One of the tenderest pork roasts I have ever tasted-the Fatted Calf in Napa has great meat. With Butternut Squash.
Two pretty much outstanding wines with dinner:
2001 Fattoria le Fonti Fontissimo. 65% Sangiovese, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. 20 months in new French barrels. http://www.fattorialefonti.com/en/fontissimo.htm Germans in Tuscanny making wine on a traditional estate!
Ready to drink. This may reflect my California palette, but I did not find this wine oaky or particularly "International Style" at all. Instead, we found a juicy, medium red-black colored wine dominated, to me at least, by the tart black cherry fruit of Sangiovese. I think the Cab adds a bit of body and color, but this is not a heavy or over-rich wine at all. The biggest surprise, after the delicious cleansing acidity, was the powerful note of black pepper. The pepper did mellow a bit, allowing some nice leather notes to come through and a hint of anise from the Cab. Very enjoyable-perfect for someone like me who can, to a degree, see both sides of the style divide (as if there are only two sides!) I would rate this 93 points and very enjoyable. Give it air, though.
2004 Fort Ross "Reserve" Pinot Noir. Recommended to me heartily by the owner of Saint Helena Wine Company south of said town. My friend Joe really went for this wine, and there was a lot going on in the glass here. Complemented the pork perfectly. This cool climate pinot is the cull of the best grapes from Fort Ross. It may reflect the extra time in the bottle or the better grapes, but this Pinot showed much better than the basic Fort Ross 2004 I tried a year ago in Albany.
Nose of cranberry, tart cherry, earth, and mushroom. Definitely the type of Pinot I prefer...very much the tart side of cherry fruit, with a cranberry note and great cleansing acidic structure. Good earth-mushroomy character on the palate as well. The oddest thing-I don't know if it would be considered a flaw to some people but I found it intriguing and enjoyable, was the way the tannic structure and oak treatment create this fascinating creamy smoothness on the mid palate and finish. This creamyness is something I've never tasted in a California Pinot before. Fascinating and delicious. 92/93 points. As only 76 cases were made, I'm afraid there is no more left.
