Saturday, September 18, 2004
Last night the WinePals revisited one of our original haunts, Solana Beach’s Pacific Coast Grill. Affectionately called PCG by the locals, which I’m one of, the Coast Hiway dining spot really has more than just a happening Happy Hour, and while I often go there for lunch or a cocktail, it had been months since I went there for dinner and even longer for the WinePals. PCG offers great service, and with a new chef in the kitchen, things are back on track to the level when they first opened, superbly executing a menu that offers just about something for everyone. Flemings quality steaks. Roy’s quality seafood. Arterra level service, and always on the spot management by Phil, Randy and Jeff who I consider friends not just people who work there. PCG must be popular, as we had a great turnout, with 14 people joining up for the Friday festivities.
Add in the glamorous crowd at the bar and the private party in the back and you have a really cool, hip spot to go to that is also super wine friendly.
Here’s what we tasted from the various collections of the WinePals.
98 Alquier Marsanne-Rousanne, Faugeres
This wine always impresses me. Now at age seven it has rounded out with the Marsanne being more subdued and the Rousanne taking the leading role. Nice honeysuckle and violet bouquet, with a subtle honeydew flavor on the palate that is full of peaches, pears and hint of pineapple and grapefruit.
02 La Cote Jury Sancerre
One of the best examples of the 2002 vintage in the Loire Valley has to be this bargain Sancerre. Herbal, grassy and lemon lime like, the wine also has a very nice limestone and mineral like base that is full of flavor. It was a great match up to the crab rolls and tasty Calamari.
03 Rombaurer Chardonnay Carneros
The just released Chardonnay from one of Napa Valley’s more respected producers was initially a tad closed up, but with food it really shined. Made more in a style of Chablis, than the blowsy, fat, buttery and butterscotch Chardonnay’s which I’m not as much of a fan of, this crisp granny apple, green apple and pear flavored white is a sure buy for near term drinking.
02 Anne Amie Pinot Noir
This Oregon Pinot has lots of stuffing and is a big, bold, Pinot spice and cinnamon monster. Already drinking well, the small lot style production and handcrafted style is pure Oregonian and doesn’t try to be Burgundy. Lots of black cherry, some cola and black raspberry fruit all melded together, and the ability to age.
02 Akura Otago Pinot Noir
I’ve yet to really find too many Pinot Noir’s from New Zealand that knock my socks off other than the Lawson’s Dry Hill. This failed to reach that level, and while pleasing, is not one to really count on for long term drinking. It’s good, but rather one dimensional compared to the Anne Amie.
00 White Cottage Napa Valley Red
Less than 50 cases of this wine are made and it’s available only to winery club members. Priced at $16.00 a bottle this blows away the big gun reds from Napa. An amazing wine that is a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and I suspect Cabernet Franc, the wine is soft now, but has the structure to age and will only get even more impressive.
97 Artesa Merlot Napa Artesa makes good wines, but at age seven this Merlot, despite being from one of the best vintages in the 90’s for Cabernet, this really didn’t hold up as well. Soft, easy to drink with black cherry, bing cherry and blackberry flavors, the wine four years ago would have been killer. Now, it’s just another aged Merlot.
02 Calistoga Cellars Merlot
02 Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
02 Calistoga Cellars Zinfandel
A new producer who little is known about, but can they ever make wine. If you’re a fan of Grove Street or Castle Rock type pricing, but want to drink wines that perform better than wines at many times more the price look no further. The three reds (they also make a Chardonnay) are very impressive right out of the gate. Great color, terrific bouquets and very elegant and deep fruit palate feel. Of the three the lightest, but also the one that gets gulped down the fastest is the Merlot. But it’s the Cabernet and Zinfandel that really caught my attention. Both are rich, thick, unctuous reds with the kind of throwback to the 80’s style of winemaking that Napa Valley was known for. These are not wimpy wines. Instead you get red wine that yells for food and which can be aged for a long while. Think Ridge or Ravenswood Zin in their hey days and you’ll get the idea. The Cabernet is full of cherry, cassis and plums, with just a kiss of mint. The Zinfandel is amazingly rich and concentrated. It’s the kind of Zin you want to pour over pancakes it’s that rich, but at the same time it has an amazing mineral like quality to it. This is a new producer on the scene and one to take seriously.
02 Laurel Glen Terrarossa Cabernet
Ever since Patrick Campbell came to dinner a few months back, this wine has always found a way to be a winner. Still not on store shelves yet in San Diego, but due in soon, this wine never disappoints and may have been the young wine of the night. Still a baby, the Argentina grown grapes from the Mendoza Valley are showing both fleshy black fruit of plums and black cherry, plus a gentle tannic shell that will let this wine age for 10 years or more. This remains a wine to buy by the case and to age if you want to or enjoy with a thick steak.
95 Domaine D'Andezon Cotes du Rhone
My wine of the night, if for no reason other than at price, value and age this wine has it all. The wine has to be one of the great finds back in the 90s that Robert Parker first drew my attention to. This is really a cooperative wine packaged up for the export market. While 95 was considered just a good year in the Rhone this wine is great. Big spicy bouquet of blueberry, black pepper and herbs from the Syrah, and loads of raspberry and strawberry from the Grenache, the wine is clearly at peak but still can age a few more years in a proper cellar.
Add in the glamorous crowd at the bar and the private party in the back and you have a really cool, hip spot to go to that is also super wine friendly.
Here’s what we tasted from the various collections of the WinePals.
98 Alquier Marsanne-Rousanne, Faugeres
This wine always impresses me. Now at age seven it has rounded out with the Marsanne being more subdued and the Rousanne taking the leading role. Nice honeysuckle and violet bouquet, with a subtle honeydew flavor on the palate that is full of peaches, pears and hint of pineapple and grapefruit.
02 La Cote Jury Sancerre
One of the best examples of the 2002 vintage in the Loire Valley has to be this bargain Sancerre. Herbal, grassy and lemon lime like, the wine also has a very nice limestone and mineral like base that is full of flavor. It was a great match up to the crab rolls and tasty Calamari.
03 Rombaurer Chardonnay Carneros
The just released Chardonnay from one of Napa Valley’s more respected producers was initially a tad closed up, but with food it really shined. Made more in a style of Chablis, than the blowsy, fat, buttery and butterscotch Chardonnay’s which I’m not as much of a fan of, this crisp granny apple, green apple and pear flavored white is a sure buy for near term drinking.
02 Anne Amie Pinot Noir
This Oregon Pinot has lots of stuffing and is a big, bold, Pinot spice and cinnamon monster. Already drinking well, the small lot style production and handcrafted style is pure Oregonian and doesn’t try to be Burgundy. Lots of black cherry, some cola and black raspberry fruit all melded together, and the ability to age.
02 Akura Otago Pinot Noir
I’ve yet to really find too many Pinot Noir’s from New Zealand that knock my socks off other than the Lawson’s Dry Hill. This failed to reach that level, and while pleasing, is not one to really count on for long term drinking. It’s good, but rather one dimensional compared to the Anne Amie.
00 White Cottage Napa Valley Red
Less than 50 cases of this wine are made and it’s available only to winery club members. Priced at $16.00 a bottle this blows away the big gun reds from Napa. An amazing wine that is a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and I suspect Cabernet Franc, the wine is soft now, but has the structure to age and will only get even more impressive.
97 Artesa Merlot Napa Artesa makes good wines, but at age seven this Merlot, despite being from one of the best vintages in the 90’s for Cabernet, this really didn’t hold up as well. Soft, easy to drink with black cherry, bing cherry and blackberry flavors, the wine four years ago would have been killer. Now, it’s just another aged Merlot.
02 Calistoga Cellars Merlot
02 Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
02 Calistoga Cellars Zinfandel
A new producer who little is known about, but can they ever make wine. If you’re a fan of Grove Street or Castle Rock type pricing, but want to drink wines that perform better than wines at many times more the price look no further. The three reds (they also make a Chardonnay) are very impressive right out of the gate. Great color, terrific bouquets and very elegant and deep fruit palate feel. Of the three the lightest, but also the one that gets gulped down the fastest is the Merlot. But it’s the Cabernet and Zinfandel that really caught my attention. Both are rich, thick, unctuous reds with the kind of throwback to the 80’s style of winemaking that Napa Valley was known for. These are not wimpy wines. Instead you get red wine that yells for food and which can be aged for a long while. Think Ridge or Ravenswood Zin in their hey days and you’ll get the idea. The Cabernet is full of cherry, cassis and plums, with just a kiss of mint. The Zinfandel is amazingly rich and concentrated. It’s the kind of Zin you want to pour over pancakes it’s that rich, but at the same time it has an amazing mineral like quality to it. This is a new producer on the scene and one to take seriously.
02 Laurel Glen Terrarossa Cabernet
Ever since Patrick Campbell came to dinner a few months back, this wine has always found a way to be a winner. Still not on store shelves yet in San Diego, but due in soon, this wine never disappoints and may have been the young wine of the night. Still a baby, the Argentina grown grapes from the Mendoza Valley are showing both fleshy black fruit of plums and black cherry, plus a gentle tannic shell that will let this wine age for 10 years or more. This remains a wine to buy by the case and to age if you want to or enjoy with a thick steak.
95 Domaine D'Andezon Cotes du Rhone
My wine of the night, if for no reason other than at price, value and age this wine has it all. The wine has to be one of the great finds back in the 90s that Robert Parker first drew my attention to. This is really a cooperative wine packaged up for the export market. While 95 was considered just a good year in the Rhone this wine is great. Big spicy bouquet of blueberry, black pepper and herbs from the Syrah, and loads of raspberry and strawberry from the Grenache, the wine is clearly at peak but still can age a few more years in a proper cellar.
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