WTN: Saturday Night Dinner

A dinner with friends, quite enjoyable!

Most of us had steak, which was delicious as always (served with a butter/gorgonzola sauce, a nice salad, and lovely scalloped potatos)

2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir-Elizabeth Spencer Wines. Fantastic earthy, dark, savory and delicious Pinot Noir. Not a flowery style at all, but the Pinot Noir fruit was still there in force. It would be interesting to see how this powerful wine ages. I've joined their club, so hopefully they'll send a bottle.

2003 Deux Amis Ruud Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley). Produced by the winemaker who made one of my favorite Bordeaux blend (Mazzoco Matrix 1999), this wine had the lovely "caramelly" fruit of a Zinfandel, but not jammy or over-the-top at all. A nice savory backbone not always found in Zins. Delicious-and the place is pretty neat, too.


1997 Stag's Leap Winery Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Awesome. Absolutely awesome. More black fruit than at the winery tasting, but the layers of flavors were incredible. Savor the herbs, but enjoy the black fruit, too. A very, very balanced Stag's Leap Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon-not over-the-top jammy but perfect. I have to keep repeating to myself...You cannot afford wine like this....You cannot afford wine like this. I feel myself being drawn to make that drive next weekend. Urk. Addictions are bad

[Jenise]

not jammy or over-the-top at all. A nice savory backbone not always found in Zins.

Actually, it sounds exactly like the old fashioned, claret style zins many of us remember from this area before overripe monster styles came into vogue. Keep encouraging producers like this one....

Yep, next time I'm in Sonoma County, I'm going to stop by. I love the place, anyway. You walk into what is basically a "garage" and step over hoses and puddles of water, and there is a folding coffee table kind of "tasting bar" set up. If I recall correctly, there's a fat old dog there, too.

She offered several single-vineyard Zins, and this was the one I liked. The others had an odd tomato-ey tone that I'm not sure I like very much. Still...this one was a great discovery and Zins (even artisan ones) are a lot cheaper than Cabs!

Reading Wine and Spirits' Buying Guide this year, I think I need to check out Storybook Zinfandels, too. Described as "Claret style."

[Jenise]

Haven't had that many Storybooks, but the ones I have had were by the generosity of a Storybook fanatic who aged them. Very good wine. My favorites from that area (as a hater of monster style) are Nalle, Rafanelli and Biale--don't miss a chance to try any that cross your path. The way I'm getting your palate, you'll love these.

Haven't had that many Storybooks, but the ones I have had were by the generosity of a Storybook fanatic who aged them. Very good wine. My favorites from that area (as a hater of monster style) are Nalle, Rafanelli and Biale--don't miss a chance to try any that cross your path. The way I'm getting your palate, you'll love these.

Storybook Mountain is one of the 4-5 Zin producers I still buy from (Ridge, Biale and Karly being 3 others). Of their stable, I tend to prefer the Eastern Exposures for being a little more accessible than the often-austere Estate and Reserve bottlings. They're also one of the remaining famliy-run wineries in Napa and great fun to visit.

Mark Lipton

Excellent suggestions. Sometimes it's nice to branch out from my Cab addiction.