Thanksgiving 2013

[stefan]

Day 1

I arrived in Oregon on Tuesday to join Lucie, stefanJr, Irena, Shea, and Elle. With beef stew we drank some 1989 Bordeaux. Unfortunately, I have been fighting a cold and a burning throat, so my tasting and partying is off from my usual.

89 La Gaffeliere. This St. Emilion is fully mature and has good mouth feel, but lacks both fruit and complexity. Lucie says, “the nose is wonderful” and Irena agrees, but my nose is too challenged to chime in. There is some dirtiness in the wine. stefan 87. stefanJr 88. Irena 89. Lucie 89-90.

89 de Fieuzal. The de Fiezal is tastier than the the La Gaffeliere. It also is fully mature but without Graves characteristics. “Floral nose; lavender”, comments Lucie. “Tart and acidic, but it is growing on me,” adds Irena. I like the red raspberry flavor.

89 La Lagune. Clearly the class of the ‘89s even if both stefanJr and I noticed that it is very slightly corked. Nevertheless, it has a good nose and nice cranberry flavors that last. The tannins are resolved. A perfect bottle of this would still score into the 90s.

After dinner stefanJr, Irena, and I drank 90 Suduiraut while Lucie opted for more La Lagune (of course!). This bottle was slightly oxidized but otherwise very good with honey and herbs and flint.

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Day 2.

Wednesday was fresh hops beer night with Lucie’s minestrone, my guacamole, and various cheeses. My sisters family (Lady Di and Kenneth the Great, sons Ryan & Joel, and Joel’s new wife Jordan) flew in from Noo Yawk and Big D to join the festivities. stefanJr had brewed a low alcohol IPA that is very tasty and can be drunk in quantities. The higher alcohol micro IPA new hops wine were also good. K the G opened a Chandon Blanc de Noirs Holiday Sparkler for a toast to our family reunion. Good, but overshadowed by the other Chandon he shipped that we drank on Thursday.

stefanJr opened three 2011 St. Innocent Pinot Noirs because none of us non Oregonians had yet tasted any even if I have 5 cases of them sitting at the winery. All are lighter bodied than in better years, but all were also tasty and true. The Temperance Hill has an attractive nose and nice pepper and spice in the front. Lightest of the three, it still has a lasting finish, as do the other two. As is usual for me, the Zenith is my least favorite even if it is sound in every way. It just isn’t distinctive, but that is normal for Zenith in my experience. As expected, the Momtazi, while light, is the fullest of the three. At first it does not taste like Momtazi, but with air the briar comes out and the leathery texture is apparent.

I think these 2011 SI PN are not wines for the long haul, but they should be good while we are waiting for the 2008 to come back and the 2009 to develop.


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Day 3.

On Thanksgiving morning Lady Di and K the G fixed a baked egg & bacon dish and pumpkin stuffed muffins. We washed these down with three bottles of Chandon Etoile. The star of the Chandon line up has a well deserved reputation as a fine wine. Good by itself, its solid body sparkles with breakfast.

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We decided to drink only mostly older Oregon Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving dinner. I had a sourced a bunch at auction, so we started while watching football and continued after dinner with more football. I was feeling worse than on Wednesday and it was challenging to judge wines and appreciate the great turkey, smoked turkey, smoked duck, dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, squash, and various pies.

96 Panther Creek Shea. “This is yummy,” says sJr. “Very cherry-y,” Lucie chimes in while coining a new word, “a nice finish and a nice nose”. Indeed, there is a lot of flavor and fruit for such an old Oregon PN. Did Mark Vlossak make this wine? stefan 89. stefanJr 90.

98 Panther Creek Freedom Hill. From the excellent ’98 vintage, this Panther Creek is more concentrated and intense than the ’96. “Meatier than I expected,” mentions stefanJr. “Oh, that’s good!” exclaims Kenneth the Great. I popped and pour this wine, but it is so rough and tannic that I should have opened it early in the morning. s 88+. sJr 92. Lucie 91.

98 Shea Shea. Has that sweet Shea fruit. “Creamy and fruit forward,” Lucie observes after one sip. This complete and pure pinot noir is still young with a lot of tannins, but they are less coarse than those in the Panther Creek. s92. sJr 92. L 91.

98 Cristom Jessie. This has the most expressive nose of all the 98s, with asphalt, brambles, and dirt. The dark tar flavored fruit taste is consistent with the nose. I prefer the purer Shea Shea, but this Cristom is of comparable quality IMO. s 91. sJr 89+.

98 Cristom Reserve. Shyer than the Jessie. Solid and balanced if not particularly impressive. Fruit is there and the flavors hold well. However, my senses are challenged, and stefanJr finds many things I like in PNs, especially violets and other fragrances. With more effort my stuffed up nose picks up the delicate fragrance in this wine. s 90. sJr 92+.

04 Le Cadeau Cote Est. Good, I taste some candied fruit, but Lucie says I am wrong. stefanJr says it is corked a bit, but no one else gets it. Irena says that stefanJr is confusing frankincense with TCA. s 88. L 92. Irena 91.

04 Le Cadeau Diversite. This is a step up from the Cote Est. It is a solid PN with sufficient body and acid to stand up to turkey and trimmings; indeed, it is better with the food than by itself. s 89.

03 St. Innocent 7 Springs Special Selection. This is the best 03 Oregon Pinot Noir I have drunk. stefanJr and Lucie both say that it is the best wine of the day. Everyone is too busy eating, drinking, and socializing to comment more. s 92. sJr 93. L 92.

00 Penner Ash. This has a lovely nose of violets and roses. It is surprisingly firm in the mouth. It is high in acid, probably too high for the fruit. I am sorry that by the time I got to the Penner Ash I was too full to eat it with turkey. s 89.

At pie time I switched to the 90 Suduiraut we opened on Wednesday. The day of air had improved this wine, or maybe it was the pumpkin pie… Others called for more PN, so we opened 03 Cristom Mount Jefferson and 04 Cadeau Rocheux. I took mandatory tastes just to make sure that the wines were sound, but did not form opinions about them.

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Day 4. I always make turkey soup on Black Friday, but it was easier than usual this year because Irena created the stock on Thursday after I retired. Duck & turkey tacos sounded appealing, so with the extra time I whipped up some guacamole and pico de gallo.
After the rest of guys returned from a run and a beer excursion, and the women finished a shopping tour, we drank

02 Potel Savigny-les-Beaune VV. This village Burgundy from a great vintage and first rate winemaker is very clean and has cranberry flavors. stefan 89. stefanJr 89.

00 Marjosse. This is my first experience with this petit chateaux. While not distinctive, it is nicely made and has pure fruit. s 88. sJr 88.

00 Cantemerle. This Haut-Medoc has a deep nose and is full bodied. Pomegranate and cherries are laced with sage. “Beautiful nose; I don’t need to drink this,” swoons Lucie. Fine for drinking now, it will continue to improve. s 91. sJr 90.

89 La Gaffeliere. This bottle is decidedly better than the one we drank on Tuesday. It has an expressive bouquet, good entry and balance, red cassis, cranberries, band aids, and no dirt. While mature, there is no need to drink up soon. Later: some dirt develops in the taste, so I downgrade a point. s 89.

98 D’Armailhac. The shy nose strengthens with air time. It is more solid than stefanJr, who knows the wine, expected. s 89.

People were still thirsty after adjourning to the TV room, so I asked stefanJr if he had any rot gut, and he opened what he said was Paul Draper’s weakest ATB wine.

11 Ridge Triangle Carigane. The nose is grape-y and the taste very good for the varietal. But I do not understand using Carigane for other than blending. s 87.

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Day 5.

Lady Di & Kenneth the Great & stefanJr's cousins went to the wine country today. stefanJr decided that for lunch the rest of us should taste three chardonnays blind with boiled shrimp at lunch.

#1 Slightly sweet, good acid, no minerals, jasmine nose, not much oak. I guess Oregon chardonnay without much conviction.

#2 Citrus and a bit more oak than #1. Also Oregon, but could be Pouilly-Fuisse.

#3 Soapy and some minerals. Chablis? Lucie says BUY, so of course I did.

#1 2010 Jacques Bavard St. Romain.

#2 2010 Domaine Drouhin Arthur.

#3 2012 St. Innocent Freedom Hill cuvee de Liberte.

As usual, I was pretty close. I got the right grape variety on all three after stefanJr told us up front that all were chardonnays. And I was right on the planet as well.

For dinner we had leftovers from the Thursday dinner as there was an untouched duck and half a turkey remaining.

93 Ambroise 1er Cru NSG “en rue de Chaux”. This mature Nuits has a developed nose and a tart wild cherry taste that coats the mouth. Lacks that NSG earth. I prefer it with food while stefanJr likes it better by itself. stefan 89. stefanJr 89.

01 Gouges NSG Clos des Porrets St George. Expressive nose but tight in the mouth. Needs time. s 88+. sJr 89.

02 Gouges NSG Chenes Carteau. Stronger bouquet and more asphalt. Much too young for drinking now, but it should be fine in 6-8 years. Lucie disagrees, “I don’t like this; nothing up front and a short finish.” s 88++. sJr 90 (on potential).

02 Giroud Vosnes-Romanee. “Why is this so primary without being tannic?” asks stefanJr, “good fruit”. This is just a village wine but will develop for another ten years. “This is the best one,” says Lady Di. Kenneth the Great agrees but Lucie does not. s 88++. sJr 90.

99 Jadot Corton Greves. “Most interesting of the five,” opines stefanJr. There are lots of flowers in the nose—roses, hyacinths, and petunias—but the bouquet is not overly floral because it also contains motor oil and brambles. s 91. sJr 92.

With Lucie’s delicious pear and cranberry tart we drank

03 de Fargues. This poor man’s Yquem is an excellent Sauternes that is full of oranges and other citrus. s 91.

[billfgrady]

I look forward to these every year. As always, thank you!

[Tom In DC]

Thanks, stefan - hope the cold goes away soon!

[JimHow]

Boy did I stuff myself with turkey, fixins, sleep, wine, and football yesterday. We had a 2000 Leoville Barton with the turkey dinner, it was delicious, seemed more open and evolved than the other one I uncorked within the past year. Also had 2010 Vrai Canon Bouche (this is a classy wine, though perhaps less profound than the previous bottle I had), and a 2009 Clos Lunelles, which I have consistently found to be delicious over 3 bottles now. I love Thanksgiving, it really gives me a chance to recharge the batteries.

[DavidG]

Great report as always Stefan. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it! Hope you are back in top form quickly.

We had a Turley Zin, a Turley White Coat (Roussanne blend) and a '96 Krug with the meal. All were outstanding. The White Coat was the best match with the bird.

[Claret]

When I tasted the 2011 St. Innocent lineup in July I was impressed with the balance and texture of all the reds. I liked the Temperance but ended up buying the Zenith because I did not have any Zenith and I seem to recall good brown spices in the wine.

Tasting all of those older ORPN must have been fascinating. The 03 St. Innocent 7 Springs Special Selection seems to have come around. If anybody is interested in purchased up to 5 bottles of the 2006 Special Selection please shoot me a PM.

A 2008 Bryn Mawr Estate PN from Eola-Amity Hills opened yesterday was a very giving 2008 and showed beautifully.

[Chasse-Spleen]

I recently tasted my first St Innocent wine. We carry the basic Pinot and one other single vineyard. I tried the basic one and liked it very much, although I thought it needed time. A recent vintage, I can't remember exactly what it was, 2011? I always mention Stefan when I am selling these wines to people, how much I've learned from him, and how his grand daughter (is that correct?) is named after the Shea vineyard - I get a huge kick out of that!

Chasse

[stefan]

Thanks, all.

St. Innocent has an open house today. Lucie and I intended to go, but I am still challenged by a sore throat & cold, so we decided to pass. Lady Di & Kenneth the Great & stefanJr's cousins will have to taste for the rest of us.

It has been fun tasting older OR PN. I've drunk a lot of old Burgundy but not many OR pinots. Those we had this week were in good form.

@Chris: yes, stefanJr's older daughter is named after the vineyard.

[Claret]

Stefan, my new WV discovery is Walter Scott. This small winery is next to Bethel Heights and an appointment is needed. Feel free to mention my name to Erica and Ken. Ken mentored under Mark Vlossak for 12 years. The Pinot Noir, Blanc and Chards are very noteworthy and well priced.

[stefan]

Thanks for the tip, Glenn.

[Nicklasss]

Thanks for the effort Stefan.

Tasting wine with a flu or cold, is something tough. I'm always saying that cold and flu are the worst ennemies of wine lovers.

By the way, bad weekend for us too, 4 members of my little family of 5 have sore throat and dry cough, including me.

Nic