Memorial Day Wine Party
My House
Tasted May 26, 2008 by thirtyoneknots with 490 views
Introduction
It'd been too long since we'd all had the day off at the same time, so the theme was "Bring something you've been dying to open."
Flight 1 - Warmup and Antipasti (2 notes)
Wes brought some heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozarella, basil, salami, and pancetta and made a nice little plate up that we snacked on with these. The rose wasn't part of the original plan but it worked here while the other wines opened up a bit.
White
2000 Paul Blanck Riesling Schlossberg
France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru
Comes alive with just a few swirls of the glass and keeps on going, beautiful color, minerals and citrus on the nose. Petrol comes and goes, and towards the end of the bottle a gorgeous white peach note appears that just won't quit. One of the most elegant wines I've had recently, and worth every penny of $25, but while I'm not big on the 100 pt scale for rating wines, I'm not sure I'd say it was 96 point wine. That said, I'd drink this again any day of the week.
Rosé
2006 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Rosé Belleruche
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Very pretty rose made in a lighter style, pastel color with a mild strawberry nose, which is confirmed on the palate; an olivey, herby funk does indeed seem to linger in the background. Lovely, and so cheap.
Flight 2 - Soup (2 notes)
Kenneth's Salmon-mushroom cream soup stole the show here and was very nice with the Paul Hobbs, we drank the Lucia while sort of waiting for the rest of the food to be ready.
White
2005 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Cuvée Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Caramel popcorn right off the bat with a huge butteryness eventually evolving out of it. Very well made in the prototypical California style, very long finish, but while this sends Kenneth into orbit, it just isn't my style of Chard, overall I find this style a little boring and one-demensional in general.
Red
2005 Lucia Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Smoky cherries and cranberries with an earthy poo component coming and going (and finally going). Revisited a few hours after initial tasting and found it much improved. Very nice, structured pinot. I might decant this if doing it again.
Flight 3 - Rib-Syrah Showdown (2 notes)
Two Syrahs from very different places (but the same vintage) paired up with smoked ribs done in a S. Carolina style. Very interesting to try them all side-by side. They were placed down single blind and everyone chose correctly which was which. Great ribs, too -- Thanks, Alex.
Red
2003 Saint Cosme St. Joseph
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
My first St. Joseph, quite lovely but lacking in the bacony earthyness I expect and love in Rhone syrah and wines modeled on it. Lots of fruit here, and wel-made, though after a few hours it suddenly went thin and started falling apart. I'm not sure I would try to cellar this for any appreciable amount of time.
Red
2003 L'Aventure Syrah
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Big fruit, big structure, big spice, big heat. This was delicious and very enjoyable but the 15.1 alcohol seemed to get away from it a bit. Spice notes towards the back end that seem to be typical of paso robles. Alex said when he tasted this at the winery it was loaded with bacon notes, which were oddly entirely absent.
Smelled some the next morning that had been left in a glass, the smoke was there somewhat but the wine was pretty much dead.
Flight 4 - Bonus Sweet Wine (1 note)
Kenneth brought this little gem that he was given over a year ago, very nice with roquefort cheese.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2003 Robertson Winery Riesling Almond Grove Noble Late Harvest
South Africa, Breede River Valley, Robertson
Boy this was nice. Amazingly dark color, nose and palate of flamboyantly aromatic wildflower honey, with all the nuance and spicy herbal character that comes with that. Sweet but never cloying, this gives a lot of young Sauternes and German TBA a run for their money. Delicious, this is something I would seek out.
Closing
Wew! great time! And blessings be on all the brave men and women who sacrificed to we can screw off and drink great wine on a Monday night.
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