Recently I had two very nice dinners for my 39th. On the first night, my wife took me to Marche Moderne. Arguably the best restaurant in the OC. Amazing food! … and my wife gave me an iPhone!
On to the wine…
When we sat down the server brought us a bottle of 2005 Miner Chardonnay Napa “Wild Yeast”. This was left at the restaurant by my good friend, Jim Dietz. Thanks Jim! I didn’t really take notes on this one. Just enjoyed with our first course. Very nice rich wine. Not light on its feet but there is just enough acid to make it work. A rich buttery cali Chard with balance. It was also nice that it didn’t show its alcohol. I have had some other 05s lately, Brewer Clifton and Aubert that were both showing lots of alcohol.
Then onto the wine I brought for myself.
2000 Littorai Pinot Noir Anderson Valley One Acre
Nice subtle aromatics. Slight glycerol feel in the mouth. Nice plush berries. Good spice and lavender. The middle has a lot of concentration and ripeness. Very broad. Comes on a little strong. Seems quite extracted. The finish doesn't deliver. A slight bitter element. Very enjoyable but the finish did not take it to the next level. Brought two glasses worth home to finish the next day. On the second day, the finish has smoothed out and tannins were even softer but the finish was still ho hum. A wonderful wine but doesn't go to the next level. Doesn't seem to be deteriorating so a few more years might bring out more complexity.
On the next night we went to my folks for dinner.
1996 Salon Blanc de Blanc Le Mesnil
Ahhhh….some many great 96s … and we keep drinking them way to young. Drinking very nice now. Nice refreshing acidity mixed in with a small touch of creamy richness. Tasty but bracing. Hope I get to try in 10 years.
My Birthday Gift … Wine
So we sit down for dinner and I am poured some wine by my step father … in a pinot glass … and it is my birthday so I kind of figured this would be something special. I do know his collection and I know he doesn’t have any red burgundy so I was thinking … William Selyem, Aubert or Marcassin … had to be one of those. The color looked like the wine had some age on it … so I was thinking WS. I take a sniff and whoa … hmmm … doesn’t remind me of any of my guesses. Very burg like and clearly whole cluster. I enjoy. Not totally smooth but completly seamless. Walks right through each stage of taste and texture. I got a huge smile on my face when the bottle of 2004 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg was brought out. I really didn’t know if I would ever taste one. It may have been totally young … but I have always said there would never be a bad age to drink DRC. A complete wine.
A great birthday.
Jason
