Well, so far we have had an excellent group of white wines in the morning session and then a lunch that was superb.  I think next year I’m going to recommend that a nap period be built into the program before the afternoon session!  But since that was not an option we plowed right into the afternoon session of red wines.

Again the session was moderated by Brian Koziol and consisted of vineyard owners, winemakers or others affiliated with the wines.  The panel consisted of:

Buck Milbrandt of Milbrandt Vineyards in Washington
Chris Phelps of Swanson Winery in California
Joseph Carr of Joseph Carr Napa Valley in California
Tom Porter of Porter Family Vineyards in California
Todd Anderson of Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in California

We also tasted the wines of Caroline Ruffie of Chateau Haut Bages Liberal, who was also unable to join us due to flight issues.

Listed below are the wines in the order that we tasted them, along with general comments from the panel and our own tasting notes:

1) 2009 Chateau Ferriere, Margaux, FR – a typically Margaux nose that only hinted at the elegance to come.  Lots of black fruit on the palate which was concentrated and showed sweet tannins.

2) 2009 Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal, Pauillac, FR – peppercorn on the nose with concentrated alcohol vapors.  The fruit was extremely ripe, with earthy notes and slightly harsh tannins which suggest good aging potential.  75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot.

Milbrandt Vineyards is a family owned winery that has been in the farming business for many years but only recently began growing wine grapes.  Their first vintage was in 2006 but have already garnered several 90+ and Best Buy designations from various wine journals.

3) 2010 Milbrandt Vineyards, The Estates Malbec, Wahluke Slope, WA – bright red fruit up front opened to rich earthiness on the finish.  While the earthy tones of malbec were present, this domestic version showed much more bright fruit.  1,000 cases produced and a blend of 88% Malbec, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Merlot.

4) 2010 Milbrandt Vineyards, The Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope, WA – a bit of a lighter styled cabernet, as cooler weather cabernets tend to be, blended with merlot and petit verdot.  Showed some sweet tannins on the finish.

Chris Phelps served as winemaker for a Bordeaux Chateau during the blockbuster 1982 vintage, was invited to join Dmonius Estate in California by Christian Moueix of Chateau Petrus and spent 7 years at Caymus Vineyards before moving to Swanson Vineyards.

5) 2008 Swanson Vineyards Merlot, Oakville, Napa Valley, CA – a bold, firm merlot with black fruit and a solid body.  Good tannins suggest some aging potential.  92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot

6) 2008 Swanson Vineyards “Alexis” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – bright fruit up front with firm tannins throughout.  Easy drinking now but can age easily.  Licorice, black cherry and saddle leather notes of a typical cabernet profile.  86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 % Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot

Joseph Carr doesn’t grow grapes or own a winery but bottles some excellent wines by purchasing quality grapes from various sources.  His rationale is to make something that you want to drink and something that you’d like to have in your cellar.

7) 2010 Joseph Carr Merlot, Napa Valley, CA – lots of dark fruit and mocha notes were somewhat overpowered by gritty tannins up front.  Could be a really good merlot but we think it needs some time to open up.

8) 2009 Joseph Carr, Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley, CA – a simply beautiful cabernet with silk, black fruit, licorice, sweet tannin and a superb balance.  Probably the highlight of the afternoon session.

After retiring to the Sarasota area Tom Porter realized that he was not ready to be retired and decided to purchase a winery.  In 2005 he did just that in Napa Valley when he purchased 20 acres and then constructed a 17,000 square foot underground cave to house the winery!  The Cave Dwellers blend is a salute to this underground facility.

9) 2009 Porter Family Vineyards Cave Dwellers Blend, Napa Valley, CA – a good bit of syrah gives this a lot of red fruit nuances.  Some nice tannins and a faintly port-like nose made this an interesting wine.

10) 2006 Porter Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – classic cabernet with minerality, vanilla and buttery oak and saddle leather on the finish.  85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah and 3% Merlot.

Todd Anderson says that he attends these events to try other wines that he might like in his cellar.

11)  2009 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank Red, Napa Valley, CA – a play on classic right bank Bordeaux, this is a blend of 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot.  Very smooth, nicely balanced with great black fruit.

12) 2009 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – nice cabernet with mocha and dark fruit notes throughout.

Cheers!

On Saturday, January 26 we had the opportunity to once again attend the Sarasota-Manatee Fresh Original’s Forks & Corks University. Forks & Corks University is either a half-day or full-day seminar lead by winemakers, owners or representatives from wineries participating in the Forks & Corks events. Both the half-day and full-day seminar also includes a special lunch prepared by various restaurants who are members of the Sarasota-Manatee Fresh Originals group. As we did last year, we opted to attend the full day seminar. The morning session was “A World of White” and the afternoon session was “Big, Red & Beautiful.”

The moderator for both sessions was Brian Koziol, a Master Sommelier who is the Sales Director for Stacole Fine Wines in Florida. In December, a wine judging competition was held as part of the Forks & Corks event, and I had the privilege of being a judge as was Brian. With a career spanning 19 years in the industry, he was aptly suited for his role as moderator.

The morning session as mentioned above was devoted to white wines, and we sampled a range of wines from around the world. Participating in the panel were:

Alistair Soper of Highfield Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand
Eric Dulong of Chateau Fonfroide in Bordeaux
Leonardo Locascio of Winebow
Bertrand Ambroise of Maison Bertrand Ambroise in Burgundy
Phillipe Ehrhart of Domaine Ehrhart in Alsace

We also tasted wines from Domaine du Vieux Lazaret in Chateauneuf du Pape. Unfortunately, Jerome Quiot was unable to attend due to his late arriving flight to the states.

Listed below are the wines in the order that we tasted them, along with our notes about each:

All of the Highfield Estate sauvignon blancs are freerun juice see about 2-3% barrel fermentation. All have Stelvin closures. It was an interesting comparison to see an older vintage alongside a recent one.
1) 2011 Highfield Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ – this sauvignon blanc showed a very traditional New Zealand nose full of citrus and freshly cut grass. There was tart acidity, but this was well balanced with the bright citrus fruit which showed predominately passionfruit.
2) 2007 Highfield Estate, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ – no, that is not a typo… we did in fact taste a 5 year old sauvignon blanc. The nose was much earthier and herbaceous but the palate still showed lots of tropical fruits

Eric Dulong explained that this Bordeaux Blanc sees 100% stainless steel fermentation and is a blend of 70% Semillon, 25% sauvignon blanc and 5% muscadelle. He belongs it should be drunk with 2-4 years of bottling.
3) 2011 Ch. Fonfroide Blanc, Bordeaux, FR – this was an interesting white Bordeaux, showing loamy earth on the nose with stone & minerality on the palate with rich full-bodied floral notes. A clean acidity balanced the wine nicely.

Leonardo Locasio is the founder of Winebow, which is the leading import of Italian wines to the US. Soave has a bad reputation from the 1970’s and early 1980’s, where it was mass produced and/or mislabeled by certain American wine makers. However, it is an excellent food wine as demonstrated here. Vermentino is becoming a more prevalent bottling, and this was a classic representation of the varietal.
4) 2011 Allegrini Soave, Veneto, IT – a bit of a softer, more rounded wine rather than the bright, acidic styles that we previously had tasted. Good fruit, predominately apple with a lengthy finish.
5) 2010 Vermentino “Solosole”, Poggio al Tesoro, Tuscany, IT – a big tropical fruit nose, with stone fruit and a nice bit of minerality on the finish.

Bertrand Ambroise is a fixture of the Forks & Corks event, and is always a pleasure to interact with. Both of the burgundies that he showed were excellent as always. The Saint-Romain Blanc receives 12-14 months of barrel aging, giving it that nice toasty body.
6) 2009 Maison Bertrand Ambroise Saint-Romain Blanc, Cote de Beaune, FR – a bolder nose with toasty almond notes gave way to caramel and peach on the palate.
7) 2009 Maison Bertrand Ambroise “Terres Blanches”, Nuits Saint Georges Premier Cru, FR – a bit more subdued on the initial nose with a nice balance of fruit, white floral notes and toasty oak.

This white Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a blend consisting of about 70% Grenache Blac & Clariette Blanc, 20% Bourboulenc and 5-7% Roussanne. He didn’t give specific percentages, which is why they don’t total 100. Of course, as with red Chateauneuf-du-Pape, there can be several other grapes incorporated in the blend. Suggested aging of this wine could be from 5-10 years after bottling.
8) 2009 Famille Quiot Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Rhone, FR – hints of apple and spice

Phillipe Ehrhart shared 2 Grand Cru wines from the Alsace region of France. Considering how very few Grand Cru’s are actually produced, this was indeed a rare treat. He indicated that all of the vineyards sit on steep slopes that face SSE which gives ideal conditions for growing.
9) 2009 Domaine Ehrhart Riesling “Hengst”, Alsace Grand Cru, FR – typical Riesling nose of petrol with ripe apricot that was somewhat viscous on the finish.
10) Domaine Ehrhart Gewurztraminer “Hengst”, Alsace Grand Cru, FR – sweet, spicy nose with honey and a rich, floral palate.

A nice finish to the morning session was this rose and incorporates the traditional grapes of the area including Grenache, syrah and mourvedre.
11) 2011 Famille Quiot Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence Rose, Provence, FR – roses and floral notes on the nose, with white pepper spice, bright red fruit a balanced acidity on the palate.