Anyway, Thanksgiving has just passed. My parents had the feast to end all feasts at their house. 29 people altogether, a 36.5 pound turkey that looked more like a suckling pig than a bird, and more wine than the assembled guests could possibly have consumed. I know I tasted a lot of wines, but for the sake of brevity I'm just going to talk about the ones that really stood out.
Among the whites, the first thing I drank was the 2008 Jelu Torrontes. I was super-stoked that I liked this wine as much as I remembered liking it, because I hadn't actually tasted it in a while, and it was one of the #1 recommendations in the store. We sold over 5 cases in the couple of days leading up to Thanksgiving, and I really hope everybody enjoyed the pairing as much as I did. It was everything I remembered; beautiful aromatics, the palate full of rich fruit and citrus, and cleansing acidity. I didn't drink a whole lot of whites overall, since there was so much good Pinot Noir all over the place, but the one other that really stood out was an 2006 Dönnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese, which was AWESOME. If you've read my last blog post, you know how I feel about Riesling. I had this one with a slice of pecan pie and it was so good I almost passed out. True, it could have been the effects of the turkey, or all the wine I'd had up to that point, but either way, it worked fantastically with dessert. I'm actually a big fan of spätlese wines with desserts because they're not super-sweet, so rather than having a wine and dessert that are competing for who can be the sweetest, the wine lets the pie lead the sweetness parade, and the acidity of the Riesling comes behind, leaving your palate cleansed and refreshed.
Also, I had a bit of 2007 Cuné Rioja Rosado which once again confirmed my opinion that dry rosé is AWESOME! Seriously, if you're one of the folks who still thinks that just because it's pink it must taste like Beringer White Zin, please please please try a dry rosé. It will change your world.
So on to the reds. It should be no surprise that the table was a veritable sea of Pinot Noir, although contrary to the way the table often looks at my dad's house, not all of it was French. 2004 Stephen Ross Stone Corral Vineyard Pinot Noir was unmistakably American in style, full of rich, sweet fruit, cola, and clove. 1997 Paul Hobbs PN was definitely one of the oddest wines of the night. It showed a lot of new world fruit, but also had this crazy intense Chinese spice and ginger action on the nose. We also had a bottle of 2007 Ocio PN from Cono Sur. I was particularly interested in this wine because, as anybody who's asked me for an inexpensive Pinot Noir can tell you, I freaking love the entry level Pinot from this producer. As a matter of fact, I've found literally every wine I've had from them to be a great value in it's price category. The regular Cono Sur Pinot Noir retails for $9.49 and is genuinely the best cheap Pinot I've ever had. At $48 retail, the Ocio definitely isn't in quite the bargain category of the basic version, and it's got some stiff competition from California and Oregon from wineries like Ken Wright, Etude, Flowers, and Cristom, and the Ocio can definitely hold it's own with the big boys. It's a rich, silky style full of lush baked cherries and rose petals. I liked it.
Now, despite being the official standard-bearer for domestic wines in the store and in my family, I have to admit that two of my favorite wines for the evening were in fact Burgundy. First was one that I've had a love affair with since the first time I tried it; the 2005 Marechal Bourgogne Cuvee Gravel. This was far and away my favorite basic Bourgogne of 2005. It was every bit as delicious as it has been previously; juicy cherry cobbler fruit with fantastically balanced minerality and acidity. And last but not least, the wine of the evening, the 2001 Michel Magnien Chambolle Musigny Gruencheres. This was truly an incredible wine. I've spoken highly of a lot of wines up to this point, but this Magnien made them all look clumsy. The wine was so elegant and so perfectly balanced I actually stopped in the middle of a conversation and stared at my glass after I first tasted it. The acidity was incredible, and yet the wine didn't seem remotely tart, just mouthwatering and lush, with a finish that just wouldn't quit. 3 awesomes doesn't even seem adequate to describe this wine.
That's about all I've got for now.
I'll try not to leave so much time between posts next time.
I mean, it's not like I stopped drinking or anything.
