What We Drank (6/1/09)

For this week's edition of What We Drank, 5 of those who contribute to LENNDEVOURS chimed in with entries, some local, some not.

From Bryan Callandrelli: Channing Daughters Winery 2007 Tocai Friulano

Still bitter from missing the TasteCamp visit to Channing Daughters, I opened a gifted bottle of Channing Daughters Winery 2007 Tocai Friulano to ease the pain. I've been known to buy any Friulian red I can find at a wine store, but not so much the whites. They are too easy to find, and for this treasure hunter, I need to feel like I bought the most interesting wine in the store, Since Channing Daughters seems to have the "interesting" varietal market cornered in New York, I chose this bottle for this week's post.

It's beautiful pale golden color and concentrated aromas of grapefruit, pineapple and spice made this an incredibly appetizing white wine. For a wine with such bright acidity, its full-bodied mouthfeel came as a surprise. This wine was a welcome departure from the rieslings and unoaked chardonnays that keep making their way into my glass. With its long satisfying finish, this white can be savored as a sipper or as a versatile food pairing choice. I've gotten over skipping Sunday at Tastecamp. For now that is.

From Evan Dawson: Chehalem 2005 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Reserve

If you asked five different New York state winemakers whether this state ought to be making pinot noir, you're likely to get five very different responses. Some say yes without reservation; others say yes with a caveat; still others think it's a fool's errand. But I think they'd all agree on this: Chehalem is making the kind of pinot noir that we ought to emulate.

 

Perhaps "emulate" is the wrong word -- each region has its own qualities, of course. But these days the pinot noir coming from the west coast tends to be dark as an eight-ball with more wood than a treehouse convention. There are gorgeous exceptions, and this wine is one of them. It smells like someone opened their spice rack and dumped the assortment onto a flower garden. The fruit is vibrant and uninhibited by oak. In other words, I really dug it, and I suspect the more thoughtful winemakers in New York state will dig it -- and perhaps make something a lot like it -- too.

From Melissa Dobson: Sheldrake Point Vineyard 2008 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine

After Sheldrake Point's riesling vertical tasting, winemaker David Breeden took a small group of us into the  barrel and tank room to preview 2008s. The final wine he poured for us was his 2008 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine and Rich and I brought the rest of the bottle home to enjoy after dinner last night.

This is the first ice wine we have tasted made from the cabernet franc grape. It is a true ice wine in that it was hand-harvested at dawn from frozen grapes. On the nose we noticed lush strawberry and a hint of honey. Strawberry also dominates on the back palate with a lingering, elegant finish. At 18% RS, it is well-balanced and satisfying.

From Jason Feulner: Mateus 2007 Rose

For the first time, I had the opportunity to drink a Mateus rose from Portugal at my aunt's house in Boston. From what I've heard these wines were popular amongst college kids in the 1970s for their funky bottles, many of which were transformed into dripping candles after consumption. I did find the bottle to be quite recognizable despite the fact that I had never had the wine before!

While not a complex wine, I found the Mateus to be very drinkable and enjoyable on a warm and muggy evening. The wine had a hint of fruit, mostly cherry and plum, but most importantly provided a cool, smooth taste. While I wouldn't go out of my way to drink this again, I think it might be a viable option for entertaining mixed company on a hot day.

From Lenn Thompson: Cornerstone Cellars 2004 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Yes, a Napa cab. I joke about them quite a bit, but I can admit that it's stupid to make broad generalizations about any wine or region. I still don't know what you eat with a wine like this, but I can appreciate it on an intellectual level. This is a big, hulking wine that, even after 24 hours in my decanter, was hefty.

But if you are looking for that sugary-sweet fruity style of Napa cab, look elsewhere. There is a lot of dark fruit deep at its core, but (at least at this point) aromas and flavors of leather, anise, clove and sage are more prominent. The thing I liked the best though, is this graphite-minerally flavor that runs from start to finish. I hear that's common in "mountain fruit" but I don't have much experience tasting these wines.

Comments

[Craig Camp]

I think you nailed it on the "graphite-mineraly" description. That's from that red, iron rich soil on Howell Mountain. I think this wine needs 2 to 3 more years to really open up.