De Ponte Cellars Pinot Noir

One of my work trips later this year will take me to Portland, OR for a couple of weeks in August, which will of course include a weekend roaming around the Willamette Valley.  In preparation, I’ve been on the look out for Willamette Valley wines that I’ve never heard of in the hopes of finding a few jewels to add to my list of wineries to visit while I’m there. 

Last night my wife and I went to dinner at River Stone Chophouse and had the chance to try a new (new to us) Willamette Valley producer – De Ponte Cellars.  Our server recommended this particular producer because she’s visited the winery and blah blah blah she really liked it – that was good enough for me since it fit my criteria for the evening – one, it must pair well with my pork chops, and two it should be a Pinot from the Willamette Valley. 

De Ponte Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir

De Ponte Cellars located in the Dundee Hills AVA in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Real cork closure.  14.2% alcohol.  $68/bottle restaurant price, about $38 retail.  Nice light purple color with tinges of pink at the rim along with bright raspberry, mint and dust on the nose.  Heavier in the mouth than expected for a Pinot with pronounced oak influence which seemed to overpower the dark cherry and plum tastes.  This one was much better the next morning when I tasted it (just a quick taste, no swallow).  Thankfully, in Virginia, restaurants will recork a wine to take home if you don’t finish it.  The next morning, the wine showed more finesse – the fruit and tannins seemed better integrated with a nice red fruit and earth finish.

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Molly Dooker, the Mother In Law and Wine Gurus

I’ve joked in previous posts about serving the in-laws wines that I don’t like, and I am embarrassed to admit that I have served ‘plonk’ to the in-laws on several occasions because I wasn’t sure how else to get rid of it, aside from just dumping it down the drain.  

Well, this past Christmas, my mother-in-law moved way up my likeability scale when she gave me several bottles of ‘good’ wine including this Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy and a Ramey Chardonnay.  I’ve held off opening these bottles for a somewhat special occasion… and I can’t think of a better time to open this Aussie Shiraz than now… to get my palate prepped for my upcoming trip to Australia in a few days.

Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz 2007

Fruta muy grande!  Real cork closure.  The label noted 16.5% alcohol, but I have no doubt that this one is closer to 18% alcohol.  ~$50/bottle.  Deep dark inky purple color.  Huge nose of blueberry, baked blackberries, very pungent prune, cedar and a creamy vanilla.  The mouth was equally bombastic – loads of dark fruit jam and too much wood.  My first taste made me wonder if they spiked this wine with blueberry and prune concentrate.  The finish was dominated by a grape cough syrup and oak taste.  I really had difficulty finishing two glasses of this one – drinking it was uncomfortable.   At roughly $50/bottle, I really expected more – or actually less.  Overpowering in every respect.

I broke out the big ass glass for this... ?

I’ve had many Shiraz’s in my day, and have historically paired them with bison burgers (not sure why), or when I needed to add more dark fruit to my diet.  Rather than a great burger pairing, this Dooker seemed more inclined to be spread on my morning toast, or as a stand alone fruit smoothie. 

After tasting and being so bleeeeck about Molly I searched the net to get other’s perspective on this particular jammy ‘jewel.’  The Wine Spectator scored this one 92 points and Jay Miller scored this one 95 points (not surprised).  Many other bloggers rated the 2007 Molly Dooker Blue Eyed Boy with reasonably good reviews (here, here, here, and GV here).  Guess I’m the odd man out on this one (again)…

I’ve only written a couple of not so positive reviews on this blog, and each time the PR person from that winery has contacted me with the offer of a new bottle to retaste (which I’m grateful for).  In this case, I doubt anyone from Molly Dooker is going to find this little blog, but I actually hope they do – especially since I’m heading to Australia in a few days and would love to stop by for a retaste and better perspective of Molly Dooker wines.

I’m going to leave this one to sit for a couple of days and come back to it to retaste…

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Vino Volo Dulles with Syrah

I’m about a week tardy on this post…  In passing through Dulles Airport last week, I stopped by Vino Volo wine bar for a quick drink with a colleague who happened to be passing thru Dulles as well.

For those who may not be familiar… Vino Volo is a chain of wine bars located in various airports through out the US.  I believe there are currently about 10 locations.   Vino Volo’s provide a quiet, upscale alternative to airport food courts and overcrowded bars.

I find the Vino Volo at Dulles airport one of the best locations due to its location at the end of terminal C, adjacent to the international departure gates, which provides a unique people watching opportunity.  There are always ‘interesting’ travelers that find their way in to Vino Volo waiting for their flights to London, Rome, Beijing and Frankfurt.  I personally find the folks going to Frankfurt the most interesting based on their topics of conversation and apparent lack of spending limits.      

Based on the recommendation of the server, I went with a glass of Highlands 2004 Syrah Hozhoni Vineyard from Napa Valley.  Dark purple color with big nose of dark berries, baked plum, vanilla and a slight herby component.  Heavy mouth feel with tastes of baked blackberry/blueberry pie.

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Wine Book Club: Adventures on the Wine Route

March marks the 8th month of the virtual Wine Book Club, and the third time I’ve participated.  I’ve come to appreciate these monthly tasting/book clubs more and more because they provide me a due date to complete a post which then forces me to stop, collect my thoughts about the wine/book and actually learn something by writing about it.  Thanks to Len, Deb and the others who have created these monthly events.

The subject of this month’s WBC is ‘Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyers Tour of France’ written by wine importer, wine shop owner, wine maker and Wine Renaissance Man, Kermit Lynch.  I’m a big fan of Lynch and the quality ‘natural’ wines he imports and have had this book on my Amazon list for a while.  Finding his imports here in Southern Virginia is nearly impossible, so I try to buy several bottles of my favorites when I’m in San Francisco each quarter.

Since I am a relatively new wine enthusiast (just a few years), I am one of those naïve people who believe the lives of importers like Kermit Lynch is filled with world travel, fine dining at Michelin 3 Star restaurants, roaming around Bordeaux and Burgundy tasting at all of the prominent chateaux and domains and just living la dolce vita.  Lynch dispelled that ‘glamorous life of a wine importer’ myth beginning on page 4 and continuing throughout the book with stories of early morning tastings in frigid cellars and less than palatable food experiences. (I still do feel he does have quite a cool life).

Overall, I found the book fascinating and appreciated his insights in to the life of passionate wine enthusiast, who also happened to be wine importer, and his adventures and experiences with the various ‘characters’ he met along the ‘wine routes’ of France.  One can sense his youthful excitement and passion through his writing.

I found each of the chapters informative, educational and entertaining.  More than his adventures through France, what really surprised me was his distaste of blind tastings. 

“… I decided to stop taking part in blind tastings.  They seemed such tomfoolery.  Blind, yes, that does sum up the vision involved in this popular method of judging quality.  The method is misguided, the results spurious and misleading… There is a vast difference, an insurmountable difference, between the taste of a wine next to another wine, and the same wine’s taste with food.”

Admittedly, I have participated in many ‘blind’ tastings without food and have ranked wines based on my initial impression (i.e. – which one made the biggest impression in terms of bold fruit and tannin).  Although I did willingly participate in these tastings, I was never sure the why the tastings were conducted blind and without some type of food since most of us drink wine with food (right?).  I have also never fully understood why some wine critics base their scores on ‘blind’ tastings with no food which tends to favor big, bold wines over those with less immediate fruit, but with more finesse and elegance (for the most part).

In addition to being an enthusiastic seeker of ‘real’ wine (natural, unfiltered, true to the place), he was also ahead of his time in terms of caring for wine during the shipping process.  He appears to be one of the first importers to use refrigerated shipping to transport the wine he imported. I really respect the fact that he cared enough about delivering great wine to his customers to take such steps to ensure that the wine his customers received was the same quality of the wine he tasted in the cellars of France.        

The only thing missing from ‘Adventures on the Wine Route’ is an updated and revised edition with more recent information including a ‘where are they now’ section.  I wonder how many of the chateaus and domains he wrote about have since been turned over to the next generation.  It would be nice to know how many of them have continued the traditions that earned them a place in Lynch’s shop.  How many of the vineyards have been plowed over in the name of progress and development.  On second thought, perhaps it’s best not to know… and instead hold the pictures of Loire, Burgundy and Provence that he painted.   

The book also served as a catalyst for dinner at our house last night…  This week is my first ‘full week’ at home this year with no travel, which means I try to take on dinner responsibility for a few nights and give my wife a short respite.  As I’m finishing the book yesterday, I started thinking about what to have for dinner… and literally as I’m having that thought I read the following poem in the final chapter,

“Chablis is so good with oysters

That I’m tempted to leave these cloisters

And find true love whe’ere I’m apt to.”

Perfect timing… finished the last few pages, went to Fresh Market to get a couple dozen oysters and then to the wine shop for a bottle of Chablis. 

A great ending to an interesting book (and to celebrate a full week at home!)   I’ve added Kermit to my ‘cool dudes I would like to meet and have a glass of wine with’ list. 

Great read!

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