Timuquana BYO

TCC
Tasted Saturday, January 13, 2024 by MC2 Wines with 69 views

Introduction

Last year we started an annual tradition for a BYO dinner in the new year. Went so well we decided to repeat this year. Already looking forward to the next one. Great food and wine and company. Many thanks to Chuck for making the trip to introduce a few more of the Ringland/Hoffman/Dimchurch wines.

Flight 1 - Pre-tasting with Chuck (5 Notes)

Chuck kindly offered to come down and shared a few of the wines with us to help the group understand the Ringland line-up a bit more.

  • 2014 Chris Ringland Shiraz Randall's Hill

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Range

    A second wine of sorts for Chris made from the grapes on his property and used in the years where he doesn’t believe they are worthy of being the top wine but he still thinks he can do something interesting with them. My favorite of the wines that we tasted. This is still dark and deep and a bit more complex in style. A wine that needs a lot of time to really come around but I like the stuffing there. Compared to the Dimchurch’s I get a lot more of the pepper and spice notes. Still young and intense right now but by the end of the evening it was drinking actually pretty well. If serving now a long decant (e.g. at least 6 hours) would be recommended.

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  • 2014 Chris Ringland Shiraz Dimchurch

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Drank side by side with the Randall’s Hill. Cousins of wine it seems. This is more fruit, less spice, lots of darkness. There’s a lot of intensity to this wine. I would recommend quite a bit more time and probably quite a long decant even with that. It’s got a lot of life to it.

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  • 2009 Chris Ringland Shiraz Dimchurch

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Interesting to try wines from the same area across different years. At times I’ve heard it said that Argentina doesn’t really have changes based on the vintage and I wonder how similar that is for Australia as well. We had this next to the 2015, 2014 and 2012. You can tell there’s some difference coming from the bottle age and this was probably the wine that was the most resolved in that way. 36-40 months in new oak and then another few years in bottle as well. This one is just starting to soften.

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  • 2012 Chris Ringland Shiraz Dimchurch

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Again quite a lot of fruit and intensity in this wine. Bigger fruits in style. Just a hint of spice and a bit more than I got in the ‘14 or the ‘09. Needs some more time like the others.

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  • 2015 Chris Ringland Shiraz Dimchurch

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Just made it to the US in December so one of the first tastings of it. This is quite a young wine and at this point you can still get a bit more of the oak treatment in it. Mostly just seems to need time - more time in the air, more time in the bottle, and more time to get to a more settled place. Quite a lot going on. This is a wine made for the long haul. A wedding year wine where you know that you could drink this through the 50th anniversary and it would still be going.

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Flight 2 - Starter (4 Notes)

BREAD
Saltine crackers, pimento cheese, sweet potato biscuits, sorghum butter

Flight 3 - 1st Course (3 Notes)

FOIE GRAS TOAST
Kumquat jalapeño jam, pickled farm egg, watercress, watermelon radish, blackberry gastrique

  • 1971 Torres Cabernet Sauvignon Penedès Gran Coronas Reserva

    Spain, Catalunya, Penedès

    Haven’t had many old Spanish cabs and so fun to get to try this. Felt like it got a bit overshadowed with some of the others but still a nice wine. Well structured, young-ish but a lot of the flavor is more in the secondary style.

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  • 1986 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Just rocking. Absolutely love these wines and this was no diffferent. It’s leather and fruit and great vibrancy and style. Drinking really well. There’s still the new world fruit but such very nice balance and style to it. I’m enjoying it a lot.

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  • 1996 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia

    Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Sassicaia

    Very nice. Black cherry. Dark baking spices. Almost a hint of the sea air. It’s a lovely wine. Very structured and elegant. Not going anywhere anytime soon but it’s in a nice drinking spot at the moment.

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Flight 4 - 2nd Course (4 Notes)

ALASKAN HALIBUT
Cannellini bean salad, hazelnut romesco, lemon confit, fried caper relish

  • 1998 Château Ausone

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

    A definite treat to get to try this wine. One of my favorite producers and a wine that I’ll seek out all the time. Super yummy. Beautiful and clean. Lots of black fruit and very nice structure. A bit more lines to it than the L’Evangile. Really lovely. For many a WOTN and definitely a strong contender.

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  • 1998 Château L'Evangile

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    All plushy and fruity and pretty. Good red fruits. Drinking really nicely. Out of a mag and with a very long life ahead of it. Really interesting to try side by side with the Ausone. The Merlot really comes through here. Very nice.

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  • 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    More age than the ‘95. Get some sage, herbal, more baking spice in style. Drinks very well. It’s more of the secondary and brawny style but also has all of the energy and verve of a great wine. Drinking really great.

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  • 1995 Château Cos d'Estournel

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    So much herbal and green and sage and drinking very nicely. Lots going on here. All more of the herbal style and less of the fruit. It’s very nice. Many years left but drinking very well right now.

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Flight 5 - 3rd Course

SALAD
Roasted baby carrots, shallot confit, shaved fennel, argulula, pepita, pomegranate molasses vinaigrette

Flight 6 - 4th Course (4 Notes)

HYPLAINS HERITAGE FARMS STRIP LOIN
Hen of the woods mushrooms, black garlic potatoes, romanesco, Cabernet reduction

Flight 7 - Sweet

Dark cherry smoked pecan tart, black peppercorn ice cream, chocolate

Closing

Overall a great evening with a lot of really wonderful wines. I think the 1983 Cote Rotie was a killer as was the 1998 Ausone. Really enjoyed the Dunn as well that just seemed to be in exactly the right spot. And honestly the Cos’s were in a great spot. The Randall’s was my favorite of the Ringlands. No duds in the group though. A wonderful evening.

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