Seven Hills Wine Dinner with Casey McClellan at Michael Mina in the Fontainebleau

Wine is older than history. Humans didn't invent wine. We discovered it.
PHILIP SELDON, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine

Next week you have three chances to come out and drink with me starting with this event at Michael Mina’s latest venture in South Florida “Stripsteak” in the Fountainbleau Hotel on Miami Beach.

Washington State is one of the most exciting regions of the country when it comes to high quality wines.  I made my first pilgrimage there for the Washington State Wine Auction in August of 2012 and had such an amazing trip I have been back three times already.  The scene here is what I remember the Napa Valley Wine Auction to be like 20 years ago.  All of the states big stars were there and accessible, the food was amazing and our group could actually afford to buy stuff in the live auction!

One of the best line-up of wines that I have tasted from Washington State again this year is from Seven Hills Winery.  Established in 1988, Seven Hills Winery is one of Walla Walla Valley's oldest and most respected wineries.  Guided by founder, winemaker and fourth generation farmer, Casey McClellan, Seven Hills Winery crafts an acclaimed portfolio of vineyard-designate and appellation-inspired wines.  Focusing on benchmark Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux-varietal reds from the Red Mountain and Walla Walla Valley AVAs, the wines of Seven Hills have played an important role in establishing the region's reputation for world-class winemaking, and are recognized as some of the finest wines in the Northwest.

Join us as we welcome back the founder of Seven Hills Winery Casey McClellan to StripSteak by Michael Mina on Tuesday March 10th.  We will enjoy a decadent four-course menu prepared by chef de cuisine Derrick Roberts with wines hand-selected and presented by one of the founding fathers of the Walla Walla wine region.  The fee for the dinner is $100 + Tax + gratuity.  For Reservations call 954-523-9463.

Seven Hills Wine Dinner with Casey McClellan at Strip Steak Michael Mina in the Fontainebleau
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
7:30pm

Dinner Menu

Diver Sea Scallop Carpaccio
Grapefruit Segments, Black Truffle Vinaigrette,
Frisee and Fine Herbs Salad

Seven Hills Winery Pinot Gris Oregon 2013
Price: $15.75    Your Price: $13.86

Melrose vineyard in the umpkua Valley but they just use Oregon label. Very fresh style with green apple fruit, wet stone like minerality, with notes of white flowers. Fresh and light on the tongue with a dry finish, short but clean. Finish 25 Very Good

First Course

Spring Lamb Duo
English Pea and Morel Salpichon, Crispy Polenta, and Lamb Rack

Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla 2012
 Price: $42.00    Your Price: $36.96

Winemaker’s Notes:  This wine is drawn from the original Cabernet Sauvignon blocks at Seven Hills Vineyard, planted by my father in 1980. This vintage marks the 25th year I have been making Cabernet Sauvignon from these same, precious old vines.

After two very cool vintages, 2012 was a more “normal” vintage, pleasantly warm with heat accumulation spread through the growing season.  This old vine Cabernet has a dark garnet gem color and a broad nose of ripe plum, raspberry, marzipan, toffee, forest floor, roasted meat, and thyme notes.  The palate is plush and mouth-filling, yet framed with firm, dusty, fine-grained tannins and lifting acidity. The palate is filled with black cherry, ripe plum, mocha, dried herbs, cedar bark, and spices.

This wine will improve significantly with cellaring over the first five years from vintage date and will hold nicely and continue to develop for 10 to 15 years

Third Course

Braise Wagyu Beef Cheek, Braised with Bacon Grand Mere, Baby Spring Vegetables

Seven Hills Winery Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain 2012
Price: $42.00    Your Price: $36.96

This wine is our 12th vintage from the famed Ciel du Cheval Vineyard on Red Mountain, one of the oldest and most proven vineyards in the Northwest. Each varietal was picked and vinified separately, though blended very early during the winter succeeding harvest. The wine goes back to barrel for an additional year and half before bottling. We believe that this early assemblage allows for the wine to be less a composed wine of its varietal parts and more a singular representation of place.

The wine is a deep violet color, transitioning through purple to magenta around the edges. The nose is heavy and brooding, displaying fresh baked cherry pie with hints of musk, pine, and toast. The palate is full and clean, with well delineated fruit, tannin, and acid components. The dusty tannins are substantial, but well integrated and sufficiently balanced with rich flavors of baked cherry, coffee, graham, white pepper, and a hint clay-like earth tone. As with all our reds from the 2012 vintage, it is delicious now and it will cellar well for an additional 5-7 years from release.

Dessert
Panna Cotta
Apricot, Riesling Gelee, Honey, Lavender

Seven Hills Winery Late Harvest Riesling Columbia Valley 2013

This is our first vintage of Late Harvest Riesling. 2013 was very warm, producing fully ripe, mature fruit with rich, pronounced character. The grapes were allowed to hang on the vine well into the late fall when they were affected by the “Noble Rot” Botrytis Cinerea, which further concentrated flavors and added additional savory complexity to the incredibly rich, concentrated character.
The wine is a light straw hue, with intense aromatics of stone fruits and exotic tropical fruits accented by a flint like minerality and delightful floral aromas. The palate is rich and sweet, with flavors of lychee, peach, golden raisin, and star fruit - refreshingly balanced by great natural acidity as well as mineral and spice notes. Our Late Harvest Riesling is ideal served on its own as desert paired with desserts featuring fruits, nuts, pastry, or custard. It is delightful now, but will develop further complexity with cellar ageing of up to 15 years.

This dinner is $100 + Tax + Gratuity, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

A bit about Seven Hills Winery:

Located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, in the southeastern corner of Washington, Walla Walla Valley is home to Seven Hills winery, and their McClellan Estate Vineyard.  With roots deep in the community, Casey’s longtime relationships with the region's winegrowers ensure Seven Hills access to the best fruit - from the coveted "Old Blocks" of Seven Hills Vineyard to such respected sites as Windrow, Minnick and Double River Ranch.  Benefiting from a unique temperate microclimate, and deeper, silt-based soils, vineyards in this highly regarded appellation are at the heart of their Bordeaux-varietal program, which consistently produces food-friendly wines notable for their complex structure and graceful sophistication.

Since being founded in 2003, McClellan Estate Vineyard has quickly emerged as one of Walla Walla Valley's elite sources for Bordeaux-varietal grapes.  Directly adjacent to Seven Hills Vineyard, which Casey helped to plant in 1982, McClellan Estate has deep silt-loam soils, and is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  As part of the vision that guides McClellan Estate, the vineyard is LIVE and Salmon Safe certified, and also meets the criteria for VINEA sustainable growing.  These estate grapes contribute powerful aromatics, elegant structure, and intense fruit notes to the Pentad blend and Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

In 1989, Seven Hills began looking for distinctive vineyards in microclimates outside the Walla Walla Valley AVA.  Their exploration brought them to Klipsun Vineyard on the slopes of Red Mountain, and later to the renowned old vines of Ciel du Cheval.  In fact, their commitment to Red Mountain predates its designation as a unique appellation by a dozen years.  With warmer temperatures, southwest facings and shallow soils, the grand cru-caliber vineyards of Red Mountain offer a singularly powerful expression of Washington winegrowing, consistently producing some of the most intense fruit in their portfolio.  Seven Hills has produced an unbroken line of Klipsun Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons going back to the 1991 vintage.

 The Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area is one of the world's greatest geological structures, a gorge formed when a huge ice dam broke and the Missoula Floods carved the river valley in a giant cataclysm of water and ice which covers two states, as a result, the Columbia Valley AVA exists in both Oregon and Washington, and grapes grown in either state can bear the name of the same AVA.

 Encompassing nearly half of the state of Washington, the Columbia Valley AVA embodies the depth and diversity of Washington winegrowing, and is widely regarded as the home to North America's greatest Riesling vineyards.   At Seven Hills Winery, they work with approximately 12 top vineyards in five of the AVA's sub-appellations (Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, (Wahluke Slope), Snipes Mountain and Walla Walla Valley), with sites that encompass a range of elevations, microclimates and soils. Working with this expansive palette of fruit, their Columbia Valley wines, both red and white, have earned a reputation for their layered appeal and exceptional value.   True Washington State wines, they offer excellent fruit expression and elegant acid balance.

Other Wines Available from Seven Hills Winery:

 2011 Seven Hills Riesling Columbia Valley
 Price: $14.25    Your Price: $12.54

It’s a delight to offer our very successful off-dry style Riesling from the cool 2011 vintage. The very low alcohol and fresh crisp finish are very showy this year. We continue to source from two old sites in the Yakima Valley, with their depth and complexity, with a cooler northern vineyard adding freshness and minerality. Light straw yellow in color, the nose opens with fresh Fuji apple, guava, banana, lime, grapefruit, with a hint of vanillin and cardamom. The palate is lightly citrus-sweet up front, moving through smooth lychee to a crisp, grapefruit mineral finish. The wine will develop more roundness and richness as the acid integrates, but I find it vibrant irresistible now, alone or paired with scallops, Dungeness crab, or other light fare. A very versatile style suitable for a wide variety of occasions.

2012 Seven Hills Merlot Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla
 Price: $33.00    Your Price: $29.04

This wine is drawn from the original Merlot block at Seven Hills Vineyard that I planted with my father in the summer of 1982. This vintage marks the 25th year I have been making Merlot from these same vines.

The wine exhibits a beautiful, dense, ruby color and pungent, enticing aromas of plum chutney, cinnamon, marzipan, mocha, and a hint of iron-ore minerality. The palate is supple and generous with loads of rich red plum, currant, vanilla cream, baking spice, desert herbs, and dusty tannins. The finish is lush and lingering with a lovely balance and well integrated but firm tannins, ripe red fruits, and spice. As with all our reds from the 2012 vintage, it is delicious now and it will cellar well for an additional 5-7 years from release.

2012 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
 Price: $25.50    Your Price: $22.44

(90 points)  the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is a rock-solid value that gives up plenty of lead pencil, new leather, black currants and subtle herbal notes to go with a firm, structured, medium-bodied profile on the palate. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and the balance Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec that spent 16 months in 25% new oak, it too will have over a decade of longevity.  Wine Advocate #213 Jun 2014

2012 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Klipsun Columbia Valley
 Price: $45.00    Your Price: $39.60

Planted in 1983, Klipsun Vineyard is one of the oldest and most famous vineyards on Red Mountain, the smallest AVA in Washington State. I have produced a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from the same block, on the windward side of the vineyard overlooking the Yakima river since 1991 and find it to be one of the most distinctive sites I have worked with in three decades of winemaking.

The wine is dense, with dark ruby color and aromas of ripe black cherries, licorice, mint, pencil shavings, and sage. The wine is rich and generous on the palate with ripe red and black fruits framed by considerable chalky tannins and white pepper spice.  This wine will improve significantly with cellaring over the first five years and will hold nicely and continue to develop for ten to fifteen years from vintage date.  Casey McClellan, Winemaker