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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12003
 | | 01/17/2004 5:57 PM |
| “Texas Flood: The Pinot River has Risen.”
Fifteen long, tall Texans braved the fierce Texas weather Friday evening to gather around the campfire known as Il Sole in Dallas to swap tall, Texas tales and drink some Pinot Noir. There was doubt on the faces of these dedicated cowpokes when trailboss WIML read the weather forecast given him by TH291. “Flood Statement National Weather Service Fort Worth TX” read aloud the trailboss, “Trinity River At Dallas. Observed Stage: 31.0 Feet At 0500 PM Friday. Flood Stage: 30 Feet. Forecast: Crest Between 34 And 35 Feet This Evening.” “Hmmph” he scoffed behind his weathered face. “We gotta get this herd through”. All of the dedicate cowpokes, Mr. & Mrs. Su Vino, Mr & Mrs Preferred, Mr & Mrs THE291, MikeM & Linda, BubbaP & Kim, PURPLE,. Bigred_seeker, WineDrinkerOfTexas and TexasWineGuy simply nodded their approval, speaking volumes with their simple gestures.
The herd was rounded up in order and driven down the trail to the corral. The trailboss listed them off as cowboy bigred_seeker drove em past into the corral:
2002 Paringa Semillon-Chardonnay
2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay
1999 Vincent Girardin Mersault Les Charmes
2000 Rex Hill Williamette Valley Pinot Noir
2001 Rex Hill Williamette Valley Pinot Noir
1999 Rochioli Estate Pinot Noir
1999 Evesham Wood Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
2001 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
2001 Loring Wine Company Rancho Ontiveros
2000 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir
1998 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
2000 Albert Morot Beaune-Teurons
1996 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans
The trailboss smiled slightly at that last one as TexasWineGuy slowly closed the gate to the corral. Preferred and WineDrinkerOfTexas gave their seasoned, veteran nod of approval at the new cowpoke as he latched the gate on a job well done.
The herd rounded up the cowpokes had time to sit around the stove in the bunkhouse and eat a fine dinner whipped up by the Il Sole Chef:
Roasted eggplant soup with basil pesto swirl
Seared sea scallop on a bed of butternut squash puree with fried leeks and pancetta vinaigrette
Procuitto wrapped pork tenderloin with gorgonzola polenta and capontina melanzane
Caramelized apple brandy bread pudding
Everything was $50 per person plus tip but including free corkage. Each cowpoke happily paid for the great food and service out of their hard earned wages. And of course, they consumed every last bottle of Pinot Noir! After a satisfying night the cowpokes talked amongst them selves and came to vote upon their favorites for the evening. They were:
1st - 2001 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
2nd - 1998 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
3rd - (tie) - 1996 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans
3rd - (tie) - 2000 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir
So with another drive completed and at the end of a satisfying day of hard, honest work each of the cowpokes headed back through the driving rains and floods to each of their homesteads, happy and satisfied, looking forward to the next time they might meet.
Tasting notes to follow. | |
Joe
-----
Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
| wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12003
| | 01/17/2004 6:04 PM |
| These are my notes and comments for the wines tasted. No formal notes taken. All whie wines were tasted out of Spigelau Authentis WeissWein glasses. All red wines were tasted out of Spiegelau Authentis Ballon Magnum glasses. None of the wines were decanted with the exception of the 2001 Loring Wine Company Rancho Ontiveros that was decanted 1 hour.
2002 Paringa Semillon-Chardonnay (82 WIML)
Light yellow in color. Clear. Nose of citrus, apricot, pear. Flavors of orange peel and peach. Tart and acidic. 82 WIML points. Drink now.
2000 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay (87 WIML)
Clear, yellow color. Nose of apple and pear. Flavors of green apple and sweet melon. Light tannins and slightly tart acidity. 87 WIML points. Drink now.
1999 Vincent Girardin Mersault Les Charmes (89 WIML)
Clear, light yellow color. Nose of vanilla with some scary wet earth notes. Palate was OK though. Flavors of vanilla with a buttery, soft feel. Nicely done. 89 WIML points. Drink over the short term.
2000 Rex Hill Williamette Valley Pinot Noir (87 WIML)
Light ruby color to dusty rose color. Earthy nose, mildly brett. Cherry, strawberry with a bit of white pepper on the finish. Soft tannins. 87 WIML points. Ready to drink.
2001 Rex Hill Williamette Valley Pinot Noir (88 WIML)
Light ruby color. Smoke, cherry and a bit of latex paint. Earthy black cherries with a hint of blueberries on the slightly dirty finish. 88 WIML points. Drink now.
1999 Rochioli Estate Pinot Noir (89-90 WIML)
Light ruby color. Soft, fruity nose with just a little hint of brett. Big, fruity palate of bright cherries, sweet tarts and just a little earth on the finish. Good tannins and acidity. Well balanced. 89-90 WIML points. Drink now through 2006.
1999 Evesham Wood Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir (88 WIML)
Light to medium ruby color. Toasty and floral nose with a little wet earth. Flavors of raspberry, strawberry and a hint of smokiness. Mild tannins and good acidity. 88 WIML points. Ready to go.
2001 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir (91 WIML)
Clear garnet color. Nose of blueberries and tobacco. Flavors of black cherry, pepper and a bit of earth. Very meaty wine. 91 WIML points. Drink over the 4-5 years.
2001 Loring Wine Company Rancho Ontiveros (84 WIML)
Light garnet color. Mild brett on the nose with some odd bacon aromas. Mile blueberry and tart cherry flavors. Thin finish. 84 WIML points. Drink now.
2000 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir (91 WIML)
Not sure if I got the full name of this wine so somebody might need to help me out here. Clear garnet color. Mild brett on the nose. Flavors of black cherry and a little mocha on the finish. Good balance. Nice wine that is enjoyable to drink. 91 WIML points. I’d drink over the short term myself.
1998 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir (90 WIML)
Garnet to purple color. Smoky, tobacco nose with some aromas of morning meadow, plum and white pepper. Flavors of soft cherries, mild pepper and hard candy. Firm tannins and good acidity. This wine could of used about 30 minutes of decanting; no more. 90 WIML points. Drink now with minimal decanting.
2000 Albert Morot Beaune-Teurons (90 WIML)
Garnet color. Soft, supple flavors of strawyberry, cherry, red berries with just a bit of smoke. 91 WIML points. No drinking window.
1996 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans (90 WIML)
Good, clear garnet color. A little bit of a subdued nose. Probably could use some decanting or more time in bottle. Mild cherries with a hint white pepper. Just a little brett in this Burgundy. Good balance of tannins and acidity. 90 WIML points. Could go higher with more time in bottle. I think WS rated this wine around 86-87 points with a drinking window that has already passed. They blew it on this one.
My favorites of the night were:
2001 Siduri Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
2000 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir
2000 Albert Morot Beaune-Teurons
1996 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay Champans
1998 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir | |
Joe
-----
Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13660
| | 01/17/2004 6:22 PM |
| | Sounds like another excellent event. Well-done! | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
| Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
| | 01/17/2004 7:05 PM |
| | It sounds wonderful. Due to the weather last night I'm fairly happy that we didn't try to make it up to Dallas. Maybe next time. | | | |
| wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12003
| | 01/17/2004 7:14 PM |
| winetex, if you would have tried you would have just been washed back down the hill to Houston.  | |
Joe
-----
Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
| Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10573
| | 01/17/2004 7:19 PM |
| The way the water was rising we would not have made it out of Houston. 3 inches fell here from 6 pm last night until this morning. Hopefully ya'll fared better. When in doubt drink some Pinot I always say. | | | |
| wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12003
| | 01/17/2004 7:24 PM |
| | We got hammered with rain last night. Thus the "Texas Flood" reference. Reminds me of Stevie Ray Vaughn's album and video. | |
Joe
-----
Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
| Tom
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2384
| | 01/18/2004 3:13 AM |
| Well Pilgrim, those were some fine notes. And yes, the waters were risin' up here towards the OK border (Denton). Shoulda taken a boat...
Thanks for coordinating the event. The food, the company and atmosphere were great. The weather might have been kinder, but hey, we were inside.
Oh, almost forgot the wine . Very nice wines and some new ones for me. My concern about not having sufficient wine was unfounded but I am only looking out for the wellfair of the group. | | | |
| texaswino
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2184
| | 01/18/2004 3:15 AM |
| Sounds like agreat event. I wish I could have made it. My wife and I are on the first two weeks of a new diet that does not allow wine until after two weeks.  One more week to go before I can enjoy again. I can't wait. Thanks for the great tasting notes Joe. | | | |
| Tom
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2384
| | 01/18/2004 3:39 AM |
| texaswino.
A diet that does not include wine? I'm starting to get weak kneed.
The next thing you'll tell me is that both bread and cheese are out too huh!? | | | |
| Wineaux
New Orleans, LA
Barrel Filler
Posts:1413
| | 01/18/2004 5:08 AM |
| | Good Pinots? Yes. Heavy rain in New Orleans? Yes. Houston? Yes. Dallas? Naahh. SRV: God rest his soul. | | | |
| Dr_Tannin
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2498
| | 01/18/2004 4:34 PM |
| Nicely done, WIML.
Braving the elements for the holy grail. Almost biblical. | | | |
| texaswino
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2184
| | 01/18/2004 5:15 PM |
| wdot,
no bread but cheese is allowed. (South Beach Diet) | | | |
| Tom
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2384
| | 01/19/2004 1:33 PM |
| Thanks. But what good is cheese without either bread or wine???
How do you make a grilled cheese sans the bread? Might get messy you know.
Cheese and what, water?
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