From the Archives: Big Reds, Perrier-Jouet, and a Chardonnay

Probably one of the more extravagant pours for a retail tasting, but certainly worth the crowd. This tasting at the Spirited Gourmet featured Perrier-Jouet's 1999 Fleur de Champagne and also their 2002 Rosé, followed by 2005 Patz & Hall Durell Vineyard Chardonnay from Sonoma.

1999 Perrier-Jouët Fleur de Champagne, Epernay
Founded in 1811 by Nicolas-Marie Perrier and his wife Adele Jouët, this was beloved by English royalty.  50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier sourced from grand cru vineyards in the Cote de Blancs and the Montagne de Reims.

2002 Perrier-Jouët Fleur de Champagne Rosé
55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay from grand cru vineyards make this dazzling salmon-pink sparkler that calls for a celebration.  First released in the U.S. in 1976.


2005 Patz & Hall Durell Vineyard Chardonnay
Two friends, one a winemaker formed Patz & Hall in Sonoma. Two clones here--Dijon (aromatics) and Wente (weight)--yield a ripe, opulent wine with a nice touch of acidity.

2005 Gaja Sito Moresco (Langhe)
Gaja was first to implement the use of varietals other than nebbiolo in single vineyard bottlings around Barbaresco. Estate grown vineyards, equal parts Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Super silky and glistening with plummy and black cherry fruit and only touches of oak. Gains momentum and building on the palate, it literally explodes with red berry fruit on the finish.

2004 Terlato Episode Red (Rutherford)
CA Bordeaux blends are "plumper and showcasing different flavors and textures due to terroirs of the regions". Rutherford is very unique and known for "Rutherford Dust" and it's cocoa-like flavor and texture.

2003 Rubicon Estate Cask Cabernet Sauvignon
Organically-certified vineyards adjacent to vines that produce Rubicon, which is built for the long-haul, offering gobs of dark fruit, Cask is more approachable in the near term and showcases red fruits. Ripe plum, bing cherry, dark chocolate coate the palate along with a touch of neutral oak providing a nice framework.

2004 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley icon. Georges de Latour founded the winery over 100 years ago. Flagship wine, estate grown. Inky purple, inviting nose of toasty oak and super-ripe red and black fruits. Rich, intense, and textured mouth feel.

2005 Franciscan Stylus Red (Napa Valley)
Franciscan also makes Magnificant, a juicy Bordeaux blend from Oakville and Cuvee Sauvage, a Chardonnay made with wild, uncultured yeasts.  This is the first vintage of Stylus.  Full-bodied, ripe and generous, displaying great dark cherry, tobacco, and cocoa notes.

From the Archives: 2001 Rocca delle Macie "Primo Volo"

I tasted the 2001 Rocca dell Macie "Primo Volo" on 1/11/2008 alongside several other wines.

This wine brings together three different powerhouse regions: Tuscany, Piedmont, and the Veneto. Made of equal parts Sangiovese, Barbera, and Merlot, with an additional 10% from the best region for that particular vintage.

In the case of the 2001, an additional 10% Sangiovese was included in the batch, making the final composition 40/30/30 respectively. It's a unique wine because it's the debut vintage and it's not classified; it's table wine. Story has it that the winemakers met on a plane and began talking, and probably drinking, together...by the end of the flight, they'd decided to make a wine together. This is the product of that collaboration. The barbera adds acidity and the merlot provides backbone to the delicate brawn of the sangiovese. 2001 was a great year in Tuscany.

Brilliant ruby colors with aromas of flowers and fruit; on the tongue flavors of cherries, plums, blueberries, and spice with nice acidity and a gracefully lingering finish.

More on the collaboration and process:

Sergio Zingarelli of Rocca delle Macie contributed the Sangiovese, Andrea Faccio of Villa Giada contributed the Barbera and Giordano Emo Capodilista of La Montecchia contributed the Merlot. Each batch was vinified separately at their respect place of origin and aged in French oak for 12 months before blending and bottling.

Rare bottle tasting notes.

A wonderful source for tasting notes of rare and great bottles comes from the full auction catalog (large pdf) for an upcoming auction of a consignment from the Aubrey McClendon Collection and held by Spectrum Wine Auctions. Think Lafite, Latour, Le Pin, Mouton, Lafleur, DRC, Margaux, Haut-Brion, Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Petrus, Cheval Blanc, d'Yquem, and Shafer.

On 1959 Château Lafite Rothschild:

"The 1959 is unquestionably the greatest Lafite-Rothschild...The super-aromatic bouquet of flowers, black truffles, cedar, lead pencil, and red fruits is followed by one of the most powerful and concentrated Lafites I have tasted..." [Score: 99] Wine Advocate # 95, Oct 1994

On 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild:

"...with a deep ruby/plum color revealing only a touch of lightening at the edge, the wine offers up an extraordinary nose of caramelized herbs, smoke, cedar, pen ink, black currants, and earth..." [Score: 97+] Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009

On 1945 Château Latour:

“This is a great - perhaps one of the greatest vintages. Spicy nose, eucalyptus, still full-bodied in the mouth with fruit and richness. Long finish and wonderful aftertaste.” Chateau Latour cellar notes

On 1961 Château Latour:

"...liquid perfection, exhibiting fragrant, cedary, truffle, leather, mineral, and sweet, jammy aromatics, full-bodied, voluptuous textures, exquisite purity and concentration... the essence of compellingly great wine." [Score: 100] Wine Advocate # 129, Jun 2000

On 1995 Château Latour:

"...dense purple-colored 1995 exhibits jammy cassis, vanillin, and minerals in its fragrant but still youthful aromatics... with exceptional purity, superb concentration, and a long, intense, ripe, 40-second finish, this is a magnificent example of Latour." [Score: 96] Wine Advocate # 129, Jun 2000

On Château Margaux:

Château Margaux has in its possession some of the
earliest known documents from Bordeaux describing in great detail the study of terroir and its implication in making great wine. Under the Mentzelopoulos family ownership, this modern era of Château Margaux honors the great traditions of its past while continuing to make modern Bordeaux with the same classic refined finesse and elegance.

1959 Château Margaux:

“Even before the beginning of the harvest, this vintage was acclaimed as "vintage of the century". Château Margaux 1959 is really a great wine, with a powerful, complex, very fine and elegant bouquet. On the palate, it is very concentrated, powerful...Without any question, it is a very great bottle...” Château Margaux cellar notes, September 2002

1996 Château Margaux:

"...combining measured power, extraordinary elegance, and admirable complexity... it's a beauty! The color is opaque purple. The wine offers extraordinarily pure notes of blackberries, cassis, pain grille, and flowers, gorgeous sweetness, a seamless personality..." [Score: 99] Wine Advocate # 122, Apr 1999

On 1966 Château Mouton Rothschild:

"...dark garnet color and classic sweet, spicy, tobacco, coffee, and black currant aromas are enticing..." [Score: 90] Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition # B1, Jan 1998

On 1982 Château Haut-Brion:

"...another perfect wine and one of the all-time great Haut-Brions...Complex aromatics of scorched earth, smoked herbs, and sweet red and black currants are followed by a full-bodied, silky-textured wine..." [Score: 95] Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009

On 1982 Château La Mission Haut-Brion:

"..massive richness as well as abundant notes of black fruits, truffles, creosote, scorched earth, smoke, and camphor, a colossal mouthfeel, a layered texture, incredible depth of fruit..."[Score: 100] Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009

On 2000 Château Le Pin:

"...explosive, virtually perfect example of this estate. Dense purple-colored, with luxurious levels of extract and richness, this intense, unctuously-textured, black fruit-filled..." [Score: 98] Wine Advocate # 146, Apr 2003

On 1982 Château Cheval Blanc:

"...gorgeously sweet entry displays flavors of caramel, roasted coffee, jammy red and black fruits, coconut, and smoke. It is fat and full-bodied, with considerable tannin, structure, and muscle in the finish." [Score: 92] Wine Advocate # 129, Jun 2000

On 1990 Château d'Yquem:

"...gold color is accompanied by an exceptionally sweet nose of honeyed tropical fruits, peaches, coconut, and
apricots...massive on the palate, with layers of intensely ripe botrytis-tinged, exceptionally sweet fruit...one of the richest Yquems..." [Score: 99] Wine Advocate # 122, Apr 1999

On 1995 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche:

"...Stylistically, this borrows elements from both the '97 and the '96 as it combines moderate floral notes with most of the spice, soy and hoisin of the '96 plus the densest flavors of any vintage to this point..." [Score: 94] Allen Meadows, May 2008

1962 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche:

"...the purity and detail are mind boggling. Silky, refined and altogether classy with a finish that goes on and on. This is a wine of drama and emotion - in short, quintessential La Tâche that is knee-bending in its brilliance..." [Score: 99] Allen Meadows, Jan 2008

1971 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti:

"...perfumed mix of spiced tea, smoked beef jerky and abundant earth followed by incredibly rich, dense, round and velvety full-bodied, beautifully nuanced flavors that completely coat the palate and deliver a stunningly long finish that simply goes on and on..." [Score: 98] Allen Meadows, May 2008

On 1997 Harlan Estate:

"...proves that American producers can create wine as impeccable and full-bodied from start to finish as their European associates."

On 2002 Screaming Eagle:

"...sweet, intense bouquet of black currant liqueur interwoven with lilac, vanillin, and subtle oak scents is followed by a majestic...extraordinary palate presence and stature. A wine of great aromatic and flavor intensity with a long, 60-second finish..." [Score: 99] Wine Advocate # 150, Dec 2003

On 2000 Marcassin Chardonnay:

"...gorgeously perfumed, light green/gold-colored effort revealing tremendous power as well as notes of hazelnuts intermixed with white peaches, citrus oils, and other exotic fruits..." [Score: 98] Wine Advocate # 150, Dec 2003

ADDENDUM: the pdf file is no longer available from Spectrum Wine.

2007 Westport Rivers Rkatsiteli

This is an impromptu tasting of a glass of white wine that I poured nearly 12 hours ago and totally forgot about.

My earlier review noted a touch of acidity with great fruit flavors and a strong, lasting finish. Currently, stone fruits dominate the aroma and the wine's formerly glorious acidity is practically non-existent, although I detect a mild presence at the very height of the finish.

2007 Westport Rivers Rkatsiteli

Westport Rivers Winery in Westport, MA is a quaint, lively place and if one is so inclined, include a brewery next door. They specialize in one of the most versatile styles of wine when it comes to drinking on any occasion: Champagne. In the case of most every maker who uses the traditional method outside of the Champagne region in France, they call it sparkling wine. But that's not the point of this post. The point isn't over the fact The point here is to share what else they've got in their hands with you.

Rkatsiteli originates from Georgia (Russia) and Wikipedia seeks a source verifying whether it was enjoyed extensively throughout the USSR, accounting for 18% of all wine production. The 2007 Westport Rivers Rkatsiteli is hailed to be the best vintage yet by a member of the Russell family. It's a delicious, medium-bodied white with great fruit flavors balanced with a nice touch of acidity and followed by a strong, lasting finish. The finish could be attributed to the meal I just ate, seared pork alfredo with a touch of chili garlic sauce.

Shameless self-promotion: Try this with charcuterie, things like SDLT's duck liver mousse with a glass of both the Westport RJR and the 2007 Rkatsiteli. Tues. & Weds. after 9 pm are charcuterie bar nights, $10 all you can eat, downstairs bar.

Stay tuned for reviews on some of the following, including their rare Pineau de Pinot, a distilled Pinot Noir blended with fermented Pinot Noir juice.

I've experienced many of their wines:

Rose of Pinot Noir (drank on the beach with rabbit and duck filled charcuterie items from Formaggio Kitchen, Cambridge).

2007 Chardonnay sporting low acidity, slightly creamy texture, and flavors of gala apple.

2001 Westport Imperial Sec, offering a slight sweetness mingling with stone fruit, then subdued by a rush of its lovely effervescence into a long, vibrant finish.

1993 Maximillian, their Tête de Cuvée, is aged on the lees for 15 years before disgorgement, creating a deliciously complex sparkling wine with beautiful gold colors and a firework show of bubbles.

1999 Blanc de Blancs

2001 Blanc de Noirs

2003/04 Westport Rivers RJR

non-vintage Pinot Gris

2006 Rkatsiteli

Spirited Gourmet, Winchester, MA

Erskine poured, I drank, spit some, and took notes each of which is followed by my at the moment wine pairing with each:

2008 South African Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch made by Mulderbosch
Acclaimed to be the standard for South African Sauvignon Blanc is a pretty big assertion, an agreeable standard, Right now, I'm thinking pan sear scallops (dusted in sugar, honey, butter), speck, citrus, and a plate studded with balsamic reduction for some toasted sourdough baguettes.

Newton's other Chardonnay, 2007 Red Label
A Wall Street Journal Top Pick, nicely balanced, buttery and oaky chardonnay with a nice creaminess, and small notes of acidity. Think butter poached lobster (I'd also go with a white Burgundy), polenta, coddled egg, and tempura bok choy (from the man at the heart of the house at SDLT Back Bay).

2007 White Riesling by Fenestra
Displays varietal character aromas like good Australian or Alsace rieslings, but not much on the palette. It'd be decent with a variety of foods, but not something to scream to the hills about, it's more about lubricating the company that you keep with these wines ;) Decent value for an evening sipper with a few indulgent snacks, close friends, and a show.

A 2007 Bonarda (aka Charbono) made by La Posta, from Mendoza
Charbono is a great steak wine, specifically if you're having a BBQ involving charcoal and beef or smoked baby back ribs rubbed in a sweet marinade involving lots of black peppercorn. It's the most widely planted grape in Argentina, but it follows in the shadow of Argentinian Malbecs, a major sales beacon not short in supply. Perfect for a night by the fire with dark chocolate, e.g. after aforementioned dinner above. Keep your eyes peeled for my review of and pairing with Robert Foley's Charbono.

2005 Gundlach Bundschu's (GunBun) Mountain Cuvee from Sonoma
Yummy. Bordeaux like with great fruit with a nice peppery punch of Syrah. Erskine suggests roast leg of lamb. Agreed with some carrots; bacon wrapped fingerlings and a sides of rosemary pomme frites and broccoli sauteed in garlic, soy sauce, and oyster sauce.

2007 Pillar Box Red Hendry's Drive from Padthaway in Australia
Juicy, value with 90 points from Robert Parker. Erskine suggests a bowl of chili or cheese enchiladas. I say make the chili semi-sweet and with some nice spice. or a nice juicy steak, like a filet au poivre or a plate of beef carpaccio, sopressata, and olives with toasted baguettes, and balsamic reduction.

Sidenote:
Staff Tasting tonight included a blind tasting of the easy-drinking Italian Pinot Grigio Volpe Pasini's Grivo from the Colli Orientalli del Fruili, meaning the eastern hills of Fruili, considered to be one of the best regions, Karen MacNeil might even call it the best area.

Disclaimer: I guessed wrong..lol..oh well, I'm not even close to be ready to jump on level 2 certification, expanding my French repertoire.

Followed by Ben Marco Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina and the Mauritson Dry Creek Zinfandel served with Steak Frites. Both are great reds for juicy, red steak frites in a red wine shallot reduction. That Malbec reminds of the Sabato, the latter was better but more expensive and the best glass on the wine by the glass (WBG) list at the time and more expensive than the current price of the Ben Marco (<$60). This would also go great with deconstructed PBJ sandwiches or loads of jam and a plateful of cheeses like a robiola (luxurious with La Tur), clothbound Cheddar, Roaring 40's, and Perla Gresia (aka Gray Pearl; Antonio Carpaneda, master “affinatore” of the Casearia creates this yummy Italian cheese from the Veneto, cow's milk, 90 days aging, studded with black truffles and with a cinnamon and ash rind).

Distinguished Napa Valley Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel man, Mike Grgich, traced Zinfandel's roots to his native Croatia (you'll see a Croatian flag on all his labels), his researchhas been confirmed. The Mauritson Zinfandel was filled with jammy, borderline raisiny/pruny fruit and packed a punch without seeming hot. It's from the Dry Creek Valley so I'd judge it to be moderate in alcohol content compared to some other Zinfandels like the 2006 Four Vines Maverick. Delicious. I wonder about Croatian cheeses, I'd pair it with a creamy Brie di Nangis, "sticks" of Piave Vecchio, Istara's Ossau Iraty, Cacio di Bosco (Pecorino Tartufo), Humbolt Fog or Bijou melted underneath the salamander on a toasted baguette then slathered with jam.