WTN: A small gathering

[Brad Ballinger]

A small gathering last night. I missed the Old Rioja Tasting the previous evening. So thanks to Lee Short for having something more low key at his place the following night.

1989 Knoll Loibner Kreutles Gruner Veltliner Federspiel. My WOTN. Initially, there was a heavy dose of sulfur that needed to blow off. After it did, the nose of this wine was a lovely combination of white pepper, wet stones, and some herb accents. In the mouth, the wine is lively, bright, mineral-driven, and nowhere close to seeming like a 16-year old wine. Shows white pepper, a small amount of citrus, strong mineral. This has years ahead of it yet.

1994 Tresy Chateau Chalon. This is a very unique style of wine (vin jaune – yellow wine) made from savagnin grapes grown in the Jura. The wine is like sherry, and is produced in a somewhat similar style – with a yeasty by-product covering similar to a flor in sherry production, six years aging in wood during which it is not topped off. But the wine is a vintage wine. It is not fortified (although the alcohol on this one was 15%). It has an oxidative and nutty character similar to sherry. This was my second experience with the wine, and we were discussing that it takes four tries to warm up to it. I guess I’m halfway there. Nose of roasted nuts, some smoke, and an oxidative resin-ish quality. It has a nutty flavor, and a very nutty finish. The finish had some decent length and was not unpleasant. There’s a flavor like dried figs if one could remove all the sugar from them.

2001 Benito Ferrara “Vigna Cicogna” Greco di Tufo. I’ve had this wine a number of times in varying vintages, and have always had it with food. On its own (and after the Chateau Chalon), it’s a different animal. There’s some rain water character, some lemon oil, a little nut/spice combo. But the wine seems a bit tired tonight. Revisiting it later with a larger wine glass, it had more to offer, but still wasn’t as good as others I’ve had in the past.

2002 Kistler Chardonnay, Kistler Vineyard, Sonoma County. “Ahhh, a Kistler that’s a single-vineyard wine. We don’t see many of those in Minnesota. Well, let’s try this chardonnay”

Then the bottle, upon removal of the cork, uttered, “Butter.”

“No,” I said, replacing the cork, “Kistler Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

“Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

“Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

I poured, swirled, sniffed, and sipped. “Hmmm. Creamy and rich. Melted butter on toast, popcorn, sweet corn. Maybe it is butter. Okay, butter.”

“Chardonnaaaaaayyy.”

(But it was really butter butter butter.)

2002 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay Premier Cru. The grapes used to produce this wine don’t come from one particular premier cru vineyard. Rather, there are a handful from this one, a handful from that one, etc, all of which are premier cru vineyards. For quite a while, this wine was too tight to really evaluate. After much air and vigorous swirling in showed beautiful black cherry fruit, almost as if the cherries were being crushed at that moment in the glass. Then some bacon fat showed along with some spice. Very balanced in the mouth. It’s not showing a whole lot, but all the components are there and in balance.

1993 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville Volnay Premier Cru. Much more, obviously, complex and layered than the 2002 right now. Smoky, leathery, earthy. The tannins are still hard at work, but manage to let enough of the black fruits shine – particularly on the finish. The acidity is lively. There’s a pleasant mushroom secondary note. It’s quite delicious on its own, and I think it still has some improvement ahead of it.

1994 Ridge Monte Bello, Santa Cruz Mountains. 73% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, 9& petit verdot, 3% cabernet franc. Color is damn near black. Initally, the nose gave a jab of toasted oak. Recovering from that, there was the classic eucalyptus character associated with this wine. In the mouth, there’s a core of blackcurrant and cherries, with sweet tannins, some vanilla, and toasty oak. A bit more acidity would bring it closer to being in balance.

1995 Chateau Sergant Lalande-de-Pomerol. Put this wine in the category of “smells better than it tastes.” I think part of that would’ve been alleviated if we were tasting this wine three years ago, which I also had the pleasure of doing. Tonight, the nose had the lovely Bordeaux funky, poopy quality with some herb and spice. There is still a nice structure to the wine, but inside that structure is fruit that has gone past its prime. It’s okay in a mature wine kind of way, but nothing you’d remember an hour later.

[tammylc]

2002 Kistler Chardonnay, Kistler Vineyard, Sonoma County.  “Ahhh, a Kistler that’s a single-vineyard wine.  We don’t see many of those in Minnesota.  Well, let’s try this chardonnay”

Then the bottle, upon removal of the cork, uttered, “Butter.”

“No,” I said, replacing the cork, “Kistler Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

“Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

“Chardonnay.”

“Butter.”

I poured, swirled, sniffed, and sipped.  “Hmmm.  Creamy and rich.  Melted butter on toast, popcorn, sweet corn.  Maybe it is butter.  Okay, butter.”

“Chardonnaaaaaayyy.”

(But it was really butter butter butter.)

Best tasting note ever!

[Schneier]

The Chateau Chalon actually tastes better tonight.

I bought some almonds to eat with it.

[carswell]

The Chateau Chalon actually tastes better tonight.

I bought some almonds to eat with it.

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Walnuts and raw milk Comté are the real ticket. Or poulet au vin jaune et aux morilles, of course.

[LOS]

It's a good lineup when the Montebello is 4th out of 8 wines. My WOTN was the 93 D'Angerville, but I'm biased 'cuz I brought it. I agree that it's not at peak yet, and will wait 2 years or so to open another.

[Schneier]

Walnuts and raw milk Comté are the real ticket. Or poulet au vin jaune et aux morilles, of course.

←

Is there a chicken recipe with this wine? Please tell. I have about half a bottle left.

[carswell]

Is there a chicken recipe with this wine?  Please tell.  I have about half a bottle left.

←

There are quite a few on the Web. An adaptation of Joël Robuchon's should soon be in your PM inbox. (Anyone else who might like it should feel free to PM me.)