Nearly sixty people braved the bitter cold to attend last night's tasting of Dusted Valley Winery's portfolio of wines hosted by co-owner Chad Johnson and sponsored by Dusted Valley Winery, Rolling Hills Country Club, The LDF Companies, West Wichita Wine Connection and Central Wine and Spirits. Arriving at 6:30, I was greeted by WWWC treasurer Greg Rowe, paid my $35 dollars, which I saw as an extremely good value, and given a glass of 2009 Boomtown Pinot Gris to start the evening. Casually tasting the wine, I enjoyed the ripe, slightly citrusy, flavors that reminded me of tangerines and grapefruit with a modest finish. I made a mental note to my self to try this wine again with a spinach, peach and walnut salad later this spring. Hint. Hint.
Seven O'clock and the doors to the dining room were opened and we were greeted a beautiful display of white tablecloth with floral centerpieces and carefully arranged glasses consisting of four reds topped by a white wine at the crest of the setting. Here is where a bit of confusion ensued. The placard on the table listed 6 wines that were to be presented. Five from Boomtown and one Dusted Valley Cabernet Franc. The order form from Central Wine and Spirits made things even a bit more confusing listing a total of seven wines including a Dusted Valley Syrah. Julie Canfield WWWC President quickly made an announcement to alleviate the confusion. The White Wine at the crest was the 2008 Boomtown Chardonnay. The first wine on my left was the Boomtown Merlot 2008, followed by the Boomtown Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, then the Dusted Valley Cabernet Franc 2008 and last on my far right the Dusted Valley Tall Tales Syrah 2008.
Confusion aside, I began my tasting while listening to co-owner Chad Johnson speak about how he got in to the Wine industry. Appearing a bit nervous at first he quickly loosened up and gave a great description of each of the wines telling us about where they were sourced, how they were made and which vineyard areas they were from. I was quickly struck by the very delicate nose of the 2008 Boomtown Chardonnay which revealed a very slight hint of pear on the nose. On the palate the wine displayed notes of citrus, hint of lemon and green apple and pear flavors. What surprised me was the level of acidity that seemed to be high for a Chardonnay but balanced nicely with the fruit. I thought the pairing with the house salad was just O.K. I feel from the last two or three tastings that not enough dressing is used to make an honest comparison to the wine and food match. I'm not saying to drown the salad by any means, but I feel slightly more dressing should be poured rather than such a light drizzle.
The first red was one I had great success with while owning Anton's, the 2008 Boomtown Merlot was very good on its own possessing the traditional nose of plum, dusted cocoa powder and a light to medium bodied style of red fruits, plum, and pomegranate. Unfortunately, I found it paired poorly with the Braised beef with root vegetables and mashed potatoes. I have one thing to say about putting mashed potatoes on the menu in a tasting involving reds. The answer is don't! I think this is the second time in the past year we have done a tasting where mashed potatoes were used a side and they just seem too overpower all but the biggest reds and butter-bombed Chardonnays. Note to the chef, feel free to use any other style of potatoes than mashed.
The second red was the Boomtown 2007 Cabernet and possessed the typical notes and flavors found in Cabernets of this price range. The black cherry, cassis, vanilla and red licorice undertones paired slightly better with the braised beef than the Merlot. My favorite of the evening was the Dusted Valley Cabernet Franc. This was the first Cabernet Franc that I've had from the Columbia Valley area. I found the nose to be filled with violets and plums while the palate was mildly spicy with subtle dark fruit nuances; not as in your face as highly extracted Cab Francs from Napa, which I enjoy in their own right. I found the pairing with the braised beef to be outstanding. Looking at their portfolio, it is too bad their Petite Sirah was sold out from the 2008 vintage, it would have also made a great pairing with the meal. The wine I just could not get a proper handle on was the 2008 Tall Tales Dusted Valley Syrah. I can tell my obsession with highly extracted, ripe Syrahs from Australia has come at a price. I did find the Tall Tales to be mildly peppery, with just the slightest hint of spices and a smooth round finish. It also paired well with the Braised Beef but with the mashed potatoes, ugh. One thing about dining at Rolling Hills is their incredibly rich deserts such as the Double Chocolate Layer Cake with which I saved little of the Cabernet Sauvignon to pair with, which I can say was yummy. I feel this was a very good tasting and was glad to have fought off the cold nasty weather to attend. I hope Chad can return with some of his other Dusted Valley portfolio to try with some rich foods but please, lose the mashed potatoes.
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