This Wine Is Better Than Sex (Okay, not really)

Harlan Estates/Bond-Pluribus

Most of you food bloggers have footnoted categories for your posts. Basically a way of indexing pieces you write about. This blog really started out to be more about wine and somehow the food posts took over.
I have several categories relating to wine. I have a category called: Really Good Wine. I also have one called: This Wine Is Better Than Sex. I am thinking about changing that last category to: "This wine costs more than your car payment".
Since 1999 I have been spending an inordinate amount of time studying, reading about, researching, tasting and buying fine wine. What I love about wine (besides the alcohol) is that in a bottle you can learn about history, geography, politics, agriculture, vinticulture, oenology, botany, forestry and a whole host of interesting and esoteric facts before you even open up the bottle. This is a hobby that has almost consumed me at times.
While some people may collect wine as an investment my small cellar (50 cases) was all purchased with the intent to consume what I had bought.
What I think is special about seeing ones palate develop is that I believe you go back to the "Old School" wines as your palate gets more sophisticated. I liken this to learning to cook and I would venture to say that the majority of the cooking school in the United States are teaching "Old School" French cooking techniques. There is a reason that classic literature remains relevant in the modern age. Do people realize that Picasso was a classically trained painter and had a very strong base in realism before he began to experiment with cubist and modernist painting? The French have been making wine (and cooking ) for centuries. They have learned what works and what doesn't work through years of trial and error and they have passed that knowledge down to their children to pass to their children and so on.
While the "New World" wines have come on strong, I do believe that given time, the old world wines will prevail.
The other night I had an "Old School" Italian dinner at Cafe Mingo in Portland. There were six of us at dinner that night and we started with a simple Italian Rose wine. We then opened a 1993 Leoville Las Cases (slightly off vintage old school 2nd Growth Bordeaux). We also had a 1980 Leoville Las Cases that was starting to slowly fade (like a pretty girl who is now on the back side of 50-no longer a bombshell, but she still gets everyone's attention when she walks into the room). My buddies sister, Kerrie, brought a Harlan Estates -Bond- Pluribus (thanks Kerrie!). This wine was a gift to her and at $250/bottle (if you can get on the mailing list) the chance to taste this wine made the entire night a special event. Wines of this pedigree are meant to be shared with people that know what they are. They are great and while I am not going to tell anyone that this was a religious experience, this is about as close as wine gets to being a sexual experience (more like looking at a masterpiece painting versus actually being the artist of the painting).

1980 Leoville Las Cases-The wine was showing some brickish color and had a nose that me and my friends refer to as a "Bordeaux Stink". While brett is considered to be a flaw, I like the barnyard/leather component this wine showed. Not much fruit left and a short finish.

1993 Leoville Las Cases- Good garnet color with no sign of aging. Strong earthy, barnyard and leather nose. Good cassis fruit with balanced acidity and a long smooth tannin finish. This wine was great as a cocktail and it was better with food.
A great example of what a top notch Bordeaux Cabernet based wine can be. This was my last of three bottles that I had purchased and I am glad I was able to share it with some friends who could appreciate it.

2005 Bond Pluribus- Dark purple color, almost opaque. Big ripe fruit on the nose with a hint of vanilla and blueberry. Full-bodied, rich and thick, this was almost like a wine concentrate but with good balance between fruit, acid and tannin. This wine opens up and shows some roasted coffee and chocolate on the back palate. The finish is very long and polished.

The Bond Pluribus was/is an outstanding wine. Is it worth $250/bottle? Personally, these wines are more than a little north of my income bracket, but in the right setting these wines can be a show stopper and provide the entertainment for the night as well.

I will just say if your friends bring a bottle of this wine to dinner to share, I would advise you to not be shy about elbowing your other dinner companions out of the way so you can get a taste.-Cheers

Clos Erasmus

Photo: Clos Erasmus

I started tasting wine with the intention to educate my palate starting about 1999.
In 2006 I was fortunate enough to be invited to a 11 vintage vertical of Clos Erasmus.

Clos Erasmus is produced from four vineyard sites, with a miniscule (total) vineyard surface of only 2 hectares (about 4.5 acres). All the vines are planted on deeply sloped terraces originally carved into the mountainside by the Ancient Greeks, for their cultivation of vines, olives, and almonds.

Las Escalas, the first vineyard site in the area that Daphne visited, became Clos Erasmus. The terraces were restored, vines planted alongside the existing old vines of Grenache, and in 1990 Clos Erasmus was born. Yields are only 18-20 hectoliters per hectare, and the number of cases produced has never been more than 140 per year.

The Priorat wasn't always a home to many of Spain's most exciting wineries, but with names like René Barbier, Alvaro Palacios, and now, Daphnie Glorian of Clos Erasmus, there is no denying how deserving it is of its current status as a "Spanish Darling."

A group of 16 people got together and menu planned a full evening around these terrific wines. A couple of nondescript Spanish white wines for the "starter" wine and then we proceeded to sample the vintages 1992-2002. Our host Scott Fitzwater and his wife, Karla were very kind to have shared these wonderful wines in their home.

Menu

-Appetizers-

Romesco (a Catalan dipping sauce) & Antipasto Cantalano
Catalan Tapas

-Side Dishes-
Catalonia Brecol con Nueces Y Pasas
(Broccoli with Walnuts and Raisins)

Catalan Aubergines (eggplants)
Pulpo en su Tinta
(octopus tossed in olive oil, garlic, squid ink and potatoes)

Catalonia-Style Spinach

Escalivada - Catalan Roast Vegetables

-Entree's-

Venado Cazador
(venison stew with forest mushroom)

Paella a la Catalonia

Gambas Al Ajillo (Shrimp W/ Garlic) Catalonia

Pollo alla Catalana

-Dessert-
Pine Nut and Almond Cookies (Piñones)
Crema Catalana

Needless to say, this was a marathon meal and we were eating and drinking for easily three hours. While we didn't blind taste the wines, we all kept notes and the following are mine from that evening. Notes and my Ranking # (though, this is like naming which is your favorite child).

1992 Clos Erasmus: Cedar on the nose with dried flowers, secondary fruit that gives way to leather on the nose and palate. 5th

1993 Clos Erasmus: A sweet and aromatic nose, good purple fruit and a nicely structured silky finish. 8th

1994Clos Erasmus: A floral nose with dark Purple fruit with hints of hints of vanilla on the palate, silky tannins and dried fruit on the finish. 1st

1995 Clos Erasmus: High alcohol on the nose, very ripe purple fruit that peels away to show some dried fruit as well, a bit of an "off" finish (slightly corked). 10th

1996 Clos Erasmus: Purple fruit upfront that gives way to mouth coating tannins. Some acidity on the palate made this go well with the meal. 7th

1997 Clos Erasmus: Fruit forward wine with flavors of black olive and cherry liquor. Nice finish. 4th

1998 Clos Erasmus: Sweet fruit that seems concentrated. Good structure. 6th

1999 Clos Erasmus: Dark cherry fruit with a layer of vanilla on the nose and palate, mouth coating tannins and a spicy finish. 2nd

2000 Clos Erasmus: Dusty, fresh, purple fruit, mouth coating tannic finish. 11th

2001 Clos Erasmus: Soft cherry fruit upfront with gripping tannins, nice spicy nose and finish. 3rd

2002 Clos Erasmus: Dried fruit on the nose with just a touch of fresh cherry. 9th

This entire lineup was pretty stellar. The wines from Clos Erasmus were selling in the early 1990's for around $30 bucks a bottle, unfortunately the Priorat caught the eye of Robert Parker and after some wine ratings in the high 90's the prices jumped dramatically. All of the above wines (if you can find them) are selling at auction for $150/bottle. Looks like this might be one of those "once in a lifetime " events.



The meal and the wines were wonderful and we added a 1975 Don Pedro Ximenz to put the finish on a great evening.

Be forewarned. It’s brown. And I don’t mean reddish brown. I mean flat Coke, plain coffee, or if-Tootsie-Rolls-were-a- drink-it’d-be-this-color brown.

But it’s soooooo good.

Don PX, as it’s called, is produced by Bodegas Toro Albalá, S.L. in the Montilla-Moriles Denominacion de Origen of southern Spain. Pedro Ximénez is a white grape with a naturally high sugar content. It’s particularly common in Montilla-Moriles, although it can be found all over Spain.

To make the wine, harvested grapes are dried in the sun — essentially making raisins — to concentrate the flavors. The wine is then aged in oak barrels — for a minimum of 25 years — until it develops the proper flavor profile.

Don PX has a nose that’s chock full of raisin and vanilla notes. Its smell reminds me of a cream soda or cream Sherry. In fact, Sherry hails from a nearby D.O. Don PX, however, is not a fortified wine. The high alcohol content comes from the naturally-high sugar content of the Pedro Ximénez grape.

In the mouth, Don PX is heavy, but not syrupy, and full of raisin, prune, fig and date flavors. It is sweet in a fruity sense, not a sugary sense, with a long finish. It’s definitely an after-dinner wine that would pair well with chocolate or chocolate mousse.

We finished off the night with Spanish Coffees down at Huber's

Chateau Rieussec

I never thought I was into sweet wines, that is, until I traveled to France and spent some time in Bordeaux and the French Perigord. The most renowned sweet wines from that part of France are Sauternes. Sauternes is made from Semillion, Sauvignon Blance, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cineria, also known as "noble rot". This causes grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines, typically with an arresting golden color. It is hard to imagine what accident occurred that would make a winemaker want to ferment rotten grapes, but these wines are in a word: "spectacular".
The fruit profile often has an intense peach, or apricot component and descriptions of honey, caramel, creme brulee, baking spice and vanilla are all common. These wines also typically have a sharp acidic edge that balances the sweetness. These are not a sweet wine in the mold of a white zinfandel, these are an entirely different animal.
I had a chance to taste an 8 vintage vertical of the Premier Cru producer Chateau Rieussec. This estate is currently owned by the Lafite Rothschild family and great care goes into each bottle. These wines are typically expensive and in relative short supply. I felt very fortunate to be able to sample vintages that spanned from 1961 - 1986.

Here are my notes from that tasting, as well as my ranking for the evening.

Chateau Rieussec 1961: Honey and caramel notes on the palate, great balance and a very full body. 2nd

Chateau Rieussec 1964: Slightly maderized (oxidized), petrol nose, nice acid balance. 8th

Chateau Rieussec 1967: Baking spices on the nose, with a nice acidity. 4th

Chateau Rieussec 1971: A light vanilla toastiness on the nose that gives way to honey and ripe concentrated peach fruit. Nice acidity and a very BIG finish. 1st

Chateau Rieussec 1975: Baking spices on the nose, apricot fruit and great body. This wine also had a tremendous finish. 5th

Chateau Rieussec 1976: Deep amber color, concentrated fruit, licorice. Long finish. 3rd

Chateau Rieussec 1983: Light, nice stone fruit, barnyard nose, some mint on the finish. 7th

Chateau Rieussec 1986: Lightest wine of the flight, creme brulee nose, soft fruit and moderate finish. 6th

All but the 1983 and 1964 (bad bottle) I scored at least 17pts or more on a 20pt. scale. My wine of the night was the 1971 and I would be more than happy to have a case of that in my cellar.
Cheers-

Heitz Cellars-"Martha's Vineyard"- Vertical Tasting

Photo: Courtesy of Heitz Cellars
I was fortunate to have been invited to a vertical tasting Heitz Cellars "Martha's Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon.
The tasting encompassed wines from 1973 - 1984. Included in this tasting was the spectacular and impossible to find (for less that $1000.00/btl) 1974 vintage. The hosts for this event were Dick Stinson and Judy Erdman. Dick has a expansive cellar and he has collected wine for well over the past 30 years. All who attended this tasting owe a huge collective "Thank you" to Dick and Judy for being kind enough to share these wonderful wines.
These 12 wines were tasted in order, though I kept general notes I didn't rank these wines at the end of the night. To be honest, what struck me the most was how young, fresh and fruit forward nearly all of these wines were. The color on all but one wine was garnet and without a hint of brickishness. It was as though these wines had been stored in the the "Twilight Zone". I am sure that if we tasted these wines in another 10 years they would still not be on the downward side of their maturity.

Here goes:

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1973: Slightly sweetish, port-like, some leather notes that layer in nicely with silky tannins-perhaps some english walnut on the finish

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1974: Eucalyptus nose, well structured, perfumy and extremely well balanced. The wine was bright, fresh and not even a hint of brickishness in regard to color.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1975: Slightly astringent, not well balanced, a hint of leather and again no discoloration with this wine.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1976: Roasted meat on the nose giving way to currant fruit and gripping tannins. Long finish with some dark chocolate on the palate.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1977: Tart fruit with a slightly thin mid-palate that gives away to gripping tannins and tobacco on the finish.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1978: Dark fruit with Dark Chocolate, a hollow mid-palate that finishes with a big tannic structure. This wine had a touch of green bell pepper (underripe fruit?).

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1979: Port-like, dried/raisiny fruit. This wine was the only one of the line-up to show some age and my guess is that we just had an "off" bottle.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1980: Fresh purple/currant fruit, amazing that a nearly 30 year old wine is this fresh! Layers of tobacco, mushroom with a well knit tannins. Very nice.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1981: Fresh fruit, lively with nice structure. This wine could easily go another 10+ years.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1982: Leathery nose with fresh lively purple/currant fruit, very nice effort.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1983: "New world" fruit, this would be a wine that tastes 20 years ahead of its time. The wine is dominated by the fruit and has far less structure than the previous 10 wines tasted tonight.

Heitz Cellars-Martha's Vineyard-1984: Tobacco on the nose that leads to fresh fruit and very silky tannins. Nice balance and a long finish.