Weekend Wine-Ing

This past weekend was my sister-in-law’s annual wine party. I have done the food for this event for the past three years and there are usually about 20-30 people at each one. Most of the time, their attendance at these events is singular- they want to drink, eat and socialize, in that order, with the emphasis on the first. The wine is mostly an afterthought and it often breaks my heart. Beer is chugged, wine is not but since I am only the chef at these events, I can’t conk people over the head in their disrespect.

This year, however, due to odd circumstances, there were only seven people. It was a more intimate affair and more care was taken in sampling each wine and making assessments of them. I could converse and enjoy given the fact that after three years, some of these folks are like old friends. The food was aplenty and the wine selections had some amazing stand-outs, and of course, a few pfffftttttsss. My brother-in-law has this endless love for domestic chardonnay. And as my fellow Nutz know about me and endlessly rib me over it, I simply don’t. Really don’t. He will balance that love with a great bottle of French white – usually a high end one- and it all works out in the end. He gets his buttered toast and I covet all things french.

Still, we had some really great wines. Tasting notes are in blue- my comments are in red.

WHITES
2007 Pavao Vinho Verde (Portugal)

Slightly effervescent, subtle hints of apple and peach, crisp and inviting finish

I simply love this wine. Inexpensive and so drinkable. When we opened this bottle it was over 80 degrees outside and very warm. This fizzy little vino took that edge off immediately and with such a low alcohol content, it wasn’t hard to polish off the two bottles between four people. Wait- did I really say that?

2007 Chateau Lamothe de Haux White Burgundy (France)

40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, 20% Muscadelle- refreshingly acidic and pleasantly fruit forward.

This was a great French white. It was full of fruit with a rich and slightly sweet taste, and great when washing down spicy shrimp.

2007 King Estate Pinot Gris (Oregon)

Balanced acidity with lively fruit

Ugh. Way too sweet for my taste.I dumped this one.

2007 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand)

Crisp, slightly fizzy with lots of lemon and lime citrus acidity, finely balanced and nicely dry- true NZ sauvignon

Yup- it was NZ Sauv blanc all right, and very very young. I would be interested in trying this one in a few years. Not bad, but nothing that made my eyes fall back in delight.I poured out what remained in my glass.

2006 Pascal Jolivet Pouilly-Fume (Pouilly sur Loire, France)

Sauvignon Blanc-Piquant, minerally, austere, and very clean nose. The palate is open, fresh, and direct, with ripe fruit flavor. Clean biting finish; very youthful; minerally flavors resurface.

Very good and with a much more complicated profile of flavors next to it’s Southern Hemisphere counterpart and another good foil for the spicy shrimp. A Pouilly-Fume is always a great bet.

2006 Rombauer Chardonnay (Carneros, CA)

Rich, full body, soft fruit, light buttery oak

Domestic Chardonnay. ‘Nuf said. Let’s move on, shall we?

ROSE

2007 Chateau Grande Cassagne (Costieres de Nimes)

Sweet strawberry fruit and clean nose, easy on the mouth with a short finish
I really love a good rose, but not the ones that taste like they should be spread on my toast. It was OK but too fruity and sweet. Give me depth!

REDS
2006 Santa Rita Reserva Merlot (Chile)

Robust, mature tannins, excellent balance with ripe black fruit, plum and spice

I’m certain this would have been good but we passed it up in favor of better reds available. Anything Santa Rita that I have had has never disappointed.

2005 Peltier Station Petite Sirah (California)

Smoke, black cherries and other ripe red fruits, full bodied and fruit forward with chocolate and caramel on the finish
The world needs to pay more attention to Petite Sirah- this was an excellent example of an often overlooked varietal. Paired with Beef and Chimichurri sauce, our mouths were very happy.

2006 Barossa Valley Ebeneezer Shiraz (Australia)

Brooding nose of cedar, tar, smoke, licorice, blueberry, and blackberry. Full-bodied and massive, succulent, savory fruit, great depth, and a 60-second finish
Another bottle we skipped- Host#2 said ‘Typical Aussie shiraz- there’s better on the table’ So we moved on.

2005 St. Francis “Old Vines” Zinfandel (California)

Remarkable in its intensity, pungent aromas of brambleberries, chocolate and rose petals, opulently rich and seductive fruit, great concentration and depth, distinct spice and oak notes with near endless finish

Remarkable indeed. A well done OV Zin is something to swirl, contemplate and enjoy in small amounts- this was rich fruit but definitely not an alcohol bomb. We had italian meatballs with this.

2003 LaCave Pinotage (Wellington, S. Africa)

A robust dry red with hints of tropical bananas and herbs on the palate, finishes off with warm berry fruit flavours.
People either love or hate Pinotage and it mostly depends on the bottle; this one was really wonderful and well worth another look. I only tried a little because it was getting late, a lot of bottles were open and I was eagerly eyeballing the 10-yr old Tempranillo…….

1998 Montecillo “Gran Reserva” Rioja (Spain)

Intense, concentrated and complex with warm and powerful notes of licorice over a base of red dark fruit. Well-structured with ample body, elegant and mature tannins and a long, persistent finish.

I seriously could have just sipped on this elegant wine all night and was almost disappointed that I was in no position to fully enjoy it. It was late, after all, and the list before this was extensive…..at any rate, what passed my lips was so deeply pleasing, perfectly smooth and heady, so balanced and full in my mouth. I have had some really great wines from Rioja and this did not sway me one bit from my Tempranillo love. I have no idea of it’s cost, but every sip would be worth the price. Buy it if you find it!