Winery Adventure: Special New Year's Edition!

Readers will (or perhaps won't :) remember that Mock Turtle and I have a long-standing New Year's tradition of visiting a new wine region, tasting, and generally having fun bringing in the New Year together. This year was no exception, and on New Year's Day we headed up to Healdsburg, CA at the edge of Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley appellation to see how many tasting rooms we could find open.

We quickly gave up on the wineries outside of town, and parked near the little Healdsburg Plaza to walk around and see what we could find. We wandered into Thumbprint Cellars - an elegant, art-filled tasting room that was a perfect setting for tasting some lovely wines. The 2009 Reisling and Viognier were each floral, dry and pleasant, although I think I would have enjoyed a little crisper acidity in each of them. I particularly enjoyed the 2008 Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. It had a cherry nose, with notes of red currant, tobacco and cocoa powder. I loved the balance.

We also tasted the 2007 Alexancer Valley Syrah, with a velvety mouth feel and notes of cassis and dried cherries, the 2007 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel with flavors of black cherry, nutmeg and chocolate covered blueberries, and the 2007 Alexander Valley Cabernet, with an earthy nose and notes of cassis, blueberry and dark chocolate.

The folks at Thumbprint sent us down to Camellia Cellars, where we got a chance to taste some older wines. The 2001 Sangiovese had an earthy nose with notes of tobacco and cherry. The 2006 Zinfandel had notes of black cherry and cassis with some black pepper, and I thought it would pear nicely with a bolognese sauce. The 2002 Cab was very smooth, with notes of mushrooms, cassis, cocoa in the finish. I wanted a pot roast with it. My favorite was the 2002 Diamo Grazie, a blend of Sangiovese, Cab, Cab Franc and Petit Sirah - a very nicely balanced wine with notes of cigar box and currant. If you visit, say hi to Brett!

Longboard Vineyards was a great find. I loved every wine we tasted, and plan to return with friends. With seven wines to taste, I'll just hit the highlights: The 2008 Chardonnay was the standout of the whites. This was a beautiful wine, richly flavored yet only lightly oaked with just a bit of butter and hints of pie spice in the finish. We also loved the 2008 Dakine Merlot, composed of 82% Merlot and 18% Malbec. I really tasted the Malbec - it lent lots of "blue" notes, and the wine was spicy and balanced. We wanted to pair it with smoked turkey!

We had the added plus of being able to chat at length with winemaker Oded Shakked as he poured for us. He told us about his love of Syrah and his desire to build more of a Syrah following in Sonoma County. I think he has a good shot at it, in light of how lovely the two Syrahs we tasted were! The 2006 Russian River Dakine Vineyard Syrah (90% Syrah, the rest a blend of Rhone varietals that I didn't write down) had a mushroomy nose, notes of blueberry and cedar, with black pepper and some sort of baking spice that I don't bake enough to be able to discern. We wanted a big steak with it! The 2006 Sonoma Coast Rodger's Creek Syrah had a deeper color and darker fruit than the Dakine - earthy, spicy, velvety with notes of cigar box, blackberry and a hint of custard in the finish. Beautiful!

Go visit Longboard. And say hello to Oded!

Last stop of the day was Topel Winery. Once again, there were a large number of wines to taste, so I'll just mention my favorites. I particularly enjoyed the 2007 St. Helena Battuello Vineyard Cabernet with notes of leather and dried cherries. It was just released, an I'd like to go back to see how it develops. Another favorite was the 2006 Le Mariage bordeaux blend - it had a soft mouth feel with notes of blackberry and black pepper. Quite lovely. Interesting honorable mention goes to the 2006 Topel Estate Syrah Noir (a Syrah clone), with lots of black fruit, blueberry, white pepper and a hint of chocolate.

MT and I rounded out our tasting weekend with one more stop the next day to Audelssa, very close to my home. The tasting room was elegant and uncrowded, providing lots of opportunity for conversation, and the wines were lovely as well. Here are the highlights: First was the 2008 Sonoma County Chardonnay with a tropical fruit nose, and hints of citrus, white peach, pineapple, and a custard finish. Nice acidity, very nicely balanced. Then came the 2007 Zephyr - a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) with notes of black cherry, leather, cassis, plum and cocoa in the finish. This was a big favorite! The 2007 Alder Springs Merlot had hints of black cherry, plum and mocha, and I wanted to serve a beef roast with it. The 2007 Tempest was beautiful, 95% Syrah, earthy, spicy, notes of pepper and cassis. Finally, the 2007 Reserve Cabernet was lovely, smooth and balanced with notes of leather and candied cherries. We loved these wines, and I look forward to returning. If you visit, say hello to Andy!

That's the report from this year's New Years Wine Weekend! Some great finds here in Sonoma County!

Weekly Winery Adventure: Scribe Winery

My friend and fellow blogger, Bon Vivant, and I had wanted to visit Scribe Winery ever since this spectacular write-up came out in Food & Wine Magazine.  We had our chance recently, when I made us an appointment on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  It was quite a treat!  Here's the story.

The winery and tasting room are located on a little hill overlooking the valley.  

Nora was our server, and she sat us down at a pleasant table and chatted with us while we tasted.  First up was the 2007 Chardonnay with grapes from Carneros.

This was a lovely wine, with a mere suggestion of butter in the nose (it spent 9 mos. in French oak), and notes of tart apple and tangerine, with a hint of lemon in the finish.  We thought it would pair nicely with a creamy, lemony pasta dish, perhaps some rich shellfish - unctuous foods.

Next up was the 2008 Pinot Noir, also from Carneros.

I found red fruit in the nose, and notes of pie cherries, a little white pepper, and blueberry in the finish.  It was quite soft, with a nice mouth feel.  We thought it would pair well with smoked salmon, or roasted poultry.

The next wine was the 2004 Syrah, made of grapes from Atlas Peak.

I noted red fruit and something herbaceous in the nose, flavors of black cherry, blackberry and black pepper.  We thought this wine would stand up to fattier meats - perhaps a leg of lamb, a marbled beef roast, or even pork belly.

Our last wine was the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, also from Atlas Peak.

I enjoyed this wine.  It was velvety, softer and less tannic than the typical Napa Cab, with notes of Big Black Cherry, blackberry, and cassis in the finish.  BV also noted green peppercorn.  We thought the wine would pair particularly well with with braised pork and ancho chiles.

BV and I are trying to convince our fellow Supper Clubbers to attempt to replicate the Scribe pairing meal described in the Food & Wine article.  Stay tuned for that report!

And when you check out Scribe Winery, say hello to Nora!

Weekly Winery Adventure: In which we taste some Superb Napa Cabs and a Knock-Your-Socks-Off Cab Franc

My friend and fellow blogger, Bon Vivant, recently scored an invitation to a private tasting at the Napa Wine Company and, lucky me, I got to participate too!  BV had tasted a couple of these wines at JV Wine & Spirits recently, and after her enthusiastic review, I was eager to give them a try.  The wines we tasted were from Hoopes Vineyard, and its sister label, Liparita, produced by the same winemaker, Jason Fisher.  Both labels make well structured 100% Cabernet Sauvignons, sourced from various Napa appellations.  What a taste treat! 

We were greeted by our host, Brian Bowman, who escorted us into the barrel-storage facility at Napa Wine Company, where these wines are made.  Our first sample was the 2006 Liparita Stags Leap District Cabernet.  I tasted black cherry, with hints of chocolate and raspberry, and dreamed of a classic roast beef pairing with it.  Next up was the 2006 Liparita Oakville Cab, also lovely, fascinatingly different from the first wine.  I tasted berries, plum, and a hint of unsweetened chocolate, and craved a braised or even grilled preparation to pair with it.  Next we tasted the 2006 Hoopes Vineyard Oakville Cabernet, with notes of cassis and leather and black pepper, with a hint of vanilla in the finish.   

I simply can’t pick a favorite – I loved them all, though I’d probably pair them with different things.  If I need a reason to return to my early love of Napa Cabs, these wines might do the trick!

Brian also treated us to barrel tastings of the 2008 Liparita Stags Leap Cab (black fruit, blueberry), the 2008 Liparita Yountville Cab (strawberry jam), and 2008 Hoopes Cab (black current, black pepper) – all of which promise to be amazing! 

Back in the tasting room with just a few minutes to spare before our next appointment, we tasted the 2006 Volker Eisele Napa Valley Terzetto, a blend of Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc.  It had lots of currant notes, and BV and I thought it would be The Bomb paired with a Turkey Molé. 

Our next stop was a trip to Sullivan Vineyards, one of BV’s favorites.  I had never visited before, and wasn’t disappointed.

Here is the list of wines we tasted, each one a big hit:

·    2006 Napa Valley Chardonnay – floral, lightly oaked, hints of honey, tangerine, Meyer Lemon
·    2006 Red Ink – a blend of 81% Cab, 19% Merlot, delicious.  I think it would pair wonderfully with the Kobe Beef Burger I had at the Boon Fly Café not long ago.  I bought some.
·    2006 Estate Merlot – big and balanced with eucalyptus notes
·    2007 Right Bank Bland – 75% Cab Franc, 25% Merlot, probably my favorite of the day, delicious currant notes.  I am a huge fan of well-made Cab Francs, and this wine was so big and complex, I gotta say I was blown away.

·    2005 Cabernet – smoky with notes of black cherry and blueberries
·    2005 Coeur de Vigne – delicious Bordeaux blend of 50% Merlot, 37% Cab, 5% Cab Franc, 8% Petit Verdot, with notes of cassis, leather, a hint unsweetend chocolate

Every bit as delightful as the wines themselves was our host, Asa Baird, who regaled us with stories and food pairing tips while he poured the wines.  Thanks Asa!