogne Pouilly Fuisse

Flight 4 - The Corton Charlemagne was a standout in this flight of mostly California. Steely, tight, youthful, nice minerality and a slight reductive quality. Uncharacteristic to its style, was a very nice 2007 Kongsgaard Judge. Tight, slightly sweet and well balanced, slowly put on weight as it sat in the glass. The Peter Michael was true to its style, sweet, floral, cotton candy, powerful with no signs of oxidation. Was disappointed in the Scholium Project, funky, butterscotch, beginning signs of oxidation, it did not show well.

2004 Alex Gambal Corton Charlemagne
2007 Kongsgaard Judge
2001 Peter Michael Point Rouge
2002 Scholium Project

Flight 5 - Moving on to the reds, we started with a lovely bottle of aged Richebourg, sweaty, gamey, nice balance and complexity in a mature ready to go wine. The Clos du Roi was floral and tart, and the Bressandes, raspberry, stems, animal, and slightly oxidized. Just an ok flight overall, had higher expectations.

1979 Laboure Roi Richebourg
1988 Merode Corton Clos du Roi
1982 Merode Corton Bressandes

Flight 6 - The Santenots was a beautiful wine, expresso, mint, clean dark fruits, the top wine of the flight. Interesting, the Lafarge was sweaty saddle leather and somewhat oxidized. Finally, the Clos des Ducs was young and tight. During the tasting, the acid came across as disproportionately high in this wine, to the point of it being a flaw. There was some mixed reaction concerning the acidity on this specific wine.

1988 Jacques Thevenot Machal Volnay Santenots
1998 Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes
1998 d'Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs

Flight 7 - The final flight of the evening and 17 wines later, did not take notes on the final 4 wines. Or at least, did not take legible notes! Recollect however that the aged California Pinot showed far better than the more modern Pinots. Recall a more old school style in both of the aged wines. Having had the 2002 Marcassin Estate Pinot in the past, and highly impressed with the quality, was completely surprised how poorly it showed. The provenance would have been excellent knowing the source, however it showed disjointed and highly disappointing.

1991 Joseph Swan Pinot Noir
1993 Mount Eden Pinot Noir
2002 Rochioli Pinot Noir, Little Hill
2002 Marcassin Estate Pinot Noir

Cheers to a wonderful meal at Fifth Floor with a delightful group of local wine friends!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Rhone Dinner at Pera

2011-08-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, we participated in a wine tasting with friends in San Francisco. The theme was Rhone wines and the dinner held at Pera Restaurant. While the company was enjoyable, overall the tasting was disappointing.

As we planned the dinner, highly anticipated a four bottle flight of Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle, a Chateau Rayas, and an aged Beaucastel. It had the markings for an excellent lineup of wine. In practice however, we had a few oxidized and corked bottles, the wines were unfortunately poured in a loosely younger to older format, and sadly, flights were rushed. Very brief notes were taken during the dinner and wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight:

White Rhone Flight - The wine of the flight was the Charbonniere, crisp, almost White Burg like with a subtle appealing sweetness. Sadly, the Beaucastel initially came across as corked and oxidized, it made a surprising turn around and got better, but in the end, thought it was at a minimum, lightly corked. The Georges Vernay Condrieu was ok, light, some loamy lemon citrus, but became off putting in time. Sadly, the Faury Blanc was oxidized.

2009 Domaine de la Charbonniere Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
1998 Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc Cuvee Vieilles Vignes
2009 Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l’Empire
2006 Domaine Faury St. Joseph Blanc

Rhone Flight 1 - Not a very enjoyable flight, the Janasse showed coffee, dark chocolate and heavy toast, which normally, might be a good thing, but the wine never quite came together. The Saint Damien was more extracted, youthful and plummy. In contrast, the Pierre Usseglio was funky, burnt, and had notable acidity. No standouts in this flight unfortunately.

1995 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes
2007 Domaine Saint Damien Gigondas Les Souteyrades
2005 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Deux Freres

Rhone Flight 2 - The Rayas was the most complete wine of the flight in the short amount of time tasted. Noted excellent balance, complexity and mostly black fruits. The most interesting wine of the dinner was the 1952 Plantin Brusquieres. Noted cognac, caramel, dark coffee, tasted like a fortified madeira. Unfortunately the fruit vanished quickly. In contrast to the first wines, the Beaucastel was animal, some interesting funk, however lacked a nose. The least enjoyable wine was the Vieux Telegraphe. Had some citrus, notable acidity, and a barrel sample like quality, interesting enough, it was enjoyed far more by others in the group.

1992 Chateau Rayas Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve
1952 H. Plantin Brusquieres Chateauneuf du Pape
1985 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape
1990 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau

Rhone Flight 3 - The 1989 should have easily been top wine in the flight, sadly, our bottle was corked! The top wine of the flight turned out to be the 1996, a pleasant wine with nice length, earth and game. Styllistically different, enjoyed the 2003 as well, far riper, fatter, more clean and pure than the 1996 and 1998. The 1998 was nice and had more in common with the 1996, not a bad wine, not a great wine.

1996 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
2003 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
1998 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
1989 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle

Certainly, this was no where near one of the best wine dinners we have attended, the lack of thrilling wines was fortunately made up by enjoyable company!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Commonwealth Dinner

2011-07-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

A local wine tasting group we are part of recently got together in San Francisco for dinner at Commonweath restaurant. The food was spectacular, and included Black River Ossetra Caviar, Salmon Tartare, Corn Custard Lobster, Veel Cheeks and a few enjoyable desserts. A highly recommended restaurant in the Bay Area!

Wine for the dinner was focused on Burgundy varietals from the United States and France. While nearly all wines were enjoyable, the standout was a bottle of 1945 Beaulieu Vineyards Beaumont Pinot Noir. It was remarkable how youthful the wine looked and tasted. The label said Pinot Noir, but suspect the wine included Gamay, Petite Sirah, or other varietals. Suspicion aside as to the exact varietal makeup, it was an outstanding wine. Brief observations follow of all wine opened.

Champagne Starter - The Krug was extremely young, firm acidity with hardwood, orange citrus fruits and a pleasant yeasty component. Could continue to age this gorgeous wine for a significant period of time. In contrast, the Bollinger RD was far more mature and a little funky. Tending to prefer Champagne on the younger side, did not show as well for my particular palate.

1990 Bollinger RD
1996 Krug

Flight 1 - The Leflaive was fully mature and resolved, in a sweet spot right now. Was interesting to taste next to the Williams Seylem, the color of which was significantly browning, yet showed surprisingly well, sweet, floral and butterscotch on the palate. The Bouchard was very young and tight, could easily continue to age this excellent wine for years. As a whole, loved the flight. At this point, a Ceritas Chardonnay was opened. Had it been served blind, would have guessed a Chablis! Plenty of Oyster shell, steely, and firm acidity, an age worthy wine.

1998 Domaine Leflaive Pucelles
1998 Williams Seylem Hirsch Chardonnay
2002 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne
2009 Ceritas Ritchie Chardonnay

Flight 2 - The wine of the night, was absolutely surprised by the 45 BV Beaumont Pinot. Expected this to be a wildcard wine, probably dry leather, light mineral, and light fruit or perhaps just oxidized and long past maturity, it tasted youthful, structured, full bodied and highly complex, with earth, minerals and an abundance of well integrated dark fruits. The 67 Burgundy was more strawberry, stemy, soy, a cool, clean enjoyable wine. Sadly, the 79 was completely oxidized and undrinkable.

1945 Beaulieu Vineyards Beaumont Pinot Noir
1967 Beaulieu Vineyards Burgundy
1979 Beaulieu Vineyards Burgundy

Flight 3 - All three wines in this flight were excellent. The Bonnes Mares showed blue fruits in contrast to the raspberry fruits in the Cazetiers, and in contrast to both, the Clos Vougeot was leathery and dry. Given the age on the Clos Vougeot, it was a vibrant wine that maintained some subtle sweet ripe fruit.

1964 Jadot Clos Vougeot
1985 Bouree Gevery Cazetiers
1999 Jadot Bonnes Mares

Flight 4 - The Chalone was the youngest tasting wine in this flight, huge tart jammy raspberry fruit, showed superior to a previous time having had the wine. The 99 Calera had the best balance of the group with subtle all spice and steminess. Sadly, thought the 97 Calera was a little disjointed and astringent, it never quite came together. A mystery wine, the 05 Yarra Yering was guessed early on as Australian, big ripe fruit wine from a solid producer.

1980 Chalone Pinot Noir
1997 Calera Mills Pinot Noir
1999 Calera Jensen Pinot Noir
2005 Yarra Yering Pinot Noir

Collectively, the wines for this dinner were very impressive and paired with equally impressive food. Along with delightful company, it was a highly enjoyable wine dinner!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Louis Martini Cabernet Lunch

2011-06-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, got together with friends at our place in Sonoma to enjoy steaks and fresh fish from Bryan's Fine Foods, along with a vertical of Louis Martini Cabernet spanning the 1950's to the 1980's. It was a real treat to taste the progression from an excellent California Cabernet producer with a long history in the Napa Valley.

While the vast majority of wines opened were excellent condition, it should be noted that all corks pulled on the 1958 through 1978 were short and the majority, not particularly tight fitting. It is strongly advised when sourcing old Martini to purchase with as high a fill level as possible. Suggest buying minimum base neck fills, anything lower may be ok, but risk increases. Another noteworthy point when purchasing this wine, the 1969 through 1978 bottles opened all had plastic capsules. It was not possible to press down on the cork to access condition.

Brief notes follow of all wines opened. The only wine decanted was the 1966, the rest were pop and pour. Wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Starter Sparkling Wine

1998 Thomas Fogarty Late Disgorged Blanc De Blanc - Yeasty, mango, some oxidation, a medium bodied wine with a mature golden color and some funk on the finish. Found the wine more a curiosity than anything to kick off the lunch.

Starter White Wine

1995 Peter Michael Belle Cote Chardonnay - Firm acid grip on the finish with a distinct honey nose. Initially thought the wine had turned and was disjointed, but got surprising better the longer it sat in the glass.

1950's Louis Martini Cabernet

1958 Louis Martini California Mountain Cabernet - An exceptional wine! Some bricking, a medium bodied wine with earth, mint, leather, tobacco, and forest floor, all combined with a hint of structure that carried the wine over several hours. Top wine of the tasting!

1960's Louis Martini Cabernet

1966 Louis Martini California Mountain Cabernet - Sweeter fruit and far more youthful than the 58, restrained, yet showed some nice spice and balance, thought this was a close tie as wine of the flight, but for very different reasons. No rush to open, will continue to age well.

1968 Louis Martini California Mountain Lot No. 1 Special Selection Cabernet - An interesting white pepper Zinfandel like spice, cognac, with bigger, more rounded full bodied fruit. A complete, rustic wine that showed very well, and more mature than the 66.

1969 Louis Martini California Mountain Cabernet - Distinct raspberry fruit, good structure, earthy and subdued. The wine was excellent. Along with the 66 and 68 Special Selection, the 60's flight as a whole showed far superior to all other flights.

1968 Louis Martini California Mountain Cabernet - Advanced and immediate signs of oxidation. Showed some promise early on and thought there might be a chance it would improve, but sadly, it quickly went downhill. Thought it was an off bottle.

1970's Louis Martini Cabernet

1973 Louis Martini California Mountain Cabernet - A clean, nice drinking wine, stewed red fruit, fresh cut grass, notable acidity and good balance. Thought this was easily wine of the flight. Second time tasting this wine, showed consistent.

1978 Louis Martini La Loma Napa Valley Cabernet - Tight, closed and green, took a while to open up, once it did, took on a slightly richer liquor quality. If recalled correctly, this vineyard was replanted in the early to mid 1970's.

1975 Louis Martini California Cabernet - Grassy, not a lot else going on in this wine, it improved slightly in time, but overall, just an ok effort. Expected a lot more from the 70's flight as a whole, it was overshadowed by the 60's.

1980's Louis Martini Cabernet

1985 Louis Martini Monte Rosso Cabernet - The best wine of the flight, also showed the most youthful. Noted almost a barrel sample like quality, a medium body, and slight notes of mint. Thought the wine showed very well and highly enjoyable with time in the glass.

1987 Louis Martini Sonoma County Cabernet - Grassy, somewhat vegetal, green and one dimensional. Did not find the wine particularly enjoyable or appealing. Generally speaking, really enjoy 1987 California Cabernet, but this one was a disappointment.

1986 Louis Martini Monte Rosso Cabernet - More substantial fruit than the 87, but an oxidized component that was distracting and unpleasant. Another really good California Cabernet vintage, thought this was an off bottle.

Finisher Wine

1975 Freemark Abbey York Creek Petite Sirah - Deep purple in color, huge blueberry fruit. One dimension, but gorgeous one dimensional fruit that works for the wine. Served blind, could easily have misidentified it as much younger. Showed surprisingly similar to a lovely 1969 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah tasted some time ago.

Note Taking Wine

1993 Louis Martini Monte Rosso Cabernet - After quite a few wines among eight people in attendance, we never got around to trying Louis Martini Cabernet from the 1990's to present, so opened one the day after as a reference point. Immediately on opening, noted a pleasant sweet chocolate nose. On the palate, a wine far more extracted and jammy than anything tasting prior, big raspberry fruit dominates the wine. After about two hours, it started to finally balance out, yet remained full bodied. Overall thought it was a delightful wine, though a significant departure from all other wines tasted at this lunch.

Cheers to Louis Martini Cabernet!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Burgundy in the City

2011-05-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Got together with a small group of friends from the San Francisco Bay area recently to enjoy some Burgundy. Among a very enjoyable group of wines, thought the 1990 Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes showed best overall. It had all the qualities of an exceptional wine, balance, complexity, good structure, and a seductive style that kept making you want to go back for more!

Another highly noteworthy and enjoyable wine, the 2004 Domaine Chevalier Corton Charlemagne. It showed extremely well and similar to the red, had all the hallmarks of an exceptional wine in terms of balance, complexity as well as subtle nuances that made it both interesting and thrilling to revisit over a few hours. Tasting 2004 and 2005 White Burgundies regularly, continue to prefer 2004 for drinking in the near term.

As with previous blog entries, brief observations of all wines opened follow, sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Champagne Starter

1996 Bollinger RD - Yeasty, nice acidity, lemon rind, dough, meyer lemon, a young Champagne that kept improving over the span of the evening. A very exceptional wine.

White Burgundy Flight 1

2004 Fevre Les Clos - Very shutdown, firm acidty, mineral. No where near ready to enjoy, needs years to resolve. Took hours for it to even begin to show its potential.

2000 Fevre Valmur - Right out of the gate, highly enjoyable. Clean, pure, good balance, also mineral. In about an hour, started to decline and became less interesting.

2002 Ried Klaus Jamek - Dry, yet well rounded, paraffin and creamy in texture. Little experience with Austrian wines, but this showed very well.

White Burgundy Flight 2

2004 Domaine Chevalier Corton Charlemagne - Well structured, big wine, excellent power and balance, slightly flinty and highly age worthy. A gorgeous wine.

2005 H. Boillot Corton Charlemagne - More floral than the earthy Chevalier, sweet, big, though young and unresolved. Great long term potential after years of cellar aging.

1986 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Corton Charlemagne - Wax, honey, oxidized, drinkable, but past maturity. Opened more as a curiosity than anything, did not show very well.

1988 Pierre Bitouzet Corton Charlemagne - Oxidized and undrinkable.

Mystery Wine

2000 Williams Seylem Allen Vineyard Chardonnay - A blind ringer, correctly guessed as aged Chardonnay. Fully mature, creme brulee, nice minerality and balance, a good drinking wine that indicated 16% ABV, but did not show heat.

Red Burgundy Flight 1

1990 Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes - Gamey, red and blue fruits, menthol, an absolutely gorgeous nuanced and near perfect drinking wine. The wine of the night!

1995 Lafon Volnay Santenots du Milieu - Black pepper, rich big fruit, took a long time for the wine to open up, when it did, excellent balance, showed very well.

1990 Lafon Volnay Santenots du Milieu - Wet saddle leather, sappy, full mouthfeel and firm tannin, a nice wine that should improve with additional cellaring.

1995 Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes - High acidity, like the 1995 Lafon, took a long time for the wine to open up. In this case, it never quite came around. Continue to cellar for years.

Red Burgundy Flight 2

1980 Roty Charmes Chambertin - Chewy texture, earth, mineral, leather, with a touch of appealing green. Mature and very enjoyable, showed better than expectations.

2001 Drouhin Chambolle Musigny - Firm acidity, simply in style, not a lot to the wine that made it particularly appealing.

Sweet Ending

1990 Huet Vouvray Moelleux - Sadly, did not take notes on this wine. Vaguely recall a very pleasant end of evening wine. One of those instances of, a small group and lots of wine!

Cheers to a highly enjoyable evening that will hopefully repeat itself again!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Volnay and Pommard Burgundy Dinner

2011-05-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we got together with friends at Firefly restaurant in San Francisco to enjoy a Burgundy Dinner focused on wines from Volnay, Pommard and Chablis.

With the exception of two corked bottles, the overall wine quality was high. As sometimes happens in local wine dinners, a special wine is brought you don't typically see. In this case, a still red wine from Champagne! While common in California where Sparkling Producers routinely sell Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, it is uncommon in Champagne. Thanks to a generous guest, the first time we have tasted this wine!

All wines opened, along with brief observations follow. Normally all wines are popped and poured, this time however, the red wines were double decanted. All wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

White WOTN: 2001 Dauvissat Les Clos
Red WOTN: 1985 Joseph Voillot Volnay Champans

Chablis Flight 1

2002 Brocard Valmur - The wine of the flight, was creamy, lemon cake, and medium bodied with a fat mid palate. With a light spice on the palate, had nearly perfect balance!

2002 Fevre Valmur - Dusty, lemon and orange citrus, as well as exotic tropical fruits. Initially thought it was going to be wine of the flight, but in time, thought it the Brocard.

2000 Raveneau Valmur - Corked!

Chablis Flight 2

2001 Dauvissat Les Clos - A powerful, very big Chablis, focused, firm acidity, nice citrus fruits, kept getting better over the span of the evening. Would continue to cellar.

1996 Brocard Les Clos - Similar to the Brocard Valmur, creamy, however sweeter, holding up very well and nicely balanced, but should drink within the next year or two, fully mature.

1990 Dauvissat Les Preuses - The wine is on the downward slope of maturity, somewhat sherried, oxidized, waxy, not disappointing, but not thrilling either. Just an ok wine.

Intermission Wine

2002 Bollinger cote aux Enfant - Special and quite rare, we were treated to a still red wine from Champagne! The Bollinger was dry and backward in style initially, and remained so for a few hours, tannic, black tar and burnt rubber, it was highly reductive in style. After a few hours, some bright cherry fruit started to emerge, ultimately evolving into a wine that was more thick, rich red fruit liquor in quality three plus hours later. Somewhat one dimensional in style as it opened up, would not consider it a great wine, but would definitely consider it a unique wine!

Burgundy Flight 1

1990 Comte Armand Pommard Clos de Epeneaux - A huge wine, young dark fruits, fat, dense, cola and cherry, a beautiful well integrated wine. One of the top wines of the night!

1988 Comte Armand Pommard Clos de Epeneaux - Far more exotic, game meats, yet also well balanced, a very close second wine of the flight, but for very different reasons.

1996 Comte Armand Pommard Clos de Epeneaux - Not a good showing for this wine, bretty, freshly opened plastic bandaid, never really improved over time. Disappointing.

Burgundy Flight 2

1985 Joseph Voillot Volnay Champans - A stunning, exceptional wine! Leather, exotic well integrated blue and red fruits, subtle texture, ready to enjoy now, but plenty of structure to allow additional aging, a near perfect wine worth seeking out!

1999 d'Angerville Volnay Champans - Very young drinking, barrel sample like, cassis, spice, cinnamon, forest floor and firm acidity. The wine should be aged considerably longer before opening.

1999 Potel Volnay Taillepieds - Dark fruits, green, somewhat similar style to the 1999 d'Angerville Volnay Champans, however less resolved. Continue to age for years.

Burgundy Flight 3

1999 d'Angerville Volnay Clos des Ducs - A beautiful, big, age worthy wine with nice spice, earth and chocolate notes. Plenty of life ahead of the wine, second best of the evening.

1995 d'Angerville Volnay Clos de Ducs - Corked!

Cheers to a highly enjoyable evening!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Taste of Oakville 2011

2011-04-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

The Oakville Winegrowers put on one of the better tastings of the year in Napa Valley when they hold their annual Taste of Oakville. We attended the tasting recently at Robert Mondavi Winery. It was a great opportunity to try current release Cabernets from the Oakville region, and in our case, heavily influences what we purchase in the coming years.

Overall, thought the 2008 vintage wines showed well based on the wines tasted. A vast majority were relatively easy to drink, and for the most part will be enjoyable young. Thought the wines had far more in common with the 2006 vintage, than 2007. When comparing 2007 and 2008 wines, continue to prefer the structure, balance and elegance of 2007 over the riper, more approachable 2008s.

The top wine of the tasting was a beautiful 1994 Dalla Valle Maya. An oustanding wine, it was elegant, earthy, lead pencil, tannic and dusty, with plenty of dark black fruits. Our second favorite wine was the 2007 Harlan Estate Cabernet. It had deep, dark cherry notes, bell pepper, an inky texture, and mint on finish. With some age, should be equally outstanding.

Group 1 - Top Wines

1994 Dalla Valle Maya

2008 Dalla Valle Cabernet

2007 Harlan Estate Cabernet

2008 Screaming Eagle

2007 Swanson Alexis Cabernet

Group 2 - Very Good Wines

2007 Bond Vecina

2006 Bond St. Eden

2008 Dalla Valle Collina

2008 Far Niente Estate Cabernet

2008 Futo Estate Cabernet

2008 Gargiulo Money Road Cabernet

2009 Harbison Estate Cabernet

2008 Nickel and Nickel Blending Iron Cabernet
2008 Nickel and Nickel Rock Cairn Cabernet
2008 Nickel and Nickel Kelham Cabernet

2007 Opus One

2007 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet

2007 Saddleback Cellars Oakville Barrel Select Cabernet

2008 Textbook Mise en Place Cabernet

Group 3 - Enjoyable Wines

2008 Flora Springs Holy Smoke Vineyard Cabernet

2008 Gargiulo OVX Cabernet

2007 Gargiulo OVX Cabernet

2008 Ghost Block Estate Cabernet

2007 Groth Reserve Cabernet

2008 Nickel and Nickel Tench Cabernet

2008 Nickel and Nickel John C. Sullenger Cabernet

2008 Oakville East Exposure Cabernet

2007 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet

If a wine was not listed, either we did not taste the wine, or in the case of 12 wines, did not find it particularly appealing. Most of the 12 will be revisited again in the future. In a few cases, they were newer producers to us. In other cases, ones we have tried in the past, had a favorable opinion, and did not find the wine appealing in this vintage. For wines Santa Rosa Fine Wine purchases, tend to establish a tasting track record over several years.

Cheers to Robert Mondavi Winery and the Oakville Winegrowers for putting on another very enjoyable tasting!

Nick Wittman

Santa Rosa Fine Wine

http://www.santarosafinewine.com

Aged California Dinner in Santa Rosa

2011-04-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

A group of local friends and winemakers got together at Starks Steakhouse in Santa Rosa recently to enjoy an evening of aged California wine. Have been looking forward to this dinner for some time. There is something very special about 30 to 40 year old wines that continue to evolve nicely, and in the case of this dinner, taste surprisingly youthful!

Pictured at top was a really nice 1969 Hanzell Pinot Noir. Found the Pinot Noirs as a whole showed bigger, brighter, and more youthful fruit than the more toned down style of Cabernets. Brief notes follow of all wines opened, and are sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Champagne Starter - A lovely start to the evening, the Vilmart Champagne served from Magnum was exceptional. Honey, crisp, and mildly sweet tropical fruits, thought it a compelling wine that kept improving over the span of the evening. It was a young wine that will continue to improve with age.

1997 Vilmart Champagne Couer de Cuvee Magnum

White Wine Starters - Before moving onto Pinot Noir, opened a few white starter wines. The Marcassin was outstanding and youthful. Noted oyster shell, some sweetness and smoke, butterscotch, but in no way oxidized, as well as flint that reminded me of a younger white burgundy. The wine was young, and will continue to age well for some time. In contrast, the Pinot Blanc was creamy with a fat mid palate and short finish. Thought it was slightly advanced.

1997 Marcassin Vineyard Chardonnay
1992 Chalone Estate Pinot Blanc

California Pinot Noir Flight 1 - The two 1969 Pinot Noirs had youthful colors and were both high quality wines. The Hanzell was more raspberry fruit, cleaner, deep and lightly candied, while the Chalone was more grassy and cherry. With some nice menthol and spice, it put on considerable weight in time. Both wines were beautiful!

1969 Hanzell Pinot Noir
1969 Chalone Pinot Noir magnum

California Pinot Noir Flight 2 - The 1979 La Crema was the cleaner wine, elegant, spice, good acidity, well rounded. In contrast, the 1977 Chalone was more dark cherry and blue fruits becoming leathery in time. The 1979 Chalone was youthful, raspberry, and jammy. Sadly, one bottle of 1977 Chalone was corked and replaced with a backup bottle.

1979 La Crema Vinera Pinot Noir Ventana Vineyard
1977 Chalone Estate Young Vines Pinot Noir
1979 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir

California Pinot Noir Flight 3 - The 1994 Chalone was bright cherry, cola, and surprisingly fruit forward, yet had plenty of structure. Stylistically different, the 1982 Chalone was mineral, earthy, good balance, a pleasurable wine. Thought the 1986 Chalone was more barrel sample like, young, notable acidity, though slightly out of balance. The 1984 Chalone never quite came around, very firm acidity for some time.

1994 Chalone Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
1982 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir
1986 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir
1984 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir
1980 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir Magnum

California Cabernet Flight 1 - After some amazing Pinot Noir, moved on to Cabernet. The 1973 Martini Cabernet was meaty, medium bodied, youthful and had a perfect balance, a lovely classic California Cabernet. Similarly, the 1975 Martini was intense, darker red fruit, and a long finish. The 1974 Martini was surprising light and grassy, not to expectations from a great vintage. After so many bright, youthful Pinots, the wines came across as more toned down and took some time to adjust.

1973 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon
1975 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon
1974 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection

California Cabernet Flight 2 - The 1974 Charles Krug was a beautiful wine. From the Fay Vineyard, thought it was mushroom, meaty and earthy. The 1974 Ridge Monte Bello was nice, far more vanilla. A youthful wine, it showed well in the flight. The 1984 Caymus was surprising tannic, but still enjoyable. Sadly the 1984 Ridge Monte Bello was corked.

1974 Charles Krug Vintage Selection Lot F1 Cabernet Sauvignon
1974 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon
1984 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
1984 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon

Post California Cabernet Flight - The 1970 Joseph Swam Gamay was beautiful. Inky thick, dark black licorice, a very long finish, almost had the consistency of a fortified wine. The Joseph Swan Zinfandel was plumy and in tough company next to the Gamay.

1970 Joseph Swan Gamay
1969-1971 Joseph Swan Zinfandel Lot Z

Late Harvest Finish - As if we did not taste enough already, opened a sweet end of meal wine! Thought the late harvest Beringer was very well made, balanced, paraffin, rich, and sweet. Plenty of age left in this wine.

1986 Beringer Late Harvest Special Select Johannisberg Riesling

Cheers to the age worthiness of California wines and a highly enjoyable evening!

Nick Wittman

Santa Rosa Fine Wine

http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

San Francisco Trade Tasting

2011-04-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Attended a trade tasting in San Francisco recently where several nice wines were poured. Having tasted many of them in the past, was a good opportunity to revisit how the wines were aging. In a few cases, was surprised by a high quality wine we have never had before. In particular, referring to an awesome 1989 Vega Sicilia Unico and 1989 Penfolds Grange!

Pours at this particular tasting were relatively small, and only revisited a few of the wines later in the tasting. As a result, no attempt is made at detailed notes, nor ranking the wines in order of personal preference. Nearly all wines showed well, with special mention to the 1995 Krug, 1990 Latour, 1989 Penfolds Grange, and 1989 Vega Sicilia Unico! Brief observations follow.

Champagne

1995 Krug - Crisp, nutty, butterscotch and hazelnut, this was a gorgeous complex and youthful Krug that should be exceptional with a decade or more age.

White Wines

1991 Chapoutier Ermitage Cuvee de l'Oree - Some diesel notes, a flat mouthfeel, and relatively fat on the palate. A fully mature good drinking wine.

2002 Leroy Meursault - Light bodied, some pleasant sweetness, little bit of flint, thought the wine was just ok, expected a little more from this solid producer.

2004 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay - Silky, intense citrus, moving toward a more creamy texture in time. A powerful and well put together Chardonnay.

Red Wines

1990 Chateau Latour - Initially orange rind, sweet, well rounded fruits, revisited later, and shutdown, showed far more tannin. A wine that will continue to improve with age.

1996 Chateau Margaux - More open knit and approachable than the Latour, black cherry fruit, floral, put on weight later in the tasting.

2005 Clos de Papes Chateauneuf de Pape - A very nice wine, big concentrated raspberry fruit, was drinking very well. Far more enjoyable than the Pagau.

2003 Pegau Chateauneuf de Pape Reserve - Have had this wine at least three or four times, have never found it enjoyable. Ripe concentrated plum and prune.

1997 Lisini Brunello di Montelcino Ugolaia - A disappointing wine, grassy, not a lot going on. Did not leave a positive impression.

1989 Vega Sicilia Unico - A young perfectly balanced wine, did not revisit later but suspect it could have easily rivaled any other wine in the tasting in time.

1990 Dominus - Soft, resolved, slightly green, but focused with pleasant mineral and dark fruits. A highly enjoyable well made wine.

1990 Opus One - Have had this wine 5 or 6 times, and this was one of the best showings, thick, ripe, cherry and raspberry fruits, showed far more open than on previous ocassions.

1998 Shafer Hillside Select - Huge wine, mint, black cherry, excellent balance, nice structure and continuing to age beautifully.

2000 Joseph Phelps Insignia - Big wine, similar to the Shafer Hillside, though not as complex. A nice wine with a strong mid palate presence.

1989 Penfolds Grange - Interesting transition on this wine, initially grassy, wheat, cherry and mint, not a thrilling wine, in time, big blue fruits and became exceptional.

2004 Sine Qua Non Covert Fingers - Candied bright red fruits, concentrated, thick full bodied Pinot, showed better on this occasion than other times tasted.

Sauternes

1990 Chateau d'Yquem - Peach, orange, and honey, this sweet, but nuanced wine showed very well, better than the 1986 in the same tasting, but not quite up to the 1988.

1986 Chateau d'Yquem - Orange rind, concentrated and age worthy, the 1986 tasted far younger than the 1990. Continue to age this wine.

Cheers to a very nice wine lineup!

Nick Wittman

Santa Rosa Fine Wine

http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

French Wine Night at Pera

2011-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Recently we joined friends in SF for a French Wine Dinner at Pera. The dinner included a lineup of awesome wines, including two exceptional bottles of Coche Dury pictured at left. The flight of the night, found the contrast in the two wines striking. One was delicate and feminine, the other powerful and masculine!

What made the tasting more challenging than usual was the relatively small pours. Given the larger group size, it did not allow the best opportunity to revisit the wine later in the evening. Continue to suggest that 6 to 8 person tastings offer the best opportunity to fully evaluate a 750ml bottle of wine. Evaluating wine aside, the true spirit of the evening was to share special bottles of wine among friends, and that is exactly what we did!

The following are very brief observations of all wines opened sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Chablis Starter

2001 Raveneau Butteaux - Oyster shell, sweet citrus, moist white cake, nice acidity and balance. A well structured, very good drinking wine.

Dom Perignon Flight

1978 Dom Perignon - Clean, peach, bright orange, nutty, white chocolate, a compelling full bodied Champagne that showed best among the flight.

1976 Dom Perignon - Not too far off stylistically from the 1978, walnut, hardwood, hazelnut, and spice. Some oxidation, but not significant.

1998 Dom Perignon -Honey, tart, lemon, firm acidity, was way too young to be opened. Should cellar this wine for years before opening.

1990 Dom Perignon - A flawed bottle.

Rose Flight

1996 Dom Perignon Rose - Bright, light cherry, powder, restrained, elegant and clean. An excellent Rose, and close top pick as wine of the flight.

N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Rose - More powerful than the Dom Perignon, yeasty, rose pedal, young, and a long finish. Very close second wine of the flight.

Coche Dury Flight

2001 Coche Dury Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrieres - Floral, oily, creme brulee, flinty, a lovely soft, but well balanced elegant wine that is ready to drink now.

2001 Coche Dury Meursault - Toasty, petrol, powerful wine, coarse texture, intense citrus, mineral, a young drinking wine that should be aged longer.

Burgundy Flight 1

1990 Frederic Esmonin Griottes Chambertin - Clean blue fruits, mineral, rough texture, but highly age worthy. Did not have a strong preference of the 90 over the 93.

1993 Frederic Esmonin Griottes Chambertin - Sweet, game meats, ripe, perfectly mature, open knit, shut down a bit as it sat in the glass.

Burgundy Flight 2

1996 Domaine Dujac Charmes Chambertin - Blue fruits, exotic and tropical, stemy, a strong showing as wine of the flight.

1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin - Big ripe powerful full bodied Jadot, showed very well next to the Dujac and Bertagna.

1996 Domaine Bertagna Chambertin - Medium bodied, spice, firm acidity, but mellowed out in time. Good balance, nice age worthy wine.

1996 Frederic Esmonin Clos Vougeot - Light bodied, high acidity, lacked character, thought this was a disappointing wine in tough company.

Bordeaux Flight

1983 Chateau Margaux - Mineral, earthy, floral, perfect balance and integration. A young wine that has plenty of life.

1962 Chateau Canon - Saddle leather, nice tannin, no signs of oxidation, an excellent old Bordeaux that showed well.

1986 Chateau Margaux - Not too far off in style from the 83 Margaux, however slightly more menthol and less balanced.

1983 Chateau Palmer - A flawed bottle.

Sweet Finish

1944 Massandra Muscat Rose - Absolutely gorgeous, caramel, thick, rich, butterscotch, a lovely end of meal wine, one of the best wines of the evening.

1955 Domaines et Terroirs du Sud Rivesaltes Millesime - Lean, tight, did not find this wine appealing. In very tough company next to the Massandra.

Cheers to wonderful wines, good friends, and a highly enjoyable evening!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

California Dreamin

2011-04-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Recently, we got together with friends in Mill Valley to enjoy some exceptional California wine! With eight of us in attendance, had a perfect sized group to enjoy three flights of three wines of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet.

We ate at a very good restaurant called Dish. The space was casual and welcoming, food was very good, and service was impeccable. As with previous tastings, wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight. The only exception was the Cabernet flight, where all wines were so enjoyable for different reasons, call it a three way tie! Brief notes follow concerning all wines opened:

Chardonnay Flight

2006 Marcassin Estate Chardonnay - Floral, sweet, soft orange rind, stoney, mineral, creme brulee, subtle vanilla, all components perfectly in check. The wine was well structured and should age gracefully for years.

2006 Marcassin Three Sisters Chardonnay - More full bodied than the estate, lemon grass, oily, creamy, wheat, oats, cotton candy and oyster shell. Became leaner as it sat in the glass, but remained a highly enjoyable wine.

2008 Aubert Ritchie Chardonnay - A little astringent on the nose, closed, tart, slightly smokey with an oily texture, had some mid-palate fruit, but came across far hotter than the two Marcassin. A wine to revisit, hopefully will resolve more with age.

Pinot Noir Flight

2003 Marcassin Estate Pinot Noir - Black cherry, spice, oak, forest floor, fruits brighter initially, becoming more restained, balanced and elegant in time. A gorgeous Pinot Noir, evolving nicely when compared to how it tasted near release.

2003 Rochioli West Block Pinot Noir - Pine needles, cranberry, rhubarb, rustic, saucy, mushroom and leather. A lot going on in this compelling Rochioli Pinot. Big fan of the both the producer and the vintage for California Pinot Noir.

2004 Littorai Once Acre Pinot Noir - Initially green, stemy, became more raspberry and fruitcake in time. Youthful, with very nice balance, a compelling and interesting wine. A very good wine, next to two excellent wines.

Cabernet Flight

1997 Dalla Valle Cabernet - Initially tight, with spicey oak, and menthol. In time, dark chocolate and dark fruits became more predominate as the wine sat in the glass. Classic California Cabernet, this was an absolutely beautiful wine.

1997 Montelena Cabernet - Another gorgeous wine, grassy, baked black cherry fruit, restrained, and hard. Had a slight brett funkiness, but it worked in this wine. The wine was compelling and highly interesting. A must revisit wine.

1997 Philip Togni Cabernet - A powerful wine, bell pepper, dirty, red stewed fruits becoming brighter in time, had near perfect balance and plenty of longevity. Like the Dalla Valle and Montelena, a highly enjoyable wine.

Cheers to a very good time!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Rhone Rangers 2011 in SF

2011-03-28T23:21:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday, we attended the 14th annual Rhone Rangers tasting in SF at the Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason. It is a great opportunity to try several hundred California Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and a few other Rhone varietals under one roof!

In a tasting where so many wines are poured, we are not typically looking to capture specific tasting notes, but more so, wines that showed well in the very short time span given each wine. That said, the following are wines that immediately came off as excellent, very good, and worth a revisit. If a particular wine or producer is not listed, either we did not taste the wine, or did not find it particularly note worthy.

Highly Recommended

2009 Arnot-Roberts Hudson Vineyard Syrah
2009 Arnot-Roberts Griffins Lair Vineyard Syrah
2007 Bella Lily Hill Syrah
2006 Cabot Kimberly's Syrah
2006 Cabot Aria's Syrah
2007 Cabot Klamath Cuvee Red Blend
2008 Jemrose Cardiac Hill Syrah
2008 Jemrose Gloria's Gem Blend
2009 Pax Mahle Orra Blend
2008 Pax Mahle Rana Blend
2009 Pride Mountain Viognier
2008 Pride Mountain Syrah
2009 Ridge Buchignani Carignon
2006 Ridge Lytton Syrah
2007 Stolpman Angeli
2009 Stolpman Originals Syrah
2008 Stolpman High Density Syrah
2008 Truchard Carneros Syrah

Recommended

2007 Anglim Mourvedre Hastings Ranch Vineyard
2009 Arnot-Roberts Alder Springs Syrah
2006 Arrowood Red Blend Cote de Lune Rouge
2006 Arrowood Syrah
2008 Bella Lily Hill Grenache
2008 Bella Big River Petite Sirah
2007 Cabot Humbold County Syrah
2009 Jemrose Viognier Egret Pond
2008 Jemrose Foggy Knoll Grenache
2007 Lagier Meredith Mount Veeder Syrah
2008 Lagier Meredith Mount Veeder Syrah
2009 Landmark Espirit du Rhone Grenache
2007 Martinelli Lolita Syrah
2007 Montemaggiore Reserve
2006 Montemaggiore Paolo's Syrah
2009 Outpost Howell Mountain Grenache
2008 Pax Mahle Sonoma Coast Syrah
2009 Pax Mahle Griffins Lair Syrah
2006 Ridge Syrah/Grenache Blend
2005 Ridge Lytton Grenache
2008 Stage Left The ExPat Red Blend
2008 Stolpman Originals Syrah
2008 Stolpman Roussanne
2008 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
2009 Truchard Carneros Roussanne

Revisit

2009 Arnot-Roberts North Coast Syrah
2008 JC Cellars Stagecoach Marsanne
2007 JC Cellars Rockpile Syrah
2009 Landmark Steel Plow Syrah
2008 Morgan Double L Syrah
2004 Outpost Petite Sirah
2009 Ridge Lytton Petite Sirah
2009 Stolpman Syrah
2008 Tercero Camp 4 Mouvedre
2007 Tercero Camp 4 Grenache

Some of our top producers: Arnot-Roberts, Cabot Vineyards, Jemrose Vineyards, Pax Mahle Wines, Pride Vineyards and Stolpman Vineyards. One of the top wines tasted among all these excellent producers and wines, a 2007 Stolpman Angeli.

The biggest take away from this tasting was a perceived movement in style towards more age worthy, structured, and restrained wines. Expected to taste quite a few full bodied, candied, high alcohol fruit bombs, but was pleasantly surprised. Generally find cleaner, elegant, balanced wines more appealing, those that will slowly develop and improve over time, and that is what we got for the most part at this tasting!

Cheers to a great event and a quick snapshot of some quality California Producers!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

San Diego Blind California Dinner

2011-03-22T23:56:00.001-07:00

During our recent visit to San Diego, enjoyed attending a California Wine Dinner at Quarter Kitchen. The restaurant was excellent and a great venue for a wine dinner. On this occassion, it was decided to taste all wines blind. The group tasted three flights of four wines, and ranked each wine per flight. It was a larger than normal group, so pours were relatively small not allowing an opportunity to revisit in time and see how they develop.

As often happens at wine dinners, a wine shows up that is not to theme, in this case a few Bordeaux. As luck would have it, a 2000 Cheval Blanc was brought, and turned out to be the wine of the night by a long shot! All wines opened are sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Champagne Opener

2004 Taittinger Champagne - Honey, medium bodied, crisp, nice acid balance, touch of creaminess, an easy drinking start to the evening.

Chardonnay Flight

2006 Kongsgaard Judge Chardonnay - Initially very simple, no nose, in time more lemon and lime citrus, a tight young wine that leaned to the white burgundy end of the wine spectrum.

2008 Aubert Hyde and Sons Chardonnay - A close second place, far sweeter, cotton candy, balanced and oily. More creamy and balanced than the Kongsgaard, enjoyable young.

2008 Aubert Ritchie Chardonnay - Similar to the Hyde and Sons, sweeter, but with a little more spice. Some unexpected funk on the finish that never quite went away.

2004 Kistler Vine Hill Chardonnay - Deeper yellow color, full bodied, yeast, hazel nut and mildly floral. Did not find this wine particularly appealing.

Cabernet Flight

2002 Kuleto Reserve Cabernet - Dark berry, minty, spice, soy and chocolate, a very nice drinking wine that had Bordeaux leanings, a restrained and elegant wine.

2006 Ghost Horse Shadow - Tannic, black licorice, bitter coffee, an interesting wine that was quite enjoyable, and not far separated from either the Kuleto or Shafer Hillside Select.

2003 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet - Rich, good tannin and menthol. A very nice drinking wine that was close, but not quite to the level of the Ghost Horse or Kuleto.

2008 12C Georges III Cabernet - Very ripe style of wine, vanilla, full bodied, bright red fruit, a solid representation of the Georges III vineyard. Should improve considerably with age.

Syrah Flight

2006 Myriad Las Madres Syrah - A lovely cold climate Syrah. Clean, pure, stemy, awesome floral aromatics, think Myriad consistently over performs on their Las Madres Syrah.

2005 Grand Reve Reserve Syrah - Far more flashy than the 2006 Myriad, more powerful, exotic, sweet, pure and muscular. Like the Myriad, a gorgeous wine, but for very different reasons.

2008 Myriad 100% Whole Cluster Las Madres Syrah - Similar to the 2006 Myriad, stemy, blue fruits, a little bigger style and more course. A solid showing.

2006 Samsara Alder Springs Syrah - Disjointed, simple, lacking character, one of the few wines I struggled to think of something nice to say.

Bordeaux Finish

2000 Cheval Blanc - Wine of the night by a long shot! Expected it to be way too young, but with a quick decant, and a little time in the glass, improved considerably. The definition of a perfect Bordeaux, perfectly balanced, highly complex, chewy, mineral, leather, meat, exotic. A wow wine!

2000 Pape Clement - Did not particularly enjoy the Pape Clement, just an ok wine. Some animal and game, which is typically a nice thing, but not well put together in this wine. Overshadowed and dominated by the Cheval Blanc.

Cheers to a wonderful tasting with a generous group of friends in San Diego!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

San Diego Sine Qua Non Dinner

2011-03-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, visited wine drinking friends in San Diego. During our trip, we were fortunate to attend two special dinners. The first was focused around the wines of Sine Qua Non, and the second, a blind California Dinner.

At the time of both dinners, minimum wine tasting notes were taken, however as is so often the case, recollect a few impressions of the wines opened. The following is a summary of the first dinner. All wines were served pop and pour, and sorted in order of personal preference by flight.

Champagne Opener - This was a lovely wine. Having had a 1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses, one of the top Champagnes we have tasted, was surprised and excited to see this on the table. It was young, no question, but lovely pear, crisp, and nutty style. Really good structure that will allow this wine to age gracefully for years!

1999 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses Brut

Pre Dinner Rose - This was only one of two Sine Qua Non wines tasted to date that was completely disappointing. Have liked other Sine Qua Non Rose in the past, so would not say it was stylistic, but the wine was spritzy, and lacking any sort of character. If I recall correctly, in the bottom two of everyones list.

2007 Sine Qua Non Strips and Stars Rose

White Wine Flight - Preferred the Hoo Doo Man over The Boot. A young wine, the Hoo Doo Man showed tropical fruits and a nice acidity level. The wine should age well and improve over the next several years. In contrast, The Boot was mature, some butterscotch, hazelnut, and buttery texture. Expected it to be past maturity, but actually showed fully mature.

2006 Sine Qua Non Hoo Doo Man
2000 Sine Qua Non The Boot

Pinot Noir Intermission - A very nice intermission after tasting a few interesting white wines. Thought the A Capella Pinot was the 3rd best wine of the evening behind the 17th Nail and Into the Dark. First time having had this wine, was pleasantly surprised. Recall a gritty, earthy, mineral based wine, with a forest floor nose. A really good drinking Pinot.

2000 Sine Qua Non A Capella Pinot Noir

Grenache Flight - The Into the Dark was a beautiful wine, second favorite of the night. Candied boysenberry fruit, beautifully textured, full bodied, one of the top Sine Qua Non Grenache tasted to date. The Raven was consistant to previous bottles tasted. It was similar to the Atlantis, though far more toned down fruit. A good wine.

2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark Grenache
2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Grenache

Syrah Flight - The 17th Nail in the Cranium was the wine of the night. A huge concentrated, and quite approachable Syrah. A pleasant mix of blue and black fruits, had a super long finish, and excellent balance. The Raven Syrah was tight and lacked depth next to the 17th Nail. A good drinking wine, no question, but not in the same league.

2005 Sine Qua Non 17th Nail in the Cranium
2006 Sine Qua Non Raven Syrah

Sweet Finish - My least favorite wine of the evening, the Mr K Strawman was a one dimensional thick sweet wine. Probably not fair to open the wine at such a young age, did not show much in the way of complexity and character.

2006 Sine Qua Non Mr K Strawman

Cheers to our San Diego friends and a very fun dinner filled with lots of laughs, great wine, and wonderful food!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Les Suchots Dinner

2011-03-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, we attend a more focused wine dinner, for example, one by a single producer, or a particular vintage, or perhaps a particularly region where the goal is to compare and contrast the wines. In the case of a tasting last week, we had an interesting Burgundy Dinner centered around Les Suchots.

Fortunate for the group, we had numerous Domaine Arnoux on the table, arguably, one of the better producers of Les Suchots. And as good as they were in the flight pictured, once again, an excellent Louis Jadot showed best! All wines were served pop and pour as well as double blind, except each individual knowing what they brought. The wines are sorted in order of personal preference by flight and were ranked prior to reveal.

Pre Dinner White Wine:

2008 Henri Darnat Meursault 1er Cru Clos Richemont Monopole - A little disjointed, high acidity, some funk on the finish and a lemon citrus palate. Did not find the wine particularly exciting, just ok, served more as a curiosity than anything.

Pre-2000 Les Suchots Flight:

1985 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Rustic, cherry, definitely aged, light body, more toned down style, but excellent overall balance. Mineral, earth, and very good structure. Really enjoyed the wine, considered it best in the flight, an example of elegance showing better than power.

1996 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County - Rose petal, barrel sample like, tart red fruits and plum. After tasting the first and last wine in the flight, it was clear this wine was not Les Suchots. Pre reveal, the group guessed the ringer correctly as first, from California, and second, as Williams Selyem!

1988 Domaine Joseph Drouhin Les Suchots - Wet saddle leather, some sherry, stale fruit, a little funky, and tart. Despite it being from an excellent Burgundy vintage, did not think this bottle showed particularly well.

Post-2000 Les Suchots Flight:

2000 Louis Jadot Les Suchots -As one guest accurately put it, "the wine of the flight by a long shot!" Agree, initially young, spicy and balanced, put on weight and got fatter in time, nuanced rich red fruits, game, earth and mint, an excellent complete wine.

2000 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - An exotic , rich, powerful wine that was meaty and had plenty of pleasant raspberry fruit on the palate. Acidity was pretty firm in this wine, and remained consistent after revisiting it several times through the evening.

2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Gamey, funky and barnyard in a good way, more raspberry fruit. Went back and forth as to which I preferred better, the 2000 vs 2001, in the end, thought the 2000 held up slightly better as it sat in the glass. The overall group thought this wine was superior to the 2000 Arnoux.

1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux Les Suchots - Green and grassy, lean and a little funky, the wine got better in time, but never quite hit its stride. Was pretty surprised on reveal to see a 1998 Arnoux, would have expected a far better showing.

Post Dinner Dessert Wine:

2006 Baton Charles Heintz Vineyard Late Harvest Chardonnay - Pleasant, sweet and honey, not a lot of complexity at this young age, but a nice end of meal wine.

It was educational to sample so many Les Suchots in one dinner. In the case of all the Les Suchots, particularly the post 2000 wines, could taste enough commonality to know they were Les Suchots, yet enough contrast to make the tasting interesting.

Cheers to a very enjoyable dinner!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Sunday Rhone and Bordeaux

2011-02-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, got together with friends in Napa Valley to enjoy a few special bottles of wine. The theme was great Rhone and Bordeaux. What was particularly interesting about this dinner however was an excellent California wine opened at the end of the evening, a 1969 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon!

At 40+ years old, 12.5% ABV, this wine was simply outstanding! The reference to Medoc and St. Emilion on the pictured back wine label was priceless! In the case of this dinner, did not take notes at the time, but brief observations follow. All the wines were so enjoyable, no attempt is made to identify a wine of the night.

1982 Pichon Lalande - The first time having had this wine, immediately found it a delightful, delicate and elegant wine. Tasted strawberry and sweet raspberry fruit, dry wheat, and some fresh cut grass on the palate. Took a few hours on a pop and pour for the wine to open up and show its full potential. This was an exceptional Pichon Lalande that will continue to age and improve for years.

1982 Ducru Beaucaillou - Another excellent wine, the Ducru was an interesting contrast to the Pichon Lalande. More rustic and old school Bordeaux, the palate was strikingly upfront with stewed baked red fruits and an appealing almost tomato sauce like palate. Immediately reminded of a young 1993 Philip Togni Cabernet. Like the Pichon Lalande, the Ducru will age gracefully for many more years. A beautiful wine!

1989 Jaboulet La Chapelle Hermitage - The two Bordeaux were both excellent, but stylistically different. Such was the case with both Rhones. The Jaboulet was gorgeous, exotic dark fruits, plum, barnyard, asian spice and game meat, had so many dimensions to the wine, it hit the palate in different ways with every taste. An excellent Rhone that is drinking very well now, but could easily continue to age.

1994 Chave Hermitage - Almost polar opposite to the Jaboulet in style, the Chave was pure and clean, with lush bright red fruit, yet restrained and subdued with a rich menthol finish. Aromatically, the wine had an appealing tropical citrus nose that was highly enjoyable. The youngest wine in the group with notable tannin, could easily age this wine for a significant amount of time, and it will continue to improve.

1969 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon - The final wine of the evening, this was a gorgeous old school California Cabernet! Almost a hypothetical blend of a good year BV Georges de Latour, with mushroom, spice and earthiness, with the structure, depth, and darker clean fruits of a well aged Chateau Montelena. The wine showed no signs of oxidation, yet was fully mature and highly enjoyable. Cannot say enough positive things about the quality of this wine!

Cheers to a small but highly enjoyable evening with good food, friends and wine!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Thursday Burgundy

2011-01-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

This past week, had an informal Burgundy tasting in Sonoma with a few local friends. It was a Thursday night, very casual and short notice, basically, grab a few wines from the cellar, and off to the races!

On this occasion, we were pleasantly surprised by our generous host with two Joseph Roty Red Burgundies, a Charmes Chambertin and Mazis Chambertin, both from the 2000 vintage. The two wines were excellent, no question. Over the past couple of years drinking Burgundy, continue to be very impressed with this vintage. Among the better Burgundy producers, not sure there is a better combination of quality and value, in a vintage that is just entering to fully mature. Brief observations of all wines opened follow:

2005 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet Les Caillerets - Initially yeasty on the nose, blew off quickly and became a gorgeous lemon and lime, floral wine. Nice creme brulee creamy sweetness in a medium bodied, wonderfully complex wine. Awesome!

2000 Joseph Roty Charmes Chambertin - Started out with a light cranberry nose, fresh cut grass and slightly barnyard. As it sat in the glass, put on weight, and improved considerably into an elegant wine with brighter black cherry fruit and a distinct earthiness.

2000 Joseph Roty Mazis Chambertin - An interesting contrast to the Charmes Chambertin, was cleaner, menthol and game meat, had a terrific balance of tannin and fruit that carried the wine for some time. As it sat in the glass, became more leathery and leaner in time.

1996 Jadot Corton Greves - Extremely tight and closed down, in a dumb phase right now and not hinting at any potential. Had hard baked fruit, heavily toasted oak, and very strong acidity. Would easily not touch this wine for another ten plus years. Tasted the following day, and it was much improved, but still incredibly young.

2003 Domaine A. F. Gros Clos De La Fontaine Monopole - Wet saddle leather, wheat, tropical fruit, and well integrated oak in this sometimes clean, sometimes dirty wine. Noted a barnyard funkiness that hinted at brett, but was very minor and not altogether unappealing.

2007 Saintsbury Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir - A curiosity wine served blind near the end of the evening, it had an underbrush nose, pleasant but light palate, good minerality and tannic. Was a good wine with a lot of potentially. Prefer this style of California Pinot over ripe, high alcohol efforts that have become all to common. Should age gracefully for years.

Cheers to some very nice wines!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Palo Alto Burgundy Dinner

2011-01-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

Recently, we attended a mid week Burgundy Dinner with friends in Palo Alto. We don't often get to the southbay, but enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends we have not seen in some time and share some very nice wine.

While we rarely do blind tastings in our northbay tasting groups, our southbay friends lean toward this format. All wines, except the Sojourn Pinot Noir and Cabernet were pop and pour, served blind, and sorted in order of personal preference by flight. Brief observations follow:

White Wine of the Night:
2004 Domaine William Fevre Les Clos

Red Wine of the Night:
1998 Domaine Leroy Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons

Sojourn Flight

Before moving on to the White and Red Burgundy, Craig Haserot of Sojourn generously poured the current 2009 offering from his winery. All bottles were newly opened just prior to dinner, and served non blind.

2009 Sojourn Cellars Rodger’s Creek Pinot Noir - Hardwood spices, forest floor, firm structure and earthy. Very close call which showed better on this occasion, the Rogers Creek vs Gap's Crown.

2009 Sojourn Cellars Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir - Clean blue fruits, deep, rich, riper palate and an exceptionally long finish. A friendly and approachable wine that could have easily been the top Sojourn Pinot this evening.

2009 Sojourn Cellars Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir - Initially thought it showed tighter on the palate, picked up steam in time. More blackberry leaning than the others, a complete wine that should age beautifully.

2009 Sojourn Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - Dusty, bright, creamy, cherry fruit, an easy drinking well made wine. Had a distinct character of its own relative to the other Sojourn Pinot Noirs.

Chablis Flight

Opened the night with three Grand Cru and one Premier Cru Chablis. Unfortunately a bottle of 2002 Vincent Dauvissat Les Preuses was corked and immediately pulled from the flight.

2004 Domaine William Fevre Les Clos - Crisp firm acidity, lime, ocean air, steely, tight, very slowly put on a little more weight over time. Thought the wine showed better than the last bottle tasted a year ago.

2005 Vincent Dauvissat Les Preuses - Full bodied, more intense yeast, salty, mineral, stone, the wine had perfect balance. Should age beautifully and continue to improve in the coming years.

2005 Vincent Dauvissat Les Clos - Similar to the Les Preuses, a much more fully bodied wine than the Fevre. Good acidity, oyster shell, citrus, no question a young wine, but strikingly approachable.

2001 Domaine François Raveneau Butteaux - A medium bodied wine, was more creamy, bread, and more lemon citrus based than the others. The color was advanced, deeper straw colored and fully mature.

Wine Intermission

While the Red Burgundy flight was being organized, a blind wine intermission was opened and shared with the group. In some tastings, it basically becomes a guessing game, what year? what region? etc.? The group quickly called it out correctly as a Rhone.

1997 Tardieu Laurent Hermitage - Animal, game, smoke, menthol and a little brett, the nose on this wine was foxy and interesting, highly expressive. It was a cleaner style Rhone, with good balance. A very nice wine!

Red Burgundy Flight

Similar to the Chablis flight, unfortunately an off bottle of 2000 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos du Chateau Des Ducs was poured. The wine was funky and chemical, clearly something wrong with the bottle, and quickly pulled from the table.

1998 Domaine Leroy Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons - Easily the red wine of the night, showed rich blueberry fruit and mint in a silky, clean and pure wine. Grand Cru quality in a Premier Cru. Simply outstanding!

2002 Frederic Magnien Savigny Les Beaune - Ripe raspberry fruit, full bodied, extracted, nice balance. Showed very well, but a distant second place after the Leroy Les Narbantons.

1989 Louis Jadot Corton - Initially clean, light, and not very inspiring, improved considerably in time becoming more earthy, mineral, underbrush, and tree bark.

1990 Maison Leroy Chassagne Montrachet Rouge - High acidity and funky, did not find the wine appealing. Did not spend a lot of time with the wine.

As we worked toward the end of the evening, tried a few additional wines: 2002 Copain Dennison Pinot Noir, 2002 Faiveley Les Saint Georges Cuvee de Sires de Vergy, 2008 Sojourn Home Ranch Cabernet and 2008 Sojourn Beckstoffer Georges III Cabernet. Like the final Leroy tasted unfortunately, there was not enough time to spend with the wine to give a fair impression!

Cheers to our southbay friends!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Ladd Cellars Dinner

2011-01-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Santa Rosa Fine Wine tastes a significant amount of high end wine every year. It influences to a large degree what we buy and recommend to our customers. Sometimes, we will taste wines from smaller producers for similar reasons, to keep a pulse on local wines to potentially offer and recommend to our customers.

This past week, we attended a wine dinner at Fringale Restaurant in SF with Eric Lundblad of Ladd Cellars. We have been looking forward to this dinner for some time having had the wines before at various tastings. With this producer, you get low production wines that are high quality at very reasonable prices. Brief tasting notes follow of all wines opened, sorted in order of personal preference by flight:

Flight 1 - With Hors D'Oeuvres: Foie Gras, Seared Ahi and Pate on Brioche, the two wines were brought by guests to enjoy before the Ladd Cellar wines. The Champagne was a crisp, yeasty young drinking wine that was quite enjoyable. In contrast, the German Riesling was more honey and caramel with a light waxy sweetness. Both were a great start to the evening!

1976 Michael Weber Niersteiner Gutes Domtal Spatlese
1988 Veuve Clicquot Rare Vintage Champagne

Flight 2 - With Roquefort & spinach ravioli, toasted pine nuts, basil & cream sauce, tasted two different Russian River Pinot Noir from Ladd Cellars. The 2005 was deep, with raspberry, black cherry, and aged butterscotch notes, a lovely wine. The 2008 was cool and clean, ripe and well balanced, it had a nice bright cherry palate.

2005 Ladd Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2008 Ladd Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Flight 3 - With Poached black cod, potato puree, piperade, artichokes, capers, olive tapenade, found both Moore Ranch wines to have more in common with each other than the two Russian River wines. Both were laser precise, with blue and black fruits, tighter and restrained. Given more time in the glass, would expect the wines to fill out considerably. Both were elegant and refined in style, an interesting contrast to the fuller bodied Russian River Valley wines.

2007 Ladd Cellars Moore Ranch Pinot Noir
2006 Ladd Cellars Moore Ranch Pinot Noir

Flight 4 - With Braised veal short ribs, orzo, brussel sprouts, baby carrots, morel mushroom sauce, a red Burgundy side by side tasting with a Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir. Both wines were enjoyable, no question, but for different reasons. The Abigail was bigger, tannic, powerful and expressive, while the Anne Marie was more forest floor, green, and oaky in a more restrained style.

2007 Ladd Cellars Cuvee Abigail Pinot Noir
2006 Domaine Anne Marie Gille Vosne Romanee

Flight 5 - After a wonderful meal and several really good wines, enjoyed a final after dinner wine from our gracious host, a bottle of 2007 Ladd Cellars Sonoma Coast! Far lighter and more toned down than earlier wines, it had riper strawberry fruit and minty, very easy to drink.

2007 Ladd Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

The Pinot Noirs of Ladd Cellars are well made, and definitely recommend them to our customers. We particularly enjoyed the 2007 vintage wines, which we have had the pleasure of tasting on three separate occasions with positive results.

Cheers to our good friends at Ladd Cellars for a highly enjoyable evening of good food, friends and wine!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/

Burgundy Kickoff

2011-01-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

A smaller than normal group of us got together in Sonoma this weekend for a Burgundy tasting to kickoff the new year. As always, the group was very generous and brought some excellent drinking wines to the tasting!

Cannot think of a better way to expose an individual to fine wine than to be part of a wine tasting group of like minded individuals. You certainly enjoy good wine across a broad range of producers, but also enjoyable and knowledgeable company! As luck would have it, our Burgundy group will often "go deep" where basically, we dig a little "deeper" than normal into our respective cellars and pull special bottles! Such was the case this evening.

Brief observations follow of all wines opened and are listed per flight in order of personal preference:

White Wine of the Night:
1998 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet

Red Wine of the Night:
2000 Domaine Des Chezeaux Chambertin

White Burgundy Flight

1998 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet - Initially the wine was light bodied, elegant and flinty, yet showed considerable balance and no signs of oxidation. It slowly put on weight over time, becoming far more powerful. The white wine of the night, a gorgeous Leflaive!

2005 Pierre Yves Colin Morey Batard Montrachet Hospices de Beaune - An excellent drinking young wine, showed sweeter fruit, distinct petrol, and firm acidity. Should age very well! Thought it was a very close second to the Domaine Leflaive, but for very different reasons.

1997 Remoissenet Montrachet - Advanced deep golden color, was initially orange peel, honey, and beeswax. Got funky and oxidized shortly after opening. A disappointing wine overall. Have had less than great experiences with this producer in the past. Quickly coming to the view Remoissenet does a far better job with its red over white wines.

Red Burgundy Flight 1

2000 Domaine des Chezeaux Chambertin - The red wine of the night, thought this was a rich, clean, very pure drinking wine with black cherry fruit, cola, and well integrated spice on the finish. An awesome wine!

2001 Drouhin Chambertin - Another very nice wine, had an almost cotton candy nose with raspberry fruit on the palate. Kept going back to this compelling wine, found it nuanced and easy drinking. A solid well made wine.

2000 Domaine des Chezeaux Griottes Chambertin - Initially showed some plum and prune, as well as spice and black cherry, the wine improved considerably in time. While not as strong a showing as the Chezeaux Chambertin, a nice wine nonetheless.

2002 Pierre Gelin Chambertin Clos de Beze - The wine never quite came around through the evening. It was grainy, baked, and funky, thought it may have been an off bottle. Did not think the wine showed well.

Red Burgundy Flight 2

1997 Francois Lamarche Les Malconsorts - A very nice drinking wine, more rhubarb than anything, had firm acidity and a nice medium bodied palate. Based on previous 1997 wines opened, generally do not have high expectations, but this one showed well for the vintage.

1993 Domaine Bertagna Chambolle Musigny - A light bodied wine and grassy, did not find the wine very appealing. Opposite to 1997, generally have a higher than normal expectation from 1993 vintage Burgundy wines, found this one disappointing.

2004 Rochioli West Block Pinot - A curiosity wine opened while we let the second wine flight open up did not show well. Overall, a simple, light and grassy Pinot. Clearly it was in tough company next to the Burgundy. The wine had been opened for some time prior to the tasting, so certainly a good wine to revisit from this solid producer.

Cheers to a good Burgundy start in 2011!

Nick Wittman
Santa Rosa Fine Wine
http://www.santarosafinewine.com/