Tremendous Father's Day Dinner with Wines

Spent a relaxing Father's Day yesterday that began with a sweltering jog and ended with a feast fit for a king. Sandwiched in between was a couple of hours vegging on the couch watching the US Open and the NBA Finals (Go Spurs!). Dinner was a delicious venison stroganoff with wild mushrooms and home made creme fraiche.

 To go with the food, I chose two Pinots with a few years on them. First up was my father-in-law's contribution. The 2008 Ici/La-Bas Les Révélés Elke Vineyard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley has a faded color, odd since it is a year younger than the other wine on the table. Hi-toned floral notes lift the earthy, barnyardy nose. Not much fruit to celebrate here, but the earthy notes perfectly compliment the food. Unspectacular finish and a touch alcoholic for the stated 13.5%. About $40

I think the far better wine was the 2007 Merry Edwards Meredith Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley. Still featuring a super deep color, The nose is an insane melange of raspberry and freshly muddled mint leaves. Incredibly youthful fruit on the palate with hints of campfire/hickory wood. Rich and buttery, yet perfectly balanced. Tthe fruit preservation here is quite amazing. Juicy acidity. About $75

For dessert, my daughter made a delicious no-bake Key Lime cheesecake. With that, I opened my last bottle of 1996 Weingut Kurt Darting Durkheim Frohnof Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese, Pfalz - Color of 20 year old tawny port. Thick and rich with nearly indescribably intense grapefruit and citrus notes on both the nose and palate. Quite sweet, but still plenty of acidity to keep everything perfectly balanced. But I would drink this sooner rather than later as the acid wasn't quite as electrifying as it was 10 years ago. A truly sublime pairing with the dessert.

2011 Brandlin "Bald Mountain Vineyard" Zinfandel

Had an amazing Zinfandel tonight. The best Zinfandel I've had in recent memory and a shoe-in for my Top 10 wine list for 2013. This one was purchased by my father-in-law through his membership in the wine club at Cuvaison. Regularly $38, this is available to club members for the very reasonable price of $28. Served alongside red peppers stuffed with ground venison, aromatics, rice and smoked paprika. The surprising earthiness of the wine made for an absolutely perfect match with the venison. Simply delicious.

The 2011 Brandlin Bald Mountain Vineyard Zinfandel, Napa Valley has a completely saturated color despite the cold, rainy season that resulted in a lot of lighter wines. The nose is wonderfully complex with raspberry, boysenberry, cracked black pepper and a certain earthiness I don't normally associate with this varietal. The palate has a deft balance of sweet raspberry fruit and black pepper with electrifying acidity and nice tannins that should easily preserve this wine for another 5-7 years. (But there's no way it would last that long in my cellar.) Lots of smoky French oak in here, too, but it never overshadows the wonderful fruit. 14.5% alcohol is not out-of-line.

Selection of Wines with Rotisserie Venison

2012 Seven Hills Pinot Gris, Oregon - Pure golden color, no hint of orange. Lots of dry tropical fruit (pineapple, mango) and mineral notes in the nose. On the palate, lots of dry pineapple flavors, a certain mintiness and a very pleasant bitterness that provides balance. Doesn't really stand out in a sea of $12 Pinot Gris, but it's very pleasant and drinkable nonetheless. Consumed as an aperitif while the venison was on the rotisserie.

2007 Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Gewurztraminer, Alsace -Deep golden color. Absolutely insane aromatics of honeyed pineapple and peaches. Incredibly thick (and moderately sweet) on the palate with fruit cocktail notes and fantastic acidity. Makes me wish sauteed foie gras with an apricot jam reduction was on the menu tonight. But fantastic as an aperitif. Another ridiculous close-out purchase. $7.99, regularly $29.99.

2004 Voss Vineyards Syrah, Napa Valley - Still holding on remarkably well with a great, dark color and wonderful cherry, licorice and mocha notes on the nose and palate. Fruit, tannins and acidity are all in perfect harmony now. 15.0% alcohol doesn't seem to be intrusive. Wonderful with the rotisseried leg of lamb. There is a link to the winery here, but don't go there expecting to find any information on their Syrah. Sadly, Voss now only makes Sauvignon Blanc. Purchased on clearance for $5.99, regularly $25.99

2004 Maqrues de Griñon Petit Verdot, D.O. Dominio de Valdepusa - I don't know how you feel about the varying degrees of a wine being corked, but for me it's an all or nothing kind of deal. The slightest hint of wet newspaper and I'm looking for a replacement bottle. My father-in-law thought it was a little "off" but still drinkable. I couldn't get past the nose. Not even worth the clearance price of $7.99 (regularly $39.99).

With the Petit Verdot being a bust, we opened the 2006 Ceja Vineyards Merlot, Carneros. I don't recall having anything from this winery, but I was quite impressed with this one. Black cherry, chocolate, wintergreen and just a hint of bell pepper. The nose is quite captivating. Nice body and tannins for Merlot with a long, acidic finish. I wonder what this would have tasted like 3-4 years ago with a little more fruit in the glass. I'd take a pass at the normal price of $29.99, but it was a steal at the $6.99 clearance price. Truth be told, this would be a fine deal at $20.

2011 Chelsea Goldschmidt Merlot, Alexander Valley

I got an e-mail yesterday announcing that Off the Vine, the wine retail store where I worked from 2009-2012 is closing sometime in the next few weeks. The owners have been presented with a wonderful new wine-related business opportunity in Colorado and I wish them nothing but the nest of luck. I know they will love it there. To clear their inventory, they are offering the remaining stock at a generous discount. So I was there when the store opened this morning to pick up a few cases; some known and others unknown.

One of the "unknowns" I got this morning was the 2011 Chelsea Goldschmidt Merlot, Alexander Valley. I opened it tonight with burgers off the grill and couldn't possibly have been more pleased. Wonderfully deep cranberry color could easily pass for a Cabernet. The nose seemingly reveals another aroma with each and every sniff. Plum, sweet cherry, coffee, licorice and toasty oak. Around the 1-hour mark the wine turns decidedly minty. Beautiful balance on the palate as well with coffee bean, charred oak, sweet cherry and considerably more tannin that I expected from a $16 California Merlot. Am I too excited about this wine? I really don't think so. Highly recommended.

2011 Paul Dolan Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino

Continuing along my journey through a case full of inexpensive wines I've never tried, tonight I reached for the 2011 Paul Dolan Sauvignon Blanc, Potter Valley, Mendocino. Transparent color with just the slightest hint of golden hue. Wonderfully floral aromatics with bits of green apple, kiwi and lemon adding complexity. No trace of grassiness, bell pepper, "gooseberry" or anything else that I currently detest in most New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. This is all about pure California fruit. Quite tart and lemony on the palate with assertive acidity My only quibble with this wine is the somewhat short, watery finish. But for $13, I'm not complaining. Drop dead gorgeous with fish tacos (cabbage, guacamole, chipotle crema) and a glass after dinner was just as refreshing.

2011 Evodia Old Vines Garnacha, Calatayud

Continuing along with my box of inexpensive wines I've never had, tonight's selection was the 2011 Evodia Old Vines Garnacha, Calatayud. This is an absolutely stunning wine and at $8.49 (before discount!) a stunning value. According to the label, this wine comes from 100 year old vines planted at 2400-3000 feet elevation. I'm at a loss for how someone can produce this wine, transport it across the ocean, mark it up 3 times (importer, wholesaler, retailer) and still make money on this at such a ridiculously low price.


Anyway, back to the wine. Textbook Spanish Grenache with sexy blueberry cobbler, mineral, sweet Mediterranean herbs and minty mocha notes on the nose and palate. Tannins are something of an afterthought so drink it up now. Long, herbaceous finish plays well with tonight's dinner of grilled flank steak with charmoula sauce. We also had parsley potatoes (parsley from the garden) and broiled asparagus (asparagus from the garden) with Parmesan cheese.

2011 Eola Hills Pinot Gris, 2012 Rainstorm Pinot Gris

I spent a very somber, yet satisfying morning/afternoon with my son's Cub Scout pack at two Memorial Day ceremonies in Paola. This morning we assembled in a corner of the Paola cemetery reserved for veterans' graves; many dating back to the Civil War and simply marked U.S. Soldier. We were there with representatives of the local VFW chapter, a motorcycle honor guard and even a Civil War reenactor. After a prayer from the VFW chaplain, we listened to stories about local veterans, heard a reading of recently-deceased local veterans and then had a 21-gun salute and "taps" played on the bugle. In the afternoon, a similar ceremony was repeated  at the Veterans' Memorial in downtown Paola.

I wanted to grill or smoke something this evening for dinner and salmon steaks were on sale at the grocery store for $7.99/pound. So I picked 3 thick ones, rubbed them down with a lemon pepper seasoning and hot-smoked them over charcoal and maple chips. I mean, this just begs for Oregon Pinot Gris, right?  18 minutes later, the salmon was succulent and tender with just the right amount of smoke flavor.

While the salmon was smoking, I opened the 2011 Eola Hills Pinot Gris, Oregon. Features classic Pinot Gris color with that hint of brassy golden/orange hue. On the nose it's all about lemons and tart green apples. The tartness continues onto the palate with bright and vibrant green apple flavors and a long, tart finish. Slightly oxidized? A well-made wine, but just not what I was looking for. So I re-corked the rest of the bottle and stuck it in the fridge for another day. Retails for about $14 and not something I'm likely to buy again.

After relegating the Eola Hills to the fridge, I twisted the screw cap on a 2012 Rainstorm Pinot Gris, Oregon. This has a very clear, light golden color that could easily pass for a Sauvignon Blanc; no brassy highlights. Some fragrant pear and mineral notes on the nose, but the super dry, minerally palate is nearly devoid of fruit. The finish is commendably long, but once again, it's just pure mineral. I suppose this was an okay value for $10, but I don't see myself buying this one again, either.

I hate to call the evening's wines a disappointment as neither one was particularly bad. But neither one of them had that "it factor," either like some of my favorite inexpensive Pinot Gris that you can read about here (Wallace Brook, Cline, J Vineyards, Mohua, etc.).