2004 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve

This was my second birthday wine and it was absolutely superb! Just a major WOW wine.

Ponzi Vineyards is located in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and is famed for its Pinot Noirs. I have had some of their other Pinots before and enjoyed them very much. This was my first tasting of their reserve though.

The 2004 Ponzi Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve ($55) was a low production wine, only 2,312 six-bottle cases having been made. It received 91 points from Wine Spectator. To me, it deserved a higher rating as I thought it was one of the best Pinot Noirs I have had in a long time. This is a perfect example of how well Oregon can make Pinot Noir.

The wine presents an intial mix of fine fruit flavors, including some dark cherry and raspberry. These are more subdued fruit flavors, more mature fruit. The wine has a long finish with hints of various spices. The overall impression is an incredibly smooth wine that tantalizes the palate. It is a very well balanced wine and the tannins do not overpower you. This wine could be drank alone, or with food. It has such a silky mouthfeel and its melange of flavors will only please you. It is definitely a top notch wine that you want to linger over. There was a touch of sadness when the bottle was finally empty.

I certainly recommend this as a Drink & Buy. It is not an everyday wine but it is well worth its price. I will seek out this Reserve again.

1991 Cuvee Maximilian

It was my birthday yesterday so I opened a couple of special bottles of wine, including the oldest bottle of wine I own.

The 1991 Cuvee Maximilian was made by the Westport Rivers Winery in Massachusetts. Westport Rivers is a family owned vineyard and winery. They planted their first vines in 1986. They make both sparkling and still wines. Their Brut Cuvée RJR is an inexpensive ($20) sparkling wine which is very good.

The 1991 Cuvee Maximilian ($90) is the top of their line. It is comprised of 72% Pinot Noir and 28% Chardonnay. It spent twelve years "en tirage". It is made in the methode champenoise, the same way French champagnes are made. Only 40 cases of this wine were supposed to be produced. But, my bottle was numbered 1117 so I am unsure. The bottle came in a wooden box. The 1991 may not be available any longer at the winery as their website only has a listing for their 1992.

This sparkling wine was certainly very different than their basic Brut Cuvée RJR. The Brut has a touch of sweetness but the Maximilian is far more like traditional French champagne. It has more of that typical yeasty flavor. It is certainly a big wine, with layers of flavors, and lots of tiny bubbles. Everyone enjoyed the Maximilian very much. I think this would compare quite well against French champagne and most people would not believe it came from Massachusetts.

So, why not try a local winery? The 1992 Cuvee Maximilian is only selling for $60. It is also very limited so you might want to buy a bottle for a special occasion.

Boston Restaurant Week: August

The Summer edition of Boston Restaurant Week nears and now is the time to make your reservations. Over 150 restaurants will be participating.

Restaurant Week is actually two weeks, August 5-10 and August 12-17 (Just no Saturdays). Restaurants may have a special three-course Prix-fixe Lunch and/or Dinner menu. Lunch only costs $20.07 and dinner costs $33.07.

You can check out the Unofficial Guide to Boston Restaurant Week for details on which restaurants are participating, menus and reservation information.

Make your reservations early as this is a very popular event and the most popular restaurants can fill up very quickly. I have gone to a number of these events before and some of the restaurants really give you an excellent value.

Decanter 2007 Power List

The July 2007 issue of Decanter, a British wine magazine, has their 2007 Power List. This gives their opinion on the top 50 people who have a direct influence on the wine style you drink now and the near future.

The top ten include:
1. Robert Parker (up from #2 last year)
2. Mel Dick (up from #3 last year)
3. Richard Sands (down from #1 last year)
4. Trevor O'Hoy (up from #14 last year)
5. Richard Evans (a new entry)
6. Patrick Ricard (up from #7 last year)
7. Joseph Gallo (a new entry)
8. Michael Rolland (down from #4 last year)
9. Jancis Robinson (up from #13 last year)
10. Annette Alvarez-Peters (new entry)

I am sure the choice of Robert Parker as #1 will be controversial. There is much anti-Parker sentiment around yet he still does wield much power, even if it has lessened a bit in recent years. Yet Parkers scores still sell much wine.

It was good to see two women in the Top Ten list, showing that women are being taken seriously in the wine world. Though there is only a total of four women in the Top Fifty which indicates men still dominate the wine world. Are there any other women in the wine world that you feel are very influential?

Marven Shanken, owner and editor of Wine Spectator, is #15 on the list, the same as last year.

It was certainly a surprise to see Al Gore on the list as #48, a new entry. He is present though because of his endeavors against global warming.

It is interesting that the winebuyers for Costco Wholesale Corp. and Sam's Club/Walmart made the list, respectively at #10 and #13. These discount stores are certainly selling a lot of wine. Costco sold $850 million last year and Sam's/Walmart sold 35 million bottles.

So, who else do you think is extremely influential in the wine world? Will we ever see a blogger on such a list?

Local Wineries

Just a heads up that today's issue of the Boston Globe, in the Calendar section, has some information on three Rhode Island wineries, as well as two in Massachusetts. The wineries include Sakonnet, Newport, Greenvale, Westport Rivers, and Running Brook. If you would like to plan a visit to these wineries, this article provides all the basic information you need, and provides a brief description of the wineries as well.