1994 Cristal, 1995 Chateau Gazin and 2001 Pahlmeyer

We spent last weekend at Lake Tahoe with good friends who brought a magnum of the 1995 Chateau Gazin, Pomerol, Bordeaux Blend (among others). It was opened a couple of hours prior to dinner and at first we thought the wine was a little bit off and did not particularly enjoy it. We wondered if it could have gone past it's peak. However after enjoying some champagne, 1994 Cristal Champagne, Louis Roederer, (that unfortunately according to my palate was past it's peak) we revisited and discovered a major improvement.

But first, let's back up to the 1994 Cristal Louis Roederer. It had a relatively dark straw color with a beautiful stream of small bubbles rushing up the glass. The nose showed dominent aromas of green apple, with citrus and slight caramel notes, accompanied by the traditional yeast and earth components. Our friends insisted on chocolate/mocha notes but I could not pick it up. I wish we would have opened this bottle a couple of years ago at what point I think it would have been more vivid and "refreshing". Never the less a great champagne that you don't have the opportunity to enjoy to often...

Find it at WineZap.com from $369.90.

After breathing for a little bit over 4 hours the 1995 Chateau Gazin Pomerol was starting to come into it's right. Deep ruby red in the glass with a slight brick color. The nose surprisingly vivid with fruit and berries, backed by spice and oak. The palate showing more restrained and subtle fruit with currant, cherry and raspberry, along with earth, smoke and a meaty quality. A medium to full bodied wine with refined, elegant, medium length finish. Certainly a wine that is best enjoyed with a meal. In this case a whole roasted beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce, roasted beets, pureed parsnips, and a cauliflower-broccoli- spinach gratin.

Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $82.99 for a 750 ml bottle.

After the Pomerol we moved on to a 2001 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red, Napa Valley. This wine is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Verdot, and 1% Malbec. Aged in 100% new French Oak and the bottled unfined and unfiltered.

This wine showed massive, lush fruit on the nose with dark cherry, black raspberry, blackberry and heavy vanilla. The palate did not disappoint. Dark cherry, black currant, blackberry with earthy smoke, made us all happy. Full bodied with well integrated tannins and good acidity. This powerful wine was a great end to the evening and perfect with my Maldon and vanilla salt topped fudge brownies with vanilla bean ice cream.

Find this beauty at WineZap.com from $102. Definitely worth it's price.

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Lorca 2001 Gary's Vineyard Monterey County Pinot Noir

Lorca Wines is located in Rutherford, Napa Valley, and produces Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc with grapes from Monterey County, Pinot Noir form French-clone vines of Gary Pisoni and Gary Francione of Santa Lucia Highlands, and an old vine Petite Syrah from Napa Valley.

The Lorca 2001 Gary's Vineyard Monterey County Pinot Noir has a dark ruby red color in the glass with a hint of purple.

The nose is pretty intense and complex with dark cherry, raspberry, dried herbs, earth with a hint of smoke, vanilla, and a trace of liquorice.
The palate is less intense with more dusty earth accenting the black cherry and dark raspberry, all with a touch of spice. The tannins are somewhat smooth but still has a "wood" quality to them. We are not talking splinters in the mouth but still a notable amount. Moderate acidity.

I found this wine at my local Total Wine & More for $23.99 and it is sold for a surprisingly higher price online. They best deal I could find was at WineZap.com from $45.99.

This was an enjoyable wine for the price I paid. However if I have to pay closer to $50, as seems to be the case in most stores, I have several better options in mind.

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Artesa 2001 Elements Red Table Wine

The Artesa 2001 Elements Red Table Wine is a blend of predominantly red Bordeaux varietals with 79% of the grapes coming from Sonoma County and 21% from Napa County. It was aged for two years in 50% new and 50% used French oak.

This wine shows a dark red ruby color with a purple nuance. There are tons of ripe, heavy, dark fruit on the nose with earthiness, an aroma of salty ocean, and vanilla.
On the palate the ripe fruit follows through with dark cherry, plum, black currant accompanied by firm tannins and firm acidity. Both of them crucial to balance this very plush and ripe wine. All in all nothing to write home about but neither is it a bad wine. Big and ripe with ok balance, but lacks in complexity.

Find this wine at WineZap.com from $ 17.69. For a decent, California-style, easy-to-drink, Bordeaux blend: not to shabby.

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The Ojai Vineyard 2001 White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah

The Ojai Vineyard 2001 White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah has an incredibly dense, dark red/purple color in the glass, promising me serious fruit.

On the nose it displays blackberry and hint of oak and a floral note I would describe as violet. I expected more heavy fruit on the nose but at this stage I get the feeling that we are dealing with a Syrah made in a slightly more elegant style.

Blackberry, dark cherry, and spice shows beautifully on the palate with some smokey wood at the very finish. Great acidity and perfectly firm, well integrated, tannins gives this medium to full-bodied wine a great balanced feel in the mouth and a long lingering finish. At this point I can confirm that even though is shows plenty of fruit on the palate they are of the slightly more soft and restrained type as this wine turns out to be made in a more elegant style.

This wine was perfect to sip with a few pieces of dark chocolate in front of the movie we watched Sunday night. I wish I had another bottle or two. Looking for it online I actually found a really good deal at Wine-Searcher.com for $33.99 (as I remembered paying $45 for it back in 2004). Try it and let me know if you love it as much as I do.

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One day in the El Dorado wine country

Yesterday our good friends and neighbors had rented a limo and invited us to come along for a day of wine tasting in Shenandoah Valley (45 min from Sacramento, CA). I am not the one to decline such an invitation and after accepting I was told that I was in charge for the itinerary. This is how our day panned out.

We started of with a visit to Villa Toscano. I had been there before and really enjoy their wine and the beautiful architecture and surrounding garden. Being after noon we were all starving and started with a meal from their Gourmet Bistro. We all shared a mix of freshly baked pizza, salad, panini, anti pasto mix, cheese and crackers. You can enjoy it at a table in their garden or in the big tent they have set up in it. And so it was time for tasting... They poured around 15 wines + four futures right out of the barrels. They produce chardonnay, viognier, sauvignon blanc, sangiovese, barbera, merlot and several bottlings of zinfandel. Although all the wines showed very well the zinfandel is the wineries forte. The 2003 Fox Creek Old Vine being my favorite. The oldest vines in this vineyard is over 110 years old. Producing a very round, concentrated zin with some lighter spice and made in a little more elegant style.

After this we moved on to Terre Rouge and Easton Winery. We had a great tasting here were they did a separate tasting for the eight of us in our group. The gentleman who did the tasting explained the grape and style of wine for every tasting he poured. Very educational and a great opportunity to ask questions and get in depth information. They had a really good sauvigon blanc here. The 2004 Sierra Foothills Sauvignon Blanc is aged in oak as opposed to the more traditional stainless steel tanks. That gives this wine a little bit rounder, more creamy, palate with some vanilla oak, but still shows tropical fruit, great acidity and freshness as it has not gone through malolactic fermentation. A great wine to sip on in your backyard a warm summer day. The other standout was the 2001 Amador County Mourvedre. A traditional grape in Rhone blends, here on its own with great dark fruit and berries and the characteristic spiciness.

Our next stop was supposed to be Vino Noceto. They had their annual spring release party, and it was so packed that we decided to stop at a newer winery, that we had not heard of, next door instead. Stonehouse Vineyards and Winery offers Chardonnay, Viognier, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. All of them really nice wines, my favorite being the 2003 Shenandoah Valley Zinfandel with ripe blackberry and cherries, a hint of oak and spice, all nicely balanced with medium round tannins. Stonehouse is owned by Mitchell and Maarit Shultz, and reacting to Maarits name as seemingly Scandinavian my husband found out that she was born in Finland but grew up in Sweden. As you can imagine I got very excited and the two of us talked for quite a while. Great and unexpected treat to be conversing in Swedish on our little trip! Mitchell and Maarit are friends of Thomas Kinkade and therefore have the privilege to feature a Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery in the wine tasting room. Visits for wine and art...

Last stop before dinner was the Bella Piazza Winery. This winery have the same owners and wine maker as Villa Toscano and is also located in a very beautiful building surrounded by a great garden with water features. You can tell that not only the wine but the architecture and surroundings are very important to the owners. Just like at Villa Toscano, they had a massive list of about 15 wines being poured and then four futures in barrel tastings. Again all very good and well crafted wines. They grow a few not to common grapes around here, Primitivo and Montepulciano, that was a real treat to taste. Another fun wine was the 2002 Bella Rosso. A blend made from Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah, Barbera and Cabernet Franc. A really smooth red, with soft but ripe black fruit and berries, a hint of spiciness, and good balance of acidity and tannins.

After all of this it was time for dinner. I had made reservations at Bidwell Street Bistro in Folsom and upon arriving we started of with three plates of appetizers shared at the table. Grilled Ahi Tuna with Sesame Asparagus, Prince Edward Island Mussels and Tiger Prawns in a Savory Broth, and Grilled Wild Boar Sausage with Corn Meal Griddle Cakes. All three very good, but the standout was the Wild Boar Sausage, packed with flavor. I ordered the Garden Salad which was nothing special, but my husband really enjoyed the French Onion Soup. For entree I choose the Roasted Halibut on a bed of Cauliflower Puree, Creamed Leeks and a Ruby Port-Currant Sauce. This was Delicious! The Halibut was cooked perfectly and the subtle flavor of the fish was not over powered by the mild cauliflower puree and creamed leeks. It all played very well together and despite of the mildness of the ingredients this was a very flavorful dish. I will order this again in a heart beat. For dessert we shared Profiterols with Vanilla Bean Gelato and Warm Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce. Hard to mess up and it was a great ending to our meal. Over all a great dinner!
So our day ended and it was time to go home...

There are a wide array of great wineries in El Dorado County, far to many to visit in a day or two... Find more information at this website where many of the, however far from all, are featured.

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Three great bottles...

I had the opportunity to enjoy three bottles of very good wine this weekend, and want to share my thoughts on them with you.

First out was the Dunn Vineyards 2003 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, dense red/purple color in the glass. Thick, rich, dark fruit on the nose with black berries. The black berries carries through to the palate with black currant, good acidity and big, but relatively smooth, tannins for being so young. Long, beautiful finish. This wine is a fruit power house. Very good!
After the 2003 we pulled a bottle of the Dunn Vineyards 2000 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, thinking it would be fun to compare the two wines. What a difference! The 2000 has a dark ruby/purple color in the glass as well. On the nose not so much berries but dark cherries and plum with a hint of burnt match stick. Still rich fruit and berries on the palate but not nearly as bright, ripe, and dense as the 2003. The tannins are very firm, and this wine will do well in the bottle for quite a few more years to come.
Robert Parker gave the 2003 92-94 points and the 2000 only 88 points. I do agree with the 2003 (if you can put a number on it...) but I think the 2000 is definitely worth some extra credit. So different but still a really good wine worth 90 or maybe even+.
Later with dinner we had the Joseph Phelps 2001 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine. This wine is a different beast compared to the wines from Dunn Vineyards. Not as densely colored in the glass with a great dark ruby red color. Dark fruit, cherries, and a hint of vanilla on the nose. On the palate, cherries, plum and black currant with a slight spiciness. Great acidity and round tannins. This wine is not so much powerful, although full-bodied, but made in a more elegant style with great balance throughout, and a long finish.

Can't complain about this trio of wines. My taste buds were very happy this day...


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Valsacro 2001 Rioja

Time for a wine from Spain. It has been a while...
The Bodega Valsacro 2001 Rioja is made from Garnacha, Tempranillo and Mazuelo, and aged in French and American oak for 12 months.
Let it sit in your glass for 5 minutes, and gorgeous black berry and black cherries with black pepper and cinnamon will appear on the nose. On the palate, lush, dark fruit and berries with sweet oak, some spiciness from black pepper, good acidity and smooth tannins. Long, pleasant finish. Overall a very good, nicely balanced wine. And it sells at a good price, from $19.99 at Wine-Searcher.com. I found me bottle at BevMo for $18.99.

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Two Great Restaurants: Ca'Dario and Elements

When we were in Santa Barbara last weekend, with friends from the Bay Area, we tried a restaurant we had not been to before, Ca'Dario . It is a small Italian, intimate restaurant that has been around for a long time and has gotten the rating "Excellent" from Zagat Survey for the last three consecutive years.
Starting of with a glass of wine in the small, cozy bar, we were soon seated. We started our meal with sharing the outrageously good Risotto del Giorno, which happened to be Wild Mushroom this particular night. True Italian risotto, creamy, silky and oh so tasty! We continued with splitting the Insalata Ca'Dario, a salad with radicchio, arugula and shaved Parmesan. Fresh, crisp, and light. For main course I ordered Penne al Salmone e Panna. A hand made pasta with smoked Salmon and a white sour cream, dill sauce. Pasta perfectly cooked al dente, tossed with generous amount of smoked salmon and perfect amount of sauce. The pasta was not at all "floating" in the sauce as you so many times see... Delicious!!!
With this meal we had a bottle of Antinori Pian Delle Vigne 2000 Brunello Di Montalcino, that our friends had brought. A great full bodied Brunello, 100% Sangiovese, with big dark fruit and mellow tannins. Great meal, great wine, great company, great night!

The prior night we enjoyed dinner at Elements which I have reviewed previously . However, I tried new dishes and wine so I just have to tell you all about it again...
Sea Scallop with Creole Sauce, Asparagus and Crab meat made for an excellent start. Scallops tender and perfectly seared and the sauce very flavorful with some spice to it.
For main course the Lemongrass-Panko Crusted Sea Bass with a Thai Green Curry Sauce, Gingered Basmati Rice and Stir Fried Medley of Vegetables. Nicely balanced dish with right amount of spiciness of the coconut curry sauce, not overpowering the sea bass.
As a final, the grownup version of Ice Cream Cookie, with home made chocolate cookies hugging vanilla ice cream, topped with dark chocolate sauce.
The wines we had with this meal were all great. We started with the La Vie Vineyards Rasta Rita, Santa Rita Hills 2003 Pinot Noir. A big and powerful Pinot with dark fruit, nice spice and great tannins to balance it all out into a long finish. A truly great Pinot! One of the best one I've had in quite a while. We continued with the Sea Smoke Cellars Southing Santa Rita Hills 2003 Pinot Noir. Again beautiful dark berries and fruit with great tannins as backbone but this one a little bit more elegant in style than the Rasta Rita. Also an amazing Pinot, right up there with the Rasta Rita.
Last we had the Stag's Leap Cellars SLV 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. A great match to the chocolate dessert. Black currant, and dark, not to ripe, fruit, with good tannin structure. We opened this bottle at the beginning of the meal to let it air and that was a good call.

Looks like it's hard to go wrong in Santa Barbara with a ton of great restaurants to choose from, and most of them featuring a respectable wine list.

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Lamborn Family Vineyards Zinfandel

Tonight I put together a hearty dish to warm us up in the cold, windy weather, Beef with Spicy Cocoa Gravy and Whole Grain Egg Noodles . I picked a zinfandel from our stash of wine to go with this meal. The 2001 Lamborn Family Vineyards The Cork Report Zinfandel Howell Mountain was a gift from good friends (Tim and Kendra) a year or two ago. I have not had Lamborn Family wines before and was quite not sure what to expect. Big purple fruit bomb or delicate fruit with pepper? Turned out it has earthy mushroom and dark fruit on the nose. The palate shows really good balance between dark cherry and currant, and round, full tannins. A really good, not to overly fruity Zin. Repeating: Great balance! A great wine for a hearty winter dinner or just to enjoy on it's own with good friends. Find it at http://www.wine-searcher.com/ from $33.