Flowering plum tree at Rodrigue Molyneaux vineyards
Saturday, February 13, 2010: “We had a decadent day.”
My sister-in-law summed up our Saturday quite well at dinner last night. Although I started the day running a bit late and a lot hungry, I really had nothing to complain about at the end of the evening.
I’d forgotten to make time for breakfast, so by the time my wife and I dashed out of the house to meet my brother and his wife I was belching from hunger. And we had to stop for daytime cold meds on the way to Fremont from San Jose.
After meeting up with my brother and sister-in-law, we headed to Livermore. Today was the release party for Noah’s 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. There would be food and barrel tastings at the Retzlaff Winery and we would be joined by my wife’s best friend.
One of only two barrels of 2008 Noah's Lake County Zin
We entered the barrel room shortly before noon, took our glasses, and tasted the 2008 Lake County Zinfandel out of the barrel. It was already soft around the edges, exuded dark red fruit, had just a light touch of acidity and pepper, with a dark, rich color. I could have drunk from the barrel all day, but was told that there were only two barrels of this wonderful stuff and the futures were only $110 a case.
Fresh, raw oysters from Washington
It’s amazing how well zinfandel pairs with raw oysters. Complementing the oysters was a very simple sauce made with red wine vinegar, green onions, and jalapenos. The oysters were from Farmer Tom’s ranch in Washington State. They were sweet, succulent, and not at all fishy.
Noah and son
Also on the table were tri-tip sandwiches. Winemaker Noah Retzlaff Taylor had marinated the beef in salt, pepper, garlic, and Jack Daniels. His wife Farah provided an aioli made with mayonnaise, roasted chipotle peppers, and olive oil. The tri-tip sandwiches and oysters were a great way to ease my hunger pangs.
We played with Noah and Farah’s baby, checked out the jewelry vendor, and all went in together on a case of the 2008 futures. What a deal!
Our next stop was the Wood Family Vineyards, where Rhonda Wood was offering tastings of her Grenache, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and old vines Zinfandel. We all agreed our favorite of the day was the Grenache.
We headed to Les Chenes to taste what Candace and Richard were pouring and pairing. The syrah and chocolate soufflé pairing was great, but we walked away with a bottle of their tawny port-style dessert wine. Not overly sweet, a pronounced by not overpowering flavor of hazelnuts, and a hint of lemon in the back of the mouth.
Garry Rodrigue in his tasting room
Our last stop was at Rodrigue Molyneaux, where we had to pick up our quarterly club shipment. The flowering plum and cherry trees beside the tasting room were already in bloom. Garry, Nancy and Tom were surprised that we were there, since we’re usually among the last to pick up our shipment. We collected our bottles of Amianco, Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera. My brother and I declined the tasting to allow our palates to recover for dinner.
Our bargain cymbidium orchid
So we said goodbye to our friend and headed back to my brother’s house. On the way, we stopped at a plant and pot wholesaler near the Sunol golf course on Andrade Road. My wife picked out a purple and yellow cymbidium orchid plant in full bloom – priced at only $10 – and an 8-inch glazed pot – red, of course, for good luck and priced at under $9 – for one of our pot-bound house plants.
My brother knows far more about burning meat than I do. So I put the rib-eye steaks we had brought for dinner in his hands. He patted them dry and sprinkled them with kosher salt, then set them aside while his wife prepared steamed artichokes and baked potatoes. While we waited for dinner to cook, my sister-in-law whipped up some chili-cheese nachos. And she toasted a few thin slices of pimiento bread for the pate.
As the artichokes and potatoes came close to being done, my brother washed the salt off the steaks and re-seasoned them with fresh-cracked pepper. He cooked them on cast-iron pans at high heat – medium-rare for him and me, medium-well for our wives.
1966 Medoc: Still luscious after all these years!
While my brother cooked, he asked me to open the wine he had planned to serve with dinner. He had bought this bottle at auction about 15 years ago and stored it carefully. It was a 1966 Grand Vin de Leoville Saint-Julien-Medoc. Very special not only because of its age; 1966 was the year my brother graduated from high school.
The rabbit cork-puller didn’t work! So I switched to an ah-so. That worked better, but left a quarter inch of the cork in the mouth of the bottle. I carefully pushed the cork fragment into the bottle as I decanted and strained the wine.
After waiting a while for the wine to open up, we were rewarded with a sweet, robust nose and a beautiful, deep purple color. No trace of mold or dead leaves in the nose or on the palate. To our great surprise the nose gave us a strong whiff of dark red fruit and mild spice. We tasted dark plum, black licorice, and just a hint of tar. The wine did not drink like an old, dusty bottle; this wine was alive and ready to join the party.
The steaks and wine were a great pairing. The steamed artichokes were a pleasant, lemon-kissed complement. The baked potatoes, with sour cream, bacon and cheese, were a firm anchor for the meal. We lingered over the last few sips of the 1966 Medoc.
The last of Audubon Cellars late harvest chardonnay
Dessert was simple. Angel food cake, fresh blackberries and whipped cream. My brother paired dessert with a 1997 Audubon Cellars Napa Valley Late Harvest Chardonnay. Not too sweet, fruity, with light and bright notes of citrus. It’s a pity the vintner no longer makes this wine.
We capped the evening with Apolo Anton Ohno’s exciting dash to a silver medal and Olympic history, and J.R. Chelski’s unbelievable bronze in the men’s 1500-meter short track. A special note: Chelski is half Filipino, so people are cheering on two sides of the Pacific.
How do I define decadence? More delight than I am allowed to have. Good food, great wine, beautiful flowers, quality time with family.
I agree completely. It was a decadent day.
