Go Cats!!!!

So much fun to watch your alma mater go this far... go Wildcats!!!

Too Much...

Had a great meal the other night at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach's new "Bistro". Awesome food, great service. Very clean, fresh, simple ingredients that came together so perfectly. Had a glass of Perrier-Jouet Blason Rose Brut Champagne... nice and bone dry with strawberries and rhubarb. Nice. The 2005 S.A. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese was rich, oily, and immensely thirst-quenching. The 2004 Alex Gambal Chambolle-Musigny is drinking so well right now. Perfectly silky with soft turned earth, rhubarb and beet root. For drinking in the next few years, but a good wine.

This Week...

Been another one of those crazy busy weeks and it's not going to get any better... I'll go in order... the 2005 Poet's Leap Riesling from Washington was nice, clean and crisp - slightly off-dry, just a hint of residual sugar, but classic petrol and white flowers here. Nice. The 2001 Potel Chambertin Grand Cru was a rockstar...I love the way the 2001s are drinking right now. They are so terroir specific with plenty of weight. They might not be the long-lived monsters that 1999 or 2005 will be, but really nice wine. Classic Chambertin power with truffled earth, sweet rhubarb and cranberry. Awesome, long, long finish. The Jamesons I had after dinner was a nice salute to St. Patrick's Day... The 2006 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre was good, but does not seem as minerally-intense as in past vintages. A slightly fatter style perhaps? The 2001 Trimbach Cuvee Frederick Emile Riesling was intense petrol, minerals, peaches and orange blossom. Really nice wine here... completely bone dry. The 2005 Russian Hill Tara Vineyard Pinot Noir is nicely balanced, spicy and clean. Nice wine. The 1994 Vega Sicilia Unico has turned so mushroomy and sweet with dark black plum I didn't recognize it. An amazing bottle, this wine is just beginning its maturation. A long, long lingering powerful finish. The 2001 Jarvis Finch Hollow Reserve Chardonnay is a blender full of honeysuckle, buttered popcorn, and lemon rind. Really long, caramel finish. Nice (see, some California Chardonnay's DO age). The 1985 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion was delicious... dried underbrush, tons of rocky/stony minerals, and leathery charachter. Lacking a bit of fruit, but a decent wine. The 1999 Tirecul La Gravieres "Cuvee Madame" Monbazilliac is simply amazing... one of the great sweet wines on the planet. A slightly oxidized style, putting the tons of botrytis in line with the rich sweetness and baked, dried apricots. Awesome, amazing finish. The 2004 Penfold's Kalimna Block 42 Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is mindblowing... without question the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon I've ever tasted from Australia. Black pepper, white pepper, over-ripe black plums, graphite, pencil shavings, black currant, and a thick-oily texture that literally coated the glass. There is so much sediment in this wine it must be decanted. The tannins are so sweet and well-integrated, as is the monstrous alcohol, that this could easily go a few decades. After 4 hours in a magnum decanted, the pepper-quality lessened and the wine really blossomed. Awesome.

Rhone Tasting

Every so often, a group of us get together and do a tasting of a particular region, vintage, etc. Last night was Wines of the Rhone Valley.... and what a tasting it was. We started out with aperitifs of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (no, not Rhone... and there were quite a few that were not Rhone at the end) which was good, if not overly exciting. The 1983 Bischofliches Konvikt Piesporter Goldtropchen Riesling Spatlese was pretty... certainly towards the end of its life, the wine was pure petrol and dried apricots. The wine has a long, slately oil finish. Nice... The 1998 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Le Meal Blanc was the first of the Rhone wines and wow... what a monster. Honeysuckle, Acacia Blossom, apricots, lime peel, crushed stone, and what a long, powerful finish. The wine is still a baby but is already one of the great White Wines and was my wine of the night. The 2005 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc was stony, still ripe and rich and round. Honeysuckle, orange blossom, tangerine rind, really nice stuff. Tons of minerals. Needs time. The 2005 Chateau d'Acqueria Tavel was a nice transition sitting by the pool... spicy with lovely "grenache" hallmarks of ripe raspeberry and meatiness. Nice. The 2003 Guigal Gigondas was powerful, again, tons of Grenache leaving it earthy and spicy, but ripe and rich. My 1990 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge was completely (and very nastily) corked. Oh well. The 2003 Chateau La Nerthe "Cuvees des Cadets" Chateauneuf-du-Pape was a monster... has to be 16% abv, but didn't show it... bright, ripe Grenache - a powerhouse. Doesn't need too much time as it was beautiful right now. I would imagine it would go on for a quite a while though. On to the north! The 2001 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Brune et Blonde" was nice - meaty, olivey, smokey and lots of ripe black plum. Long, powerful finish. The 1999 Guigal Cote-Rotie "Chateau d'Ampuis" is a monstrous bottle of wine that, even decanted for 4 hours, was still a baby. Absolutely mind-blowing power with intense, clean black fruits, black pepper and loads of black olive. This is what Syrah is all about. An awesome bottle that I'd love to try again in 10 years. The 1999 Delas Cote-Rotie "La Landonne" was beautiful - just a bit more austere and less put together than the Chateau d'Ampuis - but, I think in time, the better bottle of wine. The layers went on and on forever. A lot more stony minerality to this wine than in the Ampuis, and it created a more rustic, classic Cote-Rotie type nose. Well, that was it for the Rhones... so we went on to the 1997 Michel Chiarello Barolo "Cannubi" which was tannic, powerful, and floral rose petals galore... very nice wine. The 2003 Almaviva shocked us back to the new world with its eucalyptus and deep black plum fruit. Powerful, a baby... a great wine and a great night of wine.

Interesting...

The 2001 Opus One in half-bottle was green, full of anise and black currant, and generally completely unappealing. The 2004 Craggy Range "Le Sol" Syrah continues to rock... awesome stuff. I just put a few bottles away for a nap... The 2004 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru "les Suchots" is beautiful, but young... still grippy oak tannin and power (though starting to fade a bit, which is a good thing) though the elegance of this vineyard comes through on the long, long finish...

ummmmmm Krug...

Two different bottles of the 1992 Krug Clos du Mesnil Blanc de Blancs... wow... amazing wine. Tart lemon curd on buttered brioche... hazelnut, crisp granny smith apples, hints of iodine, minerals, how beautiful. Better than the 1990? I think so...

Clean and crisp...

I love the 2006 Schloss Vollrads Riesling Spatlese... it's clean, crisp, off-dry, and packed full of flavor... thirst quenching? The 2005 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Blanc is minerals, minerals, minerals, with a bit of lemon rind... for the money, simply awesome stuff.