A Tasting with Famille JM Cazes

Posted on September 8, 2024 by thewineraconteur

I had the good fortune to be invited for another wine tasting of some classic wines from the Medoc at my local wine shop The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  The Cazes family have been the owners of Chateau Lynch-Bages since 1939, and over the years they have spread their sphere in viticulture, tourism, and hospitality.  Our host for the event was Pierre Louis Araud representing Famille JM Cazes. 

We began by enjoying Chateau Ormes de Pez Saint-Estephe 2018.  The estate was formerly classified as a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel and when the classification was formally dropped in 2011, it became part of the marketing group Les Exceptionnels with five other former Cru Bourgeois properties.  Prior to the French Revolution, the property was part of the Domaine de Pez in Saint-Estephe, once defined by the elm trees (ormes) once growing on the estate in the hamlet of Pez.  After a succession of ownerships since the Revolution, the estate was purchased by the Cazes family in 1940.  The estate is thirty-five hectares of vineyards; fifty-four percent is Cabernet Sauvignon planted on gravelly soils, and thirty-seven percent is planted with Merlot on sandy clay soils, while the balance is planted with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  This wine is fifty percent Merlot, forty-one percent Cabernet Sauvignon, seven percent Cabernet Franc, and two percent Petit Verdot.  The fruit is hand harvested and hand sorted.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration lasts for about twenty days in Stainless Steel vats.  The wine was then aged for sixteen months in French Oak, of which forty-five percent was new.  A nice deep garnet red wine offering notes of red and black fruit, and a whiff of smokiness.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of black cherry and currants, with good acidity, fine tannins; followed by secondary tones of sous-bois, chocolate, graphite and a fine medium count of licorice and terroir.

The second wine of the tasting was Chateau Haut-Batailley “Verso” Pauillac.  Chateau Haut-Batailley is a Fifth Growth from the Classification of 1855 of the Medoc. The actual vineyard of Chateau Haut-Batailley was defined in 1942, when the estate was divided into two separate properties (Batailley and Haut-Batailley). The estate now has forty-one hectares of deep Garonne gravel and planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. In 2017 the Caze family took over the estate. “Verso” is the second label of the estate.  The wine is a blend of sixty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and thirty-five percent Merlot.  The fruit is hand-harvested, sorted, and destemmed from a twenty-two-hectare property on the estate.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration and vatting for three weeks, while Malolactic Fermentation began after the juice was transferred to one-year-old barrels for eight months.  The dark ruby-red wine offered notes of red fruit and spices and herbs.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine offered tones of currants, blended with other red fruits, oak, pepper, and fine-grained tannins and a medium count finish of fruit and a touch of terroir.

The last wine of this group was Chateau Haut-Batailley Pauillac 2019.  Chateau Haut-Batailley is a Fifth Growth from the Classification of 1855 of the Medoc.  The actual vineyard of Chateau Haut-Batailley was defined in 1942, when the estate was divided into two separate properties (Batailley and Hut-Batailley).  The estate has forty-one hectares of deep Garonne gravel and planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. In 2017 the Caze family took over the estate.  The estate now has forty-one hectares, because the Caze family planted an additional nineteen hectares, that had never been reinstated after Phylloxera, and these blocks are bordering Saint-Julien.  This wine is a blend of seventy-six percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty-four percent Merlot.   The grapes were hand-harvested, hand-sorted, and destemmed.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration and vatting for three weeks.  Malolactic Fermentation started in the vatting process and continued during the aging in French Oak, of which sixty percent was new, for fourteen months.  The deep ruby red wine offered notes of currants, cassis, and toasted oak.  On the palate this wine offered tones of black cherry, currants, with secondary notes of cocoa and vanilla, great acidity, silky tannins, and a nice long finish of fruit, oak, and terroir.  It was a treat to taste the first and second label wines from the same vintage.           

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Ashes & Diamonds with Kashy Khaledi

Posted on September 5, 2024 by thewineraconteur

We were coming to the end of a wonderful and charming wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan featuring the wines of Ashes & Diamonds Winery and being entertained by the proprietor Kashy Khaledi.  It is always a pleasure to do a winetasting with an owner or a winemaker, as it makes it much more personable and intriguing.

Kashy Khaledi is a creative executive in multimedia and advertising, noted for his achievements bridging culture and branding for clients such as Intel, Google, Microsoft, Mazda, and many others.  He has been nominated and won awards in his industry.  He has also turned towards another industry, as he launched Ashes & Diamonds Winery in 2017, and has already been recognized within the trade.  A California native, who with his wife and daughter enjoy such amenities of the state, like revival movies.  If his name sounds familiar, his father is Darioush Khaledi, who has Darioush Winery in Napa Valley, and while he could have followed in his father’s business, he started out in one business endeavor and then another.  Even the winery has his own take, as it is reminiscent of architecture that one could call California Modern from the 1950s and 1960’s. 

The final bottle of the tasting was Ashes & Diamonds Winery V. 1 Napa Valley 2019. This is their flagship wine and was a joint effort by winemakers Steve Matthiasson, Diana Snowden Seysses, and Dan Petroski.  The wine is a blend of forty-eight percent Merlot, forty-one percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and eleven percent Cabernet Franc.  The fruit has been sourced from select vineyards in Atlas Peak, Mount Veeder, and Ashes & Diamonds Estate Vineyard in Oak Knoll.  The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically emphasizing sustainable practices.  The fruit undergoes Maceration and Initial Fermentation in Stainless Steel for fifteen days with indigenous yeast.  The wine is then aged for nineteen months in French Oak, of which thirty percent is new.  There were four-hundred-twenty-two-cases produced.  The wine was a deep ruby red color and offered notes of red and black fruits, cedar, and that ethereal sous-bois, the French wine terms evoking autumn woods, white truffles, mushrooms, and organic soil.  On the palate there were rich tones of black cherry, plum, cassis, with secondary tones of oak, cedar, dried tobacco blending with silky tannins and finishing with a nice long finish of fruit and terroir.  A great wine for cellaring.

It was an interesting tasting as the wine was merged with Kashy Khaledi’s other businesses and interests as well.  The labels were created by graphic designer Brian Roettinger, who basically works on music album covers, and this is his first winery work.  The label with missing characters replaced with asterisks is used for the blends, outside of Vol. 1, which has it’s own look; while the block label of black and white indicates single vineyard wines.  The name Ashes and Diamonds pays homage to the Polish film of 1958, and the novel of 1948 by Jerzy Andrzejewski.  The original name comes from a 19th Century poem by Polish poet and artist Cyprian Norwid. As you will notice, we bought a case of wine after the tasting, but there are only eleven bottles there.  The last of the V. 1 will be delivered to The Fine Wine Source in about a month, as there was one case allotted to a firm in the Hamptons, and the balance will be sent to Livonia.           

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Ashes & Diamonds – Part Two

Posted on September 3, 2024 by thewineraconteur

There were we were enjoying a wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan featuring Ashes & Diamonds Winery of Napa Winery conducted by the proprietor Kashy Khaledi.  The next two wines were made by his winemaker Diana Snowden Seysses who applies a “holistic approach” to wine production with a studied balance of Old-World tradition and New-World concepts.  She is a Napa Valley native and a Burgundian by adoption.  “The most memorable wines carry an echo of nature’s heartbeat.  They are the result of vineyard work without chemicals, on a thriving soil ecosystem, and native yeast fermentation with minimal handling in the winery.”

We had Ashes & Diamonds Grand Vin No. 4 Oak Knoll District 2017.  Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA is in the southern part of Napa Valley near San Pablo Bay and is known for its cooler atmosphere and respected for the wonderful “Bordelais red wines” that thrive there.  It was first planted in the 1850’s and thrived until Prohibition and rediscovered in the 1960’s; it was awarded an AVA in 2004.  The wine is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc from thirty-year-old vines grown on the gravelly clay loam of the estates vineyard.  The whole cluster fruit after harvest had Initial Fermentation and Maceration for seventeen days in Stainless-Steel tank using indigenous yeasts.  The wine was aged for nineteen months in French Oak of which thirty-seven percent was new; with a production of seven-hundred cases.  A ruby-red wine that offered notes of black and red fruit, chocolate, and a blend of baking spices along with toasted oak.  On the palate tones of blueberries and strawberries with medium acidity and tannins, finishing with traces of herbs and spices.

A couple of terms that seem to be bandied about nowadays “openness and transparency” are heard often, but it seems to be used to cloak secrets.  Ashes & Diamonds Winery believes in the concepts.  They actually print technical information on the back labels of the wines, which I find quite refreshing.  In the old days, and even today, some wineries think that they are working on the Manhattan Project and all information is proprietary.  I appreciate the notes.

The second wine that we enjoyed made under the auspices of Diana Snowden Seysses was the Ashes & Diamonds Winery Mountain Cuvee No. 4 Saffron Vineyard Mount Veeder 2019.  Mount Veeder is 2,700 feet high and marks the boundary between Napa and Sonoma counties.  The vineyards are planted on the rocky, clay-rich remnants of an ancient seabed, these soils and the steep slopes provide a terroir where the grapes must struggle for survival.  Even as difficult as it is, there are about fifty wineries there.  Originally planted in the 19th Century, it fell into decline during Prohibition and was rediscovered in the 1960’s; and was awarded an AVA in 1990.  Saffron Vineyard is organically farmed by Lisa Chu, located above the fog inversion line and the temperatures are often fifteen degrees cooler than the valley.  The vines were planted in 2000 in thin soils of uplifted marine sediment and fractured shale.  The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.  The fruit undergoes Initial Fermentation and Maceration for fourteen days in Stainless Steel tanks and indigenous yeasts.  The wine was aged for nineteen months in French Oak, of which thirty-five percent was new; three-hundred-five cases were produced.  A deep garnet colored wine that offered notes of red and black fruits, cinnamon, and toasted oak.  On the palate a well-balance wine where there were tones of plums, and dark fruits, cocoa, soft-fine-grained tannins, finishing with a nice medium count of baking spices and terroir.   

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Ashes & Diamonds – Part One

Posted on August 31, 2024 by thewineraconteur

There was a daily double happening at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan as there was two special wine tastings in the same week.  The first tasting featured Kashy Khaledi of Ashes & Diamonds Winery.  In 2017, he launched Ashes & Diamonds Winery in Napa Valley.  He had an appreciation for wines and created his own winery, learning from his father Darioush Khaledi of Darioush Winery.  Since opening his own winery that is very reminiscent of California chic architecture of the Fifties, he has gone on to receive accolades from the wine industry.  He uses two winemakers: Steve Matthiason and Diana Snowden Seysses.

The first three wines were made by Steve Matthiason who has a M.S. from UC Davis and has consulted for such historic vineyards as Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Spottswoode Winery, the Araujo Estate and Dalla Valle Vineyards. The first wine was Ashes & Diamonds Winery Blanc No. 8 Napa Valley 2022.  The wine is a blend of sixty-four percent Semillon and thirty-six percent Sauvignon Blanc, with the fruit coming from three vineyards in Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District and Yountville. The wine is barrel fermented and aged for nine months in French Oak of which seventeen percent was new and they produced two-thousand cases.  The wine is a pale-yellow and offers notes of citrus fruits, and tropical florals, with a refreshing lemon and lime influence.  On the palate a balance wine with tones of green apple, honeysuckle, apricot, and a medium finish of mineral terroir.

The second wine we had was Ashes & Diamonds Vin Rouge, No. 5 Santa Cruz Mountains NV and is a Bordeaux blend style wine.  It is seventy-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, fifteen percent Merlot, and thirteen percent Cabernet Franc; and it is mostly 2019 vintage with some wine from 2018 and 2017.  The fruit is from the Bates Ranch Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains planted in 1972 at an elevation of 2,100 ft. elevation and sloping. The ranch practices organic dry farming on well-drained silt over iron-rich volcanic soils.  The varieties are co-fermented with nine days of maceration, using indigenous yeasts, and aged in neutral French Oak; with six-hundred-seventy-five-cases produced.  A deep garnet red wine that offers notes of black cherry and black currant, with traces of old leather and cocoa.  On the palate rich tones of black cherry, cassis, blueberry, and vanilla with tight tannins and a medium count finish of fruit and terroir.     

The last of the Steve Matthiason wines that we had was the Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Franc Napa Valley 2019.  The wine is a blend of eighty percent Cabernet Franc and twenty percent Merlot and the fruit was harvested from vineyards in the cooler south side of Napa Valley: Los Carneros, Oak Knoll District, and Yountville and the vineyards were selected because of their volcanic clay and sandy loam soils.  The fruit underwent twenty days of Maceration in Stainless Steel Tanks.  The juice was then transferred to French Oak barrels, of which twenty-three percent was new and aged for twenty months; there were six-hundred-sixty cases produced.  The wine is a deep garnet color and offered notes of black and red berries, smokiness, and dried herbs.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine with tones of raspberry, strawberry, cherry, cassis black pepper, and vanilla with great balance and medium tannins and a medium finish with fruit and terroir. To me it was more Continental in approach than Domestic and very flavorful.    

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An Accomplishment

Posted on August 28, 2024 by thewineraconteur

Believe it or not, I started The Wine Raconteur on 4 May, 2012 and I am just shy of 2,400 articles and I am still having fun; and I now average about a thousand readers or visitors each week.   I have tried over the years different social media platforms, in my quest to become a “blogger.”  I didn’t know what I was doing then, and I still am not sure that I know what I am doing now.  On 21 March, 2017 I was cajoled into trying Instagram, and it has increased my readership, and in a couple of days I will have transcribed all of my articles from my blog on Instagram, though it usually takes two or three posts to get it all posted, because there is a character-count per entry.  It has taken over 4,800 posts with photos to do this, usually once in the morning and another post in the evening. Soon it will be in sync, and then I can post one third of a blog article every night, because my blog is posted every third night at 01:10 GST.

Normally, every evening I have also been posting a “story” photo advertising my current blog entry, while I was posting older articles in the main body and they were usually title “From My Current Blog.”  Now that I am going to be caught up, I have decided that I will post my “story” in the morning and it will now be captioned “From My Cellar.”  I normally post a photo of an open bottle with an adjacent glass of wine to show that I have really drank the wine.  I am starting to believe that there are maybe a dozen bottles of Chateau Petrus and DRC wines that are always appearing in photos, but always sealed.  Wine should be opened and enjoyed, but yes, my Bride and I like to collect wines, so you can see a really eclectic wine cellar.  On the occasions when I show an unopened bottle of wine, it is usually a new acquisition and it is photographed on a ledge in our breakfast nook.  For this new series, I am actually going to photograph the bottle in the cellar, where it is resting.  And I may add, that not every bottle is going to be stellar, but hopefully every bottle will be consumed, or as I like to say to a waitress, the bottle evaporated.

My blog from what I have gathered from other wine bloggers, has legitimate numbers and since it doesn’t generate an income, I am happy however it goes.  The reason for my catering to Instagram, is that I have not asked anyone to follow me, and I am hovering around nine-thousand followers, and if I wasn’t lazy and indifferent and really promoted it, the numbers could be staggering, but I am pleased.  I have acquired some followers that have truly become friends over the years, as we discuss wines, and I am very thankful for Google Translator App, as English is not the only language encountered on Instagram.  While the politics is lessened on Instagram, the encounters with potential scammers has increased.  From multiple daily requests to invest in cryptocurrency from “new friends.”  Daily requests from twenty-something orphans that ask for amounts of money from $50.00 to $20,000 and all seeming to use the same script.  The other annoyance are individuals that attempt to use Instagram as a dating service.  I use another search app, because after awhile you begin to notice that the photos some of them use, are of pornography actresses, so I usually write back with the truth about their photo, before I block them.  This all adds to the daily fun, as I write my blog, and it is still enjoyable, and it keeps me from laying down on the sofa watching television.  I hope this will explain the subtle changes that you may notice and thank you for your continued support.    

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Three Massican Wines

Posted on August 25, 2024 by thewineraconteur

While I was at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan; a wine sales representative had dropped off three wines in hopes of getting them on a shelf in the store. At this point in time, I think that I should mention that even though I am at the store often, I do not work there.   Though the owner poured me some of the wine along with his staff to get a group concept of the wine, and it was greatly appreciated.  Massican Wines is the only white wine producer in Napa and they produce white wines that are stylistically “Mediterranean,” even though they are made in Napa Valley.  Massican white wines are made from ten grape varieties planted in thirteen vineyards in the North Coast, using sustainable and organic practices.  At the moment they do not have a tasting room or an official “winery.”  Massican was founded by owner and winemaker Dan Petroski in 2009, he sold Massican to Gallo Luxury Wine Group in August 2023.

Massican Wines Sauvignon Blanc California 2023 carries the California AVA because it comes from the following vineyards: Juliana (Pope Valley), Alta Vista (Carneros) Fish (Calistoga), and John Anthony (Carneros); Napa County (84%) and Sonoma County (16%).  Inspired by the wines of Friuli, from northern Italy.  The fruit is harvested at daybreak, with whole-cluster pressing, then the juice is settled overnight, decanted in the morning, and then fermented with both native and cultured yeasts, while being blasted with “really loud music.” The fermentation and aging of the wine was done in twenty percent Stainless Steel barrels, and the balance in Stainless Steel tanks; with a total production of 2,456 cases.  A very soft straw-yellow wine that offered notes of lemongrass, green apples, lemons, and jasmine flowers.  On the palate a bracingly dry wine that offered tones of pineapple, grapefruit, lime zest, good salinity, with a medium finish of wet stones, and chalk.

We then tried the Massican Wines Pinot Grigio California 2023 and their first attempt at this classic northern Italian wine.  The wine is a blend of eighty-eight percent Pinot Grigio and twelve percent Cortese.  The wine carries a California AVA because the Pinot Grigio fruit came from the Thompson Vineyard of Dry Creek and the Lost Slough Vineyard in Lodi; while the Cortese was harvest from Lost Slough Vineyard and hence the wine was eighty-eight percent Sonoma and twelve percent Lodi.  The fruit is harvested at daybreak, with whole-cluster pressing, then the juice is settled overnight, decanted in the morning, and the fermented with both native and cultured yeasts, while being blasted with “really loud music.”  The Pinot Grigio was fermented in large neutral French Oak wood tanks (foudre) and the Cortese was fermented in smaller wood barrels; with a total production of 1,740 cases.   A very pale straw-yellow wine that offered notes of citrus fruit, yellow florals, and almonds.  On the palate tones of lemons, limes, green apples, and a short finish of wet stones (terroir).  Ideal for snacking or a casual dinner.

The final wine of the tasting was Massican Wines “Annia” California 2023 named after the founder and winemaker’s mom and she was born in the Massican hills (Monte Massico) just north of Napoli in the Campania region of Italy; and this is the flagship wine of the winery.  This is the fifteenth vintage.  The wine carries the California AVA because the grapes are in Napa (34%) and Sonoma (66%).  The wine is a blend of forty-three percent Tocai Friulano, thirty-four percent Ribolla Gialla, and twenty-three percent Chardonnay.  Tocai Friulano is harvested from the following vineyards: Nichelini (Chiles Valley, Alta Vista (Carneros), Bowland (Russian River), and Hudson (Carneros).  The Ribolla Gialla is harvested from the Vare/Bengier Vineyard (Oak Knoll), and Bowland Vineyard (Russian River); while the Chardonnay was harvested from the Alta Vista Vineyard (Carneros).  Hence the fruit was farmed in Napa (34%) and Sonoma (66%).  “Annia” was fermented in neutral French Oak (55%) and the balance in Stainless Steel barrels and tanks with each varietal handled independently until they are blended six weeks before bottling; with a production of 3,717 cases.  A pale golden-yellow wine that offered notes of fruit blossoms, lemons, honeysuckle, jasmine, and chamomile.  On the palate a slightly tart and refreshing wine that had tones of lemons, peaches, and tangerines that leads to a medium to long finish of pepper, chalk, and wet stones.  A very interesting wine.   

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A Trio of Oldies

Posted on August 22, 2024 by thewineraconteur

While I was at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan there were three recent wines that they wanted me to try, from a horde from a long-retired restaurant, that had been stored away and forgotten about.  It is not a collection one would expect to find.

The first wine that I tried was Chateau Mazeris Canon-Fronsac 1981.  Chateau Mazeris has had a presence since 1769 when the chateau was built and they have developed twenty-three hectares for the pursuit of winemaking. The family of Cournaud is in the fourth generation at the estate.  Canon-Fronsac goes back to when Fronsac was a duchy of Cardinal de Richelieu in the 17th Century who introduce the wines to the royal court at Versailles. The original appellation in 1939 was the Cotes de Canon Fronsac and later in 1964 shortened to Canon-Fronsac, for still, dry red wines.  The region is west of Libourne, while Saint-Emilion and Pomerol are east of Libourne. While the district has some of the alluvial soils by the Dordogne, most of the soils are more sandstone and limestone which helps the vines in hotter weather.  The wine is basically eighty percent Merlot and twenty percent Cabernet Franc.  The fruit is traditionally harvested in the morning to preserve the freshness. Initial Fermentation and maceration are for about four weeks in concrete tanks with thermoregulation.  The wines are then aged for twelve months in vats and partially in French Oak barrels.  This forty-three-year-old wine was still a garnet red, but with a brown cast and offered slight notes of fruit and spices.  On the palate, one could see that the tones of fruit were showing its age, still drinkable, but not noteworthy.          

The next wine that was poured was Chateau Brame-Les-Tours Saint-Estephe 1979.  My curiosity was piqued as Saint-Estephe is one of the Communes of the Medoc that I don’t encounter that often.  Chateau Brame-Les-Tours is part of the larger Chateau Laffitte-Carcasset.  Chateau Laffitte-Carcasset was established in 1759 in a section of central Saint-Estephe known as Le Carcasset.  In 1781 it was bought by Jean Laffitte and took on his name over the centuries. I could not find much about the estate, though it seems to be held in high esteem for their wines.  For a forty-five-year-old wine this wine was still deep garnet in color and offered some notes of fruit, though faint.  On the palate the wine was totally mature, but lacking the vibrancy that the Saint-Estephe wines that I have encountered usually offer, though I could sense that there was still a bit of savory tones left to this proud wine.     

The last of the aged trio was Chateau Lynch-Moussas Pauillac 1981, a Fifth Growth from the famed Classification of the Medoc of 1855.  Chateau Lynch-Moussas was once part of the large estate of Comte Lynch (and a former hunting lodge) that was divided in two in 1824, the other part became Lynch-Bages.  The chateau was founded in the 18th Century by a member of the Lynch family.  The “Moussas” name dates back to the 16th Century The property was purchased in 1919 by the Casteja family, who at the time also owned Duhart-Milon, and a member of the family has been in charge of the property since, though it is now part of the Borie-Manoux portfolio.  The estate is about fifty-five hectares of vines planted on silica and gravel over limestone; and planted around seventy-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon and twenty-five percent Merlot.  The wine is aged for about eighteen-months in oak, of which about half is new.  At an age of forty-three this wine still had a nice garnet color and still some notes of dark fruit.  On the palate it was a very mature wine with a blending of the tannins, fruit, and the acidity all becoming one.  Of the three wines, this wine had held its own the best, and I know that I have a few that are of this era or older that I should open and taste as well.    

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Fine Wine Source Club – August 2024

Posted on August 19, 2024 by thewineraconteur

While we were on our little getaway, I received a message about a new wine the Fine Wine Shop in Livonia, Michigan was getting, and we decided to order some, before it disappears from their shelves, so I asked that they put some aside for us.  When I got there, they also had the wine club selections ready; so that was opportune.  I also got a chance to taste some other new wines that had arrived, so it was an excellent day, of course, it always is when I visit there.

There are always two wines for the club selection and the first represents the Old World.  We began with Famille Quiot Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence Rosé 2023.  Famille Quiot is a wine producer with numerous estates in southern France.  They have been making wine since 1748, starting in Vaucluse in Chateauneuf-du-Pape at Domaine du Vieux Lazaret.  The Domaine is run by the thirteenth-generation member Jerome Quiot and what was originally a few hectares is now one-hundred-ten hectares.  In 1890, they acquired the sixty-hectare estate of Domaine Houchart near Aix-en-Provence.  The family estate has its roots and was farmed during the Roman era, and is located in the plain between Sainte Victoire and Aurelien mountains, and has its own climate.  The land is clay and limestone soils, from the decomposition of the scree from the surrounding mountains.  The wine is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Tibouren; with the average age of the vines being thirty-five-years.  The fruit is harvested in September, with direct pressing for most of the varieties, with vatting for almost two weeks in I surmise Stainless-Steel to maintain freshness; the wines are bottled in December.  This salmon-pink colored wine offers notes of citrus and strawberries.  On the palate the wine offers tones of red currants, watermelon, with great acidity and ending with a nice medium count finish of fruit and terroir.

The second wine is always a representation of the New World.  The second selection is Vinum Cellars Petite Sirah Clarksburg 2021.  Vinum Cellars was founded in 1997 by first generation, California family winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos in the Napa Valley financing their dream on credit cards. Their focus was then, and remains searching California’s coastal vineyards and special microclimates in search of the best vineyards grown by the state’s best growers. The long-term partners consider their humble roots in the development of products and mandate that each wine offer considerable high quality-to-price ratio. What this means is each wine is literally hand crafted from single vineyards and made with a small lot philosophy. From Coastal Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Vinum makes varietal wines from single vineyards and appellations throughout California.  Clarksburg AVA is nestled among the Sacramento Delta waterways, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the appellation extends into three counties: Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano. Vinum Cellars is celebrating their twenty-fifth vintage of Petite Sirah.  The fruit is from the Wilson Farms, a fourth-generation farm established in 1922.  The wine has been aged for sixteen months in two-year-old French Oak barrels. Petite Sirah is known for its deep inky purple wine with teeth staining concentration and the wine offers notes of boysenberry, plum, huckleberry, black pepper, dried flowers, with a touch of licorice and tar.  The wine is full-bodied with tones of blueberry, vanilla, cocoa, intermingling with elegant dry oak tannins and ending with a medium finish of coffee and terroir.

While I was there, I also picked up the Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT 2020 that they were holding for me, made by the artist and winemaker.  This was the wine that got people to stand up and take notice of Bibi Graetz’s work and he named it after the sobriquet that was given to him in this youth.  A pure Sangiovese wine, a Super Tuscan displaying old vines from soils rich in stones and plenty of minerality.  According to Bibi Graetz the entire growing season was perfect and peak of quality since his first vintage.  It took almost three weeks of hand-harvesting, some parcels required eight times to pick the grapes at the perfect point of ripening.  The fruit was selected from the best five vineyards of the winery in different areas of Tuscany; Lamole Vineyard at 600 meters altitude, and Montefili Vineyard at 400 meters altitude and both in the heart of Chianti Classico, Vincigliata Vineyard at 280 meters altitude in Firenze, Londa Vineyard north of Firenze towards the Rufina valley, and Siena Vineyard pressed.  The Initial Fermentations are conducted using natural and indigenous yeasts, in open top barriques for the smaller parcels of vineyards, and the larger vineyards were in barrels or Stainless-Steel with six manual punch-downs and pump overs each day. After about ten days of maceration, the different parcels are moved into old barriques and barrels for twenty months.  A nice garnet-ruby red wine that offered notes of black cherries, red berries, anise, sous bois, and vanilla.  On the palate a medium-bodied wine featuring cherries and strawberries, and plums balanced with velvety tannins and great mineral terroir.     

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Russo Ristorante & Mercato

Posted on August 16, 2024 by thewineraconteur

I have been on social media for over twelve years and I have met many people, and most have been interesting and a pleasure, and a small percentage that have not.  I became reacquainted with plenty of former classmates and people from the old neighborhood over the years which has been a bonus.  Another plus is that sometimes a friend of a friend starts following me, and vice-versa, and this is what happened with John Russo.

The Russo family can go back to the 1700’s for when they became part of the food and wine industry in Sicily.  In 1902 a member of the Russo family began a food kiosk catering to the food desires of the Italian tradesmen that had moved to Grand Rapids to work in the furniture industry that made the city famous.  They ended up with different locations over the years with restaurants (including the first pizzeria for the area), markets, wine, and a catering hall that not only did weddings, but also featured entertainers like Nat King Cole, Al Green, and the Supremes.  Demographics of the city changed and John representing the fourth generation, and his children the fifth generation opened a new market, bar, and restaurant at the Tanger mall in Byron Center.  My Bride and I decided to stop there on our way back home, after another stop and we ordered a Giovanni Deluxe pizza that had a blend of cheeses, tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, Salami, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers.

My Bride immediately went for a glass of bubbly, which was Academia Prosecco DOC NV by Societa’ Agricola Collina Del Sole.  The Bottega began as tenant farmers for the Counts of Collalto, back in 1635, eventually gaining their freedom to farm their own lands. Since, the 17th Century the family has been growing grapes and their company has been creating wines and liqueurs and are now found in 160 countries. They have also open restaurants, Prosecco bars, and in 2014 opened their first bar on a Viking Line ship in Scandinavia.  The wine is made from the Prosecco (Glera) grape in the province of Treviso (Veneto) from the Conegliano hills to the foot of the Valdobbiadene hills known for the mild climate and the alluvial clay soils.  After harvest the grapes are cradled to prevent mechanical damages and premature oxidation, and the grapes are gently pressed, stems removed, the must is removed from the skins and cleaned.  The Initial Fermentation occurs in Stainless Steel tanks with the addition of selected yeasts.  Then the wine while in a closed cuvee undergoes a Second Fermentation using the Martinotti Method (Charmat Process), then cold stabilized, filtered and bottled and they used seven different bottle colors for the wine.  The straw-yellow colored wine had small bubbles and offered notes of tree fruit, mainly apple, peach, and pear followed by some notes of white florals.  On the palate a very easy drinking with good acidity offering tones of fruit and just a touch of sugar.  

John Russo came and sat with us off and on while we were there as he gave us a history of his family’s businesses since the early Grand Rapids days.  He was also pleased to let us know that he was and still is a negocient for the company’s house wines.  I had a glass of Russo Legacy Grillo Sicily 2023.  Grillo is a grape rather shaded by mystery as it appeared in writings in the mid-19th Century as a native to Sicily, perhaps progeny of Catarratto and Muscat of Alexandria, while others have opined that it came from the Roman wine Mamertino or from Puglia.  It is well suited for the dry climate of Sicily, as it has high levels of sugar, a good option for fortification like Catarratto, which became the preferred choice for Marsala wines.  Originally grown for quantity, it is now being grown for quality in Sicily.  The grape has also been called Riddu, Rossese Bianco, Ariddu, and Volpicello.  The wine is a deep straw-yellow color that offered notes of apples, lemons, and nuts.  On the palate this was a bright and fresh wine with tones of apples, and citrus with good balance with a finish that reminded me of filberts.  We also were treated with a bottle of another negocient wine from John, his Amante Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2019 and this wine will be mentioned in another article as we took home additional bottles after his largesse.       

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Our Fourth Trip to Butch’s Dry Dock

Posted on August 13, 2024 by thewineraconteur

I am always preaching to my Bride that we can’t keep going to the same restaurant or to continue drinking the same wines; I tell her that my blog can be boring enough to some without all the repetition.  Then there is the caveat that some locations require repeats, either the food is so wonderful, or the wine carte is wonderful, or the restaurant in question has no competition.  Butch’s Dry Dock in Holland, Michigan gets a yes vote for each point in the caveat.  I learned about the restaurant years before we ever got to Holland, and it is because they have been a recipient of the Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, since I can remember.

Alas, we no longer dine like we used to, but there are times when indulge, either by overeating, eating food that we know we shouldn’t or creating a menu, that wasn’t how the restaurant had envisioned; yes, again to this threesome as well.  We started by sharing a plate of La Belle Farms Foie Gras, seared with Fig Marmalade, Pickled Fennel, an Onion Herb Salad, and Crostini. The bar was open about an hour before the restaurant begins, so I went and asked the bartender what the restaurant usually pours for Foie Gras, and she asked me, if I would like to try a sample, to which I consented (someone has to).  We enjoyed Chateau Rieussec “Les Carmes de Rieussec” Sauternes 2018, the second label of Chateau Rieussec, a First Growth Sauternes. “Carmes” is in deference to the Carmelite monks that owned the estate, until the French Revolution, and today is now owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild.  The soil is gravel layered over alluvial deposits.  The wine is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, and the berries are hand picked in the field as there is no sorting table used.  This wine is aged for eighteen months in oak.  A golden yellow wine that offered notes of tropical fruits and florals, honey, and orange zest.  On the palate an uncomplicated wine offering peaches and honey, a tropical fruit salad with soft acidity and a finish of fruit and a trace of terroir. 

Our dinner was rather unique I guess as we shared the Black Garlic Caesar Salad with Grana Padana, Red Onions, Anchovies, and Breadcrumbs; a sidenote that my Bride was ecstatic over this salad, that had a blend of Romaine and field greens, and a chef-driven dressing that she is going to try to duplicate.  For her “protein” she had an appetizer plate of Seared Scallops with Roasted Asparagus, Foie Gras Butter, Shallots, and Beurre Blanc.  While my “protein” was Prime Tartare with Remoulade, Capers, Cornichons, Cured Egg Yolk, and Crostini.  We shared each other’s “protein” choice.  After we decided on our menu, I went and shopped for our wine, as Butch’s Dry Dock is a wine shop and a restaurant, they have some wines that are recommended on the menu, but most are sold by the bottle at retail and a corkage fee is added on.  We had a bottle of Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey-Les-Beaune 2019.  Domaine Tollot-Beaut has bottled their own wines since 1921, and one of the first domaine-bottled Burgundies imported into the United States.  The estate has twenty-four hectares in four communes from Bourgogne level to Grand Cru and they are known for their high proportion of old vines from Pinot Fin (the original clone of Pinot Noir) and they have their own nursery to develop clones, and this is attributed to the high quality of their Chorey-Les-Beaune that is grown in heavy clay soil.  The estate does not use fertilizers, they use green harvests to limit yields, and manually harvest on a plot-by-plot basis.  Red fruit is mostly destemmed to avoid crushing, before going into the fermentation tanks, with pump-overs for the first couple of days, followed by twice-daily punch-downs for about ten days.  The wine is aged for about eighteen months in untoasted oak barrels, of which twenty percent is new.  Chorey-Les-Beaune is basically Pinot Noir with a small amount of Chardonnay also produced there and is located in the plains under the Cote d’Or escarpment, so there are no Premier Cru vineyards.  A nice deep burgundy colored wine offering notes of black fruit, rose petals, smoke, and sous bois.  On the palate a moderate-bodied wine with tones of black cherries, soft tannins, and a nice medium count finish of fruit and terroir.  I didn’t want anything too overpowering for the scallops, and it worked.

My Bride wanted a dessert and coffee and chose the Dark Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries, Amaretto Cream, and Caramel Crumble.  She liked the coffee so much, that our waitress got her the name of the coffee, and it comes only in beans.  Actually, she liked the dessert so well, as the first one disappeared and we had to get a second one to share.  I treated myself to a glass of Bodegas Yuste “Aurora” Pedro Ximenez Sherry Andalucia, Spain NV.  Pedro Ximenez is a white wine grape known for the production of Sherry wines as it has very low acidity and works best in fortified wines.  While the grape is associated with Jerez, most is grown in Montilla-Moriles.  The method is to sun-dry the grapes to the point where the juices concentrate and the skins begin to raisin.  The small amount of liquid is extracted and then partially fermented, the fermentation is arrested by the addition of neutral grape spirit and then aged in a solera system of continual fractional blending.  Bodegas Yuste began their wine heritage in the 1920’s, and they have since become known for their restoration and care of historic wineries. They continue to warehouse and store centuries-old soleras for themselves and others, and they believe that American Oak exerts a wise influence to the wines.  This dark mahogany colored wine offers notes of raisins, figs and dates, honey, and fruit compotes with secondary notes of baking spices. On the palate a full-flavored wine with tones of velvety fruits with good acidity to prevent the wine from being cloying; and hence ideal for accompanying desserts, especially dark chocolates.        

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