Whole Foods Premier Tasting

The Whole Foods in Duluth does a tasting every Saturday when they are having a 20% off case sale. While it isn’t close, we have found it to always be worth the $15 (per couple, $10 for individuals). Last night, they really opened up, adding a reserve table (though I think many folks were getting the wines without having paid the extra $5 per person) and several premium priced Champagnes. Bonus was, the Champagnes weren’t even part of the reserve tasting.

Below is a complete list of everything on their list, plus a couple that weren’t on the list (hence, they have no price nor vintage). I didn’t taste that many wines, but got to everything I wanted except one. I’m listing all of them so you can see what was poured, plus you’ll get a sense of the value. The only downside was the chaos. The crowd at this tasting was about two, maybe three times the usual size. There were also some rude folks who thought their elbows and a simple “excuse me” were acceptable substitutes for manners. Next time, I’m wearing spikes and rude folks, beware your feet!

DNT = Did Not Try

Prices are only valid (I noticed different pricing today at Whole Foods / Harry’s in Alpharetta today) at the Duluth location.

Table 1

• 2008 Batasiolo Bosc Moscato di Asti $16.99 – DNT
• NV Duval-Leroy Brut $29.99 – Nice and easy to drink, with a clean finish to the fruit and light citrus flavors. For those who don’t care for the yeasty style, this is a solid choice in Champagne.
• 2000 Dom Perignon $139.97 – Youthful and structured, save this for another 10 years.
• 2000 Perrier Jouët Fleur de Champagne $135.99 – Strong grapefruit note, something I really enjoyed. Drinking quite well, with enough structure to continue the aging process.
• 2002 Roederer Cristal $169.99 – Strong finish, with acid by the truckload. Plenty of tart citrus and mineral notes, with no signs of toast showing…yet. Like the Dom, this needs a lot more time than most folks give it. I was impressed and at this price, it makes a much better buy than the recent over $200 pricing that has prevailed. Wish I had the dough to buy and lay down for another 12 years.
• Perrier Jouët Rosé Fleur de Champagne (vintage & price unknown – not on list) – I got the last half pour from the bottle, but what I got was really tasty. It had nice strawberry, sour red cherry and toast.

Table 2

• 2008 Cade Sauvignon Blanc $21.99 – DNT, but I’ve had this at a previous tasting when the price was $29.99 (I think). If memory serves me, it has a good dose of Semillon in it, providing for a rounder and softer mouthfeel.
• 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay $22.99 - DNT
• 2006 Pine Ridge Chardonnay Dijon Clones $29.99 – DNT
• 2008 Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay $44.99 – DNT I think I heard they sold out of this…shocking…insert tongue into cheek.
• 2006 Newton Chardonnay Unfiltered $69.99 – DNT I’ve had this in previous vintages and think it is one of the better Cali Chards in the over $50 range, but at this price, they are really pushing it. Sort of regret missing this one.
• 2008 Chateau St. Michelle Dr. Loosen Eroica Riesling $21.97 – An awesome bottle of domestic riesling, but still very young. I think I liked the 2007 better.

Table 3

• 2007 Four Graces Pinot Noir $25.99 – DNT
• 2006 Hedges Red Mountain $24.99 – DNT
• 2006 Darious Caravan $34.99 – DNT – Another one I’ve enjoyed in previous vintages and typically offers a nice, plush wine for drinking in its youth.
• 2005 Robert Craig Affinity $29.99 – WOTN (QPR factored in) for me, this was a beautiful example of refinement, blending the fruit of California with the refinement of a Bordeaux. It has black currant, espresso, graphite and cedar, all in perfect balance. Fruit wasn’t over ripe, tannins were soft and this was just drinking really nice. The aromas were enough to almost prevent you from drinking it…almost.
• 2005 Chateau Cantemerle Medoc $44.99 – Dark fruit, toasted herbs and some tobacco. This was a very nice wine and once again proved to me, the 2005 Bordeaux are really quite special. I still prefer the Affinity over this, but this was a top five still wine and was better than many of the more expensive reserve wines.
• 2006 Fisher Unity Cabernet Sauvignon $39.99 – A bit soft for me, this had obvious appeal and I had several people tell me they really enjoyed it. Spectator trashed this with a 74, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had a Fisher wine that Laube didn’t care for that I thought was good. Generally speaking, I like Fisher and think they are an under appreciated producer in Napa.
• 2005 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $72.99 – DNT

Table 4

• 2003 Duckhorn Estate Merlot $79.99 – Cherry, dark berries and cocoa, all wrapped up in a smooth and easy to drink style. Yes, the fruit has survived the harsh 2003 signature tannins. $80 is too steep for this in my opinion.
• 2007 Cade Cabernet Sauvignon $69.99 – Very forward with the fruit flavors, a core of currant and black plum, with surrounding layers of cocoa tinted with anise. Some of the vineyard sources include Beckstoffer’s George the 3rd, Beckstoffer’s Orchard Avenue, Kenefick Ranch and Dr. Crane. This was another winner, let’s say Top 3 in terms of pure enjoyment. I’m not sure I’d pay that price, based on other wines that are / will be just as good from this stellar vintage, but this sure was tasty.
• 2005 Mt. Veeder Caberent Sauvignon $29.99 – DNT
• 2006 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon $79.99 – Nothing memorable.
• Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port $52.99 – DNT

Reserve table

• 2005 Chateau de la Maltroye Chassagne-Montrachet Vigne Blance $94.99 – DNT
• 2006 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon $89.99 – They ran out before I could try this.
• 2006 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon $64.99 – Oak lovers will dig this. It was nice, but not overly memorable.
• 2003 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino $79.99 – An excellent wine that was much more structured than I was expecting considering the 2003 vintage. Other 2003s I’ve had were much fruitier in their youth and on a fast track versus the typcial Brunello. This has licorice, spice and vanilla intermixed with black tea and dark cherries. The tannins gave this a nice chewy texture and will keep it going on for quite a while longer. Decant or give it 3 or 4 more years.
• 2000 Batasiolo Barolo Vigneto Bofanit $83.99 – DNT
• 2005 Quintessa $109.99 – Smooth, with good mix of black fruits and some spice in the finish. Well made, but for this price, I expect more.
• 2006 Cakebread Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon $124.99 – They ran out early.
• 200? Opus One (price unknown, as this wasn’t on list…probably opened b/c of Cakebread running out) – I’ve had a few vintages of Opus and enjoyed it, but still find it to be a poor value. This one had people storming the reserve area like the beaches of Normandy, only with less trepidation since you know, there weren’t any bullets. Wines like this always draw a crowd. I’d like to taste Opus with some age on it, since I have only tasted it near release, which I’m sure is much too young.

Overall, this was a great tasting and worth the time and money. I especially dug the Champagnes (of course) and think next time I’ll just hang out over there, drinking bubbles and downing oysters (yes, they had a guy shucking oysters for the two hours and they were disappearing as fast as he could get them open).

Well, that does it for the last post of 2009. Looking forward to 2010 and Bubbles or Bust!

Cheers,
Kevin