O Solaia Mio

On March 12, 2014 By Bob WattIn ItalyLeave a comment

One of the things I always like to do when I can, is save special bottles that are given to me and open them with the givers. I had been saving a bottle of the 1998 Solaia to drink with our dear friends Heidi and Angel Diaz, who gave me the bottle for my birthday several years ago. Recently, we got to re-gift it to them. (It’s the best kind of re-gifting!) Of course, the Solaia wasn’t the only wine we tasted that night.

Bob Watt and Heidi Diaz with the re-gifted Solaia.

The main course for dinner that evening was Italian inspired and something of my own creation. It has been named by some friends of ours “Bacon on Bacon”. It is essentially a prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin and is fairly simple to make (see recipe below!).

With Italy being the main theme, we started the evening off with white burgundy, then a dry rose, followed by the Solaia, a Flaccinello and a Crongnolo.

2011 Olivier Leflaive – Bourgogne Les Setilles, France – Very bright lemon mineral nose. Strong lemony stony fruit that is very clean with bright acids. This just makes your taste buds sing in the mouth on the nice medium length finish. I really liked the 2010 version of this wine, but I think the 2011 beats it. This wine is young, vibrant and could age if you can keep from drinking it. (90 pts.)

2013 Julia’s Dazzle – Pinot Grigio Rose, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington – Bright copper color, with sweet/tart fruit nose. In the mouth, the wine is slightly off-dry as the sweet melon and strawberry fruit comes through with decent acidity. The wine finishes with a sweet strawberry note on the clean, but slightly short finish. I liked last years 2012 vintage slightly better, because it had higher acidity and a longer finish, so it didn’t come across as quite as sweet as the 2013 does. I also noticed that on the 2012 bottle, it stated on the back label that the wine was made by the Long Shadows Winery in Walla Walla Washington. On the 2013 bottle, the name of Long Shadows isn’t on the bottle, but on the back label in really tiny print it says the wine is produced by Dolan & Weiss Cellars. I am not sure what happened or what the difference is. Maybe the wine was being made in partnership or it was sold or something. Anyway, it was my first rose of the year and will be a good wine for the summer. (88pts.)

1998 Marchesi Antinori – Solaia, Italy – Beautiful nose of dark black fruit and baking spices. In the mouth deep dark red and black fruit, baking spices, burnished wood and a hint of tobacco. There are still some tannins, but they are fine-grained and unobtrusive. The beautiful sweet dark fruit and spice carries through to a nice long, slightly tannic finish. This wine is still young and only at the beginning of the maturity plateau. There isn’t any rush to drink these. Well stored bottles will continue to improve for another decade. This is a wonderful wine. (95 pts.)

2001 Fontodi – Flaccianello Della Pieve, Italy – Dark red and black fruit with a little spice and a freshness on the nose. In the mouth, sweet dark red and black fruit, spices and a damp earthy aspect (but in a good way). Very good acidity makes this wine lively in the mouth. Nice sweet dark fruit and spice on the long still slightly tannic finish. This wine still has some slight tannins to shed, but it is drinking really well right now and has a good decade or more of life ahead of it. Flaccianello is a benchmark wine for what Sangiovese can achieve. This is a beautiful wine. (94 pts.)

2007 Tenuta Sette Ponti – Crognolo, Italy – Sweet dark blackberries and red pie cherries on the nose. In the mouth, the black fruit and red pie cherries combine with a slight bit of coffee and very good acidity. The wine is still young, with tannin to shed, but the sweet dark berry fruit comes through on the medium finish. Given time, I am sure there will be more secondary nuances that will come through. This is a nice Italian wine to pop and pour. (91 pts.)

It’s always fun sharing some good wines with our great longtime friends – especially when the evening ends with a rousing game of ping-pong and a little karaoke (sung by the kids, thank goodness!). Here’s my savory pork recipe now – it’s not very precise, but you’ll get the picture:

Bacon on Bacon

Finely chop a bunch of sage and rosemary. Add several heaping tablespoons of country mustard (with the seeds), and mix in the sage and rosemary. Add a fair amount (several tablespoons) of olive oil to make the mustard and herbs not so dry and pasty. Then salt and pepper the tenderloin to taste on one side and spread the mustard/herb mixture over the tenderloin. Spread capers and pine nuts over the tenderloin as well. Now cover the top of the tenderloin with two pieces of prosciutto and spray it with olive oil. You will want to spray the bottom of the dish you are working in as well, otherwise the prosciutto will stick to it. Turn the tenderloin over and repeat the process.

Heat a large oven-proof frying pan and sear the prosciutto and tenderloin on all sides (approx. 2 minutes per side). Once the searing is done, put the tenderloin in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. After 30 minutes, pull the tenderloin out of the oven and remove from the pan to rest for 10 minutes. The tenderloin will continue to cook from the internal heat.

While the tenderloin is resting, add some cheap Madeira to the pan (Full and Rich if they have it, but Rainwater will do), approximately 1 cup. Use the Madeira to deglaze the pan you cooked the tenderloin in, so you are scraping all of the little brown bits off of the bottom. Add one piece of torn up prosciutto to the pan as well. Reduce down the Madeira so you end up with only 1/4 of the liquid, approximately 10 minutes. Cut up your tenderloin, put it on the plates and then spoon some of the Madeira sauce over the tenderloin and serve. I prefer to use Madeira over red wine; because it has a much higher acidity that works well with the oil/salt content of the prosciutto.

Bon appetit!

Tempranillo Time

On February 26, 2014 By Bob WattIn Spanish1 Comment

It was my turn to host our wine group in January, and since my wife and I had been enjoying some inexpensive Spanish tempranillo recently (see the post on it here), we decided to make the wine theme Tempranillo. By making the theme just Tempranillo and not Spanish Tempranillo, I knew we would get some domestic wines as well as the Spanish variety. I have really enjoyed some of the domestic producers of Tempranillo and I wanted to see how they would compare to the Spanish.

To go with the wines, my wife concocted a Spanish chicken and chorizo dish – the chorizo gave the chicken a little kick, but not too much. We wanted the additional flavors to pair with the wines, but didn’t want it to be too hot and spicy and ruin the mouth-feel of the wines and our taste buds. It ended up being a great match.

It was kind of hilarious to watch the reactions of the group as they tasted through the wines in two flights. The first flight was the older, more traditional Spanish Tempranillo, and you could get the age and burnished notes from it, which many in the group liked, though they also seemed to struggle with truly enjoying this varietal. So when we moved to the younger, bolder, more new world versions, they were not shy in judging them more skeptically. My wife and I have actually had some of these “newer” Tempranillos before, and we both agree that they are great wines – but primarily with food, due to their often high acidity. By the time we were on our second flight, we had not only tasted the older wines first, but we had also finished dinner – I’m not sure the second flight of wines got a fair rap that night.

It certainly was an eye-opening tasting experiment, however. I don’t think any of us would have guessed just how different the Tempranillo grape could taste across the board.

Here are the wines we had, starting with a great white:

2005 Domaine Ramonet – Chassagne Montrachet – Vergers – Ripe yellow orchard fruit and what I call flinty mint on the nose. Flinty mint is a smell that I associate with Ramonet’s wines and it really comes out with about an hour of air time. In the mouth, ripe peach and melon, limestone minerality and a fresh minty lift on the long sweet fruit finish. The 2005 is drinking really well today. I have been drinking the 2005’s before the 2004’s, as the 04’s are still a little tight, but I don’t see any reason to wait any further on the 05’s. (94 pts.)

Flight 1

1981 Lopez de Heredia – Bosconia Cosecha – Brick in color, beautiful nose of sweet & spicy fruit, baking spices and burnished wood. In the mouth very smooth, lots of baking spices mingle with ripe red fruits, good acidity still keeping everything lively. Nice long smooth spiced fruit finish. This is a beautiful wine that is drinking very well, holding up and still has time. Fully mature, but in no rush. (94 pts.)

1996 Faustino – Tinto Grand Reserva, Spain – Darker fruit nose with spices and a little Band-Aid. Nice dark fruit and baking spices combine with very good acidity, to give a lively and constantly changing flavor profile. Nice long dark spicy fruit finish, with some tannins kicking in on the finish. This is a big deep wine that still has some tannins but also a great sense of balance. Still young, this wine should be really good after another 5 years in the cellar. (95 pts.)

1996 Hacienda Monasterio, Spain – Dark earthy fruit nose. In the mouth, smooth dark black/red currant fruit and some spice. It is earthy and rustic in character, with tannins kicking in on the medium long fruit finish. (92 pts.)

2001 Marques de Riscal Grand Reserva, Spain – Very nice black fruit and spices on the nose. In the mouth, the black fruit combined with some baking spices has some lively acidity that makes this wine very savory. Nice long, dark fruit and spicy finish, with the tannins kicking at the end. This is a very nice wine that is still very young, but will be beautiful when it reaches maturity. It can be enjoyed now with a lot of air time, but try after 2020. (93 pts.)

Flight 2

2008 Gramercy Cellars – Inigo Montoya Tempranillo, Walla Walla Washington – Dark black/red fruit and spice on the nose. In the mouth, black and red fruit flavors mingle with baking spices and a little earth. Very good acidity makes this a very lively wine in the mouth and gives it a savory aspect to the fruit. This wine has a beautifully long, dark, spicy-fruit finish. There are tannins present, but they are subtle because of the wealth of spicy fruit. I personally think that Gramercy’s 2008 Tempranillo is one of the best Tempranillo made in the US. I have loved this wine since release and I so look forward to seeing what it has to offer after 2020. Greg and Pam Harrington have made some really incredible wines at Gramercy Cellars. This is a wine to search for. (95+ pts.)

2003 Altocedro – Desnudos, Argentina – Sweeter dark fruit on the nose. Very sweet dark red/black fruit in the mouth with very high acidity. Noticeable high-octane fruit and alcohol, 15.9% compared to 13.9% for the Gramercy. This wine seems like a just a combination of smooth sugar and acidic pin pricks in the mouth. Lots of dark fruit, sugar and alcohol on the medium-long finish, with some tannin kicking in on the end. (89 pts.)

2007 Cayuse – Impulsivo, Walla Walla Washington – Very dark fruit with some spice on the nose. In the mouth, rich lush very dark red and black fruit, some baking spices and good acidity, smooth in the mouth. Rich decadent dark fruit and spice on the long finish, with a little tannin at the end. A very nice wine, that is drinking well, but also very modern in style. (93 pts.)

We finished it all off with a nice dessert wine:

2005 Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume, Loire France – Beautiful floral white peach, pear and spice on the nose. In the mouth, ripe white peaches, pear, some melon and baking spices, but with a stony aspect to the fruit. This wine has excellent acidity and a very long stony white peach/pear and spiced fruit finish. This is really an excellent wine that is drinking great and is a little bit more open than the 2004 version. (95 pts.)

It was a wonderful evening, with some very interesting wines and lively conversations. It’s a great group of guys who are always willing to pull something unusual out from the dark recesses of the cellar.

Daily Drinkers: Good Whites

On September 15, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

From time to time we’ll review low cost wines in search of the ultimate value bottles. Here are reviews of a few recent wines:

The 2011 Les Hospices Sancerre white wine from Sancerre, France was purchased from Costco for $14. It was a very nice floral white wine, aged in stainless and with crisp acidity for summer drinking. It went perfectly with our lemon chicken pasta that had capers, pine nuts and olive oil (88pts.)

I purchased another $15 bottle of summer white from Costco, the 2010 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc – Les Setilles. This wine was 100% Chardonnay from the Burgundy region of France. Even though this wine was a low end village wine, Olivier Leflaive is one of the best producers of white Burgundy and it showed in this $15 bottle of wine. This wine had nice clean Chardonnay fruit, with good body and a hint of spices and acid coming through on the medium finish (89pts.).

Dinner with Friends

On September 15, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn Argentina, California, France, WashingtonLeave a comment

We had a very nice evening with two couples over a salmon dinner a few weeks back. It was a great time to share some nice wines and catch up from what had turned into a busy summer.

We started the evening with two refreshing summer wines, a 2012 Round Pond Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley and a 2012 Miraval Rose from Provence, France. The Sauvignon Blanc was a nice light and crisp wine with decent fruit (86pts.).

I was curious to try the Miraval Rose – I kept hearing about it, but admit to being a little skeptical. The wine is being produced from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s property in Provence and this was their first release. I wouldn’t generally think about buying a wine that some celebrity endorsed, but in this case the wine was made in partnership with the Perrin family, who are good long time producers in the southern Rhone region. The wine was nice and dry and had a good body of fruit and acid (88pts.)

Now on to the reds. Our friends Jeanne & Will brought a nice aged bottle of 2003 Woodward Canyon Merlot. The wine had some great mature fruit and was drinking very well, with a lot of secondary nuances(spices) coming through on the long smooth finish (94pts.). Woodward Canyon’s wines will age very well over a decade or even two for the cabs.

Next up from Brian and Laurie, was the first release of the 2010 Hand of God red wine from Mendoza, Argentina. This wine was a blend of 55% Malbec, 35% Syrah and 10% Petit Verdot. The winemaker is Santiago Achaval, who also produces the wines for the award winning Achaval Ferrer winery in Mendoza, Argentina. The 2010 Hand of God is a nice wine with good dark red fruit, good structure and a medium-long finish (92pts.).

Next, I pulled a bottle of 1996 Leonetti Cellar Reserve Seven Hills Cabernet, from Walla Walla, Washington. I have not had this particular wine in a long time, but I bought this wine on release and this was my last bottle of it. The wine was a very dark red color and surprisingly youthful. The fruit was really singing, but it also still had some decent structure and good acidity. The fruit with a little bit of spice and chocolate followed through to a nice long finish. Blind, I would have never guessed the wine was 17 years old, it tasted more like 5-7. This wine could have aged another decade or more without trying and possibly still improve. But what the heck? Why wait? It’s drinking beautifully now (95pts.).

Everyone was have such a great time catching up, so we needed one more bottle to taste. I pulled a bottle of 2001 Cadence – Tapteil Vineyard red wine from Red Mountain, Washington. The wine was a deep red color and drinking very well. The dark red/black fruit combined with subtle baking spices really came through on the medium-long smooth finish. This wine is still youthful with another 10 years ahead of it (93pts.)

We are grateful to our friends for sharing our love of wine – and sharing their great wines with us!

Summer Champagne Evening

On August 23, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn ChampagneLeave a comment

My wine group got together last night for our annual summer evening of Champagne. Our location was the house of good friends Ed & Joan, on their deck over the waters Lake Samammish – a perfect setting for tasting a lot of wonderful bubbles. The wine group of 8 guys meets about 10 times per year, and we generally do Champagne in the summer. This is the one time of year that all of our significant others join us. My wife is always happy about it, because she loves Champagne.

Most of our wine tastings are blind, but not this time. Ed and Joan made a wonderful flank steak with green beans cooked in some sort of bacon fat – and the most amazing potatoes cooked in duck fat! It was the perfect pairing for the Champagne and an excellent way to kick off the pending trips to France that three of the couples are planning this fall.

Everyone agreed that the line-up of Champagnes this year were all excellent – here are the wines that people brought:

NV Guy Charlemagne – Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay) – Champagne, France: Very nice toasty nose of bread and ginger spice. Medium to full-bodied with baked apples and bread, with a nice medium – long finish. This is a very nice bold masculine-styled Champagne, especially for the price range of $45. (91pts.)

NV Besserat de Bellefon – Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay) – Champagne, France: Nice subtle nose of lemon and yeast, medium-light bodied with clean Chardonnay fruit and lemon in the mouth. Medium lemon/apple finish. My wife liked this more than I did. It was more feminine in style and around $35. (89pts.)

NV Aspasie – Cepages D’Antan – Champagne, France: This is Aspasie’s high-end wine and they are owned by the Champagne house Ariston. Exotic nose of ripe lemons and blood oranges, combined with smokey wood notes. Medium-full bodied with spiced baked apples and lemon, good acidity and a medium-long finish. This is a very nice Champagne that will age well over the next ten years, $100. (93pts.)

1998 Taittinger – Comtes des Champagne – Blanc de Blanc (100% Chardonnay) – Champagne, France: This is the high-end wine for Taittinger and it was an absolute beauty tonight. Big, zesty lemony fruit on the nose. Full bodied in the mouth with lemon, baking spices and intense electric acidity. There was great minerality pouring through on the very long persistent finish. This was the best showing I have had with a Taittinger Champagne in a very long time and it was the surprise of the evening. This wine is feminine in style and still needs another 10 years to reach maturity. Once it gets there it will be a show stopper, wow. $185. (96pts.)

1996 Egly Ouriet – Grand Cru – Champagne, France: Smaller producer and not easy to get, but Egly Ouriet makes some great wines in all price ranges. This was Egly Ouriet’s high-end wine. Big, rich toasty apple and lemon fruit combined with ginger and baking spices, like nutmeg. This wine is a big masculine styled Champagne, that just begs you to have food with it, not a delicate sipping Champagne by any means. Very long, rich, spiced green apple fruit finish, beautiful $125. (95pts.)

1996 Pol Roger – Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc – Champagne, France: Big, bold spicy lemon fruit nose that carries through to the palate. Nice long spicy fruit finish with very good acidity. This is a Pol Roger middle end wine and they consistently make a great Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc in a masculine style $85. (94pts.)

1996 Bollinger – Grand Annee – Champagne, France: Very nice ginger bread and lemon nose. This Champagne is full-bodied and very smooth in the mouth. You get baked apples and lemon, combined with again ginger bread and very nice acidity on the very long finish, great wine and getting better $125. (94pts)

1996 Krug – Champagne, France: Big, strong nose of baked bread, apples and lemon. Very masculine in style, huge, bold whole grain bread combined with spicy baked green apples and lemony acidity. This wine is very smooth in the mouth, but with huge body. The extremely complex finish of bread, spices and fruit, is incredibly long. The finish stays in the mouth long after you have swallowed it. The 1996 Krug is definitely a Champagne to have food with and is one of the best Champagnes that I have ever had. It is still young, but has a long life ahead of it. It is hard to imagine, but this champagne will get better with more time in the bottle. In ten years, the 1996 Krug will be an absolute rockstar $350. (99pts.)

When we have people over for dinner, we generally start the evening off with some Champagne. Most people think of Champagne as something you open for a special occasion. I say Champagne is great for any day of the week – life itself is enough of a celebration, and we certainly proved it last Tuesday night! Thanks Ed and Joan!

My wife, Christina, with good friend Bill Schallert from Youngs Market Co. at the champagne tasting.

Cellar Gems: 2004 William Fevre

On August 14, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

2004 William Fevre – Bougros Cote Bouguerots (Chablis, France) – I believe William Fevre is one of the best producers in Chablis for the money. It’s a favorite in our household!

The 2004 had a nice light straw yellow color. The nose smelled of granny smith apples, wet limestone and sea air. In the mouth, the sweet high acid green apple fruit combined with lemon, wet stone, oyster shell and just a touch of spices like nutmeg. The dense sweet fruit carries through the very long mineraly finish, with an electric acid snap that makes you take notice. This was my first foray, since release, into our collection of 2004 Chablis wines. The 2004 vintage is a very “classic” and wonderful vintage for Chablis. They say “Good things come to those that wait.” and this wine has a long life ahead of it. (96pts.)

Cellar Gems are reviews of bottles aged in our cellar.

Cellar Gem: 1999 E. Guigal

On August 14, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

1999 E. Guigal – Cote-Rotie Brune et Blonde (Northern Rhone, France) – I got this bottle on release in roughly 2002, and we opened it about a month ago. It was dark ruby red in color with a little bricking at the rim. The nose smelled of sweet red fruit, subtle baking spices, beef blood, and forest floor. In the mouth, sweet red cherries are combined with cured meat, baking spices, pepper and dried leaves. The cherries and beef continued through to the nice medium-long finish. This wine appears to be on its plateau of maturity, where it should stay for another 10 years. (93pts.)

Cellar gems are reviews of bottles aged in our cellar.

Cellar Gem: 2001 Chateau D’Issan

On August 14, 2013February 4, 2014 By Bob WattIn FranceLeave a comment

2001 Chateau D’Issan (Bordeaux – Margaux, France) – When our twins were born back in 2004, my wife gave me a case of wine to celebrate, with the idea that we would drink one bottle every year around their birthday, and hopefully toast ourselves to a job well done. I look forward to this tradition each year, and cooked a good steak dinner to enjoy this bottle with. Now that the kids have turned 9, we only have a few more years before we’ll need to buy more “birthday” wine!

The wine had a deep red color, and there was nice spicy red fruit on the nose. In the mouth, the combination of red/black fruits and subtle baking spices came through, with good acid keeping everything alive. The sweet red fruit followed through to a nice medium to medium-long finish. This was a better showing than the previous bottle 2-3 years ago, which was still somewhat closed in on itself. This bottle was open for business and will have a great future over the next 10+ years. (93pts.)

Cellar Gems are reviews of bottles aged in our cellar.