Happy Port Day!

Today is perhaps the greatest holiday you haven’t heard of yet: Global Port Day! So unlike Christmas with its fruit cake, or Hanukkah with its often-soggy latkes, today is a day to take advantage of one of the best wine pleasures around: Port. There will be events all over the country to mark the occasion; I’ll be hosting a Port-centric gathering right here in Philadelphia tonight at Pinot Boutique from 5:30 - 7:00. We’ll be drinking the excellent Ports of Quevedo, including the Special Tawny Reserve, LBV 2003, Colheita 1996, Vintage 2007, and their white Port as well. Come thirsty and come early--this is a great way to start off the weekend.

And while we’re on the subject of Portugal, click here for my new column in The Good Life Report, featuring a great dry red wine from Portugal’s Douro Valley, the Dow Quinta do Bomfim Reserva 2009. It’s a beautiful wine, and a steal at $23.

"A Beer Four All Seasons"

Last night I had the very good fortune to taste the first beer in the Dock Street Brewing Co. - Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia “A Beer Four All Seasons” collaboration: The Truffled Old Ale.

That’s right: Truffled beer.

Like most people likely will, I, too, had my share of concerns about the concept, a nagging worry that the sum of two stellar individual parts would be somehow diminished by the combination. I love beer, and I adore truffles, but together? I couldn’t picture it.

Which is why I don’t brew beer for a living, because this was one of the most unexpectedly remarkable, hauntingly subtle beers I’ve tasted in a long time, a snifterful of fluffy-headed suds whose deep color and lithe, velvety texture worked in thoroughly successful contrast to one another.

Savory, indisputably masculine aromas of mahogany, leather, tobacco, and mushrooms, as well as whisper-subtle oak spice from the Chardonnay barrels the beer was aged in, lead to a palate reminiscent of lightly salted caramel, cocoa powder, mashed prunes, and exotic spices. What’s most fascinating to me is how the truffle--actual winter truffles, selected by the kitchen at the hotel--lent the beer a deep savory quality without overpowering the beautifully calibrated maltiness.

When most of us think of truffles, we tend to imagine the almost cloying richness of truffle oil that too many chefs douse on everything from pasta to potato soups. Here, the truffle note had the opposite effect, deepening everything around it without calling undue attention to itself. And served with the specially created truffle burger with Sottecenere cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and caramelized onions, or the fries with truffle salt and truffle-oil aioli, the beer was dangerously east to drink. Or you could just drink a few glasses on its own; either way, you win.

The Truffled Old Ale will be available to the public starting next Monday, when it’s officially introduced at The Swann Lounge between 6pm and 8pm. Make sure you get there: If you respect your taste buds, you’ll find a way to buy a bottle. At $19.85 for a large one, it’s a great deal, a truly hand-crafted beer for the season--or “Four All Seasons.”


[Note: This is a beer for a brandy snifter, not a pint glass. I recommend this one.]

Standout Reds from Marchesi de' Frescobaldi

The Frescobaldi name is as intimately tied to the wines of Tuscany as any in the business. No wonder: They’ve been at it for a mind-boggling 30 generations. Which means that, all other things being equal, their wines tend to perform brilliantly in the best vintages and remarkably well even in the less cooperative ones. The two wines below beautifully demonstrate the range of styles and expressions that reds from Tuscany can take.

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino “CastelGiocondo” 2006

There is a seam of flowers on the nose that runs straight down the spine of vivid red cherry, garrigue, and mushroom aromas. On the palate, this is a silky, well-integrated wine, with delicately cocoa-tinged tannins, acid in perfect balance with the cherry and currant fruit, and a finish that speaks of the flowers from the nose. Utterly gorgeous. The 2006 is a silky textured, delicate expression of this particular patch of the planet: Earthy, fruit-expressive, and a pleasure to drink now and over the next 10+ years.

Marchesi de Frescobaldi “Tenuta di Castiglioni” 2008, Toscana

The nose here practically gushes with ripe red fruits--strawberry principal among them--and is joined by red currants and black raspberries. There’s also a hint of smoky chocolate around the edges. On the palate, flavors of leather and tobacco are carried on an elegant texture that, especially on the finish, shows some real tannic depth. It’s well-balanced between the mouthwatering and the sappy, and though it’s drinking well right now, it’ll continue to evolve over the next 5+ years. Cabernet Sauvignon 50%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 10%, Sangiovese 10%.

[Note: To purchase these wines and others from Frescobaldi, click here.]

Weekend Reading

Some articles to read this weekend when you’re not hunkered down on the couch watching the Playoffs or--let’s be honest here--all three hours of the American Idol tryouts you recorded Wednesday and Thursday night. In which case, you’ll need to hop off the computer and head to your nearest liquor store for a liter-sized bottle of Wild Turkey.

Check out this week’s Good Life Report for tips on how to spend the sober part of your weekend if you’ll be in the Bay Area for the NFL Playoffs. You’ll also want to look at my review of the Shafer “Relentless” 2008, a Syrah - Petite Sirah beauty that will take away all the pain of your team losing, if, in fact, they do.

The current issue of John Mariani’s Virtual Gourmet features a great piece on what’s happening in Brussels right now, as well as a rundown of the most classically New York restaurants in The City. (Note: If you have a table at Rao’s, and an extra seat available, please let me know. I’ve never been, and will pay for the meal if invited. Just in case you were wondering...)

If you’re in the wine business, you’ve probably already started getting your press releases and invites to the various en primeur tastings and events around it this coming April. If you’re going, take a look at James Molesworth’s helpful guide to restaurants in Bordeaux right here. To his list I’d also add La Tupina. They start you off with a basket of fried duck skin. Few things in this world are better than that.

Hidden Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon "55% Slope" 2007

Named after the eponymous Hidden Ridge Vineyard, whose slope reaches an astounding 55% in some places, this is a wine of both pedigree and exuberance--not an easy balance to successfully pull off. It saw 20 months in oak, 85% of which was new and French, and was bottled without being fined or filtered. As such, it retains an astounding range of character and expressivity, and, though it’s still just at the beginning of what will be a long, exciting evolution, it is already a joy to drink.

Hidden Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon “55% Slope” 2007, Sonoma County

This starts off with a fabulously expressive nose of dark berry fruit, blueberry compote, and sage, as well as something that reminds me of roasted green bell pepper. On the palate, it shows sweet black fruit, dripping-ripe plum, and high-cocoa chocolate enrobed around beautifully made blackberry liqueur, all of which, on the finish, turn spicier, with glimmers of ancho and paprika. Dusty tannins, a sense of minerality, and wonderful balance imply that this will evolve quite nicely in the cellar. Drink now (with air) through 2025.

222 Years of Wine

You know it’s a good day, my friend Anthony Maffei said as we were getting up from the table, when the wine you drink at lunch is worth more than your car. And while our bottles at lunch this past Friday, celebrating the 35th anniversary of Scot “Zippy” Ziskind’s ZipCo Environmental Services and My Cellar wine storage company, may not have been worth more than my car, they certainly would have taken care of several payments, at least through the spring.

This is how things go when you’re fortunate enough to have a meal with Ziskind: His everyday wines would be very-special-occasion bottles for most wine-lovers. Knowing this beforehand, I spent that morning eating and drinking as blandly as I could--no coffee, no OJ, no Sriracha on my eggs at breakfast. Good thing I was careful: The wines he brought to lunch were remarkable. My tasting notes are below.

Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon “Martha’s Vineyard” 1976 (Magnum)

Fully evolved--what would best be described as a mature claret style: Aromas of leather, dried black fruits, and well-aged cigar tobacco lead to a palate that, with air, opens up to reveal dried currants, minerals, cocoa, porcini powder, and cedar. Drink now, or forever hold your peace.

Chateau Gruaud Larose 1982

The vivid color of this 30-year-old St.-Julien would lead you to believe it’s much younger than that. On the nose and palate, however, its age--and the character of that legendary vintage--sing through with beguiling clarity: Red fruits and mushrooms are perfumed and virtually dance above the glass. They’re joined by softly plummy spice cake, sandalwood, charred spearmint, scorched earth, and cinnamon. It’s all very complex and subtle--a wine heading toward the end of its peak years, and utterly beautiful right now. If you have a bottle, drink it now.

Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

If I were to taste this blind, I’d never guess it was 18 years old: Cherry compote and thyme mingle with creamed leeks notes, these lending freshness and lift to the otherwise sappy, concentrated red fruits here. This is a great food wine for a chilly night. Drink now - 2023.

Chateau d’Issan 1996

A tale of two wines, one masculine and the other feminine. There’s a bacon-like heft to the nose that somehow, and seamlessly, turns to feminine, beautifully filigreed red fruits on the palate. Oak spice ties it all together, and a line of fresh oregano lends the Cabernet here that inimitable Bordeaux character. It was fascinating to taste this alongside the Cakebread: The two of these wines really embody the different stylistic expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon on both sides of the Atlantic.

D’Oliveiras Reserva Verdelho Madeira 1890

In 1890, Cy Young pitched (and won) his first baseball game. Yosemite National Park was founded. Ellis Island opened. So to have the opportunity to enjoy a sip of this wine--much less an entire glass--was humbling, to grossly understate it. And as fans of great old Madeira know to expect, it was remarkable, a wine with more layers than an onion. Aromatically, it found its footing in the toffee - honey - nutty end of the spectrum. (It reminded one guest of a Bit-O-Honey candy, which was a dead-on comparison.) Once I took a sip, however, it really unfolded, revealing cherry-flavored honey, candied fennel seeds, Indian and North African spices, Marcona almonds, brown butter, and spiced pralines, all of it carried on a texture like slippery silk. A wine this good more than justifies the 122-year wait.

Shafer Vineyards "Relentless" 2008

Shafer Vineyards is perhaps best known for its legendary “Hillside Select” bottling, one of the classic “Cult Cabernets” of Napa and arguably one of the grape variety’s greatest expressions anywhere. But with a price-tag north of $200, it’s a wine that most consumers read about and fantasize over, yet rarely have the chance to taste. (If you do, however, jump at the opportunity: It’s every bit as remarkable as you’d expect.)

That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t experience Shafer on a budget. The Cabernet Sauvignon “One Point Five” bottling is consistent with the Shafer style, yet priced around $70--not cheap, but certainly do-able for a special occasion. And then there’s the “Relentless” bottling, a Syrah - Petite Sirah blend that rings in around $60, and that is lush and delicious enough to almost make you wish for the weather to turn colder and the snows to finally begin rolling in, just so you can curl up with a bottle on the couch. My tasting notes are below, followed by a video from the Shafer web site on the origins and inspirations of the wine.

Shafer “Relentless” 2008, Napa Valley

Inky and concentrated in the glass, this wine lives up to its “relentless” name before you even smell it. Once you, do, however, the real fun begins: Concentrated aromas of flowers, black raspberries, and dark cherries are joined by blueberry compote, minerals, melted black licorice, tamarind paste, and something that reminds me of a balsamic drizzle. These lead to flavors of plum pudding and crushed, super-ripe blackberries, as well as a real sense of savoriness--whole, subtly floral peppercorns, iron, and grilled venison. Complex and exuberant, this is a wine that just gives and gives. It’s great now, either on its own or with rich meats (I loved it alongside barbecued spare ribs), and promises another 5+ years of evolution. Remarkable.