Domaine du Salvard 2008

Lots of new stuff on the shelf a couple weeks ago when I was at one of the local wine stores. Last night the cork came out of one of them.

The wine was a 2008 Domaine du Salvard, a Cheverny from the Loire region of France . The nose was alive with spring grasses and citrus peel, a very fresh smell. The citrus was predominant in the taste with some tart, green table grapes along for the ride. There was a bit of fresh orange juice mouth feel to this wine, but in taste it was mostly about grapefruit. The acidity was tremendous and there was good length to the finish. The wine reminded me most of a Sancerre, though the price was about $10 cheaper. What made the wine even more drinkable was the 12% alcohol. One could have an extra glass with dinner without falling asleep after.

There were some day boat scallops for dinner that were pan seared over high heat on one side and then basted with butter and pan drippings after being turned in the skillet to brown on the other side. Once they were barely done they were removed from the skillet and some lemon juice was added to make a bright, citrusy sauce. The wine and the scallops were nearly perfect together.

Sausage and Shiraz

One quick dinner over the weekend that was really good. Those are breakfast sausage links that were browned in an iron skillet. Some thinly sliced garlic was added, along with some fresh chopped rosemary and a little water. In went some fresh table grapes and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Everything cooked just until the grapes were cooked through and began to pop. There was some crusty bread and some rice to make a meal.

The wine was a 2004 Cascabel Shiraz from the Fleurieu peninsula of Australia. Somewhat understated for an Australian Shiraz. Good fruit flavors and depth without being overpowering. Lots of sweet fruit in the nose. Full bodied but actually showing some restraint. 14.5% alcohol. Nice drinking wine at this time and perfect with the meal.

2009 Olio Nuovo

In addition to wine one of the special pleasure of the fall arrived yesterday, a freshly pressed olive oil from the 2009 harvest. In this case it is from the California Olive Ranch Olio Nuovo and the olives were harvest just over a week ago.

It was cracked open last night. It's bright, vivid green, almost an electric green. There's lots of fruit in the nose, some tartness and a somewhat minty aroma. The taste is pure, fresh olive with a few added herbs, primarily rosemary. The pungency shows up in the mid-palate and the finishing bitterness and mild heat is there at the end.

The oil was poured into a small container and some crusty bread was dipped in it. Delicious. By the end of the weekend there will be some tossed with freshly made pasta. Good stuff.

As an added bonus, the first shipment of wine from Michel Schlumberger arrived today. I'm away until Sunday, but the weekend is going to end very well.

California Odds and Ends

The photo at the left is downtown St. Helena in Napa Valley. The dog is waiting patiently while his owner is eating a late breakfast inside a small bakery (the morning buns were delicious). It's was nice to be in St. Helena after the summer tourist rush had ended.

One other wine we drank that deserves some love here was a 2004 Rochioli Pinot Noir. Dark purple in the glass, the wine was loaded with flavors of cherries. The tannins were settling a little and the acid was sufficient. It was quite a mouthful of wine for a Pinot, probably because of the 14.5% alcohol. Still it matched nicely with a roasted chicken and bread salad served as the entree. It is nearly always a treat to drink a Rochioli wine and this one was no different.

One more dog photo below. The dogs in question here are Gizmo, a Papillon, and Sophie, a Gordon Setter puppy who has been in the country only a month from Britain. The two had just had a bath and were recovering in the sunshine on the deck. After all, the title of this blog is "Two Dogs...."

Michel Schlumberger Winery

This is a somewhat longer post than normal, so be forewarned. One of the highest points of the California trip was an impromptu visit to the Michel-Schlumberger Winery in Dry Creek Valley.

From reading their winery blog I had been interested in the winery, and having found only two of their wines in the local market I wanted to taste more. I very much liked their 2003 Maison Rouge and the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, both of which were discussed here last Spring.

We were heading north on West Dry Creek Road and passed A. Rafinelli winery and spotted Quivira Winery. I visited both of these wineries in the early 1990's and still think they make good wine, though the Rafinelli wines are getting a little high in alcohol. Winery Creek Road, which leads to M-S, was dead center between those two wineries. We made the left turn and drove the quarter mile to the winery, pictured above, and stopped unannounced.

We were greeted warmly, especially by Luke, the winery's 14 year old Tibetan Terrier who stayed with us for almost the entire visit. Sometimes it helps to smell a little bit like a dog and give good ear scratches and tail rubs.

The three of us tasted several wines. Let's not beat around the bush - I liked every wine I tasted. All were flavorful and balanced and had moderate alcohol levels. 90% of the wine I drink is with food and each of the wines tasted would be delicious with food.

The 2008 Pinot Blanc was tart and refreshing. It almost reminded me of a Vinho Verde from Portugal. It was well balanced and just cried out for a plate of calamari or a summer picnic.

The wine I was least looking forward to was the 2007 La Brume Chardonnay. Most California Chardonnays for the last ten years have been food disasters. They are big, buttery, oaky and high in alcohol - everything I don't like with food. The problem is that they sell in the market place. After the second sip of this wine I knew that the decision to visit here was correct. There was good fruit, sharp acid and only enough oak to make the wine interesting. There was a little bit of spice and a good core of Asian pear, sweet, crisp apple and it finished with a hint of minerality. Thank heaven there was no syrupy pineapple in this wine. It would be great with a pan seared chicken breast on a bed of butter braised leeks and pine nuts.

The 2006 Pinot Noir was also a pleasant surprise. It was medium weight with bright cherry flavors and a wonderful earthiness on the finish. Good wine.

There were two Cabernets up next, a 2001 Estate Cabernet and and the 2006 version of the same wine tasted side by side. The 2001 was fully mature and laid back with a bit of fresh mint on the finish that I particularly liked. The 2006 was young and tannic but had greater body. It had good dark cherry and blackberry flavors, wonderful acidity and a wonderful finish. The 2001 is for drinking now and the 2006 is for putting away for a couple of years.

The final wine was the 2004 Deux Terres Cabernet Sauvignon, the reserve wine. It was a definite step up into the special treat category. There was a lot of dark fruit in this wine, especially fully ripe black plums. There was spice and earth, particularly I thought I could pick out a hint of cloves. There was a slight smoky taste in the finish. This was a big wine, but it was incredibly balanced and food friendly.

By the end of this day I did something I have never done before, I signed up for their wine club. I've visited a lot of wineries in California and elsewhere over the years but this was the first one where I liked everything they poured. At most wineries I will find a wine or two that I like and several that aren't really my cup of tea. I always felt it was better to simply buy the few wines I liked in the local market and not bother with the ones I didn't care for. With the difficulty of finding their wines in this area it was time to make an exception.

As the visit ended Luke was kind enough to walk us back to the car and he got one more ear scratch before we headed farther north.

Beaulieu Rutherford 2002

It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday and since there was a sale on porterhouse steaks the grilling season continued. The steak was large enough for several folks with some left over for Scott.

The wine was a Beaulieu Vineyards Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon from the heart of the Napa Valley. Dark, mature red in the glass with a nose of dark cherries, cedar, cassis and a hint of chocolate. There was quite a bit of sediment clinging to the sides of the bottle as the first glass was poured. The dark cherries were prominent in the taste with some blackberries hiding underneath. Great acid and soft, mature tannins. This wine felt good and full in the mouth. The end was long with a little more fruit, some smoke, some tannin and a little bit of good, clean dirt to finish. The wine was 13.8% alcohol, proving again to me that Napa does not need to extract alcohol of 14.5% and above to make great wine. There was subtlety to this wine and it was delicious. The Beaulieu Rutherford remains the best value in Napa Cabernets to me. This wine was bought on sale for $19 several years ago. The current release is $28.

There were some potatoes finished in duck fat to go with the steak, and we picked the last tomatoes of the year to go in a small salad. The tomatoes were in a small, protected corner so the frosts had missed them, and they get morning sun. The vines just kept on producing and I kept on harvesting.

The three on the bottom of photo are ripening on the counter, but we managed five more for a total harvest of eight. The additional five were in last night's salad.

Today will be equally beautiful and that means one more day of grilling. With the days getting shorter and darkness coming before 6:00 PM I find we are eating a little earlier in the day.

1999 Penfold's Grange

It's always good to have friends who call and say, "I want to open a good bottle, what are you doing?" The answer in this case was, "I'm on my way."

The 1999 Penfold's Grange was the star of the evening. It was decanted for a little more than an hour. The color was inky dark, almost black. Initially the nose was totally closed but with some time in the decanter blueberries, blackberries, warm spice and damp earth peeked out. When dinner was nearly ready we poured the first glass from the decanter. One could smell the wine from a considerable distance and it literally filled the room with its aromas..

The taste was massively fruity up front with blueberries and cherries, fully ripe. It stayed that way through the mid palate with some earth and tannin kicking in along the sides of the tongue. The finish was sweet without being over the top and ended with some cedar and leather kicking in to match the fruit. Neither the acid nor the tannin stood out, but for a huge wine it still left the mouth refreshed and wanting more. Completely balanced and a total pleasure.

This was really a comparative tasting, and not designed around the wine. There were two cuts of lamb for dinner, a rib rack and a loin rack, and each was prepared simply and identically. It was interesting that even though the wine was magnificent with both, the extra gaminess of the rib rack made the wine jump a little more.

As an additional comparison there was a second wine, a 2003 Stag's Leap Artemis Cabernet from Napa Valley. This was a good wine in it's own right with dark cherries, cassis and earth, but it was certainly overshadowed. It was interesting that I actually preferred the Stag's Leap with the loin rather than the rib rack.

The bottom line, I've had some extremely good wines this year but I suspect that the search for my own "Wine of the Year" is probably over. This wine was a rare treat.

The photo was compliments of my friend and was taken with a cell phone camera. I was so excited about the wine I forgot to take my camera to document things.