Last Friday I picked some fresh tomatoes and made a sauce for some fresh raviolis from a local delicatessen and opened a bottle of Joseph Swan Frati Ranch Zinfandel 2001, Russian River Valley.
Better than merely delicious. Sharp acidity balances blackberry ripeness, still has noticeable but not intruding tannins. Black-purple. Long. Three days later the tannins and acidity had balanced out and the wine became smoother and longer. If I had more it could go another 5 years. Bought at the winery, 14.9% alcohol, $22.50.
Some family came to visit my mother last weekend - my youngest sister, one of her sons and one of her daughters, and another nephew. As Saturday was the anniversary of Julia Child's birthday, we had a feast at my youngest brother's house here in Santa Clara.
After appetizers, the menu was all Julia Child recipes - grilled chicken with a marinade "a la chinoise", a couple of kinds of potatoes gratin, ratatouille, and tarte Tatin and Santa Clara cake for dessert. As the family wine idiot, I brought some choices - two from California and two from France.
My notes are from memory - I was having too much fun to study the wine at the time.
From the Loire, Domaine du Salvard Cheverney 2007
Pale lemon, lean and tart, much like a SB except perhaps more floral. Excellent appetizer wine, a little light for the chicken. I had no idea what it would be like, which is why I bought it. $13.99 at Beltramos, 12% alcohol.
From the Alexander Valley, Hawkes Stone Ranch Chardonnay 2006
Delicious! Riper than Chablis, but in much restrained style of many of them. Ripe and smooth, with peach or pear sort of flavors, excellent length, characteristic Chard aroma. Has oak, has malo, but you have to look for them. Very long, little acid. $20 at the winery, 14.1% alcohol.
From Burgundy, Comte et Comtesse A. C. de Nicolay, Domaine Chandon de Brialles, Savigny-les-Beaune Les Lavieres, 1er Cru, 1999
Dark cherry color, lean texture, still some acidity and tannin in balance, sharp cherry fruit, gentle entry developing depth with some time, medium length. A very good Burgundy. $22.40 at Beltramo's, 12.5% alcohol.
From the Russian River Valley, Joseph Swan Trenton Estate Vineyard, Estate Bottled Pinot Noir 2002.
Fully resolved tannins, very dark color, very ripe, very long. An excellent representative of RRV PN and a wonderful contrast to the Burgundy. Equal in my mind to the Burgundy and totally different. All the wine drinkers kept going back and forth until both bottles were gone. $40.50 at the winery in October 2005. (Bottles I bought earlier were priced lower. Even some customers were telling Rod he was pricing too low.) 14.2% alcohol.
It's been warm the last week or so, and a couple of whites I opened were noteworthy.
Italy, Vietti Roero Arneis 2007, $18.99 at Beltramo's. 13% alcohol.
Very pleasant! Fresh lemon acidity with a dose of something like apple or starfruit, and a nice helping of spice. Easy on the tongue and medium length. Lemon yellow color. A good wine and not overpriced. The next day, acidity receded a bit and spice came forward with a bit of melon.
Alexander Valley , Field Stone Reserve, Estate bottled Viognier 2007, $23.75 at the winery. 14.1% alcohol.
A little oak, spicy (allspice?) almost like Gewurz, really smooth. Golden color, nice floral nose. Fairly priced, though expensive as far as my habits go.
John