Thursday, November 09, 2006
Amazing wine dinner!
Last weekend we were hired to do a wine tasting for a birthday party. The party was for one of our best customers, a woman who comes in periodically and buys good wine. I mean very good wine. She knows what she likes but more importantly, she knows wine and therefore knows why she likes what she likes. We were extremely pleased to be doing this sort of event for someone like her. It is a great thing to be able to share such great wine with someone who appreciates it. Her husband threw the party and it all went extremely well.
Our task was to choose 7 wines that she would love to be paired with a meal. This was relatively simple because we keep track of what she's bought and through conversations, I knew what she didn't care for. For her however, we decided to pull out all the stops. I did some research and spoke with my distributors to find some rare and special bottles. We ended up with the following:
Surprise toast and appetizers:
Champagne Salon 1995 Blancs de Blanc-I wasn't aware of this wine until a few weeks earlier when Susu the wonder caterer mentioned it. After looking it up, I found out how special it is. This house produces only one wine: a vintage blancs de blanc. In other words, they don't make a non-vintage wine like most champagne houses do, they just make wine when the vintage is worthwhile. This is a singular dedication to quality that is very rare, even in Champagne. The wine is very good. There is a strong yeasty smell coupled with pear and apple aromas. The mouthfeel is rich and spicy with a pronounced yet balanced bready character. Think apple pie before it's baked and you start to get the idea.
Dinner and tasting:
The red wines were all cabernet based blends except one. The first three were super tuscans, the last three bordeaux. We decanted three bottles of each at about 11am. They were served between 7:30 and 10 that night.
Italians:
Antinori 2001 Guado al Tasso-A Cab-merlot-syrah blend fro Bolgheri. This is the least expensive of the reds at a mere $80 or so a bottle. Very dry with baked fruit and coy berry flavors. The finish was long and subtle with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and sandalwood. I like this but it was a little too shy with the fruit for my taste.
Antinori 2001 Solaia-another by the same producer but this one is from the Chianti region. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 20% Sangiovese. This was the only red wine on the night that wasn't a pure bordeaux style blend (i.e. made with Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot). The Sangiovese did make an impression and it was my favorite on the night. Fairly forward with the fruit--juicy cherry and raspberry flavors that were accented with dank oak and brambly flavors. A very long "smacky" finish. It may not have been subtle but it was more pleasing to my palate than the parched and spicy Guado.
Sassicaia 2001-This is the original super tuscan and quite a treat. Back to Bolgheri for a Cabernet Sauvignon done in a very noble style. This was a good segue into the bordeaux as it was the least italian of the three tuscans. The original marquis who first planted the vineyards in 1920 wanted to capture the essence of Cab and his wish is still granted today. This was headier and fuller bodied than the previous two with a much more austere way about it. dense currant and dark berry fruits, pronounced medium grade tannins and an intricate finish signaled that Cabernet was holding court. No doubt it is a fine wine that will hold sway over many a Bordeaux, it was nonetheless not my style.
Bordelais:
1999 Chateau Pavie-A right bank Merlot based wine from a controversial chateau. This was the most approachable of the three French wines due to it's heavy merlot percentage and fruit forward vinification. Broad and dense, like an overstuffed couch cushion of lush fruit with velvety tannin exterior. Right now, I'm so impressed with that metaphor, I can't think of anything else to say about the wine.
1998 Chat Leoville les Cases-over to St. Julien in the Medoc for a Cab-based blend. This was definitely denser and harder. Oak and tannin were still a little rough, needing either more age or longer decanting. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good wine but would have been better with more time.
2001 Chateau Latour-Ah, a premier cru! My first taste of one of the 1855 first growths and to be honest, I was underwhelmed. It was sort of like seeing a virtuoso pianist play a concerto on an out of tune piano. You knew there was something amazing in there but it wasn't on full display. The wine is young now and too raw for my palate. It was all power without any finesse. I'd be happy to revisit it in a few years to see how it progresses.
Our task was to choose 7 wines that she would love to be paired with a meal. This was relatively simple because we keep track of what she's bought and through conversations, I knew what she didn't care for. For her however, we decided to pull out all the stops. I did some research and spoke with my distributors to find some rare and special bottles. We ended up with the following:
Surprise toast and appetizers:
Champagne Salon 1995 Blancs de Blanc-I wasn't aware of this wine until a few weeks earlier when Susu the wonder caterer mentioned it. After looking it up, I found out how special it is. This house produces only one wine: a vintage blancs de blanc. In other words, they don't make a non-vintage wine like most champagne houses do, they just make wine when the vintage is worthwhile. This is a singular dedication to quality that is very rare, even in Champagne. The wine is very good. There is a strong yeasty smell coupled with pear and apple aromas. The mouthfeel is rich and spicy with a pronounced yet balanced bready character. Think apple pie before it's baked and you start to get the idea.
Dinner and tasting:
The red wines were all cabernet based blends except one. The first three were super tuscans, the last three bordeaux. We decanted three bottles of each at about 11am. They were served between 7:30 and 10 that night.
Italians:
Antinori 2001 Guado al Tasso-A Cab-merlot-syrah blend fro Bolgheri. This is the least expensive of the reds at a mere $80 or so a bottle. Very dry with baked fruit and coy berry flavors. The finish was long and subtle with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and sandalwood. I like this but it was a little too shy with the fruit for my taste.
Antinori 2001 Solaia-another by the same producer but this one is from the Chianti region. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 20% Sangiovese. This was the only red wine on the night that wasn't a pure bordeaux style blend (i.e. made with Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot). The Sangiovese did make an impression and it was my favorite on the night. Fairly forward with the fruit--juicy cherry and raspberry flavors that were accented with dank oak and brambly flavors. A very long "smacky" finish. It may not have been subtle but it was more pleasing to my palate than the parched and spicy Guado.
Sassicaia 2001-This is the original super tuscan and quite a treat. Back to Bolgheri for a Cabernet Sauvignon done in a very noble style. This was a good segue into the bordeaux as it was the least italian of the three tuscans. The original marquis who first planted the vineyards in 1920 wanted to capture the essence of Cab and his wish is still granted today. This was headier and fuller bodied than the previous two with a much more austere way about it. dense currant and dark berry fruits, pronounced medium grade tannins and an intricate finish signaled that Cabernet was holding court. No doubt it is a fine wine that will hold sway over many a Bordeaux, it was nonetheless not my style.
Bordelais:
1999 Chateau Pavie-A right bank Merlot based wine from a controversial chateau. This was the most approachable of the three French wines due to it's heavy merlot percentage and fruit forward vinification. Broad and dense, like an overstuffed couch cushion of lush fruit with velvety tannin exterior. Right now, I'm so impressed with that metaphor, I can't think of anything else to say about the wine.
1998 Chat Leoville les Cases-over to St. Julien in the Medoc for a Cab-based blend. This was definitely denser and harder. Oak and tannin were still a little rough, needing either more age or longer decanting. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good wine but would have been better with more time.
2001 Chateau Latour-Ah, a premier cru! My first taste of one of the 1855 first growths and to be honest, I was underwhelmed. It was sort of like seeing a virtuoso pianist play a concerto on an out of tune piano. You knew there was something amazing in there but it wasn't on full display. The wine is young now and too raw for my palate. It was all power without any finesse. I'd be happy to revisit it in a few years to see how it progresses.
