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Slugging back to
Chez Ellis
to enjoy the redneck hospitality of
Greg & Tami
and inflict further insult on the neighbors with our growing pile of
empty bottles
in their yard were the usual suspects Steve & Barb South, Bob Cuozzi,
Kim Adams, Michael Ross & Adair Sigmon.
The ranks swelled with the delightful and delighting company of
Jim Cowan, Diane Arthur
and Brown Councill.
Nothing says "Redneck" like Walmart on the Sunday morning of race
day! The doors were open and while they might not sell Bud in a
bottle before noon, at least the Bud tee shirts were available. We
were blessed. Recognizing that we are what we are, we began pulling
the corks before 11:00.
As we were here to celebrate the start of rac’n season as well as
the beginning of the season of nuptials for
Michael and Adair,
we started on something sparkling. Not having learned my lesson the
night before, I forced the still sotted skulls in the crowd with yet
more Virginia wine.
Afton Mountain Vineyard’s Tete de Cuvee 2003 Find this wine. 60% Chardonnay
and 40% and Pinot noir, (or at least we think). No concentration of
bubbles in the glass, but a good mousse in the mouth ....
surprisingly good mousse; lively, fresh and energetic. Strawberry on
the attack with a fade to a tonic water like finish of mineral and
iodine. An ok sparkler with 12.5% alc.
 Veuve Clicquot Grand Dame Reims 1990 Find this wine. Now this is a yeasty
wine. The antithesis of the Afton. Somewhat coarse bubbles, but a
balanced wine with raspberry, biscuits, almond, nuts. A very big and
full wine with good mouthfeel. 12% alc.
Like getting Kurt’s
ears pinned back just so he can get a helmet on, we might as well
get the bad news over with. And unlike the race, we can identify the
cautions early and get them off the track. Hell, we ain’t proud -
and a damn sight less sophisticated than the French NASCAR staff.
Ch. De Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc 1995 Find this wine - corked
Chateau Gres Saint Paul Coteaux Du Languedoc Find this wine- Corked
 Vieux-Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape 1989 Find this wine - cooked (overheard
from somewhere in the house...
"that damn Brannock
again tried to foist off his poorly stored swill on the rest of us.
Don’t trust anything stored before he built his cellar - about
2002.")
With the cautions out of the way, we could get on with it, ... not
that we were in a race to finish any of these, as finish worthy as
they were; we were in it for the long haul. And what the hell, who
wants to run out of alcohol before the end of the race!
Ch. De Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Vielle Vignes 1995 Find this wine.
Honeyed along with honeycomb with some toasty almond, granola and
caramel on the nose. Mouth filling white flower blossoms, citrus,
more caramel and anise. Refreshing and lively with a finish that
won’t go away, kinda like the TeeVee cameras on
Stewart and Gordon.
....I get it, it’s fun, but eventually it just needs to end. 13.5%
alc.
Ch. De Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Vielle Vignes 2000 Find this wine.
Tropical fruits and white peaches on the nose. Not fat, but by all
means full bodied and big. Some pear, leechy nut and pastry dough on
the finish. Typical Rousanne in that picking whether it will age any
further or not is like picking the lap a caution flag is waved ....
it cannot be done.
Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape “La Crau” Blanc 2003 Find this wine.
White flowers (locust blossoms), some honey and perhaps some yeast.
Anise on the finish. Not as full bodied as the two Beaucastel Blancs,
somewhat lighter and livelier, (very different blend than the
Beaucastel), but still a full bodied white. Well developed, but not
likely to develop more. 14% alc.
Vieux-Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape 1989 Find this wine. (This second bottle
provided thanks to Bob.)
The improved storage conditions made all the difference. Translucent
color of real purple with no bricking on the rim. Smoked meat and
pepper on the nose. Tar, cigar ash, bacon, pepper and smoked meats
on the palate. This is very real grenache with a lot of cigar ash on
the finish. Unresolved tannins. This is the food wine of the
evening. Excellent with the pig trotter.
11-14% alc.
Gawd, you gotta love that dedication to accuracy!
Ch. De Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 1989 Find this wine. Decanted. This
threw off some serious sediment. Tight and unrevealing of just how
much potential it may have. This is still a young wine with almost
jammy fruit. White pepper, eucalyptus, beech bark. This is classic
ChNdP. 13% alc.
Dme. Du Pegau Chateauneuf de Pape Cuvee Reservee 1989 Find this wine. Darker
red with a nose of smoked meat, eucalyptus, wintergreen, beech bark.
This is an integrated and excellent texture. Not the best with the
food, but good to drink. This too is classic ChNdP. However, as good
as it is, it is not a memorable wine. Nevertheless, it is one of the
first wines to be drained dry. A slight amount of sediment. 13.5%
alc.
Dme Bois De Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape 2001 Find this wine. Magenta with
some brick on the rim. White pepper, smoke, red raspberry, mocha,
cigar and tar on the nose. All that and more on the palate ....
accompaniments of plum. This is a young .... ok, a very young wine.
Very promising. 13.5% alc.
Paul Coulon Boisrenard Chateauneuf du Pape 1998 Find this wine. This winery
has been in the same family since 1685. Nothing speaks of the South
like tradition! Magenta from core to rim bespeaking of the
youthfulness of the wine. Pepper, smoked meats and bacon on the
nose. The palate mimics the nose with complementary flavors of
cherry, violets and cigar ash. This is very good with food. 14% alc.
J.L.Chave St. Joseph 1999 Find this wine. Ok, whomever the hell brought this
is seriously challenged as to the geography of SOUTHERN Rhône. But
we allowed the person to stay because this was one of the most
focused wines of the day with very intense violets and eucalyptus.
This announces itself as syrah; unmistakably syrah with smoked beef,
some cedar, black olives on the nose and palate. This is classic
syrah with an almost Cote Rôtie like quality. Good grip and a lot of
years left afore it.
Bob
opines that this would be fun to revisit every 3 years over the next
20 years....if only one had that much. A good food wine with some
slight sediment. In honor of
Greg and Tami’s
son Carl,
we declared that this wine had
“Carlality”
in that it was integrated and texturally smooth. You have to
 know
Carl, but he is all of these and more. Of all the wines this was one
of the first to be finished.
Jim
proclaimed that when it comes to the Rhône, he be a Yankee. As we
confusedly looked around for the nearest stout tree,
Stewart
pushed Kenseth
into the center field. We let the comment pass. After all, we
decided this is a Northern Rhône crowd.
Dme. Chante Cigale Chateauneuf du Pape Vielles Vignes 1999 Find this wine. A
youthful color. An odd nose of cherry juice, bacon, smoke and
something medicinal - iodine perhaps? This is a way young wine. Much
the same on the palate with more white pepper, Asian spice and black
tea. This is still somewhat rustic and rough with unintegrated
tannins, but nevertheless a wine worth seeking out.
 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte 1998 Find this wine.
(Left: Bob Cuozzi and Torte bottle) Had anyone but
Kim
brought this, they would have been treated with the same respect as
Junior
- blocked and pushed to the wall. A super Tuscan of 100% Sangiovese.
Although young this is showing maroon and starting to brick.
Cinnamon, chocolate and dusty rose on the nose. A wine with bitter
chocolate on the finish, dusty rose, minerals (is that chalk?), tree
sap, tar, earth flavors. Surprisingly, this is one of the first
wines to be drained dry. 13% alc.
 All wines were served with stinky cheeses galore, spinach salad,
sautéed morel and a cassoulet of cannellini, pig trotters and duck
breast, pancetta, sausage and bacon. Somewhere along the way
Brown
(left)
whipped up some type of bananas on fire that in French-speak is
called “flambe.” We just called it damn good and let it go at that.
Adair and Michael,
fresh from the china and silver selection battles of pre-marital
bliss, exited just after
Kenseth
invited Stewart
to dinner. We wished them well as they made their way to yet another
store for possible china dishware selections.
Jim & Diane
and Steve & Barb
exited as Bob and I
started to raid the Ellis cellar. (Given the number of neck bottle
tags on the floor of the cellar, we are given to think that Greg
doesn’t post on all the wines he consumes. Greg bad.)
But as we walked up to the kitchen with the mother lode of zins and
syrah, Greg
permitted us to open a Lagier Meredith Syrah Mt. Veeder (Napa)
2000 Find this wine. Sweet nose of brown sugar, violets, boysenberry and dark
cherry. The palate is smoothly integrated, but yet young. Expressive
with excellent potential. A bit out of balance with a slightly
alcoholic finish. 14.5% alc.
On to the Gallery ====>>>
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