Aventura

Posted on September 23, 2024 by thewineraconteur

I am like a little kid, especially for birthday celebrations, and my Bride pampers me, because she knows that there is truth when I tease her that she is a creature of habit, as we would probably only go to one restaurant and she would have the same meal every time.  She knows that I try to keep abreast of the restaurant scene, so she asked me if there was any place that I would like to try for my birthday.  There have been times, when that could be a lethal question.

I suggested Aventura, a Spanish restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor, and off we went; and yes, I always look out of place wandering around the streets there.  I don’t know if it was a positive or a negative, but the restaurant had us sit right at a window setting, so that pedestrians could see a couple dressed for dinner.  Now, I am not sure if you have ever been to a “Tapas” restaurant, but you order a bunch of small plates and the dishes come out as the kitchen gets them done, I have never asked, if one could have the meal structured.  We started with Pintxo Donostiarra (crab, tuna, spring onion, egg, aioli, Cristal bread), Setas a la Planxa (seared wild mushrooms, garlic, lemon, truffle oil, parsley), Pimentos de Padron (shishito peppers, Romesco, crispy garlic, lemon), and Croqueta de Jamon (Serrano ham croquettes, Romesco).  We had to have two different wines, because of the variety of dishes.  The white was Fento Wines Bico da Ran Albarino Rias Baixas 2022 by Eulogio Pomares.  Fento Wines was created in 2012, originally only in Rias Baixas, but they are also now in the Dao region of Portugal. The vines are planted in the sandy granite soils of Galicia, and come from small winemakers under the guidance of Eulogio Pomares.  The fruit comes from the Valle del Saines just off an estuary. The fruit is harvested in the morning, the must is cold fermented, cold stabilized, and filtered. A soft golden color wine that offered notes of white fruits, and citrus.  On the palate tones of melon, pear, and lemon in a well-balanced wine that ended with great mouth-watering salinity and terroir.

We finished off our Tapas dinner with Gambas al Ajillo (grilled prawns, garlic, Fresno pepper, parsley, olive oil, baguette), Datiles con Chorizo (bacon wrapped and Chorizo stuffed dates, quince, Dijon mustard). Rodaballo Y Caviar (grilled turbot, brown butter Miso, sturgeon caviar, Pippara pepper escabeche) and Peras al Rioja (poached pears in Rioja wine, vanilla ice cream, hazelnut crumble).  The red wine that we went with was Granja Nuestra Senora de Remelluri “Lindes de Remelluri Vinedos de Labastida” Rioja 2019.   Remelluri is a family winery near Labastida in the Alavesa zone of Rioja and known for their use of Tempranillo.  The estate was founded by monks in the 14th Century, though the vineyards probably preceded that time. The estate has changed ownership over the years, but in 1967 it was purchased by Jaime Rodriguez, and in 2010 his children took over.  Fruit from established contract growers in the nearby village goes into the wines sold under the Las Lindes de Remelluri label.  Each is named for the village in question: Sanillas de Buradon, Labistida, Rivas de Tereso, San Vincente de la Sonsierra, Pecina and Abalos.  The vinification for these wines is essentially the same, using native yeasts, little new oak is used, light filtration and fining and ten months in French Oak.  For comparison the Labastida vineyards lay at a higher altitude, hence the wine is higher in acidity and lower in alcohol than the San Vincente; consequently, each designation will be unique.  A deep blackish-purple wine that offered notes of dark fruits, raisins, and sous-bois.  On the palate there were strong, muscular tones of dark fruit, vanilla, oak in a savory, chewy wine with tight tannins and a good medium count finish of fruit and terroir.

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A Taste of Monterey – Fall 2024

Posted on September 20, 2024 by thewineraconteur

Sometimes it pays to ask, like back on 10 February 2003 when we were walking around Cannery Row, but a nice pristine version, compared to the writings of John Steinbeck.  I got carried away, but we had eaten at the famed Sardine Factory and stumbled onto “A Taste of Monterey” where they had wine tastings, a wine club, and they could legally ship to Michigan.  We had a governor that was eventually sued and lost the ability to maintain Michigan as a felony state for wine shipments to one’s home; now she is trying to eliminate people having gas stoves for cooking, I guess some people have an innate need to suppress and create problems for other people. We joined, and eventually we could stop sending cartons of “olive oil” to my place of work from California trips.

Four times a year, we receive three bottles of wine from their “Reserve Wine Selections.”  The first wine is Mesa Del Sol Syrah Arroyo Seco 2017.   Mesa Del Sol Estate Retreat & Winery is located on an upland promontory at the junction of three major watersheds, and has been a favorite place for travelers for over a century.  There is a small stone water house and a portion of one of the cabins that date back to the 1800’s and it is believed to be a stop for the overland conveyance from the Mission San Antonio to the Carmel Valley.  The hot dry air of the Arroyo Seco Highlands became a health center for those suffering from tuberculosis and other similar ailments.  One of the more prominent visitors back then was Teddy Roosevelt.  In 1927, a California Senator Fred Weybret purchased the property for his family and the new main home was built in 1936, and the family resided there until his death in 1945.  The property then was purchased by a noted lettuce baron from Salinas, who named the property Mesa Del Sol, adding more buildings, gardens, and a pool for his family.  In 1998 another Salinas agricultural family purchased the property, they planted the vineyards and a trout pond was reinstalled.  Since the gentleman’s death his widow has continued to restore the fourteen-acre vineyard estate, won awards for the wines, and has crops of fragrant Provence Lavender that is used in sachets, lotions, and oils.  While the property was settled in 1899, the first vines were planted in 1999, and they now have three-thousand vines encompassing eight varietals. They produce 350 cases per year.  The wine is described as “lively and elegant on the nose, palate, and finish. Hints of elderberry and currant, lavender, black pepper, and sweet tobacco along with soft and lovely tannins on the finish.”

We then received a bottle of Lepe Cellars Petit Verdot San Antonio Valley AVA 2020. Miguel Lepe studied enology and viticulture at California Polytechnic State University – SLO. He began his career working for various well-respected wineries across California’s Central Coast and South America. Passionate abouot his craft, Miguel’s hard work and dedication has led him on a new journey – creating Lepe Cellars to showcase the best of Monterey County wines.   They take great pride in blending the best of Old World and New World techniques, enabling the wine to develop naturally over time and allowing the journey to be kept as pure as possible, highlighting the region’s true terroir. The goal is simple: to capture the true expression of the vines by farming in a way that respects the biodiversity within the land. They are able to achieve our sustainable and natural approach by spending our time in the vineyards where winemaking begins. From here there is a continuous flow into the cellar where low-intervention artisanal methods are used to express a sense of place surrounding the Monterey wine region.  The wine is described as having “elegant aromas of wild strawberry, savory soy, and light licorice show on the nose of this pure varietal.  Dark plum and cherries show up on the first sip, with a bit of earthy forest floor woven with pepper, oak, and tannin creating a velvety, rich texture.”

The last bottle in the carton was a Bernardus Cabernet Sauvignon Monterey 2018.  Bernardus Winery and Vineyards was founded by Ben Marinus Pon over twenty-five years ago with the intention of creating premier wines in the Carmel Valley.  His intent was to produce single vineyard designated wines and a Bordeaux blended wine.  Bernardus has three estate vineyards: Marinus planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec; Featherbow planted with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon; and Ingrid’s Vineyard planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  All fifty-four acres of estate vineyards are in the Carmel Valley AVA.  To compliment the estate vineyards Bernardus also has contracts with vineyards the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands, and others in the Monterey County. I am sorry to say, that Mr. Pon passed away in September of 2019 and his vision will be continued by Robert van der Wallen the current owner, who also understand the passion that Mr. Pon had for his winery.  As a non-wine note, they have recently opened Bernardus Golf in Holland, and it will be the host for the Dutch KLM open.  The wine is a blend of ninety percent Cabernet Sauvignon and ten percent Merlot.  The fruit for this wine was picked early from selected blocks, fermenting them at cool temperatures, and using special yeasts which enhance fruitfulness.  The wine was aged for six months in twenty-eight-year-old neutral French Oak tanks to allow the fruit to shine.  The wine is described as “the 2018 Cabernet exudes spicy aromas of red berry and cranberry.  The palate beautifully reflects the aromas showing juicy red fruit flavors with a subtle, refreshing acidity.”  

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Fine Wine Source Club – September 2024

Posted on September 17, 2024 by thewineraconteur

By the time that you read this article about the wine club selections at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan, I will have hit another milestone and another decade as I will now be in my Seventies.  Someone told me that I am aging like a fine wine, but in my entire wine enjoying life, I still have not see a bottle of wine with a vintage of 1954, but hopefully there is still time.

The first wine that I will discuss represents the Old World and is a bottle of Trambusti Badiolo Chianti DOCG 2020.  Chianti Trambusti was founded by Orlando Trambusti in 1934.  Orlando was a wine lover and decided to begin his avocation into a vocation.  His first warehouse was opened in Greve in Chianti, and by 1939 the business moved to Impruneta, in the province of Florence and continued throughout the war years.  In 1956 moved to the Via Pistoiese, where it has remained to the day.  Orlando died in 1982, and his son Giovanni took over the reins, and even improved the quality and the business.  Giovanni was joined by his three children in the Nineties, and modernized the firm with new equipment, while still respecting the traditions of the region.  In the 2000’s, they purchased Tenuta Poggio ai Mandorli in Greve and restored it to its original splendor.  The estate is fifty-two hectares located at an altitude of 350m above sea level running through the heart of Chianti Classico on a pebbly, mineral-rich-southeast facing land enjoying the micro-climate of the region.  There is twenty hectares of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Syrah vineyards, with an average of twelve years on the vines; as well as twenty hectares of olive groves, some of which are over a hundred years in age.  Chianti DOCG by regulation must have seventy percent Sangiovese, and the balance is usually Tuscan varieties like Canaiolo, Colorino, Ciliegiolo, and Mammolo.  The wine undergoes fermentation and maceration in Stainless Steel tanks, and then aged for four months in oak barrels.  The wine is described as a bright ruby red in color and offers notes of cherries, cranberries, cocoa, and earthy topsoil.  On the palate, a medium-bodied wine with tones of dried cherries, raspberries, blending with firm tannins; with a mid-count finish of cherries, chocolate, and salty-metallic terroir. 

The wine representing the New World is Tomebrands “Lip Out” Riesling Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley, WA 2021.  Robert Tomé is the founder and CEO of Tomebrands. Robert was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; his father was an immigrant from Friuli Venezia Giulia home of some of his favorite vineyards, and his mother is a third-generation Canadian of Scottish descent, from where he learned to love golf. His earliest memories of wine are the wines made in his family’s garage by his father and uncles.  Years later he found himself working at a golf club, where he developed a passion for the game, as well as the hospitality industry, where he eventually received a full scholarship and then a degree in hospitality and tourism.  By the nineties he was working full time in the wine industry, and in 2004 he launched his own wine importing agency in Canada.  In 2017, he sold his interest in the agency and fulfilled his dream and created Tomé Group of Brands, making wines from Washington State and in Italy. “Lip Out” Riesling is from the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA, and it received its designation in 2012, though the region first started growing grapes since the eighties.  The wine is described as having notes of peaches, tropical fruits, white florals, citrus, and minerality.  On the palate there are tones of peaches, cream, green apples in a rich, well-balanced wine.  And a “Lip Out” is the bane of duffers, miniature golfers, and professionals, where after the putt, the ball circles the rim of the cup, and follows the circumference instead of sinking in the hole.        

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Echo, Chateau Lynch-Bages and Blanc

Posted on September 14, 2024 by thewineraconteur

We were coming up to the second half of the wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan with the special host Pierre Louis Araud of Famille JM Cazes.  We were going to enjoy Echo de Lynch-Bages, a vertical of Chateau Lynch-Bages and the very rare Blanc de Lynch-Bages.  We started with Echo de Lynch-Bages Pauillac 2019.  This is the second label of Chateau Lynch-Bages and was originally known as “Haut-Bages Averous” taken from a former Pauillac estate owned by the family; the name was changed in 2008.  The name came from Greek mythology and the nymph Echo.  The wine is a blend of forty-six percent Cabernet Sauvignon, fifty-three percent Merlot, and one percent Cabernet Franc and aged for twelve months in one-year-old French Oak barrels.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration was conducted in vats, and Malolactic Fermentation was conducted one third in the vats, and two-thirds in barrels and first blends were done in December.  The wine had a nice deep garnet color and offered notes of red and black fruits, tobacco, sous-bois, and a whiff of smoke.  On the palate a fresh medium-bodied wine with tones of raspberries, currants, cassis, and mellow tannins, and completed by a good medium count finish of fruit and terroir.

We then had the pleasure of enjoying a vertical tasting of Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac 2018, 2014, and 2010; I listed the vintages in the sequence that they were poured.  Chateau Lynch-Bages 2018 was a blend of seventy-two percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nineteen percent Merlot, six percent Cabernet Franc, and three percent Petit Verdot; aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which seventy-five percent was new.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration was done in vats for twenty-one days, while Malolactic Fermentation took place one-third in vats and two-thirds in barrels for about a month, and the first blends were begun in December.  A deep garnet color that offered notes of black and red fruits, spices, and sous-bois.  On the palate a rich and full-bodied wine that offered tones of cherry, blackberry, cassis, chocolate, rosemary, blended with silky tannins and a long finish of fruit and terroir. The Chateau Lynch-Bages 2014 was a blend of sixty-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty-six percent Merlot, three percent Cabernet Franc, and two percent Petit Verdot; aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which seventy-five percent was new.  The weather in the fall was so perfect that they extended the harvest period to fine-tune the ripeness of the old Cabernets.  This deep ruby colored wine offered notes of black and red fruits, coffee, and sous-bois.  On the palate a full-bodied elegant wine showed tones of warm alcohol in a “jammy black-fruit wine” with coffee, cedar and firm tannins that had a long finish of deep fruit and graphite (terroir).  We then had the Chateau Lynch-Bages 2010 which was a blend of seventy-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon, eighteen percent Merlot, two percent Cabernet Franc, and one percent Petit Verdot; aged for fifteen months in French Oak, of which seventy percent was new.  A growing season of dry weather, without extremes and cool evenings.  A deep blackish-ruby colored wine offered notes of black and red fruit, cassis, spices, tobacco, and sous-bois.  On the palate this was a big full-bodied wine with tones of black fruit, cassis, chocolate, spices, lively acidity blended with fine-grained tannins leading to a long finish of fruit and terroir.  This was what I refer to as a “big and chewy” wine, and if you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this wine, and I think this wine is just starting to open up, it will still enjoy time in the cellar.

We finished off with a rather rare wine, and I was surprised at first to see it being the last of the wines for the tasting, but we took the lead from our host Pierre Louis Araud.  We then tried Chateau Lynch-Bages Blanc de Lynch Bages Bordeaux AOP 2022.   Blanc de Lynch-Bages was first released in1990 and is historically of the first white wines produced by a Grand Cru Classe in the Medoc.  It is grown on a six-hectare vineyard on the west side of the estate in eight different parcels on the classic Garrone gravel.  The wine is a blend of sixty-seven percent Sauvignon Blanc, twenty-two percent Semillon, and eleven percent Muscadelle; aged for six months in French Oak, of which fifty percent is new.  The fruit is hand-harvested and hand sorted, and seventy-five percent of the juice is vinified in individually temperature-controlled barrels, and they are stirred on the lees on a regular routine and aged for six months before bottling.  The wine is a pale yellow and offered notes of white florals, lemons, peaches, exotic fruits, orange rind, and spices.  On the palate pleasing tones of bright citrus, pear, green apple, lemon, big and balanced, leading to a mouth-watering finish that beckoned for more.  An absolutely wonderful wine, and it was a good thing, that my Bride wasn’t with me, as I would probably have to go back to work. 

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Pierre Louis Araud and Famille JM Cazes

Posted on September 11, 2024 by thewineraconteur

The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan was having a special event, a wine tasting featuring wines from Famille JM Cazes, with Pierre Louis Araud pouring the wines and discussing the wines and the history and nuances of each wine.  He is the Commercial and Marketing Director for Chateaux Lynch-Bages, Haut Batailley, Ormes de Pez all under the umbrella of Famille JM Cazes.  Prior to his current position he had been with Moet & Chandon and their Private Client Director, Brand Manager for Moet & Chandon, Brand Manager for Baron Philippe de Rothschild and some other positions as well.  He was charming and a font of information, a true pleasure to be in his company.

Famille JM Cazes had an interesting history, Jean-Charles Cazes managed Chateau Lynch-Bages as a tenant farmer since 1933, and in 1939 acquired the property; and in 1940 he became the owner of Chateau Les Ormes de Pez.  Andre Cazes, who had been Mayor of Pauillac since 1951 (for over forty years) took over management of both properties in the Sixties, and in 1973 his son Jean-Michel Cazes came to assist his father.  In 1975 they began to modernize Chateau Lynch-Bages, an endeavor that took fifteen years to accomplish.  In 1988, they acquired Chateau Villa Bel Air in Graves; and the Chateau Lynch-Bages 1985 was “Wine of the Year” by Wine Spectator magazine.  In 1989 they created the Relais & Chateaus Cordeillan-Bages, which later acquired two stars from Michelin.  Then in 2002 in a joint venture with the Roquette family created Roquette e Cazes, grand vin of the Douro.  Jean-Charles Cazes took over the family vineyards in France and overseas in 2006, while he also acquired an estate in Chateauneuf du Pape.  The family organization has also opened assorted food and hospitality businesses, as well as acquiring many awards over the years.  And as a side note that I just found totally interesting; on 17 June 1985 astronaut Patrick Baudry carried a half-bottle of Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac 1975 on board the Discovery shuttle.

To finish off the tasting event, waiting for us at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan was Echo de Lynch-Bages, a vertical of Chateau Lynch- Bages, and Blanc de Lynch-Bages.  Chateau Lynch-Bages is a Fifth Growth from the Bordeaux Classification of 1855, who many feel that it should be elevated.  The property is in the village of Bages in Pauillac and named after Thomas Lynch, a Bordeaux merchant of Irish lineage who had the property from 1749 to 1824.  The Cazes family has had the property since 1939, and has been respected as having some spectacular vintages since 1945.  The vineyards are on a plateau west of Pauillac on gravel, chalk, and sand soils; and there are over a hundred hectares planted and since 2006, the vineyards have been divided into two-hundred parcels to match the varietal to the terroir.  Sixty-eight percent is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, twenty-six percent to Merlot, four percent to Cabernet Franc, and two percent to Petit Verdot.  Initial Fermentation and Maceration takes place in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel vats with the use of extensive “pumping-over” for concentration and color intensity.  The old vat-house has traditional slatted floors, ropes, pulleys, and buckets, which give the advantages of gravity flow, which has been incorporated by many modern wineries.     

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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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