Tuesday April 12, 2011 and it is Wine Fest week. Typically, W.W.W.C. attendance is down a bit with many of our members involved in the Mid-West Wine Fest but this night we still had around 62 people attending. After handing over the reigns of the store to Jeff in January, I also had to resign my self to "letting go of the wine pairing reigns," in terms of wine selection for the W.W.W.C. After all, it is only natural for Jeff to bring his input and knowledge to the W.W.W.C.; to successfully market what wines the club would enjoy and what wines would provide for good sales as the sponsor. Alas, I loved picking the wine selections out for the W.W.W.C. and that may be the one task in the business I may miss the most. That being said, my excitement was also focused on several of the events leading up to Saturday's Grand Tasting, so my notes on this event will focus mainly on the wines. This night's theme was Pinot Noir and after paying my fee, I was treated to a glass of Ferrari-Carano Sonoma County Fume Blanc 2009. On the nose it was light and had aromas of citrus with a whiff of fresh-cut grass, on the palate it had nice flavors of Grapefruit and Tangerine flavors which did fade a little on the backside with a final hint of Nectarine. As always, the Culinary staff at Rolling Hills always continues to impress me and this night will go down as an exemplary effort. The roasted salmon with blueberry pomegranate glaze on the bed of garden rice was simply outstanding. Not only was the fish cooked perfectly, but the bed of rice was also, not an easy feat for 64 people. The first Pinot was the 2009 Sean Minor 4 Bears Pinot Noir. With the 2007 being a smash hit at Anton's and the 2008 virtually selling out in 60 days, I was curious to see how the 2009 was going to perform. On the noes it was kind of rustic with hints of light cherry and a subtle hint of rhubarb on the palate a bit of tart cherry and slight hint of strawberry lead to a slightly tannic finish. Compared with the 2007 and 2008 it was just O.K. Next was the 2008 Kim Crawford Marlborough New Zealand Pinot Noir and the first thing I caught was the slightly medicinal nose which immediately told me there could be a problem with this wine. On the palate was the distinctive flavor of strawberry, sage and cola nut coming off a bit muted and a short flat finish. I thought our table got a bad bottle until the votes came in at the end of the night. Kim Crawford received an "honorable mention" which is our polite way of saying here at the W.W.W.C. it came in last or next to last. I've have always been intrigued by the wines of Copain Vineyards. Wells Guthrie has pushed the forefront in selective single vineyard vinification and releases. One can easily believe that he must use wild yeasts in his bottlings as he strives to get the most out of the differing micro-climates in Anderson Valley terroir. I found the nose on this wine to be fresh and lively with hints of cherry and rhubarb on the palate and a quintessential complement to the salmon as to which it paired elegantly. Finally we came to the 90 Point Wine Spectator Best Buy 2008 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Always a great wine to sell at my store, after hand selling a bottle to the consumer they almost inevitably come back for more. A great Willamette Pinot nose here with its bright cherry and slight hint of raspberry and cola nut bearing down on the palate with it's smooth tannins and long great finish in terms of varietal style, I most appreciated this wine for the overall effect on the food and how it stood alone. Oregon had a stellar year with the 2008 Pinot Noir grape and as most wines have been released and sold out, there will probably be a few still floating around in local stores but you will have to look around a bit to find them.
For dessert we had a strawberry rhubarb pie for which I saved a little of the Copain and Adelsheim to try with. I thought the Copain went very well with the dessert, but found the Adelsheim too be a little too husky with the pie, but I still was not disappointed.
As a retailer, one criteria I have always insisted upon is that there are plenty of wines available for our W.W.W.C. members to purchase. So I always had to stick to my guns insuring there was a suitable amount of wine in the warehouse of the vintage tasted and letting the membership know when quantities were limited. Having been extremely impressed with the Adelsheim 2008 Pinot Noir, I set about ordering 6 bottles and 4 bottles of the Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc. When I went to pick up my order, the Ferrari-Carano was sold out, no big deal I'd wait for more as I'm sure the vintage would still be current, but when I got home with the Adelsheim and examined my bottles, I was disappointed to find they were 2009, an untried wine. Being sensitive that Jeff is probably still new to the subtle nuances of how to raid the warehouse and pick the cherries when it comes to wine, I simply ask that in the future have the sales rep for the wines being offered do a vintage check on the inventory to insure that when the customers orders are filled they receive the correct vintage. That being said, this was still an extremely well done tasting.
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