Wine Tasting

When Kristi and Dwayne were in town, we did a tasting of Chateau Paveil de Luze, a Margaux from 2003 and 2005. These were both very good, but didn't have the characteristic Margaux nose or taste. This was surprising but not disappointing.

The 2003 had a full, earthy flavor and a very nice mouth feel and had a lovely, clear light garnet appearance. With a while to open up, it was ready to drink and will be drinkable for a long time to come.

The 2005 was a little sharp and earthy but not as smooth. It was a nearly-clear dark garnet color. It wasn't quite ready, and persisted in remaining "closed", but should be very nice in a few more years. It was better the next day, perhaps because the '03 was gone and I couldn't directly compare.

Miami

We got back from Miami on Friday. We had a great time, including a couple days of "vacation", something we've not done for over six years. After Jeremy fenced on Saturday in Div. I (he placed 38/65), we had Sunday to Tuesday to relax. We spent some time by the pool Sunday and had a the steak dinner mentioned before.

Monday, we went to the Edison-Ford Winter Estate in Ft. Myers. My parents drug me there when I was a teen and entirely too cool for doing tourist-type things....until I got there and was fascinated with the grounds, especially the trees. It was still really cool. We walked the grounds, checked out the houses, and poked around in the lab and museum. This is the only place that I've been really impressed with the gardens, mostly because there's such a variety of plants and with an eye towards research. Other gardens are pretty, but they just don't fascinate me like this one. This all, once again, confirms my geekdom.

This is the Mysore Fig. Not the biggest one on the property, but still a large tree. The roots stick up for stability (and other reasons, I'm sure), but some on the larger tree are four feet tall.

Banyan Tree, yes, just one tree in this picture. It grows support branches as they're needed. Very cool. This particular tree takes up almost an acre and is the largest specimen in North America. It's theoretically a cutting from the largest one in the world.

We had P.F. Chang's carryout (with some drama-they got my order wrong two times!) and a bottle of wine for dinner. The wine was Ch. Lilian Ladouys, a 2003 St. Estephe, which had a really subtle fruity flavor, and a nice, soft mouth-feel. I would say that it's a typical 2003 Bordeaux, ready to drink now, but will be very good in a few years, too. I really enjoyed it. We actually let it sit for a couple days and it was still very nice rather than adopting that jammy flavor that develops when you let many other wines sit. It wasn't a particularly distinct wine, but would be a really nice table wine, a safe choice for most occasions and something I would be happy to have in my cellar.

The Lilian Ladouys label. Yum!

The Copa America is going on right now. We watched a bit of pool play while waiting for our carryout. On Tuesday, we found a little pizza joint called Archie's showing pool play for the tournament. They were also the only place open on the 4th, so we ended up going back. The atmosphere was great, with people cheering and excited about the games. They also had a convincing pizza rustico. I was pleased. I had a cheese calzone the second night and was surprised that they included a Gorgonzola, which sounded better than it actually was.

Jeremy fenced in Div. IA on Wednesday. We were done early enough that I was able to get to the pool for some more sun and reading.

I fenced in Div. IA on Thursday, I wasn't in as long as I would have liked, but was fairly pleased with my day. A group of us went out to dinner Thursday night at a little Cuban place, which left a little to be desired in the area of service. The company more than made up for the shortcomings of the restaurant.

Oh. Right. One more thing. We took advantage of the concierge services of the hotel and ate dessert in the lounge almost every night. Our good host, Edgar even saved me some chocolate goodness one night after hours. The desserts were amazing. Here we have from foreground to background, a flan, a chocolate mousse and Ganache mini-cake, a little chocolate tart thingie, and carrot cake. We also had, at some point, cheesecake, tiramisu cheesecake, and blueberries. Wow.

Recent Wine Reviews

I haven't managed to keep up with my recent wine tastings, so I'm combining a few tasting notes. It's been a mixed bag, but I've mostly forgotten the really bad ones, so the good stuff is below:

2003 Chateau Lagrange, Les Fiefs de Lagrange
Reviewed by Wine Spectator in March '06 (Rated: 88):

Some good berry and chocolate character, with just a
hint of fresh herbs. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a medium finish.
Very good indeed. Second wine of Lagrange. Best after 2007.

I completely agree with the review. I had this at a birthday dinner at Mambu. It was a bottle I had picked up at Grand Cru (can't find the website). I stuck with my usual tuna, but the wine stood out. It's a very smooth and refined wine. It's certainly ready to drink now. I'm working on getting more.

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Next, while on vacation, I took my hosts my standard table wines (Clos du Bois Cabernet and Montes), and I selected a 2003 Chateau Cruzeau for a first tasting. We had the Montes on the second night with some fantastic ribs--good reviews all around. Before fishing on the last night, I opened the Cruzeau and a 2000 Ormes de Pez. My instructions when I bought the Cruzeau was to open it, let it sit for a few hours, then drink it. I'm pretty sure that heaven is coming in from a evening fishing trip to open bottles of wine. These two wines did not disappoint.

The Cruzeau has very bipolar reviews online--the most varied response I've seen. My wine guys all seem to like it and I was quite impressed. It started out much smoother than the Ormes, but ended up without the oomph. I went back and bought all that Grand Cru had left (unfortunately, they had only three).

The 2000 Ormes was definitely an Ormes de Pez. This is still one of my favorite chateaus of all time. I found a couple wine reviews (below) and I'm a little baffled by the "shoe polish" reference, but I was really happy to have a chance to have this. I've now had the 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2004. I have a couple bottles of the 1999 that I'm eager to have at some point. The thing that I like most about all Ormes I've had is the nose. There's something very distinct that really strikes me every time I drink this wine. Maybe it's the shoe polish, but I don't think so.

By Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines, Apr 03 Rated: 87--Cru Grand Bourgeois. Cast in the tighter, firmer, more austere style that is the norm for the wines of St. Estephe, this bottling is among the least approachable of the wines tasted and is a touch light on the fruity extract shown by its more highly-ranked neighbors. Still a very solid effort, it requires a good deal of patience, but it is likely to remain more stiff than succulent despite long-term cellaring.

By Stephen Tanzer Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 03 Rated: 88Deep red-ruby. Medicinal black cherry, shoe polish and mint on the nose. Fairly intense but cool flavors of cassis, mint and shoe polish are supported by a firm spine. Finishes with broad, dusty tannins. Showing well today. Very St. Estephe.

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1975 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon

I managed to taste a wine older than me. This was one of my goals for the next few years. A fellow wine geek had bought a case of the stuff in the early '80s. He gave away the last bottle in '85, but came across a bottle recently and decided it was time to have it opened. I was very much in the right place at the right time. The wine was very dark and earthy. The mouth-feel was like velvet. The finish was beautiful. Amazing.

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Finally, my birthday buddy and I (from above) went to Tayst to celebrate the successful defense of his proposal. We had the chef's-choice meal, which changes based on the available ingredients. This week's treat involved fresh salmon. First course was salmon tartare, beet and radish Napoleon, and apricot preserves, served with a French white (I didn't catch a name on any of the wines with the meal and I hesitate to guess from the wine list). Second course was a pumpernickel escolar, served with a French rose. Main course was a salmon fillet with risotto-stuffed morels, served with a Spanish red (I think it was a Tempranillo). Finally, the desert...a flour-less chocolate torte with a chocolate mousse topping, served with stout beer(!) and a creme brulee served with a Sauternes. Overall, a delicious inner. Additionally, the staff was amazing. One of the co-owners came out--almost chasing us as we walked out the door--thanking us for coming in and wishing us a good evening. A very good evening, it was.

Tasty Tasting for a Reasonable Price

Clos du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Sonoma County ~$15

Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 D.O. Colchagua Valley, Chile ~$8

Tasted together 1/17/07. With my congestion, I don't feel comfortable identifing flavors, but both were a little fruit forward, but not overpowering. Quite plesant, the Clos was slighty more tannic than the Montes, but they have (with my congestion) very similar taste profiles. Additionally, both were good the next day with no hint of the nasty "old wine" taste. There was enough of the Clos to have 3 days later and it was, remarkably, still very drinkable.

I opened another bottle of the Montes later that week and had a second taste about three days later and while it wasn't as good as first taste, it was still quite acceptable with dinner.