The big green egg at Paul’s
Driving home from a stellar day climbing in the park and lo and behold, local wino Paul David calls up, mentioning something about a big green egg and dinner and wine… 5 minute shower and an hour later, I’m kicking back on his front porch and loving life!
Whites and champages
I missed writing a note on a kick ass kabinett (that I thought was an auslese :)) and didn’t write down the name of another awesome champagne that Paul opened (that was every bit as good as the Duval-Leroy.)
- 1995 Duval-Leroy Champagne Femme de Champagne - France, Champagne
Very rich with toasted bread and nut aromas, medium to full body and a structured, young palate. Picks up mineral notes on the finish and this is excellent. (93 pts.)
Reds
The 1998 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT was served double blind and I though it was a central coast (saxum to be exact) grenache blend due to the ripeness, stunning spice and lightness on the palate. Absolutely fantastic juice and syrah.. from italy.. ya have got to taste it to believe it! The 2005 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Santenay 1er Cru La Gravières was new world pinot with burgundian sappiness and verve and the 2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron was rocking. Structure, heady, rich.. just a beautiful bottle of wine. Sadly, my last. The 1997 Pian Delle Vigne (Antinori) Brunello di Montalcino was tight as nails but oh so good. Oxymoron? Maybe, but I loved the purity, precision and structure of the wine. A softer than normal 2003 Château Pontet-Canet was followed by a herbacous 1998 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford and these were sucked down with seriously smoky prime ribeyes that were cooked to perfection on the new ceramic cooker! The 1998 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia’s Paddock was excellent and the N.V. Terre Gaie Fior d’Arancio Veneto IGT paired perfectly with Susan’s lemon cake.
- 2005 Domaine Bernard Morey et Fils Santenay 1er Cru La Gravières - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay 1er Cru
Very young and jammy, this has big, upfront fruit and a surprising amount of sweetness. On the nose this shows ripe cranberries and freshly crushed berries, exotic spice and charred earth notes. There’s also a resiny sappiness to both the aromas and the texture on the palate. Medium bodied, this has big, jammy fruit, nice tension and balance and a long, enjoyable finish. (90 pts.) - 1998 Fontodi Syrah Case Via Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT
Wow, utterly fantastic juice with blockbuster aromatics of raspberry, earth, licorice and sweet sweet spice aromas. There’s subtle background oak and vanilla but this is fruit driven with nice complexity. The palate is full bodied, silky, ripe and amazingly light with perfect balance, seamless integration and a long finish. Despite the size of this wine, it just floats over your tongue and doesn’t show a hint of heat. (96 pts.) - 2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Baron - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
A serious wine, this is just packed with licorice infused raspberry fruit, smoky and charred earth, minerals and tobacco aromas. The palate is full bodied and structured with a solid mid-palate; this has a rich, savory texture and impressive grip and length on the finish. Both bottles I’ve had of this showed a slight secondary fermentation that blew off with air and this is a stunning, traditional, heady and structured Chateauneuf that needs a hour or two in a decanter to show well. (94 pts.) - 1997 Pian Delle Vigne (Antinori) Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Very consistent with the previous bottle except even tighter on the nose, this is as pure an example of sangiovese as I’ve had. The nose is super tight and takes some coaxing but finally gives up rich, decadent black cherry, charred earth, licorice and brick dust aromas. This continues to evolve in the glass and has fantastic purity and depth. The palate is medium to full bodied, impeccably built, super concentrated and amazingly pure, precise and long. There’s no shortage of tannins on the finish and this is still a babe. 95+ (95 pts.) - 2003 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Not up to the past bottle and this was surprisingly soft and open. The nose is packed with sweet cassis and blackberry fruit, lead pencil and earth aromas and the palate is full bodied, rich, lush and concentrated. The tannins kick in on the finish and are fine grained and very ripe. (93 pts.) - 1998 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
While this possesses nice cassis slanted fruit, lead pencil, tobacco and earthy aromas, it has a serious herbal streak that borders on green. Medium bodied, this lacks a little flesh on the mid palate but has a nice, moderately tannic finish. (86 pts.) - 1998 Jasper Hill Shiraz Georgia’s Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote
With really high class aromatics of earthy dark fruit, cassis and plum fruit, this is full bodied and shows a little underlying sweetness, fantastic texture, nice acidity and a long finish. Still young. (90 pts.) - N.V. Terre Gaie Fior d’Arancio Veneto IGT - Italy, Veneto, Veneto IGT
A fantastic summer dessert sparkler, this is loaded with orange peel, citrus and green apple aromas and shows subtle sweetness on the nose that carries over on the palate. Lots of sugar and riveting acidity this is medium bodied, clean and refreshing. Very unique and interesting and thanks for opening this Paul! (88 pts.)
Merci beaucoup cher monsieur Paul pour un autre soir fantastique!!!