2010 Wairau River Sauv. Blanc and...shellfish!

Long before I began blogging about wine and food I had a scare that I attributed to a shellfish reaction. I'd been eating shrimp, crab, scallops, lobster all my life until I broke out in a nasty, nasty full-body rash after a week of heavy shellfish consumption on vacation at the Outer Banks of N.C. A doctor told me it was probably a late-onset food allergy and narrowed it down to either strawberries (couldn't be) or shellfish. So for the past 5-6 years I've been laboring under the assumption that I'm allergic to shellfish. But last week's trip to an allergist and subsequent skin test last week seemed to suggest that I don't have any allergy to shellfish. No idea what caused the breakout way back when, but according to this doctor it wasn't shellfish. So after a week or so of allowing the last vestiges of my paranoia to subside, I asked the guy at the meat counter for 8 of the biggest scallops he had.

Dinner was my take on this recipe for Coriander-Fennel Rubbed Sea Scallops with Watermelon-Green Tomato Salsa. One of the few foods on this planet I steadfastly refuse to eat is watermelon. Can't stand it. Never have liked it. So I used diced pineapple instead. The tomatoes were unripe green zebras that we picked yesterday. (We picked a 30-gallon bucket full of green tomatoes yesterday as it's supposed to freeze here this week.) The coriander seeds were from the cilantro that went to seed in our garden a few weeks ago. It's a pain to pick all the seeds off, but it's worth it. And the fennel seed is from my rapidly-dwindling stash from my late mother-in-law's garden. Even at 5-6 years old these fennel seeds are so much more intense than anything you can get at even a good spice purveyor like Penzey's.

Tonight's wine of choice was the 2010 Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough. Regular readers of my blog know that I don't particularly care for this style of wine. I'm not a fan of the tart grapefruit and green bell pepper flavors so commonly associated with this type of wine. And while this wine certainly has a good amount of lemon and grapefruit on the nose and palate, the edges seem nice and polished and there is no trace of green pepper. I also pick up some nice notes of sweet thyme and wet stone in there, too. Not surprisingly, the acidity of this wine was dynamite with the tart green tomatoes that made up the bulk of the salsa. I don't see myself ever going long on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but I can appreciate the idea of keeping a few on hand for meals such as this. About $20

2008 Arizona Stronghold "Tazi"

I've been drinking wine for a good 20 years now but this is quite possibly the first time I've ever had a wine from the Great State of Arizona. The 2008 Arizona Stronghold Tazi, Cochise County is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Malvasia Bianca. The light golden color is hardly indicative of the wine's full body. The wine is rather dull and lifeless straight from the refrigerator but after half an hour or so it reveals layers of musty earth, stone fruit (think: ripe apricot), melon and smoke. The palate is rich and oily, but never turns heavy or ponderous. Seems a touch sulfuric. I'm struggling to find something to compare this to. Maybe a dry Alsatian Riesling? About $20

It isn't all that pleasant to consume on its own, but it really hit a home run with tonight's improvised dinner of pork tenderloin/red potato/yellow pear tomatoes and a salad of garden fresh arugula, tomatoes and goat cheese tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. The earthiness of the wine works particularly well with the potato hash while the acidity nicely balances the salad. Quite the interesting, complex wine. If this is any indication of Arizona's potential, then it's a state whose wine industry warrants attention.

I can also highly recommend the Merkin Chupacabra Cabernet/Syrah blend (sourced from California fruit) from the same ownership/winemaking team.

Loring Wine Company and charity auction

I had a wonderful time last night pouring some great wines for a really good cause. Just as I did last October, I spent yesterday evening pouring a selection of wines generously donated by Brian Loring for a dinner and auction benefitting the Crittendon Children's Center. Last year Brian donated a case of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to pour for the guests to enjoy as well as a case of Pinot Noir to the auction. This year Brian enticed us by sending 6 bottles each of two different Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs as well as an additional case (Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir) for the Auction.

The first white I dove into was the 2010 Loring Wine Company Sierra Mar Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands. I found this wine to be very consistent with the note from the 2009 vintage of the same wine I poured last year. Once again, unapologetically rich and luxurious with notes of lemon curd, butter and nutmeg on the nose and a spicy, toasty palate. The unctuous palate is lifted by cleansing acidity that kicks in on the finish.


Is it possible that the 2010 Loring Wine Company Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast is even richer and more powerful than the Sierra Mar? You bet it is! In addition to the heavy toast and roasted nut aromas, this wine shows decadent tropical pineapple/mango fruit on the nose and palate. The pleasantly bitter finish is a nice counterpoint to the sweet fruit. Simply amazing. Some might recoil in horror at Loring's philosophy of going back to that "bigger is better" style of Chardonnay that ruled the 90s, but I applaud it. There are plenty of Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs, unoaked Chards, etc. out there if I want something light and crisp. I'm glad Loring's wines are available when I want a big, buttery white to go with something like scallops or crabackes.

The first of the two reds I tried was the 2009 Loring Wine Company Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir, Green Valley/Russian River Valley.The more elegant of the two Pinots, the nose on this deeply colored wine was full of smokey cherry fruit and a hint of sweet herb (think: rosemary, lavender). Typical of the Loring style, this is a medium-full bodied Pinot with great structure and a long, acidic finish. Of the Loring wines poured at the event, this is the only one available in Kansas and it retails for $49.99

The final offering was the 2009 Loring Wine Company Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills. This spicy, Zin-like Pinot was quite reminiscent of the 08 Loring Russell Family Vineyard Pinot (from Paso Robles) that I poured last year. This wine holds nothing back with its saturated blueberry and sweet cherry fruit and black pepper notes on the nose and palate. It's very tannic for a Pinot Noir with additional notes of oak and dust on the palate and a long, dry cocoa finish. As delicious as it is atypical.

Since I was pouring the entire time I didn't really get to see what other wineries (many from Kansas and Missouri) and distributors were pouring, but I can't possibly convey the number of people I had come up asking for second, third and even fourth pours of Loring's wines. Overall, the comments were very favorable and I had dozens of people tell me that these were the best wines featured at the event. Funny, I heard a lot of the same thing last year! Thanks to Brian Loring for making such delicious wines and being so charitible with his product. I hope the case of Clos Pepe fetched an appropriate amount at auction.

2010 Clos du Bois Sauv. Blanc, 2009 Treasure Hunter Cab. Sauv.

2010 Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc, North Coast - Very pale color. Light lemon, tart grapefruit nose. Seems pretty watered-down on the tart, herbaceous palate. May appeal to fans of New Zealand style Sauvignon Blanc, but I'm not a buyer at this, or any price. I really just don't understand the whole concept of these overly generic, mass produced wines. How much more effort does it take to seek out a bottle of Mason (California) or Walnut Block Collector's (New Zealand) for the same $10?

2009 Treasure Hunter Silk Sling Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena - Deep, vibrant purple hue. Although the AVA listed on the label is "St. Helena," a little bit of digging on the Kit Fox Vineyards website reveals that the true origin of this wine is the base of Spring Mountain. And let me tell you, folks, this is classic Spring Mountain Cabernet. (Someone cue the evil, spooky organ music.) Huge nose of cherry Jolly Rancher candy, Bourbon (I have no doubt this is aged in American oak) and a considerable green leafy/tobacco note. The tannins on the palate are as big as the fruit is tart. Super dry with a long, long dusty finish. Although I don't care at all for this style of wine, I can tell it's well made and very representative of its origin or terroir. About $25.

I was much more impressed with the 2008 Treasure Hunter Radio Caroline Cabernet Sauvignon that I had last December. How I have such an affinity for Diamond Mountain wines and such an aversion to the wines from neighboring Spring Mountain is anybody's guess.

2006 Buehler Estate Cabernet and 2008 Dunning Zinfandel

Fans of old school Napa Cabs will certainly enjoy the 2006 Buehler Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. Pretty, deep crimson color. The pleasantly vegetal/barnyard nose features dried currant, Bourbon, cedar and shoe polish while the palate is rather monolithic with its dry, cedary notes and huge tannins. No over-the-top kirsch liqueur or melted asphalt here. While the wine is aged in a combination of new American (50%) and new French (35%) oak, the Bourbon notes from the American oak are far more prominent at this time. Not really my cup of tea, but my wife loved it. If you don't want to pay $100 for a bottle of Silver Oak, you can get pretty much the same flavors out of this wine for about a third of the price.

And a quick note on Saturday night's pizza wine. The 2008 Dunning Vineyards Ridge Top Zinfandel, Paso Robles continues to impress with its deep color and appealing aromas of sweet cherry, black pepper and slick French oak. Extremely peppery palate makes it a great pairing with a trio of home made pizzas. The 15.2% alcohol is apparent, but I don't mind that in a full-throttle Paso Robles Zin like this one. Assertive tannins and acidity suggest this could lay down for a few years, but I won't be doing that. Consistent notes on day two. $28 or so from the winery.

2007 40 Nights Red Wine

No, no, "40 nights" doesn't refer to how long it's been since I've posted a decent note on this blog. While it may seem like it's been that long, in this case it refers to the 2007 Fortnight Wine Company 40 Nights Red Wine, Washington State. A Side project of Dusted Valley Vintners, this Syrah-based blend (also contains small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) represents an exceptional value for a mere $10-12. The color is nothing to get too excited about. It's somewhere between that which you would expect from a Pinot Noir and a Merlot; a bit lighter than I would expect from a Syrah. But most folks will (correctly) tell you that color is overrated anyway. Moving right along, the nose reveals layers of smoke, cherry Jolly Rancher, menthol and a good bit of wet stone. That wet stone manifests itself on the palate as a tremendous sense of iron/mineral; reminiscent of the delicious Yard Dog Red I enjoyed last month. Cool climate Syrah through-and-through with more emphasis on the menthol/wintergreen/green peppercorn side of Syrah rather than the over-the-top fruit that I'm accustomed to from Syrahs from California's Central Coast. The wonderful acidity made this wine a great pairing with a bowl of baked rigatoni with sausage and tomato sauce. Really over delivers.

Having tried a couple of the wines from Dusted Valley's Boomtown range (the Merlot and Pinot Gris are particularly enjoyable) and now this, I am interested in trying some of the more high-end offerings from this winery. Looking at their website I see they are producing a Petit Verdot as well as an enticing array of Rhone-style varietals including Cinsault and Grenache. Note to self: contact LDF next week and find out which, if any, of these wines are distributed in Kansas.

Dereliction of Duty.....

Yeah, I know, I know. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've posted anything here. As the picture above suggests, it isn't for lack of drinking. But we've had a lot of friends and family over during the past couple of weeks. And while we've had copious amounts of wine, some of it exceptional, I just haven't had the heart to geek out with tasting notes or blog updates. Plus, most of the wines we had were wines that I've already blogged on over the past couple of months. Had I been taking notes, standouts would have included wines such as Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc, Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel, Sean Minor Red Wine, Marquis Phillips Holly's Blend White Wine, Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee and Conn Creek Herrick Red.

Things are pretty much back to normal around here (It's certainly a lot quieter with out the roosters, turkeys and ducks!) and we've got some exciting new wines in stock at work. Hopefully I'll get back to posting tasting notes this weekend. Stay tuned...!