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Showing posts from May, 2011

1996 Borgogno Barolo Riserva with steak-n-cheese

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It was the 1996 Barolo riserva from Giacomo Borgogno - one of the oldest and most-respected traditional Barolo producers. Their wines from top vintages can be enjoyed even at 50 years of age. Now a relatively lean wine but with hints of pretty, dried flowers and herbs, this 1996 still needs a few years to develop its full potential. But when paired with rare steak and freshly home-made pesto on top - it turns into a foodie comfort delight! 1996 is considered a good or "classic" vintage for Barolo, and especially in the hands of a traditional producer like Borgogno it means austere, structured, fairly unapproachable, but having all elements that make it elegant and complex with time, without overly lush fruit. 2006 comes to mind. Older vintages aren't easy to find, but WineChateau.com still has some aged Borgogno. And of course, no other wine transitions from meat to cheese as smoothly as Barolo! Kudos to chefs Ash and Dan for awesome cookery! Mangiare bene!

Little Evan enjoying Champagne Bollinger

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Bollinger - Mr. 007's favorite Champagne, even the non-vintage version is quite refined. Evan says "Yeah, gimme some"!

Little Evan enjoying 2005 1er Cru Burgundy and Bordeaux

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Little Evan enjoying 2005 1er Cru Burgundy for his 4 week birthday! - the best red Burgundy vintage in the past 10 years, starting to drink very well!  "Oh yeah", he said! And 2005 Margaux - equally brilliant vintage in Bordeaux. "That may be too herbaceous for the untrained palate!"

Iron Chevsky got you covered!

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Champagne Salon, Leflaive White Burgundy, Tokaji and more at the WD portfolio tasting 2011

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Wilson Daniels is one of the top importers in the United States, representing such venerable labels as Salon, Leflaive, and Domaine de la Romanee Conti (aka DRC). If you don't know what those are, then you've surely been living under a proverbial rock. But for the rest of the readers who started salivating just by reading those names, I will say that this year's Wilson Daniels trade tasting did not disappoint, other than alas, no DRC was served. I hear few mere mortals get in on that tasting - maybe two journalists a year. (Ok ok, so if Iron Chevsky is one, who is the second one? :)) A classy affair conducted at the University Club of San Francisco, a block away from Fairmont Hotel. You had to ring the bell to get in. Suits and ties. I was the second worst dressed attendee. Luckily there was a dude in shorts and t-shirt. The stars of Wilson Daniels portfolio shone as bright as ever. Situated in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in CĂ´te des Blancs, Champagne Salon produces only one w

Finally a drinkable Shiraz!

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How often do I and my wino friends drink Shiraz? Never! Chateauneuf-du-Pape? Maybe . Same grape - shiraz / syrah. Of course, Aussies had to change the name to Shiraz. Australian version doesn't taste anything like the South of France. Sweet, oaky, high-alcohol, new-world fruit bomb. Right? Is there any redeeming value to it? The craze of ten years ago when Shiraz was cool is gone. But I got a sample in the mail of the Wyndham Estate George Wyndham Founder's Reserve Shiraz Langhorne Creek 2007 (whew, that's a mouthful!), and what the heck - I tried it. And this one was actually quite good, at ~15/btl. Relatively cool tasting 14% alcohol, nice medium body, pleasant acidity, hints of chocolate and cherry, some mint and spice. My in-laws are staying over, and mom-in-law is cooking up a storm of Chinese food, so I try all kinds of non-connoisseur wines on them. We paired the Shiraz with a 5-spice fall-off-the-bone pork shoulder with gelatinous skin on. Nice! Finally a drinkabl