Fall Line 2004 Horse Heaven Hills Red

This is a wine that my wine shop proprietor recommended based on my request for "something nuanced." He told me it is one of his current favorites. There's no doubt about it--this is an exceptionally well made wine. A blend of 42% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, this Bordeaux-style blend is both subtle and strong. In fact, it was so enjoyable that I didn't bother taking notes so now I have to go by spotty memory...

Fall Line Winery Red Wine

Variety: Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Blend
AVA: Horse Heaven Hills
Alcohol: 14.8%
Price: $30-$35
Aromas: Plum, cherry, lavender,
Flavors: Lavender, tomato, boysenberry, spice

Summary: A nicely balanced wine with layers of distinct aroma and flavor (hence the nuance). While the nose is a little bit reminiscent of a new world style Côtes du Rhône, the flavor has hints of a Loire Cab Franc. It doesn't hit the hard-core level of iodine of a Loire red but the savory tomato characteristics are there combined with woody herbs like lavender, and soft flavors of purple berry. This wine gets a smiley-grape.

East Coast Merlot

We picked this bottle up last spring when we visited the Hudson Valley. It's actually a Long Island wine but, Rivendell sells wines from all over New York and we'd been happy with a Cab Franc we had from this producer before.

If you're into trying New York wines, I think this bottle is worth the $10.50 we paid. Do I sound a little hesitant? Okay, the truth is, this isn't a stellar example of varietal character. I got Long Island wine blogger Lenn Thompson's (from Lenndevours.com) take on it: He asked me what vintage it was, and whether the label said "North Fork" on it. I replied that it was a 2004 and it did say "North Fork." He explained that in 2003/04 Palmer had to get a lot of fruit from California because of a poor harvest, and that it was a cool year. He also said the Palmer wines sells for around $20 at the winery. Good to know--I'm glad I consulted him.

So, what we have here is a true North Fork vintage, but from a cool year. Luckily, it wasn't $20, it was $10.50 which is only a few dollars more than you'd pay for a homogenized, mass-produced fermented grape-juice product. Here are the tasting notes:

Palmer 2004 Merlot

ABV: 12.8%
Price: $10.49
Aromas: Cranberry, cherry, smoked meat, barnyard
Flavors: Tart cherry, veg, licorice

Summary: This wine isn't particularly Merlot-esque and I guess the cool 2004 temps are partly to blame for that. It's a little brighter and more vegetal than what you'd find in a typical soft and rounded Merlot. The nose on this wine is a blend of tart red fruit and herbal notes with some barnyard in there as well. On the palate there is quite a lot of cherry: Tart cherry on the front, and canned cherry on the moderate finish with a hint of black licorice that almost goes toward petrol. Good balance of acidity and tannins that mostly carries through to the finish. By the second day, I pick up some tomato on the nose, and some of the tartness and finish has dissipated. It's definitely ready to drink now--some visible oxidation can be seen at the edge in the glass. I haven't had many New York wines, but this seems pretty true to type for the region if not the variety. A solid NY wine for the price.

Impressions: Bart Park 2005 Merlot

Oh, goodness! Here we are sucking down this bottle thinking we already posted on it but, in fact, we did a post on the 2004, not the 2005!
I don't have a lot to say about this Merlot, and maybe it's that I just learned this word but, I'm going to say it's got the umami goin' on. Actually, why describe it in words when imagery can capture it's essence so much better? (Kudos Chateau Petrogasm for cornering the market on tasting notes through images--sheer genius.) So, I did do a cursory check for a photo of like Xena or Sheena in a freshly tanned cowhide brassiere but, wouldn't you know, I didn't find anything. So, I came up with a slightly different concept...

(Taster A let me use his big-boy camera to shoot this pic)

Three of my Favorite Things

I’ve had a log day today. My company is on a shutdown so I’m forced to take some time off. This gives me a chance to do three of my favorite things. Photographing lighthouses, photographing birds and drinking great wine while I cull out the bad shots. I’ve been out in the field schlepping gear around all day in the hot sun. Tonight we are working on a bottle of Bartholomew Park Merlot, 2005. Mmmm. That’s good “&^#%!ing Merlot”.

If you’re curious about what I shoot when I’m not shooting fine food and wine, stop by ShootingMyUniverse.

Weekend Wino-ers: Merlot-quacious!

Okay. Everybody whose wine-buying habits weren't affected by the opinions of Paul Giamatti's character in Sideways, hats off to you. The rest of us: Let’s not beat ourselves up about it. Maybe we were naïve; maybe the times made it seem right; who knows. The point is, we can change our minds. After all, it wasn’t Merlot that changed, it was us...


Taster A and I decided it was time to remind ourselves what Merlot was all about with a horizontal tasting of three Merlots from Sonoma County. We opened three very nice single-vineyard bottles, and compared them side-by-side. All had typically soft tannins, plumy nose, and subdued character. Of course, we did wind up with our favorites.

Toad Hollow
2005 Merlot Reserve
Russian River Valley
Richard McDowell Vineyard
Price: $19.99
This was the most oaky of the three but, not offensively so. Slight herbal notes of basil on the nose and bright berry fruit on the palate. The oak fell to the background once introduced to food.

Benziger
2004 Merlot
Sonoma Valley
Rose Ranch
Price: $37
Taster A found the nose disappointing but the flavor redeeming. I had sort of the opposite reaction: Found the nose pretty interesting with plum, floral, earth, and chocolate notes but, found the wine to be vapid on the palate. No acid to speak of. The palate improved with food.

Bartholomew Park
2004 Merlot (blend: 15% Cab)
Sonoma Valley
Desnudos Vineyard
Price: $32
Most interesting of the three: Refined leather and lots of floral notes on the nose; stewed plums, boysenberry, elderberry, etc. on the palate. The scent in the bottom of the glass had Taster A reminiscing of pine boards being ripped by a buzz saw.

We had a fantastic food pairing for Merlot Night: Stuffed Portobello mushrooms with scalloped potatoes and baby spinach topped with a warm bacon-Bordeaux dressing. We talked about the wine throughout dinner. Merlot definitely has some stiff competition for attention among other varietals yet it has a special character all its own: Sort of a quiet beckoning. Can you hear it calling?

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:
2 Portobello mushrooms
3 T Olive oil
1/3 C breadcrumbs
2-3 cloves of garlic
3 T red wine
2 oz smoked Gouda
2 oz mozarella
2 t. Oregano
Sea salt to taste

Wash Portobellos and remove outer skin if desired. Pat dry. Turn on broiler and rub outside of cap with olive oil. Place on pan under broiler for about 5 minutes gill side up.
Remove pan from oven. Cut stems from caps and set aside.

Dice mushroom stems and garlic. Heat a pan on the stove and add 1 T olive oil. Add breadcrumbs, a teaspoon of oregano, and a pinch of salt. Allow breadcrumbs to brown then remove to bowl. Add another T of olive oil to pan on low-heat, add garlic, pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon more oregano. Allow garlic to sauté for a few moments, then add diced mushrooms and toss. Pour about 3 T red wine over the mixture, cover and let cook until tender (about 4 min). When wine has reduced remove to bowl. Add about half the breadcrumbs and mix. Place one half of mixture onto each Portobello cap. Top with half Gouda / half mozzarella and remaining breadcrumbs. (Smoked Gouda is a good accompaniment Merlot but, can be too strong. Cutting it with a mild cheese like mozzarella will help keep the flavors from overwhelming the wine)
Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until top is melted.

Size Matters at the Winter Wine Festival at the Wentworth

An evening at the Wentworth

The Wentworth Winter Wine Festival at the historic Wentworth Hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire is in full swing. Taster B and I decided to have a date night and drive the hour and a half up to the New Hampshire – Maine border to participate in the Riedel (pronounced Reed-L) wine glass demonstration.

Doug Cohn, North East Regional Sales Manager for Riedel introduced the Riedel family history and wine glass making tradition. Arriving in the room, at each place setting were the flight of four wines in four Riedel glasses and an empty “Joker” glass.

The Joker glass was actually good quality glass, according to Mr. Cohn. It is the wine glass used by the Wentworth. To me, it looked like a taller version of a glass that I would serve a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blank in. Clean lines, thin stem, nice shaped bowl with a thin lip. The Riedel glasses will be mentioned with the wines.

The Riedel glasses were from the Vinum series. The Vinum collection, developed by Georg Riedel on the principle that the content commands the shape, is the "Vitrum-Vinothek" for every day use. They are machine made, have laser cut lips that are fire polished.

The wines tasted were introduced to us by a spokesperson from Vineyard Brands, wine importer of Villa Maria Estate wines. Presented were the Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc (Wine Enthusiast 90 pts), Private Bin Unoaked Chardonnay (Wine Review Online 90 pts), Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon (Wine Enthusiast 87 pts) and the Private Bin Pinot Noir (International Wine Cellar 88 pts).

Here were the wine/glass pairings in order of the flight:
Villa Maria Private Bin Chardonnay : Vinum Chablis 416/05
Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc: Vinum Riesling 416/15
Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir: Vinum Burgundy 416/07
Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet: Vinum Bordeaux 416/0

Mr. Cohn instructed us to hold wine glass is by the stem below the bowl with two fingers and the thumb. A good glass is designed to balance so as to not draw your attention away from the wine. Try this at home with your wine glass, hold it and pivot it. Does it feel balanced or does it feel like top heavy or hard to pivot?

The Chardonnay was the first to try. We evaluated the color of the wine in the crystal. Naturally, it was aesthetically pleasing. The swirl action of the glass was nice. With a reasonable swirl, I didn’t worry that I was going to embarrass Taster B by losing the contents of my glass on the lady sitting next to me.

The sniff of this wine was very clean, fruit, melon, tropical fruit. The aromas were easy to get from the glass and discernable. Nice.

The next step was the taste. It was clean, fresh, unoaked. It was a very pleasant Villa Maria Private Bin Hawkes Bay Unoaked Chardonnay 2004. We talked about the flavors and aromas.

Then we were instructed to poor the contents into the Joker. We did the same evaluation. The Joker actually presented the wine very well. The aromas were not as concentrated but still okay. The swirl was a bit more cautious.

Next came the watershed moment. The taste. We took a sip and (this is exactly what happened) I thought, “This is much more acid.” Taster B looked at me and said, “hmmm, it tastes more acid.” What more can I say?

Between wines, Mr. Cohn had a few things to say. Enough to say that I poured that wine back and forth about five times just to make sure I wasn’t placeboing myself.

The Sauvignon Blanc was evaluated in the same manner. The differences were discernable. In the Riedel glass, aromas of grapefruit and to me, very much like juniper berry. I could not get the juniper berry in the Joker glass.

Next was the Pinot Noir. The bowl on the 416/06 was pretty big and pulled in at the mouth. If you have friends that you want to train to swirl, this is the glass. You can swirl the bajeepers out of that wine and nothing will fling out. I tried. I almost ripped a rotator cuff swirling that wine. Not a drop was lost. Yup, you could train Aunt Millie and Uncle Harry to swirl with these bad boys.

The Pinot Noir was oaked. Fresh, green American oak, I thought too much. Many were enjoying the Pinot Noir, but it wasn’t my favorite. I could hear lots of “m-m-m-m-m-m-s” around the room, and I’m glad people like different wines. But for me, Oaky-smoky. So much so, I had a hard time finding the fruit.

I tried to pour the Pinot Noir into the Joker, but it smell too much of Sauvignon Blank so I just decided to continue this experiment at home. My mind is made up. Like Robert Mondovi and Robert Parker, Jr. and many more that have come before me, yes, I believe that Riedel has a good product. Yes, I want to experience and learn more. Yes, I believe I’d like to share that experience with our readers.

The Merlot/Cabernet Blend was nice, good tannin structure, good flavors, looked real sexy in the glass. MMM-mmm. Good stuff.

At the end of the event, we got to take the glassware home with us. We had a late dinner, I had Cod, Taster B had Salmon. Then it was back into the frozen winter night to drive an hour and a half home. It was a great night. If you have never done a tasting like this, treat yourself.