The Wine Stop

• November 2009

  @Philip ... no worries. I need to get out to Montreal at some point and hope I can make the trip to visit them. @dmcker ... they are definitely going upscale and trying to be more like a Burgundy house. wine is definitely good and there is a lot more focus on vineyard management.... Read more@Philip ... no worries. I need to get out to Montreal at some point and hope I can make the trip to visit them. @dmcker ... they are definitely going upscale and trying to be more like a Burgundy house. wine is definitely good and there is a lot more focus on vineyard management. I was hoping to stop in but they are by appointment only and the wines are getting a little pricey.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Recommended wineries on... by HondaJohn

  
  

• November 2009

  i wanted to take a second to give praise for one of the domestic labels that dmcker had mentioned above, domaine carneros. there french counter part, taittinger, does an exceptional job producing great sparkling wine at there los carneros winery in the southern part of the napa... Read morei wanted to take a second to give praise for one of the domestic labels that dmcker had mentioned above, domaine carneros. there french counter part, taittinger, does an exceptional job producing great sparkling wine at there los carneros winery in the southern part of the napa valley. i was a part of there wine club for about a year and a half, and have enjoyed everything sent my way. the only downside is that some of their labels are only available through the club, or only for purchase at the winery. and if you are ever visiting the valley, i always recommend making a stop at domaine carneros. it's a beautifully styled french chatuea, and the tour that they offer is great. and since it is at the southern most part of the valley, what better way to start of your tour than with some great sparkling! i would have to say that my favorite is there rose, with nice strawberry and peach on the nose, and a round mouth feel and lush strawberry's on the palate, make this sparkling great on it's own, or with some fomage. they also produce some great pinots, and decent merlot...... and i would put their "le reve" brut up to almost any other french champagne with the same price point.......    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Good sparkling wines not from... by StevenBabb

  
  

• November 2009

  donccpa Why would you need to ship interstate if you live in MA? Just drive to Boston, if you don't live near there. The real advantage to interstate shipping is if you are unable to find a wide variety of wines in-state. The minor hassle of interstate shipping and the collection... Read moredonccpa Why would you need to ship interstate if you live in MA? Just drive to Boston, if you don't live near there. The real advantage to interstate shipping is if you are unable to find a wide variety of wines in-state. The minor hassle of interstate shipping and the collection of shipping crates in my garage are worth it to me, although my wife made me stop using them for basement wine storage.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Ridiculous USA wines law by schellbe

  
  

• November 2009

  I will stop by when I get there.

  Forum post in the topic Why don't we do a wine... by BeKe

  
  

• November 2009

  This year I got the opportunity to participate in a winery employee project. Me and a few of other employees at Loxton Cellars got half a ton of Syrah grapes to make our own wine from. We’ll do all the work and we’ll make all the decisions. What does this have to do with... Read moreThis year I got the opportunity to participate in a winery employee project. Me and a few of other employees at Loxton Cellars got half a ton of Syrah grapes to make our own wine from. We’ll do all the work and we’ll make all the decisions. What does this have to do with Gundlach Bundschu? Well, it means that I am in Sonoma more often and not spending the entire time at Loxton. This gives me the opportunity visit our winery neighbours. This time I decided to visit one of the wineries that have the longest history in Sonoma, Gundlach Bundschu. Gundlach Bundschu (GunBun) is still family owned which seems to be a rarity these days. Currently being run by Jeff Bundschu, GunBun, is on its 6th generation of ownership spanning 150 years. GunBun has been making wine in Sonoma 1858 and is second to Buena Vista in longest operating winery in Sonoma. Buena Vista is gone the way of corporate ownership which makes GunBun a true Sonoma Gem. Another thing that makes GunBun interesting is that most of their wine is made from estate grapes. In a time where wineries buy up grapes from many regions GunBun goes the old school route of producing from what they grow. This definitely allows for a ‘place’ expression in their wines. I’d characterize it as earthy goodness with nice acidity. You’ll see this consistently in my tasting notes. This is definitely a result of the proximity of the estate vineyards to San Pablo Bay and the mountain terrain. The tasting room at GunBun is not big but not small. It can be busy and definitely has a bustling atmosphere. There is a $5 tasting fee that allows you to taste 4 wines from the wine portfolio. The current tasting list has 15 wines. Only two of them are white. Luckily for me Carol was working the day I dropped in. Carol used to work with me at Loxton Cellars. This means I got to taste through most of the wines on the list. Don’t worry, I spit and dumped because I tasted through 12 of the 15 wines available. My tasting notes are below: • 2007 Estate Chardonnay $25 (3/5) - Has the feel of a Carneros Chardonnay. Lots of big fruit aroma like lemon, pineapple and some citrus I couldn’t identify. Lots of citrus in the flavors with a creamy finish with some butterscotch but braced by good acidity. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-chardonnay-sonoma-valley-2007/ • 2008 Estate Gewurtraminer $22.50 (3.5/5) - I’m generally not a big fan of Gewurtz. Generally I find them dull and flat. This wine proved me wrong. Aromas of leche and grapefruit and some spice. Lots of layers of fruit flavors including grapefruit, leche and apricot. Good acid, not flat! http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-gewurztraminer-estate-bottled-2008/ • 2005 Vadasz Pinot Noir $32 (4/5) - This is one of the non-estate vineyards and I can see why GunBun got this fruit. This is a proper pinot noir. The vineyard is at the cross section of Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma Valley and Carneros. Nose has cherry, some woodiness and raspberrys. The wine is framed with good acidity, light tannins and has earthiness, spice and light red fruit. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-pinot-noir-vadasz-vineyard-2005/ • 2007 Estate Pinot Noir $34 (3/5) - More of a traditional Carneros pinot noir. Still a young wine but good. More red fruit than the Vadasz Pinot in the nose. Still has good acidity and a nice silky character and red fruit. Very light hints of earthiness. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-pinot-noir-estate-2007/ • 2006 Estate Tempranillo $35 (3/5) - Unusual variety for GunBun when you look at the rest of the lineup. Still, this is a decent wine. Doesn’t have quite the intensity I was expecting. Nice aromas of plum, leather and smoke. Had some nice clove and spice taste but fruit not quite there. Good acidity. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-tempranillo-estate-vineyard-2006/ • 2006 Estate Merlot $30 (3/5) - I’ve been on the hunt for a really good California Merlot and had high hopes for this GunBun wine. I wasn’t disappointed but I wasn’t blown away. Bright red fruit on the nose with some tobacco. Softer in intensity with earthy, leather and plum flavors. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-merlot-estate-vineyard-2006/ • 2006 Vineyard 51 Merlot $30 (3.5/5) - The fruit for this wine is sourced from Alexander Valley, which is noted for Cabernets and Merlots. To me this has a Bordeaux feel to it. More earthiness than the Estate Merlot and a nice herbal character. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-merlot-vineyard-51-2006/ • 2006 Estate Syrah $38 (2.5/5) - Kind of a funky wine. Some funky earthy aromas but not in a bad way, just not something I associate with Syrah. Smoky, black fruit flavors with some leather hints. Surprisingly low in acid for a GunBun Estate wine. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-syrah-estate-bottled-estate-vineyard-2006/ • 2007 Estate Zinfandel $38 (2.5/5) - Not sure why but this wine didn’t appeal to me. It’s not bad but I guess just not my style. Plum and cherry on the nose with flavors with raspberry jam and some spice. • 2006 Estate Cabernet $40 (4/5) - To me GunBun is about cabernet and this is definitely classic Sonoma Cabernet. It is more herbaceous than ripe fruit. Nose has some some spice (cassis) with leather and dark fruit. Good fruit flavors with spice and silky tannins and great balance. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-cabernet-sauvignon-estate-vineyard-2006/ • 2006 Mountain Terraces Cabernet $40 (3.5) - The vineyard for this wine, while owned by GunBun, is far from the property in the Mayacamas Mountains. This is more of a ripe style than the estate cab. Very nice wine. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-cabernet-sauvignon-mountain-terraces-2006/ • 2006 Vintage Reserve $80 (4.5) - This is the ‘big boy’ of the GunBun lineup. Labels feature the works of American artists. Seems to be the trend these days. Ignoring the label this wine is great. Classic Bordeaux style blend. Big aromas including leather, spice, cedar and red fruit. Layers of flavor including, coco, spice, leather and red & dark fruit. http://www.snooth.com/wine/gundlach-bundschu-winery-vintage-reserve-rouge-2006/ Wines I didn’t taste but were available are: • 2008 Tempranillo Rose • 2005 Mountain Cuvee • 2006 Estate Cabernet Franc If you find yourself in Sonoma and you want to visit a place with a true sense of history and continues on in the family tradition you need to stop in at GunBun. I did and very happy that I did. Gundlach Bundshcu (http://www.gunbun.com) General Information E info@gunbun.com P 707.938.5277 F 707.938.9460 Shipping Address: 2000 Denmark Street Sonoma, CA 95476 Wine Club E wineclub@gunbun.com P 866.GO.SWIRL (467.9475) Tasting Room: 707.939.3015 Hospitality, Tours & Events: 707.939.3019    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Gundlach Bundschu Visit ...... by HondaJohn

  
  

• November 2009

  Two Chefs Compare Notes One's a little country, one's a little big city. I’ve read a lot of cookbooks in my life. Some are indispensible reference works, some are entirely dispensable regifts, and some are just plain fun and inspirational. Down home:... Read more Two Chefs Compare Notes One's a little country, one's a little big city. I’ve read a lot of cookbooks in my life. Some are indispensible reference works, some are entirely dispensable regifts, and some are just plain fun and inspirational. Down home: downtown, which compares the recipes of two of wine country's best Chefs, is one of those cookbooks that you actually want to read. Published by Rodney Strong Vineyards, down home:downtown represents the essence of wine country cooking. Wine friendly dishes that draw on the bounty of local farms in all their seasonal glory. Each chef has carefully crafted a set of recipes based on the same basket of main ingredients. It’s Iron Chef on paper, and a blast to read. It would make a great gift for your favorite foodie/wine geek. The recipes are clear, easy to follow, and precise, though these are restaurant recipes so some involve quite a few steps.  I love the way the dishes are presented, and the photos, of the dishes, the respective restaurants, and the Sonoma countryside are gorgeous.  I had to pop a bottle of Rodney Strong’s 2006 Knotty Vines Zinfandel to enjoy while reading down home: downtown, and just happened upon a wonderful foil to this fine wine. What to expect: Zinfandel Zinfandel is considered America's own great indigenous grape, even though its origins lie on the Adriatic coast. Planted throughout California and the Pacific Northwest, Zinfandel is at its best in warm regions with cooler temperatures during harvest. The wines can range from off-dry Rosés (aka White Zinfandel) and light bistro styled wines, to big, rich powerful wines - and even luscious dessert wines. The flavors range from plummy to raspberry, although deep blackberry fruit and brambly spice tones are most common. Find more Zinfandel Two great recipes. Which one is right for you? Apple Wood Smoked Pork Chops with Fresh Applesauce By:Jeff Mall Jeff Mall, the down home half of this duo of Chefs, hangs his hat at Healdsburg’s Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar.  His version of Pork Chops and applesauce exudes classic country cooking style Pork Chops with Fennel-Apple Salad and Potato Pancakes By: Josh Silvers Josh Silver’s Syrah bistro, located right off the plaza in downtown Santa Rosa, bring an international flair to his dish, pairing the pork with fennel, crisp potato pancakes, and a sophisticated Aioli. Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar (Jeff Mall) 344 Center St. Healdsburg, CA 9544 707.473.0946 Apple Wood–Smoked Pork Chops with Fresh Applesauce, Braised Rainbow Chard, and Corn Bread Stuffing follow this link for a printable pdf file of this recipe For the pork chops: In a large bowl, combine the beer, salt, sugar, molasses, Sriracha hot sauce, garlic, peppercorns, and thyme. Add the water and stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add the pork chops, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours. For the applesauce: In a large, heavy skillet, melt the sugar over medium-high heat, shaking the pan frequently, until it just begins to turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the apples, lime juice, and salt. (The caramel will clump, but will melt as the applesauce cooks; add a little water to melt it if necessary.) Cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat as needed to prevent scorching, until the apples are soft and caramelized a light brown color, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon. Set aside. For the corn bread stuffing: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning, until well browned on all sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and green pepper and sauté until the onion is translucent and soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sage, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Put the corn bread in a large, shallow 8-cup baking dish and pour the onion mixture over the corn bread. Stir gently to coat and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake until browned, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and keep warm. While the stuffing is baking, prepare a charcoal grill for indirect-heat cooking, mounding the hot coals on one side of the grill. Remove the pork from the brine (discard the brine) and pat dry. Soak the apple wood chips in warm water for 10 minutes; drain. Sprinkle the apple wood chips over the coals and place the pork chops on the indirect-heat area of the grill (not over the coals). Cover the grill and smoke the pork chops for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and open the vents to increase the heat; if needed, add a few more coals. Move the pork chops to the direct-heat area of the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium. Transfer to a plate and tent with aluminum foil; let rest for 5 minutes. For the rainbow chard: Coarsely chop the chard leaves. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Working in batches, add the chard and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and chicken broth, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the chard is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm. To serve, reheat the applesauce over low heat. Spoon a mound of corn bread stuffing into the center of each of 4 dinner plates. Top each with one-fourth of the chard. Lean a pork chop against each mound and add a spoonful of applesauce. Makes 4 main-course servings Syrah Bistro (Josh Silvers) 205 Fifth St. Santa Rosa CA 707.568.4002 Pork Chops with Fennel-Apple Salad and Potato Pancakes follow this link for a printable pdf file of this recipe For the pork chops: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt, vinegar, sugar, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove from the heat, and let cool completely. Pour over the pork chops in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours. Meanwhile, for the fennel-apple salad: Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, cut the apple and fennel into paper thin slices. Put the slices in a bowl, cover with ice water, and soak for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, sugar, lemon zest, and olive oil together. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the fennel and apple well and toss with the vinaigrette. For the aioli: On a cutting board, mince the garlic with the salt and mash with the flat edge of the knife until it forms a paste. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk, lemon juice, and mustard together. Whisk in the garlic paste. Combine the oils in a measuring cup and, whisking constantly, add them to the yolk mixture a few drops at a time until the mixture is emulsified and all the oil is incorporated. (If the mixture separates, stop adding the oil and continue whisking until mixture comes together, then resume adding oil.) Whisk in the fennel pollen and season with salt and pepper. If the aioli is too thick, whisk in 1 or 2 drops of water. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. For the potato pancakes: Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the potato and onion into a bowl of hot water. Drain, cover with more hot water, and drain again. Cover with cold water, rinse, then drain very well. Spread the shreds on a clean kitchen towel, roll it up, and wring to squeeze out as much water as you can. Empty the shreds into a bowl and add the egg, flour, salt, and pepper; stir to combine thoroughly. Gently shape the mixture into 4 equal cakes. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1⁄2 inch oil over high heat to 375°F (a shred of potato will sizzle and brown almost instantly), and add the potato pancakes. Flatten each gently with a metal spatula and fry until golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip over and cook until golden brown on second side and tender throughout, 3 to 4 minutes more. Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high. Drain the pork chops and pat dry. Grill for 6 or 7 minutes on each side for medium. Place a potato pancake on each of 4 dinner plates and top each with a pork chop. Add a spoonful of aioli and the fennel-apple salad. Garnish with fennel fronds if desired and serve. Makes 4 main-course servings   down home:downtown makes a great gift and can be ordered directly from each restaurant. Support these two fine chefs by making a reservation at either Zin Restaurant or Syrah Bistro during your next trip to wine country. If you can't make it to Sonoma, bring their cooking home. Purchase a copy of down home:downtown and share the bounty of Sonoma with friends and family alike. Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar      Syrah Bistro    (hide)

  From the article down home: downtown

  
  

• November 2009

  Remembered a couple of things after posting the last. One was how many times I've had decent roses in Switzerland. Look for what's called Oeil-de-Perdrix (eye of the partridge, for the shade of pink of a partridge's eye as it is ... oh well, I'll stop there). Usually full bodied and... Read moreRemembered a couple of things after posting the last. One was how many times I've had decent roses in Switzerland. Look for what's called Oeil-de-Perdrix (eye of the partridge, for the shade of pink of a partridge's eye as it is ... oh well, I'll stop there). Usually full bodied and often elegant with a dry nose and good acidity. I also remembered a slew of excellent food combinations, including rabbit with pinot noir, but particularly how much fun I had matching the cheeses and cheese sauces with the whites and reds (and roses)...    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Swiss wine- I know nothing! by dmcker

  
  

• November 2009

  Interesting comments. I think people forget that Australia produced fortified wines for many years. Even more interesting is that they were using Touriga Nacional in 1979. From the guys I've spoken to, I got the impression that they really started working seriously with Portuguese... Read moreInteresting comments. I think people forget that Australia produced fortified wines for many years. Even more interesting is that they were using Touriga Nacional in 1979. From the guys I've spoken to, I got the impression that they really started working seriously with Portuguese grapes rather recently, and garnacha was always the standby. Makes sense though. I'm with you about a forgotten style. It's not like it's actually forgotten, but people either get together to drink Ports and fortified wines, or they don't drink them at all. They're not considered part of the normal course of wines at dinner any more. People still drink sparkling wines, white wines, and move to reds, and then they stop. I think sweet wine as a class is usually overlooked. A real shame too. Those are great sipping wines. Outside of dinner, I pretty much never pour myself a dry red or even white. But somehow sweet wines are good on their own, fortified or not.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic What else would make a good... by GregT

  
  

• November 2009

  A Morning in Houston with Drops of Golden Dew: Dotson-Cervantes Gotas de Oro It was 9:30 on a weekday morning when the door bell rang. I expected this as, the evening before, I received a call from Alphonse Dotson. He said that he and his wife Martha were going to be in Houston... Read moreA Morning in Houston with Drops of Golden Dew: Dotson-Cervantes Gotas de Oro It was 9:30 on a weekday morning when the door bell rang. I expected this as, the evening before, I received a call from Alphonse Dotson. He said that he and his wife Martha were going to be in Houston visiting his Mother. They were on the verge of releasing their first wine and wanted to stop by to visit with my wife Delia and me. Alphonse and Martha arrived at our home in central Houston on a sunny, dew-laden morning. We leisurely sat in our living room as we tasted their new wine, the first under the Wines of Dotson-Cervantes label with the fascinating name “Gotas de Oro”. The name was a contribution by Martha which translates to “Drops of Gold” from her native Spanish. As we relaxed and talked about friends, family and common acquaintances, I poured the wine that was well described by its name. The silky yellow liquid poured from the bottle with the color of golden drops of morning dew. The initial taste was pure tropical expression with sweet, very ripe pineapple with afollow-on of apricot and nectarine. Perfumed jasmine aromatics arose from the glass. The finish included a hint of musk. This was really one complex wine; quite an accomplishment for the couple’s first commercial wine. More at: http://vintagetexas.com/blog/?p=1229 Tags: Texas, wine, Dotson-Cervantes, Gotas de Oro, Mustcat Canelli, Certenberg Vineyards, Alphonse Dotson !http://vintagetexas.com/blog/pics/GotasDeOro.jpg!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic A Morning in Houston with... by VintageTexas

  
  

• October 2009

  Expectations and experience tend to soften excitement in wine, muffling the high pitch of greatness to meager moans. It can be difficult to savor the high highs once a sensory resume has been established, just as the anticipatory thrill of perfection can carve the pleasure from the... Read moreExpectations and experience tend to soften excitement in wine, muffling the high pitch of greatness to meager moans. It can be difficult to savor the high highs once a sensory resume has been established, just as the anticipatory thrill of perfection can carve the pleasure from the stem like a critical mass. As oddly as it sounds, the Quilceda Creek 2004 & Barroche Pure 2005 had the odds stacked high against them on football Sunday. Adding two 100 point albatrosses to two discerning palates, coupled w/ atrophied wallets, was certain to net disastrous results of squared proportions. The backdrop, a non-competitive NFL match between the New York Giants and Oakland Panty Raiders, proved to be as scintillating an event as a horizontal comparison of country appellation boxed wine. I pity the people of Oakland, home to a professional band of charlatans, who continue to pilfer millions of dollars from their masked fans, governed by a throng of stern senility. We began with a chuckle, swilling down a bottle of 2007 Beaurenard blanc, which had the ullage of a 35 year old wine and all the zip one could hope for from a local grocer’s hard apple cider. Secondly, I unearthed a bottle of 1986 Trotanoy, which managed to fan a flame of mediocrity w/ all the smoke & heat of a damp kindling fire. Insipidly vegetal, with beet root and tired fungal flavors smoldering through the palate like dead leaves. A quintessential example of what tertiary wines taste like with nary a drop of fruit left in the well, leaving the mouth w/ a hankering for Australian Shiraz, desiccated. As the Quilceda & Barroche lay in their decanters, juxtaposed in dark brooding shades, all I could think of was how much I wanted a beer. Bad football and over-priced, frothy Bud Light go together like Stilton and Sauternes. That said, my apathy for the game kept me away from Miller time, so I drew some of the Barroche into my Burgundy stem like a scientist sucking away a sample into a slick pipette. It had been brewing in the decanter for over an hour, intensifying like hot coffee in a French press. Now I’d tasted every other vintage of Pure to date, the ’04, ’06 and ’07 (Julien came on board at Barroche in ’02, w/ his first two vintages being to erratic to bottle), but I had yet to taste ‘the vintage.’ ‘The vintage,’ deified w/ a 3 figure salute in the Hedonist’s Gazette, is scarcer than a defected Cuban ballplayer on Castro soil. My opportunities to savor one of my two bottles hadn’t existed up to that point, so I created one. I took a deep breath & did my best to extricate all the pomp and circumstance from the glass, then tasted the wine. It was closed at first, almost blinding you to its intensity and depth. As I patiently swirled away, scents of rose petals, pepper and sweet kirsch emerged, on the verge but far too coiled to disband. Its flavors attacked slowly but continued to progress, elevating like numbers on a dial with each swish and swirl. Full and enveloping, then absolutely blasting off to an explosive finish that leaves your senses recoiled, like an abrupt stop to a high speed chase. The flavors ran the gamut through the dark side of the Grenache-spectrum, twisting a bitter cocoa and fruitcake note on the midpalate, then spackling its tactile mineral core on the back-end. The ’05 Pure is tangibly young, but seems to share a bit of its neighbor’s sandy soil driven minerality, in spite of its immense size, structure and breadth. I own one more bottle, and I aint’ touchin’ it for at least another five years. One down…. If the Quilceda Creek were a person, it would be stewing away in that decanter thinking ‘great, now it’s my turn?!’ Tough act to follow, but the Quilceda did have a leg up on the Pure from a couple angles. One, I’d only tasted one previous vintage of the wine (’04), and two, the Cabernet grape was sure to seem like a novelty to my palate, seeing that I draw Grenache fluids into my body intravenously. Well, the stars were aligned for QC ’03, scattering a constellation of fruit that blanketed any possible dissension from each one of its 100 points. Its perfume, redolent of eucalyptus and the oils of crushed flowers, was as pure and natural an aromatic expression of New World Cabernet as I’ve ever smelled. While large-scaled in the palate, it possessed an ethereal sense of ease that belied her density, unspooling layers of flavors like wavering fields of wheat in the breeze. The finish was awash with tiers of cassis and blueberry fruit, packaged by impeccably suave tannins. I found myself more contemplative after I swallowed it, as it grew in presence the longer the flavors lingered. If I were an architect conjuring a Cabernet from the ground-up, I don’t think I could have even imagined assembling a structure more impressive than this. On this particular day, the two wines defied all the drugstore psychology. While it is quantitatively impossible to smash the expectations of a 100 point wine (save for a new scale), these wines left resounding impressions in addition to their promise, and I found that particularly noteworthy. If a certain entity is supposed to illicit a certain familiar emotion, does that render the end result less pleasurable? I’d gather the answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. Wines, like people, are moody, fickle creations that are too multi-dimensional to predict or expect. Even if they possess the raw materials & acute evolution to affect you in a subjectively ‘perfect’ manner, what if you are incapable of embracing that affection at that given point? The mood wasn’t right, the company was stifling, the food was loathsome, you didn’t sleep well last night….so on & so forth. Should I be more impressed w/ these wines for their ability to deliver perfection in spite of some peripherally damning elements? Or should I credit the environment for enabling the experience to proceed w/o a hitch? I’m inclined to champion the former, particularly w/ the Oakland Raiders and hot dogs filling out the nexus of the latter. As an epilogue, I can say that the two wines shared an objective profundity in terms of presence and length. While it is difficult to quantify either trait, I can only describe them as aspects of 3 dimensional wines. They affect your senses through a range of emotions. Their perfumes, textures and array of vivid flavors seem to mature and excite each aspect of taste & all at once, while the wine is present and when it is gone. They evolve like scenes of a play, maintaining the moment while impressing upon a broader scope. For comparison purposes, we drank a bottle of 2000 Beaucastel afterwards. With all due respect to the Chateau, it seemed a mere aperitif after these two goliaths, demonstrating just how ‘normal’ even a great wine can be in such classic company. When interpreting scores, don’t kid yourself into believing that the differences between a 100 point wine and a 93 point wine are negligible (for those that don’t score wines, you can extrapolate the points into whatever classification of experience that you choose). As an addendum, these wines were all drank 3 weeks ago. I took no notes but remember the Pure & QC as if they were still on my lips. I had no intention of using Beaucastel as a whipping boy, but it provided a much needed sense of relativity.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic 100 Point Wine, Before & After by Brad Coelho

  
  

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