We taste a lot of wine at our house, or when we’re traveling. Expanded by-the-glass lists are a boon when we dine, and larger selections of half-bottles are a pleasure, too. They make it easier to sample a greater variety, and they save on both cash and calories. We like wine a lot, and we prefer reds, and a couple of glasses with dinner improve the experience. Wine complements meals, and there are few rules.
I do not believe in hard-and-fast demands that certain wines — and no others — demand certain foods, but we I believe that people’s palates are different. What pleases you might not please me, and vice versa. For example, I think that a Pinot Noir is a splendid accompaniment to grilled salmon, and I do not enjoy sweet wines with sweet desserts. Chocolate, for example, cries out for a hearty red like a Missouri Norton.
Enough philosophy – on to the tasting for the last few weeks, a generally haphazard collection, listed in haphazard manner. . . .
Four Zinfandels were opened to accompany some spicy home-made meatloaf, and while all four were acceptable, two stood out. The favored two were both of the 2002 vintage, a Dry Creek Old Vines zin and a Dashe zin from the Louvau vineyard, also in Dry Creek Valley. Obviously, Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley had some superior grapes that year. Both wines are dark and rich and full-bodied, with the aroma of brambly brush behind the grapes. Dry Creek’s offering is a touch lighter, perhaps because the wine includes 19 percent petit sirah. Dashe is 100 percent Zinfandel. These are in the $25-$35 retail range.
Close, perhaps because they’re a year younger, were a pair of 2003s, a Mendocino Valley offering from Edmeades and a California (grape source unspecified) bottle from Dancing Bull. These are in the $10-$20 range and were good companions for the meatloaf, if not as polished and smooth as the ‘02s. Another year, maybe. . . .
Rosenblum, the Oakland winery that brings in grapes and makes some solid examples of brawny reds, chipped in with two Syrahs, a Hillside vineyard from Sonoma County that was outstanding, and an England-Shaw vineyard from Solano County was close behind. The former showed lots of fruit, berries and deep plums with hints of chocolate, while the latter had excellent fruit but not quite the long finish of its label-mate. They’re in the $25-$35 range and practically in a class with their Australian competitors.
In terms of whites, there’s always Chardonnay, isn’t there, and a group was present, ranging in price from $7 to $35. The least expensive, a 2004 from Delicato, was a tart delight, with pineapple flavors noticeable along the way, and a surprise in its smooth and elegant taste and aroma. Going up the price scale, the Rodney Strong Sonoma County ‘04 ($15) was very good, showing some oak that was in good balance, and a bright flavor with hints of melon.
Kendall-Jackson, always reliable, chipped in with a $20 offering from 2002, a grand reserve with grapes from Monterey (41 percent), Santa Barbara (36) and Sonoma (23) counties. It’s in the classic soft and rich American style, with definite buttery overtones. Leaner, with pleasing hints of oak and lots of fruit, is the ‘04 Chardonnay ($25) from Sebastiani, from Russian River Valley (Sonoma County) grapes. A well-respected producer, now part of the Gallo empire, Sebastiani has been a long-time personal favorite, and some of his reds are ready to be tasted during a forthcoming week.
The most expensive of the quintet ($35) was from Oakville Ranch in Napa Valley, also the home of the grapevines. To my taste, it was the most like the classic French white Burgundy offerings, crisp and lean and very dry, with a steely quality that extended the finish and gave it a smooth, balanced, lovely flavor.
More tastings ahead. . . .
-Joe