Hey Everyone,
I'm sitting in my kitchen enjoying a beautifully wintry view out the window; the result of a winter storm covering much of the United States, and i thought I'd share a couple of fantastic wines I've encountered during my stint here in America. It's nothing new to say that America is capable of producing top-quality wines, with quantitative scoring and historic tasting competitions to back up the claim. But what is truly exciting about many wines is the ability and willingness to experiment, take risks and try to make something truly exceptional. Here are but a few of the exciting wines I've encountered over the past few months.
Stag's Leap Karia Chardonnay 2011- It's not always about the oak when it comes to California Chardonnay as modern producers are showing us. That said, a little bit never hurts, especially when the oak is pretty much neutral flavour-wise and serves mostly to allow gentle oxygen contact to stabilise the wine. Stag's Leap is of course best known for it's Cask 23 which topped many other California and Bordeaux wines at the Judgement of Paris Tasting. This Chardonnay, however is a very beautiful, almost chablis-like approach to with crisp minerality and restrained green apple and pear. It's also significantly cheaper than it's stable-mates and alongside the Stag's Leap Sauvignon Blanc represents excellent Napa white.
Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2011- This is probably the best value wine reviewed here today, not only because it is the lowest priced, but because it really over delivers. It shows off all those wonderful, rich black currant flavours, gripping, yet polished tannins and a mouthful of juicy flavour with a very pleasing price tags coming under $20. Cassis, black berries and even a hint of bell pepper give a Cab lover his fill and make for a food-lovers wine as well. I had this with some grilled strip steaks and thought I'd found a real gem!
Buena Vista Ramal Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007- Forget about tannins and cassis for a moment and let's talk about pretty wine. This is most certainly that! Buena Vista makes a lot of wine and in many different bottlings so I won't make great big pronouncement of quality overall, but here's a wine I must praise. This pinot from the Ramal Vineyards in Carneros has reached a point that showcases maturity on a very human scale. Six years old and it has opened up all the complexities and layers you want from classy Pinot Noir. It is floral, with violets and rose petals, yet it also comes forward with notes of raspberries and red currants. There is a definite but light earthiness as well. Overall, it reminds me of but not identical to, an older Nuits-Saint-Georges. Very pretty stuff indeed!
Orin Swift, Abstract 2012- From producer David Phinney, who I consider a winemaker very much in the footsteps of the illustrious Sine Qua Non, has produced excellent wine for some time now, from his start in 1997 as a farm hand with Robert Mondavi to his own operation bearing both his parent's middle names, Orin Swift produces top-tier wines in Napa. The wine in question here is not one of his more expensive bottlings, but it shows a cavalier approach to wine making. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah, the Abstract hits the nose like a young, Chateauneuf and slams into the palate like a Napa Cab. Aromas of blackberries, clove and rich figs come at first, with marvellous layers of leather and earth all leading to a palate that can be described as... big. Big tannins, big acidity make this vin de garde one that will certainly live a long, fruitful life.
I hope your winter and Holiday seasons are filled with amazing food and good company. That's what makes December such a wonderful way to end the year. While you're at it, remember to enjoy some amazing wine!
Much Love,
G
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Mmm... Douro
Hey Everybody,
Tonight I've been packing for a trip to London and as I go I am enjoying a nice bottle of Portuguese red. Specifically from the Douro Valley in the North of the country, along the same river known as the Duero in Spain. Douro w
ine is mostly known on the international stage as the source of some of the world's most highly regarded wine: Port. That fortified, sweet and long lived wine is the stuff of legend but in a valley so blessed with an abundance of old vines, a plethora of cultivars and prime vineyard space, it is ridiculous to assume that top quality table wine is not made there as well.
Fruit forward and full bodied, it is a wonder that Portuguese reds are not more widely known. Perhaps they are suffering from some of the same malignancies that continuously frustrate German wine makers, with confusing terms, unfamiliar grape varieties and association with a stereotypical style. Whereas Germany contends with the misconception that all wines are going to be sweet and sickly, it may be that Portugal has the ghost of sweet fortified Port wine looming over it.
Fortunately it does not take too long to get through the layers of retrograde pfaffery, and the winemakers are doing what they can to help. I'm not saying that the wineries are doing what many of the Bordelaise producers have done and Parkerised (made their wines suitable for Robert Parker's palette), rather they have made an effort to be more engaging with modern style but unchanging class. For example, Dirk Niepoort of the legendary Niepoort Port house has made a conscious effort to put more emphasis on table wines, rather than his easily respectable vintage ports. He is putting forward excellent examples of dry table wines, such as his 'Redoma' range alongside the truly world class 'Batuta.' Kitted out with classy but interesting labels and amazing quality it is a great first step to showing the world what Portugal is capable of.
Other Port houses are following suit with their own table wines, and really putting some good effort into what they are producing. Quina do Portal, another well respected house is putting out an excellent dry red made from a blend of Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca that represents excellent value with a definite nod towards high quality. Call it a sort of gateway wine into the world of excellent Douro. Hopefully what this will lead to is the development of interest in other quality wines from the Douro.
Other producers like Quinta do Macedos are going so far as to adopt the practice of the second wine with their 'Lagar de Macedos' and in so doing they have developed a pair of excellent bottlings, both of which are remarkably capable of standing the test of time, developing into something exciting and providing us wine geeks with another means of enjoying old wine. One of the greatest pleasures of wine is to track the development of a wine over the course of it's life. I love Rhône wines, young or old, but truly they are different wines entirely. The same bottle that was once deep, chunky and spicy, becomes leathery, briny and earthy. These Douro wines are perfect for that as well. They live for years and years and over time, the deep black fruit and intense body of youth becomes something different, refined and elegant.
Essentially, the Douro is one of those regions that stands at the top of wine. Bordeaux, Rhône, Burgundy, Napa and Mosel are all known the world over for their ability to produce mind-blowingly delicious wine. The Douro is right up there with the rest of them. Hopefully soon enough the rest of the world will catch on. Or hopefully they won't. Just leaves more for us!
Much Love,
G
Tonight I've been packing for a trip to London and as I go I am enjoying a nice bottle of Portuguese red. Specifically from the Douro Valley in the North of the country, along the same river known as the Duero in Spain. Douro w
ine is mostly known on the international stage as the source of some of the world's most highly regarded wine: Port. That fortified, sweet and long lived wine is the stuff of legend but in a valley so blessed with an abundance of old vines, a plethora of cultivars and prime vineyard space, it is ridiculous to assume that top quality table wine is not made there as well.
Fruit forward and full bodied, it is a wonder that Portuguese reds are not more widely known. Perhaps they are suffering from some of the same malignancies that continuously frustrate German wine makers, with confusing terms, unfamiliar grape varieties and association with a stereotypical style. Whereas Germany contends with the misconception that all wines are going to be sweet and sickly, it may be that Portugal has the ghost of sweet fortified Port wine looming over it.Fortunately it does not take too long to get through the layers of retrograde pfaffery, and the winemakers are doing what they can to help. I'm not saying that the wineries are doing what many of the Bordelaise producers have done and Parkerised (made their wines suitable for Robert Parker's palette), rather they have made an effort to be more engaging with modern style but unchanging class. For example, Dirk Niepoort of the legendary Niepoort Port house has made a conscious effort to put more emphasis on table wines, rather than his easily respectable vintage ports. He is putting forward excellent examples of dry table wines, such as his 'Redoma' range alongside the truly world class 'Batuta.' Kitted out with classy but interesting labels and amazing quality it is a great first step to showing the world what Portugal is capable of.
Other Port houses are following suit with their own table wines, and really putting some good effort into what they are producing. Quina do Portal, another well respected house is putting out an excellent dry red made from a blend of Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca that represents excellent value with a definite nod towards high quality. Call it a sort of gateway wine into the world of excellent Douro. Hopefully what this will lead to is the development of interest in other quality wines from the Douro.
Other producers like Quinta do Macedos are going so far as to adopt the practice of the second wine with their 'Lagar de Macedos' and in so doing they have developed a pair of excellent bottlings, both of which are remarkably capable of standing the test of time, developing into something exciting and providing us wine geeks with another means of enjoying old wine. One of the greatest pleasures of wine is to track the development of a wine over the course of it's life. I love Rhône wines, young or old, but truly they are different wines entirely. The same bottle that was once deep, chunky and spicy, becomes leathery, briny and earthy. These Douro wines are perfect for that as well. They live for years and years and over time, the deep black fruit and intense body of youth becomes something different, refined and elegant.
Essentially, the Douro is one of those regions that stands at the top of wine. Bordeaux, Rhône, Burgundy, Napa and Mosel are all known the world over for their ability to produce mind-blowingly delicious wine. The Douro is right up there with the rest of them. Hopefully soon enough the rest of the world will catch on. Or hopefully they won't. Just leaves more for us!
Much Love,
G
Friday, February 22, 2013
One Year On- A year of the Grape Press
So I have now come to the first year anniversary (well a bit past it) since I first posted. A lot changes in a year; graduation, and amazing summer in St. Andrews and the United States, time spent working in New York City and helping set up a new company in the Auld Grey Toon. Visa problems for myself - and it seems most of my friends and now I am at new heights in my wine experience. It has certainly been an interesting year for the Grape Press and myself.
I have been in South Africa now for 8 days and my experiences have been tremendous. I have seen the most beautiful landscapes I've ever laid eyes on, I've tasted some amazing food and meat some amazing people. My objective; to explore the wines of this country has been well under way for some time, with some exciting results. I have meat young, ambitious and energetic wine makers, old hands with tremendous experience and plenty of other characters in and around this great town of Stellenbosch.
The enthusiasm that these people breathe is infectious, and if you come to a wine farm ambivalent to the product, you will leave an hour later as devoted to the wines as the winemaker himself. It is easy to get caught up in things here in Stellenbosch; because everything about the place is emotive. Every night there is a carnival atmosphere in the town and you can't help but have fun. Beyond the streets of town there is the countryside where the most striking landscapes imaginable can stun you without fail every single day.
I for one am finding myself increasingly devoted to South Africa's wines and the people behind the bottles. There are stories here that ring true with everything I want wine to be. There is romance and there is love for the land as well as artistry and awareness. I know that wine, unlike any other product has a penchant for getting passion from it's devotees but there is an intensity in South Africa that vindicates my devotion to the subject. There are themes that are beyond my ability to vocalise so I will not attempt to do them justice, but suffice to say that they are as great as the Helderberg Mountains and as complex as the country's past.
I hope over the past year you have enjoyed my writing and I look forward to continuing in 2013 and into the future. To see the huge changes over the course of the year, I am filled with great hope to know that just as much can happen in the coming year. Tonight find a glass of something nice, be it wine, beer, juice (whatever!) and enjoy it. I'll be doing the same!
(As always) Much Love,
G
Posted with BlogsyThursday, January 17, 2013
2009 Lions de Suduiraut Sauternes
Hey Everyone,
Today I am tasting a type of wine which I don't believe I've ever written about before. It may be considered the most important sweet wine and arguably the most prestigious in the world, but it so rarely crosses my path that when I do taste one I am rarely in a position to commit my experience to writing.
I'm talking about Sauternes; the regal sweet wine of Bordeaux coming from the vineyards south of Pessac-Leognan is an enticing style that is long lived and often expensive, with some of the most sought after producers fetching extraordinary prices. The most famous of course is Château d'Yquem, a favourite of Thomas Jefferson who referred to Sauternes in general as France's finest white wine. As the practice of harnessing the beneficial elements of the Bortrytis was not developed until a later date, the wine tasted by Jefferson would have been markedly different but even so, it is possible to see that Sauternes' star rose long ago.
The wine I am tasting tonight, however is not nearly so valuable nor so famous as Jefferson's favourite, but it does have a few good merits of it's own. First and most obvious when comparing it to it's fellow sweet Bordeaux such as Chateaux Climens and d'Yquem is the price tag. Retailing for around £15 for a half bottle it is a very affordable sweet wine which has the potential to impress as well as please. It is also a well balanced Sauternes, for something so affordable it stands high above the Mouton-Cadet range and possesses a pleasant equilibrium between acid, fruit and sweetness.
On the finish there is a hint of something like caramelised/ burnt sugar, which takes away from the freshness a little, but does not necessarily ruin the experience. I would treat is more as an aperitif than a desert of cheese wine and let the wine stand alone. It is light enough to go without the cheese that accompanies many Sauternes, and not so sweet that it gets tiresome. There is clearly good winemaking behind the Lions de Suduiraut, and the clue is in the name. It is a second wine of the First Growth Château Suduiraut and gives an excellent opportunity to get a glimpse of this legendary producer's style without forking over so much money for the Grand Vin.
If you get a chance, give it a try and hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised with this nice little sweetie as I was.
Much Love,
G
Today I am tasting a type of wine which I don't believe I've ever written about before. It may be considered the most important sweet wine and arguably the most prestigious in the world, but it so rarely crosses my path that when I do taste one I am rarely in a position to commit my experience to writing.
I'm talking about Sauternes; the regal sweet wine of Bordeaux coming from the vineyards south of Pessac-Leognan is an enticing style that is long lived and often expensive, with some of the most sought after producers fetching extraordinary prices. The most famous of course is Château d'Yquem, a favourite of Thomas Jefferson who referred to Sauternes in general as France's finest white wine. As the practice of harnessing the beneficial elements of the Bortrytis was not developed until a later date, the wine tasted by Jefferson would have been markedly different but even so, it is possible to see that Sauternes' star rose long ago.
The wine I am tasting tonight, however is not nearly so valuable nor so famous as Jefferson's favourite, but it does have a few good merits of it's own. First and most obvious when comparing it to it's fellow sweet Bordeaux such as Chateaux Climens and d'Yquem is the price tag. Retailing for around £15 for a half bottle it is a very affordable sweet wine which has the potential to impress as well as please. It is also a well balanced Sauternes, for something so affordable it stands high above the Mouton-Cadet range and possesses a pleasant equilibrium between acid, fruit and sweetness.
On the finish there is a hint of something like caramelised/ burnt sugar, which takes away from the freshness a little, but does not necessarily ruin the experience. I would treat is more as an aperitif than a desert of cheese wine and let the wine stand alone. It is light enough to go without the cheese that accompanies many Sauternes, and not so sweet that it gets tiresome. There is clearly good winemaking behind the Lions de Suduiraut, and the clue is in the name. It is a second wine of the First Growth Château Suduiraut and gives an excellent opportunity to get a glimpse of this legendary producer's style without forking over so much money for the Grand Vin.
If you get a chance, give it a try and hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised with this nice little sweetie as I was.
Much Love,
G
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
My Love Hate Relationship...
Hey Everyone,
Today I am writing about my most conflicted of feelings in the entire world of wine. It is the strange phenomenon of the head versus the heart and the knowledge of the former pitted against the uncompromising nature of the latter. The subject matter: Italy, the dilemma; I know it's good and that I like the styles of wine produced there, yet never will I choose a bottle of Chianti over a Rioja or Barolo over Bordeaux. I wrote a post last year about how much I like the rustic wines from appellations such as Chianti Rufina and Abruzzo, and I really enjoy a good bottle of Barbera with a bowl of pasta or a steak, but I fear that my consumption of Italian wine is somewhat forced.
A friend of mine, the proprietor of St. Andrews Wine Company is planning a dinner with a local restaurant which promises to be a truly inspiring experience with a well considered selection of wines to match each course. At first the theme for wines of the evening was said to be the Rhône Valley and I was ecstatic. I pictured a gorgeous dinner starting with duck liver pate and Condrieu or smoked fish and Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc followed by a braised beef with a spicy Cornas or Cote-Rotie, all to be washed down with a sweet Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Thats when someone suggested Italian wines and my dreams of a Rhône dinner were dashed.
Thats because interesting Italian wines are exciting for just about everyone except me. For some reason I like Italian wines to be simple and easy, not big and complex. I don't know exactly why, because I want this from every other wine I drink; perhaps it is a realm of refuge from the overly cerebral bottles I usually encounter. When it comes to beer, though I love interesting well crafted ales, I can get tired of 7% hoppy IPAs. It may be that Italian wine fulfills the same role for me that English bitter fulfills in respect to beer. It is an escape. That said I know that top flight Italian wine is amazing stuff and whenever I taste it I am happy to have done so, but I cannot say that I would ever choose it for myself.
For instance, last night in the wine shop, Peter opened a bottle of 2008 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It was massive, big bright black fruits reminiscent of Napa Cabernet with the alcohol to match. It was excellent stuff, better than most of the wines I've been drinking lately, and perhaps ironically, way better than the Crozes-Hermitage (from the Rhône I love so well) I had two nights ago.
I recognised long ago that loving wine is a growing process, with twists and turns. Where one thing is your passion at the moment and the other your passing fancy, these things may change any moment. There was a time when I wouldn't have even considered buying a bottle of Bordeaux over an American Cabernet, but my tastes have changed and tasting this beautiful Vino Nobile may well have changed my thoughts on what people call 'more interesting' Italian wines.
If there is something you are prejudiced against out there in the wine world, as I admit to myself, make a concerted effort to change your opinion or at least find out exactly why you feel that way. It could be an exciting revelation!
Much Love,
G.
Today I am writing about my most conflicted of feelings in the entire world of wine. It is the strange phenomenon of the head versus the heart and the knowledge of the former pitted against the uncompromising nature of the latter. The subject matter: Italy, the dilemma; I know it's good and that I like the styles of wine produced there, yet never will I choose a bottle of Chianti over a Rioja or Barolo over Bordeaux. I wrote a post last year about how much I like the rustic wines from appellations such as Chianti Rufina and Abruzzo, and I really enjoy a good bottle of Barbera with a bowl of pasta or a steak, but I fear that my consumption of Italian wine is somewhat forced.
A friend of mine, the proprietor of St. Andrews Wine Company is planning a dinner with a local restaurant which promises to be a truly inspiring experience with a well considered selection of wines to match each course. At first the theme for wines of the evening was said to be the Rhône Valley and I was ecstatic. I pictured a gorgeous dinner starting with duck liver pate and Condrieu or smoked fish and Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc followed by a braised beef with a spicy Cornas or Cote-Rotie, all to be washed down with a sweet Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Thats when someone suggested Italian wines and my dreams of a Rhône dinner were dashed.
Thats because interesting Italian wines are exciting for just about everyone except me. For some reason I like Italian wines to be simple and easy, not big and complex. I don't know exactly why, because I want this from every other wine I drink; perhaps it is a realm of refuge from the overly cerebral bottles I usually encounter. When it comes to beer, though I love interesting well crafted ales, I can get tired of 7% hoppy IPAs. It may be that Italian wine fulfills the same role for me that English bitter fulfills in respect to beer. It is an escape. That said I know that top flight Italian wine is amazing stuff and whenever I taste it I am happy to have done so, but I cannot say that I would ever choose it for myself.
For instance, last night in the wine shop, Peter opened a bottle of 2008 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It was massive, big bright black fruits reminiscent of Napa Cabernet with the alcohol to match. It was excellent stuff, better than most of the wines I've been drinking lately, and perhaps ironically, way better than the Crozes-Hermitage (from the Rhône I love so well) I had two nights ago.
I recognised long ago that loving wine is a growing process, with twists and turns. Where one thing is your passion at the moment and the other your passing fancy, these things may change any moment. There was a time when I wouldn't have even considered buying a bottle of Bordeaux over an American Cabernet, but my tastes have changed and tasting this beautiful Vino Nobile may well have changed my thoughts on what people call 'more interesting' Italian wines.
If there is something you are prejudiced against out there in the wine world, as I admit to myself, make a concerted effort to change your opinion or at least find out exactly why you feel that way. It could be an exciting revelation!
Much Love,
G.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Wines of Christmas
Hey Everyone,
So the holiday season is thoroughly underway, with Christmas Day passed, New Years ahead and a long, long winter to come. One of my favourite parts of the holidays is the succession of family events where the dinner table assumes the role of centre stage. This is when the greatest, most heart warming meals of the year take place; when your favourite foods are cooked and the best wines are drunk.
this years, owing to the newly regular uncertainty of all my siblings' schedules we were able to miraculously pull off three incredible dinners and as we couldn't match last years Mouton '83 and Jarvis '97 for all of them, we had to improvise and that we did well. Christmas is different for everyone with small traditions here and there that make it so wonderful and unique. For us, we have a massive dinner for 30 immediate family members from my dad's side of the family over on Christmas day and serve up a massive rare roast fillet of beef for everyone with all sorts of trimmings and sweeties on the sides.
Seeing as this is a uniquely large family dinner we weren't about to willingly provide anything super costly so we rummaged around the cellar for something that might work nicely, recalling that we had a couple bottles of Indian Wells Cabernet that would do just fine. What. Came up with was a bit of a forgotten gem. Sitting mostly for decorative use on a barrel in the corner of the cellar was a magnum of 2001 Falcor Red. It had been standing upright for god knows how long so we had no way of knowing if it would still be good but we dug through the wax and my brother decanted it and we were happy to smell a wine that would serve well enough.
As the meal went on it became apparent that this Falcor was no simple Napa Cab. It was refined, elegant and very much like a 2003 from Bordeaux. It was big yes, but there was something restrained and backward about it for a California wine. The blend was about 50% Cabernet Franc with the rest about equal between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot and it showed off its notes of autumnal leaves, toasty oak and sour forest fruits wonderfully and delivered with a composed balance I had not expected. Overall it was an awesome bottle of wine and though not a match made in heaven for the beef, it was excellent.
For my immediate family, however, the main event is always Christmas Eve and that is when we try to go all out with wine and food. This year we were unsure of when my brother could make it home, so we decided that we would have our usual Christmas Eve dinner on Boxing Day. Seeing as he arrived a bit earlier from New York than expected we were blessed with two beautiful dinners in very short succession. The choice of wines was therefore a bit improvised but proved to be excellent.
Alongside our dinner of seared duck breast with orange risotto on the 24th we had a nearly forgotten bottle of Cakebread Syrah 2004. Not generally intended to age long, this wine held up marvelously and showed a distinctly Rhone-like character and a great purity of blackberry and sour cherry alongside emerging hints of green olive and brine. This went along with an obscure 1997 Mercurey from Domaine Voarick, which was another wine bought long ago and more or less forgotten until we happened upon it the night of the dinner. Despite the cork crumbling into oblivion, it tasted great with a leathery farmyard profile and a lot of raspberries.
For dinner on Boxing Day we cooked up our traditional roasted rack of lamb. This meal lends itself so well to Bordeaux that I could not resist opening my 2004 Chateau Talbot. While it was clear that this wine has a long life ahead of it, perhaps as much as five or six years before it reaches it's peak, it was excellent in its richness, with chunky tannins, restrained, backwards fruit and searing acidity cutting through the oily fat of the lamb. I generally think that 2004 in Bordeaux is underrated and offers classic style and a good value for money, but in particular I believe that the classed growths of Saint-Julien are often great buys from this vintage.
So overall it was a great holiday for wine and with some bottles I may never find again coming into play I think it was a treat to try some of these. Year in and year out, Christmas never fails to bring out the best in my family and I was blessed not only with these wondrous meals and wines but first and compost with the company of those who surround the table.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
G
So the holiday season is thoroughly underway, with Christmas Day passed, New Years ahead and a long, long winter to come. One of my favourite parts of the holidays is the succession of family events where the dinner table assumes the role of centre stage. This is when the greatest, most heart warming meals of the year take place; when your favourite foods are cooked and the best wines are drunk.
this years, owing to the newly regular uncertainty of all my siblings' schedules we were able to miraculously pull off three incredible dinners and as we couldn't match last years Mouton '83 and Jarvis '97 for all of them, we had to improvise and that we did well. Christmas is different for everyone with small traditions here and there that make it so wonderful and unique. For us, we have a massive dinner for 30 immediate family members from my dad's side of the family over on Christmas day and serve up a massive rare roast fillet of beef for everyone with all sorts of trimmings and sweeties on the sides.
Seeing as this is a uniquely large family dinner we weren't about to willingly provide anything super costly so we rummaged around the cellar for something that might work nicely, recalling that we had a couple bottles of Indian Wells Cabernet that would do just fine. What. Came up with was a bit of a forgotten gem. Sitting mostly for decorative use on a barrel in the corner of the cellar was a magnum of 2001 Falcor Red. It had been standing upright for god knows how long so we had no way of knowing if it would still be good but we dug through the wax and my brother decanted it and we were happy to smell a wine that would serve well enough.
As the meal went on it became apparent that this Falcor was no simple Napa Cab. It was refined, elegant and very much like a 2003 from Bordeaux. It was big yes, but there was something restrained and backward about it for a California wine. The blend was about 50% Cabernet Franc with the rest about equal between Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot and it showed off its notes of autumnal leaves, toasty oak and sour forest fruits wonderfully and delivered with a composed balance I had not expected. Overall it was an awesome bottle of wine and though not a match made in heaven for the beef, it was excellent.
For my immediate family, however, the main event is always Christmas Eve and that is when we try to go all out with wine and food. This year we were unsure of when my brother could make it home, so we decided that we would have our usual Christmas Eve dinner on Boxing Day. Seeing as he arrived a bit earlier from New York than expected we were blessed with two beautiful dinners in very short succession. The choice of wines was therefore a bit improvised but proved to be excellent.
Alongside our dinner of seared duck breast with orange risotto on the 24th we had a nearly forgotten bottle of Cakebread Syrah 2004. Not generally intended to age long, this wine held up marvelously and showed a distinctly Rhone-like character and a great purity of blackberry and sour cherry alongside emerging hints of green olive and brine. This went along with an obscure 1997 Mercurey from Domaine Voarick, which was another wine bought long ago and more or less forgotten until we happened upon it the night of the dinner. Despite the cork crumbling into oblivion, it tasted great with a leathery farmyard profile and a lot of raspberries.
For dinner on Boxing Day we cooked up our traditional roasted rack of lamb. This meal lends itself so well to Bordeaux that I could not resist opening my 2004 Chateau Talbot. While it was clear that this wine has a long life ahead of it, perhaps as much as five or six years before it reaches it's peak, it was excellent in its richness, with chunky tannins, restrained, backwards fruit and searing acidity cutting through the oily fat of the lamb. I generally think that 2004 in Bordeaux is underrated and offers classic style and a good value for money, but in particular I believe that the classed growths of Saint-Julien are often great buys from this vintage.
So overall it was a great holiday for wine and with some bottles I may never find again coming into play I think it was a treat to try some of these. Year in and year out, Christmas never fails to bring out the best in my family and I was blessed not only with these wondrous meals and wines but first and compost with the company of those who surround the table.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
G
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