Lots of really good wines over the last week+ where I visited my mom, but also some old and new friends. I did not take detailed notes, but a number of the wines left strong impressions (most, but not all positive).
At mom’s house
2006 Beringer Bancroft Ranch Vineyard Merlot (Howell Mountain)
From the goopy phase for this wine, and definitely on the goopier side of things. Not all the way to blueberry compote but reducing in that direction. The 1990s saw so many delicious versions of this wine. How sad that it went full down the ripeness rabbit hole.
2009 David Arthur ‘Three Acre’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
I was expecting goop, but that did not happen. While it was ripe, there was structure, and it had an underlying complexity, and even a bit of that impossible to define thing – minerality. Drinking very well, with plenty of gas left in the tank.
2012 Kosta Browne ‘One Sixteen’ Chardonnay (Russian River Valley)
Digging around in dad’s cellar I found a pile of this wine from 2012-2015. Figured my mom and I had better try a 2012. Lively and still quite fresh. There’s definitely oak, but it’s not at all heavy or overdone. I actually looked at what people have written on Cellar Tracker and felt like I was drinking a very different wine. We had this just a couple of nights after a 2013 Ceritas Chardonnay that showed more oak than the Kosta Browne.
2021 Lamborn Family Vineyards Zinfandel Mary-Hana Rose (Howell Mountain)
Lurid pink color but less lurid to drink. Decent acidity, some cotton candy to go along with dark red fruit. Nice enough, but I preferred the following.
2021 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé (California)
Still has a lot of its youthful fruit, but the wonderful savory character of Mourvèdre is coming though. Refreshing and satisfying. It’s a really good thing I don’t buy 3L bag-in-box of this. I could drink the entire thing in a single sitting.
With new friends
Sarah Kirschbaum graciously invited me to join her and Jonathan, as well as some others, Berserker and non. As always, despite the amazing food (Jonathan is fantastic!) and equally amazing wines, the best part is getting to meet people face-to-face. There’s no way to use enough superlatives for the evening.
As for the wines, again I did not take detailed notes, but most of the wines made a very strong impression.
2009 Gaston Chiquet Blanc de Blancs d’Ay Brut Grand Cru
From magnum, this started out strong, and only got stronger. Showed the richness of 2009, but also plenty of acidity to keep things in place. We ended up revisiting this at the end of the evening, and the fruit was just powering through. So delicious!
2001 Fattoria San Lorenzo Il San Lorenzo Bianco Marche IGT
When Sarah poured this, I thought we were dealing with an orange wine, but apparently not. I recall something about this wine being raised in concrete, and then the idea of a 20-plus year old Verdicchio (or was it Vermentino…I don’t remember). It was drinking quite well, with very good depth and breadth – richer than I would have expected. Not a style of wine I would seek out on my own, but then I don’t have the skills to make the amazing spinach gnocchi that Jonathan made that the wine was served with!
Then it was an amazing coincidence…I hope I have the wines identified correctly.
1958 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Campi Raudii
From Sarah and Jonathan’s cellar, this was a touch lifted, but that was a positive feature, as it carried everything with it – elevating the entire wine. If I had not known that this was a 1958, I would have guessed 1998, as it still carried fruit, as a very long, penetrating finish. Fascinating stuff. I know essentially nothing about Spanna or Vallana, so this was one heck of an introduction.
1967 Antonio Vallana e Figlio Spanna Cinque Castelli
Marc Shivers graciously brought along this birth year wine for me. Initially it sat in the shadow of the ’58, but once it got a little more air it started to pull itself up. Plenty of depth, and it just needed to get past a bit of initial muddiness. When it did the fruit came through, and I actually thought it was the better match with the polenta dish that Jonathan made. Of course, having never before tasted these Vallana wines I was just trying to get my mind around 50+ year old wines showing so young. A wonderful opportunity from this happy coincidence.
2006 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes
A unicorn from my cellar, this was decanted shortly before we served it, and continued to evolve until much later in the evening. Not as powerful as I might have expected, it was still the big dog in terms of weight compared to the next wine served alongside it. Where it truly excelled was the intricate way that the classic Syrah elements (meat, smoke, dark fruit, floral) were woven into a seamless whole. After being opened for a while, it gained in savory (IIRC Sarah said “olive”) while the fruit slid to the background. Wonderful match with the succulent roasted goat that Jonathan prepared for our main. Sad to see this one go, but it was a fitting end.
1996 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia
This was a lovely wine that was placed alongside the Gonon with the goat and didn’t stand much of a chance. I eventually set my glass aside to drink in isolation from the St. Joseph. When I did that, it showed all the floral and red fruit nuance I would have expected from a fine Barolo. A wine I could have followed over the course of an evening, but it didn’t get that chance.
1996 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
Many of the 1996s were difficult in their adolescent years, so I generally just put all of them away and forgot about them for a long, long time. Pulled this one to share, and it was very good. Still showing ripe, peachy fruit, with a dash of honey around the edges, and that (over) bright 1996 acidity, I would have gladly stuck with this through the cheese course, but then we started talking about 2001, so…
2001 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
I had grabbed this bottle from my dad’s cellar, planning to just take it home. When I arrived at Sarah and Jonathan’s, we put it in the fridge instead. Still not planning to open it, but when talk turns to 2001 an example bottle is required. Spur of the moment opening, and this delivered 110%. Six years ago, I wrote in a note that this wine had the balance to be immortal. I stand by that statement. Such vibrant and clearly delineated fruit, on point acidity, balanced sweetness, and a finish that went on longer than our conversations, this was jaw-droppingly good.