1999 “Willamette Valley”
Reserve Pinot Noir
It’s easy to get two bottles down at dinner, just give it a try.
When Pinot drinkers are drooling over the thought of an exceptional bottle of Pinot Noir from the great Northwest, there are about 15 wineries that are on the “must get my hands on” list. Cristom Vineyards is one of them. Small production, handcrafted and consistently “freakin’ great”. Some of the vineyard designate releases are made in small amounts ranging from 300 cases to a bit over 500, and the Reserve usually comes in at twice that depending on the harvest. This release of the Reserve came in at about 1150 cases. That’s enough for some of us to get our hands on it.
The 1999 vintage provided a nice cool and surprisingly dry spring and a mild and warm summer. This follows two very good vintages in 1997 and 1998, and gives fans of Willamette Valley wines something to cheer about. Cristom has taken advantage of this like they should, and they keep releasing killer Pinot’s.
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1998 Albarino
Those Spaniards are going to take over soon if the word gets out on wines like this. They already have the most land dedicated to vines on the planet and the juice has been getting better and more attention has been focused on them in the last 10 years. Most of you may know the region of Rioja with its fantastic red wines, but how about the white wines of Rias Baixas.
Yea, you heard me right, Rias Baixas (ree-ahss bii-shahs), say it a dozen times and get used to that “x” pronounced as a “sh”. After a couple of bottles we don’t care how you pronounce it. The wine of the month here at Damn Good Wine headquarters is the 1998 Martin Codax Albarino. Oh, you don’t know Albarino, well let me introduce you. Say hello to my lil’ friend.
Medium gold in color with what seems to be some stuff floating in it, but after further examination it reveals itself as the tiniest of effervescent bubbles, or so it seems. I’m not sure, but I don’t care, because this is a terrific wine. First sniff brings almonds, then oily nuts. Then weed, smoked wood, and pan seared peaches. So you get the picture so far, very intense aromas. The flavors are very happenin’ also.
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5th Edition
If you want to see the wine regions of the world in a super-detailed mapped form, then this is the best 352-page book you can ever think of laying down in front of you. As you might have thought by the word Atlas in the title this powerhouse wine reference book is all about wine regions and detailed maps that cartographers will drool over. 178 maps to be exact, and they are detailed like no other.
This is the style of The World Atlas of Wine. 30 maps have been added to this edition and the 148 maps from the 4th edition of The World Atlas of Wine have been modernized and revised. If you think you know French wine regions then dive into the detailed 100 pages devoted to France and see how much you have forgotten, overlooked or just plain ignored.
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Cracking claws over here, pullin’ apart tails over there, man it was a sight to see. I got some much-needed use out of my lobster crackers and only ended up knocking over one glass of wine… not a bad night for me.
Lip smacking white wines and lobster. Put these two side by side and most seafood lovers and winos will thoroughly thank you. I know I would. To top it off lets pair this lobster up with some bottles that are all $15 or under. If you are dropping the cash for lobsters and can get away with keeping the budget in line with some nice bottles for $15 or less, might as well. So that is the way I went.
First I ordered four 1.5-pound live hard-shell Maine lobsters.Then I went and picked out four white wines that I felt could nicely accompany the crustaceans during my feast. The lobsters arrived the next morning at 11:00, via FedEx. I let them hang out in my fridge for a couple of hours and they were rarin’ to go. They were very lively as if they had just gotten out of their tank, and they wanted a piece of me, I could tell. But I sidestepped them and into the boiling pot they went. I did the standard New England Boil for these guys.
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This was the pre-party for Super Bowl XXXVI, plain and simple. As excited as I was about planning my weekend around the Expo it was really just a stop before the big game. Boston was fired up that February 3rd and the electricity was in the air inside and out. The skies where clear and there was no sign of snow or freezing rain in the forecast that might hamper our efforts to get home in front of the big screen T.V. before kickoff. The Wine Expo from 1:00 to 5:00, and Super Bowl from 6:30 to 10:30. It couldn’t have been planned any better than that.
There was no shortage of winery reps and distributors wearing Patriot jerseys, and impromptu raucous chants of “Pats”, “Pats”, “Pats”, did take place at a few tasting tables here and there. The scene was pretty cool, and I’m sure that plenty of wine geeks there were concerned that all this football hoopla was making this into more of a party than a professional tasting. Well when you start pouring 1800 different wines to thousands of people, things just happen. I like seeing people just enjoying wine. Tasting notes or not, spitting or not. Wine tastings should always be this much fun.
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1996 Cote-Rotie, E.Guigal
Sure I should have waited five to ten more years to open this cellerable bottle of Northern Rhone super juice, but since it was a Tuesday, and there was an NBA game on, I decided that this special occasion warranted a special bottle. So, bye-bye cork and hello Syrah.
This is Marcel Guigal’s second release of this reserve Cote Rotie. This bottle of Château d’Ampuis fits into Guigals Cote Rotie portfolio above the standard Cote Rotie “Brune et Blonde”, and below (in price & demand) the three vineyard designate bottlings that run about $200 a pop. So this should be considered the reserve, and at $85 a bottle you might have to reach into your reserves to pick up a bottle. The fruit for this bottle is sourced form six different and distinct vineyards all from around the town of Ampuis and case production is around 2500.
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Good Morning Sauvignon Blanc!!
I have a continuing interest in getting wine involved in not just my lunch and dinner plans, but also in my A.M. meals. Like I’ve said before, “If breakfast is my most important meal of the day, then why should I skip my wine at this tremendously significant meal?” I have written in the past about some of my favorite pairings of wine and breakfast items,but what about when I am in a bit of a crunch and don’t have a full fridge of “stuff” to breakout another gourmet breakfast?
Or maybe I have run out of Lucky Charms again. Well, I choose to run up the road and get a sixer of donuts, and I prefer Dunkin’ Donuts with my wine. Luckily I have one of those Dunkin’ Donuts shops conveniently located about a mile from my pad (but who doesn’t on the East Coast) so I always have an easy way to find a quick breakfast if needed.
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One of those bottles to go hunting down. Isn’t wine drinking fun? Always a challenge.
1999 “Aquarius Ranch”
Russian River Valley Chardonnay
“Thanks Will”. That’s a shout out to the guy who brings us this savory Chard. He does a great job, and keeps us sitting here just captivated with his creation. It is one of the most deeply flavored Chards that we have come across in a while. Expressive, bold and unfortunately limited to 848 cases this vintage. Again, one of those bottles to go hunting down. Isn’t wine drinking fun? Always a challenge.
This bottle makes you happy, and after you drink it, it may find a spot in your collection of happy thoughts. Maybe right next to the one where you are rolling dice at the Mirage in Vegas. At that lucky second table on the left just after you enter the main room, you know the one. All dice are going your way, your chip stack is out of control and some honnies at the other end of the table are sending you drinks. O.K., maybe that is one of my happy thoughts, but you get the idea. Now you think of one. This Chard will make you smile just as much.
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I have been put to sleep by so many Merlots in the past that when I get my hands on a kickin’ bottle like this I can’t help but go back to the store, buy 6 more bottles and tell everyone about it.
1999 “Walla Walla Valley” Merlot
Is there a varietal that L’Ecole does at the moment that isn’t at the top of its class? Come on; answer me when I ask a question of you. Oh, you said “No”, sorry for yelling. That seems to be the answer I was looking for. Their Semillon: Excellent. Their Cab: Awesome. Their Chard: very, very nice stuff. This ’99 Merlot in front of me right now: simply “jacked”. Or maybe I should clear that up by saying it is brilliantly delicious and has jaw dropping flavor and balance, and I rarely say that about a Merlot.
I have been put to sleep by so many Merlots in the past that when I get my hands on a kickin’ bottle like this I can’t help but go back to the store, buy 6 more bottles and tell everyone about it. Who cares if they run away from me and call security. At least I can get out in the morning and open up another bottle.
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Well you’re feeling pretty lucky when you get a chance to try some of California’s benchmark Cab and Cab blends from a vintage that stands out in its decade. 1997 was definitely one of the best vintages in California from the ‘90’s and wineries like Opus One, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Caymus Vineyards can find themselves in the mix when it comes to sifting through wineries, and coming up with some of the “Best of the Best” in Northern Cali.
But when you’re dropping some serious cake, like you will be, and purchasing some of these time proven winners, you have extremely high expectations. And a $175+ bottle can have a hard time living up to the hype. These are some bottles that can, and make you feel pretty good while doing it. This writing however, is less about the reviews and more about just drinking the wines.
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