2001 Campion Pinot Noir Firebeak Vineyard

This California Pinot from the Edna Valley is a recommendation from our friend Coleman at the Wine Thief, who occationally helps us out at BONDA. On the nose it is super candied raspberry with hints of oak. On the tongue, mild tannins support ripe red berries and woodland floor. A nice Cali Pinot, a bit on the fruity side and on the high tip: $56 on the shelf. I prefer drinking the Kynsi (from the Edna Valley as well) at $38.

BUT the Campion is a single vineyard wine and a 2001 - which was an awesome year in that region. The Kynsi is a 2004 - but is drinking supreme. I could only imagine what the Campion tasted like at 3 years, or 4, as it could use some more time in the bottle to mellow out the high notes.

But I like my Pinots basey anyway. The only other 2001s I have are from Oregon, which I think was a good year as well. I will have to get to them soon!

10.25 2005 Nickel and Nickel Truchard Vineyard

I ordered this by mistake. It sounded familiar and it is the same bottle we had in Nantucket over the summer and on our last trip. It is still a very delish Chard but might be better when it is served to me in the basement of the Boarding House. I made a nice piece of cod with wild brown rice and peas. The peas were not a good match as they were too earthy for the wine, but the lemon on the cod hit the high notes and the wild rice gripped the tannins.

2005 Nickel and Nickel Searby Vineyard Chardonnay

For those of you who know, I love the 2005 N&N Truchard Vineyard. So I ordered a couple of sample bottles from our distributor. Very disappointed with the Searby Vineyard. Bottle description gives it floral aromas with flavors of Muscat and passion fruit. This is true. Also sweet oak and fruit follow through. This is truw as well. I just don't like it.

2005 Bridge Lane Lieb Rose

With the delicious discovery of the 2005 Chardonnay, I decided to open the Rose I got the same year from Lieb. I should have drunk it the year we bought it becasue it turned to strawberry juice. It wasn't undrinkable, with scents of sweet sweet berries, mangos and banana peel - but it was juice, not wine.

10.16 TNS 2005 Rhone Tasting

Looking at my last posts, all you would think I drink are Itals! There was a monthly tradition started by the Fountainhead guys and their friends about seven or eight years back called TNS - Tuesday Night Sappers. Jamie and I joined about 5 years ago and hosted at BONDA - cooking up sausages that Mark would get from Philly, broccoli rabe, peppers and onions, etc... Good grub and fantastic wines. About 10 - 15 of us, all into wine or in the industry.

Last Tuesday was the first TNS in a little over a year and we featured 2005 Chateaunuf-de-Papes and Southern Rhones. About 12 people showed, with four or five newbies as most of the old timers dropped out at the last minute. Mark organized it in Fat Cat Joe - the coffee house adjacent to the Fat Cat Pizza Pie company - since Jamie was busy and didn't want to attend, plus I did not want the responsibiliy at the restuarant by myself.

It was a fun crowd, however the wines pretty much all sucked. Unfortunately I cannot find my notes, but I will look for them to add to this post. 11 wines in total - the Vieux de Telegraph, which is always one of my favorites, was corked. Will fill you in on the rest once I find the notes. Hopefully they are not in the wash!

10.20 Two Great Italian Reds at Paci

Well, I didn't take notes and I am sorry. After the Pequot Library event on Friday, Court and I went to Paci for dinner with the Russells and their friends (another couple). I called about 1/2 hour before we got there and ordered a bottle of Binomio, however when I got there, they did not have any left.

I looked at the wine list and ordered a Sagrantino (not Bea) and a blend of Syrah, Cabernet and Sangiovese to start while the red from Montefalco opened up. Everyone at the table was impressed with my choices and I feel I did pretty well considering Paci's mark-ups (expensive) to choose two delish wines priced at $54 and $68.

Uh, I wish I wrote them down, but I can go back, look at the list and make my notes!

2004 Montevertine Pian del Ciampolo

We fell in love with this wine from the 1998 vintage when the distributor was practically giving it away. We bought many cases, but unfortunately had to play catch-up to find the wine again and missed all save the 2004 vintage.

Initially we were disappointed with the wine, but now it is drinking wonderfully - although not as good as the 1998.

This blend of Sangiovese, Canailo and Colorino from Radda in Chianti is a light wine, barely opaque, but packed with flavor. Again, a little austere in the Italian Chianti style, with hints of high note bright berries, dusty forrest floor, mild tannins, with a lingering finish of old vines. I really love this wine, unfortunately this is my last bottle.

We sell the Pian del Ciampolo at BONDA for about $48, but I would probably pay more at another restaurant. We get the 2005 vintage at the end of November, but sadly have to wait until February to taste.

09.29 1993 Fontalloro, 1998 Quintarelli Valpolicella

The 1993 Fontalloro 100% Sangiovese was brought from Kevin's cellar to open New Year's Eve 2006. We did not get around to opening it, and Jamie said that this wine would be complimented by a simple pasta, or piece of meat.

My cooking style is not traditional, as I favor the more exotic, however my wife loves italian dishes and I am constantly looking for simple yet challenging pasta and risotto dishes that fit into her limited diet.

I found a Sunday Gravy recipe in Saveur and thought I should try it out. Two days to make with three types of pork (I omitted the lamb chops as Court and Rebecca do not eat the babies). It turned out pretty good and was a good match for the Super Tuscan - which was awesome.

I countered with a 1998 Quintarelli Valpolicella which was inky, smoky, full bodied and a real winner.

10.21 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

For dinner on Saturday, I made an attempt to create a chicken and dumpling dish from this month's Savour. The recipe called for 5.5 CUPS of butter for the batter, with only 2 cups flour. I thought it must have been a typo, so substituted only 5 tbsp. It worked out OK, but the dumplings didn't fully form and just made the chicken and vegetables thicker. I compared it to a chicken pot pie without the pie!

To compliment an American Classic, I chose a 2004 Cameron Dundee Hills Pinot Noir from Oregon, that I have been saving for a little over a year. This is a wine we have caried at the restaurant for many years (as well as other Cameron wines) and the quanities have steadily declined - thus last year we only had 12 bottles allocated(one for each of us, 1 to drink together, 9 to sell). And we should have waited for this beauty.

Austere is a good description, with minimal fruit, a little char, and notes of oak and pine. Another fantastic wine that was perfect with the meal, and was great on its own.

10.21 2003 Lieb Chardonnay

I am really behind on my updates, so I will go from most recent to a month previous. On Saturday, Kevin and Rebecca came over for dinner. I was running very late, so we cracked a bottle of 2003 Lieb Vineyards Chardonnay from the North Fork of Long Island. A surprisingly very good wine.

Jamie had read about Lieb, and mentioned the winery to me. When Courtenay and I were in Bridgehampton in 2006, we went for a little wine tour of the North Fork and made a point of stopping at Lieb. At the time, I thought the wines were ok, a little flabby with little structure. BUT, when we opened this wine on Saturday, it was fantastic.

Little oak, but full bodied and crisp. Very minerally for a Chard, but it was refreshing, with notes of vanilla, cardamom and pine. I wish I had more bottles, as I only had one left, and I was saving it as a late night go to. Good thing I had it on a fresh palate!

2005 Williams Selyem Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

YES, I am being very selfish tonight. I had a great conference call and a returned NDA today, so I'm feeling pretty good. A friend of mine from college used to work at William Selyem and I always thought they made pretentious, overripe Californian Pinot oak jam - but to give them a chance I signed up for the waiting list. And waited, and waited for two years. I got on it almost three years ago and am pretty happy with their wines. Either my tastes have changed or they are making better Pinots. Granted the first two cycles I could only buy three bottles, then six, and now I think I am up to a full case of different Pinots - only a few from each vineyard site, and none from some of them.

The 2005 WS Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is their entry level with the Sonoma Coast - $45 a pop. The wine is light and boyant - with bright raspberry with a little oak. Some candied strawberry flavors, with an almost pot like whaffs of soil and burning pine straw. Overall a delish wine. I only had five bottles and now I am down to three. I put one away for the five year test and will wait to share the others. It might be too young to drink now, but I am sometimes impatient.

2003 Villa di Geggiano Chianti Classico

This is a bottle we had on the list with the 2000 vintage, as well as the 1998 Riserva. I have not tried this vintage yet, but it is on the winelist nonetheless as we had a couple of extra bottles left over from a party. I brought a bottle up to Nantucket in July to drink with Jamie over the 4th, but we never got to it. I was debating whether or not to open it tonight, but I do not feeling like buying any wine nor stealing a bottle from my father-in-law.

I went to Tutto Sfoglia and bought three cheeses: Piave (a favorite of mine and totally under rated), Toma di something (cow's milk similar in texture to havarti) and an aged Provolone (again gets no respect!).

The Sangioves is slightly musty, full raisin with a little prune - much more fruit forward at first than most Chiantis I have had with zero tannins, almost a marvel for an Italian. I wonder if it might have gotten cooked? It sat in the car for a 5 hour drive and a 3 hour boat ride, then in a 58 degree basement for three months. But so did four other bottles of red that we opened at the end of July that were unaffected.

The Piave is like a soft parmesan with a hint of black truffle - to the wine it brings out the lighter, high notes masking the over ripeness of when it was first opened. The Provolone is rich and tangy, almost chewy - not so great with the Geggiano as it turns the wine a little sour. The Toma is meatier and is the best match for the vino as it balances the rasin/prune with the high raspberry and thyme flavors.

But a good wine shouldn't need cheese to make it drinkable. The 2003 does not resemble the 2000, as that wine took about an hour to really open up and then it was still sparse, almost Spartan fruit with heavy tannins - and tes, it was an awesome wine. I need to open another '03 Geggiano Classico to make a proper judgement. On this bottle, I would give it a two of five glasses.

2005 Nickel and Nickel Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay

We are on Nantucket for the weekend. Last night we popped into The Boarding House, off and on our favorite restaurant on the island. I ordered the belly tuna tartare - yeah, not very original, but it was layered with goat cheese - and a local fluke served with local beets and a walnut aoli. Pretty tasty.

To drink, a bottle of N & N Truchard Vineyard Chard from Carneros. Nickel and Nickel being an off shoot of Far Niente - a brand that I said I would never like - but the sons are surpassing the father with their single vingeyard single varietal wines. This is the second time I tried the Truchard Chard - the first being in July at Boarding House as well. It is $75 on their wine list, I think about $24 wholesale.

It is a surprisingly lightly oaked Cali Chard, slightly grassy and bitter, with bright acidity and an oaky finish. Somewhat spicy for a chard, with starfruit & guava notes, and a super mellow finish. Not what I would drink on a hot day in the summer, but delish nonetheless.

2003 Poggio Trevalle Larcille

A Sangiovese from Morellino di Scansanso, a coastal Tuscan appelation that is superb. I have had three other Morellinos and they have all sucked ass. This wine opens with what Jamie likes to call baby diapers on the nose - plush tannic rich seaside pine trees opening into muted fruit but big bright roasted plum medium tannins that really grip your tongue and say I'm here and Italian!

We bought about five or six cases of this wine on discount for the restaurant and served it by the glass. It has been my go to Italian at home. There is the question: when you are alone, as I am often in drinking red wine since my wife only drinks champagne and white, do you go for something good or something you like or something cheap?

I have a modest cellar, 350 or so bottles, all great wine, some laid down, some to save for something special, but I find myself drinking great one off bottles by myself because I am a selfish prick. I only get a handful of William Seylem Pinots a year - do you think I am going to share my last bottle of 2003 Bucher Vineyard?

Point being, Larchille on the shelf is about $28 or so and I love to share it, but I also drink a fair amount by myself because I will save the other half of the bottle for another night, or cook with it and not feel so bad or feel that I have to finish the bottle. And it is a fantastic wine with pasta or risotto or osso bucco - you name it - I hate to sound stereotypical, but Italian wine goes with Italian food!

2003 Elena Walch Kastelaz Gewurztraminer

Ah, Gewurztraminer, one of my favorite grapes. Court is off on a girl's dinner, her third in as many weeks, leaving me as the primary caregiver for our son. In taking that responsibility, I decided to open something good. I didn't realize I opened something special until I looked at the label.

Sweet honeysuckle on the nose, following with crisp pear on the tongue. Hints of spice, with full-body on the tongue - not super viscous, but pleasant and not cloying. A female winemaker from Alto Adige, in the northern Italian Alps. All of her wines are great, but this Gewurz realy sticks out as a winner.

I started drinking this wine in the 1998 vintage at Pasta Nostra. I think we are on the '05 at the restaurant - although no one ever orders it.

I was going to pick up some cod, but the rain made me run late and I remembered I had some pork and veal in the freezer. I couldn't decide on a recipe, but went with Batali's from the Babbo cookbook - thus the opening the white wine - with a little milk, mirepoux (although I only had onions and garlic), thyme and tomato paste. Still simmering while I enjoy a glass and contemplate opening a red!