It’s that time of year and this is a show stopping flight you don’t want to miss. We have selected four premium reds knock your socks off. The flight this year is $25 per person and includes a pour of four select wines and then some amazing hors d'oeuvres brought to us again this year from our friends at The Art of Entertaining. Like last year the flight was picked to be four red wines poured lightest to fullest in body. We will also have one white wine and one sweet wine that can be substituted for one of the red wines on the flight. Premier Cru Burgundy, Barolo, a mind blowing Malbec and a historic critically acclaimed Napa Cabernet Sauvignon!
Featured Wines:
1) Domaine Follin-Arbelet Aloxe-Corton “Les Vercots” 1er Cru 2015
Burgundy, France; $89.99
Frank Follin-Arbelet took over this estate from his father-in-law who retired in 1993. Franck and wife Christine now produce one village wine, four premier crus, and four grand crus from there hometown of Aloxe-Corton. This Pinot Noir comes from the Les Vercots a Premier Cru in the western edge of Aloxe-Corton north of Beaune.
Their wines are all aged in partially new small French oak barrels for a full year and then transferred to large neutral barrels for up to another year before being bottled. This adds some depth while also softening and rounding out the wine. The result is beautiful, with lots of ripe wild berries, dense cherry and plum. The floral depth shows through the finish balanced with some delicate spices.
2) Ceretto Barolo 2012
Piedmont, Italy; $69.99
From the late 1800s to the 1930s Riccardo Ceretto worked to establish Caretto Casa Vinicola in Alba. He was able to pass this achievement on to his sons Bruno and Marcello who decided to expand the property and after careful selection acquired some amazing vineyards in the Langhe and Roero, including some of the best crus of Barolo and Barbaresco. The 80s saw the addition of an old farmstead in the outskirts of Alba, the estate Monsordo Bernardina which has become the new headquarters and it is from this property they produce the Barolo we are sampling. The estate has mainly moved on to the third generation of siblings Lisa, Roberta, Alessandro and Federico and as of 2015 is officially entirely organically certified.
“...The wine is redolent of pressed flowers, cassis, dried raspberry and grilled herb. Lighter, more vertical aromas of cola, smoke, campfire ash, dried ginger and toasted anise seed lift gently from the back. The mouthfeel boasts savory, ripe fruit and offers a distant note of succulent sweetness.” 92pts Robert Parker
3) Vina Cobos Malbec 2013
Mendoza, Argentina; $224.99
So this wine has to start with the winemaker Paul Hobbs. He started in 1977 working the harvest at Robert Mondavi. Going on to working for Mondavi and Opus One for seven years, and then six years as the winemaker at Simi before starting his own. He has become one of the most influential winemakers in the world, now employed as a consultant at an incredible number of properties around the world. He now owns his own winery in California, but has focused much of his time in Argentina after his first trip in 1988. Vina Cobos is the pinnacle of his work in Argentina and the Malbec is considered his “Flagship” wine of sorts.
This comes from the Marchiori Vineyard in Lujan de Cuyo. They are selected from a single block that is made up of at least 80 year old vines. The grapes are all hand harvest, crushed and soaked for a week for starting fermentation. It is an extremely long maceration lasting over a month. Aged 17 months in new Taransaud French oak. Aromas and flavors of cassis, juicy red plums, and blamble berries with hints of cardamom and tobacco. Lush and divine Malbec.
4) Heitz “Martha's Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Napa Valley, California; $299.99 750mL / $599.99 1.5L
Founded by Joe and Alice Heitz in 1961. The first vintage of Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was released in 1966 and was the first vineyard-designated Cabernet in Napa Valley. This Oakville vineyard has produced some of the most acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. One of the things that makes this wine so different is the aging process. It sees one year in neutral large oak tanks, followed by three years in all new Limousin French oak, and then cellared in bottle for minimum of a year before being released. It is meant to age, and this big, bold vintage would cellar well beyond 2025.
I really don't know where to begin on the tasting notes for this one. The fruit hits you up front, but the depth in this wine is found in a long list of secondary flavors. Tobacco, coconut, sage, mint, licorice, olives, basil… By far my favorite thing about this wine is the influence that the eucalyptus trees planted around the vineyard have on the wine. It is an iconic note that you can find in this area and specifically this vineyard site… Please just enjoy this wine.
- Optional Substitutions -
Hess “The Lioness” Chardonnay 2017
Napa Valley, California; $64.99
Donald Hess founded the winery in 1978. He retired in 2017 and officially handed the reigns to his daughter Sabrina and son-in-law Timothy Persson. The Lioness made her debut in 2015 to go alongside their icon “The Lion” Cabernet Sauvignon. These are now the pinnacle red and white that the Hess family produces. The Chardonnay is all barrel fermented and aged a year and a half in all French oak. Produced from a blend of estate grown vineyards throughout Napa. It is big, rich and creamy.
“...scents of mangoes, pineapple tart, peach cobbler and acacia honey with nuances of lime blossoms, spice cake and toasted almonds. Big, concentrated and sporting tons of exotic fruit and savory/nutty layers, the creamy texture is beautifully offset by a wicked backbone of freshness and a fantastically long finish. Yum!” 94pts Robert Parker
Graham's 30 Year Tawny Port
Porto, Portugal; $139.99
Next year will mark 200 years in business for this independent family run winery. They were the first Port producer to invest in their own vineyards in the Douro Valley in 1890. Now run by five cousins of the Symington family when they purchased W & J Graham & Co in 1970. On aged Tawny ports the years signifies the average age of the port barrels that were used to blend the bottling, and in the world of premium aged Tawny ports I think 30 years is the peak of balance. The 30 year shows incredible depth of dried fruit with some unique citrus and caramel flavors. Floral notes still shine as well. Like the most delicious caramel you could ever…. Drink.