On Sunday February 24, 2008 the MD-Cru (previous events: Big Wines, Chateauneuf du Pape) met up for it’s monthly gathering of friends, new and old, to talk wine, catch up on politics, and drink a few bottles of wine with a light meal. This month’s venue was familiar to many of us in the “Cru” – Cafe de Paris in Columbia, Maryland with the wine theme familiar to any serious wine enthusiast: California Wine.

When I say “few bottles of wine”, I mean 20 outstanding wines, including 2 barrel samples from Stefania Winery. And by a “light meal” I mean onion soup, fois gras, ratatouille on crustini, ribeyes, lamb chops and duck breast finished off with decadent chocolate moouse and other delectable desserts. Classic French Cuisine with the traditional pairing of big Cali wines…at least we started the evening with Champagne!

The evening brought out a new member of the Cru and a friend to foodandwineblog, Justin at The Grape Less Traveled (Read his recap here). It also drew in Paul and Stefania, the owners and winemakers of Stefania Wine who, serendipitously, were in town on other business that overlapped our get-together! They were generous in bringing some outstanding wines, including two barrel samples of their upcoming Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Without further ado, the lineup of wines we were lucky enough to taste with my personal tasting notes. Great thanks to everyone in the Cru, especially the groups organizer, PH, for another evening of good food, great wine, and outstanding company!

My wines of the night (based on personal preference, not necessarily high score):

1. 1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages
2. 1997 Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon Block 8
3. 2001 Shafer Relentless

• Honorable mention: 1999 Monticello Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Corley Reserve

Appertif:
Quote of the flight: PH: “I learned a long time ago from Paul at Stefania Wine that regardless of the theme, you always have to start with Champagne”
1996 A. R. Lenoble Champagne Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru: No notes taken, it was good though
1995 Charles Heidsieck Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Blanc des Millénaires: A touch of yeast on the nose with aroma’s and flavors of apple, pear, some citrus. Less structured than the 1990 but still quite good. Medium finish with lasting grapefruit notes. My rating: 90 pts
1998 Charles Ellner Champagne Brut Millésimé: Tight nose at first. A lot of light red fruits coming through, as well as yeast, almond and mineral notes. Light body, crisp, evolved nicely over time. Interesting mineral notes on the somewhat abrupt finish. My rating: 90 pts
N.V. Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut: Consistent with previous notes – a very good NV Champagne with plenty of small bubbles, a blast of grapefruit, yeast notes, subtle nuttiness to it as well. Great finish that smacks your mouth with some more citrus!

Round 1: “Pass the Pinot”
Overall: The Sea Smoke was good, but I have to go with the Windy Oaks as my WOTF (Wine of the Flight).
2004 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing: Nice ruby color. Nose filled with sweet cedar, vanilla, and tightly wound red fruits with some dark cherry, and a burnt rubber component. Big style, good structure, with flavors of young, ripe fruits, with an appealing toasted vanilla bean component on the medium finish. Needs time. My rating: 90 pts
2003 Windy Oaks Pinot Noir Henry’s Block (Santa Cruz): Much lighter in color than the Sea Smoke, but don’t let it fool you! Cherry, raspberry, sweet wood notes, just a lot of ripe fruits on the nose and palate. An earth/leather component comes through on the mid-palate with cherry notes carrying it through very smooth tannins and a long, generous finish. My kind of Pinot – My rating: 92 pts

Round 2: “Flight of the Night”
Overall: This was a serious flight of wines, as well as an interesting transition from a couple of Champagnes and Pinot’s. This flight begged for my ribeye steak to arrive…but with Fois Gras in front of me, I was lucky to have kept a glass of the ‘98 Ellner around to wash it down (which as PH predicted, opened up quite nicely). The winner here? The ‘97 St. Jean…with the Hendry a close 2nd- two of my wines of the night.
1997 Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon Block 8: A bit of heat at first on the nose, big dark fruits, blackberry, currant, some earthiness to it as well. After a while in the glass it became quite better with nice layers of fruit and a dirt meets chocolate component. Giant yet elegant tannins, long finish that dries your mouth out all the while revealing subtle fruit flavors. Quite good and should get better with a few more years. My rating: 93 pts, #2 WOTN
1997 Newton Cabernet Sauvignon Le Puzzle Unfiltered: The nose revealed a bit of brett, which subsided with time. Blackberry, leather flavors, as well as hints of butter/oak. Less complex than the Hendry, with more mild tannins and a medium finish. I’d drink this one now. My rating: 89 pts
1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages: Flavors of anise, oak and toasted nuts. The blackberry, currant, dark raspberry fruits are layered into notes of spice and dried dirt that just seem to work well with the acidity and tannin structure. The tannins are silky, elegant and in harmony with the rest of the wine. Very interesting acidity near finish that was a pleasant surprise. Might improve with age but no reason to wait! My rating: 93 pts; #1 WOTN

Round 3: “Could someone pass the water, please?”
Overall: At this point we all realized were weren’t even half way into our tasting and had already had some incredible juice. I thought these were 3 very different wines, but they worked side by side. CS was right on in saying the Seavey would open up into a different wine with some air. My WOTF based on it’s unique flavor profile was the Monticello Corley Reserve…just some really interesting things going on in there. That said, the Seavey was definitely a great wine (rated it the highest) and the Cain Concept may become a 94+ point wine in a few years.
2002 Seavey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: An interesting wine that showed flavors of blackberry, Worcestershire sauce, green peppers, and cigar box. Very tight at first, with rough tannins. After 30+ minutes in the glass, the wine completely changed: dark fruits emerged and the tannins really mellowed out. Initially gave it an 89, but it transformed into 92+ pts. My rating: 92 pts
1999 Monticello Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Corley Reserve: Interesting flavors here as well that made this wine a lot of fun. Tomato, celery, red pepper, black pepper, and dark red fruit flavors. Good overall structure and balance, with medium length finish. My rating: 91 pts
2004 Cain Concept The Benchland: Loads of blackberry, currant, anise, dried herbs, and vanilla. A sweet cedar/oak/cigarbox type component stood out as well. This one’s a bit young, but showed good structure and acidity suggesting a very nice wine to come. My rating: 91 pts

Round 4: Battle of the Barrels
Overall: When the mailers go out for the Cabernet, order a 6 pack and the day they arrive, open a bottle immediately. Don’t check your e-mail, don’t do housework, don’t do anything else. Immediately open a bottle and enjoy a lot of fun flavors and great balance in structure in a young Cali Cab
2006 Uvas Creek Vineyard Cabernet Cabernet Sauvignon (Barrel Sample): Light in style, lots of red fruit, pink starburst on the nose, sweet oak notes and showing very good balance now. 2006? Why wait! No rating as it was a barrel sample.
2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah (Barrel Sample): Bubble gum, red fruits, black pepper and other spice notes. No rating as it was a barrel sample.

Round 5: Are we there yet?: No! If we were, I would have missed out on a very good WOTF and 1 of my top 3 Wines of The Night (WOTN).
Overall: At this point of the night, the wines just kept coming. My formal notes went from detailed analysis of the wines components and structure, to a few words such as “good”, “big” or “wow”. As far as the wines in the flight goes, the Bravante was out of place in this flight and definitely overshadowed. The Shafer showed very nice complexity, good focus and was elegant. Notes on the last three wines were not taken.
2003 Bravante Simpatico: Inconsistent with my previous notes. Dark fruits, less focus or character, oaky with a bit of heat. Still good balance and structure, smooth tannins. My rating: 89-90 pts
2001 Shafer Relentless: Lovely, wonderful nose. Put your head in a bucket of freshly cut dark fruits mashed together with shavings of a cigar box, some dirt, a few tobacco leaves that is topped with diced bell peppers. Very nice balance and structure, fine tannins with rolling spice notes, a very nice effort. My rating: 93 pts, #3 WOTN
2005 Stefania Syrah: Notes taken on Night 2: Dark red fruits, plum, blueberry, earth and spice notes. Good balance and structure noted on the first night which showed in its ability to drink very well on night 2. My rating: 90-91 pts
2003 Neal Petit Sirah: Only a few words written down, overall impression was a decent Petit Sirah with loads of fruit 2002 Bond Matriarch: A few notes: Deep purple color, serious dark fruits, cigar box and dark chocolate flavors rolled into medium tannins. Not properly evaluated for a real rating.
that lacked real elegance or finesse. Not properly evaluated for a real rating.
2002 Quixote Petite Syrah: No formal notes taken but recall a lot of dark fruit, medium tannins and a long finish. Not properly evaluated for a real rating.