A variety of wines by the fire
Our backyard
Tasted July 10, 2017 by Loren Sonkin with 367 views
Introduction
It was the end of a gorgeous weekend on America's North coast. Temps around 80F. No rain. On Sunday night as temps cooled, i lit a fire in back yard pit and opened a nice white. My wife invited some neighbors to join us. I posted a pic on FB telling people to stop by and Dale, Joan and Judy took us up on it. More bottles got opened. It ended up being a great evening of sitting around the fire, watching the stars come out and enjoying some wine over wide ranging conversations. At some point, some cheeses and crackers were added, but this was pretty much a wine as cocktails evening.
Flight 1 (5 notes)
White
2014 Denner Theresa
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Stunning. Best white wine in a while. I wish I had bought more to age a bit. This is a Rhone White Blend from Paso Robles. Light creamy gold in color. The nose has peaches, apricots, minerals and wax with slight herbal streak and a hint of floral notes. Complex. Amazing texture. Creamy, full bodied and rich. Excellent balance. Juicy acidity. No bite, very smooth. Deep and complex. Still young but not a baby. Long finish. Delicious. Contemplative. Third time trying this and the best yet.
White - Sparkling
N.V. La Marca Prosecco
Italy, Veneto / Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Prosecco
Brought over by the neighbors to drink around the fire. A nice refreshing wine. Light gold in color. Plenty of frothy bubbles. The nose has some minerals, slight chalk and a hint of citrus. Good acidity. Refreshing on the palate. More about minerals than fruit but some lingering citrus. Nice finish.
White
2014 Leth Grüner Veltliner Steinagrund
Austria, Niederösterreich, Wagram
This was very enjoyable. Brought over by a neighbor. Light gold in color. The nose has minerals, slight limes and a hint of asparagus. On the palate, good acidity. Very refreshing. Some depth and complexity. Strong acidity. Worked well on a summer evening without food.
Red
2005 Domaine Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Great bottle of red Burgundy. Deep ruby in color. The nose is wonderful. Quite open and expressive with pop and pour. Cherries, sandalwood, and a bit of salinity. On the palate, while young, this delivers. It is on the more masculine side with plenty of juicy cherry fruit. Lots of depth. Very nice texture. Long finish. Most of the crow seemed to shy away from this (my wife hates Pinot and French wines as a general rule) in favor of the Lillian Syrah (also great), so I kept going back to it. Certainly one of the better red Burgs I have ever had IMO. Still young and no hurry but also open at this stage.
Red - Fortified
2003 Fonseca Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Dale opened this pop and pour. Not sure if this is how Port is now made or the very hot vintage, but at age 14, this is drinking very well. Sure, its best days are ahead, but this was quite enjoyable. Inky purple in color. The nose has chocolate covered raisins. A bit of fig as well. On the palate, there is slight heat but not much. The flavors carry thru. Nice viscous texture but not devoid of acid. In short, a very good if young Port from a top producer. Certainly some upside potential of a couple points.
Closing
We also had an 07 Lillian blue Label that had been opened the night before and a 13 Pegau Rose that my neighbor had been drinking earlier. A wide range of wine. No one asked, and I didn't mention the wide range in pricing of the wines. I thought that was very cool. On a night when the wines were back ground music, although very good, it was nice to just move from one to the other with good friends and neighbors.
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