SF/NAPA
Tasted Wednesday, August 22, 2012 by clayfu with 1,129 views
Edson Gonzalez and I had a weekend open so we planned a trip up to Napa Valley to hang out and meet up with some of the locals. We stayed at the lovely Best Western Premier like bosses. We each trucked up a nice handful of Burgundies and also sampled some of the local fare. Here's a list of our adventures.
WOTW: Definitely the 08 Dujac CDLR. Killer freaking wine. Need to get more of it as I only have two bottles left =( Don't know how I'll keep my hands off it!
We made a few stops while in Napa.
1) Napa Valley Wine & Cigar
2) Chateau Segui
3) Envy Winery (Carter/Myriad)
4) Alpha Omega
5) Chateau du Pott
6) RM Headquarters
Prior to meeting up with Edson, I met up with a high school buddy for oysters. I ran next door to grab a bottle of wine and saw the PYCM. Ridiculously overpriced at $90 (based on purchasing it for sub $70 in so cal) but a very good start to the trip with a dozen primo oysters.
On our way up the 29, we stopped at NVWC to say hi to Carrie and Randy. Little did we know we'd run into Mr. Piper and pop a few bottles.
Also popped a 2010 Henri Boillot Corton Charlie. I've written a few notes on it already and it's pretty similar. Just really heavy reduction on this bottle but it blew off by dinner time.
We originally had dinner plans at Farmstead but after a few people fell through, me, Piper, Segui and Edson decided to just grill up some local steaks. Some great 42 day dry aged Rib eyes to go along with these wines. Too bad on the corked Rousseau =(
We also ravaged a box of It's It, which might be the greatest ice cream sandwich ever made.
Mike Smith got a hold of me and invited Edson and I up to Envy to taste some of the stuff he's making. Carter and Myriad are firing on all cylinders right now. Big bold wines but balanced with cool fruit. Nothing gobby and fat with minimal oak presence. If you're gonna make a big napa cab why not make it in this style?
Jean put together quite the spread. They converted part of their former barrel room to a tasting area that was gorgeous. The winery knows how to treat its guests. There is even complimentary valet!
What I enjoy about the wines at AO is that they aren't obsessed with doing just pure cabernet. Not shy about blending in merlot, PV, CF into the wines and it brings out a really nice balance where in almost all the wines you pick up earthy tones you'd typically think of from Bordeaux. The 2010's are built to last as the tannins and acid are very powerful and should drink well for a really long time.
Aaron Pott hosted a party where each person had to bring a bottle of Domaine Du Vieux Telegraphe and their own bottle. Had a guy come up and cook a MEAN seafood paella. The one negative was that quite a few couples came in bringing wine not according to the party guidelines... oh well. I can't say I was terribly impressed by the Vieux Telegraphe and I had quite a few more vintages, just none of them really inspired any memorable notes. The two burgs we killed outside with the paella as we met a few other burg lovers.
Aaron hosts a killer party for 80 people. Largest Paella pan I've ever seen, live music, kids swimming, people putting up tents.. man is a champ.
A little birdy told us that there was a house in Callistoga on Saturday night that had the executive chef from (*) Solbar catering a small party for a certain superstar winemaker. A near full keg of beer, tons of wine opened with a bunch of great food.. nothing like it to cap off the night. Got to meet Chris Maybach, who was an absolute pleasure to hang out with and also got to raid TRB's cellar. The highlight of the night was probably when one of the RM interns grabbed the bottle of 93 Bachelet Corbeaux and started to empty a giant glass for himself and Mr. Segui grabbed the bottle from him and said "no". Gave the kid his first lesson in tasting fine wines.. no pouring 8 oz pours for youself ;).
We departed the next day for SFO, munched on some dimsum in SF and chalked up another great weekend of wine and friends!
2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Champs Gains
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
PYCM is absolutely killing it in 2010. From his basic village stuff to this mid tier 1er, he is rocking house. There is this intense bright lemon fruit on the initial attack that just explodes through the palate with boatloads of acidity and minerality. As it sat in the bottle over the hour, the acidity died down a touch (good thing as it was very strong) and the wine started to flesh out a bit but that intensity never stopped. If you love powerful rich big white burgundy, this is it.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue