December Guy's Dinner
Our Farm in NJ
Tasted December 15, 2019 by oldwines with 213 views
Introduction
We managed to get 8 guys together for an evening of wine and food at our farm in NJ. The courses were partially planned and also somewhat impromptu with the use of ingredients we had on hand or had been asked to bring. While I have organized the wines in this story in flights, in actuality the wines were pretty much a stream of drinking in the order anyone wanted to drink them with a few exceptions. For fun I blinded three 1994 Napa Cab's...Joseph Phelps Insignia, Dominus Napanook Vineyard and Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon...to see which was objectively best and if anyone could pick them out. With a few hints one person correctly identified the Dominus Napanook. We managed to go through 13 bottles of wine over 6 courses and about 6 hours. We had cheese from "Rudy" throughout the evening as well.
Flight 1 - Arrival and prep (2 notes)
Some early arrivals helped with food prep and as the others arrived we had the Italian Chard and Cali Sparkler. Very disappointed with this bottle of Bubbly. Just had nothing going on beyond the initial layer of flavor.
Rosé - Sparkling
2004 Amuse Bouche Richard G. Peterson Brut Rose
USA, California, Napa Valley
Another disappointment for me this evening, light pink color with little flavor that indicates it is a Rosé. Very lightly carbonated in the glass though on opening it seemed normal. It is a bit toasty but also tastes oxidized which isn’t by itself that bad but it was accompanied by little other flavor than perhaps a little golden raspberry. Ok acidity, but lacks depth and complexity. Maybe it would have been better a few years ago but not sure if was ever worth the price. WIll check my last bottle over the holidays...
White
2006 Poderi Aldo Conterno Langhe Bussiador
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Brought to our Guy’s night by Glenn. Medium golden yellow color. Fairly fresh showing little to no oxidation. Nose is a bit toasty, a little more than I remember previous bottles of this I have tried. Acidity is good, with caramel, butterscotch and ever so slight lemon on the palate. Moderately long finish. Good texture and richness.
Flight 2 - Glenn's Homemade Agnolotti del Plin (2 notes)
Veal Agnolotti with butter and sage... what better to have with Barolo and Barbaresco! The Paitin Barbaresco seriously outshone its more pedigreed partner for the evening. Not sure what was wrong with the Monprivato?? It was better with about 3 hours of air but it never was anything close to what many others have tasted. Sadly, there seems to be significant bottle variation in this vintage. I will try a second (of 4) in the near future.
Red
2004 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
In my cellar since release. Decanted at about 3 pm and tasted throughout the next 6 hours. This bottle never came around and was quite a disappointment for me. When first opened it was a cloudy, light ruby color and while it did brighten and darken with some air it was quite unusual for what is supposed to be a great Barolo. The nose was floral and red fruited but unremarkable overall throughout the evening. Medium+ Acidity and Medium+ to high tannin which did soften with a few hours of air. Finish was short to medium in length and rather hollow. Will have to try another bottle to see if this was just a random bad one. This bottle was nothing like the pro reviews or most of the others who have had it recently. It wasn’t obviously flawed by Brett or oxidation (TCA? Possibly, but not obvious...no wet cardboard smell etc.) as far as I could tell but seemingly atypical.
Red
2004 Paitin di Pasquero-Elia Barbaresco Vecchie Vigne Sorì Paitin
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
In my cellar since release and a bit better than the last bottle I had some years back if memory serves. More of an unplanned opening of a backup bottle if we started to run low, which we did, and in case a bottle was disappointing, which the 2004 Guissepe Mascarello Monprivato was. This was medium garnet colored, fresh yet earthy, mostly red fruited with some florals and a moderately long finish. Generally a very satisfying wine, in a good place right now and probably at or near peak.
Flight 3 - Seared Foie Gras with greens, raspberries and 50 year old Balsamico (1 note)
Wonderful combination of ingredients and wine thanks to Rick and Steve. The Sauternes was good with dessert as well but better with the foie gras.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1981 Château Raymond-Lafon
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Brought by Rick to the “Guy’s Dinner” and served both with the Foie Gras over greens he prepared and with the bread pudding dessert. It is a dark copper color with caramel, apricot and nutty notes in layers throughout. Ever so slightly oxidized it didn’t detract from its enjoyment though it was probably a bit past peak for the wine. Sweetness was not cloying and all the aged flavors went well with both dishes. I believe this is the estate of the winemaker at Ch. d’Yquem.
Flight 4 - Grilled Shrimp and Chicken Curry (2 notes)
This was just thrown together last minute with the curry Garth brought and a few Fresh Gulf of Mexico Shrimp.
White
2007 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Cuvée Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Brought by Garth to the “Guy’s dinner”, then PnP on his arrival. Lovely golden yellow color, showing little to no oxidation for a 12 year old Chard. Really good depth and complexity here while clearly of the Cali Chard style it has good acidity and balance with creamy lemon curd, minerals, peach and buttered toast notes but layered and in control in all dimensions. While not normally my favorite style this is well executed and quite delicious, showing as fresh and lively despite its age.
White
1998 Nichols Winery & Cellars Pinot Blanc La Colline Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County
Brought to the guys dinner by Shane. Beautiful bright golden yellow. Fresh and clean on the nose floral and orchard fruit notes. Palate has a rich, soft texture and a distinct pear flavor with lots of mineral notes as well. Slightly saline on the finish which is rather long and unctuous.
Flight 5 - Salmon Two Ways (1 note)
Shawn brought the Salmon for grilling. We did one piece with a dry rub I like to use and one piece with a soy/ginger glaze Shawn likes to use. Both were good with the group leaning toward the dry rub slightly in terms of preference. This was also served with a smoked red potato and Shane's sour cream, horseradish, chive sauce.
Red
1999 Château Rossignol-Jeanniard Volnay 1er Cru Santenots
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru
Brought by Shane to the “Guy’s Dinner” and enjoyed 30 minutes after opening over about 90 minutes. Somewhat typical Volnay with a sense of depth and richness but flavors that were light-handed. Cherry, chocolate and red florals dominated with moderate acidity and a moderate length finish. I think I have had better bottles of this at Shane’s house in the past. This one was solid but unremarkable.
Flight 6 - Fire Grilled Back Strap of Venison with Brussels Sprouts and Grilled Mushrooms (3 notes)
We grilled up three types of mushrooms...Oyster, King Oyster and Royal Trumpets...to accompany my last piece of Venison and the roasted sprouts along with a few remaining smoked potatoes.
Red
1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley
Decanted at 2:30 and enjoyed over the ensuing 6 hours until gone. Among three 1994 Cab’s tasted blind by the group at our “Guy’s Dinner” including the ‘94 Rubicon and Insignia. For me and the group this was the best of the three as well as the best wine of the night. It has been in my cellar since release. It is a translucent medium garnet with no bricking. It has a fragrant nose of earthy bramble, sous bois, charcoal and blackberry bramble. Nose got much better after some air. Medium acidity and well integrated tannin giving a silky mouth feel. Palate has a mix of red and black berries, violets, lavender, pencil lead and just a slight bitterness in the finish which is long at over 30 seconds. This is superbly balanced and great with or without food.
Red
1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia
USA, California, Napa Valley
In my cellar since release from retail purchase (price tag attached says $55 and I probably got this in a mixed case with a 20% discount circa 1997!). Decanted at 2:30pm and tasted through about 8pm. The wine was initially translucent, medium to dark garnet with no bricking. Nose is very florals with violets, blackberry bramble, chocolate and earthy soil. Medium acidity and medium- tannin, quite soft and chewy. Herbal notes on the front of the palate then blackberry, chocolate, graphite and later in the evening a distinct strawberry jam finish. Very elegant and long on the finish (30+ seconds). Quite balanced and less “ripe and extracted” than more recent vintages. Honestly though I was a bit surprised that this didn’t hold up as long as the other 1994 Cabs (Rubicon and Napanook) we were also having. Probably best 2-3 hours open and some might say best in the first hour. Drink up is my advice on this one. It was better a few years ago.
Red
1994 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Purchased for $55 shortly after release in 1998 and in my cellar since. Decanted at 2:30pm and tasted through about 9pm. It is a light to medium garnet color with slight bricking. Nose is earthy, barnyard with some herbal/green notes, chocolate and sous bois. More red fruited than the other ‘94 Cabs (Napanook and Insignia) this evening showing raspberry, tart cherry, black raspberry along with some tarragon and lavender. Chewy yet “dusty” on the palate with a medium to long finish. Balanced and energetic, this was much better on the palate with a few hours of air than it was when first poured. So, this should definitely be decanted well before drinking, although the nose was quite attractive early on and got the barnyard (which I also like) more later. My second favorite of the three and the most unique. Better than most of the pro reviews would have you think.
Flight 7 - Garth's Bread Pudding (2 notes)
Nice Bread pudding with a vanilla rum sauce with three very different wines, including the Sauternes left from the 3rd flight. All were tasty!
White
2016 Dönnhoff Riesling Tonschiefer trocken
Germany, Nahe
Pulled up from the cellar to have during the “Guy’s Dinner” when we ran out of whites, curiously good with bread pudding for dessert. This is similar to my recent bottles and such a perfect example of a delicious entry level dry Riesling. Great acidity, lots of minerals and layers of stone and orchard fruits with a nice long finish. Solid and dependable.
White - Off-dry
2015 Schloss Neuweier Gewürztraminer Auslese
Germany, Baden
Brought by Steve to the “Guy’s Dinner”. My first Gewurz Auslese... This was lightly sweet with great acidity, layers of florals like honeysuckle, citrus, tropical fruits and mineral notes throughout. Nice on its own and with bread pudding made by Garth.
Closing
Everyone had a great time and there was very little wine left at the end of the night. I really appreciate everyone's contributions to making a memorable evening of food and wine and friends.
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