2007 Vintage Tasting Around the World Wines at 10 years old

The 2007 vintage was one of the best vintages in the first decade of the New millennium for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as we found out earlier this year at our new California “Cult” wine tasting but it was also outstanding for Chateauneuf Du Pape, very good for red Burgundy and Oregon Pinot Noir but that’s just what the critics said upon release.  We need to find out how these wines are drinking right now!  That’s why we do these tastings- scientific wine research!!

Join us as we experience wines that are 10 years old from around the world along with the new cuisine of the Wine Watch Wine Bar.  This tasting is limited to 14 tasters and the fee for this event is $95 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

2007 Vintage Around the World of Wine
 Ten Year Old’s at the NEW Wine Watch Wine Bar
Saturday, July 8th
7:30pm

2007 Champagne J Lassalle Special Club Brut
Price: $107.00    Your Price: $94.16
Quantity in Stock: 5

Jules Lassalle established this family-owned Champagne house in 1942 in the village of Chigny-Les-Roses on the Montagne de Reims. A master of his craft, he established a signature style of elegant, tightly knit wines with a certain ampleur. When he passed away in 1982 his wife, Olga, and their daughter, Chantal Decelle-Lassalle, stepped in and took over the estate, upholding Jules’ high standards and progressively pushing the domaine to the next level. In 2006 Chantal’s daughter, Angéline Templier, joined the estate as winemaker. Their twenty-eight-year tradition of “une femme, un esprit, un style” (one woman, one spirit, one style) holds true today more than ever. In the 1970s, Kermit was the first to begin importing artisanal, grower Champagne, and the Lassalles have been in the KLWM portfolio longer than anyone. Today, we are proud that the relationship has continued into the third generation of the Lassalle family.

Champagne J. Lassalle works with all three varietals authorized in the region (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) on sixteen hectares of vineyards, all of them premier cru. These tough, hardworking women continue to follow the vinification methods established by Jules in the forties: they use the same wooden basket press he installed in the winery over fifty years ago, pressing and vinifying the individual plots separately. It is one of the rare Champagnes that has been allowed to finish its malolactic fermentation, just like the great whites from the Côte d’Or, and all cuvées are aged extensively once in bottle—even the non-vintage cuvées, which are a minimum of five years old. This results in an astonishing complexity and depth from the beginning of their range up to the luxury cuvées. Don’t miss their Blanc de Blancs, sourced uniquely from premier cru Chardonnay grown on the Montagne de Reims. It is a classic vin de terroir that ages beautifully.

2007 Marcel Deiss Grasberg Alsace
Price: $42.50    Your Price: $37.40
Quantity in Stock: 15

(94 Points)  From inter alia Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Savagnin Rose in a high-altitude, austerely chalky, north-facing site, the Deiss 2007 Grasberg displays hauntingly floral aromas suggestive of rose, gentian, linden, and rowan, along with brown spices that migrate to a palate juicy with fresh apricot and yellow plum, and suffused with marine, sweet-savory, scallop-like mineral richness. Persistently wafting florals follow on a finish that offers a remarkable colloquy with mineral and pit fruit essences. I’m reminded a bit here of a really exotic vintage of Chablis Preuses (like 2006). This, I predict, is going to have exceptional, perhaps 20 year aging potential. I had chance to taste the late-harvested 2008 Grasberg must just as it was beginning to ferment, and the level of complexity and recognizable site character was uncanny.

Jean-Michel Deiss has been officially tasked with assisting his fellow Alsace growers in the drafting of new regional regulations and labeling conventions, in keeping with both France’s proposed move to a higher-order French appellation “d’Origine Protegee” and with the potential regional autonomy provided for (if inchoately) by recent EU legislation. As readers can imagine, Deiss’s vision involves a drastically diminished scope and roll for varietal bottling, analogous to his conception of Alsace crus as being best expressed by a blending of multiple cepages. (For more on the evolution of Deiss’s approach, consult my report in issue 175). Two things are indubitable: Alsace could use fresh approaches to labeling and marketing; and any Deiss proposal will have been thought-through all the way down to its historical and metaphysical levels. Deiss’s own line and labeling have been further simplified: beginning with 2006 his lower tier of wines is being bottled without village designations, leaving him more flexibility in blending. Although Deiss did not bottle a full compliment of his crus from the rot-challenged 2006 vintage, he said he was loath to pull back by settling his musts more aggressively of bottling earlier, “because the lees are the megaphone for the terroir.” Fair enough in principle, but the results were to say the least decidedly mixed, whereas Deiss’s 2007s represent a resounding success. (Deiss did not show me his lower-tier 2006s and I did not have chance to ferret any of them out from the marketplace.)  eRobertParker.com #188, Apr 2010

2007 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Guadalupe Vineyard
Price: $89.00    Your Price: $78.32
Quantity in Stock: 15

This is one of the single vineyard wines from this top level Oregon Pinot Noir producer and it will be fun to see how it compares to the Serafin Grand Cru!

2007 Serafin Père et Fils Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Price: $179.00    Your Price: $157.52
Quantity in Stock: 24

One of the elite producers of Burgundy and the 2007’s are showing beautifully right now as we found out at our Domaine Leroy tasting earlier this month.

2007 Jean Marie Royer Chateauneuf du Pape Prestige
Price: $80.00    Sale Price: $65.00
Quantity in Stock: 12

(94 Points) The blockbuster 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige is made from the same blend as the previous two wines, from 80- to 100-year-old vines. It is a deeper, fuller-bodied, more expansive, longer wine boasting a dense plum/ruby/purple color as well as a sweet nose of black raspberries, black cherries, earth, garrigue, and flowers. Broad, full-bodied, and rich with impressive purity, texture, and length, this wine can be enjoyed now, but it will be even better in 2-3 years; it should last for two decades. Sadly, production is only around 4,000 bottles for this brilliant effort. This small estate (just over 12 acres) is run by the Royer family, who can trace its origins in Chateauneuf du Pape back to the 1800's. However, they have only been estate bottling their wines since the mid-eighties. As the following notes indicate, these are very high quality, artisanal wines made with assistance from consultant Philippe Cambie. All of the vineyards are located in the southern sectors of Chateauneuf du Pape known as Bois de la Ville and Les Grandes Serres, the latter being one of the sources for the superb wines from Isabel Ferrando's St.-Prefert Chateauneuf du Papes. Both the 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape and 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Prestige are good efforts for this vintage. Wine Advocate # 185 Oct 2009

2007 Ciacci Piccolomini Pianrosso Riserva Brunello Di Montalcino MAGNUM
Price: $324.00    Your Price: $285.12
Quantity in Stock: 9

(94 points) The 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna di Pianrosso Santa Caterina d'Oro is big, rich and seamless. The wine had just been bottled the day of my visit, but it is very promising, even at this early stage. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2027. Paolo Bianchini's 2007 Brunelli are quite a bit better than the 2006s. One of the recent evolutions at Ciacci has been Bianchini’s desire to make an entry-level Brunello that is more affordable than his wines have been in the past, hence a greater separation in terms of quality and price between the straight Brunello and the Pianrosso. The Brunelli undergo alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in steel, and are aged in cask. Wine Advocate #200 Apr 2012

2007 Dionigi Sagrantino Montefalco DOCG
Price: $29.75    Your Price: $26.18
Quantity in Stock: 23

This is 100% varietal and this wine has a very rustic bouquet of wild flowers herbs and dark berry fruit on the nose, gamey notes coming out as the wine opens. Has a good amount of that wild flower and herbs from the nose lasting through the finish, dark spices and that gamey note through the finish, big but has great freshness to balance things out. Finish 50+ Excellent +

2007 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella
Price: $105.25    Your Price: $92.62
Quantity in Stock: 12

(94 Points) "The 2007 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is an impressive wine built to last. Bertani does a great job of presenting the purity of the wine's fruit, its territory and its tradition. The Amarone is not overbuilt or too muscular. Instead, it walks with small, poised footsteps that carry it long and wide. The bouquet shows classic notes of dried fruit, toasted almond, resin, cola and grilled herb. I would not suggest serving this bottle for at least 24 months. Rating: 94(+) Points." The Wine Advocate

2007 Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine Niagra Penninsula (375ml)
Price: $85.00    Your Price: $74.80
Quantity in Stock: 8

(89 Points) Shows a candied black currant flavor, like wine gum, along with juicy acidity. Light and balanced, with moderate length. Drink now. 1,600 cases imported. “BS Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2009

Menu

Fig and Butternut Squash ravioli with goat cheese creme and applewood smoke bacon crumble

Deconstructed beef ribeye wellington with English yorkshire pudding

Chocolate creme brulee with raspberry preserves

The fee for this tasting is $95 + tax per person and is limited to 14 tasters.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com