New Year’s Eve 2021/2022

Posted on January 12, 2022 by thewineraconteur

It was dubbed the original “Amateur’s Night” by one of Hollywood’s most famous bad boys, Humphrey Bogart, who created the Rat Pack that eventually came to be associated with Frank and the boys.  A different era, a different lifestyle and I do miss those days.  I remember when you went to a nightclub and you got a table for the evening with dinner, drinks and dancing to live music.  Now the restaurants will try to have several turns of a table by midnight, if they even stay open that late.  Years ago, even before my Bride became my Bride, she had decided to have New Year’s Eve at her house and invite her family over, so that no one should have to incur a major expense for a limited menu and mediocre service, unless they were so inclined.  It worked great for decades and then the evening went to the dogs; literally.  Two of her sisters got new puppies and the puppies are not really trained and they are high strung and the puppies could not spend a night alone, so the venue was moved to a home that had one of the puppies.  My Bride was not thrilled, especially after she had me work so hard to get the remodeling done in the living room and the dining room for the party.

We had to schlep all the food to another location, we were back in the catering business, it seemed.  The logistics of getting all of the insulated chafing dishes ready, the portable refrigerator and all of the dishes semi-prepared, to be finished at the new venue.  The smells from the trunk and the back seat of the car smelled wonderful, it took a lot of will power, not to stop and grab one of the many bottles of wine that we were also shlepping and just have a picnic out in the middle of the day.  Of course, my Bride still had the luxury of walking around with her orthopedic “moon-boot” and she was frazzled; then there was the effort of some to see who could show up the latest, so that food could be reheated.  Then they were still bringing Christmas gifts for people that didn’t get their Christmas gifts at Christmas time, some had a bona-fide as they were out of towners. My Bride and one of her cousins took it upon themselves to clean up the entire kitchen mess, so that the younger family members could sit and watch television.  Then there was an accident and one of the sisters fell down the staircase and broke her nose.  My Bride was worn out, upset about the fall (and I was afraid that it was her) and tired and she had me load up the car and we drove home a little after ten. 

We had started off the evening with a couple different of our go-to white wines to get the festivities off on the right note. I opened up a bottle of Silver Mountain Vineyards Pinot Noir Tondre Grapefield Santa Lucia Highlands 2006.  Silver Mountain Vineyards is “hidden high in the Santa Cruz Mountains” and operated by the founder winemaker Jerold O’Brien.  It was established in 1979 and is in an elevation of 2,100 feet and has a view of Monterey Bay and the surrounding redwood forest.  The winery is organic and has limited production and the wines are either sold through their onsite tasting room or from their website. I am sure that I received this wine from “A Taste of Monterey” as the winery has limited production and any notes that I had, are no longer here.  I have never had a bottle from this winery, but I have enjoyed other Pinot Noir wines from the Tondre Grapefield which is located in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA and I have had some of the best New World Pinot Noirs from this district.  This wine was no exception, as I opened the bottle about an hour before dinner and it had a beautiful deep color and offered a nose of cherries, blueberries and spice.  There was still some fruit, at fifteen years of age that was very impressive and the tannins were very mellow and there was still a nice medium length finish of terroir.  The other wine that I opened was Blason D’Issan Margaux 2015 which is the second label of Chateau D’Issan, one of the Third Growths from the legendary Classification of the Medoc in 1855.  Blason is a French word for “coat of arms” and I guess that is a nice way for them to list their second label.  Chateau D’Issan is from the commune of Margaux and it is one of the districts that I totally enjoy, encountered the most and probably drank the most or it may be tied with Pauillac.  The Chateaux is rather legendary and has been recorded in history as the wine served in 1152 at the marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. The best word in my mind to describe the great wines of Margaux is silky, I know it is a rather ethereal word, but it just seems like the perfect word when describing certain beverages.  The major difference between the first and second label, since all the fruit is from the same estate, is that the fruit harvest for Blason is from the younger vines, and since they started making this wine in 1995, as an alternative wine that is more fruit forward and drinkable much earlier.  One hears of some of the leading Margaux wines still being in their prime from the earliest years of the last century.  This wine is sixty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance is Merlot.  The Blason is aged for fourteen to sixteen months in oak, of which a third is new, the blending and the aging is slightly different compared to the first label.

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A Friend Over for Christmas

Posted on January 11, 2022 by thewineraconteur

As I have stated over the years, my Bride loves to invite people over for dinner.  She always is concerned that if they are a widow or a widower that they are not eating properly.  The Mother Hen syndrome, I guess you can call it.  It is fine with me, because she gets to stretch a bit with the culinary skills, that if it is just the two of us, she might decide to go with an easier dish. 

We started off with an assortment of hard and soft cheeses with crackers.  We had s Smoked Jarlsberg and a Smoke White Cheddar with Horseradish; the horseradish must have taken lessons from Wasabi as it really cleared the sinus cavities and caught everyone’s attention.  She also baked Brie with a Caramelized Onion topping.  Just some easy to enjoy munchies. The Black Star Farms Arcturos Pinot Noir Rose Michigan 2020 is a “dry wine made in a fruit-driven style.” Pinot Noir is the red varietal that the winery has had the most success with, which is interesting as it is one of the fussiest grapes around.  This wine I can venture to say was completely done with Stainless Steel, as they were going for the classic fruit flavors of strawberries and ripe cherries, with a trace of terroir and a bright finish.  It was very refreshing even during the Christmas season, as I think that it is a fun wine with appetizers and conversations.

We started off with her Caesar Salad, which is always a winner for me, as well as for anyone that has a chance to try it.  One of my favorite aspects is that instead of using croutons, she pan-fries bread crumbs to use as a topping.  She made a Pork Tenderloin that she marinated in olive oil, garlic and rosemary and then roasted it, along with some garlic-smashed potatoes.  She finished off the meal with some fresh baked Christmas cookies, along with a tin holding more cookies to take home with for our guest.  With pork dishes I tend to go back and forth between red and white wines, depending on my mood.  I know that doesn’t sound authoritative, but it is just the way I am.  I opened up a bottle of Azienda Agricola Ottella “Lugana” DOC 2020.  In 1964, the family discovered a book about a winery in the region that grew Turbiana at the turn of the last century and they really got into the project and by 1967 Lugana DOC was created with the local grape Turbiana.  This was also the period that the winery was growing and creating their own brand.  The name Lugana refers to the clay vessels that the winery that they read about used for aging their wines.  Verdicchio is probably the most planted white varietal in Italy, and there are wineries that are striving to restore the honor that the grape has lost in the past fifty years.  Some of the other names that will be used instead of Verdicchio is Trebbiano di Soave, Trebbiano di Lugana, Trebbiano Valtanesi, Marchigiano and Turbiana di Lugana.  The wine uses soft pressing of the whole bunch, and some with gentle destemming by oscillation.  Then temperature-controlled fermentation for five months on fine lees.  This wine had the straw color, with the telltale marks of quality Verdicchio, which is notes of almonds, honey and marzipan and high acidity with a touch of lemon and grapefruit in a crisp, dry finish.  I thought it was utterly charming with the dinner, and I guess our guest and my Bride did as well, as that wine disappeared or evaporated, I am never quite sure. 

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Black Star Farms Winter Club Selection

Posted on January 9, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Black Star Farms is rather unique in that it has vineyards and tasting room facilities on both peninsulas, so that they are kind of surrounding Traverse City which is kind of the focal point for all of the wineries in the area.  In 1998 Black Star Farms purchased Sport Valley Farm which was a one-hundred-twenty-acre equestrian facility, and the stylized black star was part of the architectural décor in the main house.  In their Twentieth year, they were honored to receive the 19’th Annual Canberra International Riesling Challenge (CIRC) -Best Wine of the 2018 Challenge and only the second time an American wine came out on top.  It has only been about four years or so, that we joined their club, which we had no intention of doing, but we went there to purchase some wines, after having them at a Michigan resort and we were dazzled by the enthusiastic and professional wine representative that was pouring some wines for us to taste. 

The first wine out of the carton was Black Star Farms “Arcturos” Merlot Michigan 2017.  The wine carries the Michigan AVA, because the fruit for this wine comes from their Capella and Isidor’s Choice Vineyards which are located in two distinct AVA regions on each side of the city of Traverse City.  There is a dearth of information from the winery, but they have been producing a Merlot wine for several years, even though it is a finicky varietal to grow successfully in Michigan, I will venture to say that the wine was probably aged in oak for about sixteen months.  They are describing this wine as offering blackberry and plum notes with a hint of oak and dark chocolate.  They also say that the wine has a velvety texture and mild tannins and could actually age for five to ten years.  It will be interesting to see.  

The second wine out of the carton was their Black Star Farms “Blushed” Dry Sparkling Rosé Leelanau Peninsula 2018.  The wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Marquette.  The wine is produced in the Methode Traditionnel with only a half of one percent residual sugar.  They have offered that the wine has flavors of red raspberries, Montmorency cherries and lemon tart and should offer a cellar life of three years.  It will be an interesting wine to try, as we have not had a sparkling wine from Black Star Farms.   

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An Early Dinner

Posted on January 7, 2022 by thewineraconteur

My Bride keeps in contact with plenty of her past associates and some have developed into long lasting friendships.  She has groups of friends going back to the days when everyone and every business seemed to be located in downtown Detroit, and we have mementos still in the house.  She has maintained school friends, work friends and national and state professional association friends.  I joke that they adore her and put up with me, when I tag along, because I am such a quiet soul.  The other day, we had an early dinner, because one of her friends doesn’t like to drive in the evenings and unfortunately that is a rather common lament one hears as one gets up in the years. 

My Bride was excited and she was making a simple dinner that for a lack of a better term was “comfort” food.  We started off with one of her new favorites where she bakes Triple Cream Brie and tops it with Onion Jam for a nice savory taste, instead of using fruit.  Then she needs no prodding to whip up a batch of her Caesar Salad.  Then she made a Turkey Pot Pie with lots of turkey and vegetables.  It was mentioned that our guest prefers red wine, otherwise I would have selected a white wine with the meal.  We had a bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Merlot Columbia Valley 2006, and currently it is listed as Ethos Reserve.  Chateau Ste. Michelle is the oldest and one of the most prestigious wineries in the State of Washington.  They are known for their Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, but are famed for their Riesling.  It was founded as the American Wine Growers in 1954 by the merger of two that companies that followed the repeal of Prohibition; the National Wine Company and the Pomerelle Wine Company.  The National Wine Company had planted Vitis vinifera grapes in the Columbia Valley, and under the consultation of Andre Tchelistcheff they planted even higher quality grapes in 1967.  These were under the name of Ste. Michelle Vintners and the first wines released were Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Semillon and Grenache.  The particular wine that we had was basically Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon blended in, as they claim that their Merlots are so big, that the Cabernet softens the tannins.   The fruit is harvested from three of their vineyards and fermented separately until time of blending.  The wine was aged for twenty-two months in French Oak, of which fifty-six percent is new. They make about thirteen-hundred cases a year. The wine offered lots of dark fruit notes, both for the nose and the palate and the tannins were very mellow with a good medium finish.  A beautiful drinking fifteen-year-old wine.

We also received a clever and inventive wine box, though the gift was for my Bride,though I was mentioned during the selection process as it seemed that I would appreciate the gesture as well.  The wine box had the appearance of an old steamer trunk, when luggage was hard-sided with leather and brass fittings.  It was also covered with replica travel labels, like what people would glue onto the luggage to show that they traveled abroad, especially on the continent.  It appeals to both of us, high on the nostalgia aspect, but also as a great table accessory for parties and a great conversation piece.   

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A Retirement at Rocky’s

Posted on January 5, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Not mine, as somehow, I just eased into a retirement mode after practicing for it, for several years, or so it seems.  Not my Bride’s either, though she is chomping at the bit and making her plans for it.  I joke that I may have to go back to work, when she retires, but in reality, we have actually gotten used to both of us under one roof, almost full time, so I guess we are OK.  No, one of her friends retired and she really didn’t want any of the pomp or circumstance of a corporate retirement party, as she had basically worked “remote” most of her career and enjoyed it immensely.  For years she and my Bride used to go to the spa together and get a workout, and now they mall-walk.  They shop together, and even though they have called a moratorium on gift giving, they still find loopholes to continue giving gifts. 

Sometimes I even get a chance to be the third wheel as the other night, we had gathered for dinner to celebrate the retirement.  We all met at Rocky’s in Northville, which is becoming one of go-to restaurant along with half of the population around here.  It is off the beaten track and as far back as I can remember, you always had to have a reservation, especially now with their shortened hours of business. Rocky’s has several rooms and this time we were seated just off the bar and not far from the stuffed Kodiak bear, which just adds to the ambiance of being a restaurant “up north.” We actually were very easy that night as we all started with the famous Black Bean soup, that even during the fifteen-day quarantine that lasted over a year, we would order this soup by the quarts to take home. Then we all had Potato Encrusted Great Lakes Whitefish with a Lemon-Cream Sauce and fresh vegetables.  Then the three of us shared a Sander’s Hot Fudge Cream Puff, a Michigan (especially a Detroit) classic dessert.

Since this was a bon-voyage party we had a bottle of bubbly, Piper Sonoma Brut Sonoma County NV.  Piper Sonoma was founded in 1980 by the Marquis d’Aulan, whose family has been linked for generations with Champagne and Premium wines.  The wine is produced in Healdsburg and is produced by the classic technique known as Methode Traditionelle; the same process used in Champagne.  Each vineyard lot is hand-harvested, fermented and aged separately.  Primary fermentation takes place in tanks and barrels, and then is “tirage” bottled where it undergoes a second fermentation and it ages on the lees.  The wine is a blend of seventy percent Chardonnay, twenty percent Pinot Noir, three percent Pinot Blanc and seven percent Aged Reserved Blend.  The wine was a pretty pale gold color with small bubbles.  It offered notes of apple, mandarin orange and brioche in a rich creamy texture and balanced acidity with a nice medium length finish.  Our guest of honor, who really doesn’t drink, enjoyed a glass of the wine, and of course my Bride found another loophole to give her a retirement present.    

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Christmas Day 2021

Posted on January 3, 2022 by thewineraconteur

As we are all trying to make some semblance of life, we were going to my cousin’s home for Christmas.  For years, Christmas Day was her bailiwick and then her son got married, bought a home, then had a child (a natural progression of life) and then my cousin discovered the joys of a married child.  One year she has Christmas, and the following year, she goes to her son’s home (in another state) for Christmas.  This was her Christmas in Michigan with her son’s family making a homecoming.  A delightful compromise and all the cousins attended with their children.  Years ago, I can remember at my aunt’s home (my cousin’s mother) the kids couldn’t wait to matriculate from the kitchen table to the dining table to be with the adults.  Now, it is another way, as there are so many children of the cousins, that they enjoy having the table in the kitchen away from the “old folks.”

My cousin had a beautiful selection of Armenian appetizers fresh from the oven.  There was Cheese Boereg, a flaky pastry stuffed with a white brick cheese.  There was Lahmajoon, the Armenian individual pizza for a lack of a better description, topped with sauteed ground lamb, onions, garlic and parsley.  Another cousin brought this huge irregular long board that was finished and was a Charcuterie Board with several versions of olives, peppers, Armenian String Cheese and of course the cherished shavings of Basturmah.  Now Basturmah, is an acquired taste, because it is a dried beef that has been covered in spices and allowed to age and dry (as there was no refrigerators back then) and the meat is then cut paper thin.  It sounds pleasant enough, but the spices make the meat deadly lethal in spicy hot tastes and then to boot, the spices emanate out of your pores for a couple of days after digesting the Basturmah.  Needless to say, since I was in retail, I abstained for my customer’s sake.  I only covered some of the main dishes.  I also brought some Gazela Branco Vinho Verde DOC Minho 2019 from Portugal and owned by Sogrape Vinhos.  Sogrape Vinhos began in the wartime environment of World War Two and was started in 1942 by a group of friends and the vision of one man to promote Portugal into an international wine making country.  Fernando van Zeller Guedes led the group and the first global brand that they developed was Mateus Rosé which is now sold in over one-hundred-twenty countries and was a total success.  They began as a negocient buying barrels of wine from small producers in the Douro and bottling in a rented facility.  Through wise investments and careful development, they now own over eight-hundred-thirty hectares of vineyards in all the key Portuguese wine regions. In 1982, they acquired Solar and Quinta de Azevedo in the Vinho Verde region and created their brand of Gazela in 1984. Vinho Verde DOC in the Minho region is famous for their straw-colored light, tangy youthful wine, in fact the wine is so youthful, that is how it got the Vinho Verde name, which means “green wine” and it is also used for the small amount of red (tinto) wine from the district as well. The wine is so “green” that there is a natural petulance or effervescent finish, not enough to be considered a sparkling wine, but distinct from a still wine.  This wine is pure Loureiro for a varietal, which is a light skinned grape famed in Minho, it tends to be blended with Albarino, which is thought to be a relative, but the jury is still out.  There are references to Loureiro going back the late 18th Century in Minho of this grape.  This light alcoholic wine was just perfect with the assorted spices and flavors for the appetizers.

Now you have to understand that at an Armenian dinner after the appetizers, everyone says “I could have stopped after the appetizers,” but that never happens.  My cousin had made as the centerpiece of the dinner this huge beef tenderloin that actually fed the troops, cooked with onions and garlic and other spices.  There was Clams Spaghetti, my uncle’s favorite dish that is still served in his honor.  There were several assorted sides of vegetables.  My cousin also asked if my Bride could bring her Caesar Salad, which I have to say, is a traditional hit as well.  Then whatever is left is clear off the island counter in the kitchen and then the desserts are brought in.  I am no longer a big dessert fan, as I seem to have lost my sweet tooth, but there was some Pomegranate Macaroons that one of the younger cousins made and it was delicious, and a very popular fruit in Armenia.  For the dinner I had brought Celani Family Vineyards Tenacious Estate Napa Valley Red Wine Unfiltered 2016.  When I first had the wine, I was told that it was created in the image of Le Pin and Chateau Petrus, and quite a lofty goal.  The wine is a blend of seventy percent Merlot and thirty percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine is aged in new French Oak for twenty-two months and has become their affordable signature wine.  This had a big nose of black fruit and strawberries, with a taste that was dominated originally by the black cherry, and finishing with some rich terroir and some great acidity for cellaring.  Yes, while my Bride was still waddling while wearing her orthopedic “boot,” I think I was waddling just from all of the food that I had consumed and I was very happy. 

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Happy New Year 2021/2022

Posted on January 1, 2022 by thewineraconteur

“Only the unimaginative can fail to find a reason for drinking champagne.” –Oscar Wilde

“Inventory:

“Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.
Four be the things I’d been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.”
― Dorothy Parker

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Christmas Eve 2021

Posted on December 30, 2021 by thewineraconteur

It is always a wonderful time of the year to spend time with family and we do, even if it is frowned upon in this era.  All of my life, the Christmas season is about family, food and good times and I intend to maintain that tradition.  Earlier in the week we had transported a carload of gifts to their house, because we couldn’t have brought the gifts and all the catering.  I also have to say that the “boot” that my Bride has been saddled with has not deterred her from running around and going up and down staircases.  The funny thing is that this year, we got off easy, as we didn’t host any of the two meals, we only catered noshes and wine, which we can do quite well, in my humble opinion. 

My Bride got a new toy for herself, a food processor, I am sure that there may be another one in the basement, but who cares; because we may never find it.  Any ways she was going to do appetizers and her Caesar Salad.  Among the appetizers, and the reason we opened up the new processor was that she wanted to try a new recipe for a Spinach and Artichoke Dip.  I watched her getting no where with the processor and suggested that she try feeding the ingredients in gradually and that worked, another reason I stay out of the kitchen.  The dip was a hit, but at first, everyone thought it was Guacamole, as the processor really pureed the ingredients.   I decided that the evening belonged to my Bride and I took among the wines for the evening her favorite “go-to” wine Famille Sichel Bordeaux Blanc 2017 was the wine that was poured.  Famille Sichel is a family owned negocient firm from 1883 in Bordeaux, as they were in the procurement process for their locations in Mainz, London and New York.  In 1938 they even bought Chateau Palmer, which at the time had fallen on bad times and have since brought it back to all of its glory.  The family does not believe in resting on their laurels as in 2001 they even built a completely new bottling and storage facility in the Bordeaux region.  This particular bottle of wine is a blend of the two leading white grapes of Bordeaux, namely Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.  I don’t think that I would be amiss to opine that this wine was aged in Stainless Steel as there was plenty of fruit and very refreshing.  It starts off with a nose of citrus fruits and finishes with some terroir with a decent finish.

Our Brother-in-Law and his wife were the hosts and they went all out for the dinner menu.  He cooked a stuffed turkey in a gas-fryer on his front porch (I will add that my Bride also made stuffing and Armenian Pilaf) as sides for the main courses.  He also cooked Apple-stuffed Pork Tenderloins in an oversized electric oven (my Brother-in-Law loves gadgets) and he also prepared a classic rendition of a Standing Rib Roast.  One of the wines I brought for the evening and to pair with the Standing Rib Roast was also for my Bride, as we enjoyed Cain Vineyard and Winery Cain Concept Napa Valley 1996.  The Cain Vineyard is located at the crest of Mayacamas Range that overlooks the Napa Valley and Saint Helena.  While Cain Concept, is from vineyards lower down the mountain side going from Yountville to Oakville to Rutherford to St. Helena; known as the Benchland and all very special real estate of its own.  This wine is a blend of seventy-eight percent Cabernet Sauvignon, seventeen percent Merlot, and five percent Cabernet Franc.  Cain Concept is handled by the winery the same way as they produce Cain Five (which is the mountain vineyard) and it takes a total of just over three years of production.  There are no notes, but I do know the wine is barreled as I have seen them stacked.  The wine had a beautiful deep color for a twenty-five-year-old.  The nose had softened and didn’t have bright fruit notes.  On the palate the wine was layered and tasted more like an aged Medoc, which is not surprising and it had a nice long finish of terroir.  I did notice that some were a bit surprised at what an older aged wine tastes like, because they are used to having big jammy fruit bombs from California and this wine was much more elegant.   

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A Taste of Monterey-December 2021

Posted on December 28, 2021 by thewineraconteur

It is that time of the year that we received our wine club shipment from A Taste of Monterey and we discovered the club by accident as we were wandering around the waterfront of Monterey, as we were going to have lunch at the famous Sardine Factory, not only was that a spectacular meal, we ended up buying some art at an art gallery and we joined the wine club at A Taste of Monterey as well.  That was probably around twenty-five years ago and we joined their Private Reserve Club as a way of receiving some wines that are made in too small of batches to end up in Michigan.  This shipment featured three wineries that we have enjoyed wines from in past shipments.

Big Sur Vineyards Grenache Arroyo Seco 2018 is from a winery whose first vintage was Big Sur Red 2013 and was a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah.  The winery began as a hobby and they planted vines along with olive groves and lavender.  In the beginning they made soaps as well as slowly making wines and it was a family project, with the kids originally stomping the grapes.  They still make the Big Sur Red and they also produce individual offerings of the original three varietals and some others as well, as they continue to expand.  This is their second offering of the Grenache and their tasting notes says that this wine is as graceful as a Pinot Noir with notes of pomegranate, wild plum and briar picked raspberries, along with pepper and sage, balance and a nice lingering finish of mineral terroir.  As a side note, they had just opened a tasting room in the Carmel Valley in 2016 and three months later the Soberanes fire destroyed their home, vineyards and olive grove, and they are bouncing back with energy.

Pot Belly Vintners Monterey County NV, this wine is a blend of four different vintages from a three-acre plot that only grows the Souzao varietal.  As in most traditional Port wines the fermentation has been arrested by the fortification with brandy which brings the alcohol content up to 18.5%.  The aging potential for this wine is up to twenty years.  This wine calls itself a Port wine, though the classic Port wines come from Porto in Portugal.  The Portuguese government and the winemakers have gotten a ruling that only wines from the Douro Valley can now be called Port, similar to the laws governing the usage of the word Champagne.  Though wineries that were making classic port-style wines prior to this ruling have been grandfathered in, and may continue using the word Port on the label.  The tasting notes remark about the deep purple color, that this wine is jammy with a concentration of black cherry, blueberry, raspberry and licorice, offering layered flavors of chocolate covered cherries, pepper and hints of tobacco and clove.  Perfectly balanced with a velvety texture and a long finish.  The aging potential for this wine is fifteen to twenty years.

Wrath Estate Wines Swan/828 Pinot Noir Monterey County 2018 is Estate Grown fruit and is part of their Winemakers Series.  Over the years we have received and enjoyed many wines from Wrath.  Wrath Estate Winery is located in Soledad, California and they are a winery where production is limited, but not the quality, and since we have been there, they have opened a satellite tasting room in downtown Carmel.  The winery produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Falanghina and Sauvignon Blanc from their estate vineyard and some very respected private vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands.  This is among the top ten most highly rated Monterey wines by Wine Spectator and based on critic scores and price, this wine represents great value.  It is from their San Saba Vineyards which is just below the Santa Lucia Highlands.  This clonal blend offers dark cherry, raspberries and earth to the nose, a balanced wine on the palate with red berry and cherry cola notes and a long finish with notes of minerals and terroir.

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Merry Christmas 2021

Posted on December 26, 2021 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I wish you a

Merry Christmas

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