It was Sunday so a little crew got together at Cafe Rouge to toast the Sad Fact that I will soon be tossed out of the Bay Area’s charms. Around the table were myself, Mark Lipton, Lou and BettyLu Kessler, Oliver McCrum, Steve Edmunds, Slaton Lipscomb, and Scott Kraft.
2001 Hirtzberger Honivogl Grüner Veltliner Smaragd
This was a fine way to start. In such a nice place, maturing, mineral, semi-pungent, and so darn elegant. The other white wines had a tough time standing up to this.
2007 ESJ Heart of Gold White Wine
This is an interesting blend and is a lovely expression of CA. Screwtop, crisp, fresh, and effusive but not rich. Very nice, and went very well with the first course. Although it didn’t knock that Hirtzberger out of my mind.
2005 De Moor Aligoté Plantation 1902
Not bad Aligoté. Plenty of fruit with a sour twinge to remind you of its origins. Although it didn’t knock that Hirtzberger out of my mind.
2006 Andreas Baron Widman Südtiroler Weiß
This was served as a mystery and we were to guess the grapes. Turns out it is roughly equal proportions of pinot blanc, chardonnay, and petit manseng. Nice crisp wine that gains herbal interest with air and could be very fun to drink quickly in certain circumstances. Although it didn’t knock that Hirtzberger out of my mind.
2000 Amiot-Servelle Chambolle Musigny “Les Charmes”
This was a weird wine that was not in the best mood. Scott thought it was showing too much oak, which he was not expecting. Plus, in the general scheme of the dinner it did not scream out for attention. That can happen.
2007 Mystery ESJ Gamay
This was bottled a few weeks ago and does not yet have a name. A new source of gamay (grown in granite soils) that was not fully sorted out but should be an interesting counterpoint to the Bone Jolly gamay (seems to be firmer and more structured, but, that was just a quick sip).
2006 ESJ “That Old Black Magic”
A blend of Wylie, Fenaughty, and Eaglepoint Ranch. This was more sorted than the gamay, but it will also need some time to settle (some at the table felt the Grenache was speaking very loudly, but then Steve informed us that Syrah is dominant) and I look forward to tasting the results.
2006 Georg Mumelter Südtiroler St. Magdalender Classico Griesbauerhof
This was brought to show me what Mumelter could do with non-passito Schiava and I was very convinced. Upon pouring, the color was light and almost rusty, which I was surprised to find in such a young wine. But, it had no shortage of flavor, juicy, smoky, spicy, and very very drinkable. A joy.
2003 Tenute Sella Bramaterra
An interesting spin on 03 Nebbiolo. The tannins are very approachable and of course it is a touch soft. But, it seems to firm up a bit with air and seems to be a very fine Nebbiolo that is a pleasure to drink right now.
2000 San Leonardo Marchese Carlo Guerrieri IGT Vigneti Delle Dolomiti
A « Bordeaux-blend », which is apparently a long tradition in these parts, and the refreshing drinkable wine proves that it can carry the grapes well. Apparently Bordeaux used to taste like this. But, I’m too young to know for sure.
1985 Verset Cornas
This was my red wine of the night. It got better and better with air, showing more and more classic Northern Rhone syrah character. It hit me in the heart because it was just so pretty (for Cornas!) and expressive. I couldn’t get enough.
Others (Steve) preferred the 1986 Clape Cornas to the Verset, touting its greater depth. I found it a bit funky and muddy and it never quite snapped into focus for me the way the Verset was singing. But then again, it was not a dinner for analytical focus.
2006 Domaine Faury Côte-Rôtie
This was a mere baby next to the Clape and the Verset, and it was extremely succulent in that young wine way. Classic porky Northern Rhone syrah. Textbook Côte-Rôtie. Some people say it will be better in 20 years, but to me it was quite fun last night as well. Steve thinks it has more fruit than he might expect, which was interesting, because to me it was fresh and fine. Mark finds a touch too much lactic acid. But then he’s a chemist…
2001 Biale Spenker Vineyard Zinfandel
This was Mark’s way of torturing me. And he did a good job. Seems thick and rich and everything you might want in a port. So, why not just drink port?
As such, we only had a tawny, but the 1980 Niepoort Colheita Tawney Port did a very fine job of capping the meal, sweet, crisp, nutty, and oxidized. Nothing to complain about.
Nothing to complain about indeed!
