Life 2.1

Rarely do I blog about work because, truly, I like to keep my personal life and my professional one separate but since work today included being able to cross something off My Bucket List, I figured it was acceptable to share.

I drank this today. Please refer to #5 on my (albeit small) Life-long Bucket List.

A wine so special they count bottles produced, not cases. I drank from bottle #09513.

That’s right. I got to drink my DRC (2001 vintage). And not just a sip but a whole TASTE! It was such a treat.

It was delicate, more orange-red than purple-red, showing some signs of how nicely it had aged. The flavors swirled together in my glass, none of which were overpowering the other. There were slight notes of clean minerality, paired with hints of rhubarb, red berry…sigh. It sure put my coffee to shame at 9:30 this morning!

I learned about DRC when I first began work at the distributor in New Orleans. It was my first couple days and my boss told me to go through the portfolio and select some wines that I was not familiar with from some of our largest suppliers and sample them out so I would know what I was selling. I put DRC down on my sample request and was promptly laughed out of the building for even trying to requisition out a bottle of wine that went for more than my whole paycheck. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti has a handful of grand cru vineyards, with grand cru being the premiere level of vineyard in Burgundy, France. Of their grand crus, there is one in Puligny Chassagne, six in Vosne-Romanée (one of which is the Grands Echézeaux) and three in the Aloxe-Corton region.

So, back to what I was saying.

Later that year at the distributor, when the DRC allotment came in, one of my customers had pre-ordered a bottle (which was awesome, since I was on full commission.) In order to receive said bottle, I had to hand deliver it to the customer. No big deal. But when I went to pick it up, handling it came with strict instructions.

I was to head to the warehouse, leave my car running with the air conditioner blasting, then ask the warehouse staff to take me in the golf cart to the back “cold room” where this heralded wine was kept. Then I had to take the wooden box in which the wine was to be delivered and buckle it with a seat belt. Once I arrived at my account, the customer signed for it and I was safe.

The particular wine we tasted today is so highly coveted they are numbered.

Cheers Bottle #9513, you made my day.

No Comments | In: Living the Vine Life, Pulled Corks, Social Adventures | tags: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Echézeaux 2001, wine. | #

Marc Kreydenweiss Les Charmes Kritt Pinot Blanc (2006); Alsace: Let’s start with the fun facts. The “Kritt” part of the name is from the word Kritter, which is how the vineyard site was labeled on old maps of the area. “Les Charmes” is fancy French-speak for “the charms” and the label art represents the delicacy and harmony of the wines. I like when I can put it all together and wrap it in a bow like that. As for the tasting profile, immediately I smelled pear with maybe a touch of minerality. When I tasted, I got more citrus and mineral but that pear was still there on the finish.

Pierre Morey Bourgogne-Aligoté (2006); Meursault, Cote d’Or: This is an interesting one. I don’t think I have ever tasted anything quite like it. On the nose there is almost a fresh mushroom-y aroma but with some sort of peppery note. Not in a bad way, just distinct, but on the palate it’s got some green apple characteristics that combine with a sort of earthiness.

Josemeyer Le Fromenteau Pinot Gris (2006); Alsace: Today was a clearly a French white wine kinda day. Alsatian pinot gris are very different from “new world” pinot gris and since I wasn’t terribly familiar with those differences, I decided to give it a whirl. This pinot gris smelled bright with hints of honeysuckle. There was some fruit but I couldn’t place it but it seemed to integrate nicely with the honeysuckle. When I sipped, there was a creaminess to the wine that was balanced by a little acid that gave it good structure.

1 Comment | In: Pulled Corks | tags: wine, wine notes, wine tasting. | #

I read once that Mets’ third baseman David Wright (perhaps you’ve heard me talk about him?) keeps a notebook in which he writes down all his at bats and the pitchers he faces. He documents his at bats and the sequence of pitches he is thrown and what he did with them and it undoubtedly makes him a better hitter and even more dreamy, since we all know how much I ♥ him.

In an effort to become a better hitter in my world, I am documenting all the different wines I taste. I taste a lot and I mean a lot of wines so it’s hard to keep them all straight so I’m writing them down in a place where I will never lose my notes: the internet. Naturally, I will take some bottles out two days in a row so let’s not get crazy and think that I will be posting notes about wines every day because really, unlike the pitchers that David Wright faces, these wines won’t be throwing me many curve balls from day to day.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Today’s bag brought:

Sokol Blosser Evolution (12th Edition); Dundee, Oregon: This is a blend of 9, count ‘em 9, white grape varietals–Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau, White Riesling, Semillon, Muscat Canelli, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Sylvaner. Very tropical (think melon) and bright, it’s an off-dry white with a bit of a natural effervescence on the palate. The scrapbooker in me is definitely digging the label.

Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc (2007); Russian River Valley: This smells like a sauvignon blanc. I *might* have been able to guess the varietal had I been tasting this blind. It’s very clean with a little bit of the grassiness for which sauv blanc is known but with some grapefruit notes that match the palate.

*Cannot find a label shot to save my life* Domain Carneros Pinot Noir (2006); Carneros: I love the color of this wine. It could be because it’s garnet-colored and that’s my birthstone, I’m just sayin’…It smells of earth with dark cherry notes which to me, is signature pinot noir. I definitely get the cherry on the palate with a little bit of smoke but it’s very smooth.

Cuvaison Cabernet Sauvignon (2006); Mount Veeder, Napa Valley: I get dark fruit on the nose but it’s balanced by chocolate and more oak and even a touch of jammy-ness. It’s definitely fruit-forward but the chocolate notes are also present on the finish.

Hanna Bismark Mountain Vineyard Syrah (2001), Sonoma Valley: This wine has a much more smoky note to it that is the first thing to grab me but there is also something that reminds me of boysenberry jam. I can taste some of that smoke with cracked white pepper on the palate.

1 Comment | In: Pulled Corks | tags: wine notes, wine tasting. | #