Had some friends over to grill up a storm and had some pleasant surprises. The Lustau Palo Cortado absolutely blew me away and was a great starter as I prepared the grill. Then onto the first course with Pfifferlingen/Chanterelle mushroom toast -- which required some chardonnay as part of the recipe, so we used the only bottle we had on hand and the Blenheim Ox-Eye far surpassed my expectations and recollections from tasting it a year ago--quite a nifty wine. Then onto the grilled tuna and grilled you-name-it (eggplant, spargel, green asparagus, blue cheese and bacon grilled new potato salad) with the Kreuzberg Spätburgunder. Here yet another pleasant surprise--I was mightily unimpressed by the Ahr wines I sampled a few months ago (including this one) and wasn't expecting much. But what a match, great with the tuna and quite a strong wine--one that indicated a potential in the Ahr that my previous Späts have not. Alas, should have quit there, because the impulsive move to open the Suncé pinot noir faltered, mainly because its intense sweetness was quite unwelcome after the wonderfully refreshing spätburgunder. It was a technically-interesting wine and might have worked better at another time and place--just did not work here, alas.
N.V. Emilio Lustau Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Palo Cortado Península (Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Andalucía, Spain) 19% - appears caramel-brown, beautifully reflective, smell fabulous nose, sweet nuts, barely any alcohol on nose, intense pecan pie, mouthwatering, smidge of butterscotch-toffee, carmelized fruit, this is what I call a seductive nose, mouthfeel is smooth and slippery, taste is not as sweet as nose would suggest, big super spicy-spice, fiery at times, clean, the cleanness of the finish is amazing, it combines the intense concentration of raisinesque flavors with the juiciest most succulent fruit you’ll find, superfresh, great fun. Thought the label suggests you can consume it chilled or at room temperature, I strongly preferred it at room temperature—the flavors really came out to play. The superfresh qualities dimmed after a few days in the fridge, but otherwise held up quite well for a week. From producer: A full-bodied dry Sherry between the Amontillado and Oloroso types
2004 Blenheim Vineyards Ox-Eye Virginia Chardonnay (Virginia, USA) 12.5% - appears deep reflective gold, smell strong tropical, spicy, papaya, bright and sharp, mouthfeel thick and viscous, almost bit too much, but excellent flow, taste lots of spice, great fruit, beautifully integrated and balanced, soft melon and banana in mid-palate, very mellow which works really well as counterpoint to explosiveness on spice front, superb lasting spice finish, really enjoyed this wine more than I was expected, the fruit is just so good, bit of vanilla lurking around which I didn’t care for, but, fun to drink, very fresh, very good fruit. From producer: 100% Chardonnay from Ox-Eye Vineyard, planted in Frederick-Christian silt loam with a limestone base and located southwest of Staunton in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley
2005 Kreuzberg Devonschiefer Ahr Spätburgunder Qualitätswein Trocken (Ahr, Germany) 13.5% – appears see-through ruby, nice light maroon, smell tobacco, spice, library books upfront, taste tart cherry, great spice, the flavor profile is rather simple, and at first doesn’t make a huge impression, yet layers itself wonderfully with approach combining wonderful raspberry fruit with increasing acidity and tasty muted spice, fantastic match with tuna off the grill, mighty tasty and refreshing wine
2004 Suncé Winery & Vineyard Rodella Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA) 13.9% – appears medium light plum color, reflective, halo, smell big abrasive spice upfront, hay/cough, raspberry/cherry, only hint of alcohol, but it is there, lurking complexity in nose but quite faint, mouthfeel light with just touch of heft, quite smooth, taste sweet upfront, spice integrated quite nicely, meaty interesting background notes, technically speaking, I think this wine did pretty well and stayed pretty interesting, but for my preferences it was kind of weird, the sweetness is something else and the alcohol—though not forward enough to be a fault—is always around the corner, feels like a wine that was saved from being what it otherwise would be, I enjoyed it but probably would not seek out another, and don’t try pairing it with food at that just pushes the alcohol to the forefront. From producer: The 45-year old, dry-farmed Rodella Vineyard is planted in the hallowed Russian River dry creek bed along Westside Road. A third of the clusters were left whole in this classic cold soaked Pinot Noir for an extended 26-day maceration. Hand punched in small lots twice daily; this wine was handled with extreme care