WALTER HANSEL WINE DINNER WITH STEPHEN HANSEL - Mirabelle Restaurant, Austin, Texas (6/10/2006)

Steffan Pelz organized this dinner to highlight the Hansel wines and convinced Stephen Hanzel, the owner and winemaker, to attend. Stephen talked about the challenges of making wine in the Russian River Valley and how his family got into the business. He mentioned that Tom Rochioli was one of their original consultants when starting their vineyards. They have about 80 acres under vine.

Reception
Ragout of Morels and Asparagus & Soft Herbs on Toasted Brioche

• 2005 Walter Hansel Winery Sauvignon Blanc - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  An interesting Sauvignon Blanc as it had very few of the usual Sauvignon Blanc flavors and aromas. It had more melon flavors than grapefruit and the fruit was so sweet that I wondered about residual sugar (probably not but..). It was heavier than most Sauvs but had a crisp finish. Good summer drinking wine. [~$19; Drink now] (87 pts.)
  

First Course
Seared Striped Bass with Watercress and Lemon, Fingerling Potatoes & Grilled Green Onions with Pecorino Zabaglione

• 2002 Walter Hansel Winery Chardonnay Cahill Lane - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Medium gold and slightly cloudy in color; It had aromas of oak and a slight matchstick note (the winemaker called it the "French Stink"). The matchstick blew off with lemon, vanilla and more toasty oak flavors. Well-balanced with enough acidity to counter the slightly oily texture. Possibly a bit overoaked for my tastes but a solid Cali chard. [~$29; Drinking well now] (90 pts.)
  
• 2004 Walter Hansel Winery Chardonnay Cuvée Alyce - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Dark gold in color; No score because I thought the wine was flawed. It had a heavy sulphur smell immediately out of the bottle. The winemaker indicated that he thought it would blow off once in the glass but it never did for our bottle. There was chardonnay under the stink with heavy oak treatment. It had an incredibly thick texture along with 15.2% alcohol. This bottle was DPIM (do not put in mouth).
  

Second Course
Grilled Balsamic-Port Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Arugula, Gorgonzola-Walnut Butter, Celeriac Puree and Black Pepper Glaze

• 2000 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Clear garnet color; This wine had a bit of funk on these nose along with integrated oak. There was little fruit, perhaps this one was a bit over? There was a small amount of spice then it went on to a short finish. The winemaker indicated that wine from this area is now called "Three Rows" for more current releases. 14.3% alcohol [~$35; Drink now] (86 pts.)
  
• 2003 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir Hirsch Block 3 - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  Clear garnet in color with spices and cherries on the nose and throughout the palate. Very primary red fruits with discernible acidity. It went well with the food. The winemaker indicated that the wines from this block would be called "Mount Eden" in future releases. 150 cases produced. 14.2% alcohol [~$45; Drink now or very short-term hold] (90 pts.)
  
• 2004 Walter Hansel Winery Pinot Noir North Slope - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  Clear dark garnet with a purple tinge; Recently released; This wine had a slightly spicy, jammy fruit nose with dark fruits and spice on the palate. It had a medium-bodied zinfandel flavor profile rather than Cali RRV Pinot. Many people liked this wine but I could not get over the jammy tastes. However, it did match well with the cheese course. 14.5% alcohol. [~$32; Drink now] (87 pts.)
  

Cheese and Dessert Courses
Parmigiano-Reggiano, Camembert, and Smoked Gouda & Toasted Walnuts and Fresh Fruit then a course of Chocolate Covered Driscoll Strawberries. We continued to drink the Pinots from the previous course with the cheese and dessert.

Mirabelle did a splendid job on the food and service for this highly anticipated and quite well-attended dinner. Thanks to Stephen Hansel for talking about his winery and wines and to Steffan Pelz for making the evening a success.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thank you for the notes. I am a little suprised at the average score of the wines. I have only had one of their Pinots before, but really enjoyed it. Maybe I will be lightly cautious with paying the Hawaii tariff for any of these wines.

For me there was too much prevalent oak and alcohol to warrant higher scores (the wines were at a good serving temp). Parker gave the last Pinot 94-96 points. I was shocked when I saw this. I might be a little harsh so I would be interested in what the other folks at the dinner thought. I even asked my husband what he thought this morning and he concurred.

I think your scores/notes are just about right.

The only wines I'd consider purchasing would be the Cahill chard and the Hirsch Pinot.

The Cuvee Alyce was like lighter fluid and I saved a glass throughout the entire night to see what would happened and nothing (positive) ever did.
I probably would not have served that wine.

The North Slope was more to my liking than yours largely because I like the jammy big-fruit thing. But it was almost zin-like. I also liked the '00 maybe a bit more than you. But neither were great by any stretch.

The wines were good and that is all, really.

I prefer the '04 Domaine Alfred Chamisal I'm drinking now to anything I tasted last night and it was only $24.

It was a really fun evening tho.