Antiquum Farm Wine Dinner
New Jersey, USA
Tasted November 4, 2017 by oldwines with 354 views
Introduction
Stephen Hangen, Proprietor of Antiquum Farm in the far south end of Williamette Valley joined us for a wine and food dinner featuring a variety of his wines as well as a few other notables thrown in for good measure.
We started with some wines before the first course. Then had 5 courses each paired with at least one Antiquum Farm wine as well as some others. All in all the pairings worked out very well with some nice surprises.
Flight 1 - Pre-meal wines (4 notes)
As the guests gathered and we finished the preparations for the meal we tasted some nice whites from France and California.
White
2014 Roux Père & Fils Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Cortons Blanc
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru
The wine is a pale yellow with a texture that is quite light yet mineral dense. It has good acidity and a smoky nose and plenty of tart pear and lemon curd with some apricot on the finish. Good Value as well.
White
2001 Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered
USA, California, Napa Valley
Fairly bright golden yellow in color, this is clearly old but not so oxidized as to be undrinkable. Nose and palate exhibited butterscotch, hazelnut and grilled peach. Probably a good 6-7 years past its prime but I have had some old versions of these that have fared quite well.
White
2006 Brander Sauvignon Blanc 30th Anniversary Cuvée
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
THIS WINE WAS DRINKING BEAUTIFULLY...It is a bright, medium yellow color with a nose that is both floral and citrusy. On the palate there is a lot of grapefruit on the attack, but that mellows on the mid-palate to a tropical fruit blend of coconut, papaya and pineapple. There is a flinty minerality and an almost oily, honeyed texture as well as a moderately long finish. My last bottle and I really enjoyed this balanced, 11 year old. It could easily be mistaken for a top white Bordeaux
White
2013 Signorello Estate Uvaggio White
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very similar to my last bottle but just a bit more racy and floral rather than graceful and rich. Mixed emotions on this from some and others either loved it or hated it. Minerally and floral, probably from the viognier in the blend with the chard taking more of a back seat. A bit of a mixed bag compared to the last time I had this is August.
Flight 2 - First Dinner Course (2 notes)
We served my crab cakes on a bed of micro greens, wilted fennel and a spicy chili aioli which went well with both the paired white wines, split pretty much down the middle among the guests as to which was best. I think I slightly preferred the Pinot Grigio from Antiquum Farm but both worked very well. I think I preferred the Talbott chard as the better wine but the other worked slightly better with the dish.
White
2000 Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Medium golden yellow, Nose of hazelnuts, lemon, cream, pear and vanilla. Great texture and mouth feel with honey, tropical fruits, pear, lemon curd and some minerals. Fairly long finish. Went well with my crab cakes and spicy aioli.
White
2016 Antiquum Farm Pinot Gris Daisy
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Brilliant light to medium yellow in color. Nose has wet stones, citrus, ripe pear and some floral elements. It has fresh acidity and minerality and a ripe fruity texture with pear especially prominent and maybe a hint of lemon curd. The Finish was fairly long for a pinot gris with nice balance. This was a very good pairing with my crab cakes and spicy aioli. Some in the group who don't usually like pinot gris really loved this.
Flight 3 - Second Dinner Course (2 notes)
Deviled Egg with Burgundy Truffle was next. Something so simple can go so nicely...the richness of the egg and pungent truffle was great with a rich pinot Noir as well as a lighter, crisp, floral Rose of Pinot Gris. Most felt the Pinot Noir went best but I was quite torn and would happily have either again.
Rosé
2016 Antiquum Farm Pinot Gris Aurosa
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
This is a lovely light to medium salmon color. It has a floral nose with lots of layers including lavender, rose hips, Hibiscus and honey. It has very bright acidity and a textured mouth feel that includes just a little grip of tannin. On the palate I also got a hint of blood orange, violets and a steely, stony minerality. I really enjoyed this and particularly with the deviled egg and Burgundy truffle.
Red
2015 Antiquum Farm Pinot Noir Luxuria
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Decanted about 3 hours before dinner. This is a powerful yet balanced, very rich and round style of Pinot Noir, with 14.4% ABV. Co-fermented with 777 and Pommard clones, it is ripe but retains a moderate level of acidity. It is a dark ruby color with some tannic structure, but definitely fruit forward. I get lots of red plum and cherry on the nose and palate. I think a little time in bottle may expose some additional secondary flavors. Aptly named as it is a very luxurious wine to drink with a moderately long aftertaste. It went very well with a rich deviled egg and Burgundy truffle.
Flight 4 - Third Dinner Course (2 notes)
Homemade Golden Beet Spaghetti with Duck Confit, Duck Jus, Butter and Sage Topped with Shaved White truffle. This was a unique creation for this evening with quite a lot going on...many of strong flavors that worked well together, yet at least one among us noted that perhaps the truffle would have been more prominent in a more neutral background of flavors. That point being well taken, the wines were both great with it and these wines were 2 of my favorite of the evening.
Red
2013 Antiquum Farm Pinot Noir Passiflora
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Made from Wadensville and 667 Clones and coming in at 13.3% ABV from 16 year old vines that were meticulously cared for to deal with the challenge from the torrential rains that came in the middle of harvest in 2013. Decanted about 4 hours before dinner started. The wine is a sparkling, bright, medium to dark ruby in color. The nose is very aromatic and I could just smell it for hours...All sorts of red and orange fruits along with earthy bramble. This is a powerful yet rich, ripe and yet highly structured wine with plenty of acidity and mature tannins. On the palate I can taste some cranberry, blood orange, blueberry and even some grilled apricot or peach. It has a long finish that dances with your taste buds. This was my favorite of the Antiquum wines this evening and quite an interesting counterpoint to the homemade pasta with duck confit and shaved white truffle. Superb and I think it will be even better past its 10th birthday in the cellar.
Red
1999 Pianpolvere Soprano Barolo Riserva Bussia
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Decanted about 4 hours before the start of dinner. The wine was a dark Rruby /garnet and yet still slightly translucent, showing no real sign of its almost 2 decades of age. Big and powerful yet balanced and elegant. The nose had black licorice/fennel, earthy mushroom, a hint of truffle, cherry, leather and tar. The tannins were mostly integrated yet still present and structured. The flavors were bright and energetic, yet not over the top in any way. I got cherry, cedar, leather and chocolate on the finish which lasted a very long time. Always a pleasure to drink and this was a pristine bottle. A near perfect match with the pasta, duck confit and white truffle.
Flight 5 - Fifth Dinner Course (2 notes)
Open Fire Grilled, Local Venison Backstrap with a Potato, Garlic Confit, Parsnip and Cauliflower Mach, Carrot Braised in Cranberry Juice,
fava Beans and Black Cherry Mustarda. Another unique creation for the evening and was deliciously paired with a Grand Cru, Clos de Tart from Burgundy and the "Juel" Pinot Noir from Antiquum Farm. Both worked well but the Clos de tart is a tough wine to compare to and was right in its peak drinking window in my opinion.
Red
1990 Mommessin Clos de Tart
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos de Tart Grand Cru
Decanted 3 hours before dinner started. This was such an elegant wine that was savored by all, my notes from a fairly clouded memory due to the amount consumed this evening suggest earth cherry minerals and spice. But mostly I just recall enjoying the nose and the richness and complexity of the palate with the venison. Sadly, my last bottle from 4 purchased on release.
Red
2014 Antiquum Farm Pinot Noir Juel Antiquum Farm
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
This is a blend of blocks from all the Antiquun Vineyards including the Pommard, Wadensville, 777, 667 and 115 Clones of Pinot Noir. Decanted 4 hours before the start of dinner, this wine comes in at 14% ABV. It shows lots of complexity and good structure yet is richer than the "Passiflora" bottling and higher in acidity than the Luxuria bottling. It was excellent with the venison dish but still would benefit from some years in a good cellar.
Flight 6 - Dessert (2 notes)
My Wife's Pear Crème Brulee .
Nothing else to say but a lovely finish to an enjoyable evening with friends both new and old.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2016 Antiquum Farm Pinot Gris Daphné
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
This Late Harvest Pinot Gris was delicious and paired nicely with the pear crème brulee. It is a light copper color and has a honied texture with pear, apricot and a flinty minerality. The acidity is only medium plus and so I think it will be better with a little more time in bottle but probably not an extremely long ager.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein
Germany, Nahe
Many others, I'm sure, have had the experience where at the end of a wonderful meal with family and/or friends and lots of great wine, you head down to the cellar to get the coup de gras for the evening....but lo and behold in the morning after several cups of coffee you notice a bottle you don't quite remember opening and wish maybe you hadn't???
Well, with my wife's Pear crème brûlée, I apparently did bring up and open one of my prized dessert wines...one of 2 remaining. Fortunately, there was about a third of the 375ml bottle remaining which I kept in the refrigerator until I could re-taste it about 9 days later. Well, this was one of the 3 or 4 best sweet wines I have had, even after 9 days! The wine is a bright, sparkling, golden yellow. The nose is absolutely intoxicating even when colder than ideal, with ripe grilled peach, honey, toast, white flowers, hibiscus, caramel and ripe apricots. There is tremendous structure and texture to the wine with layer upon layer of flavor and huge bright acidity. In addition to the flavors mirroring the nose there is poached pear, a gorgeous roasted nut (almond?) flavor and length that goes on and on in the finish. Wonderful!!
Closing
By the end of the evening we enjoyed a fire in the fire pit on the patio on a crisp fall evening. On the whole we all were quite impressed with the Antiquum wines, which have a unique character with both abundant fruit and acidity and seem to be displaying a terroir that, if consistent over time, will likely be both highly regarded and sought after.
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