The past several days I had the opportunity to taste some amazing wines and serve a blockbuster that I did not get to taste but got excited about none the less.
The Quintessa tasting turned out to be a lunch, not a big trade tasting. I left my flip-cam in my pocket. It seemed inappropriate at the time.
One thing I love about these types of things is you get to talk wine with people who are actually interested in the subject. I like hearing what's going on around town, since I am almost always at my own restaurant. I like hearing other wine directors/sommeliers tell me what they are doing with their program, what new wines they like, who moved where, and finding out new fun things about the people that I usually only get to talk to on the phone when I'm ordering. We all get so busy. I'm sure if you are in the trade you can relate.
This lunch met all the criteria. The Screen Door in One Arts Plaza near Downtown had a pretty happening lunch crowd. The L-shaped booth had a slim wall to wall mirror that made for perfect people-watching and the company was great with some lively conversation. Good modern southern food, Good service and the wines were a real treat.
Tasted through a flight of Huneeus Vintner's wines with Anne, Courtney & Mark from Dali. (he has some cool things going on across the plaza).
There were 2 Veramonte wines with great QPR (quality-to-price ratio), the '07 Pinot Noir with Paul Hobbs as a consultant and the '06 Primus. We sipped some '06 Faust Cab, '06 Quintessa, and tried the relatively new venture of Illumination, a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend with an eye-catching label that resembles a stain-glass church window. Did you know Huneeus sponsored the opening of the movie Angels & Demons in several cities across the U.S., Illumination representing the Angel, Faust repping the Devil?!?
Later in the evening, 3 of Bob's good regulars, John, Steve & Casey, showed up bearing gifts! An '05 Dominus and the 1997 Sassicaia!!! This was very special to me because it turned out they came specifically to celebrate my internship. An incredible gesture. That '97 turned out to be the show stopper. This Italian cab-based blend's texture was so smooth and the wine so complex. A real beauty. And John, to answer your question, I checked my notes on that dinner party and it was actually the same '97 that I seemed to enjoy the most at Beat's dinner party with Piero Incisa della Rochetta way back in 2007 (how's that for some shameless name-dropping). More on that dinner in another blog.
Cheers to you three!
Last Saturday, we got to taste some incredible '02 Quintessa from a 3-litre for Tommy's birthday! Reviewing my notes, it seems that many of the '02 California icons are showing so well: the Shafer Hillside Select that I tasted last month, the Harlan, the Caymus Special Selection. I'm thinking a really good year for Napa, in my humble opinion.
Oh, and the one I did not get to taste: Ana sold the 100-point Wine Spectator rated Chateau d'Yquem 2001 from half bottle (current auction price $457). I guess some folks still have a little money left.
