Stilton

• October 2009

  Expectations and experience tend to soften excitement in wine, muffling the ... 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... Read moreExpectations and experience tend to soften excitement in wine, muffling the ... 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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  October 2009

  Covey Run Ice Wine Reserve Semillon

  Snoothrank: Starting at $19^.29

  intense aromas of pineapple, citrus and vanilla that are balanced by a bracing ... cheeses like Roquefort or Stilton

  Wine review by sapdesigns

  
  

• October 2009

  I've written a full two part review of the latest prime example from Mr. Michel ... and angry grizzly Bear? ...Stilton cheese

  Forum post in the topic The 2007 Clos de los Siete. Oy. by ChipDWood

  
  
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  October 2009

  Clos de Los Siete 2007

  Snoothrank:

  Clos des los Siete refers to the seven owners who joint-own the Mendoza (or ... Charging wild boar? ...Stilton cheese

  Wine review by ChipDWood

  
  
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  July 2009

  Layer Cake Primitivo a.k.a. Zinfandel 2007

  Snoothrank:

  Very extracted and intense, with so much ripe fruit that it tastes almost ... as I type this, with some Stilton cheese. My wife says, "WOW", and I think it is a tasty bottle of juice that needs the correct cuisine pairing. Maybe a nice Angus steak? We picked it up at Costco a few... Read moreVery extracted and intense, with so much ripe fruit that it tastes almost ... as I type this, with some Stilton cheese. My wife says, "WOW", and I think it is a tasty bottle of juice that needs the correct cuisine pairing. Maybe a nice Angus steak? We picked it up at Costco a few days back and it was less than $12 so it's a perfect bottle for the current economic climate    (hide)

  Wine review by jimheiner

  
  
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  July 2009

  Layer Cake Primitivo a.k.a. Zinfandel 2007

  Snoothrank:

  Very extracted and intense, with so much ripe fruit that it tastes almost ... as I type this, with some Stilton cheese. My wife says, "WOW", and I think it is a tasty bottle of juice that needs the correct cuisine pairing. Maybe a nice Angus steak? We picked it up at Costco a few... Read moreVery extracted and intense, with so much ripe fruit that it tastes almost ... as I type this, with some Stilton cheese. My wife says, "WOW", and I think it is a tasty bottle of juice that needs the correct cuisine pairing. Maybe a nice Angus steak? We picked it up at Costco a few days back and it was less than $12 so it's a perfect bottle for the current economic climate    (hide)

  Wine review by jimheiner

  
  
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  June 2009

  Wiese Krohn & Vintage Port 1984

  Snoothrank:

  Holds its own weight. Matured in '05 and what a treat. Get a Stilton - a fabulous pear and someone who knows ports.

  Wine review by bluemesa

  
  
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  May 2009

  Xyz 1998

  Snoothrank:

  Chewy, full bodied and non-bitter tannins with a meaty chestnut finish give ... a decent hunk of blue veined Stilton or Roquefort. Comes on strong, but this brute's big hands don't leave you with a full or acid stomach. He keeps charming with an earthy finish of tobacco and peat.... Read moreChewy, full bodied and non-bitter tannins with a meaty chestnut finish give ... a decent hunk of blue veined Stilton or Roquefort. Comes on strong, but this brute's big hands don't leave you with a full or acid stomach. He keeps charming with an earthy finish of tobacco and peat. Salt of the earth, you'll want to keep this one around the house as he's a reliable pleaser    (hide)

  Wine review by CarolineSexton

  
  

• April 2009

  Vintage port is a very different animal from Tawny and all the other forms of ... classic combinations is with Stilton, which some people find a bit much to take on its own (besides being a blue cheese it is also very salty). It and a good vintage port meld together into a very... Read moreVintage port is a very different animal from Tawny and all the other forms of ... classic combinations is with Stilton, which some people find a bit much to take on its own (besides being a blue cheese it is also very salty). It and a good vintage port meld together into a very lovely combination of textures and flavors in your mouth. Vintage port has even been known to go with cigars (a classic smoky-back-room image of stogies and port decanters comes to mind...), though I prefer to enjoy most of the port I'm going to have by itself before I light up on those occasions when I do smoke a cigar after dinner. Smoke, of course, does not help the olfactory senses, but port provides a nice counterbalance, and a change away from the brandy or whisky or aged rum that I otherwise might have with the cigar    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Werre's Port by dmcker

  
  
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  February 2009

  Ciccio Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Cantina Zaccagnini 2001

  Snoothrank:

  A nice, unassuming wine meant for easy drinking. Soft tannins with some bright ... with a good cheese like Stilton or Roquefort

  Wine review by thefallingman

  
  

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