Wines in the Bay Area
I’m in the Bay Area at the moment and busily trying to bring some culture to the place when not working.
Lame Delisle Boucard Bourgueil 1976 Typical aged Bourgueil character, lots of saw dust and cassis aroma. Good fine tannins. The locals didn’t like it.
Chateau du Breuil Coteaux du Layon 1964 Before leaving France I noticed this was suffering some ullage and decided I should sacrifice it quickly. It showed some effect of the leaking but was still presentable. Smoky burn grapefruit and vanilla. Well balanced palate. Colleagues were amazed that it could even be drunk.
Montes-Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 (Chile) Picked it as Cabernet from the ‘new world’ but didn’t know where. Ripe juicy fruit, no signs of age. Drinking beautifully. A great balance of sophistication and fruit sweetness. Worth checking out if you don’t know Chilean wine.
Dinner at Quince
Quince is a new restaurant in San Francisco. Very expensive, tiny place. Wine list is 3 to 10 times market price! Highlights included at M. Gros Hautes-Côtes de Nuits for $150 ($19 retail). So, I went ‘cheap’.
Food good but not great. The squad was superb, the cheeses also excellent. I selected only American cheeses and was impressed with the quality.
Some of the dishes which I didn’t enjoy: frogs legs crostini – the batter was so thick it was impossible to taste or even find the meat! A ricotta tortellini came drizzled in creamed honey and burnt butter. Way too sweet for a main course dish. The tortellini had been expertly made but the flavours were just wrong.
Fourney Vouvray sec
Labeled dry but it wasn’t. Good nose, but not well suited to the food despite being told it was.
Vieux-Télégraphe 2005 rouge
Beautifully spicy Chateauneuf, excellent balance. Superb with the squad and cheese. I really like this wine.
Saturday Night
I went down to Calera and bought some wine. I’ll post on that seperately (highlight includes Josh Jensen saying he wanted to watch the football but I could take the pipette and taste what ever I wanted).
Calera Jensen 1996
Very expensive for USA pinot. Unfortunately, corked. Though noticeable, the fruit fought to show itself and I drank a few glasses. Amazingly fine silky tannins, great acidity. If it hadn’t have been corked, this would have been superb, perhaps rivaling many a Burgundian Grand Cru.
Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin 2005
Looking a little awkward at the moment. Good but needs time.
Coutet 2001
Found at BevMo for very little. Opened and immediately showing the full spectrum of fruit you’d want from young Sauternes: spicy grilled pineapple, ginger, lemon, vanilla. The palate, superb. The finish lasted for ever. Excellent wine and worth seeking out.
