It's our Christmas Eve tradition to blind taste some wines. This year we had an addition to our family: Asher Kent. He had trouble getting to sleep, so he joined us for a bit.
My experiences exploring the many wines of California with my wife and friends.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Christmas Cabs
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Fall Cabs And Blends
We've been wanting to get back to two parties a year so we decided to throw a Fall Get Together.
I advertised a wine tasting, "Optionally bring a cab or red blend (wine) to blind taste with everyone." I should have said cab blend, but didn't, so I prepared for pretty much anything anyone decided to bring. I mean a Pinot cuvée, is a red blend.
Results
E - 2012 Hartwell, Estate, Stag's Leap District, Merlot came in first place with an average of 4.17. Ted and Shannon brought this. Teed said, "Hartwell makes one of the best Napa cabs ever in my opinion. I thought I was bringing that :-) I had some older ones in my collection 11s and 12 so I thought they’d be prime. Just brought the wrong varietal :-)"
C - 2016 Nickel and Nickel, John C. Sullenger, Oakville, Cabernet Sauvignon came in second place with an average of 3.77. Mac and Rebecca brought this. Rebecca said, "I wanted to bring a basic Napa Cab, that I had previously tried before, from a maker I liked, from a good vintage year. I bought several bottles of these at a Nickel and Nickel tasting event, held at The Wine Steward wine shop in Pleasanton during 2019. The price was discounted to 80 per bottle, if I remember correctly. When I first tried this in 2019 it had very bitter and strong tannins. I re-tried it this year and feel it has mellowed out pleasantly. I was curious to see if other people would like it too, and how it would compare in a blind tasting. "
F - 2016 Carte Blanche, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.75. Carlos and Ling brought this. Carlos said, "I think it was $150 at k&l. Why? I’d never had it so…"
D - 2021 Cult, Napa Valley came in fourth place with an average of 3.55. Jose and Lili brought this. It cost $40. It had good reviews, 93 and 97.
B - Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Bolgheri came in fifth place with an average of 3.30. Sue and I brought it. It cost $300. It received 100 points. It's not supposed to be drank for another 5 year. I should have decanted it for 5 hours. We'll never know if it would have made a difference. I was looking for a wine to save for my first grandson's 21st birthday. Sassicaia is my thought, which made me notice the 2021's 100 point rating.
A - 2017 Silver Oak, Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon came in last place with an average of 2.77. Michel and Linda brought this. Michel said, "It was $75 / bottle - I picked it because it is one of my favorite cab from the area (Napa / Alexander Valley)."
I'm not certain the winner was a cab or red blend, but we did vote it as our top pick. Miles would not be happy.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
Spring Paella and Pinots
All of our friends, including one we hadn't seen in much too long, soldiered through traffic to join us for a Memorial Day weekend party. We referred to the occasion as a Spring Get Together, which was technically correct, but mostly a misnomer given it was so close to the unofficial start of summer.
We started with magnums of Roederer Brut Estate and Brut Rose. Paul and Jennifer turned us on to Roederer, gifting us a magnum a few years back. It's a great tasting, and reasonably priced sparkling. We were curious about it, and made a day trip to Anderson Valley last year to taste and see how it was made.
We had a casual tasting before dinner. Sue was making paella and had a special pan for 20. We had been to a couple of events with paella. Sue wanted to give it a try and had practiced a couple of times before.
Results
A - 2020 Papapietro Perry, Peters Vineyard, Russian River Valley came in first place with an average of 3.43. It was 2023 Pinot Cup Winner. It cost $66 from the winery. We're members of Papa. We love their light and fruity Pinots.
C - 2021 Wayfarer, Wayfarer Vineyard, Fort Ross - Seaview came in second place with an average of 3.36. It was 2024 Pinot Cup Runner-Up. It cost $85 ordered from the winery.
D - 2021 Merry Edwards, Georganne Vineyard, Russian River Valley tied for third place with an average of 3.32. It was Wine Enthusiast #9 wine of 2023. It cost $70 from the winery. I had ordered it to be delivered, but they called and asked if we wanted to come in for a taste. A brilliant move on their part. I bought more wine than I had ordered. We had a wonderful experience when we picked up the wine. A young Chilean wine maker told us about his worldly adventures honing his skills.
E - 2021 Convene, Russian River Valley tied for third place with an average of 3.32. It was Wine Enthusiast #13 wines of 2023. It cost $68 from the winery. Convene is owned by Dan Kosta, of Kosta Browne. We first ran into them at Healdsburg Crush and had to pay them a visit or two. We've enjoyed our experience both times we went.
B - 2019 Read Holland, Deep End, Anderson Valley came in last place with an average of 2.93. It was 2024 Pinot Cup Winner It cost $60 ordered from the winery.
Pinot Cup is the award given at Pigs & Pinot's Friday night tasting, a wonderful event where they stuff you with so many great pork dishes and Pinots. We had never heard of it before we moved to Sonoma. We went for the first time this year with Ted, Shannon, Mac, and Rebecca. We hope to go back. We were told we have to get a hotel package, which includes more events than the tasting. Maybe some year we'll budget for this extravaganza.
Correction
I somehow missed Jennifer's scores. It wouldn't have changed first place, but it would have changed others. Sorry Jennifer!