Mar

18

We enjoyed our last Bordeaux from a couple of weeks ago so much that we thought we’d give another one a try, but this time from the highly regarded 2005 vintage.  The result was something very, very different, which became apparent to us even from smelling the cork.

Whereas the previous Bordeaux’s defining features were its earthiness and elegance, we felt the Château Charron was best characterized by its bright black currant, red pepper, and (especially) minty aromas and flavors.  Kind of like the citrusy sensation you get on your tongue when you’re eating oranges, this wine left the cool sensation of mint in our mouths for a period of minutes after each swallow.  Whether mint is or isn’t your thing, the fact, in and of itself, that we haven’t encountered a wine with so much of it made the Château Charron worth experiencing, and at $10.99, you can feel guilt-free about opening a bottle any night of the week.

Note that this is one of the few bottles of 2005 Bordeaux that you’re likely to find in the $11 price range that are worth drinking.

Incidentally, last weekend we hosted our first WineRabbi sponsored wine tasting with a few friends, and we think it went rather well – particularly considering that, of the nine people in attendance, three were under the age of 10 months.   The emphasis was on experiencing the effect that terroir has on grapes, so we compared, first, a typical white Burgundy (i.e., French Chardonnay) to a California Chardonnay and, second, a French Syrah to its Australian counterpart, Shiraz.  The Chardonnays effectively demonstrated the contrast between the French version’s typically cooler climate fruit (e.g., pear and green apple) flavors and lighter body with the Californian’s tropical fruit (e.g., melon) flavors and fuller mouthfeel.  But best of all, the fruitiness and thick body of the Shiraz made an eye-opening contrast with the French Syrah, which tasted of smoked meat and was lighter in body.  Stay tuned, because we’ll be writing about some of these wines over the course of the next couple weeks. 

If you’d like some ideas on tastings that you can organize on your own with a few of your friends, we’ll be more than happy to give suggestions.   Post a comment below and we’ll gladly respond with an idea or two!

Mar

17

We had just about accepted that we weren’t going to make it in time for our 11:30 a.m. tasting appointment last Sunday at Barnett.  We had rushed out of the house in a frenzy, and according to our GPS, at 10:15 a.m., had an hour-and-a-half’s drive ahead of us.   Luckily for us, though, we managed to pick up a bit of time along the way.  

barnettvineyardscellar.jpgWe didn’t know quite what to expect of this Napa Valley winery, with a tasting fee of $25 and the cost of bottles ranging between $42 and $125.  Thus far, the wineries that have attracted us have been those off-the-beaten-path in the less “touristy” wine regions, with free or $5 tastings.  As we made our way up Spring Mountain, though, we were surprised by the feelings of remoteness and untouched beauty.  After passing by signs for Paloma and Pride (two other big named and pricey wineries), we pulled into Barnett, at 11:31 a.m.  

The first thing that caught our attention was a small white tourist bus and a black stretch limousine in the parking lot.  Very typical Napa, we thought.  We made our way to the group of people standing on a deck, perched near the tasting room (a cellar lined with barrels) and overlooking the gorgeous valley, but were immediately stopped by Ted, who said that he would be overseeing our private tasting. 

We soon realized that Barnett did not in fact live up to our vision of the stereotypical Napa winery; and we were so very pleased.  Ted mentioned that the group tasting was a rarity, and that tour buses were an unusual sight at the winery (though honestly, we were not bothered in the slightest; the deck was far away enough from our tasting that we could barely hear a sound).  Barnett’s atmosphere was laid back and friendly, with Riley (a lovable German Shepard) basking in the sun at the entrance of the tasting room, much to our son’s delight; the seven wines that we tasted were all excellent; and the views of the expansive valley just beyond the tasting room brought a sense of peacefulness to our already delightful tasting experience. 

www.BarnettVineyards.com
4070 Spring Mountain Road
St. Helena, California
(707) 963-7075
*Tasting by appointment only; $25 tasting fee.

Mar

13

Try this out: bake some Nestle toll house cookies and taste them with a glass of Niepoort Vertente Douro.  Strange as it sounds, this Portuguese red is a fantastic match with warm chocolate chip cookies, as we found out this evening, but this is just one of several features that make it a very interesting wine.

What else?  Light body and high acidity, almost like the red counterpart to dry Riesling. Also, it’s the first Portuguese wine that we’ve reviewed, and it’s made from non-run-of-the-mill grapes: Tinta Roriz (a.k.a. Tempranillo (the link is to Wikipedia)) and Touriga Franca, one of the major grape varieties used in making Port.

We got aromas and flavors of blackberry, marzipan, brown sugar, and maraschino cherry. 

Overall, this is not one to age for more than a couple of years, but it makes for a delicious dinner wine, particularly with chocolatey dessert.

Mar

12

If you’re in the market for an unusually good deal, visit Gundlach Bundschu’s on-line wine shop by clicking here, and take advantage of its 150th anniversary special.  As we reported last week, the deal – which was supposed to end today – is that all of Gun Bun’s estate wines may be purchased for $18.58.  However, due to an overwhelming amount of activity on its Web site today, this sale is being extended for on-line purchases until tomorrow at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.  
 
Our advice: go for the (1) 2005 Estate Pinot Noir (normally $38) and (2) 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (normally $40), and forget the rest.  There’s nothing on this level of quality for these two grapes coming out of California that you’ll find anywhere near this price point. 

Mar

12

Here are this week’s events worth checking out.  Click on the title of an event to visit its official web site.

Mar

11

Ok.  The price is not a typo, and as soon as you get a whiff of this one, you may have an even harder time believing me.

While the Argentines make a lot (and probably most) of the world’s Malbec, the grape actually originated in France.  As you might expect, the French version is of a different style: subtler in body, less fruity, and earthier.  But why the low price considering the weak dollar?  Quite honestly, it’s completely beyond me.

In evaluating this wine, we found aromas and flavors of almond, blackberry, black currant and a tinge of herbs.  We thoroughly enjoyed the interplay of the wine’s medium body with its bright acidity and gradually revealing, velvety tannins.  This bottle would pair well with food, but it also stands up great on its own.

As weekday wines go, the Château de Gaudou Cahors Cuvée Tradition 2004 is hard to beat.  Remember back when we reviewed the Pascual Toso last month and raved about the value?  This is better.  Better tasting, better value, and better quality.  Given the option, I’d choose the Château de Gaudou over the Pascual Toso every day of the week and twice on Tuesday.

Special thanks to Drew at Plumpjack in Noe Valley for an outstanding recommendation.   

Mar

10

What a perfect evening.  A few weeks ago, our friend from St. Helena e-mailed us a “Local Escape” promotion for Calistoga Ranch, and after viewing the Web site, we immediately called to make a reservation.  With many Saturday nights already snatched up, we opted for a Sunday, March 9th.

We arrived at the serene, Zen-like Calistoga Ranch in the early afternoon with our moods already soaring from an unexpectedly positive tasting experience at Barnett Vineyards (to be described in next Monday’s posting).  And our day would only get better.

As we pulled our Prius into a driveway filled with Audis and Lexuses, we were greeted by a young man in a crisp, white polo shirt and dark sunglasses who led us to the breezy, earth-toned reception area.  As he handed us cool bottles of water, I felt drenched in calm.  The smiling receptionist then casually informed us that we had been upgraded, and then directed us to a golf-cart that would transport us across the expansive (and gorgeous) property to our room. 

Upon walking through a private wooden gate and up a few stairs, we found ourselves on a beautiful, spa-like terrace that led to two spacious cottages.  “Which one is ours?” we asked.  ”Both,”  he answered.  Wow!     

As we were shown in, we rushed through the two suites, swimming in delight.  The private wooden deck overlooked a beautiful backdrop of mountains, and as I peered over the edge, I saw a family of deer peacefully grazing just below.  The deck included two comfortable cushioned chairs with matching foot-rests that faced an outdoor-indoor gas fireplace, a hot-tob alongside a table and chairs, and a tree trunk around which the base of the deck had been carved.  These plush features created an aura of natural beauty, bursting with the sweet scent of jasmine.

The cottages contained just about every amenity you could expect from a hotel room and then a whole lot more: an elegant bedroom, two flat-screen televisions, two bathrooms (one a master with two separate vanities divided by a bathtub in the middle), two pairs of black flip-flops for the pool and spa, an outdoor shower that allowed for an exhilarating experience under the early morning sky, and a wet bar with a complementary bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge.  All very classy, very comfortable, and very private.  It was certainly no surprise when we learned that this room would normally cost a whopping $1200 per night and that several big-name celebrities had stayed here before us.   

After leaving the Ranch to attend our second tasting of the day at Chateau Montelena (to be described in two Mondays from now), we returned in time for a quick pre-dinner dip in the mineral-water filled pool — perhaps one of the more idyllic swims I have had since our move to San Francisco a couple of years ago — and then, after putting our little boy to bed, we relaxed in front of the fire, nibbled on a dinner of fresh multi-grain bread, olive spread, artichokes, cheese, and apples, enjoyed our bottle of wine, and wondered what we had done to deserve such a perfect evening.

If you’re considering planning a trip to Calistoga Ranch, just note that the lowest room rates typically range between $550 in low-season and $845 in high-season for one night’s stay.  If these prices are outside of your budget, we highly recommend taking advantage of the “Local Escape” special.  Either way, it’s worth every penny ten times over.

www.CalistogaRanch.com
580 Lommel Road
Calistoga, California 94515
(707) 254-2800

Mar

6

Inadvertently, I let this one sit for an hour or so in my glass, and when I came back to it I was enormously surprised at how much the wine had opened up.  The Féraud-Brunel Côtes du Rhône Villages consists of a high percentage of Grenache, a grape typically found in southern Rhône-style wines.  When I first popped open the bottle, I got a nose full of black pepper and wood with raspberry in the background, but after an hour or so of the wine’s sitting in my glass, the aroma of raspberry jam really came alive. 

Once in my mouth, this wine’s scents carried through as flavors, but interestingly, the spiciness turned out to be quite a bit less tingly to the tongue than my sense of smell would have predicted — this was a plus, because I think that too much spiciness would have distracted from the lengthy, juicy finish.   As to mouthfeel, I found light tannins and medium acidity and body, all of which made this wine easy to please.

This one is yet another strong performer for $15, and while it might not be meant for much time in the cellar, it may benefit from another six months on the rack.

« go back — keep looking »

Blogroll

WP Themes