:::.. DECANTchicago ..:::

Downton Abbey in Tasting Notes: #1

“Dowager Countess of Grantham” was my tasting note for the 2007 Les Angles 1er Cru Volnay from Dme Lucien Boillot.

Aging yet ageless, lifted elegance and loads of spice.

2012 #Zinfest: Zinfandel Grand Tasting, San Francisco

2012 ZAP Zinfandel Festival. January 28, 2012. San Francisco, California.

There is no better way to spend a Saturday morning than tasting wine, so why not go to the biggest Zinfandel tasting in one of the most beautiful cities in the world? The 2012 ZAP (Zinfandel Advocate & Producers) Grand Tasting was incredible and full of flavor. The Concourse was packed but luckily there was plenty of time to mosey around, taste, and talk before the flood of ticket holders came through.

There were hundreds of producers here from around California (including one from South Africa!), both big and small. My advice when coming to a huge exhibition like this is simple: skip the big names and try at least ten wines from appellations and producers you are the least knowledgeable. Then go and try the ‘classic’ houses or well known estates, and leave out the big-box store brands entirely.

There was a lot to taste, but at this tasting I was to focus mostly on the Zinfandel of Mendocino and Lake counties.

I found that the Zinfandels from Mendocino County all had one thing in common: lighter body and mouthfeel. This was in most cases accompanied by more pronounced acid and lots of berry spice/pepper. The alcohol levels in all the wines were well above 14%ABV, but I think the presence of acid and smoothness of tannins kept everything well integrated. Stand-outs from the lineup included Edmeades 2007 Perli Vineyard blend from Mendocino Ridge. This was 79% Zinfandel, 13% Merlot finished with Syrah and was the biggest and most intense of all the Mendocino wines I tasted. Very spicy, with compote-like flavors of cherry and bramble fruit. But most were more similar to the Carol Shelton ‘Wild Things’ old vine Zinfandel, with a lightness of fruit, sweet nuttiness, savory herbs, black pepper, and certainly dry finish. This was the case too at Dogwood Cellars, where both the 2007 Mendocino and the Sargentinni Vineyard 2010 barrel sample showed savory sage and spice, black and blue fruit, vanilla and assertive tannin. The spiciest and classic of all came from the McNab’s 2009 Cononiah Vineyard, from 30 year old 100% zinfandel vines.
    Lake County, being only one county over to the east, proved to be fuller in body and a bit more intense, however I found much more earthiness in these wines. From Shannon Ridge’s Ranch Collection, the 2009 Wrangler Red had a higher sense of alcohol than the Mendocino wines, but with the alcohol comes sweeter fruit, full body, and lots of baked blue and red fruits. The tannin was higher but velvety, and there was a sense of rocky earth. The 2009 Lake County was similarly warming and full, with higher toned fruit flavors of red licorice and raspberry. From Steele I found wines that had a bit of attitude and an essence of farmers making drinkable wines. The 2008 Writer’s Block was by far the earthiest, hints of hay and barn doors, black tea, red fruit, and spice. The Catfish, a field blend from vines over 100 years old, was deeply concentrated, jammy, and volcanic.
    Both of these counties showed wonderful expressions of Zinfandel, with Mendocino showing a style much different from the rest of California. I think that the acidity of Mendocino, the result from high elevations, well draining soils, and huge diurnal swings, makes it the most food-friendly, with the elegance and lift necessary to be drinkable without feeling weighted down. The Lake County wines had an intensity of fruit but a country wine earthiness. And while Lake County and Mendocino may not have the glitz and glamour of hugely well known estates in the more southernly appellations, these wines had a definite connection to the land and the people involved in the process.

Tasted
Mendocino:

• McNab Cononian Vineyard Reserve, 2009 (100% Zinfandel)
• McNab Zinister Rerserve, 2009 (85% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah)
• McNab Ridge, 2009 (Zinfandel, Petite Sirah)
• Edmeades Mendocino, 2009
• Edmeades Perli Vineyard, 2007 (79% Zinfandel, 13% Merlot, 8% Syrah)
• Edmeades Shamrock Vineyard, 2009
• Carol Shelton Wild Thing Old Vines 2008
• Dogwood Cellars Mendocino, 2007
• Dogwood Cellars Sargentinni Vineyard, 2010 (barrel sample- 85% Zinfandel, 15% Carignan)

Lake County:

• Shannon Ridge Ranch Collection, Lake County, 2009
• Shannon Ridge Ranch Collection, Wrangler Red Blend, 2008
• Steele Writer’s Block, 2008
• Steele Catfish blend, 2009

— Other Regions: —

• 2009 Turley ‘Hayne Vineyard’ barrel sample: Opulant, mouthfilling fruit, bright and balanced with huge power. From the historic and very old vines of Hayne Vineyard in Saint Helena, Napa.
• 2009 Ridge Lytton Springs Carmichael Ranch. Sweet, plush red fruit with purple flowers and chocolate. Silky smooth with moderate acid. Alexander Valley, Sonoma. 96% Zin.
• 2009 Ridge Lytton Springs Lytton Estate. Big red fruit and spice with a medium body. Well integrated alcohol, wood, and tannin, with a good grip on the finish. From 109 year old vines in Dry Creek. 71% Zin.
• 2010 Ridge Vineyards, Paso Robles (Barrel Sample). This guy was fruit forward and juicy, with bright cherry flavors ranging from sour to pie. Super smooth.
• Chateau Montelena’s 2009 Estate Zinfandel was the winner in my book for the day. I thought it was the most balanced in terms of power, fruit, and earth. Classic Napa Valley.

I tasted many, many more (including the wonderful and classic Mayacamas Range from Storybook Mountain, but after tasting dozens of wines over 14%ABV, I wasn’t keeping up with my tasting notebook.

Cheers!

[LINK] A Tasting of Hipster Wines [Dr. Vino]

Congratulations to Paul McGee, barkeep extraordinaire.

I have to say, I am SO excited for Paul McGee’s new venture with Lettuce Entertain You, and equally as stoked for the continued evolution of the Whistler under the capable hands of owners Rob Brenner and Billy Helmkamp (and bartender Eric Henry)!

The truth is, Chicago changed 3 1/2 years ago when the Whistler opened its doors on a desolated stretch of Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square, when there was no where but Lula Cafe, The Whirlaway, and The Burlington to imbibe. And that was just on beer and mixed drinks, really. You could hit the Violet Hour if you were willing to take the CTA a few stops in the dead of winter, but at $12/cocktail, it was an investment.

If it wasn’t for the relentless three-year struggle of Rob Brenner and Billy Helmkamp to get the Milwaukee Avenue liquor license moratorium lifted, we never would have had the emergence of a true, late night cocktail scene in the Square. Without the popularity of the affordable, well crafted cocktails created by Paul, Logan Square certainly would not have evolved into what it is today, at least not for another few years. I lived on that block, and I watched it change within months under the influence of The Whistler. There have been competitors and impostors, but none to match the caliber of the Boys Behind the Bar.

The combination of the bar and Paul’s prowess behind it had a direct influence in my own appreciation and love of spirits and cocktails, and definitly motivated me to go further with my own career in this industry. Paul McGee doesn’t simply make a cocktail, he teaches about the ingredients and the history of its uses. He leads classes on the dynamics of flavor building. He lets you sample sips of liquors he’s excited about. Paul is a teacher and he has one lesson for us all: drink better.

Paul McGee is a true innovator, an invaluable educator, and flavor savant.
Best of Luck to him, Lettuce Entertain You and the Melman Bros, and The Whistler’s continued success evolving the neighborhood of Logan Square!

Cheers from some of us happy patrons (from 2009). So many memories and photos from the Whistler, all because of Paul McGee. Memories!

Dinner at Moto in One Word: Whoa.

My New Year gift from my wonderful boyfriend Evan was dinner at Moto, the well known avant-garde restaurant/laboratory in Chicago’s West Loop/Meat Packing district.

I can’t really begin to emphasize enough what an amazing experience this was, full of “I have no idea what this is going to taste like” to “this dish is like The Jetsons” exclamations. Moto provided the most mind-bending and playful dinner I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

(Please excuse the poor quality phone photos. I didn’t want to be “that guy” and take photos of the food, so I didn’t bring a DSLR. However, some dishes were so phenomenal I had to take a shot.)

(This was a version of shrimp cocktail, and what remains is the tail sitting in a citrus emulsion, with torn bits of the edible cocktail-sauce flavored menu.)

When it comes to the food, it wasn’t all style- there was serious substance, flavor, and quality to each bite. There was nothing that I did not like (though I will say, these guys know how to salt a dish!), and the progression of flavor in each singular dish was extraordinary. For example, the Nose-To-Tail was a pork-six-ways dish, starting with a succulent piece of sweet pineapple ham, then soft pork belly, then a flavor explosion of crispy, crunchy, salty shredded pig ears. Whoa, climax. Then, it softened again, with a confit of coconut pork shoulder, followed by a textural awakening with crispy pig skin, then a lean, delicate finish of pork loin in a sake sauce. I loved that it wasn’t a straight build up to texture, body, or temperature, but was more like a rollercoaster. Up, down, up again. I found many of their dishes did that with temperature as well, with cold, smoky sorbets or nitrogen frozen elements that played so well with the hot main item like quail breast or Cuban ham. It was all very yin-yang and balanced, but always kept us guessing and yearning for more.

The desserts (of which there were five) were all incredible as well, with the ACME Bomb finale (chocolate ball with a marshmallow wick which was lit, then when it fizzled out, i popped it into my mouth where it exploded with sweet deliciousness).

This is absolutely stunning art-as-food that is ahead of its time. No wonder these chefs give TEDtalks. 

The infamous ‘Cuban Cigars’ sandwiches at Moto, smoking in a nitrogen-frozen haze of black and white sesame seed ash. Behind, a candle is lit but will serve as a rosemary-infused emulsion to be poured on my Beef Bourguignon a few courses later.

(The further into the pairing progressions, the more abstract both my thoughts and my handwriting became.)

My favourite pairings included:

• Dr Pauly ‘08 Bernkasteler Badstube kabinett with the crispy pig ears portion of the ‘Nose to Tail’ pork-six-ways dish. A perfect combination of salty and sweet.
• Billecart-Salmon reserve Champagne with the ‘Black and White’, which included crispy leeks and celery root puree infused with salty squid ink with scallops.
• Dme Anne Gros & Jean Tollot ‘Les Fontanilles’ Minervois with foraged mushrooms, salsify chips, and earthy vegetables.
• Saintsbury ‘Brown Ranch’ Carneros Pinot Noir with quail breast poached in butter with smoked apple sorbet.
• La Spinetta Biancospino Moscato d’Asti with the ‘egg drop soup’ (which was a sweet dessert with encapsulated mango).

Seriously. Go to Moto. Now. Spend the money. It is an incredible experience with the most wonderfully skilled, knowledgeable team of sommelier-captains I have ever met (outside of maybe Charlie Trotter).

We even got a chance at the end of the three-and-a-half-hour dinner to explore the downstairs lab and kitchen, which was as pristine and mysterious as the food itself.

Words aren’t enough to describe the experience. We were blown away. And I learned a very valuable lesson: always play with your food.