Raves about Baltimore Offline Wines and Food

[wondersofwine]

Brappy brought a 1997 Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Alsace Grand Cru, Cuvee du Centenaire from the Faller family. Nice gold color showing that this wasn't a baby. I really liked this wine finding it to have balanced fruit and enough mineral structure to age. Brappy didn't seem to find it as attractive as I did. Bucko, do you have any notes on this wine?

I had poured a glass of 1998 or 1999 Casa Carneros Pinot Noir when I first arrived at the restaurant. Now I'm not sure which year it was--I think 1998. I still love the complexity Melissa Moravec achieves with the use of eight different clones and grapes she grows on her own property. While Brappy found it to definitely be California fruit, the style does suggest Burgundy to me, or at least a pleasant change from the cherry cola one sometimes gets with Carneros P.N. I left most of the Pinot Noir to aerate while I had the Riesling with the appetizer of pita bread and tzatziki (sp?)sauce and Greek salad. All three of us decided to order the "Taste of Samos"--$18.50 per person for generous servings of Greek salad, pita bread and tzatziki, calamari with lemon or tomato sauce, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), spanikopita (spinach pie), small New Zealand lamb chops delicately spiced with Mediterranean spices, lamb souvlaki, grilled garlic shrimp (am I leaving out anything)? Everything on the menu that tempted me except the moussaka. The owners threw in a dessert that was tasty--not baklava but maybe a custard/pastry somehting with honey glaze.

After I finished the Casa Carneros Pinot Noir Brappy poured me some 2003 El Nido from Jumilla, Spain that he generously shared. This got a 97 rating from Parker and retails for over $100 a bottle. It is from 26-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines (70%) and 61-year-old Monastrell or Mourvedre, and aged 26 months in new French and American oak barrels. It is an internationally styled wine with Chris Ringland of Australian fame overseeing the winemaking for the estate.
I found the El Nido to have an intriguing fruity, maybe jammy nose, but it tasted almost sweet on the palate. It's not my style but it was a privilege to be able to sample it.
Next up to go with the lamb chops, the 1999 Eric Ross Occidental Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel from Russian River Valley. This was one I brought and continues to be among my top three or four favorite Zins. It carries 14% alcohol gracefully and comes across with an elegance unusual to Zinfandel. I thought it went nicely with the lamb. Looking at the website: http://www.ericross.com/wines.html the notes say the 2002 Occidental Vineyard Zinfandel "may be the best we've ever made." "It's oak is always sympathetic to its larger message of fruit." Better get some while it's available. The 2000 was similar to 1999 vintage and also a delight.
The 1999 took a little while to open up after pouring. Brappy drew my attention to the color--paler than most Zins and perhaps indicative of its age, but he found the wine to be young and fresh on the palate. A totally different style red than the El Nido, but he likes both styles.

Now it was time to consider dessert wines with the Greek dessert. Brappy brought a 1999 Wagner Vidal Ice Wine, 11.6% alcohol. I brought a cradle-robbing 2003 Sudiraut or a 1999 Kurt Darting Durkheimer Hochbenn Muskateller Eiswein (Pfalz, Germany). We decided to try the two ice wines. The Wagner Vidal was a medium gold color and nice without being cloying. I detected attractive peach notes while Brappy found some citrus along with the peach.

The Kurt Darting Muskateller Eiswein was also a medium gold color. The nose was more floral than the Vidal wine, suggesting honeysuckle. Again, sweetness without being cloying. Enough acid to carry it well. A very nice match to the Greek dessert. This was my second bottle (500 ml.) of this wine but showed much better this time than at an outdoor gathering where it was hard to keep it chilled.

I hope Mark and Hattie were able to take some of the opened bottles home with them because it would be a shame to waste them.

Like I said in the wine touring thread-- a great evening. I really enjoy meeting others that share my enthusiasm for wines.