Nagging, Classes, and Vegas Wineaux does Tasting Notes!

Consider this a weekly nag! I’m encouraging everyone to subscribe to this Blog’s updates for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that it saves me from LOTS of emailing. I have a lot of loyal readers (I get letters …!) but subscribing would give me the ability to better track everyone. On the right-hand side somewhere (there really should be an arrow pointing) there are now two ways that you can subscribe: one by the “regular” email way and the other via RSS feed. I have a Widget on my Google homepage and it serves as a very annoying reminder that it’s time for me to update! Yes, I created a Google Widget, so if Google is your home page, you can find the Widget and save it! And then let me know so that I can remove your name from my ever-growing update list.

I’ve been very happy with the CSE-Lite! classes. New people, enthusiasm, and new wine fans who are ready to go forth and learn more are the result of attending a Combatting Swirl Envy – Lite! class.

I had to reschedule the first class on the west side due to a conflict, but West Valley folks should not despair! There is another one already scheduled for early March. I will have more information next entry!

The board meeting for Vegas Wineaux took place this last weekend, and I’d like to share my tasting notes of some of the nice wines that we had.

The first wine was 2004 Hendry Block 7 Zinfandel. A deep, inky purple, the wine resonated with notes of rich summer berries, vanilla, flowers, spice, pepper, and dark fruit. Silky and luscious, it had a rich mouthfeel and was quite the toothstainer. Tannins were well-integrated, and the structure would stand up well to barbeque, although all we had were noshes.

The second wine was one of those from my treasure trove: 2000 Vergenoegd Estate Grown Shiraz from South Africa. This was truly unusual upon opening. I opened it well in advance because I knew from experience that this bruiser needs at least three hours decanting time. The cork was incredibly difficult to remove from the bottle, but oh man! The wine end of the cork was nearly black and earned a couple of double takes. A small sample was poured immediately into a glass before the rest was upended into a decanter.

This wine has the potential for aging. With barely an age ring, the rich purple/red/garnet color belies its eight years. The first sip was exactly as I had expected – funky, astringent, muddled, with the unmistakable terroir of South Africa on the nose and palate. There was an odd, solvent-like character to the nose. I contended with raised eyebrows from the dubious.

Fast forward three hours.

The harsh qualities I mentioned were gone. Instead, we had a rich, young wine with character and body. A big wine, the Vergenoed had surprising fruit, with plum and cassis on the front, and spices, including Asian spice, cedar, vanilla, pepper and black cherry, all integrated together in a complex and satisfying whole. All of this, coupled with that distinctive South African bacony, banana-y terroir and essence weaving through the experience, gave this wine a certain, indefinable *something.* A definite food wine, it went well with perfectly seasoned veal sausage and chunky avocado salad. Easily the wine of the night.

I only have one bottle of the Vergenoed left and hope to open that one in 2010. What a nice wine! It shows much better now than it did several years ago when it went through the usual tasting assessment in one of the mega-wine magazines. Just like the 2000 Robert Young Scion, it received an 88 at release, but could easily be scored well into the 90s at this time. A truly good wine benefits from a few extra years of bottle age. I’ve never seen anything so true before.

Prager Portworks is a small winery in Napa that specializes in, well, *Port*! Along with some Lindt 85% chocolate, this port shone! This was a NV (that means non-vintage to y’all Neophytes!) Petit Sirah Port. Cherries, strawberries, sweet spice, and dark fruit showcased this wine, and drunk alongside such a dark, bitter chocolate, the Port absolutely shone.

None of these wines was cheap; each one retails (if you can find them) at prices ranging from $32.00 to about $40.00. Worth it? If I could find and afford it, I’d get another case of the Vergenoed. Who knew it’d age so well!

Life’s too short to drink bad wine. So when you get the good stuff, it’s time to celebrate!

THE Vertical. Robert Young Estates Winery Scion Shines

The first thing I have to do is to thank Issa and Nura Khoury for introducing me to Scion a couple (or more) years ago. It was in late 2004 that they had a tasting at their store on Eastern – which was their only location at the time – and one of the wines was the Scion. I remember tasting it and being blown away. I promptly ordered a couple of bottles, and the rest, as they say, was history.

I had planned for this vertical for quite some time. As a member of the wine club, I was in the unique position of acquiring this wine on a regular basis, and I knew I had to share it with my friends when the opportunity arose. I used Evite to invite a few people who I knew were real fans of great Bordeaux blends and only regret that I was only able to accommodate a small portion of the people I wanted to be there.

So how did the tasting go? You be the judge!

Thanks to Kelly Pafford of Robert Young Estates Winery for supplying literature and Wine Club apps for the tasting. It was wonderful having the winery so involved with their members’ activities.

There were five years served. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. The first thing that should be stated at the front is that each and every one of these vintages was fabulous. Here are comments from everyone as we poured and paired during the evening:

Decanted for little over 30 minutes, the 1999 was a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc. Velvety on the tongue, it displayed earth, cigar box, black cherries, plums, and just a touch of smoke. The tannins had integrated well into the wine and gave the wine an old-world character. There were nods all around as everyone sipped away! This almost tied with the 2000 as the second Wine of the Night.

The 2000 was decanted for the same period of time as the 1999 and had a completely different flavor profile! It is a blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot. Wow! was the sound heard as everyone tasted this. The aroma was richer than the ‘99, with black cherries, tobacco, plums, and pepper. Almost Syrah-like in character, it had a rich, velvety mouthfeel, well-integrated tannins, and lots of dark fruit. It also had the earth, cocoa, and leather you’d expect from this type of blend with this age. In my personal opinion, age has done wonders for this wine and it has far outstripped the ’99 and is ready to drink now, although it has some years left to go. This was the second Wine of the Night.

The 2001 was decanted little more than an hour. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Merlot, it displayed the tannins, dark fruit, and body you’d expect from a wine with this much high-quality Cabernet in the blend. However, even with this much Cab in the mix, it wasn’t a big tannic bruiser, but offered a velvety mouthfeel, tobacco, and earth.

Decanted for 90 minutes, the 2002, a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc, showed its youth in its profile of black cherries, currants, plums, tobacco, and black raspberries. Silky in the mouth, it is as good as it gets.

There is no doubt that the 2003, with its blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot was the star of the evening. Talk about a Grand Slam! Equal to anything that may come out of Napa, it had big fruit (but it was not a fruit bomb), smoke, integrated tannins and balanced acid, earth, cocoa, tobacco, and more. Take THIS Opus One and Insignia! The 2003 easily kicks the big boys’ collective butts and shines in the process. Fritz Reese, our own personal sommelier and wine educator, declared that this was easily the Wine of the Night, and I agreed with him. While the aroma, flavor profile, structure, and mouthfeel shine now, we can only imagine how it will be in a few years. Wow. What a great wine. And at about $50.00 a bottle, a decided bargain, especially during these days of overpriced Napa Cabernet “stars” from the so-called cult wineries.

All of these wines possessed beautiful noses, silky mouthfeel, well-integrated tannins, good acid balance, complex mid-palates, and a beautiful, long, lingering finish. There wasn’t a bomb in the group, and the age of the 1999 and 2000 brought out subtle traits that are not yet apparent in the 2001, 2002, or the 2003.

The 1999 and 2000 were served with pot roast and baby Yukon Gold potatoes. Because of their age, I did not want to overwhelm them with a lot of spices. The pot roast was the perfect choice and, well, pretty much disappeared.

I served my “famous” smoked brisket with the younger wines, and because of it having been smoked with a dry rub (secret ingredients and all!) it had more complex, assertive flavors than the pot roast. Once again, it was a great match with the more fruit-forward characteristics of the younger wines.

My goal for 2008 is to acquire more Scion! I loved these wines just as much now as I did when I first tasted it at Khoury’s and am a fan for life. While the budget will whimper during these purchases, I’d love to have another vertical in a couple of years so that more of my friends can enjoy the pleasure of drinking these beautiful wines.

Thanks, Robert Young Estates! And thanks to everyone who attended, brought food, and had the opportunity to sip on these wines. A rare treat that I can't wait to repeat!