A whole bunch of wine geeks for the fourth year running descended on Andy and Lisa’s back yard on a sweltering hot August day to sample Andy’s fantastic barbecue cooking and all the fixings while sipping on a sampling of wines. The evening ended with an impromptu poker game out in the driveway, with cigars and port--which is never a bad thing. Starting around noon and ending close to mid-night, we worked through the following wines:
1990 Deutz Champagne Cuvee William Deutz. This was served from magnum. It offers up aromas of steeped lemon, pine pitch, light caramel and white peach pit that seem nicely aged but perhaps a bit flat and less exciting than I was hoping for. In the mouth, it is well-structured—even a bit stiff and not nearly as creamy as I recall from a bottle 18 months ago. It does have a nice sour tang to it, with flavors of lemon ball, grapefruit, nectarine and a good kick of minerality. It pinches up a bit on the dry finish, which does have good length, but not quite the quality of character I recall from the past. I guess I was expecting more from this.
NV Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvee Brut. The nose on this Champagne is a bit shy upon first being popped, but it slowly opens up to reveal notes of honeydew melon, grapefruit, herbs, limestone and slate that are taut, toned and fresh. It is similarly vibrant and lively on the palate, yet with a nice bit of lusciousness at the core. It has solid drive and pushes ahead with pretty flavors of apple, citrus and pear. It has good balance and a refreshing after-taste.
2002 Agrapart & Fils Champagne Blanc de Blancs Extra-Brut "Mineral". This one is quite smoky on the nose, and also features a lot of crunchy minerality, green apple skins and dark bread aromas over a faint yeasty band-aid note that somehow fits in. On the palate, it is again focused on green apple and yeasty flavors, with a tight band of smoke and graphite running through the middle. It is really tight and tensile, with a crisp edge but lots of bright stuffing to give it some depth and dimension that will serve it well in the cellar.
2005 Studert-Prum Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett. This wine’s aromas of peach pit, pineapple, chalk, kerosene and musk are gentle and welcoming. In the mouth, it has some moderate structure to it, but manages to feel easy-going and smooth, without too much sweetness. The acidity is there but it’s on the softer side, complementing the creamy texture and medium-weight body. Easy and pleasing flavors of peach and nectarine flow along easily and end finely-balanced.
2007 Studert-Prum Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett. This wine is a bit coarse on the nose--with peach, nectarine, cider, kerosene and saline notes that start out rough and then smooth out just a little over time in the glass. In the mouth, it seems much more overtly sweet and sugary than the 2005, with a more open-knit texture and less structure. The flavors of peach and nectarine seem simpler, and it is a bit coarse-textured on the finish.
2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough. Aromatically, this is classic—with aromas of gooseberry, melon, snap peas, lemongrass and musky smoke. It is a touch monolithic in the mouth, and while certainly crisp, it feels a bit uninspired at times. It is rather tart and puckered on the finish, too. Its saving grace is that it really pumps out a lot of intense and tight-packed flavors, though it could find more nuance and dimensionality.
2005 Altamura Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley. This wine gives a strong aromatic display of dark smoke, graphite, skunky forest ferns and other earthy characteristics, with the fruit all in the background. In the mouth, though, it is a whole different animal. It is very lushly-fruited, with a very creamy texture. It has ample weight, and seemingly many layers to it. It is seamlessly-textured and stuffed full of apple, caramel, vanilla and fine spice flavors that really fill up the mouth. There is also a little infusion of acidity and fresh melon flavors on the long, twangy finish. Overall, it is a bit strange how disconnected the nose and palate have become since I last tasted it two years ago, but I definitely enjoy the way it fills the mouth and caresses the mouth.
2002 Domaine des Baumard Savennieres. A crisp nose of stones, pistachio nuts, orange blossoms, green apples and ample amounts of botanical herbs is complex but restrained and narrowly contained. In the mouth, it is lighter-bodied but more voluminous than the nose would suggest, with a good degree of flavor and push across the palate. A sharper edging has some bitter metallic character, but overall the mid-palate in particular is juicy and tangy with plenty of green apple and pear fruit. It keeps the botanical character all the way through in a crisp yet softly juicy package that is welcome and refreshing in the heat of the day.
2006 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. This wine features aromas of chalk, cool herbs, leafy greens, blue slate, crisp apple and a hint of petroleum product in a youthful and structured old-world package. On the palate, it displays an oily, viscous texture but also fine, crisp acidic structure and a nice balance of lemon oil, rich pear, apple flesh and stony peach flavors. It has good layering and an interesting chalky character toward the back of the palate and on the finish. It is quite pleasant to drink now, but also seems youthful and capable of improvement in the cellar.
2001 Mount Eden Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Bottled Santa Cruz Mountains. I missed this one, as it was all gone by the time I reached for the bottle. Reports were that it was among the best whites on the table. Of course!
2000 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard Willamette Valley. The bouquet of this wine is lively and full-blown, jumping out of the glass with expressive aromas of zesty raspberries, rhubarb, brown sugar, spices, autumn leaves, forest plants, cinnamon red hot candies and moist soil. In the mouth, it is on the lighter- to medium-bodied side, with a wild, brambly fruit profile. However, I find the acidity to be too tart and cutting for my taste, and the wine feels more angular than I would like. Also, a surprising amount of tannin seems to still be hanging around on the finish. Overall, I was expecting something more resolved and smooth, especially given how lovely and inviting the nose is.
2006 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard Willamette Valley. This was served from magnum. It features a denser, richer nose than the previous wine, with focused aromas of dark brambly berries, chocolate paste and dark forest notes. It is fairly rich in the mouth, but doesn’t feel overly heavy or anything. It has a moderately thick texture and rounded body through the middle, with layered flavors of fine chocolate, dark earth, and all sorts of mixed berry fruits. It turns more lively and sort of crunchy toward the finish, which unfortunately also sports a sharp sliver of alcoholic warmth. Overall, though, it is one of the better Shea Wine Cellars bottles I’ve had.
2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands. There are lots of leather, smoke, cherry liqueur, milk chocolate, raspberry jam and sexy spice aromas wafting up from the glass with this wine. Underneath, it hints at an even deeper core of very sweet red fruit waiting to join the party. In the mouth, it drinks very much on the young side. It is thick and rich and chocolaty, with a dense core of sweet luscious berry fruit. It is soft and rounded and velvety-textured, giving a lot of creamy berry fruit pleasure. It finishes even-keeled and fairly long, but is on the dense, low-acid side of the equation.
2005 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard Anderson Valley. With this wine, the aromas of cherries, mushroom broth, stemmy red berries, bark and cinnamon stick are rich and full without being overly saturating. In the mouth, it is punishing, with a ton of tannin and alcohol and big jammy fruit confronting one right away. It turns more linear through the middle, with a narrow but intense beam of dark red fruit and more tannin and alcohol. It may flesh out a bit on the finish, but again it is too hot. It’s hard to find much enjoyment in this wine, but perhaps another 5 years will cure it of its ills.
2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Amber Ridge Vineyard Russian River Valley. I got just a tiny pour at the end of the bottle, so take this note with a grain of salt. Even with the small pour, the bouquet is really big and forward—with strong grape stem, briery red berry, tight spice and mint aromas in a bit of a raw wild package. It is extremely spicy in the mouth, with notable oak and tangy red berry fruit flavors that have good length. One can sense some alcohol just below the surface that could become a factor if I stayed with this longer. I have several bottles and plan to hold for at least a few years.
2007 Kunin Wines Pape Star Central Coast Red. This is a blend of 50% Grenache, 35% Mourvedre and 15% Syrah. On the nose, it is the Grenache that dominates the personality—with strong kirsch and cherry aromas accented by white pepper and mocha. On the palate, it is an easy, middle of the road wine with a casual feel. The red fruit is crystal clear but there is little or no structure to be found and really no tannic presence, either. Flavors of sour cherry, kirsch, licorice rope and cool herbs give simple pleasure on a warm summer’s evening like this one.
2003 Finca Sandoval Manchuela. A dark opaque color, this wine features deep aromas of cherry liqueur, red licorice and dusty rubber band. In the mouth, it has big presence, with a thick and viscous feel to it. The enveloping warm fruits have to fight it out a bit with drying tannins and the acidity that at times feels a bit out of step with the rest of the wine. The finish is a bit rough, too, so I would suggest holding this another three or four years before trying again.
2002 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard Napa Valley. Served from magnum. The nose here is sweet and creamy and fleshy—with aromas of red cherry, licorice and mocha paste. It is a smooth, softly engaging wine on the palate—with medium body and a very soft level of acidity. The tannins are quite pillowy and rounded and give just enough oomph to the sweet creamy red fruit. I was sort of expecting a bigger, more bombastic wine and it is actually a mild, gentle drink that has a pleasant drinkability right now.
2006 Mayo Family Winery Alicante Bouschet Cloud 9 Vineyard Russian River Valley. One starts to get a sense of what this wine is all about by observing the very dark, completely opaque color it displays and then seeing how its glycerin character totally coats the inside of the glass almost like motor oil. It features rough and tough but not particularly complex aromas of black soot, rubber and black currant fruit. It is totally monolithic on the palate—like a straight-ahead battering ram of black fruit, alcohol and tannin. I mean it is punishing. Much later in the evening (like 5 hours later), it seemingly begins to relent a bit, but this is still a wine that needs years to come around (if ever).
2004 Radio-Coteau Zinfandel Von Weidlich Vineyard Russian River Valley. I did not taste this wine on the day of the barbecue, but I did bring the (ample) leftovers home to try over the next few days. Contrary to some of the reports I had read, this is nowhere near ready to drink. Nor is it in the vein of elegantly-styled Zinfandels. This is a painful bruiser of a wine, still sporting a massive amount of tannins and a huge amount of fruit and alcohol. Wait it out.
1973 Chateau Pape Clement Pessac-Leognan. At this point, it was getting late and a lot of folks had left. Andy emerged from the cellar with three bottles of Bordeaux, which shifted the whole tenor of the evening. This first bottle is a wine I’ve had three times, and this was better than one bottle but not quite as good as another. This one has a finely-aged nose of leather, white pepper, old sawdust, tomato leaves, lifted raspberries and smoked cherries. It is linear and cool on the attack, with a narrow but solid amount of cool dark fruit and cherry flavors. It has a light and airy quality to it, but enough of a fruit core to keep it from feeling too tired or insubstantial. The finish is gentle and even, with a little squirt of acidity coming on just in the nick of time to give it some freshness. It is not profound or anything, but is enjoyable for its resolved character and secondary nuances.
1996 Chateau Cantenac-Brown Margaux. This was my wine of the day. It has a youthful dark and rich color to it. On the nose, it is full and plush and velvety, yet with a freshness that is very appealing. Cherry, earth and leather notes are big and bountiful, yet also classy. It is similar in the mouth, where it has a lifted and fresh character that effortlessly carries along lots of crushed cherry, red currant, white pepper and earthy flavors. It has a soothing character to it somehow--perhaps a reflection of the smooth polished tannins that hold the wine up. The finish is nice and taut, with a tangier, more vivid feel and lots of length. This is really nice now, but ought to be just fine for some long-term cellaring.
1999 Chateau de Sales Pomerol. The de Sales seems very animalistic on the nose, with scents of horsehide and leather, loamy earth, ash and sausage to go with notes of rich cassis and raspberry tart. It is tamer in the mouth, with a sticky, glycerol-laden texture and a very open-knit structure through the middle. It has some nice flavors of chocolate and mocha, sweet cherry and cassis to offer in a smooth, easy-going fashion. Some late grainy tannins do come in to sort of tighten things up and give more of an austere edge to a wine that otherwise feels a bit gloppy in structure.
1997 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Porto. I think we were all surprised at how open and giving this wine was, particularly as it was a pop and pour late in the evening. It features an easy and warmly-giving nose of black cherries, dates, fine spice cake and mace. In the mouth, it displays a ton of warm gooey cherry pie flavor and again shows off the mace and spice cake accents to good effect. There is great persistence and density of flavor without too much weightiness. Notably, there is no sense of alcoholic burn character to contend with here at all, really. The long, caressing finish is warm and lovely.
-Michael