About this Blog

The blog focuses on the essence of wine and food, not how many points or stars it receives. The opinions are mine and should be taken only as that, an opinion not gospel.

Like many collectors, initially I was very much influenced by wine ratings. I purchased wines based on points, even if I had never tasted the wine. And it was much worse than that. I would drink a wine with a high rating, not like it, yet since it was highly rated I’d rationalize that I did not yet appreciate the wine, or that my palate was not sophisticated enough to understand the wine. How’s that for lunacy? As a result my cellar grew in all directions while my palate narrowed. By the time I realized the style of wine that I enjoyed, my cellar abounded with wines whose styles I did not enjoy. All of these wines were very highly rated, just not my cup of tea, or glass of wine to be more accurate. Fortunately I was able to sell many of these wines to those who either enjoyed them or wanted highly rated wines. Don’t misunderstand, I am not against wines with high ratings, in fact I own many. It is just that I now purchase wines based on the producer, the style and my palate, not the rating. Nor do I shun reading reviews. I very much respect Antonio Galloni, Alan Meadows, Eric Asimov and John Gilman and read their reviews routinely. I pay attention to what they write, not the points they award.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Riesling Dinner

Our local wine group met this past Monday for our monthly dinner/tasting.  It was my turn to bring the wine and select the venue.  I selected Riesling for the wine and Ariane Kitchen and Bar, Verona, NJ as the venue.  I have known chef/owner Ariane Duarte and her husband Michael for more than a decade and have always been captivated by her food.  She is truly one of the top chefs in the area.  We tossed around some ideas for a menu for the tasting and came up with a meal that pleased all and worked with all the wines.

Cornmeal crusted oysters, horseradish cream.  
This is one of Ariane's signature dishes.  Pristinely fresh oysters are fried to perfection and served on a bed of fresh horseradish cream.  I’m not sure if the tears they bring to my eyes come from the heat of the horseradish or the party they hold in my mouth.


Foie Gras, caramelized pears, hazelnuts, brioche toast.  
One word, SPECTACULAR!


With both of these courses we drank 2012 Albert Boxler Grand Cru Sommeberg Dudenstein Riesling from the Haut Rhine area of the Alsace region in France. The wine drank beautifully, possessing a light yellow hue, slightly viscous palate marked by vibrant fruit and good acidity.  The finish was lengthy and delicious.  From 65 year old vines, the grapes are picked by hand and bottled without fining.  It was a runner up to WOTN.

Boxler is a small vineyard in France that works traditionally using techniques and finesse passed down across multiple generations. Owner/wine maker Jean vinifies most of his wines parcel by parcel, not necessarily together. This technique preserves the most rigorous specificity of each region.

Soft scrambled eggs with shaved white Italian truffles.  
This dish is my favorite way to enjoy white truffles.  Ariane’s touch of perfectly salted homemade potato chips, which served as the platform for the truffles was a wonderful touch.  This was my first truffle of the season and it was great.  My understanding is that both quality and quantity are high this year.


2008 Alfred Merkelbach Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett #9 #10.  From the Mosel Saar Ruwer region of Germany, this is one of my favorite Reisling wines. The wine was wonderfully balanced with a feminine elegance on the palate, and a superb finish. Each parcel is vinified separately.  Because of their tiny cellar, their wines will never be a blend of any more than 2 parcels together, indicated by the numbers on the label’s AP code.

Importer Terry Theise says the Merkelbachs are one of the stars of his portfolio.  “The clearest imaginable look into pure Mosel. Vivid, toe-curling clarity of fruit and terroir make this my most beloved Mosel agency. These are just some of the keenest, spiciest, most helplessly beautiful wines you can ever drink. The iciest blade of electric, splashing acidity supports a fruit so clear, so sharply rendered that the entire experience is so vivid it makes your toenails laugh!”

Porcini dusted pan roasted cod, forest mushrooms, potato zucchini pancake, mushroom syrup.
A culinary work of art combing textures and technique...and oh that pancake. 


1994 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Riesling.  Also from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region of Germany, Prum has a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest Riesling producers in Germany.  Their wines age beautifully and should not be approached for at least 5 years. The 55 acre estate consists of about 90% ungrafted, old vines and are planted 100% Riesling. Average annual production is 15,000 cases. The harvest at J.J. Prüm is always extremely late allowing the grapes in the cool Middle Mosel climate to be picked at ideal ripening conditions, the basis to produce wines of superb quality. 

WOTN for me, it possessed a gorgeous yellow hue with an zesty bouquet and lengthy, viscous palate that finished with great length.  A wow of a wine!

Stuffed chicken breast, Mediterranean fonio pinenut stuffing, spaghetti squash, chicken jus.
A superb, moist chicken dish that the under-the-skin stuffing kicks up a couple of notches. 


I had selected a 1976 Weingut Josef Fries Honingberg Riesling Auslese to pair with the dish. A prodigious wine that I have enjoyed on previous occasions that unfortunately was corked tonight.

Fortunately I had a 2008 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #10 as a back up.  This small 4 hectares estate has an annual production of less than 3,000 cases and is considered by many to be the Ne Plus Ultra of Mosel wine, and as such they have attracted an almost religious following.  While tonight’s wine performed well, displaying a light yellow hue with a crisp, soft and balanced palate and vibrant acidity, the fruit was hanging in the background.

We were on our own for dessert.  For me it the Warm apple butter cake with spiced apple compote and vanilla bean ice cream filled the bill beautifully.

 
I went to the Finger Lakes region of New York State for a 2008 Wiemer Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling to enjoy with dessert. Hermann J. Wiemer is regarded as one of the pioneers of viticulture and winemaking in the Finger Lakes.  As a native of Bernkastel, Germany who emigrated to the Finger Lakes in the 1960s, he was uniquely qualified to help establish and create a wine region now known for its Riesling identity.

The estate’s winemaking processes pays homage to the ancient winemaking tradition and winemaking history of Hermann’s ancestry while incorporating the best of modern practices. The wines are crafted in very small lots to focus on subtle differences between site blocks within vineyards and even clones within varieties. They utilize up to 25 different fermentation tanks within the winery to isolate vineyard sections and pickings dates to best showcase the varietal’s characteristics. The small lot production allows for more control of the final product and is extremely labor intensive.

Long fermentation on indigenous yeast is made possible by the ecologically balanced viticultural methods in the vineyards. The estate seeks lower and balanced yields per vine, ensuring healthy vines that reflect the character of the soils in which they are deeply rooted.

Tonight’s wine had a gorgeous translucent Amber hue with an intoxicating bouquet.  It possessed a fantastic mouth feel of botrytis affected grapes, with a palate of tropical fruits and caramel.  A fantastic wine and also a runner up to WOTN.


My thanks to Ariane and Michael for making the evening a great success.

Saluté 


Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Lunch with Franco Conterno

My friend Tony befriended Franco Conterno of Aldo Conterno wines on a trip to Italy a few years back.  They have become close friends and each year when Franco comes to the U.S. to show his wines at the NY Wine Experience, Tony invites him and a few of his friends over to his house for lunch on Saturday.  Every one brings a bottle of wine with the stipulation that the wine cannot be Barolo as Franco prefers to drink Burgundy and other wines when travelling.  Tony’s wife Fran and his mother, Elisabetta, prepared a spectacular meal for us to go along with a great selections of wines.

Food

Assorted antipasti of homemade sausages, soppressata, roasted artichoke hearts, Italian cheeses and olives.


Homemade Pasta Al Forno.  A spectacular dish that mamma Elisabetta makes from scratch.  It consists of handmade mini rigatoni-like pasta mixed with baby meatballs, artichoke hearts and cheese and baked in the oven.  Of course there was also traditional gravy meats of sausage and meatballs served after the pasta. Fantstic!



The pasta course was followed by fork tender Sliced Filet Mignon served with mashed potatoes, asparagus au gratin, string beans almandine and salad.  Of course there was a bevy of excellent desserts from lunch attendee Pasquale, owner of Sorrento Bakery.


Wine

We began the lunch with 2008 Vazart-Coquart Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Special Club Brut.  This grower Champagne is made from 100% Chardonnay.  It possessed a terrific yeasty nose and palate, with amazing depth and finesse.  Like all great champagnes, it got better as it warmed a bit in the glass.   It was brought by Ben from importer Massonais who imports Conterno wines.  Ben explained that the "Club"cuvée is a tribute to the "Club Trésor of Champagne," an association of independent wine growers who are constantly striving for excellence. Vazart-Coquart is a house of growers that has worked their vineyards in Chouilly since 1785.

1985 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Magnum.  A wine that I have had on numerous occasions and continues to drink beautifully.  Big earthy bouquet and impeccable balance and a long, delicious finish.  

1990 Dujac Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru.  A prodigious Burgundy with the bouquet edging out the palate by a hair.  The wine showed finesse and complexity on the palate, but I felt the finish was a bit short.

2006 Eduardo Vaentini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.  This wine is beginning to enter its drinking window.  A tad tight, the underlying pedigree is apparent and this should blossom in a couple of more years.

2008 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino.  Not my kind of wine, ultra modern and not for me.  The wine is overpowered by oak.  I was in the minority on this as the rest loved it.

1996 Clos de Tart Grand Cru. This was my third bottle of this wine in the past 30 days and while the others was good, this one soared from the glass.  The wine showed impeccable balance, complexity, depth and finesse.  Consensus WOTN by the group.

2007 Clos de Tart Grand Cru.  A couple of steps behind the 1996, but a beautiful glass of wine that has a bright future.

1965 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Selección.  This dessert wine is made from 100% Pedro Ximénez grapes.  Dark brown in color and viscous on the palate it is like drinking liquid figs.  

2001 Château Rieussec Sauternes.  From the great 2001 vintage, it displayed layers of tropical fruit.  Like most Sauternes however, I found the finish to be medicinal.



After lunch we adjourned to the outdoor porch where the group enjoyed 2008 Cohiba cigars brought by George.  I gave up smoking a while ago and thus passed on the cigars but did enjoy the conversation.  It was a great day all around.  Thanks Tony, Fran and mamma Elisabetta for including me.

Saluté