california two'fer

as promised, this is not just about fruit forward young southern rhone wines. and today, there will be two wines posted.

while wandering the aisles of the local pennsylvania wine and spirits shop yesterday, and wondering who chooses to order some of the swill offered, i was given a tip. there was a special purchase wine from a boutique napa producer selling for $26 which lists for $116. that is an odd price reduction and the question is why? the economy is bad and a large number of producers are in dire straits, some are selling their properties or have sold them and need to purge inventory. for that kind of a discount it was worth a try, maybe this would be something to go back and purchase in volume to cellar so i picked up a bottle then resumed my unrewarding wandering. i saw bottles we had tasted at the producers during our napa trip last summer at ridiculous mark-ups. then, i found a second label which brought back an amazing collection of flavors, something special i had tasted on that same trip at a very reasonable price. two wines to try, one red and one white.

dinner plans changed and suddenly the wine choices seemed slightly off, but it was worth a try. can a big young red pair with smokey grilled chicken and spinach gnocchi with a creamy vegetable and pistou sauce? the plan had been to make a tarte a citron for dessert but inefficiency had left no time.

the advice had been to decant the red about an hour before serving; i decanted half and tasted from the bottle. a dark maroon wine, with aromas of the smokey rub on the chicken, tobacco, and dark fruits. the taste was fruit forward with ripe black fruits and a hint of smoke. the tannin was well balanced. there was a slightly astringent finish. an hour later i tasted what had been decanted, there was less fruitiness, but the ripe black cherries and blackberries were still there along with smoke and tobacco. the astringent finish was gone. the wine partnered perfectly with the meal, white food and red wine. tasted again today, the tannins have softened and the wine has matured. it remains exceptional.

dessert became another issue, as there was not any. having already made one unique pairing we went for it again. what about the white wine with a simple ice cream? now i had a delicate white wine- not a dessert wine- going with ice cream after a big red wine. the wine was pale and young with intense aromas of honey, flowers, and citrus. the taste had crisp melon, pear, and lemon. the acidity was perfect. it stood up to what had preceded it and to what it was served with. tasted again today, the acid has softened, but the wine did stand up well to being open over night. i actually tasted this backwards again today, after the cab, and it worked perfectly. this is an exceptional wine for an affordable price.

the red wine was "clare luce abbey estate, cabernet sauvignon, napa valley, 2006." the web site is www.clareluceabbey.com. the wine was custom crushed and vinified at the adjacent vineyard 29. the grapes were sourced from the clare luce abbey's 7 acre hillside vineyard. the property has been sold to vineyard 29. this is an exceptional wine at an unbelievable price. i think it will age well for a decade based upon its behavior with decanting and retasting the decanted wine the next day. it is unclear to me if the advertised 2007 vintage is their last, or if it ended with the 2006 as i cannot locate a date of sale for the property on line. shortly after noon today the inventory of this wine in the local shop will decline significantly; it will be served on special occasions over the coming years.

the second wine was "pine ridge 2008 chenin blanc- viognier." we had found pine ridge quite by accident during our trip last summer- they had been recommended by another producer as a place to visit because we were ahead of schedule for the day and wanted to add a stop. i filed this wine away as a great warm weather wine for lunch and lite dinners. it is 81% chenin blanc and 19% viognier. they have a large portfolio of wines in a variety of price ranges, this bottle is under $12 dollars and compares well with similar wines for twice the cost. i highly recommend it. we have some of the producer's other wines aging in our cellar. i think a case of this will be coming home today for consumption this summer. their web site is www.pineridgewinery.com.