Dallas Wine Chick

Party Like A Rock Star: A Night With Charles Smith

So, if you had a huge opening of your new wine tasting room and world headquarters scheduled the next day in Walla Walla complete with lots of pre-event hype and only had one hour to get from the airport to the ribbon cutting, would you risk attending a party in Dallas the night prior?  Charles Smith would.  Why?  Because he made a promise to his friend, Pioneer Wine Company Owner Greg Kassanoff, and he doesn’t break promises. 

My first encounter with Charles and his breath-taking wife, Ginevra Casa, the maker of Secco sparkling, happened during last year’s Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla.  A group of bloggers were invited to his pre-party, which was held at the site of his new wine tasting room in a former auto shop.  As we walked in the door, we were handed plastic cups of his Boom Boom Syrah and were greeted by the sight of Burlesque dancers.  Did I mention they were wearing flaming pasties?  Yup, not exactly what I expected for Walla Walla.  I actually turned 41 that night and credit Charles for throwing me one hell of a birthday party.

Charles is a controversial guy with a rock star manager background who is one talented winemaker.  He’s non-conventional, from the Sammy Hagar flowing locks to the “no holds barred way” that he does business to the way that he markets his wines taking cues from how the music industry markets.  He told me that he’s about staying true to his brand.  He’s the largest wine maker/business owner in Washington and just wants to make wines that reflect his rocker sensibility.  In his words, “It’s just booze.  Drink it.” 

I had the chance to try the K Vintners 06 Guido, which was an 80/20 blend of Sangiovese and Syrah.  It was smooth with some earthiness, tobacco, cherry and leather.  We were then in for a big treat – the unveiling (and sorry folks you can’t get it in Texas yet) of the Charles Smith Cabernet 08, the first Cab bottling from the Stone Ridge Vineyard site.  It was big and concentrated with hints of cedar, cherry, bramble, mocha and spice.  We then moved to the K Vintners El Jefe Chamberlin 08, which was a 75/25 tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon blend with lots of spice, blackberry and smoke.  

I’m glad to report that Charles did make it to his grand opening and naturally it was a rocking success.

Kid In A Candy Store: Serendipity Portfolio Tasting

Occasionally I get the opportunity to truly be a big kid in a “candy store.”  In the wine world, these opportunities are known as portfolio tastings, where a distributor displays all of its wines for sale to a particular market.  For me, it’s like receiving the Barbie Townhouse that I got when I was seven.  That was one fabulous Christmas.  Spoiler alert: Incidentally this was the same year I learned about the reality of Santa.  While putting together the aforementioned Barbie Townhouse, my father let out a stream of words that I never heard from him before, and still have not heard since.  This caused me to leave my bed to investigate.  I have to say that since I have become a parent and dealt with “some assembly required.” I totally understand the reason for his outburst.

Last week, I arrived at the Palomar Hotel for Serendipity Wine Imports Texas Tour of 2011.  There before me were approximately 250 wines that I could taste.  Yes, 250 wines.  Absolutely overwhelming.  When I go to these I always try to peruse all the information in advance so I can make informed decisions.  My checklist usually starts out simple – am I familiar with the wines, are they new to Texas, what is the buzz from the other folks attending and what just looks interesting?  I try to hit those first.  Then, I start the reconnaissance portion of the mission by asking the folks who are pouring – if I was to try one or two of your wines, which ones do you recommend?  You avoid kissing a lot of frogs this way.  But, you also miss out on the opportunity at times to try new vintages – but did I mention there were 250 wines?

Sometimes you run into some old friends. I was thrilled to finally meet Mitch Bakich from Donati Vineyards and taste his new vintage of Claret, which was a delightful big red blend.  I hosted some of his former co-workers a few years ago when they came to Dallas and set up some events for them to gain Dallas exposure.  We ended the day with a party at my house.  At one point we figured they were lost as there was a long delay in them getting from the wine bar to my casa.  I later found out they had “committed a random act of wine” by stopping a neighbor and gifting him with a leftover bottle of vino.  My kind of people.

I also was thrilled to run into Ginger Dollins from Domaine Serene, one of my favorite Pinot producers from Oregon.   The full line up of Pinots (06 Evenstad Reserve, 07 Yamhill Cuvee) and one Syrah (07 Rockblock SoNo) were delightful and topped my favorite list.  The Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Grace Reserve was elegant, silky and filled with rich stone fruit.  This wine rocked.

Some of my other favorites included:

• Blue Rock 06 Cabernet Alexander Valley.  Big fruit, cherry, licorice – this wine continued to evolve in the glass.  The name Blue Rock comes from the soils where the vineyards are planted on top of rock.
• Blue Rock 05 Syrah.  Full of vanilla, currant and blackberry.  Sadly, this is the last vintage since I heard several times over the course of this event that syrah doesn’t sell.  That’s a damn shame as this is a great wine.
• Monmartre Brut Sparkling, which just debuted in Texas last month, is a fresh light sparking that is perfect for an aperitif from Montmartre, the heart of Paris.
• Bonny Doon 06 Le Cigare Volant.  This earthy Rhone blend is full of ripe fruit, but with almost a rosemary herbal nose to it.  A nice and well balanced wine.  And, one of my favorites folks on Twitter @megmaker works here, so I was very excited to try the wine.
• Bonny Doon 09 Ca’ del Solo Muscat. This one is delightful but hard to describe as it is a dry Muscat, with the floral nose you would expect, but with a crispness you don’t.

On my way out, I was given a secret handshake from my friend, Eddie Eaken from Veritas, and led to another table.  Behold was a decanter and I had the chance to taste the 06 Poderi Aldo Conterno Colonnello Bussia, Barolo DOCG, Italy.  It was a symphony of flavors in a glass – cherry, earth, herbs, licorice — and it kept me smiling the whole way home.  While I probably only sampled less than 20 percent of the wines featured, I can tell you I am looking forward to continuing my Serendipity research.

The Envelope Please: Cotes du Coeur Unveils Wine & Food Pairings

Last week I had the chance to attend the chef announcement party for the 20^th annual Cotes du Coeur International Fine Wine Auction and Celebrity Chef Dinner.  The event raises money for the American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease and is scheduled for April 9^th at the Hilton Anatole. A few days prior the event, I received an email that the location was being moved to the Addison Conference Center due to the increase in the amount of attendees expected.

Chef Richard Chamberlain served in an emcee role as he ran through the chef line-up paired with some wonderful wines.  He seemed surprised to receive the Cowboys Quarterback Award from Chairman John L. Adams for his tireless work on behalf of the Cotes du Coeur. 

The menu and associated wines are listed below and I have so many personal favorites including Gemstone, Realm, Ceja, Terra Valentine, Jordan and Peju that I’d be here all day talking about them. 

If you want to meet great winemakers, support a cause that impacts all of us and enjoy food from the best chefs in town, I’ll see you on April 9.

Wines.com, Texas Wineries, D Magazine … and me?

Buy 6 or more bottles of bourbon and get 1/2 off shipping with code “dallas37″

This month is a big month for the Dallas Wine Chick.  It’s the one-year anniversary of this little blog and with over 9,500 page views, about 3,100 Twitter followers and almost 600 fans on Facebook, you all have exceeded my expectations for success and created this amazing wine community.

You’ll see a link above to my first advertiser, Wine Chateau, a great online retailer of fine wines, who offers you a shipping discount with the link above.  Thank you Wine Chateau for your support of Dallas Wine Chick.

Recently I had my first wine-related speaking opportunity for EFactor, a local networking group.  Alex Andrawes, the CEO of wines.com and a friend on Twitter, asked me to join a panel session with some esteemed names in the wine business.  So I found myself on a panel with two Texas winemakers — Dan Gatlin from Inwood Estates and Dave Duchman from Duchman Family Wines as well as two personal friends – Andrew Chalk, D Magazine producer for Side Dish and Lindsay Woodard, owner of Retour Wines in Oregon.  About 55 people gathered at Cork Wine Bar to taste wine, hear the discussion and network.

I first introduced myself as the “accidental blogger.”  For those of you who know the story of starting Dallas Wine Chick, I just wanted to share my passion and experience of wine with others.  I started first on Twitter and when I reached a certain following; I thought about starting the blog.  To my shock, it happened.

The discussion was interesting.  We were asked as a panel to discuss the wine industry in Dallas.  Dan talked about how Dallas remains a challenge for him and other markets like Houston are much more supportive of Texas wines.  I talked about how Texas wine – especially in Dallas – needs an image overhaul to occur before consumers can support it.  In my discussions with other winemakers, including Lindsay who was there to debut her wonderful Retour Pinots in Dallas, the market is definitely supporting wines from other regions.

Andrew voiced the frustration of the room when asked about challenges with wine and restaurants.  Because consumers are better educated and know the retail price of many wines, paying triple mark-up is a detriment.  He believes that if restaurants were to even double the price of retail wine, they would immediately see higher sales because people would be willing to buy more wine.  I wasn’t asked this question, which was probably a good thing, but my pet peeve is “cookie cutter” wine lists that have been purchased by a distributor.  If many restaurants would take the same care with wine lists as they do with their food, consumers would have a better experience.

We talked a lot of about social media.  Lindsay doesn’t use social media today because her customers aren’t using Twitter and Facebook.  Dan has an Inwood Estates Facebook page, but it doesn’t seem to be populated often.  Dave has his marketing department handle their social media efforts and they are active.  Andrew uses a blog, but not Facebook or Twitter for business.  So, that leaves me and Alex as the poster children of the power of social media.

There was also some general discussion about the three-tier system and I think many of those in the room were surprised to hear about how wine gets from the winemaker to your home.

All in all, it’s the type of panel discussion that brought together many perspectives – winemaker, wine writers, wine retails.  We just needed a distributor to get a holistic view of the wine business.

As we wrapped up the Q&A, one audience member asked if it was still possible to get outside funding for the wine business.  Dan responded with a well-known, but sadly true quote – “If you want to make a small fortune in the wine business, be prepared to invest a large fortune.”

She’s leaving on Midnight Train to Saint-Emilion

I know you’ve heard the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for….”  About a month ago, I was lamenting the fact that review wines were stacking up in my kitchen and I posted on Facebook that I needed some tasting assistance.  Naturally, several people immediately jumped to help and the next thing I knew, Lea Cromer had arranged for our tasting to be held at Saint-Emilion Restaurant.com in Ft. Worth, TX for a nominal fee. 

First, I had to figure out how to get a bunch of folks from Dallas to Fort Worth without having to drive.  We were planning to drink 16 review wines and we were ready for some fun.  Sure, we could have paid for a driver, but since it was the midst of the holidays we didn’t want to spend the funds.  In most metropolitan cities, this would not be that big of a deal, but in Texas, public transportation is not an easy feat.

We found out the Trinity Railway Express would get us from point A to point B in less than an hour.  Seemed easy.  Notsomuch.  My friend, Julie, and I took a taxi from my house to the station and found it difficult to navigate with someone else driving.  Actually, that’s an understatement.  Do you remember the scene from National Lampoon’s European Vacation?  We had our Look kids.  There’s Big Ben.  There’s Parliament moments.  The real irony occurred when several of my friends tried to (gasp) drive their cars to the station and park.  That’s when we found out that the ample lot located next to the station is closed and they wanted three women driving separately to park 15 minutes away and walk… because that is safe and makes sense? 

I must admit.  Once we got on the train we planned to clandestinely pour some wines into coffee cups to toast the journey.  The train was so packed that was not a reality, but I know some of the conversations that we had definitely were not what the daily commuters were used to overhearing.  Once we hit Fort Worth, we piled (and I mean piled) into the taxi where we were finally en route to Saint-Emilion Restaurant, one of Fort Worth’s treasures.

In the past, I haven’t spent a great deal of time in Fort Worth outside of client business or the arts community, but I can’t put into words how lovely and hospitable the owner, Bernard Tronche, was to us. He truly rolled out the red carpet.

Bernard had arranged for the tasting wines to be properly chilled and stemware was waiting when we arrived.  Our aperitif was the Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs Methode Champenoise.  Made of chardonnay grapes, it was floral, had a touch of honey and some citrus notes.  A very nice sparkling for $24.99.

Once we had finished our sparkling, Bernard began to bring out lovely plates of cheeses, frog legs, escargots and freshly baked warm bread to complement the food.   There were arsenal meats, goat cheese rolled in spices, almonds, olives and an amazing bruschetta appetizer that I couldn’t stop eating. 

My favorites of the 16 wines that we reviewed:

Favorite Wines

• Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc 09.  At $13.99, we were pleasantly surprised with this wine.  Lots of citrus, but with a touch of pineapple that made it balanced. It was named by one of the attendees as her 2011 “lakehouse wine.”
• Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric 07.  I had a bit of a bias against the Blackstone wines, but really enjoyed the Rubic.  Big notes of blackberry and a caramel smoothness made this a nice drinking experience. Priced at $22.  The Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet 07 also received some good table reviews.
• Caviste Carneros Pinot Noir 07.  Lea, who reps several wines with retailers, brought this one made by Acacia.  It had notes of licorice and a lavender note that I really liked.  Priced at $17.99.
• Albino Armani Corvara Pinot Grigio Valdadige 09. This was an interesting wine.  I tasted pears, peaches, honeydew and a touch of bubble gum.  Definitely one to be served as an aperitif.  Priced at $19.99
• Bodegas Osborne Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Cabernet 09.  Very fruity with blackberry notes.  We deemed this a great picnic wine at $11.99.
• Robert Mondavi Merlot Napa Valley 07.  Raspberries, blueberries and black tea made this a well balanced wine.  Priced  at $23.
• Dona Paula Estate Malbec 09.  Hands down – our favorite of the wines to be reviewed.  Velvety smooth and notes of cherry, herb and licorice.  Very nice.  The quote of the night occurred here – “I want to sleep with this.  I want to bathe with this.”

Right as the Dona Paula Malbec was poured, Bernard and crew came with the grand finale – a fantastic steak, pommes frites and grilled asparagus.  The meal was absolutely heavenly and I don’t think I left a bite.  Saint-Emilion opened in 1985 when Bernard, a transplant from France, decided that he wanted to open his own restaurant after working at restaurants in New York, New Orleans and Dallas.  Mark Hitri serves as the Chef de Cuisine and joined last September. 

Bernard and I enjoying the evening

We wrapped up the night with a few wines from our own collections.  The Summers Adrianna’s Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 07, the 00 Chateau Margaux Pavillon Rouge and the 05 Marquis Phillips S2.  This time we planned ahead and filled out “to go” cups before arriving at the station for the long ride ahead.

I can tell you one thing – the food at Saint-Emilion is worth the trip.  I will be back – and might even take the train again to do so …

The Best Kept Wine Secret in Dallas

I’m hoping that I’m not going to regret this post.  I came upon one of Dallas’ best kept wine secrets in November and I’m going to share it with you today.  First, let me give you some background.  Since I launched this blog in February, I’ve been lucky enough to connect with a small group of foodie, travel and wine writers.  Our modus operandi is to meet monthly bearing wine from our cellars or wines we have been sent to review and enjoy a good meal.  We often convene at a BYOB place, usually one that is pretty casual with good food, but little to no ”scene”.

That’s how I found myself on a Wednesday night at Urbano Cafe in East Dallas.  I’ve been there once before and enjoyed a delightful gourmet meal and was happily surprised that a place with such good food was BYOB.  But this particular dinner I discovered that there is something special that happens at Urbano Café’ on Wednesday nights.  You could tell that the place was full of regulars and the bottles on the table were plentiful.  We were catching up on my friend’s trips to exotic places and for once, I had stories to add about our time in Punta Mita, Mexico.  Then it happened –  Mitch, owner and host extraordinaire, came bearing a magnum of older Brunello that he had picked up at a discount next door at Jimmy’s Food Store (the best place to find Italian wine if you haven’t stumbled upon them yet and a fun place to grab a sandwich for lunch or dinner – see if you can find the back dining room). 

This set off a chain reaction.  Friends (after some time spent in close contact with your dining neighbors where you are all drinking wine friendship happens) started sharing the pride and joy brought from their cellars with others.  You could hear the chorus of “Here try this …” and then the story behind it.  Or “what do you think of this beauty?  We got the last two cases left in Dallas.”  It was an experience I had never had outside of wine country.  Paired with a great meal and Mitch’s hospitality, it was magical and totally represented what the experience of wine should be – sharing bottles of favorites with people who have an appreciation for the grape.  (Note: do not expect to arrive with a $10 bottle of grocery store wine and have the same experience).

I reluctantly left that night with many wines untried that I was offered, but knowing that I needed to drive home and work out early the next morning made me responsible.  I’m looking forward to the next Wednesday outing and am already trying to figure out which bottles to bring.

Sheep, Mushrooms & Great Pinots: Discussion with David Hirsch

My better half, John, me and David Hirsch

I had the chance to sit down with David Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards at a wine dinner at Lakewood Country Club this week.  Hirsch Vineyards was born out of a desire for peace and quiet when David and his wife, Marie, bought a sheep farm in Sonoma.  His winemaker friend, Jim Beauregard, convinced him to plant grapes, and by 2002 Hirsch vineyards was making wine. 

Hirsch, which sells grapes to some of the top Pinot producers including William Selyham, has a philosophy “from trailer to tractor.”  The star of the show here is the land and the grapes that are grown.  It’s a family-owned venture.  Hirsch’s wife designs the labels and his daughter, Jasmine, is responsible for marketing and social media. 

Judging from the wines that were served to us that night, the focus is where it needs to be.  The reception started with a 08 Hirsch Vineyards Chardonnay ($50), from Sonoma Coast, which was palate cleansing.  I tasted pineapple and lemon curd.  It was a very nice wine.

Our first course was Chef William Koval’s celery root bisque, mustard fruit ravioli and poached Maine lobster, which paired sublimely with the 07 Hirsch Vineyards Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast ($75).  This was a totally different from the first wine – more of a French style with minerality and muted tropical fruit.  Hirsch told us that this site was almost designated to plant mushrooms.  The wine loving public should thank him for making the right choice.

Our second course was seared filet of turbo served with Spanish chorizo, chanterelle mushrooms, artichoke and ver jus served with the 08 Bohan Dillion Hirsch Vineyards, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($30).  Priced to be a quality wine at an affordable price, the grapes here are harvested exactly like the other pinots and blended barrel by barrel.  The name of the wine is focused on the land – the road Hirsch is on is Bohan Dillion Road and the bottle depicts a ranch scene.  If you can find this wine, buy it.

Our third course was a prime NY strip loin with comte potato, roasted acorn squash, shallot and pinot plum sauce.  Served with a 06 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast ($75), you could tell the magic of old vines with berry, chocolate and liquorce notes.  This was an excellent wine that I would buy for a special occasion.

Our final debauchery came in the form of an artisan cheese plate served with the 08 Hirsch Vineyards “M” Pinot Noir ($45), which is in its first vintage.  Another big beautiful pinot, but at a lesser price.  Hirsch is definitely a winery that is defined by its product vs. its marketing and you can tell the difference.

A New Journey with Beaujolais

I was invited to participate in another Twitter Taste Live event with a focus on lighter style crus.  Full disclosure – it had been a long time since I had Beaujolais and those that I had were the mass market ones focused around a certain November release that I generally found to be pretty uninspired.

My session made me definitely want to take a closer look.  We had four wines to try.  The 09 Domaine Cheysson, Chiroubles; the 09 Henry Fessy, Brouilly; the 09 Charly Thevenet “Grain et Granit,” Regnie and the 09 Alain Coudert, Close de la Roilette, Fleurie.  Three of the four wines were under $20 and were really interesting.

In the 09 Domaine Cheysson, Chiroubles, I tasted raspberry and red currant with some floral accents.  For $18.99 a bottle, it was a very nice everyday affordable wine with more complexity than I expected.

The 09 Henry Fessy, Brouilly ($17) had a big earthy muskiness to it that didn’t reconcile on the nose with strawberry aroma.  However, once I tried it, it was balanced.  

One of my favorites – and imagine that – was the most expensive at $35.99 — the 09 Charly Thevenet “Grain et Granit,” Regnie.  I tasted violet, big strawberry, cherry, raspberry, spice and eucalyptus.  I also wanted this one to spend a little time in the decanter.   I had it open for about an hour, but I think this is a wine that would evolve drastically from day one to day three.  I, unfortunately, was leaving town for the paying gig, so I couldn’t experiment.

My other favorite was the 09 Alain Coudert, Close de la Roilette, Fleurie priced at $20.  I tasted currant, cassis, chocolate and it had an almost velvet finish.  It was very impressive for a wine priced at $20.

While I am a fan of Bordeaux, this tasting proved to me that you need to venture off the beaten path.  These Beaujolais wines are a great value and once again prove that if you treat trying new wines as a journey of discovery, you will be rewarded most of the time.

Taste Napa Meets My Grape Expectations

During #wbc10, Julie Crafton, communications coordinator of Napa Valley Vintners, led several of us up to her room with the promise of trying some small, boutique Napa wines and we were not disappointed.  She told me that #tastenapa was coming to Texas in October and I marked my calendar on July 1 hoping against hope that work travel wouldn’t keep me away.

Those of you that know me (or know me through this blog) know that I am a big fan of both Napa wines and Twitter.  I was feeling a little melancholy knowing I couldn’t return to the Valley this year, so I was very excited about this event.  As the event approached, I was able to get a sneak preview through the Tweets of @winewonkette and @houston wino from Another Wine Blog, who share my palate.  I took copious notes and formulated my game day plan as I literally could have tasted somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 plus wines. 

Because I have a day job, I arrived at CityPlace Center much later than those in the trade and was able to get some additional intel.  As I made my way around the packed room, two things were reinforced. The first was how many wine makers were in the room, which overscored how much Napa wine we drink here in Dallas.  Not surprising considering we are the land of the steakhouse, but winemaker after winemaker told me how profitable a market Texas is for them.

Winemaker John Anthony

Betty O’Shaughnessy of O’Shaughnessy Vineyards

The second is how much I adore Napa wines. Granted, a Stags Leap Cast 23 was my first wine “a ha” moment, and the wine didn’t disappoint.  My favorites included the Meander Napa Valley Cabernet 07 ($65); the Larkin Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc 07 (both $60), the 07 Gemstone (price not released, but averaged $140 online), the O’Shaughnessy Mount Veeder Cabernet ($95), the John Anthony 06 Cabernet Sauvignon ($55) and Waterstone’s  07 “Study in Blue” ($45). 

Brenda Coqueral from Coqueral Family Estates

I also really enjoyed meeting Brenda from Coqueral Family Estates, a fellow Texan who caught the vineyard “bug” and moved to Calistoga to make wine with her husband.  They focus exclusively on the Sauvignon Blanc grape and make three wines.  My favorite was the Terroir Coquerel at $37.   

Herta Behensky “HB” Peju from Peju Vineyards

And, I must give a special shout out of the 2004 Peju Cabernet Sauvignon H.B. Vineyard, Rutherford, Napa Valley, which was fantastic.  The wine spent 30 months in French Oak and I believe I savored every drop, especially for the $225 library wine price.  I enjoyed my conversation with Herta Behensky “HB” Peju, who must have spent 20 minutes with me discussing her wines, the Valley and her perspective on winemaking.  A delightful and talented winemaker who has made some of Napa’s great wines since 1982.

Look for these vintages coming to your favorite wine bar, restaurant or wine store soon. Let me know your favorites or the Napa wines you wish you could get in Texas. Your voice (and dollar) matter and based on the attendance, our wholesalers, distributors and suppliers are listening.

A Night of Mollydooker: Fits Like a Glove!

Those of you who I had the chance to meet at #wbc10 know I am a big fan of Mollydooker’s Velvet Glove wine — especially when it is offered to me free on my birthday. When a three pack of wines arrived on my doorstep courtesy of Mollydooker, I was excited.  That excitement was heightened when their public relations person told me that they shipped the wrong releases and that three more bottles would be arriving. I knew that I needed to share these with a group of folks that would appreciate them, so I enlisted the help of my couple’s wine group.

I did this with a little trepidation. This was Texas/OU weekend and the tasting was going to be at my house. You may ask why this game would have any bearing for me since my husband and I both went to Auburn. Well, the truth is it doesn’t affect me. However, for my husband it is a different story. For the last five years he has adopted this day as “Attend a Party, Act like a College Freshman and Drink Too Much” day. But, I forged on and he didn’t disappoint. (I will give him credit for ordering the food before leaving the house as well comic relief later in the evening.)

We knew we needed more than the six wines provided, so we decided to go big on almost the entire Mollydooker portfolio. We started with the Mollydooker shake for the younger wines, which is suggested by Mollydooker to get the nitrogen out of the wines and bring out their full potential.

Our starting wine was the 09 Violinist, which is a great white wine. It was full of citrus and tropical fruits, but with the right mixture of acidity to make it a great sipping or food wine. We then moved into three different flights of wines.

The first flight was verticals of the 07 and 09 Carnival of Love; the 07 and 09 Blue Eyed Boy and the 08 and 09 The Boxer. My personal preference was for the older wines and the crowd favorite was the 07 Carnival of Love. You could definitely taste the evolution of the wine – big blackberry, liquorce and black pepper. But, the wine had mellowed and you could taste the smoothness of the fruit. I found the 09s to be too young for my taste with the exception of the Blue Eyed Boy, which had big notes of plum, chocolate and mocha. I’d love to put this one in a decanter and see what magic happens. For the others, these were good wines, but I’d buy them and cellar for a few years vs. drinking off the shelf, which is usually my modus operandi for most wines anyway.

The next flight led with an Enchanted Path vertical from 06 and 09. I am enamored with the 06, which was a great year for Mollydooker. Lots of currant, berry and spice, but with a smooth mouth feel. We also tried the 09 Maitre D’ and the 09 Scooter.

Our final flight ended with a glass of 08 Two Left Feet and the grand finale – the 09 Velvet Glove. Smooth — violet, chocolate and berry with a big finish. Everyone agreed that this was a great wine. The group debated if this was a $175 wine. The folks who like big Australian wines not surprisingly responded with a resounding yes, the folks who love smoother blends gave it a resounding no. But, you know, wine is like art. It’s a matter of taste and I’ll be happy to keep the Velvet Glove all to myself.