Saturday Night at Ian's

Back for a second night at Ian's house, this featured the cooking of Todd and Ian. A beautiful menu was put together to feature (primarily) the wines of the Southern Rhone. The food, company and wine were all great. Todd did a great job with the food and his ceviche was epic.

Along with some wines from the previous night, I opened up this incredible Fritz Haag spatlese. Was fun sipping this in the kitchen while Ian and Todd slaved away with the food. Nice way to start!

• 2005 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese #7 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Wow. From the beginning this was a crowd pleaser. I was blown away by the depth of the tropical fruit on both the nose and palate. Rich pineapple, mango and guava dominated the nose and stuck around on the palate. The best part was the sizzling acidity that blended incredibly well with the fruit. What a combination. How in the hell will I keep my hands off the rest of these?

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Todd put together a beautiful ceviche that featured shrimp and scallops. I thought the Condrieu went really well with this.

• 2005 J. Vidal-Fleury Condrieu 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  This had a really nice nose of honey, white flowers, dense herbs and a subtle seashell component. I thought the palate was a bit thin, but, luckily, this went incredible well with an amazing dish of ceviche that was served. There was some really nice floral and herb components on the mid-palate and finish of the wine that married quite well with the cilantro that was in the ceviche.

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Todd made a nice bowl of vichyssoise with prawn tails - very nice pairing with a beautiful Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

• 2009 Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  This was a very nice surprise. I've had terrible luck drinking cheateauneuf-de-pape blanc - usually finding the wines closed down or in awkward phases. This, however, displayed balance and elegance with nice white florals, subtle unsweetened honey, and herbs. Awesome stuff form a new producer for me.

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Braised veal stew with wilted spinach and mushrooms was an incredible pair with this elegant St. Joseph. This was my first Chave St. Joseph and I was very happy with how it all came out. Beautiful pairing.

• 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Saint-Joseph 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

  Paired this with braised veal in a mushroom broth with wilted spinach and mushrooms. The nose was a bit reductive to me at first, but with some air that blew away...and morphed into a lovely example of what St. Joseph's can be. Lithe tones of red fruit and florals blended with subtle tobacco and earthen tones. The palate was complex and blended layers of potpourri, mushrooms, subtle meatiness, and sour cherries. This was a great pairing with the veal stew.

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Flintstone-sized short ribs that had been in the smoker at Ian's for hours. Ian and Todd prepared a spicy mustard sauce for the ribs that was incredible good...very zesty spice, with a nice savory-ness.

• 1996 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  For me, this didn't have classic Beaucastel characteristics. This traded the barnyard funk for the sappy tones of strawberry, sour cherry, rhubarb, and herbs. The palate was elegant and refined with raspberry, pipe tobacco with some brambly tones. No question that this was an enjoyable Chateauneuf-de-Pape, but it lacked the rusticity that I always crave from Beaucastel.

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• 2001 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Félix 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  I had never heard of this producer before, but enjoyed this wine very much. Unlike the 1996 Beaucastel drank alongside it, this had nice earthen tones of mushroom with meaty tones. I found the red fruit to be a bit sappy, but with the earthy undertones felt that the sap was held in check. Very nice bottle!

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• 2000 Domaine Pierre Usseglio & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  A relatively run of the mill Chateauneuf in my mind. It had nice, dense red fruit and some spice. The mouthfeel was great, but it didn't have the levels of earthen tones that I fiend for in CdP.

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• 2001 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Chaupin 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Much like the more recent bottles of Janasse I've had, I feel like there is just too much fruit with a complete lack of balance in their wines. This was another big time fruit bomb dominated by ripe, sappy red fruit. Most of the folks at the table liked this a lot, but I didn't think it had much elegance or balance.

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A selection of cheese and pastries were provided for desert.

• 2005 Domaine des Baumard Coteaux du Layon Clos de Sainte Catherine 95 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

  Another great bottle. Such a fresh wine that exhibits dense pear, peaches and apricots with piercing acidity and minerality. It was mentioned that the balance of this wine set it a part from the bevy of other desert wines on display, and I'd have to agree. Wine collectors are always in search of wines that combine finesse and density of flavor...and I feel this is a near perfect example of what desert wine from the Loire can be.

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• 1986 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  This had a beautiful medium-gold color and turned out to be quite nice. The nose had nice lanolin, apricot and baked pear. I got a bit of a metallic tone on this that was a bit off-putting, but it wasn't aggressive. The palate was better than the nose and was rich, dense and classic Semillon. I liked the toasted vanilla bean a lot. Not really sure this can age much longer.

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• 2001 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 95 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Loved this riesling. Dense waves of lychee and petrichor fill the nose with white florals and tropical fruits. The palate is something special - blending incredible power with an almost weightless mouthfeel. This is was I look for in riesling.

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