Vintage Taste, April 5th 2007

John and I are getting better and better at putting together a dynamic selection to present in the Thursday Night Flight Nights. This week's wines are no exception to our success. This week we featured wines from the Vintage Wine Distributors. Not only were these wines very well accepted, but I have found a few new personal favorites in this tasting. As usual, Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out an impressive spread of chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows, ginger chicken fried won tons, and fresh sage mushroom and roasted zucchini lasagna with ricotta and grand provolone cheese, as well as the standard assorted cheese tray.

We started the taste this week with the Four Vines "Naked" 2005 Chardonnay retailing for $14. This Santa Barbera County wine is from a newer winery and husband/wife wine maker team in the West Coast wine game. They produce nothing but Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Their "Naked" Chardonnay is their expression for Chardonnay containing no oak and undergoing 100% stainless steel fermentation. These California stainless steel Chablis knock-offs have gained a good momentum in the wine industry over the last couple of years. This fantastic Chardonnay exhibits a nose full of pear, grapefruit, and white pepper. Mellow fruit upfront with a floral mid-palate leads to a sharp lush citric finish in this affordable must-have summer wine. Try drinking this with roasted chicken, zucchini, and ricotta cheese sandwiches on grilled focaccia bread.

From Chardonnay, the next natural progression in flavor is Viognier (pronounced Vee-Oh-Nyay). We chose to present the Castle Rock 2005 Viognier (retail $12)for our taste. Viognier is a Rhone grape varietal that had gained popularity in the late nineties. Many Chardonnay drinkers made the shift to this floral varietal that typically carries nice citric fruit flavors and long creamy finishes. Castle Rock (which I continue to call California's best kept secret) has several state of the art wine making facilities across the West Coast and pulls its fruit from several vineyards as well. The Viognier comes from the Lake County AVA in Napa Valley. John and I have yet to find a bad wine coming from Napa's smallest and least understood AVA. Lake County is perfect for Viognier featuring similar red volcanic rock & growing conditions that are comparable to that of France's Rhone Valley. This deep gold slightly greenish hue wine has heavy bubblegum and apricot scents that overpower a more ashy and lilac tone. Nice light citrus fruit tones lead to a soft & gentle spicy finish in this great value wine. Try this wine with roasted sea bass with tomato coulis and fennel salsa. For more information on Castle Rock Winery and the wines they produce check out www.castlerockwinery.com

Our first red was John's choice from Bordeaux. Château Mazeris 2003 (retail $20) comes from the desired Canon Fronsac appelation in Bordeaux. With heavy limestone and sandstone deposits in the vineyards this appellation grows primarily Merlot and Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) varietals. Château Mazeris is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Bouchet in this very small (5000 cases) production wine. The winery has been in the Cornouaud family since 1769 and imported by the J.P.Mouix whose name is associated with high quality wines in the appellation. This deep, ruby colored wine has tones of cherry, blackberry, cocoa, and tar. Only 30% of the wine is put in barrels and blended with the unoaked wine to create bold, dry, and rich fruit leading to a long subtle finish. As a note, the 2003 was a bit tight when we first opened it and I would strongly suggest decanting the wine for at least a half an hour before drinking. Try this wine with veal saute with merlot pan sauce and saffron couscous with fresh peas and chives. For more info on this wine check out the importers website at: Château Mazeris

Next we featured my pick of the taste, Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee 2004 Zinfindel (retail $16). As I mentioned earlier, this wine is made by a husband/wife wine making team. However, John and I had the opportunity to meet the winery's money-man, main promotional force, and zin pimp (as his card stated) Bill Grant last November. This fun winery had an array of fantastic Zinfandel's that they drew from vineyards in Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa and Amador. The Old Vine Cuvee was no exception to the beautifully produced Zinfandel's in their lineup. Aged in small French and American oak barrels this Cuvee offers mocha, cinnamon, black cherry, chocolate, and cigar smoke in the nose. Peppy and bold balanced dark fruit flavors lead to a long silky raspberry finish. Try pairing this Zinfandel with a spicy lamb and chorizo sausage chili. For more information on Four Vines, including a list of restaurant and retailers that sell their wine, (they must not know about us) go to: www.fourvines.com

We ended the taste at the other end of the world with Meerlust 2001 Rubicon retailing for $20. Its rare that I ever rave about a wine from South Africa but this wine is definitely noteworthy. Meerlust Estate is situated 40 km from Cape Town, South Africa, on the banks of the Eerste River in the district of Stellenbosch. Meerlust has been in the Myburgh family since 1757. Hannes Myburgh honed his wine making skills working for the famed wineries Chateau Lafite in France and Von Oetinger in Germany. The Rubicon is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc and offers a nose full of coffee, chocolate, and cherry. Huge bold fruit leads to a dry tannic velvety finish. This wine would do very well in the cellar or feel free to enjoy right now. Try this wine with pan-seared rib-eyed steak with goat cheese, caper, and tomato butter and a side of broccoli florette.Visit the Meerlust website at: www.meerlust.co.za

Thanks again for your continued support of both this blog and the Thursday Night Flight Night. After a recent trip to the Niles public library I decided to start featuring food from cookbooks I pick up. All of todays food selections were from The Flavors of Bon Appétit 2001 from the editors of Bon Appétit. If you are interested in any of the recipes, check your local library or book store for this cookbook. I look forward to seeing you all next week and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.