It was a quiet Wednesday here at Graileys but the Front Room was filled with great company and terrific bottles of wine. From fine Champagne to a flight of Pinot Noir and California Cabernet old and young, the night was a blessing in this these dog days of summer. Some of my favorite producers were opened last night, but the highlights of the evening took me for a surprise. From the Pinot Noirs, I would naturally (immediately) gravitate to Leroy, but the 2013 Bevan Cellars Rita’s Crown Vineyard Pinot crushed the Pinot Noir lineup. Generous, gorgeous cherry and pomegranate with incredibly gracious layers of sweet licorice, vanilla, cola and spice going into a finish that tied back the juicy fruit of the front palate. The ’09 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge is a beautiful bottle for the price and offers much more extracted fruit from the vintage with Leroy’s signature sweet herbal funk, while the Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet Rouge Premier Cru Clos St. Jean was very elegant with brighter, tarter red fruits and soft rose.
Of the Cabernets, the 1999 Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was a handsome bottle- crushed granite, aged leather, dehydrated blood orange zest, dried violets and lavender, dried herbs with hints of dusty spice, red licorice and charred tobacco in the finish. The fruit was still there with dried raspberry, blackberry and preserved figs.
I can’t stop thinking about the 2012 Futo! This attention seeking Cabernet Sauvignon deserves all the great attention it receives. Flashy in fruit, powerful in structure, hedonistic yet in a profoundly graceful manner, the 2012 Futo OV|SL is one of the few that I recognize as the epitome of great Napa Cabernet.
I can’t finish the blog without writing about the 2002 Pol Roger Winston Churchill Champagne! One of my favorite Champagnes of the moment, this Champagne is regal to the core. Elegant pearls coat the palate with notes of sweet almonds, lemon meringue, baked golden apples and poached pear, with hints of ginger spice and white petals laced in. This is a Champagne that is not to be missed!
NV Krug Grand Cuvee Champagne
2002 Pol Roger Winston Churchill Champagne
2006 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne
2009 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge
2012 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cur Clos St. Jean Rouge
2013 Big Farm Table Willamette Pinot Noir
2010 Kosta Browne Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2013 Bevan Cellars Santa Rita Hills Rita’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir
1999 Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 Futo OV|SL