Pieces of Palates and Procurements

It's been a busy week in the Felty apartment as we begin to pack up things before the big move at the end of the month. But there has been time for some indulgence of Bacchanalia. First, a taste from a few weeks ago that slipped through the cracks. Our good friend Phil presented us with an excellent bottle for Christmas and our 2nd anniversary, so we made sure to crack it open with him here. The 1998 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a mouth full, and I mean that on both levels, to speak and to drink. This wine is that classic example of a great Cabernet from California. It's the flavors I've come to love, the black fruits, the cedar, the oak, and those smoothed out tannins. I always say how the worst thing that has happened to me was getting a taste of expensive aged wines, because now I crave them and simply can't afford them. Phil, thanks for the outstanding wine once again, and more importantly thanks for the friendship! A more recent consumption was the 2004 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara County Chardonnay. ABC, as its commonly referred to, is a well respected producer of Burgundian varietals in Central California. The Santa Barbara County is their entry level Chard, and boy did it do the trick. Katie and I spent well over half an hour debating the color of it because it appeared paler than most words we conjured up, like sunshine, blond, or straw. I think we finally settled on moonlight. The flavors were extremely enjoyable, it began creamy and oaky, but finished with mineral and stone flavors. It had a very European flair to it. I'd recommend giving it a shot next time you spot one. We spotted it at Cask N' Keg in Mystic. And while we were there I started oogling over some high end Cabs. First, I spotted a '98 Insignia, that they've had on the shelf for some time now, at a good value price. But, my first bottle of Insignia is an '01 so I didn't want to back track that far and have to fill in with the '99 and '00. Then I spotted the 2003 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Highly rated, it was also at a great price, but I wasn't planning on buying anything else but the ABC Chardonnay that night. Then I spotted it, something that caught my eye. It was a Beaulieu Vineyards label. BV was one of Katie and mines favorite stops in Napa, and we ended up leaving with a very pricey, yet rare bottle of the Clone 4 Cabernet. While we tasted there we wandered around the reserve room and gazed upon vintage after vintage of the Georges de Latour Private Reserve. This is their signature wine, and considered one of the most reliable and consistently high scoring wines in Napa Valley. The label I spotted in Mystic was the Georges de Latour label, and the vintage was 1997. 1997! One of the finest years Napa has had! Now, I like to procure wines that have some pedigree, i.e. the Insignias, the Silver Oaks. This bottle would look so sweet in my (I mean our) cellar. After glancing at the price, $99 (mind you it averages about $120 on the web), I chatted with the manager about it. He simply said it's a great Cab from a great vintage, and he retails it at what he paid for it, no major mark-up. And sure enough, he only had four bottles. But alas, we walked out that night with just the ABC and a St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc. I regretted not buying it the minute we left the store. Katie pretty much gave me permission to turn around at Starbucks and go buy it. But I would've felt like a schmuck, so I kept driving. On the way home we stopped at my in-law's so they could give me my Christmas gift that finally arriver. It had been held up at customs in France. I wanted to cry when I opened it, a 2000 Les Forts de Latour. Now 2000 is still considered one of the greatest vintages ever in Bordeaux. That means a bottle of Chateau Latour retails for around $600, if you can find one. Now Latour is a first-growth, one of the four wines designated as the cream of the crop in the 1855 classification (a fifth wine was later added). Les Forts de Latour is their second label. Any juice that isn't deemed excellent enough for the top blend is deposited here. Does that mean its bad, hardly. In some vintages, such as 2000, the second label can rival the first label from other vintages. And here, I had a bottle! That whole night we still debated the BV, and to make a long story short, Katie picked a bottle of it up yesterday. And the manager accurately predicted that we had been talking about it since we left the store the previous night. When Katie brought it home, we discovered it is also the 100th Anniversary bottle, celebrating BV from 1900-2000. So in the end, we have two new fantastic bottle to add to the cellar, and I can't wait to make some memories when we finally open them. Till next time..."Happy Birthday Dad!!!"--Me