WTN: Monthly Lunch Notes

Notes from Bill’s Business Lunch, February episode.


2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – sure didn’t pick this as a CB. nice fruit and kiwi nose, lots of acid but not up to normal CB levels, and none of the minerality one expects. A CB that drinks well much younger than most vintages.

2004 Quinta dos Carvalhos Encruzado – not often you come to lunch and add a varietal to your lifetime varietal rota, but this was the first time I’d ever tasted Encruzado, an old Portuguese varietal no longer in general cultivation. All the minerality the CB lacked and then some, smooth and clean and medium long. Very interesting!

with marinated calamari and shrimp

2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard – instantly recognizable as a PN but opinions divided on the old world new world decision. Clean cherry nose, refined wine with tannins cutting in at the end. Needs time.

1998 Les Hauts de Montmirail – this Brusset wine was showing a pure fruit nose, slightly warm, middle weight, still fair bit of tannin and a dry, spicy white pepper finish.

with wabbit

1989 Ch. d’Armaillhac – elegant wine showing mature colour – I thought it was older. Tannins now very soft, smooth on palate and at a nice stage for drinking.

1999 Pontet Canet – firm tannins on this and dark colour, lots of extract, needs time, the nose still very primary.

1992 Hess Collection Cabernet – this cab based wine has matured nicely. Pure plumy fruit nose, with caramel and vanilla, dark colour, with tannin still evident, good length and a whiff of anise at the end. Has time left.

with fig stuffed Guinea fowl

1999 Castello di Gabbiano Alleanza – bitter cherry nose with some soy sauce, good concentration and fruit and a pleasant bitterness at the end. Blend of sangio, cab and merlot.

2001 Plaisir de Merle Cabernet – this Cape wine was showing a ripe nose , good but not prominent acidity, and not too much tannin, very drinkable now.

2000 Meerlust Rubicon – sweet slightly perfumed nose, nice weight, some tannin and more acid.

with cheese

1998 Wolf Blass Shiraz Low Yeilding Vineyards (Barossa) – a rare bottle, this had a sweet, ripe, friendly nose with a bit of heat. Supple and sweet fruit in the middle and good length.

2001 Edmunds St John Peay Vd. Syrah – a warm one at 14.9%, but clearly syrah. Medium dark, and a big well rounded well balanced wine.

Dom. de Forca Real Hors d’Age Rivesaltes – this Muscat was delightful, with orange peel in the nose, lots of stuffing in the mouth and a long dry finish. Much better than if it had been too sweet! 15% alcohol and a great way to end a lunch.

Many thanks for the invite, Bill, I really enjoyed the company and wines. Quite an interesting selection of both people and wines!

2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc: Very NZ SB on the nose, with grassy notes, a little asparagus and a cheesy note. Loveley balance now, with the acidity definitely dropping, but still nice. Mainly pineapples and lime on the medium palate (B+/A-).

2004 Quinta Dos Carvalhais Encruzado: Light yellow in colour, with a light floral nose. Much more intense on the palate, with very exotic notes of smoky cumin and pear on the slightly creamy/oily textured palate. A real treat, I was riveted by this very unique white. My WOTL (wine of the lunch)(A-)!

2001 Arcadian 'Pisoni' Pinot Noir: Light brick in colour, with a perfumed nose of strawberries, earhty notes, cherries and a hint of banana. Light-medium bodied on the elegant, smooth palate, with more earthy cherries. A real treat to try my first Arcadian, I've heard so much about this producer, and basee on this one wine, it's true what they say: more a Burgundian than overt CA style here (B+/A-).

2001 Brusset Gigondas 'Les Hauts de Montmirails': Medium brick in colour, with e gorgeous, elegant nose of cherries, earth and garrigue. Very ready now, with elegant game, iodine, cherry on the somewhat thick (but velvety) palate. So smooth, so a point now, I really enjoyed this (A-)!

1989 Chateau D'Armailhac Pauillac: Medium brick, with slight browning. Classic Bordeaux nose, with that telltale green note. Medium bodied on the palate, another elegant wine with redfruits, and a hint of both vanilla and a green note, and a strip of tannins that gently danced on the middle of the tongue (A-). Lovely wine.

1999 Pontet Canet: My third Pontet Canet in four days! This was much richer and bigger than the 1986 and 1966! Very concentrated, slightly extracted, even, I thought, with a very closed nose of iodine, lead and blackcurrants. Very tight still on the palate as well, and very promising in another 10 years or so (B+ now, with definite room for improvement).

1992 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon: Deep brick, with atight, concentrated blackcurrant, and chocolate nose. Very rich, but with a lovely balance, with more blackfruits and cocoa (A-). Still lots of life left here.

1999 Castello di Gabbiano 'Alleanza': Slightly cloudy in colour, with plums, chocolate and mint on the nose. I got a metallic note of the palate which was a little off-putting (B+).

2001 Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Sauvignon: Deep brick in colour, varietal nose, and a tasty SA and good QPR cabernet here (B+).

2000 Meerlust 'Rubicon': Deep brick in colour, with a slight green note on the nose. Unfortunately (I brought this one), I thought it was quite forgetable and rather international tasting - could have been from anywhere. Very disappointing- good thing this group didn't ask the person who brought the worst bottle to pay for the lunch (B)!!

1998 Wolf Blass Shiraz Bin #318: medium brick, with a very elegant nose. very smooth and elegant on the medium palate, with plums, and a hint of mint. Very nice wine here, very balanced and un-Barossa-like. This was a special blend not for commercial sale, I beleive. Everyone was very impressed with this, including me (A-).

2001 Edmunds St. John Syrah: Deep purple in colour, with a grapy nose. Rich and smooth on the palate, it didn't really scream sryah to me (although my palate was suffereing a little by this time, as you can perhaps tell by the notes!). But still, quite nice (B+/A-).

N.V. Domaine Forca Real Rivesaltes 'Hors D'Age': Copper coloured, with a slight oxizied note in the nose and palate. Lovely balance here, finishing almost dry. orange notes predominated on the palate. Lovely way to end a lovely time and meal (A-).

Great service, great room, and the food was very nice as well. I particularly enjoyed the rabbit appetizer and the seafood starter. Nice cheese course too.

I love the Alleanza! Had the 2000 this summer, and still have one bottle left.

The Hess sounds nice, too. Next time I'm up there, maybe I can pick up a bottle if there is any in their library.

I showed the Cloudy Bay SB at the last NZ wine course I taught this past week.
I had it and wanted to use it both because of the name and of the quality.
This one has more of a Hawkes Bay Savignon Blanc than a Marlborough SB

The '04's are starting to show their age with the acid levels dropping, but as you noted, there is still a lot going on with this wine.

It's a "drink now" wine.

[Jenise]

My notes:

2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – ripe, cheesy nose with a little lime behind it, weak midpalate fruit, and big acidic finish. Not at all typical NZ or typical Cloudy Bay.

2004 Quinta dos Carvalhos Encruzado – very pale color, nose of Pledge furniture polish with a sweet flower not unlike night blooming jasmine. Fresh white fruit on the midpalate and a nice, tapering finish that just quietly faded away. Low acid but without the hit of RS or impression of flab typical of many low acid whites. An exquisite wine, and quite wonderful with the shrimp remoulade. From a nearly extinct grape that vintners apparently hated to deal with because of its tiny size that is re-emerging in Portugal. Some is also being grown in Bordeaux.

2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard – as Bill said, instantly recognizable as a PN but it's lighter and more taut than any Californian or Oregonian usually is with dried cherry, mushrooms and a bit of tomato skin. Most of us concluded then that it had to be Burgundy, and we were of course wrong. More reticent than the last bottle of this I had about four months ago, and it seems rather closed compared to the Gary's from this same vintage and producer. Definitely needs more time.

1998 Brusset Les Hauts de Montmirail, Gigondas – Not Giggie-like at all to my tastes. Heavier, almost like a Rasteau and rougher, almost like a Vacqueyras, with little grenache character showing. Very confusing and atypical to my palate, which judges all Gigondas by the St. Cosme.

1989 Ch. d’Armaillhac, Paulliac – Bill, what you said. A charmer.

1999 Pontet Canet, Paulliac – Dark, brooding color, very young and primary--shows a lot like the 01 right now. Needs at least 10 more years.

1992 Hess Collection Cabernet – One of the best palates at the table could not be unconvinced that this was a Bordeaux wine simply because he was so sure he knew that Bill was bringing a Bordeaux. But any other day he'd have recognized that plush sweet fruit as true California. Very impressive; I'd have never guessed any Hess wine I've ever tasted young could age so well.

1999 Castello di Gabbiano Alleanza – dried cherry fruit and dust with that soy sauce flavor of sediment. Very opaque. I asked it's owner if it was possible it had been shaken up on its journey over, and he said yes, another bottle he'd had recently was clear. Unfair to judge this one.

2001 Plaisir de Merle Cabernet – A very nice cabernet, not as obviously South African as some are, and it had some complexity that made me think it was a blend vs. 100% varietal.

2000 Meerlust Rubicon – Very sweet and floral nose that had me thinking modern syrah and merlot. Bright acidity. Was shocked when the wine was unveiled--I have two bottles left of six of this wine, and this bottle was nothing like the bottles I own. (John, I told you I had the 99 but I was wrong, indeed it's the 2000.) This drank more like a Glen Carlou than the Meerlust I know. Even the color was different--yours redder vs. garnet, and with more opacity.

1998 Wolf Blass Shiraz Low Yeilding Vineyards (Barossa) – This did not taste like Australia--not extracted enough. It did not taste like '98 Barossa (more elegant, and no jammy fruit). And it did not taste like 100% syrah (because it had such a savoury balance). An excellent wine that threw all the usual stereotypes out the window.

2001 Edmunds St John Peay Vd. Syrah – My contribution. I opened the bottle at home to make sure it wasn't corked, and was shocked by the sweet heat that blew out of the bottle. "Oh my god, what's the alcohol here?" 14.9%. "Yow, I didn't think Steve made wines that hot. This isn't Paso, is it?" No, Sonoma Coast. I poured it into a decanter and went about other things, during which time I talked myself into not taking this wine at all. But suddenly it was 10:30, I was supposed to meet Bruce at 11:00, and with a border crossing between us I was already late. So I poured this back in the bottle and off I went--Steve and I would just have to take our lumps. I was glad after all, for in spite of the alcohol Steve's famous Northern Rhone sensibility was quite evident--it was neither sweet nor flashy, but big and well-balanced. Whew!

Dom. de Forca Real Hors d’Age Rivesaltes – Never had a Rivesaltes before, and there was nothing about this wine that suggested muscat. More like malvasia (Vin Santo), for all that orange peel and ginger, but with a drop of sherry on the fascinatingly dry finish. Quite fetching.

[Jenise]

John said:

A real treat, I was riveted by this very unique white. My WOTL (wine of the lunch)(A-)!

John, mine too.