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St. Francis is sometimes available here as well. Usually good, but I have not had one in quite a while.
I am joining V V with a Scherrer--albeit, a different bottling and a different vintage year.
It is not clear what our schedule is tonight. So, I may not get to post my comments until tomorrow.
Your schedule entails sitting down to dinner after you sample some wine!
Lynn has arrived with her bottle.
Rombauer is also available here from time to time. Prior vintanges have been good according to Canadian reviewers, at any rate. Very heady (~16% ABV) However, it is what it is, being in a subtropical, Mediteranean clime. I'm betting you'll like it.
Strangely, Rombauer is not listed in Hugh Johnson's Guide - at least, not the 2021 edition (I need to update to 2023, I know).
Technically, it’s 15.9%, but 16% is close enough. It’s a decent wine. The St. Francis is fine also. The Layer Cake Primitivo is not one you want to buy.
So, St. Francis and Rombauer are 4 glasses...
and the Layer Cake is 3 glasses.
Well, here is my assessment of the 2017 Pagani Ranch edition by Ridge Vineyards, which is 84% Zinfandel, and the rest likely field blend elements of 7% Petit Sirah (Durif), 7% Alicante Bouschet (that formerly shunned tenturier grape... some of us think it still should be shunned, but that's another story) and 2% Mataro (Mourvedre). Color is opaque, coagulant resultant, deepest blutrot. Bouquet is interesting; there is a raisin-vanilla scent atop a very slightly vegetative core. Elements of wine-dipped tobacco - of the better quality, of course. Entry is silky smooth, with more dried raisin, vanilla, light black pepper with a creamy, long finish. Very sapid. Slightly sweet, with a hint of menthol (14.5% ABV, which is typical for Sonoma Zinfandel... in fact, lighter than many in this regard). This wine cries out for steak or barbeque dishes of beef, lamb or even pork sausage. It would also mate well with the finest chocolate, IMHO. Let's say 93 points and 4.5 Glasses. Nice work, Ridge!
@SteveZodiac Z, can't go wrong with just about any Ridge, Pagani is especially nice!
@BigAl , 15.9% ABV is more than likely 16+% as there is an allowance of +/-1% in reporting.
@EMark, great choice! I had my hands on a '17 Scherrer O&M but opted for this bottle of the lesser known "The Hill" zin.
My wine this evening has loads of bright, crisp black fruit, black cherry and blackberry, with a nice hit of acidity. The tannins are fairly well resolved which gives this quaff a nice round mouth feel that plays well with the zip of acid and the mellow rich black fruit. An easy 4 to 4.5 glass assessment.
BTW, this is The Hill in the Scherrer Vineyard (in the background) where these grapes are from:
I am very much enjoying the 2018 Scherrer "Old and Mature Vines" Zinfandel. This is another example of the flexibility of the Zinfandel grape. This is a quite sophisticated medium-bodied wine that would not match up very well with a marinara sauced pasta--and, maybe, not the best pairing with Al's Porterhouse--but would be great with a Cornish Game Hen. In the glass it the translucent red color makes me think Pinot Noir. Sure enough, the body is only slightly bigger that a PN. Subdued red fruit--maybe a tad overripe--is very reminiscent of the Burgundy grape. Slight levels of acidity make the wine quite refreshing. Winner, winner.
Since you mentioned the Porterhouse steak, here it is after I sliced it up. Also, we just served dessert.
I find my palate is quite similar to the group when it comes to deep, luscious reds from California. This is reflected in my assessment of finer wine from this region. Of course, having said that, these rich wines must be imbibed with care as they can be overwhelming, after a fashion.
Nice wines and comments so far. I suppose many of you are finishing up except for us West (Wet) Coast types.
Yes, Lynn is heading out the door now. It’s a work night for her.
Good times folks.
The next Online Wine Night is 14 March 2023. Any suggestions for the theme?
Work? What's that? I haven't worked as a regular wage-slave in a decade... almost.
Forse Italiano? I have a couple of these hanging about.
How about just an Italian wine?
Una bella donna italiana? Un bell'uomo italiano? O solo vino italiano? Prenderò la donna o il vino. Meno ambiguo?
Italian it is.
I have a bottle of 2017 Carmignano DOCG I am very curious to try. So Italian would work really well. I always wanted to learn the language and spend time in the Mediterranean sunshine with perhaps a bella donna Italiana, but alas, only know a modest amount of Latin and a little Italian, which won't quite do the trick.
BTW, I drank the left-over, vacuum-pumped Pagani Ranch just now. There is a lot more sediment than expected. Both Lynn and I like to the quality of this Ridge Field Blend, Zin-dominant (84%) wine. It actually does have some balancing acidity to match the powerful fruit, so is memorable. Zinfandel is lovely, but we all have favourites. I prefer Cabernet Sauvignon for the heavier reds - even Syrah - but it cannot be denied that, in the hands of master crafts-persons, Zin can be as good as most anything under the proverbial sun.
The email reminder has been sent out.
We shall be having a Carmignano (west side of Tuscany) wine This is the 1596 Poggilarca (vineyard area) Carmignano by Artisimo. It is from the slightly difficult 2017 vintage, but wines I've had from this year seem better than expected. Seek out the 2016's if you can find them.
We have not had a Carmignano for many, many years. Also no Scansano. But here is the Carmignano - from a district about 12 miles west of Firenza
I think you will enjoy that one. We will be looking for an Italian wine at the restaurant tonight when we dine in the district near The Kennedy Center. We are attending a piano performance by Benjamin Grosvenor.
👍👍👍
That's to both of you.
Benjamin and Al? Sandra and Benjamin? Sandra and Al? Steve and Benjamin? Steve and Al? Steve and Sandra? Don't you just love ambiguity of "both" when we just don't know the two parts, exactly? And I haven't even bothered with the combinations like (Steve & Al) and Benjamin.
Couldn't help myself, sorry.
On the subject of Benjamin, his name is an honoured Norman-English name held by some of the richest families in English history (cf. "Grovenor Square" in Mayfair, London, not that far from where I lived in the mid-eighties - but far enough to be not the upper crust). Name comes from somewhat antiquated French meaning "Great Hunter" or Gros Veneur. Veneur becomes Venor, but the Latin for hunter is venator. Venor is the first person indicative active for "I hunt." English follows its own rules and just drifts and drifts...
Very English is Benjamin to look at. Love that prominent, intellectual forehead. I am sure you will enjoy the recital; he is well respected, although I confess to not being that familiar with his playing (he was born years after I left London after all). He is from "sunny Southend" in Essex about 35 miles from London (southeast of, on the Thames estuary).
Enjoy!
Well, I'm going with Sandra so that's the both that concerns me. Here's the program:
Johann Sebastian Bach - Chaconne in D minor (from Partita No. 2, BWV 1004) (14')
Robert Schumann - Fantasy in C major, Op. 17 (29')
Maurice Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin (25')
Sergei Prokofiev - Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 (18')
And I thought @EMark meant my choice in wine and the coming enjoyment of same (1/2 of the both) and your coming enjoyment, @BigAl , of Benjamin's recital with Sandra (the other half of both). See what I mean?
Our wine for tonight, a 2019 Pio Cesare Barbera d’ Alba. Pretty tasty.
Pio Cesare is a big producer in Piemonte. Usually fairly consistent, good quality to my recollection. Enjoy the recital after a nice, apparently Cena Italiana. Or Italienisches Abendessen... Sandra can translate.