As I had stated in the first of these articles for our latest trip to Louisville, we were dropping off birthday presents from the family as well. While we were out at the River House restaurant, a very good friend of theirs joined us for dinner, and she also joined us the next night at the house for dinner, as she was going to attend the play along with us. She also brought along the first glass that I will discuss that she gave as a gift, and as an aside, she had asked me if I knew what it was.
It was a Riedel Sommeliers Blind Tasting Glass, that was a black lead crystal hand-made mouth-blown classic wine glass. I thought it was very interesting, and I had never encountered one of these glasses before, as I have never attended a blind tasting event. I am not a sommelier, nor have I ever taken any of the courses, but I can appreciate the concept of the glass, which would really be akin to a parlor game for some wine people. No one can appreciate the color of the wine and they would have to use their sense of smell and taste to guide them to a proper conclusion. I am not sure if I could solve a mystery of this nature, if it was presented to me. Though we actually have a fine set of black stemware that we use with a set of China, I may have to try it one day at a party with wine lovers and see how it goes, though they are neither of the caliber or quality, it may be an interesting time.
The other glass is one of two that we picked up before we left Louisville. One will go into a permanent collection to collect dust and the other is to be used. It may be a collector’s item as it is date May 2, 2020 and it is for 146’th running of Kentucky Derby and as I am writing this, the Derby has been rescheduled, just like everything else in the world. So, perhaps the second glass should start collecting dust as well.
We had gone down to Louisville for a couple of good reasons. One, we had taken birthday presents down that my Bride had collected from the rest of her family; and two, we were going down to see our nephew in a play. As they have always said, the best laid plans of mice and men… By now everyone is aware, unless one is living under a stone that a virus that was originally from a province in China, has wreaked havoc on the world. We did not see the play, in fact Kentucky was already closing down venues and the play was one of the early losers. Their daughter came in the night before, because her college was closing down, so the world may never see her lead in Little Women.
We were making the most of it, since we were there. After all, we had all these filets that we had schlepped down with us, and since we were going to have the dinner before the play, we were still going to have the dinner. Our host brought out one of their cooking toys, that they have brought to our house for cooking at the holidays, and my Bride has been discussing it, once again. They like to use the Sous-vide system for cooking meats, and it is employed by a lot of restaurants to help deliver the right temperature for each diner. Sous-vide, if you are like me, needs a little explanation; it is also known as low-temperature long-time cooking. It a method of cooking, in which the food is placed in a plastic pouch or a glass jar and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times at an accurately regulated temperature, and can be used for meat and for vegetables. The concept is that the items cook evenly inside without overcooking the outside and the meat retains moisture. Then the meat is finished on a broiler, grill or pan for the browning that is expected, especially for fine grades of meat. There were plenty of other sides to accompany the steaks, and yes, the steaks were perfectly presented at Medium Rare.
Since, we were bringing the steaks, we also brought the wine to pair with the dinner, and as a bonus, the wine even had a Detroit connection, and no, it was not wine created at Chateau Detroit. My Brother-in-Law would have gone into his cellar and grabbed some rated wines of the Medoc, possibly even some 2000 vintages that he had bought as soon as he could, but I will let him regale us, at another time with them, if he is so inclined. Tom Celani is lauded in the Detroit area for his largesse for charitable organizations that he helps in a grand manner. He and his father ended up creating one of the largest Miller distribution companies in the United States along with other beers and wines. Tom Celani fell in love with wines, first as a drinker and a collector and finally acquiring a Tuscan-style estate with seventeen acres of grapes and one-hundred-twenty olive trees in the foot hills of the Vaca Mountain range in Napa Valley. The first wine that we had was the Celani Family Vineyards Robusto Napa Valley 2018, and I had told everyone that I had wrote about the Robusto 2017. The 2017 vintage was labeled Proprietary Red Wine and so was the 2018, but the 2018 was entirely Merlot. The dinner was off to a beautiful start. Here was a beautiful inky dark glass of Merlot that promised red fruits and spices, and delivered in spades along with a nice finish of terroir with balance tannins. The next wine that we tasted was the Celani Family Vineyards Tenacious Estate Napa Valley Red Wine Unfiltered 2016. I had tasted and wrote about the Tenacious 2012 and we may have a bottle or two left of it in the cellar. 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. If I was crazy about the pure Merlot, the addition of the Cabernet Franc put it over the edge. Outside of the bad news that was surrounding us, the dinner was an oasis in the maddening world.
Even though we took wine with us, my Bride wanted to stop and get some more wine, while we were down there. I guess it is the Big Sister Syndrome and she felt that it was the least we could do, as we were part of the team depleting their “go-to” wine at the house. We were making a side trip to Total Wine & More, where we knew that that went to get their “house” wine. Total Wine & More was founded in 1991 by two brothers and it is still a family owned business with over seven-thousand employees and headquartered in Potomac, Maryland; and if there is need for good wine, it would be near our nation’s capital, where everyone has a reason to drink. They operate two-hundred-five superstores with an average of eight-thousand wines, three-thousand spirits and twenty-five-hundred beers, plus a few munchies. We have been to a couple of their stores, one in Louisville and one in Las Vegas during our travels, and they are just opening up their first store in Michigan, but on the west side of the state.
As soon as we walked in to the store, they were offering tastes of a specialty liquor, of which I passed on, but my Bride is much more open to trying new items, if they had been offering a taste of wine, I might have stopped. I also understand that the stores offer classes and wine tastings, but we actually were there for some quick shopping. My Bride tried a sample of Jameson “Cold Brew” and got excited about what she tasted and immediately thought of Irish Coffee for the wee evening hours. Jameson is the largest seller of blended Irish whiskey in the world and the third-largest single-distillery whiskey produced in any country. The company began in 1780 as the Bow Street Distillery in Dublin and initially managed by Scot John Jameson for the Stein family and relations to the Haig family of Scotch fame. The Jameson family took over by 1805 and at their peak, the distillery covered five acres and over three-hundred employees. The company has merged and changed hands with ups and downs of the last century, like two World Wars and Prohibition in the States and since 1988 they have been owned by Pernod Ricard. Jameson “Cold Brew” is the blending of the smooth taste of triple distilled Jameson and the richness of natural cold brew coffee flavor in one bottle. The coffee flavor is made with Arabica beans from Brazil and Colombia, with no added sugar, and they recommend it best served chilled, or over ice, but as I said my Bride will try it in her Irish Coffee.
We were there to get Bonterra Organic Vineyards Chardonnay, California 2018, as quite a supply of it was evaporating while we were in town. At Bonterra, they grow wine organically and sustainably, they plant native flowers to attract insects, chickens and songbirds to eat pests, and they even have sheep to “mow” between the vines. For this wine they ferment seventy percent of the juice in a combination of French and American Oak, and the remaining thirty percent is done in Stainless Steel. Then the juice is blended and aged in neutral oak, with just fifteen percent being new to add a bit of the classic vanilla notes to the citrus notes. A very easy nose of lemons, honey and almonds, with a nice tart taste and finish with some lemon zest at the end. Just a very easy drinking wine, that belies the price.
We almost got out with just the Bonterra and a bottle of the Jameson, when I just asked if they might have a couple of bottles of Aligoté, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained. They had a few bottles of Cave de Genouilly Bourgogne Aligoté 2018 and we were happy to take those as well. The Cave Des Vignerons de Genouilly was founded in 1932 as a co-operative of family growers in the Cote Chalonnaise region of Southern Burgundy. Today it includes ninety growers with one-hundred-eighty acres based around Genouilly, Fley, Bissy-sur-Fley, Saint-Martin-du-Tatre and Saint-Clement-sur-Guye. Bourgogne Aligoté is an appellation in Burgundy for white wines made from the Aligoté grape and the appellation was awarded in 1937. The grape has been in Burgundy since the 17th Century, but only represent about six percent of the vineyards there, but is grown in about three hundred parishes in Burgundy, basically for the vignerons themselves. The wines are generally made in Stainless Steel to allow the freshness and the crispness of the grape, if anything, some people are surprised at the high acidity and the resulting tartness that can occur, but that is part of the charm that I just recently discovered about this grape. It was a very successful shopping trip, and sometimes it feels like we return from trips with more, than we started with.
When we got into Louisville to visit the family, Saturday night was originally planned for going out for dinner and we kept to that agenda. Louisville is blessed with a fine selection of restaurants from local eateries to the top of the food chain and most of them are independents, instead of the chains. That is not to say, that they don’t have the obligatory chains that are homogenizing the landscape and eliminating the local cuisines, but that is part of the restaurant scene these days. When we are in Louisville, we always allow the locals to select the restaurant, and they always do a great job.
They chose the River House, that surprisingly is located on the river. The River House is owned by Executive Chef/Proprietor John Varanese who has been in the South, getting experience at places like Magnolias, Azalea and finally culminating in opening his own restaurant called Varanese, and then he opened up the River House in 2015. There was five of us for dinner, and there was plenty of food ordered, but as usual, I will only discuss the plates that my Bride and I had that evening. My Bride had the Chilled Half Pound Lobster stuffed with Gulf Shrimp, Bay Scallops and Lump Crab with lemon, capers and dill served with baby greens and cherry tomatoes and it was delicious. I went with a dish that we made once at the house, but it is so time consuming that I am better off getting it at a restaurant when we are out; so, I had the Braised Beef Short Rib with Barbeque Pan Sauce, buttered whipped potatoes topped with fried onion straws, and the dish was so rich, that I had to take a doggie plate home with me, and a separate box for the bone for a lucky dog.
We had a couple of bottles of wine with our dinner and we started out with a white wine. We had the Bos Wine Ode to Fume, Napa Valley 2015, with their tagline of “Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs” by William Shakespeare and an homage to Pouilly-Fume of the Loire. David Bos has been a vineyard manager in the Napa Valley for ten years and was immersed in the now lauded biodynamic/organic farming practices since day one. He gets intimately involved with the vineyards to try and nurture all of the best from the vineyard. David and Jackie Bos, along with their winemaker Jillian Johnson are striving to create an affordable cult-wine from Napa Valley. Bos Wines got its beginning with the Napa Valley Phoenix Ranch single vineyard Syrah, and they have since added a Napa Valley Soda Creek Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, and I would have to venture that this is a second Sauvignon Blanc wine for them, but not a single vineyard offering, as their website leaves a lot to be desired when it comes for information. I would opine that this wine was done in Stainless Steel to maintain the crispness and the citrus flavors to the forefront. After the white wine we followed with a red wine, Trivento Bodegas y Vinedos Amado Sur Red Blend, Mendoza 2018. Trivento is a large Argentine wine company with a range of wine and labels in Mendoza, and the name refers to the “three winds” that blow across Mendoza. The winery was established in 1996 with a three-hundred-acre vineyard in Maipu, and they now have thirty-seven-hundred acres of vineyards in eight different properties in Mendoza. In 2011 they opened up an art and wine tourism facility at the winery. The Amado Sur brand is a blend of Malbec, Syrah and Bonarda, and they also make a Torrontes based blend with Viognier and Chardonnay. This wine had enough body and finish to hold up to the steak dinners that were ordered. A fine meal was had by all, with no need for dessert and the five of us were getting together the next evening as well.
We got up bright and early to get ready for our trip, last minute stuff to pack, coffee, breakfast and to read the newspaper; and I sometimes feel that I am the last person that still enjoys the feel of the paper in one’s hand. We were going to stop at the butcher counter and get filets for one of the dinners during the weekend, the dinner before we were planning to see our one nephew in a local theatrical production. After about a six-hour drive with lighter than usual traffic we got to Louisville. We were staying at an extended suite hotel, the kitchen galley was very nice, including pots and pans, dishes, glasses and utensils along with a dishwasher. Of course, with me, I found a few faults with the suite. Instead of having two beds, there should have been one, with a sofa and an easy chair, and there should also have been at least one desk chair, instead of all dining room table chairs for when working on the computer, but the worst sin was no wine glasses. OK, minor complaints, but it had to be mentioned, if they really need my input.
After we unpacked, at the hotel, we drove over to see my Bride’s sister and her husband and which ever of the children might be there for dinner. It was kind of exciting and all the talk was about the one daughter away at college that had the lead in Little Women, the son that we were going to see on Sunday in his play, as well as the other two boys. We all started off with munchies of cheese and crackers, after all, what is better with wine than that to start off the meal? My Sister-in-Law was getting fancy and cutting parchment paper to make pouches as she was going to Salmon en papillote. Fancy and delicious, but at home we basically just make the salmon and the vegetables separately, but all was good.
We brought some wine with us, because that was only the fair thing to do. We brought a bottle for the suite and one for us to take of my Bride’s newest go-to wine that we discovered at our local wine club, and it was not a monthly offering. Famille Sichel Sirius 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. The wine kind of evaporated during the munchie part of the evening. As we were getting ready for the salmon, I know that my Bride loves a good Pinot Noir, so I opened up a Big Sur Vineyards Reserve Pinot Noir 2013. As we had all been to Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Highlands, Ventana and Big Sur, not as a group, but we all had great memories of the region, the food and the wines. Big Sur Winery was originally an olive grove, which they still maintain and they offer many products made from olive oil. They do not offer much information about their wines, but the fruit for this wine came from the Antle Vineyard in the Chalone AVA. They had produced one-hundred-seventy-cases of this wine and their original estimation was that the wine would age for another five to six years. They were wrong, this wine was still rather feisty and big, for a Pinot Noir and it was totally delightful. The winery alas, lost all of their buildings in the first couple of days of the Soberanes Fire of 2016 and are still rebuilding. A great way for the weekend to begin.
There are days when you can eat in, but you end up going out, just because you have been at home all day. I am one of those people that never post on Social Media that we are at a restaurant or away, first of all, I have always figured that no one cares and I really don’t want to advertise that the house will be empty. We were packing for a trip to see the family in Louisville, and packing is a lesson in logistics. I mean the actual folding of clothes for the suitcases is easy, there is all the electronic stuff that you have to pack, including extra cords and power packs, I mean I cannot go anywhere without my laptop and neither can someone else I know. Then there is wine to pack, as one cannot go empty-handed, especially if there is going to be a couple of dinners at their home, and then we need some wine for the suite as well, in case we get thirsty. We also can and we did travel with an “automobile refrigerator” that can operate both off of the car, and regular electricity as well, and part of it is, that we were bringing about ten filets for one of the dinners. So, by the time that everything was packed and ready to go, I needed to get out of the house and not have one less mess to contend with, especially for my Bride.
We were going through the list of local restaurants that we could go to, and she kept mentioning fish, and I was thinking it was for Lent, but it was a Thursday evening, but she was trying to watchful of what she was going to eat, as the odds were that when we got to Kentucky, the food would be excellent, but the calorie count could be high. That is how we ended up at Rocky’s, and to be truthful, I think it has been the first time that I have ever had fish there, but then I am usually a carnivore. We both started off with a bowl of their Black Bean Soup and I could make a meal of it, it is that good. My Bride went with her usual Broiled Whitefish, and it is probably the most requested fish dinner in Michigan, but she made a couple of changes and had Basmati Rice and fresh Asparagus. I went with the Grilled Rainbow Trout with a Whole Grain Mustard Cream, Buttered Redskin Potatoes, Fresh Asparagus and a Dill Cucumber Salad. Dinner is always great at Rocky’s.
My Bride didn’t want to drink much for dinner, as she wanted to get up early the next day and be on the road, and since we would be sharing the drive, I saw sense in her suggestion. She immediately ordered a split of J. Rogets American Champagne Brut NV. Now this wine is a real mystery to me, as I tried to some information on it. I have seen it listed as a New York wine and as a California wine, though the label says American which is a big AVA. The wine I guess originates in Canadaigua, New York in the Finger Lakes Region; and the brand was listed in 1979 by Canadaigua Brands which is the second largest producer of domestic wines in America. The wine also lists itself as “American Champagne” and since it was formed in 1979 (or earlier) it may have slipped through the cracks, since it was perhaps then listed as New York, but it is grandfathered in to use the name “champagne.” The other mystery is that everyone seems to agree that the wine is produced by the Charmat Method, a bulk process used around the world for popular priced sparkling wine, but the label says “Secondary Fermentation Before Bottling” and I am neither a winemaker or an attorney, so I shall not go on from there. The wine is listed by several sources as being made using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meuniere and since it has an American AVA, the grapes could very well be used and grown anywhere in the fifty states, and the bottle has a screw cap, which negates the pop, but some popular price sparkling wines now use that type of closure. Now for the good news, it was a decent tasting wine, especially for the price with some yeast, mousse and citrus notes, and bubbles, plenty of bubbles. As for me, I decided to try something totally different and had Chateau Grand Traverse Ship of Fools White Wine, Old Mission Peninsula 2017 from good old Michigan. In 1974, Chateau Grand Traverse began with the purchase of a “tired” fifty-five-acre cherry orchard on Old Mission Peninsula, while back then, the smart money was growing Cold-Hardy Hybrids in the western lower half of the state. Ship of Fools is part of Chateau Grand Traverse Eclectic Wines, which are vintage dated, small production wines. The wine is a blend of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Muscat Ottonel and it was a very light and easy drinking wine and reminded me of popular priced Pinot Grigio wines and the good news is that it was not sweet, not a real dry wine, but as I said, very easy to drink with a very soft nose. While the name of the wine evoked Katherine Anne Porter and a film that I saw with my parents with Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, Oskar Werner, Lee Marvin, George Segal and Michael J. Dunn, the choice was lost to me, but what do I know. The next morning, we were off and running, and oh, by the way, by the time that you read this, we will be back in Michigan resting comfortably at home.
The other night I had the chance of riding shotgun and keeping my Bride company as she had to drive out to Rochester, Michigan; and yes I am of the age that whenever I hear Rochester I immediately think of Jack Benny, but that is a whole different story and article. It has been ages since I had been to the downtown area, as we have been to other parts of the city and the Hills as well. We decided to have dinner first and we went to Kruse and Muer. Now the Muer name has been famous for food for decades in the Detroit area, first there was Joe Muer and then there was Chuck Muer. Chuck Muer had numerous locations in the area and once when we were in Palm Beach, we had a charming lunch at Chuck & Harold’s which was near the bridge over the causeway and a short pleasant walk from the Breakers Hotel. Imagine my surprise when we approached the restaurant, because there were two carved figures surrounding the entry door that brought a smile to my face, as I am old enough to remember them belonging on the façade of The Brass Rail in Downtown Detroit and it was a landmark then. I really sound old.
The Muer name is always associated with fish and seafood, though one could always get a good steak as well. We were in a bit of hurry and my Bride was stoic and did not have a drink with dinner, because she was working, me on the other hand maintained my hedonistic personality. My Bride never passes on the chance to have fish and this was no exception as she had the “Jimmy’s Lake Perch” with lemon caper butter, tomato relish and mashed potatoes. I went with the “Maryland Chicken” with shrimp and crabmeat stuffing, a lobster cream sauce and rice pilaf. I also enjoyed the fresh bread, that is one of the hallmarks of the Chuck Muer restaurants, though I am still in love with the bread in the teacup at Meriwether’s.
As for the wine that evening, I felt that I was rushed and selected a red wine, thinking that I would have a steak, but it was still fine with my chicken, perhaps a bit overpowering, but it was a great wine for food. I selected a wine that I have had before from the Wagner Family of Wines, as in Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards. The wine was Bonanza Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 2 California NV. I have stated before that it the old days, this wine would have been perhaps in a gallon jug with a finger ring, but with the pedigree of the winemaker, even for a wine with no vintage, it was very tasty. While there are plenty of Cabernet Sauvignon wines that less expensive, they are not nearly as good as this wine. This is an excellent food wine and one that will keep the dinner bill down. I might add that the dinner, the wine and the business meeting later were all successful, so maybe I should ride shotgun more often.
The last of the three wines that I unpacked from the latest wine club shipment from A Taste of Monterey. One day, I will have to go back and figure out when we started our club membership, but we have been members for some time and with no complaints about the service, the quality and of course the wines that they select. Of course, as I have stated often, it helps that we went with their Private Reserve Club, and with that the wines selected are not the opening price wines, but usually smaller production wines, and of course wines that would otherwise never arrive in Michigan. The Bernardus Cabernet Sauvignon will be the second one that I had, the first being the 1998 vintage. My Bride and I had a wonderful time visiting Bernardus Winery, and the Lodge, along with a tasting and dinner at their acclaimed Marinus Restaurant.
Bernardus Winery and Vineyards was founded by Ben Marinus Pon about 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.
While, one doesn’t immediately think of Cabernet Sauvignon for Carmel Valley or Monterey County, Ben Pons had the desire not only to create some fine California interpretations of classic wines from Burgundy, but he also wanted to create a wine that would equal and compete with the fine wines of Bordeaux. The Bernardus Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmel Valley 2017, is the latest endeavor and there is ten percent Merlot that has been blended with the ninety percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit was harvested from selected blocks on the estate and underwent cold-fermentation and then aged for six months in twenty-eight-year-old neutral French Oak barrels. This allows the wine to be more fruit forward with a nose of red fruits and a taste that shows the red fruit and fresh acidity. They produced about two-thousand cases of this wine between standard bottles and magnums. A perfect wine to make us sentimental for another trip out there.
A Taste of Monterey always seems to be able to make me smile when I open their shipping carton. Four times a year, we receive their shipment of Reserve Wine Selections and that means twelve bottles of excellent offerings from Monterey County and all of the AVA regions there, and it makes us relive our past holidays there.
The second bottle that I unpacked from the carton was Travieso Amaranta Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands 2013. I have found very little information about this winery as I believe that all of their wine is produced from contract growers. In 2005 they became a bonded winery and they have maintained a tight control over the grapes that they purchase as they only buy, by the acre and they have kept long term working relationships with their growers. Their philosophy is that rather than making a French wine, they wish to make a California wine.
This is the third wine that I have received from Travieso, and the other two were also the Amaranta Syrah, one was a vintage of 2008 and the other was 2011. The fruit for this wine all comes from Kirk Williams’ vineyard which is also known as the Fairview Ranch. They use minimal sulfite addition during the crush and they try to use domestic wild yeast for the fermentation. The fermenting period is from seven to eighteen days and they let the must rest for additional contact before pressing. They use from thirty to fifty percent new French Oak. The winery ages their wines for twenty-four to thirty-six months and looking at the current vintage of this wine, I would venture to say that this wine had the latter. Since I have had other Syrah wines from here, I know that they are big with spices and pepper along with red fruit and they have aged well.
There is an old advertising line that says “when it rains, it pours” and it seems that lately this has been true, because we just received another parcel from A Taste of Monterey, the original wine club that we joined. We joined this club, way back in the dark days of Michigan wine laws, only because we were informed that they could legally ship us wines. The governor of Michigan was actually sued and lost a court decision, which allowed the residents of the state to actually get wines shipped to their homes. I remember the days when I had to send cases of “olive oil” from California to my work address, until the case was settled, and thankfully it was only a one-term governor, who ended up moving to California afterwards.
I opened up the carton from A Taste of Monterey and the first bottle that I grabbed was Mer Soleil Reserve Santa Lucia Highlands 2017. To my way of thinking and drinking the Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines are as close to French Burgundy wines as I have found and it is consistent. Mer Soleil is a name created from “la mer” or the sea as it is close to Monterey Bay and “le soleil” which means the sun. This winery is actually part of the Wagner Family of Wine, the Wagner family originally began in Napa Valley in 1906 with the purchase of seventy acres of land and the winery was established in 1915, just to be ceased in 1919 by Prohibition. In 1972 the Wagner family re-entered the wine business with the creation of Caymus Vineyards. In 1988 they began planting Chardonnay vines in the Santa Lucia Highlands. In 2001 Charlie Wagner had taken the reins from his father Chuck and began branching out.
This may be one of the largest volume production wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands and unfortunately there is no information on the production of this wine, either from The Wagner Family of Wines or A Taste of Monterey. I will go out on a limb and opine that the wine was probably aged in oak, but for how long, I cannot say. The wine is said to offer a nose of ripe cherries with cocoa, pomace, blueberry, toasted wood and a whiff of lipstick. With flavors of cherry cobbler, cola and a hint of anise, and very fine tannins and a balanced finish. This is a wine that I will probably want to try sooner, rather than later, even with a suggested aging potential of six to eight years.
The Wine Raconteur 