The Vine Guy

This is a report on the annual Minyan Shoot Out Wine Dinner that was held at Galileo 3 restaurant last week (BTW – the service and food at this restaurant was a ten – thank you Sandra for all of your hard work!). The “Minyan” is a very eclectic group of wine consumers who vary from moderately wine savvy all the way up to high-end wine shop owner. The “Shoot Out” means that everyone brings their best bottle of wine. We serve all wines blind and then vote on each one at the end of dinner. The owner of the wine with the most points at the end of the night earns a free dinner (everyone else pitches in).

As usual, three things occurred;

–          First, we had way too much wine!

–          Second, if you want 20 opinions, ask ten wine drinkers. This was a beautiful evening of entropy.

–          Third, I am always amazed at how many wine identities I (along with everyone else) get wrong when I taste these wines blind. I did, however, get most of the origins correct, but I will admit, I voted for the number one wine because I thought it was Bordeaux!

Here is a list of our STARTER Wines:

1998 Champagne Pannier, France

1999 Soter Beacon Hill Brut Rose, Oregon

2004 Kongsgaard Viognier Roussanne, California

1996 Domaine Caillot Meursault La Barre Dessus Clos Margarite, France

2005 Domaine Dublere Chassagne-Montrachet, France

1990 Karlsmuhle Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Auslese, Germany

2001 Castello Vicchiomaggio Chianti Classico La Prima, Italy

Here is the list of wines served with Dinner (in order)

First Course: Parmigiano Reggiano cheese pudding topped with a layer of Burrata cheese and cream of porcini mushrooms

2006 Oakville Red Wine, Napa Valley – I have no idea who makes this wine.

2005 Araujo – Syrah Eisele Vineyard, Napa Valley

Second Course: Small “pinched” ravioli filled with three meats &served in veal jus, butter, sage

2001 Blankiet – Cabernet Sauvignon Paradise Hills Vineyard

1996 Joseph Phelps Insignia, Napa Valley – Third Place

2002 Opus One, Napa Valley

Third Course: Large homemade fettuccine with wild boar ragu

1996 Trevor Jones Shiraz, Australia

1996 Grange, Australia

Fourth Course: Grilled marinated beef rib eye, potato tart, roasted chanterelle mushrooms atop dry tomato, black olive sauce

1997 Tenuta Friggiali Brunello di Montalcino, Italy

1997 Valdicava Brunello Di Montalcino, Italy – FRIST PLACE

1997 Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino di Montefalco, Italy – Second Place

1999 Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino di Montefalco, Italy

Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale 1978  – corked

Dessert:

2000 Tommaso Bussalo Recioto Della Valpolicella Classico

1990 Klaus Neckerauer Rheinpfalz Auslese (not sure if it was the Halde Scheurebe or Hahnen Riesling)

2001 Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos (don’t recall the producer)

At the end of each year, my dear friend, Kevin, holds a “Predictions” Lunch at the Capital Grill where a group of regulars gather to make predictions about such mundane things like, “who will win the Super Bowl” or “will the stock market be up or down next year.” It is really just a great excuse to get together at the end of the year and eat copious amounts of steak and drink good-to-amazing wine. 

I say “good-to-amazing” because everyone brings a bottle of wine to lunch and some are good (usually courtesy of the occasional wine drinkers) and some are great (thanks to the avid collectors). Others are predictable (Kevin ALWAYS brings a bottle of Silver Oak). But we all make an effort to show up each year returning like the swallows to San Juan Capistrano – with the hope that our predictions made the previous year garners enough correct answers (in retrospect) to earn the perpetual trophy and a free lunch (the “winner” dines free courtesy of the rest of the group).

Here is a list of the wines with brief notes from the last gathering (January 14th). 

1998 Kistler Chardonnay (CA) – DOA

2004 Kistler Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay (CA) – smooth and calm with hints of apple and a touch of brioche

2005 Kistler Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (CA) – a little racy, smokey apple and prominent oak accents

2001 Seavy Cabernet Sauvignon (CA) – A decent Cali Cab with plum and black cherry notes up front and a decent, slight out-of-balanced finish

2008 Beau Vigne “Juliet” Cabernet Sauvignon (CA) – Ho Hum. Another over extracted California fruit bomb. Out of balanced and completely uninteresting

1997 Fisher “Wedding” Cabernet Sauvignon (CA) – two words; Yum Mee! Great balance, character and poise. The battle between dark fruits, ripe tannins and pitch-perfect acidity on the tongue was worth savoring. Long, lush finish. This was my favorite wine of the day.

1995 Oakford Cabernet Sauvignon (CA) – I was really looking forward to this Heidi Barrett-made wine, but alas, it was nothing special. It fell right in line with the rest of the modern-day Cali Cabs. Sigh

2004 Alban Vineyards “Pandora” Syrah Blend (CA) – Personally, given the hype, I was expecting great things from this wine, but, while it was very fruit forward, it was not as balanced as other Alban outings I have enjoyed. Very good but not spectacular

1978 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered Magnum (CA) – WOW! Thirty-three years young! While it definitely tasted like an older Cab, there was still plenty of life left in the old gal. Layered flavors of black cherry, red plum, saddle leather, earthy tones and smokey notes made this wine the most interesting one of the day. The only sad note is how quickly the wine faded in the glass – it blossomed for 15-20 minutes and then began a rapid decline. After 45 minutes, it turned to mush. But for a brief moment, it shone more brightly than any other wine that day.

1988 Suduiraut Sauternes, France – Just the right touch for the end of the day. Coconut, tropical fruits and dried apricot was in harmony with the abundant acidity. Nice, rich finish.