St. Valentine's Day - 1974 Montelena Dinner

After several attempts at scheduling, we finally had our 1974 Ch.Montelena dinner on St. Valentine's Day with 4 couples who are close friends. We had a variety of my favorite wines along with 3 food courses and dessert. With the help of a few of them we prepared the dinner with my lovely wife doing dessert. After some 1990 Verve Cliquot La Grande Dame Rosé Champagne we sat down to the first course of dried porcini, morel and roasted macadamia crusted Halibut on a bed of spinach, topped with Foie gras with a pear ginger brandy sauce. This was paired with 2000 Ch.Montelena Chardonnay and 2004 Hanzell Chardonnay. Next came Homemade Fettuccine with duck confit, porcini, oyster and shiitake mushrooms and duck jus sauce paired with 2001 Aldo Conterno Cicala Vnyd Barolo and 1998 Nichols Pisoni Vnyd Pinot Noir. The 3rd course was the feature of the evening with grilled butterflied leg of lamb, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprout gratin. In addition to the 1974 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley as they didn't make the estate cab yet) from magnum that I have been saving since purchasing it in 1984 at a now defunct wine shop in NYC run by a sometimes prickly old woman named Bertha and her son Alan, we also had 1980 Chateau Montelena Estate Cab purchased at the same time. Both were the last of their kind in my cellar. We finished up having chocolate soufflé with creme Anglaise, a fruit tart and a small selection of cheeses together with 1989 Chateau d'Yquem and 1970 Croft Port.

Aperitif with friends before a meal I've been planning for 5 months.

• 1990 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé La Grande Dame 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  Lovely pink rose color, very slight bubbles. Nose is yeasty, nutty and floral with a touch of peach. Flavors mostly reflect the nose. There is slight oxidized element that isn't bad per se but detectable. If not for that I'd rate this a bit higher. This was the cocktail for our Valentine's dinner with 4 couples.

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Fish Course: Seared Halibut crusted with ground up dried porcini and morel mushrooms and finely chopped roasted macadamia nuts, topped with foie gras on a bed of spinach with a fresh pear and pear brandy sauce. (some of the Verdicchio was in the base of the sauce)

Wines: 2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and 2004 Hanzell Chardonnay

• 2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tried 2 bottles...one was oxidized the other was wonderful.

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• 2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Light golden yellow color that belies its age. Nose is light to medium in strength with pear, butterscotch and creamy vanilla. on the palate I get the butterscotch and cream and pear as well but also some citrus. Very round and soft in the mouth with little acidity left in the bottle. It went nicely with the mushroom and macadamia crusted halibut, foie gras and pear brand sauce...but not as well as the accompanying Hanzell 2004 chard. My last bottle and after having several nice experiences and one oxidized bottle I think it was perfect timing on drinking my last bottle.

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• 2004 Hanzell Chardonnay 95 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Double decanted 2+ hours before drinking, this is medium golden yellow, bright and lively with no sign of age. This note is an amalgam two bottles one of which was slightly better than the other. Very expressive nose of citrus, butterscotch, green apple or maybe pear (don't know if I am being influenced by the pear brandy sauce on the halibut) and minerals. Lively in the mouth with plenty of acidity but perfectly balanced and rich enough to stand up to the halibut and foie gras dish with which it was a nearly perfect match. The citrus in the nose comes out distinctly as lime on the palate along with the butterscotch and some honey. Otherwise beautiful and long lived wine with plenty of life left but drinking great now.

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• 2008 Fontezoppa Verdicchio di Matelica 89 Points

  Italy, Marche, Verdicchio di Matelica

  Delightfully light fresh and fruity. Nice to drink with seafood or to cook with...used in a sauce for halibut but also had some with lunch while preparing dinner with friends.

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Pasta Course: Homemade half semolina egg fettuccine with a sauce made of homemade duck confit, seared (frozen) porcini mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms with duck stock/jus, finished with butter (should have used a touch of cream), grated parmigiano reggiano and parsley.

Wines: 1998 Nichols Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2001 Aldo Conterno Cicala Vineyard Barolo

• 1998 Nichols Winery & Cellars Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  While still a great wine, there does seem to be some bottle variation. This one didn't have everything all together as much as the previous. Nice expressive nose but less earthy than the previous bottles, medium garnet and bit more cherry fruit on both the nose and palate. Definitely needs plenty of time to breathe. Just delicious, smooth, rich and well balanced pinot noir. Lots on chocolate covered cherry on the finish at the end of the night. It paired ok with the duck confit and mushroom fettuccine but not as well as the accompanying Barolo (not a surprise).

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• 2001 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Cicala 95 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Big, powerful wine that is just starting to soften on the edges. Decanted at 4:30pm and drunk around 8:30pm. Rich, fragrant nose of mushroom, eucalyptus, vanilla, roses, earth and a huge amount of dark cherry. Bright dark ruby color with no sign of age. On the palate I got the cherry, of course, mushroom (unfortunately no truffle) vanilla, plum, and some spice on the finish. Still fairly tannic but very complex. Long layered aftertaste. It is a gorgeous wine that went perfectly with the duck confit and mushroom fettuccine (even if I regret not putting a touch of cream instead of butter in the sauce which would have perfected the dish.)

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Meat Course: Grilled (medium rare to medium), butterflied leg of lamb marinated in a slurry of rosemary, thyme, garlic, homemade red wine vinegar, olive oil, anchovy paste, salt and black pepper. Along with Mashed potatoes and Brussels sprout gratin. Sauced with a red wine and Madeira reduction that was nearly ruined by the use of the horrible 2012 Caymus 40th anniversary wine.

Wines: 1980 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet and 1974 Chareau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet

• 1980 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  In my cellar since 1984. Decanted at 5:30pm, tasted a couple times then set aside for the Lamb course around 9pm. Nose initially was very open, then closed down only to open up again in time for the food. The bouquet was full of leather, chocolate, eucalyptus, mint, earth, black cherry and a touch of barnyard/brett. The color was an amazingly young and vibrant medium to dark garnet. tSoft and extremely rich on the palate with the pronounced dark cherry and distinct licorice on the finish. The only disappointment could be that the aftertaste was truncated and the nice licorice didn't last long at all. My last bottle from a case bought more than 30 years ago. I think this wine, while excellent tonight, was probably at its best about 10 years ago, but it has aged gracefully and will likely to continue to do so. Excellent with grilled lamb yet upstaged all around by its "older brother" from 1974.

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• 1974 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 98 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  From magnum, in my cellar since 1984. Decanted at about 6pm and drunk with the lamb course sometime after 9pm. This wine was superb from start to finish. The bouquet wafted to my nose as I was decanting it, full of layers of leather, cedar, eucalyptus, earth, mushrooms and cherry yet it was even more expressive after 3 hours in the decanter. Proving to me once again that Ch. Montelena wines from the 70's and 80's need to breathe and you can't be afraid to let them just because they're "old". The color blew everyone away! It was a light to medium garnet but I could detect only the slightest amount of bricking on the meniscus. Th flavor profile was surprisingly young as well, supremely balanced, complex and layered. I tasted cedar, minty eucalyptus, vanilla, rich old leather, dark chocolate covered cherry and blackberry. The finish was long and luxurious with pronounced licorice and burnt sugar at the end. The aftertaste lasted 90 seconds if not longer, it was fantastic. This was perfect with the grilled lamb. It was everything I had hoped it would be and probably better than the 1974 Heitz Martha's Vineyard (from 750ml) I had 7-8 years ago (but before I started to record my notes in CellarTracker).

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Dessert: Chocolate soufflé with creme Anglaise, fruit tart and 3 cheeses brought by "Rudy" and his wife that I can't remember the name of for the life of me...

Wines: 1970 Croft Port and 1989 Chateau d'Yquem Sauterne

• 1989 Château d'Yquem 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  From 375ml bottle, this is medium to dark amber color, showing its age but not more than you'd expect. Wonderful nose of apricots, pear and butterscotch. Unctuous mouth feel, rich yet lively with plenty acidity for a long life yet to come. Flavors reflected the nose and it was lovely with fruit tart and soft cheese (the exact type I forget as all the wine is getting in the way of my memory of the name). Thanks again to "Rudy" for bringing the always "on point" cheeses.

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• 1970 Croft Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Not the best port I have ever had but very fine nonetheless. Light to medium ruby color, looking far from fully mature. Nose is mostly plum, chocolate and tobacco. Noticeable alcohol on both the nose and palate.
  Richer mouth feel than the color would suggest. Flavors reflect the nose but with a nice burnt orange note on the finish. It went very nicely with chocolate soufflé and the hard cheese (I again can't remember the type).

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A grand time was had by all and the pairings worked out beautifully.
I had struggled and debated with myself and even a representative of the winery about when to open the 1974 Montelena and whether to decant it. I know people have differing opinions on this but in the end I went with my gut and did decant earlier that most people advised...much to my and the group's satisfaction. To be fair I decided to also open a 1980 Montelena Estate Cab I have had many times before and check it out first...after 30 minutes observing/sampling that one, decanted at 5:30pm, 30 minutes before the guests arrived, I was convinced I had to open the 1974 which I decanted just as the guests arrived at 6pm. It was at it's zenith, I feel, 3 hours later when we all had the Lamb with it!

It was a wonderful evening but not such a great morning after with snow drifts, and high winds, not enough sleep and the hangover that just had to have been the result of the Cuban Cigars some of us had with the Port! ;-)