Tis the Season

Today did not start out with high expectations of the wine front. Dinner theater and good wine don't generally mix. What was outstanding was Sarah's performance! Bravo! Loud, stormy, applause! Lori and I ordered a mimosa considering it was brunch. Well, we almost didn't get it. The bartender couldn't get the bottle of bubbly open because of the darn plastic cork. At one point I spied him having wedged between his thighs. Sarah, of course, came to the rescue.

Somehow we managed to deny Lori her nap and ended up staying for a couple of bottles of wine and pizza - along with a Redskins win!

1. Shotfire Shiraz 2006 - at first whiff it reminded me of a St. Joseph because of the pepper in the nose. Lori rightly found it metallic in the mouth and it also seem alcoholic even the the bottle said 14.2%. It was a big wine but I don't know if it had enough fruit to carry it over the long term.

2. Armila Rosso Di Montalchino 2004 - An excellent wine that matched with pizza like a moped to an Italian family of four riding down the piazza. Earthy without barnyard. Dark fruit that didn't overwhelm. A wine perfect for any hearty Italian dish.

Pop Goes Christmas

Christmas 2007 was the first time we celebrated the season outside of New England in almost 40 years. Christmas Eve was at South Randolph and Christmas dinner was on South Hayes. What follows is a short wrap-up on the wines we had.

Christmas Eve:
Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs Sonoma County - The Wine Spectator gave this wine an 89. It clearly was not the favorite. It was almost sweet with the flavor of strawberry and appeared to be aimed at the Gen Y set. I don't know what they meant by fun and festive - a girls night out as Adelya put it so nicely.

Schramsberg Brut Blanc de Noirs North Coast 2004 - This definitely was more of food wine and won the evening hands down. A wine of finese, something not really found in the Carlson household.

Christmas Day:
Domiane Chandon Brut Napa-Sonoma Counties Etoile NV - This was the favorite of the two days. WS said Fuji and I say hints of Gala. I think I'm right. Aaron's two cents was pear and spice of the vanilla.

Christmas Dinner:
Trapiche Vina Carlos Gei Berr Malbec - WOW! Don't taste many malbecs like this. A layered fruit driven wine that may have overwhelmed the beef tenderloin if you can believe it. Clearly a wine that just needed to be sipped. Hints of cranberry that made me think of Christmas.

Paso De Piedra Malbec 2005 Reserva Malbec - This clearly suffered middle child syndrome. Coming after the Trapiche wasn't fair to this wine. A fine example of malbec and all agreed that it complemented the beef rather than the former. Still some left. I'll let you know what the second sip tastes like.

Illaparra 10 Year Old Tawny Barossa - This was a perfect match with the chocolate tart with gingersnap crust and crystallized ginger. Toffee and fruitcake flavors abound in a nicely framed portrait of an Aussie sticky.

Let it Snow Party

Thanks to all for attending and assisting me in drinking down some of the stock. While you didn't have to sing this year, it will happen next year. You have been warned! Below are the wines that were sampled. I'll offer comments on the wines I managed to taste but I'll need your assistance with the others.



1. Finca La Linda Extra Brut NV Argentina
2. Rodney Strong 2006 California Chardonnay
3. Kirkland Signature Bordeaux 2003 Pauillac
4. Teatown Cellars 2003 Napa Merlot
5. Angrove's Coonwarra 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
6. Nieto Senetiner 2004 Argentine Malbec Reserva (3 liters)
7. Von Strasser 2005 Diamond Mountain Cabernet
8. Von Strasser 2005 Marcellni Vineyard Cabernet Franc
9. Turley 2005 Lodi Dogtown Zinfandel
10. A. Rafanelli 2002 Dry Creek Zinfandel

The Malbec very much reminded me of Argentina and the many dinners of steak and Malbec. It was decanted and put back into the bottle about an hour before the party started per the sales rep.

The Von Strasser Cab Franc was surprising elegant and waltzed through my mouth. Probably the best Cab Franc I ever had which always found harsh and to veg ital. The Diamond Cab needs more time in the bottle and was tannic. While it wasn't harsh. I'm just glad that I'll be able to taste it again in the few years.

The Turley, well, it's a Turley. Everything I like and come to expect. Almost never disappointing. I did feel that the 2005 Duarte was a bit better.

And finally A. Rafanelli, was an excellent way to end the evening. Doing the dishes didn't seem so bad after that. It was a wine that was fruity without being a fruit bomb. Perfectly balanced like a high-wire artist.

Pinot-tickular (Ken Wright) - Summer Wine Series

Well, another successful event at Tony's Summer Wine Series. Here's my take on the evenings wines:

1. Belle Valley Grand Cuvee - very workmanlike - reminded me of the garage. Nothing spectacular but a good solid effort.
2. Ken Wright Carter - Almost Presidential bordering on regal. Too bad Jimmy Carter couldn't appreciate something like this. Candied fruit with cola notes.
3. Ken Wright Freedom Hill - Remember Bunker Hill! This wine charges up the hill. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.
4. Ken Wright Canary Hill - Rainforest like because it was so dense.
5. Ken Wright Guadalupe - It's no illegal immigrant. Smokie and meaty.
6. Ken Wright Nysa - As Neal Diamond sings "Sweet Caroline."
7. Ken Wright Shea - Kind of like the 62 Mets. Casey Stengal would be a little restless tonight.
8. Tyrus Evan Syrah - A teaser that doesn't follow through.

Now for the class notes. Who has been naughty or nice?

I did this side
It's easy to fix
Never do this
I'm going to spin this
I didn't by the stinky
You are in the right seat
A spoon?
Please bite into it!
You can smell our pits from miles away
Anyone Else?
I guess it will live here
I never saw it
I have trouble opening....
I was a little shocked but plenty of room
Ridged for comfort
Depends where the hitch is in your giddy up
I just put in all in my mouth
How much wood?
Where's the exercise?
It's not esthetically pleasing
Is it smooth on the bottom
It's really deep
I shame them into giving me
She won't eat it but has
to push it out
It's a goat
I'm already hot
I like goat
Do you have room for the goose and duck fat?
Don't spit it out.
I pour it
It's all muscle
It changes all the time
No on is in the mood
It's not fun struggling with one hand
Di the same thing Tony did
Don't flour the meat
She's just staring at it
Someone has to pour me into the car
I can't promise but I'll see what I can do
I'm going to get up and kick your ass
As least their's that
Its' a a girl scouts thing
All YOURS!
It could get ugly.
All closed up!
That's in wrong place!
I've given ti to her like three times
I've found the perfect note
I know nothing
I'll pull
Go sit in your seat
Then spread it...amazing!
I'm a lesbian trapped in a man's body
This is why pant's fall off
It worked for the blindfolded thing
We are coming in behind the big ass
I'm not touching him.
It's DUH for YOU
You weren't ready
I'm ready now
Almost Empty?
That's the deepest point I've made in a long time.
Wana a bite?
I'll be a couple of minutes
I get a little more
I'm a novice

Paradise by the Dashboard Light! "SLV"

Thankfully the Patriots won and I won't be doing shots tomorrow after bike class! This evening the Black Family provided the Stag's Leap Wine Cellars sister wine "S.L.V." While the FAY was immediately approachable this was a slow developing hurricane that became a Category IV a couple of hours after it was open and was devastatingly brilliant in it's finish. You could tell that the SLV and FAY were definitely related but SLV was in for the long haul even over dry land. With it we had two different lasagnas - a Neopolian and Bolognese. Ultimately, I had to cut Tom Black off and save him from himself. Finished with flambéed apples done by BAM. As a comparison wine we had a Kirkland Signature Shiraz from 2004. A great wine with a definite creamy milk chocolate edge and everyone declared as one of the truly great under $10 wines they had.

Grand Puy Lacoste Dinner

Wines were all excellent, would be happy having any of them again.
2001 GrandPuyLacoste: Tasted thin at first though opened as night progressed. Showed some real structure on the mid-palate and finish. Worth the $35

2003 Grand Puy Lacoste--From a different planet than the 2001--huge core of fruit as expected.
Began as a real drink-me-now wine but developed some differentiaion on the palate as night wore on..developed a finish with refreshing acidity after 2+ hours. Would love to try again in 2012

1982 Grand Puy Lacoste--all secondary flavors, to taste and the nose. VERY DIFFERENT from the other two, but a bit monolithic, even after being open for hours & hours. Tasty but i wondered if it needed a few more hours of decanting to show its stuff.

1989 Canon La Gaffeliere, St Estephe (or Emilion??) The winner in a close race while we were eating and drinking. Fresher fruit than the 1982 GPL...but it is 7 years younger. Had a better finish ,in balance ,with nice acidity.

Recommendation: If you can find it i just drank the 1995 Tenuta San Leonardo from the north of Italy. A dead ringer for a top notch Bordeaux --smooth with layers of flavor combining with clearly defined structure...

Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Dinner

Well, we had quite a line-up for the Puy-Lacoste dinner that started with Robin egging me on to bid for the wines during the Montgomery County SPCA Wine Tasting Fund raiser. Unfortunately for us we got in a bidding war with on woman and had to guard our position. Lucky for us she was bidding on another wine. All for a good cause in the end.

Attendees: Robin, Susan, Tara, Roger, Lori, John and myself.

Line-up included:
Chateau Les Vergines White Bordeaux 2001
Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier California 2002
Trinitas Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2005
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 1982
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 2001
Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Pauillac 2003
Chateau Canon La Gaffelierre St. Emillion 1989
Rene Renow Bonnezeaux Tir de Vendanges 1998



Appetizers provided by Susan:
Savory Shortbread
Olive Spread with Roasted Red Pepper
Dried Sausage with herbs and pepper
Dinner:
Beef Tenderloin with Port and Shallot Gravy
Harlot Verts with Shallots and Fennel
Roasted Fingerline Potatoes

Dessert: Napoleons with Orange Creme and Cranberry Sauce


As far as the wine drinking, it didn't get off to a good start with the older whites that John brought - never entrust a red wine guy with bringing the white to start. Then again, he forgot about the three loafs of bread he brought but I digress. Tara was disappointed that she missed two wines while parking the car - no you didn't miss much. Good thing I had the Trinitas chilled as opposed to a dinner many years ago where Tara said that the dinner would go well with a nice white and I didn't have any white in the house! I thought the Trinitas was a fine example of chardonnay from the Russian River.

As for the reds, Tony, would have been most disappointed because we voted on decanting and decanting won - the thought of using a thumb and shaking in was strongly discouraged by all around the table. Why decant, well, Roger had printed a bunch of reviews of the wines and learned that many of the reviews including those for the 1982 strongly urged decanting which we all thought was odd for a wine that old. We later realized that over the course of the evening that wines really did change. The 2003 started out as a fruit bomb and went tannic as the 82 before coming back around again. I do think the 89 Gaffelierre was my overall favorite of the evening and the 82 as a close second. Out of the reds there wasn't a dud in the bunch. Pretty much this was what Bordeaux was all about. Nothing better than a piece of beef and a sip of Bordeaux.

New York Wine Experience

Well, its been a couple of weeks since the big show and I'd like to give you a feel for atmosphere and wine along with a couple of discoveries I made. Having to navigate two floors at the Marriott in Times Square was daunting enough but all those great wines in one place made it appear to be impossible to enjoy in one night! Luckly, Tara was there to provide the openning move - Champagnes of course because there was an immediate scrum around the the first growth Bordeux - all of whom were pouring the less than successful 2002 vintage.

The important lessons were as follows:
1. It was really easy to determine which our favorites were Grand Dame and Annee. The others in my opinion weren't up to the task. The Dom Perignon was the most disappointing of the lot.
2. If you want to eat you needed to go upstairs and try not to dump over you 97 Monte Bello.
3. The 2002 Margaux was very similar to the 1999. Thanks to John to making it possible for me know that.
4. What were they thinking when they brought 2003 Barolos? They were awful tannic monsters that had no business being opened and poured.
5. Craggy Range - who recommended that?
6. Kristina Dunn of Dunn Vineyards is a saint for patiently putting up with Tom in 8th floor bar after the event and what the heck was she doing having a martini?
7. I would have never believed the 8th floor bar in Times Square could have held so many Red Sox fans all look of doom on their faces. Should have never doubted them.

Now to the reviews which were done in the bar while watching the Red Sox.

Achaval-Ferrer: Tough to determine after the ports.
Bacio Divino: Don't remember anything about the wine but the guy pouring looked uncomfortable in the jacket and tie he bought for the event. I told him he was easy to spot as someone out of their element.
BV Georges de Latour - interesting but tannic. had elements of pervious vintages I've tasted.
Bollinger: FANTASTIC!
Pia Cesare: Too tough!
Concha y Toro Don Melchor: Yuk - I don't know what that problem was. Maybe I just don't like cab from Chile.
Craggy Range: Not good - funky, not in a good way.
Domaine Alfred: Lovely pinot. I need some of this.
Dominus: Didn't strike me down.
Dow's 1994: Fabulous.
Graham's 1997: Fabulous .
Guigal Chateau d'Ampius 2003: Another baby killer but nothing like the wines at Tony's.
Harlan Estate: Smooth as silk and probably my #1 of the evening.
Chateau Haut-Brion: Did not like at all!
Heitz: You call that cabernet? Yuk.
Paul Hobbs Pinot: Very nice to outstanding. They apologized for not having some of their wines from Argentina.
Krug: Tara was spot on with the tangerine. Not my style.

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars FAY a Star in the Patriots Win!

Thanks to the Black family for providing a key element in the Patriots win today with the Stag's Leap FAY Cabernet 2003. A multi layered that just begged you to come back again and again. While everyone thought the Canopia 2007 Malbec was a fine drinking wine at 5.99 it was nearly undrinkable once the FAY was opened. No decanting needed here. This along with a Patriots win against the Colts made all right with the world. Thanks to BAM for the excellent shells and Kathleen for being the sous chef. My only other comment is "How many desserts did Liam have?"

Plan Pegau

Pretty much what I expected. Hmmmm, something like a World Series WIN by the BOSTON RED SOX! HAH! I consumed with a Domino's Brooklyn style pizza. For around $10 you can get much better juice. Really just about everything you like in a Rhone style wine like a RED SOX WIN.

Guigal Dream Tasting at Tony's

2003 Guigal la Landonne

Dense purple to the rim with a nose of graphite, creosote, earth, olives, and black, black, black fruits, the primordial, full-bodied, monumental 2003 Cote Rotie La Landonne is amazing stuff. I suspect this is more akin to a dry vintage port than most Cote Roties ever tend to be, but the purity, the richness, the texture, the length are all out of this world. This wine does need some patience on the part of its purchasers, probably five years, more likely 8-10, but then one of the world’s most compelling elixirs will be at its peak for another 20-30+ years.

$759.99/bottle

2003 Guigal la Mouline

The 2003 Cote Rotie La Mouline is by far the most delicate and elegant wine (11% Viognier is co-fermented with 89% Syrah). but the enormous aromatics of spring flowers intermixed with creme de cassis, black raspberry, mocha, caramel, and cola, and enormous full-bodied opulence and striking velvety, seamless texture make for one of the most memorable wines anyone could every drink. This wine should age effortlessly for 25-30 or more years.

$759.99/bottle

2003 Guigal la Turque

A pure aromatic smorgasbord is offered by the 2003 Cote Rotie La Turque, which has an amazing aromatic profile of espresso coffee interwoven with scorched earth, tar, truffle, incense, blackberry, bacon fat, and flowers. Powerful, thick flavors ooze across the palate with a viscous texture, amazing purity, and just enough acidity and tannin to give uplift and precision to this remarkable tour de force in winemaking. Of the 2003s, this is also approachable, but ideally 2-5 years of cellaring would be suggested, and the wine will evolve for at least 30 more years.

$759.99/bottle

2003 Guigal Ex Voto Rouge

The good news continues as the 2003 Hermitage Ex-Voto may even be the richest of all these wines. Only 4,000 bottles were produced from Guigal’s favorite parcels of Hermitage, Les Bessards, l’Hermite, Les Greffieux, and Les Murets. It is the most alcoholic of all the wines at 15%, but its off-the-chart richness, full-bodied, powerful, and amazing creme de cassis flavors along with truffle, crushed rocks, and acacia flowers, are utterly profound. This is one of the great Hermitages and it should last for 50-100 years. Just amazing.

$549.99/bottle