TNs--Restarting Humanity Dinner #3 + Wish-for-WineFest Dinner, Kutch Chards, Brunellos, Others

Getting together with close friends and, as Heather puts it, “chosen family” for dinner is always tops. Heather McDougall, Jeff Wong and I met at Peter Pan—the first time since this started that I have gone to a restaurant to eat. Everything was done super-safely and we had great service. My burger was quite good—and I am a strict judge of burger quality!

2014 Kutch Santa Cruz Chard

I had great fun blinding this. On opening, the citrus and grapefruit are really showing on nose and mouth. Heather was convinced it was a beautifully baroque Meursault (her reaction when I told her… “get the f___ out!”). Jeff just said “seductive and delicious”. For the first time with any Cali Chard, I exercised the “methode grammeroise” on this wine—slow-ox the night before and about a 1.5 hour decant. I think it put the wine into a great place. Minerality, a teensy bit of reductive quality which only adds interest but the main aspect is the now-uncoiled energy and structure this showed on this night. This is a style of Chard that isn’t for everyone, but I absolutely adored it and it is in my WOTY list. Probably a 94 or 95, with room still (!) to grow upward. I have 4 bottles of this left (one of which is set aside for whenever I can have WineFest) and I am guarding them like precious children.

2012 Lucien Le Moine NSG Vaucrains

We ended up giving this only a very small decant. All of us are used to seeing oak presence on Le Moine wines, and this one has it too, but it is fully enveloped into a very sexy spiced nose, with bits of nutmeg and sandalwood shining through. I think their style fit the 12 vintage very nicely, as this delivers on the palate too with oodles of red and purple fruit, yet with a lovely lifted quality (for me, I have found Vaucrains to be the lightest and freshest of the NSG plots I’ve tried). NSG used to be a no-fly zone for me, but (like my gradual conversion to German Riesling) I am changing my mind about that. Fine showing here.

The next 4 are from a dinner that my good friends Marnie and Brad had me over for, to help commiserate on the scheduled day of WineFest itself. It was a lovely night and I am grateful they offered. I peeled off the 2010 Argiano Brunello Riserva from the WineFest slate to pour.

Exultet Estates Blanc de Noir still wine

This is from Prince Edward County, from a winery I’m not familiar with. Combo of Chard and PN. It does have freshness mixed with a bit of lactic, but didn’t really thrill me. Still, always good to try stuff you haven’t

2016 Kutch Sonoma Coast Chard

This has Jamie’s signature acidity and drive, and it starts out with some tangerine and floral nose and citrus and star fruit dans la bouche. This is good, but not great. I think that’s because my style preference is heavily skewed in favour of Santa Cruz (in general, not just in Jamie’s case) right now for Chard. There is one thing here—Jamie usually advises serving his Chards without a chill on them and I normally am in complete agreement. I think, though, that this particular one may perform best chilled.

2010 Argiano Brunello Riserva

Wow. That’s really all I should say. But I know people want more. The bouquet wakes you right up with intense mix of violets, a sort of sweet cherry, some leather and some plum. I gave this a 3.5 hour decant, and that proved to be very valuable. How many wines create their own atmosphere inside you? This one did. The length and velvety tannins are hard to describe, and so is the quiet intensity. They are matched by just-so spiced red berry and plum fruit and dashes of meat here and there. When I first had this some 7 years ago, I proclaimed that it might one day be my first perfect red wine. It’s not there yet----held back by just the slightest brashness and boldness right now—but it will get to perfection. 98 for now and my slam-dunk WOTY. I have 2 more of these, a fact which makes me very, very happy. Note that this checks in at 15%—and doesn’t really show it that much.

2010 Antinori Pian Della Vigne Brunello

Brad was so nice to open this alongside the Argiano for us to compare. He gave his about a 5 hour decant. We all actually found the aromatics here more engaging, with leather again, earthiness, tart dark berry fruit and a definite balsamic character that grew as the night went on. And to be honest, this was the better brunello with the food—Marnie made a delicious lemon chicken and pasta. With that said, I found it rather lighthearted on the tongue, with fresh cherries and plums being the primary fruit components, and perhaps a bit of a backstop of earth and truffles. What I will say is that this was a great way to see that, with the requisite decant, most 2010s are now in a place where they can definitely be enjoyed in their drinking window.

2018 Comte Lafon Macon-Milly Larmatine

Was visiting Heather at her store to taste her on the Argiano and my good friend Jay Shampur joined us and offered to buy a bottle. Heather pulled this one for us. No decant. Immediate aromatic and palate impressions of banana and coconut, which were really interesting. Papaya later, with Heather picking up some melon. What we noted was the emergence of minerality and complexity with time in the glass. This does have plenty of character and will grow into more in the next 2 years or so.

I also have a fun story to relate. On Friday, at our usual family dinner, we opened a bottle my sis had bought for my birthday. She has a great heart, but no real interest in wine. It was a 2015 Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chard. I have to tell you guys, it didn’t completely suck! OK, there’s no complexity to speak of. But it delivered a fresh grouping of tropical fruit and a nice vanilla component that was far from unpleasant. Credit where credit is due. And Caroline really liked it . That’s commendation enough in iteslf.

Haere Ra,

Mike

Great notes on the Kutch chards. I’m still sitting on some of the 2014 S Cruz versions. How far out do you think they could go? My 2016 Sonoma Coasts are long gone. Had not heard the advice not to chill them. I buy the KJ’s on occasion when they are on sale at Von’s, etc. No crime.

Hi Mike-
I hope you are doing well.
Nice collection of wines and very nice notes.
That 2014 Kutch Chardonnay is magic. I wish I had more. Luck you to be sitting on a few.
Cheers!
Dennis

Mike,

Great notes - and yep, welcome back to humanity indeed! The notes on the Kutch chards sound interesting. A few questions:

1. Did you serve the Santa Cruz chilled or at cellar temperature?
2. What ‘differences’ might have you seen if you just popped and poured that specific wine vs what you did?
3. On the Sonoma Coast and your assessment that it might have been best served colder - why that assessment? Was the acidity not as ‘searing’ as the other chardonnay and others that he produces?

Cheers!

I know what you mean about hoarding the remaining 2014 Kutch chardonnays. I know I should be opening them, but it’s so hard to let go of those. Pure magic.

You guys ask tough questions! James, there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s at least 10 more years in the 2014. When you think it was the first Chardy Jamie ever did, it is truly remarkable.

Larry, I love you man, but…

We served the Santa Cruz at cellar temp (Jamie’s current releases from there are SVD’d Trout Gulch, this was, I think, a 50-50 of Trout and Zayante fruit)

Heather picked up a sort of–in a very pleasant sense–oxidative note on nose and tongue which certainly wasn’t there when I opened and first tasted. For me, I think on opening it was still really coiled tight, and the air “loosened” the wine up some, if that makes sense, but it retained enormous drive and energy.

2016, that’s an almost instinctive comment on my part. The acidity held throughout, but the fruit seemed more vibrant at the cooler temp (which is what we had it when we first poured it). The intensity seemed to fade a little as it warmed up a bit.

I drank up all of mine. They were delicious. But I would be curious to try one, say ten years from now. The style is very lean and I wonder how that would change or affect the wine with age.

Mike

Great noes! I’m on record saying that the '14 Kutch is my favorite domestic Chard, but Jamie has said that his '18 Trout Gulch being released at the end of this month MAY be better!

Yes, I know. I’m getting, um, a few of those

And Dennis, I’m sorry that it doesn’t look great for an Atlanta visit this year

I’m fortunate to still have 5 of those '14 Chards in the cellar. I wasn’t planning to open the next one until it hits its 10th birthday and this helps to reinforce that so Thank You.

Where do you live again? Kudos for the patience you’ve shown, Pat.