{"id":280,"date":"2007-07-09T14:57:18","date_gmt":"2007-07-09T18:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2007\/07\/09\/best-of-the-best\/"},"modified":"2007-07-09T14:57:18","modified_gmt":"2007-07-09T18:57:18","slug":"best-of-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=280","title":{"rendered":"Best of the Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although we shared in the inspiration, I can not take any credit for being the architect <\/em>for the wine tasting… that function belonged to Grapes’ owner, John Caplan.\u00a0 My sole contribution was to recommend the first wine, which was actually tasted last — Chateau D’Yquem.\u00a0 For the rest of the wine flight, I merely put at the top of a scratch pad: France, Italy, California and Spain (with a question mark). <\/p>\n

It was John’s duty to flesh out the “dance card”.<\/p>\n

We host a wine tasting of this magnitude from time to time… featuring an eclectic assortment of wines that are the “best of the best.”\u00a0 From start to finish the wines have to be great, worthy of cellaring — and also available for purchase.\u00a0 Well, after all, we are<\/em> in the business of selling<\/em> wine.\u00a0 But it goes beyond the simple sale.<\/em>\u00a0 We all have tasted incredible wines… rare wines, wines that are truly hard to come by… and then reflected what a tease<\/em> it had been.\u00a0 No. Our tasting would not<\/u> be a tease… wines had to be available to acquire.<\/p>\n

In the two weeks leading up to the tasting John busied himself calling distributors, importers, portfolio reps… cashing in on a few debts owed to him in order to secure exceptional wines.<\/p>\n

From across the room I would hear, “Hah!\u00a0 Man, look what we’ve just landed!”\u00a0 There would be a fist pump… “Quintarelli Valpo!”\u00a0 This is the liquid equivalent to scoring Peyton Manning for your fantasy football team.<\/p>\n

And that’s the way it went… two White Burgs from the ’05 Vintage, a monster Cali Cab, a gem from the Priorat… little by little the list was taking shape, ’til John had assembled a wine dream team.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, on Thursday June 28th, we sat down with 21 eager citizens drawn from the ranks off a list of our best customers.\u00a0 It would be an evening to cherish.<\/p>\n

Our lead wine is usually a sparkling wine of some type… for our regular <\/em>tastings: Prosecco or Cava; but rarely true Brut Champagne.\u00a0 The natural inclination<\/em> for this<\/u> tasting would have been for a tete du cuvee<\/em> like Dom Perignon.\u00a0 But Dom is really no big deal… as much as I personally love it… it’s really commonplace<\/em>… albeit expensive.\u00a0 I would have liked a Brut Rose from Billecart-Salmon… a favorite of mine… but our local distributor who has the label can be a bit of a pill<\/em>… and in order to get any Rose we have to purchase an un-Godly amount of the regular Brut Champagne.<\/p>\n

The other aperitif <\/em>that\u00a0would be\u00a0top stuff is a Riesling or Pinot Gris\u00a0from Zind-Humbrecht.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the Importer and<\/em> the Distributor handling Zind is changing and it will be a couple of months before Zind is in play again.\u00a0 But John did find another Alsatian wine that would do quite well: Albert Boxler Riesling Grand Cru Sommenberg ’01<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is not your “garden variety” Riesling that you sip pleasurably during a sticky summer day.\u00a0 This is a wine packed with\u00a0ripe fruit flavour, silky texture and length.\u00a0 Deeply hued, fragrant and perfectly dry… attributes that you would least expect from a Riesling.\u00a0\u00a0A glorious wine, still young, with years ahead to enjoy\u00a0along side of\u00a0impressive fare… like a Thanksgiving Turkey, an Easter Ham or a well prepared duck.\u00a0 The winemaker for the Estate is Jean Boxler… 31 years of age, a graduate of the most prestigious “aggie”\u00a0school of France, the University of Montpelier… the son of Albert, he has quickly achieved praise for turning out wines of great character… more opulent than Trimbach or Jean Meyer; but more restrained than Zind-Humbrecht.<\/p>\n

We followed with two Burgundies: Vincent Girardin Meursault ‘Les Narvaux’ ’05 <\/strong>and Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet ‘Champ Gain’ ’05<\/strong>.\u00a0 After Red Bordeaux, White Burgundy is my favorite wine.\u00a0 For years I have proposed that White Burgundy is not a white <\/em>wine… it is great<\/em> wine that just happens to be white.\u00a0 The Meursault drew most of the attention and comment.\u00a0 Hints of hazelnut, smoke & minerality added complexity to the tropical nature of Chardonnay fruit.\u00a0 Its balance was near perfect.\u00a0 Someone ventured that this was a wine that you could never tire of… a wine where one bottle would never be enough.\u00a0 On our evening the Puligny took a back seat… its bouquet more closed<\/em>, its flavours not as developed.\u00a0 But this is a Vintage of immense quality, and for those of us who love Burgundy we know that 3 years down the road,\u00a0the Puligny will shed its awkward stage and bloom to peak perfection.<\/p>\n

Organizing the White side of the flight was easy… the Reds would prove more challenging. We knew that any of the Reds could “anchor” a typical tasting.\u00a0 We began with Spain.\u00a0 A wine from the Priorat Costers del Siurana Miserere ’01<\/strong> to be followed by a single vineyard Rioja Valserrano Finca Monteviejo ’03<\/strong>.\u00a0 I love the wines from Priorat… a tiny area in Spain, close to the Mediterranean.\u00a0 The region is known for its steep hillsides… vineyards that have to be terraced into its rocky, inhospitable terrain and have to be tended by hand.\u00a0 A region known for producing wines of great concentration… concentration \u00a0derived from old vines… vines that have to struggle for their nutrients.\u00a0 Originally planted to Rhone varietals, Bordeaux varietals introduced more recently, this wine is an enticing blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Tempranillo, Merlot and Carignan.\u00a0 Aged for 12 months in French Barriques and bottle unfiltered and unfined the wine is a true gem.\u00a0 Beautiful depth, still a “baby”… everyone in agreement that it would cellar splendidly.<\/p>\n

The Rioja was more typically “Spain”… 95% Tempranillo with a soupcon<\/em> of\u00a0Graciano and Grenache.\u00a0 A wine\u00a0of sensuous appeal… a sexy blend of ripe dark cherry, cedar and vanilla\u00a0with a plush feel on palate.\u00a0 I can’t imagine a better wine for marinated flank steak.\u00a0 Only 170 cases produced.\u00a0 Talk about feeling lucky to taste a wine!<\/p>\n

Italy was next.\u00a0 From Veneto Quintarelli Valpolicella ’98<\/strong>, to be followed by Il Poggione Brunello Riserva ’01 <\/strong>from Tuscany.\u00a0 Look up “wine maven<\/em> of Veneto” in the encyclopedia and you will find a picture of Giuseppe Quintarelli.\u00a0 His wines are some of the toughest to get from any <\/em>region of the world.\u00a0 It was a joy to taste this wine with folks who regrettably hear “Valpolicella” and think of Bolla Wines.\u00a0 No.\u00a0This is not a “commercial” wine.\u00a0 Rather a wine of tremendous richness that\u00a0exhibits great elegance and finesse… a balancing act that is only achieved by the world’s greatest winemakers… winemakers like Giuseppe Quintarelli.<\/p>\n

The Brunello was extraordinary.\u00a0 This caused some misgivings.\u00a0 How could I measure this wine against one of my true loves, another Brunello: Valdicava Madonna ’01?\u00a0 But here is\u00a0a wine that Tanzer scored 95 points… he, the toughest grader on planet earth.\u00a0 Only three other wines of the Vintage scored a point or two higher.\u00a0 Yes, this was a terrific wine.\u00a0 But my Madonna?\u00a0 John told me to get over it. Il Poggione wasn’t “chopped liver”, it was a fabulous wine, sleek and purring like a Jaguar.<\/p>\n

We judged the next wine to be our “soft underside”.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless, a\u00a0wine that John said he had <\/u>to put on the flight, although its origin never appeared on our first work sheet.\u00a0 It was a wine from Mendoza\u00a0and it\u00a0blew John away when he first tried it… Vina Alicia Malbec ’04<\/strong>.\u00a0 We have been impressed by the quality of wines coming from Argentina.\u00a0 Particularly at the premium<\/em> level.\u00a0 But this wine is yet again another story.\u00a0 Made from vines with an average age of 95 years, and with only two clusters of grapes per vine… the resulting\u00a0wine has\u00a0amazing concentration; but with a European sense of restraint.\u00a0 This is not a fat fruit monster lacking structural support; rather a wine that combines the best of both Hemispheres.\u00a0 The wine that John and I thought was our “weak\u00a0link”\u00a0turned out to be the\u00a0best seller of the night.<\/p>\n

California stepped to the plate next.\u00a0From Santa Barbara Dierberg Pinot Noir ‘Steven’ ’04<\/strong>.\u00a0 I will confess… I do not care for “our” Pinot Noirs.\u00a0 Red Burgundy is a different matter… some of the finest Reds I have ever tasted are Red Burgundies.\u00a0 But Dierberg has given me pause for thought.\u00a0 The Dierbergs are farmers<\/em> really… they established their grape growing skill in that great wine producing State of Missouri.\u00a0 When they moved West to follow their dreams, they settled in Santa Barbara County where land was cheaper than Napa or Sonoma.\u00a0 They quickly established their reputation for knowing how to “tend vine”, and year after year they sold their produce to an appreciative wine market… Wines that received critical acclaim, huge ratings & top dollar.\u00a0 They got an itch to create wine under their <\/em>name… and as key contracts on their vineyards came up for renewal, they decided to retain the best for their use… and so a winery was given its birth.\u00a0 But they knew how to grow<\/em> grapes… not<\/em> make wine.\u00a0 So they enlisted the talents of Paul Hobbs and David Ramey to help make their wine… it was like penciling in Ruth and Gehrig to your batting order.\u00a0 And folks, this is the best Pinot I have tasted outside of the Cote D’Or… <\/p>\n

John loves Cabernets coming from Napa.\u00a0 In fact, he may love Napa Cab more than he does Pink Floyd… and boy, does he love Pink Floyd.\u00a0 Who was I to stand in the way of Rudd <\/strong>Oakville<\/strong> Cabernet Sauvignon ’03<\/strong>?\u00a0 Described as a vin de garde… <\/em>a wine for the keeping, this wine along with the wine that followed was our most “closed”… a wine that you would have to wait to truly savor.\u00a0 I loved Parker’s\u00a0 review: “this opaque purple-colored 2003 offers sweet aromas of scorched earth, tobacco leaf, blackberries and currents.\u00a0 Layered, beautifully textured, broad elegant, and refreshing, this well structured, superb effort should be consumed between 2008-2020.”\u00a0 You didn’t have to be a “Cali Lover” to swoon at this wine… we all did.<\/p>\n

When John said that we had a Cote Rotie, I smiled.\u00a0 “Thank you, John”.\u00a0 It’s easier to get First Growth Bordeaux than it is to get top flight Cote Rotie.\u00a0 So little is produced.\u00a0 Allocations are infinitesimal.\u00a0 Give up your first born and maybe you can taste great Cote Rotie… we had Guigal Chateau D’Ampuis ’01<\/strong>.\u00a0 Rated by Parker a paltry<\/em> 95 points, made from the finest parcels of La Garde, La Clos, Grande Plantee, Pomiere, Pavillon Rouge and Le Moulin… this is a wine to be reckoned with.\u00a0 Not a wine for those who simply enjoy great tasting wine… this is a wine to study<\/em>.\u00a0 A wine to be appreciated for its complexity and its earthiness… not just for its fruit.\u00a0 Even more closed than the wine that preceded it, this was the wine that was the hardest to grasp… but this the wine I sought out to re-examine after the formal proceedings<\/em> were called\u00a0to adjournment.\u00a0 My gosh is it a great wine.<\/p>\n

Our final Red was the “problem child” of the Red portion of the flight.\u00a0 John and I had originally put it much earlier in the order.\u00a0 After our private pre-tasting of all the wines, we knew that there could be no wine that could follow Jaffurs Upslope Syrah ’04<\/strong> and emerge from beyond its shadow.\u00a0 This Santa Barbara wine was too much of a flavour bomb.\u00a0 <\/em>Jaffurs produces some of the best Syrah in California… their most prestigious wines hailing from single vineyards at Thompson, Melville and Bien Nacido.\u00a0 Upslope is the production of the finest six barrels from those vineyards and only 142 cases are produced.\u00a0 We had tasted this wine one other time… when we hosted a “Cult Cabernet Sauvignon Night”.\u00a0 The wine had been somewhat of an “after thought”… John’s idea of “let’s shake them up.”\u00a0 We had to take notice when the wine out performed Caymus Select and other “fancy Dan” Napa Cabs.\u00a0 No one was disappointed on this night either.<\/p>\n

Hard to follow all those huge Reds… hard that is unless it’s Chateau D’Yquem ’95<\/strong>.\u00a0 I have a saying, “buy the worst <\/em>Vintage of Chateau D’Yquem that you can find, because there is no such thing as the worst <\/em>Vintage of Chateau D’Yquem… they don’t know how to make bad wine.”\u00a0 You see… Vintages that are considered to be of “lesser” quality by the pundits simply cost less<\/em>… if the wine making team\u00a0of Yquem feels that the vintage is not up to snuff, wine is not made… the entire crop is declassified and sold off to market.\u00a0 The integrity<\/u> of the label is deemed more important than any year’s vintage.\u00a0 Regrettably, we could not secure any more of the ’94 Vintage… which was a “buy”.\u00a0 But we were committed to showcasing one of the world’s finest wines (it was after all my only contribution to the flight)… and the ’95 would more than satisfy.<\/p>\n

When the dust had settled, and an appreciative group had taken their leave… John would say to me that nothing had given him\u00a0a greater\u00a0sense of satisfaction\u00a0than watching the reaction to Chateau D’Yquem… It is a reaction I have seen before… this was not a sweet wine, not a dessert wine… it is a wine that transcended any description or category.\u00a0 And it is a wine that never fails to live up to its expectation.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Well… there we are.\u00a0 A great, great night.\u00a0 I can’t resist the temptation to put this to an order… a ranking.\u00a0 Sorta like judging Best of Show at Westminster… each of the dogs in the Show Ring already\u00a0a declared Champion in it’s breed…\u00a0and the final Judge having to decide the best of the best.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Alright, what the hell: Chateau D’Yquem, Chateau D’Ampuis, Boxler Sommenberg (nosing out the Brunello).\u00a0 And if someone in the room saw it differently… that’s OK, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although we shared in the inspiration, I can not take any credit for being the architect for the wine tasting… that function belonged to Grapes’ owner, John Caplan.\u00a0 My sole contribution was to recommend the first wine, which was actually … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}