Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post Reply
User avatar
William P
Posts: 1210
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by William P »

Tonight Arv and I (plus a few others) are having another wine dinner. The theme is Cali Cabs. This is what I know:
96 Togni
02 Bond Matriarch
83 / 84 Dominus (their 1st vintage)
03 Coutet sauternes half
and a Saxum (?) and a Kistler Chard to start.

Should be a fun event. Film at 11:00.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

anxiously awaiting….
User avatar
William P
Posts: 1210
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:43 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by William P »

As usual I didn't take notes but Arv did. I expect he will share those in a substantial post later this week. Through this tasting, I experienced the evolution of California Cabernet winemaking. It was a pleasure to drink these and see the evolution of an industry.

83 / 84 Dominus. First sip says this is a French Bordeaux. From taste, structure, minerality, to finish, I was drinking a French wine made in California. It had reached its plateau without any deterioration. This was not what I expected. In the past, few old California aged well, at least in my experience (yes, there are exceptions). The Dominus was medium bodied, nice acid and mature tannins. Everything that makes a great wine. It was wonderful.

96 Togni. First sip says, power. What an eye-opener. The Togni is at least ten years from maturity with many more years after that. It is more concentrated than the Dominus with big tannins and balancing acid. The style has some Bordeaux traits but clearly California in nature. Medium-full body and long finish complete this wine. This too is a beauty and it will last for another 20 years.

02 Bond Matriarch. So where does this evolutionary trip take us? To the world of super-premium, super-concentrated wines. The Matriarch lived up to it premium billing and I was surprised. I liked it. Yes it is concentrated (far more than Togni), but I would not say it was out-of-balance. It has firm but round tannins and good acidity. It was ripe without being blowsy. It had not reached its plateau yet, so I project 10-15 years of pleasure. This is not remotely French in style. It is proudly California. Despite its size, it was very well made.

2012 Potts Incubo. Gene brought an open bottle of this for small sample of this rare Cabernet. Very young but worthy of the company it was in. Medium bodied, reasonable alcohol level and beautiful Mt. Veeder fruit. It's difficult to judge because of its youth but I'm willing to say in 10-15 years this will be stunning.

This paring led me to another epiphany moment. Who's better Bob Cousey, Steph Curry, John Stockton or Magic. You can't compare, they were all great but from different times. And so too, these Calis were different but equal. There were no disappointments in this group.

2012 Saxum Broken Stones. A beautiful Syrah. Deep and concentrated but a little light on acid for me. Still that is a small quibble. This is a Paso Robles wine and not to be confused with Cote Rotie or Hermitage, yet it was intense and young. This should be a beauty in 10 years.

2003 Coutet. Absolutely stunning.

Newlan Riesling. Not sure of the year, but I found it to be of interest. This was a California Riesling in a Auslese style. The wine was remarkably German in all but the acidity. There I found it didn't quite measure up. Still it was a eye-opener.

Kistler Chard. Excellent, say hey it's a chardonnay.

Great wine, a good group of people.
Last edited by William P on Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Blanquito
Posts: 5923
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:24 pm

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by Blanquito »

Thanks for the notes. Sounds like a great night.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

Very well done indeed, William P. We'll have to do a major blind California versus Bordeaux tasting next year.
User avatar
Nicklasss
Posts: 6384
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:25 pm
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by Nicklasss »

Very interesting report, as I don't own/drink lot of California wines.

Except for Dominus and Togni, i never heard of any of the others!

Your dinner give my the idea that we should target California wines for my next local tasting.

Nic
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

I think we should do a big California versus Bordeaux blind tasting at California '17.

I mean, really do it up. Let's generate some excitement. Let's get the wine press there.

I am assigning you guys from CA to get some of the old regulars there, people like CabFan, Maureen, G-Man, Werner/Chris, I'm sure I'm missing others….

Let's make it a historic California v. Bordeaux tasting.
User avatar
AKR
Posts: 5234
Joined: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:33 am
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by AKR »

A few of us got together for a California themed dinner the other night and had a good time

It was nice to try to so many 'special occasion' wines with real enthusiasts.

We were lucky in that everything showed great, and that nothing was tainted.

Our venue struggled though to handle their patrons that night, and it took four hours to conduct the dinner. Normally we are in/out of this place for wine dinners in 2.5-3 hours.

Many of these I'd heard of, but never had, so it was also very educational.

12 Potts "Turf War" [Napa? Sonoma?] I did not get the precise titling of this small lot bottling. I think there's only a few hundred cases made. It was also my first experience with any of Aaron Potts efforts. This had been breathing for a couple of days, or under gas, and was opening up. Dense, syrupy, 45 seconds of finish. Most of us had never had one of these, and it was pretty much inhaled. It's a big, modern cult styled cabernet. A- or so on my card. I could not taste any tannin, but I'm told there are plenty enough to age.

09 Kistler Parmalee Hill Stone Flat Vineyard Chardonnay [Napa?]
It's been a long time since anyone treated me to a Kistler chard! Long finish, not heavy, more medium bodied. A very impressive wine, but I'm lucky that I don't get so much more out of these than I do from more commercial (and cheap/available!) chards. Another A- for us. For those who shared this, thank you.

83 Dominus [Napa]
From what I understand 1984 was the first year they released wine, although 83 was actually their first vintage, and only released much later. I had not even known that 83 was available in the retail market. But here it was. If you closed your eyes, it would have been an example of a very fine Bordeaux. Medium bodied, a bit of lightening at the edges, very balanced among all the elements. I thought it was like a great 82 Pomerol. This bottle brought up a lot of discussion of what's been the greatest Dominus people had tasted. Nearly everyone who'd tried the 1994 thought it was their favorite. solid A for this. Probably better to drink now, rather than hold further.

02 Bond 'Matriarch' [Napa]
Made in a different style, and I think the first time I'd tried something from the Harlan stable in many many years. This had the most impressive texture of anything we'd tried - rich, lush, plummy. I had not known the labor intensive methods, as well as technology, that goes into these - at a berry by berry level. Very glad to have tried this, super stuff. A- One of those wines which has high levels of tannin I'm told, but I could not taste any. It tasted very youthful to me.

96 Togni [Napa] These take a long time to mature, and I think this is entering a good period now. It's very balanced, medium bodied, and packed with flavor. It reminds me of a fine 1990 Bordeaux, made with some restraint, and designed to age. Sandalwood on the nose, and a long finish. This and the Dominus are in a much different style than the Pott and Bond. Solid A for this too. I'm hoping the modern Clos du Val's pick up just a little DNA from their vinous grandfathers here! I think its fine now, but can be held longer if desired.

10 Saxum "Broken Stones" [Paso Robles]
My first experience with this producer. Huge 15.1% abv on this. Very powerful opulent nose. Full bodied, even bigger than the Pott. A mostly Syrah blend, in the GSM Rhone camp. It is however not at all like a Cote Rotie or anything. Sweet fruit. Impressive today, but I think would blossom with age. I like older Rhones though. A-on my Francophile scorecard.

We then moved on to a number of dessert wines.

03 Coutet [Barsac] A honeyed, thicker Coutet. Full, lush, butterscotchy. People often compare 2003 Sauternes to 1990 because of the viscosity. A- for me. I was happy to see this as this estate is one of my 3 favorite sweet Bordeaux. Medium gold in hue, no acid.

03 Clos Haut Peyraguey [Sauternes] I don't see this very often, maybe the last time I had one was the 2001 a decade or so ago. This is darker, more orange hued, than the Coutet. Low acid, full bodied, some citrus notes. Maybe a B+

91 Newlan Late Harvest Riesling [Napa?] I had never heard/had one of these curiosities. But apprently TomHill had a comment on one. Very little made, probably a byproduct of noble rot, rather than deliberate. The label claims 47.5 Brix, which one of our group says is not possible. Very dark, gooey, and looked like a PX type of sherry. Others liked it, I thought it was a bit too much on the caramel flavors. It's a B. But glad to have tried it.

Thanks everyone for the great offerings. If people are in the metro Sacramento area, feel to drop me a line and join us at the next dinner.
User avatar
AlohaArtakaHoundsong
Posts: 1460
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:12 pm
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by AlohaArtakaHoundsong »

I have the better part of a case of the 2003 Coutet. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I bought it, perhaps that I'd be entertaining a lot in some future fantasy world. Actually I recall now that I bought it because of some very advantageous pricing, maybe from TCWC or HDH a few years ago.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

Ha my case of 2007 Lafaurie Peyraguey sits in my cellar unopened, I have no idea when I'll open even one bottle, let alone twelve.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

Coutet for me was an underrated pleasant little surprise for me in our visit to France last year. I personally enjoyed our little tasting.
User avatar
stefan
Posts: 6224
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:08 pm
Location: College Station, TX
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by stefan »

Arv, I am also a fan of Coutet. The 2003 is quite a bit sweeter than the 1990, I think. Its lack of acid suggests that it will not be attractive when it gets old, but it is so nice now, who cares?
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: Sacramento Wine Dinner.

Post by JimHow »

That's right, it lacks the acid but it was a big viscous fruit bomb when we had it at the estate. What did we have, the 2006 I think?
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google [Bot] and 8 guests