On the third day of my birthday month, Goldschmidt Vineyards came to my happy place for the quarterly IYI event. It would seem as if they had this event just for me since it was September.
I suppose not everyone would agree but what does that matter?! We all know the truth here.
I suppose not everyone would agree but what does that matter?! We all know the truth here.
Almost every winemaker in Napa and Sonoma has worked for Nick Goldschmidt and he consults with many vineyards all over the world. He does something that is incredibly rare when making wine. His wines are 100% varietal meaning each wine is only one single grape. A lot of winemakers will blend wines to add different characteristics to the wine. In order for a wine to be called that varietal it just needs to be 75% of that grape.
I knew right from the start we were in for a treat!
2012 Boulder Bank
Sauvignon Blanc
Fitzroy Vineyard
Marlborough, New Zealand
The only white wine of the night was a Sauvingon Blanc that I actually could tolerate! It did not have an overly dominant grapefruit fragrance or taste like most Sav Blancs, but smelled more of tangerine and lemongrass with a citrus taste.
I asked the representative why this Sav Blanc was different and he said because this vineyard lies below sea level!!
Now I know what I need to look for - Sav Blanc vineyards that live below sea level!
I wasn't madly in love with this wine but it wasn't screaming grapefruit like every Sav Blanc so I was really pleased!
2010 Boulder Bank
Pinot Noir
Fitzroy Vineyard
Marlborough, New Zealand
Being a self-proclaimed Oregon Pinot Noir snob, I was not expecting much from this wine. I mean after all, what does New Zealand know about Pinot Noir, right? Well, did I get knocked off my pedastal with this one!! It stole the show for me and the Evil Red Genius!!
Being the first 100% Pinot that I have ever tried, I was impressed. At first whiff, I immediately wanted to be sitting outside at a fire pit toasting marshmallows on a cool Fall evening in shorts and a sweatshirt under the stars. It has the dirty, mossy, wet forest fragrance that is known to excite me and has a very light taste but also finished DIRTY!!
(Cue Christina Aguilera song here)
These Pinot vines are cane-pruned which allows more exposure to the sun. With a more open canopy there is better airflow. Smaller berries also equal better ripening and greater complexity! Evidently, New Zealand DOES know what they are doing when it comes to Pinots!
At the end of these evenings, whatever bottles are still open we are allowed to taste again. Everyone was running to the big expensive Cabernets for another taste. Normally, I would be racing to that end of the table as well, and don't get me wrong we definitely did partake, but the Evil Red Genius and I were smitten by this New Zealand Pinot Noir!! Arthur was even shocked at that idea and we both ended up buying two bottles to take home. It was THAT fantastic!
2012 Forefathers
Cabernet Sauvignon
Lone Tree Vineyard
Alexander Valley, California
I definitely liked the smell of this wine better than the taste. It had aromas of mulled spices - clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. It made me think of Fall which is one of my favorite seasons.
2012 was marked by very small berries which make the wine very intense. That explains why I thought this wine was pretty harsh and it even had a burning aftertaste. It tasted very young to me and needed to be put away and forgot about for a while.
Only 15 barrels were made and it should age well.
2010 Goldschmidt
Cabernet Sauvignon
Yoeman Vineyard
Alexander Valley, California
(This wine was voted the evening's best Cab Sav by the Dirty Pinot Girls)
The Yoeman vineyard faces north and doesn't receive hot afternoon sun which is why this wine has higher alcohol levels and shows enormous power and layering which is not typical for Alexander Valley wines.
This Cab has a spicy, stinky smell with baking spices and red fruit on the palette. I immediately thought of a licorice stick in a mud puddle with a hint of vanilla. Pretty vivid, eh?
Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. Sometimes it just hits me!
2009 Goldschmidt
Cabernet Sauvignon Plus
Yoeman Vineyard
Alexander Valley, California
Only four barrels were made of this wine. Five tons of grapes go into one barrel. You do the math. I'm too pretty to do math. At least that's what my boss tells me. I run with it whenever I can.
The Alexander Valley Plus has a spicy but earthy aroma.
Its taste reminded us of a bitter garden marigold.
How do we know what a marigold tastes like? Good question. We don't, but trust me.
You taste this wine and you'll immediately think of a marigold. It tastes like a marigold smells.
Add a hint of fresh mint to the marigold there ya have it!
It's Orbit gum wine. Don't have a dirty mouth - drink Orbit wine from the Alexander Valley!
Ding! Minty fresh!
I'll explain more about the Plus wines (No, they aren't bigger. They aren't plus-sized. Those are called Magnums. See what I did there?) with the next Cab.
2009 Goldschmidt
Cabernet Sauvignon Plus
Game Ranch Vineyard
Oakville, California
The Oakville Cab Sav Plus is also a small production wine and only four barrels are made.
Nick does something very special with his Plus wines to speed up the VA (the formation of vinegary characters which are the result of the growth of acetic acid bacteria which are destructive to wine) so that it spikes very early and then levels off for the remainder of the fermentation.
What does that mean? That means that the mouthfeel of the wine is changed considerably and the wine is given more depth and complexity. It's a really good thing; however, it is also very risky and can become very expensive if there is a mishap. (Expensive mistake is bad.)
The Plus wines also go into new tight grain French barrels for one year and then repeated. The tighter the grain the less porous the wood which ensures a watertight barrel but releases the oak flavor into the wine more slowly. (Subtle oak is yummy.)
Now the secret is how Nick extracts the wine out of his tank.
(That sounded dirty, didn't it? You're welcome.)
He decided to keep this to himself because he only knows of two other wineries that use this technique and they charge well over $500 for a bottle of this wine. However, they all have the same problem - they can't make the volume.
Why is all of this important? It yields a incredibly powerful and supple wine.
Even better.. Nick was told, "You HAVE to sell this wine for $500 a bottle."
Nick's response, "No, I don't."
Keeping it real and simple. Thanks Nick. I like simple.
The Oakville Cab Sav Plus has an aroma of peppery Elmer's glue along with flavors of blueberry, black currant and a smokey nutty finish. Delicious, right? Yes, but not my kind of Cab.
I can appreciate it and all that goes into making it but to each his own.
Once again, I had such an incredible evening at my happy place. Proves to me yet again why I decided to change my membership to the premier club, the If You Insist (IYI) membership.
I get to try wines that I otherwise would never even know about much less get to taste!
Most importantly of all, it was on this very evening, at this specific event, at my happy place during my birthday month, all because of a dirty $25 New Zealand Pinot Noir that
the Evil Red Genius and the Velvet Devil
proudly joined forces to become
the power duo known as
"The Dirty Pinot Girls"!
the Evil Red Genius and the Velvet Devil
proudly joined forces to become
the power duo known as
"The Dirty Pinot Girls"!
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