Mendelson Pinot Noir

Mendelson Wines
Pinot Noir
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard
Santa Lucia Highlands
Napa, California, U.S.A.
2007
14.5%
$34.29 [$48.99] -- Twin Liquors, Bee Cave, TX

Color: Dark brick
Nose: Stewed plum, wet gravel, sour sage cigarettes, heat
Body: Full
Front: Fruit soup, orange
Middle: Plum licorice, espresso grounds
Back: Thyme, a little heat, burned popcorn
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I'm going to go buy another bottle of this wine, because it has a combination of characteristics that I find absolutely enchanting. The heat on the nose and in the glass is a little unfortunate, especially five years out, but it's not overwhelming. Oddly, there aren't many reviews of this wine, perhaps because the maker is best known for dessert wines. Then again, maybe he just pissed everybody off.

Either way, here's the thing: this tastes almost exactly like two other high-tone Pinots I've had, that had a little age on 'em. Stewed fruit, then some earthy or beefy or smoky secondary flavors, and a burned popcorn type of ending. And the flavor profile didn't evolve in any of these cases either: an hour later, they basically tasted the same as after 15 minutes. Two hours, same deal: still delicious, but still the same flavors in the same structure.

This puts me in a quandary. One of the things I love about wine as opposed to, say, Dr. PepperTM, is that it sometimes evolves as it opens. A single wine can be delicious in five or twelve different ways over the course of a few hours. Then again, I love Dr. PepperTM! And this tastes a lot like it.

So I'm going to get another bottle, as I said. And I'm going to be flexible about what I imagine the unfolding of a wine that I enjoy might be like. At $35, I think this is an absolute steal in Pinot, unless you hate sour sage cigarettes.

Lange Reserve Pinot Noir

Lange Winery

Pinot Noir

Reserve
Willamette Valley
Dundee, Oregon, U.S.A.
2008
13.5%
$30.99 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Medium reddish purple
Nose: Cherry candy, a hint of earth and smoke, a spritz of bug spray

Body: Medium
Front: Cherry

Middle: A hint of cassis, cinnamon, spiciness

Back: Cherry again, creamy this time

Burns clean?: Yes

Cap: Cork

This is a tremendously elegant wine--so elegant that I think I didn't really notice much flavor in the tail end of it. It's smooth and balanced, and perhaps in a year or two might become more intense. But at the moment, this is exactly the sort of bottle that has me scratching my head at Pinot Noir prices. For my palate, it's not as interesting as the Innocent Bystander, yet costs twice as much. Had I bought two bottles of this (as I did with the Pessagno), I'd put the other in the closet and wait for a couple of years before opening it. I'm not sure time does heal all things, but I reckon in this case it can't hurt.

After a long hiatus thanks to work, Asmodeus is BACK. I'd have dropped four wines on you today instead of three, if only the Falanghina hadn't been maderized. Believe it: four years may be too long for Falanghina.

Ferrer Bobet Priorat

Ferrer Bobet
Priorat 
Carignane, Grenache
Falset, Tarragona, Spain
2006
15%
$33.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Dark ruby
Nose: Cherry, plum, orange
Body: Medium
Front: Steely blackberry
Middle: Licorice, smoke, peppery spice
Back: Soft tannins, char, coffee bean
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Priorat: it's trendy, overpriced, and sometimes fantastic. This is pretty good, but I still think overpriced. It may be that in ten years (which it can certainly handle) it'll be awesome. Or, given the unevenness of the delivery on the palate, it may be that in six months it'll be fabulous, terrible in two years, and awesome again in five.

I suppose the moral of the story is: If you decide to go for this, get more than one bottle, and try to find it on sale! And don't try it with fondue. Terrible combination; shame on me!

Von Strasser Cabernet Diamond Mountain

Von Strasser Winery
Diamond Mountain District
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Calistoga, California, U.S.A.
2005
14.1%
$39.43 -- Spec's, Austin, TX

Color: Dark cherry red
Nose: Stewed plum, herbes de provence, black cherry pipe tobacco
Body: Medium
Front: Sour cherry
Middle: Roasted fig, orange
Back: Toasted spices, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

I got this wine on a bit of a sale; I'd heard good things about the house, and loved a Diamond Mountain cab that I had at Sattui's Castello di Amoroso a couple of years ago.

This isn't a huge wine, but it's complex, and evolves in an interesting (though not quite distracting) way as it opens up. The nose is delightful; like the palate, it combines fruit and herb elements in a seductive way.

Round Pond Cabernet Sauvignon

Round Pond Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rutherford, Napa Valley
Rutherford, California, U.S.A.
2007
14.5%
$39.00 -- H.E.B., Austin, TX

Color: Deep cherry red
Nose: Cherry
Body: Full
Front: Cherry vanilla, banana
Middle: Clove, cream, raspberry
Back: Heat, blueberries, strong tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Back when I first tried Caravan and liked it, the sommelier at Wolfgang's in Highlands, NC told me I should try Round Pond. I thought, awesome: and then it turned out their Cabs were really expensive. For some reason, this was on sale at HEB, so I went for it.

Admittedly, 2007 was a good year, but this is quite lovely under any circumstances. It takes a while to loosen up, and even then, the Rutherford tannins are still assertive. But the fruit is lovely (some people will hate the banana-vanilla-ish business in it, but I like that) and the oak is tempered. It's great with a grilled ribeye and tomato salad, and makes Band of Horses songs sound even better than usual.

Nickel & Nickel Searby Vineyard Chardonnay

Nickel and Nickel Winery
Searby Vineyard
Chardonnay
Russian River Valley
Oakville, California, USA
2007
14.4%
$34.99 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Light gold
Nose: Lemon, salt, honey, hot pepper, cedar
Body: Medium to full
Front: Salt, meyer lemon
Middle: French toast with honey, eucalyptus
Back: Oak, basil
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Nickel & Nickel is a Far Niente project, of single vineyard wines from groovy places other than the Far Niente estate. This one has a distinctive California style; big and salty, buttery, oaky. It is elegantly balanced, lively, and delicious. If you don't like the oaky flavor, avoid it. Otherwise, you'll very much like this, I suspect, with a wide range of foods and especially grilled or roasted fish, I reckon.

I'm having it with a range of cheeses: Lincolnshire Poacher, Stichelton, Lancashire, and a bit of medio curado Manchego; it's stunning with the latter. It goes beautifully with the Motown Christmas record, which I can't recommend highly enough.

Château Petit Fombrauge St. Emilion

Château Petit Fombrauge
St. Emilion Grand Cru
Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Libournais, Bordeaux, France
2000
13.9%
$35.98 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Medium to deep ruby
Nose: Pear, mustard, thyme, cherry
Body: Light to medium
Front: Cassis, tobacco
Middle: Chocolate, pickles
Back: Coffee, orange, sage 
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This wine is haunting and delightful. The nose is absolutely stunning; it holds your attention and, I fear, might be better even than the taste. It's good with food (perhaps best with the Stichelton cheese tonight, though with the pate, cornichons, and mustard it was pretty damn fine) and enchants the whole room.

Andrew Will Sheridan Vineyard

Andrew Will Cellars 
Sheridan Vineyard
Yakima Valley 
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Vashon, WA, U.S.A.
2004
14.2%
$37.99 at Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Dark ruby
Nose: Mushroom and yeast, raspberry peat
Body: Medium to full
Front: Forest floor
Middle: Raspberry, cherry
Back: Oak, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork


I ferment. In this wine's wake I think a lot about...stuff. Brilliance in balance seems modeled for a moment: but the shroomy nose unbalances it in a happy way.

Can you find it (either unbalance or this bottle)? Maybe not. Praise your host if he or she bestows it on you: your company must be a delight, if so.

Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains

Martin Ray Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Santa Cruz Mountains
Sonoma
Santa Rosa, California, USA
2002
14.4%
$24.99 -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Deep red
Nose: Mint, cherries, tar
Body: Full
Front: Cherries
Middle: Raspberries, chocolate, licorice
Back: Mint, cream, cigar wrapper
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

A delightful wine. Balanced and smooth on the palate. There are tannins enough to suggest it can still age longer, and plenty of acid to balance them. The cherry and raspberry flavors beautifully set up the meatier, chocolatier flavors in the mid-palate, and it pairs elegantly with grilled food of any kind.

{Note, in 2014: That is the kind of thing I write when I don't want anyone else to know how good a wine is--at least, as far as I can taste. This wine was heavenly. It poked through the veil of universe and smiled into my little well. If you own some, please, please send it to me.}

Ehlers Meritage

Ehlers Estate
Meritage
Chairman's Selection
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Napa, California
2005
13.8%
$35.49 -- Central Market, Austin, TX

Color: Opaque garnet
Nose: Cherry, stewed plum, tar
Body: Full
Front: Black cherry, rhubarb
Middle: Prune, orange, clove
Back: Black tea, chocolate, elegant tannins
Burns clean?: Extremely. Maybe too clean.
Cap: Cork

I've become a big fan of Ehlers. Their '05 Cabernet is phenomenal, and this stuff is absolutely delightful. It takes about an hour to open up, and there is a distinct greenness at the first that will frighten you, but have patience. A hint of the vegetal qualities stays on, even as the darker flavors start to show. It's not all deliciousness; it's more like a conversation, with this wine.

If you like a candy-ish wine, or simple flavors, this won't please you. You will be all like, WTF, Asmodeus; thanks for nothin'. My response: you should have read to the end of the post. Facebook and mobile computing are ruining your attention span and your life. But if you want a little something to chew on, this is a phenomenal choice.

Bell Claret

Bell Wine Cellars
Claret
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec
Napa Valley
Yountville, California, USA
2005
13.9%
$25.99 -- Spec's Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Unattractive dark red, browning at the edges
Nose: Cherry marijuana
Body: Medium to full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Fines herbes, licorice
Back: Cardboard, coffee
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is an excellent wine, to my taste. From smelling to swallowing, it's like you walked into an Amsterdam coffee shop where half the people were smoking the sensimilla and the other half were smoking cherry-flavored tobacco, then ate a space cake with a Cherry Coke, and for some reason really needed a cafe au lait afterwards and ate the cup while you were drinking the coffee. If that doesn't make you want to try this wine, then Allah have mercy on you.

Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir

Hamilton Russell Vineyards
Pinot Noir
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Walker Bay
Hermanus, S. Africa
2008
13.3%
$25.99 -- Twin Liquors, Austin, TX

Color: Medium garnet
Nose: Cherry cola, venison, mint, stewed orange
Body: Medium
Front: Dried cranberry, mint
Middle: Tart but creamy fizziness, lemon
Back: Olive, charred oak, tar
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a damn strange wine, as the flavor descriptions above perhaps suggest. It's smoky, earthy, minty--loaded with personality. This is not a crowd-pleaser, though it would be really fun to see what a large group of not-everyday wine drinkers would make of it. I like it a lot. It has the lightness of body and the intensity of flavor of really good Pinot. The smokiness, a sort of minty smokiness, if that makes any kind of sense, is something I've experienced in South African reds before, so I suspect it has something to do with either terroir or the oak that they use. Whatever it is, this wine doesn't bore me, like so many Pinots do--if you like a little stank on it, give this a try.

Domaine de Cristia Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Domaine de Cristia
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 
Grenache, Syrah 
Courthézon, France
2007
15%
$32.95 -- Costco, Austin, Texas

Color: Dark red, purple edges
Nose: Stewed cranberries and oranges; licorice; currant jam
Body: Full
Front: Dark cherries, roses
Middle: Licorice
Back: Olives, mesquite smoke, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is a delightful, balanced wine, from a vintage in which many of the wines are bombastic. It'll be interesting to see how this develops over time, but I think it has a decade of evolution ahead. There's an odd hollowness that happens about 2/3 of the way through the palate, for some reason; it's not too disconcerting, but it does somewhat reveal the alcohol level of the wine. This with a little duck with some sort of fruit sauce would be a colossally good pairing; I'm having it with some Tomme Crayeuse cheese, which is not the best combo, but I'm betting it'll rock with the pizza I just ordered.

A shout-out to my second "follower," Emily Richer, a winemaker with a fascinating Cab Franc-oriented project underway called "Virage." Check out her blog here.

Oakville Winery Cabernet

Oakville Winery
Cabernet Sauvignon
Oakville
Oakville, California, USA
2007
14.5%
$34.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Eucalyptus, cherry, espresso, a tinge of heat
Body: Full
Front: Cherry
Middle: Licorice, mint, orange peel
Back: Cigar wrapper, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

Oh, no. Not another excellent 2007 Napa Cabernet. Okay, yes. It's another excellent 2007 Napa Cabernet. Particularly good with a grilled ribeye, and, I suspect, better a few years from now, when the heat will back off and the fruit will step up a bit. But if you can get it at this price, and you like bracing, herby Cabernets, I would say you are getting a good deal even if you drink it tomorrow!

This is my first post in July, and I can't help but notice it's already July 5th! Historically, July is one of the least productive months for posting, the etiology of which I must contemplate. I suspect it's hot, so I'm not drinking as much of my staple red wine; I'm ludicrously busy with my non-wine-related jobs; and I'm always traveling for some reason. But I've got some surprises up my sleeve, O loyal reader!

Robert Keenan Wine Dinner

ONE OF THE BEST RESTAURANTS in Austin, Mirabelle, is just around the bend from my place (or was; it closed in 2012). The food is excellent, and a few of the entrees are among the best in town. The wine list is really, really good: not vast, but well-designed. It pairs well with the menu, and there are always good deals to be had for someone with a little wine knowledge. Those without such knowledge will be thrilled.

Keenan Vineyards on Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, CA

"You get infected...with this thing in your blood," Michael Keenan told us, about getting into the wine business; "it's like a virus." I agree, and I ain't even in the wine business. I've reviewed Keenan wines before, so I was delighted at the opportunity to meet Michael Keenan and to taste some of the winery's other offerings.

Before reflecting on the event itself--a different experience from my previous wine dinners--let me run down the wines, for surfers looking for opinions about how these wines were drinking:

2007 Keenan "Spring Mountain" Chardonnay: On the nose, some buttercream, a little pineapple, but reasonably tight. On the palate, excellently balanced, with lime, pineapple, butter, even a hint of mint, which was delightful, on the finish. Bourgogney. Splendid with a little crepe, prosciutto and gruyere canape. Circa $25 retail.

2006 Keenan Napa Valley Merlot: On the nose, licorice and cherry, with a hint of cinnamon. Chocolate, violets, and black cherry on the palate. I really liked this--I think it was my favorite. For a comparison, see this entry. Even better, as it's still young, with the arctic char and fava bean puree. They cheated by doing a Merlot reduction alongside--but I saw that coming, and tried the wine with the fava bean puree first, and it was a charming combination. Circa $30 retail.

2005 Keenan Napa Cabernet, circa $50 retail: On the nose, briary, smoky, plum-ridden; really intense. On the palate, the usual cherry, licorice, and plum, harmoniously balanced. A caveat: I favor  mountain wines from the Napa/Sonoma areas, as you'll see from some other entries. And this is an '05: it's still young, and it had not been open long--yet it was damn tasty. And the same goes for...

2005 "Spring Mountain" Cabernet, Reserve: Pepper, plum, bell pepper, blackberry, and tar on the nose--though not tremendously focused. On the palate, more focused plum, licorice, smoke, and  charming sage at the close. A charming wine in general, though worth the $90 price tag? Hard to say. Both Cabernets were delightful--and showed better--with the lamb enchilada and espresso crema sauce.

2005 Reserve Merlot, "Mailbox Vineyard": This has the hallmarks of a young vineyard. On the nose, black fruit, but a little sweetness in the aromas, and fascinating desert sage. On the palate, chocolate covered raspberry, plum, orange, and a hint of cilantro. Those with less affection for the mountain style, with its briary smoke, will like this one more, I think; and too, it's young. These wines are built to age, as my previous encounters with them suggested. This paired well, though not perhaps as elegantly as the previous courses, with a beef filet topped with foie gras.

The genre of the wine dinner is still a bit of a mystery to me. I'm tempted to say that its characteristics are not generalizable--that each wine dinner tends to show its peculiarities in relation to the venue. Mirabelle is in a comparatively wealthy, comparatively suburban neighborhood, and its chef is a player in Austin's food and beverage realm. So perhaps it's not surprising that this dinner saw a fascinating combination of established, older folks with younger, mover-shaker business types. I'll do another of these dinners before long, and to test my theory, I'll choose an utterly new venue to me.

I had the good luck to be seated with a charmingly clumsy photographer (who, I suspect, also preferred the Merlot), some mover-shaker folks (who, appallingly, left behind most of their wine and decamped early), and some longtime fans of Mirabelle. I was struck by the appreciation that Mirabelle's owner and head chef, Michael Vilim, showed for his staff, both by introducing them to us during the dinner and by naming all of them--servers, buser, and sous chefs--on the menu. A big small thing. (New York City peeps: please do post a comment if you have been to a restaurant-hosted wine dinner at which you learned the full names of all of your servers and sous chefs.)

Michael Keenan has done a million of these things, you can tell, and he got up three times to talk about the wines, but otherwise hung back or cruised among the tables, informally chatting. That, it seemed to me, was an ideal approach--no pitch, no bullshit, no anxiousness, just passion. Or perhaps, a virus.

Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon

Hestan Vineyards
Stephanie
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Napa, California, USA
2006
14.9%
$39.98 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Deep garnet
Nose: Plums, sour cherry, violets, sage
Body: Full
Front: Plum, vanilla
Middle: Nutmeg, black cherry
Back: Slim Jim, orange, soft tannins
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork

This is Cabernet to my taste. The oak is well integrated, as are the tannins. They help structure the palate instead of overpowering it. It's got sourness (a little) and spiciness (a little nutmeg) and beefiness (a little) and they're all distinctly present, emerging as the wine gets a little air. This evening it was lamb chops and a blue-cheese-dressed salad, and with the lamb in particular the wine was a delight. I'm going to go back and get another bottle!

Note, spring 2014: This is even better now; unpacks itself more rapidly, and shows even more depth.

L'Aventure Optimus

Stephan Vineyards
L'Aventure
Optimus
Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot
Paso Robles, California
2004
14.9%
$29.99 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Dark garnet, even a hint of purple still there
Nose: Cassis, mint, pumpkin pie
Body: Full
Front: Plum
Middle: Chocolate, fig
Back: Firm tannins, sage
Burns clean?: Mostly
Cap: Cork

This wine is elegant and balanced. With a little air (it's still young) it grows into a beautifully haunting mixture of fruit, herbs, earth, and sweets. This right here exemplifies the potential of Paso Robles.

Note: 12-22-2010; had the 2005, and it is stunning. Blackberry, spice, chocolate, and much more. Again, it evolves as it opens--I would decant half the bottle, and leave the rest in there, and compare them over the course of a few hours. A true delight.

Grgich Hills Cabernet

Grgich Hills Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Rutherford, California, USA
2005
14.7%
$38.99 -- Costco, Austin, TX

Color: Dark garnet
Nose: Cherry, licorice, cigar
Body: Full
Front: Ripe plum, cassis
Middle: Cedar, cafe Americano
Back: Vanilla, firm tannins
Burns clean?: Supremely
Cap: Cork

After one of the longest days ever, it's nice to have a stout Cabernet.  This one is beautifully structured, dark and dense, and likely to be really fantastic in a few years. If you drink it now, it needs air -- a couple of hours. And beware, it is throwing sediment. Tasty sediment.

It wasn't the perfect pairing with extra-moist brisket, but went pretty well with mashed sweet potatoes and deliciously with French bread. I'm pairing it with Toni Morrison, which I think is going to work out. Morrison would never end a sentence with a preposition. If you find an exception, send it on.

Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Les Pierres

Sonoma-Cutrer
Chardonnay
Les Pierres
Sonoma Coast
Windsor, California, USA
2004
13.9%
$27.29 [~$38.00] -- Grape Vine Market, Austin, TX

Color: Medium gold
Nose: Apple, lemon, bread
Body: Medium
Front: Apricot
Middle: Apple, butter
Back: Roasted fig, oak
Burns clean?: Yes, mostly
Cap: Cork

The nose on this wine is a little shy, which surprised me. I let it warm up to room temperature and it was still something of a wallflower. The palate is nicely balanced between the acidic dried fruitiness and stern oakiness. It didn't induce delight in me, I confess; there's a personality missing. But it's a serious wine--if you can find it at the price I managed to sneak away with it, then I'd say it's a good deal!

Bret Brothers Pouilly-Loché

Bret Brothers
Pouilly-Loché
Climat "La Colonge" 
Chardonnay
Burgundy
Vinzelles, France
2005
13.5%
$38.00 -- Grapevine Market, Austin, TX


Color: Pale gold
Nose: Graham cracker, apple, mint, wet bark
Body: Medium
Front: Bread and butter
Middle: Cod brandade
Back: Lime, oak
Burns clean?:
Cap: Cork

This is a haunting, many-layered wine. I realize that I've dropped a peculiar description into the middle of the palate profile above, but the middle is quite short, while the front and end of the palate are robust and long. It's not hollow, by any means, but it rewards a little attention to the wine.

I'm having it with my usual smoky spicy almonds and a little bit of cheese, but I think it will actually go well with a wide range of foods.  The soundtrack tonight is President Barack Obama talking about the recent passing by the Senate of the health care bill, and it's as good an accompaniment as I can imagine.