Posts tagged ‘Pinot Noir’
The Majestic Delivers — with help from New Zealand
Gabriele and I recently had an excellent dinner at the Majestic, in the heart of Old Town. Last year Cathal Armstrong and his wife Mechelle took over the Majestic, along with a few other partners that include former Governor Mark Warner. The long time landmark delivers good food, strong service and a fun vibe:
http://www.majesticcafe.com/maj_new.html
Like other Armstrong restaurants, The Majestic takes its cocktails very seriously. We sampled two as we waited for a table, even though we showed up after 9:00PM. We were both in the mood for seafood, but started with an excellent house cured meat appetizer. The main courses were also prepared very well, scallops over an avocado mousse and a top notch seafood stew. Service was very good and included new silver after each course, something not enough places do.
Since we both prefer red over white, we were thinking Pinot Noir. There were a number of choices on the menu, and we asked our waitress for a recommendation. She didn’t hesitate to suggest the Allan Scott 2006 Pinot Noir. From the Marlborough region of New Zealand, it had a fresh, crisp aroma with vibrant fruit led by blackberry. It was light bodied but not weak, and fruit forward without being simple. The finish is dry and lingers on the palate. It’s an extremely food friendly that should go well with a range of meals. Probably retails for about $25.
Next time your head spins at the prices some Oregon Pinots go for on restaurant wine lists, give this Kiwi a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Tips for Sommeliers on a Shoestring
Most of us enjoy expensive wines for special occasions, but most of us have mortgages as well. My wife Gabriele and I are always on the look out for wines that deliver value as well as enjoyment. This weekend we found two such wines.
Saturday we had dinner at Rustico, one of the restaurants of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group. We like all of their places, but hadn’t eaten at Rustico before. Gabe had scallops over grits and I had pork shoulder over fettuccine, both very good. Rustico has a much bigger focus on beer than its sister restaurants but we wanted wine, something light and easy drinking.
We enjoyed the Bulletin Place 2006 Shiraz from Australia. It was very aromatic and fruit forward, light without being too thin. It retails for only around $10, although of course we paid a good bit more at the restaurant. Recommend when you need to match with a variety of food and palates of friends.
Shopping at Total Wine we came across another value winner. Looking for a decent Pinot Noir, we picked up a bottle of Domaine Alfred 2005 “DA Red.” From Edna Valley in CA, it’s mostly Pinot with some Grenache and Syrah blended in. It was extremely fragrant, with very strong fruit without being simplistic. It was bolder than many American style Pinots, medium bodied with a quick tart finish. An excellent value at $16 and the equal of wines costing a lot more.
Another great value wine also came through recently with strong customer service. I’ve written previously about Bridgeview Blue Moon Pinot Noir, which Gabe and I first had at Bonefish restaurant. We had the 2006, which was excellent and a very fair markup at $34 with retail at $20. Recently we had the 2007, which isn’t quite as good. When I tried to order more of the 2006 off their web site, it wasn’t available.
So I emailed them, and within a few hours heard back from their Marketing Director Tim Woodhead. He was calling local stores in this area, seeing if he could find me some 2006. He hasn’t yet, but that’s great customer service. Thanks Tim, and I hope you find some for me! http://www.bridgeviewwine.com/
Strong Value from Courtney Benham
Lately Gabriele and I have been impressed with some wine from Courtney Benham, part of the the Martin Ray family of wines. http://www.martinraywinery.com/about/index.html
Recently we’ve had the 2006 Mendocino County Petite Syrah and Pinot Noir. Both are good wines at very good price points — $11.99 and $15.99, respectively. The Petite Syrah was surprisingly light for the varietal, with nice fruit and balance, easy drinking but with a zing at the end. We found at the McLean location but wine should be at all Total Wine stores in Virginia.
The Pinot Noir was also good, interesting aroma and taste, light and fruit forward but not thin or boring like some inexpensive Pinots. Here’s a short clip in which Gabriele and our good friend Nigel share their thoughts.
DC International Wine and Food Festival
This past Saturday I attended the DC International Wine and Food Festival, held at the Ronald Reagan building. It was a last minute game time decision – I was getting over a nasty head cold. The event was packed, and I was not at 100%. So the following are some high points, not in any way a comprehensive report on the entire event.
Like I said it was very crowded and tough at times to get to the tables. Despite the title of the event, there was little food beyond crackers and bread to be seen. The wines were organized by region. For the most part none of the local wines were very impressive. Kluge Estate, in Charlottesville, VA had a Albemarle Simply Red 2004 that was a good everyday wine, and my wife Gabriele liked their Kluge SP 2004, a sparkling wine made with 100% chardonnay.
The California town of Lodi was well represented, and our favorite was Vino Con Brio, a small, family owned vineyard. They had a Matzin Estate Old Vine Zinfandel 2005 that was very flavorful with an almost creamy finish, tasty and different at around $25 price point. They also had a Matzin Late Harvest Zinfandel 2005 that was a very tasty halfway point between zinfandel and port for about the same price per 375ml.
We stopped at the South African area because I didn’t know much about Pinotage, a Western Cape varietal that is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. It produces soft, jammy reds that could make for solid, inexpensive weekday wines, along the lines of a Cab-Shiraz Australian blend. Sebeka had both a Cabernet-Pinotage and a Shiraz Pinotage around $10.
The French Cotes du Rhone region had an area, and I gravitated towards a bottle I know pretty well — the Cotes du Rhone from E. Guigal, a major producer. The 2004 is a very solid wine at a great $11 price, and they were pouring the 2005. I told the lady behind the table I already was a fan, and she said she’d been told that the 2005 was even better. Then I made the mistake of saying No, it’s not.
Whoops — she mumbled something about maybe it needed more time in the glass, and then wouldn’t talk to me anymore.
So it was off to the Oregon area, the high point of the afternoon. Every vinemaker seemed to have energy and passion to burn, and were incredibly welcoming. Some of the energy could be explained by the fact many were there to find local distribution deals, but they clearly loved what they did for a living. Most of course were Pinot Noir. Winners were the Coelho 2005 Paciencia Pinot, the 2006 Willamette Valley 2006 Estate Pinot Noir, and the Sokol Blosser Meditrina IV Release, a blend of Oregon Pinot, Wash State Syrah and California Zinfandel.
After all that tasting, it was time to head home on the Metro. Definitely not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
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