Monthly Archives: May 2009
Brisket and a Four Gates Cabernet Franc Wine Vertical
This past week found us at a friends’ house for a lovely Friday night dinner. Great food was served as usual, but it was also the spot for a Four Gates Winery Cabernet Franc vertical wine tasting. A vertical is when a single winery show cases a single wine varietal from many years. This really gives us all a chance to see how well the Cabernet Franc ages, and to see the different tastes and styles, because two of the five wines in the vertical were N.V., as Benyamin (the owner of Four Gates Winery), did not have enough grapes from those vintages.
The first thing to take note, was that as Cabernet Franc ages, it seems to lose its classical Cab Franc characteristics. Those being, floral and vegetal notes, that are balanced with bright red fruit and come packaged in either a medium or full bodied wine. Now I have not had the chance to do this with other wineries, so it may be a bit of a stretch to make that statement. So I would simply say, that the Four Gates Cabernet Francs that we tasted we best when they were 7 years or less old. This is not a knock on Four Gates Cab Franc. Not all wine is meant for long term cellaring. For instance, the 2006 vintage can use a bit more cellaring, but the 2003 vintage is about ready to drink with maybe a year or two more left in the tank.
When people hear Cabernet Franc, there is this initial glaze that comes over their face, and then there is this Oh’ moment, where they think you have misspoke, and meant Cabernet Sauvignon. Well folks, Cabernet Franc really only has a single thing in common with Cabernet Sauvignon, and that is the first part of its name (and its heritage). Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape that is meant to build a brute of a wine, while Cabernet Franc is a grape that builds a wine with more finesse. While as defined before, the characteristics of Cabernet Franc, are fruity, peppery, floral, and come in a medium bodied wine that is pale red in color. This is in stark contrast to the Cabernet Sauvignon that is a grape that is blacker, with more rich fruit, and can be manipulated with oak, which drives wine makers to create wines that are now defined as a California Cabernet. The reason for the similarity in name is its heritage. Cabernet Franc is actually one of the parent’s of Cabernet Sauvignon. The other parent is Sauvignon Blanc, hence the name Cabernet (from Cabernet Franc) Sauvignon (from Sauvignon Blanc). What I find fascinating is how the marriage of two lighter weight wines, can create a brute of a grape like Cabernet Sauvignon! Anyway, I digress, once they realize that you speak not of the classic Cabernet Sauvignon wine, the bewildered visage returns.
To be fair, Cabernet Franc has not been pushed much in the kosher market, or even in the far broader general wine market. Cabernet Franc along with Pinot Noir, are some of my favorite wines. Please do not take that as a slight to many of the great red varietals. All it means is that a nice green and fruity wine every so often is wicked cool. So let us start with the discussion of what green or vegetal means. There are reams of books upon this matter, and the great and overly powerful wine critic Robert Parker, has slammed many a wine for being “green”. Actually some wines that his right hand man Mark Squires tasted recently from Israel, were reduced for being too green (Lewis Pasco was the head wine maker of the Recanati Winery from its opening in 2000 till 2006). Today, more and more vintners are making ripe, large fruity wines to meet the desires of Robert Parker and family. Parker’s site even describes the green/vegetal wine characteristic (in his glossary), as a flaw. If the wine is totally vegetal, tasting of bell pepper and herbs, yes, I would think that it would be lacking as well. But having green characteristics is part and parcel the definition of Cabernet Franc, which in many ways is why the wine has never gained massive appeal in the mind of the common wine swilling Joe. Recently, the discussion of Cabernet Franc came up on Rogov’s new site, and it was summed up as a green and fruity wine, that was under appreciated by most, which I understand, but feel is more about the lack of marketing than reality. Still, perception is reality.
This is not meant to be another Parker bash session, please. One can make a Cabernet Franc with floral and red fruit notes that do not belie the true grape’s characteristics. Still, a bit of bell pepper should not bring down the scores.
Anyway, I have raved on enough about Cabernet Franc and all. I would like to send major props to my friends for hosting the vertical, and to Four Gates Winery, for supplying the wines! The wine notes follow below:
N.V. Four Gates Cabernet Franc (1997 – 1999) – Score: B
This one is essentially D.O.A. – which is unfortunate. The nose on this garnet colored wine is smoky with cedar leanings. The nose is hot out of the bottle, with raspberry, and has strong acidic attitude along with a bit of oak. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is tannic with oak, plum, and raspberry. The mid palate is acidic and overpowers the palate. The finish is long with eucalyptus, and red fruit. What is clear is that the tannins are still present along with gobs of acid, but the fruit is dwindling and that is what makes this wine feel off.
N.V. Four Gates Cabernet Franc (2000 – 2001) – Score: B+
This one is a tale of two wines, one upon opening and one some 30 minutes later. The nose on this garnet colored wine is hopping with vanilla, coffee, cherry, raspberry, floral, along with bell pepper. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is lush with integrated tannins, sweet oak, plum, and cherry. Unfortunately, the mouth change drastically within 40 minutes of the bottle’s opening. At that point, the mouth thins out and turns into a light to medium bodied wine. It loses its lushness, and turns from a balanced fruity and acidic wine to an overly acidic wine, much mimicking the previous N.V.’s palate. The mid palate is acidic and balanced out of the bottle, but turns acidic and packed with dirt as time passes. The finish is over bright and oaky with red fruit.
2003 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: B+ – A-
The nose on this garnet to black colored wine is a very interesting twist on Cabernet Franc. It starts with a ton of dark chocolate, cherry, currant, plum, and follows on with classical franc notes of bell pepper and a bit flowers and oak. The mouth on this complex medium to full bodied wine is packed with velvety tannins that are integrating quite nicely along with cherry, raspberry, and currants. The mid palate is flush with fruit and balanced almost perfectly by bright acidity along with oak and integrated tannins. The finish is spicy and laced with vanilla and sour cherry.
2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: A-
It turns out that the wine is progressing quite nicely and following what we tasted last. Here are my impressions again. The nose on this garnet to black colored wine is a very interesting twist on Cabernet Franc. It starts with a ton of dark chocolate, cherry, currant, plum, and follows on with classical franc notes of bell pepper and a bit flowers and oak. The mouth on this complex medium to full bodied wine is packed with velvety tannins that are integrating quite nicely along with cherry, raspberry, and currants. The mid palate is flush with fruit and balanced almost perfectly by bright acidity along with oak and integrated tannins. The finish is spicy and laced with vanilla and sour cherry.
2006 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: A-
This one started out extremely tannic and tight from birth, and has loosened up a bit with age, but is still quite young. We tasted it last from barrel and it has grown older and rounder since then. It has also garnered a sheen of chocolate and tobacco on its nose and finish, which suite it quite well. Here is the complete latest version of the notes:
The nose on this garnet to black colored wine is a very interesting twist on Cabernet Franc. It starts with a ton of dark chocolate, tobacco, cherry, plum, and classic franc notes of herbs, eucalyptus, bell pepper, and strong floral leanings. The mouth on this concentrated medium to full bodied wine is still heavy with yet to integrate tannins, but the concentrated flavors of plum, oak, cherry, and roasted herbs control the palate. The mid palate carries some of the tannins along with bracing acidity, and awesome sweet oak to keep the wine in check. The finish is super long and caressing with ripe red fruit, vanilla, chocolate, tobacco, and herbs. It is a fun wine that is great now, but will be better yet in a year or so.
ElviWines Ness and some lovely Buffalo steaks
This past weekend saw us enjoying a meal at home with a pair of grilled Buffalo steaks and vegetables, along with a wicked cool bottle of wine that I have had before, but not documented until now. We placed the steaks into a marinade of wine, herbs, and stone crushed mustard. The marinade helped to soften the buffalo steaks and added a really nice herb and mustard flavor to them. I popped some charcoals into my small grill, and lit them up and let them get nice and white. I then dropped the vegetables on the coals, and started working on a salad with my wife to complement the dinner.
Once the vegetables were grilled, I threw the meat on the grill for a few minutes on each side, and then let them rest for a couple of minutes. I used the marinade to baste the meat while it was cooking on the grill and then we tucked into them once they had rested.
I chose to pair the steaks with a fun loving wine called Elvi Ness. The wine is really fun and explosive, but not overly complex. It is one of those wines that can be construed by some as all over the place, but to me and others, a really fun loving wine, especially with steak.
The wine notes follow below:
2004 ElviWine Ness (50% Tempranillo, 20% Bobal, 20% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet to purple colored wine starts off with Syrah characteristics, it is really powerful with roasted herb, fig, vanilla, blackberry, plum, dark chocolate, tar extraction, and oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is concentrated with blackberry, red plum, and herbs. The mid palate is bright with acidity, tar, and oak. The finish is spicy and long with pepper, oak, dark fruit, tar, and chocolate. The wine is clearly showing its Syrah components, with its extracted and peppery flavors – quite nice!
Tabor Merlot and Grand Prince Bordeaux along with roasted chicken and chicken soup
This past weekend we got the chance to cook some chicken soup and roast some chicken. But the best part was cooking some Chinese and Japanese Shitake mushrooms, along with some oyster mushrooms. Sautéing the mushrooms were super easy. I cleaned them and then I sliced them thinly, while removing the stems, and then sautéed them in hot oil. The mushrooms cooked quickly and were crispy while staying meaty and nutty, really cool. We ate them all week, with rice and wheat berries.
My wife roasted some pepper and honey-roasted chicken, and I made some chicken soup. I love chicken soup, because it is so crazy easy. The way I cook my chicken soup, is to first sauté the chicken with its skin (a pound of chicken to a quart of soup), to render its fat. Once the chicken is rendered, drop in chunks of:
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Sweet potatoes
- Potatoes
- A beet or two
- Onions
- Zucchini
- Spices and flavorings: cumin, garlic, pepper, bay leaves, sage, and lemon juice
and add water until it covers the vegetables, and cook for an hour or two. The time gives the chicken a chance to extract its goodness and share it with the rest of the vegetables into a killer soup. Anyway, the soup was awesome, and the beets gave it a red look, which was cool. Anyway, I paired it with some 2006 Tabor Merlot, which was nice for a couple of hours and then died quickly, which is unfortunate. During the day, I went to a Kiddush and they served a 2005 Grand Prince Bordeaux, which was a nice mevushal wine, but not so great overall.
Anyway, the wine notes follow below..
2006 Tabor Galil Merlot - Score: B – B+
The nose on this bright garnet colored wine is hot out of the bottle, along with raspberry, plum, cherry, and light mineral notes along with pepper. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has light coating tannins that are close to integrating with the bottle, along with cranberry, plum, and raspberry. The mid palate has light acidity with integrating tannins. The finish is nice and long with cherry and plum along with a dollop of pepper. This wine reminded me of a Four Gates Merlot for a few hours, but that ended quickly when the wine died about two to three hours after it was opened. It was nice in the beginning and got better for about two hours where it peaked, and then it crashed and burned. This wine should be drunk soon, or else you will be left with a bunch of acid and little fruit.
2005 Grand Prince Bordeaux – Score: B+
The nose on this garnet colored wine is very French with tons of mineral/earth notes, along with some black fruit, and pepper. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine starts off with soft and almost caressing tannins, but man did that change with air. The tannins exploded and they were heavy handed and far from integrating. The mouth also has blackberries, plums, and cherry. The mid palate has nice acid and tough tannins. The finish is medium long with tannin, cherry, and pepper. Not bad for a mevushal wine, and I liked it, but it is one of those classical French Bordeaux wines with little complexity and a ton of earth/mineral characteristics, that tends to overpower the fruit. In the bottle I tasted, the tannins were initially quiet, but then made their presence quite known. I think I would have given it a higher score, but its lack of balance, and limited fruit, make me pause.
The Kitchen Table Restaurant: Artisanal Kosher Cuisine – awesome kosher restaurant in Mountain View California
Today I went to lunch with my two of my friends to the “The Kitchen Table Restaurant: Artisanal Kosher Cuisine“, and the three of us (who are self proclaimed foodies), loved the stuff. It is located on a great street (Castro) in downtown Mountain View, with tons of room outside and in. The outside seating is street side, and the inside motif is homey with pictures of families on the wall along with a few nice chandeliers hanging, in an attempt to mimic a kitchen or dining room theme. There is a long table in the back for large crowds of people as well, but it pretty much maxes out after 15 or so people, so large team bashes may be better served outside then in.
The menu is a fusion of Mediterranean fare, classic kosher recipes, and slow-cooked fare. The menu is packed with items that are stuffed with homemade dried meats that are smoked in house, pickles cured in barrels on site, along with the wicked cool fact that all food served is made fresh. Pitas, cakes, cookies, dried meats, marinated mushrooms, etc. No matter the menu item, it is based upon fresh and homemade ingredients that tantalize the mind and palate at the same time. If that were not enough, all the food is organic and the restaurant is in tune with keeping the food elements local and always fresh.
Once the three of us arrived, we sat down outside, and started off by ordering two aperitifs:
Italian Lamb Sausage with kraut and sweet mustard
Black Bean Hummus with pita chips
They were quite nice. The Pita chips were homemade toasted Pita cut into wedges. The wedges were quite lovely – with just enough toast, but with enough bread to give you a nice bite. The Black Bean Hummus was rocking, and was emptied quickly. The lamb sausage (pictured below) was quite nice, cooked to perfection. The age on it was not so long, but still enough lamb and dryness to give you a kick along with nice spices.
Just an aside, the waitress was super nice, food was served timely – important for lunch, but we were left alone, when we wanted to dig into our food and our conversation. I think the staff understands the table well! They understood when we wanted out next course, and when we wanted to be left alone to talk and schmooze. Well managed!
After the starters – we dug into our plates of food.
I ordered Grilled Burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onion, on a honey whole wheat roll. The roll was really nice, but the meat was even better, just awesome. The meat was tender yet gave way to the bite/fork – cooked to perfection! Beyond that the fries that came with it, was great.
My friends ordered:
- Home Cured Pastrami or First Cut Corned Beef on our homemade rye bread with sauerkraut and Russian dressing
- Dry aged Tuscan Salami on a baguette
I tried the salami and pastrami and they were quite nicely done!
I must stress all of this food is kosher and made by hand there at the restaurant. Folks, I have lived here long enough to realize that this is the best kosher place we have ever had, or at least as good as the long gone Rafael’s (that was in Berkeley). So, I will be coming back often – that is for sure! Also, this may be a kosher restaurant, but that does not mean that my review is weighted towards that – I would give this score to a non kosher restaurant as well. I have been to this place with folks (from my office) who are not Jewish, and they raved about this place as well.
The place has it all, great wait staff, great food, and cool ambiance, so go on over and enjoy. I know I will be going back often, and I hope to be posting more updates as I take in all the goodness.
Wine Spectator available again for miles – sort of…..
If you were following the story as closely as I was, Wine Spectator had removed its name from the list of magazine subscriptions that you could buy for miles, from www.magsformiles.com. Well, just as my Wine Spectator magazine subscription was about to run out, my wife saved a letter from US Airways from the trash, it was a renewal notice for many magazines, including Wine Spectator. I thought that their marketing division was broken and stupid, as everyone knew that Wine Spectator was not available for miles any longer! So I discarded the mail in portion of the letter and was about to throw out the whole lot, when I saw small yellow piece of paper that reads
For Faster Service…
Redeem your miles for magazines online.
www.magsformiles.com/44874
Well, I tried the extra special link and it works! Not only did I get my Wine Spectator for 900 miles! But after you enter in your US Airways account and such to charge your miles, you get a page with many GREAT magazines that are available to you for 2 dollars a pop. I personally bought Sports Illustrated for 2 dollars a YEAR, and many others!
Just thought I would pass this along – Wine Spectator is back for miles – sort of, all you need is the special URL! Happy reading!!!
Cheese, Cholent, and Galil Mountain Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
This past week saw us lying low as I was wiped out from the week and almost unable to cook for the Shabbos. So we were able to whip together a cholent, but Friday night saw us enjoying a lovely Quinoa salad that my wife whipped up, along with some really nice Baby Gouda, Medium sharp cheddar, and hard Italian cheeses. I thought that a Cabernet would go well with the cheeses and the cholent, so I decided to test out the remaining bottle of 2007 Galil Cab that I had lying around from Passover. As we spoke about previously the 2007 Galil Cab was not up to snuff on Passover and I had hoped that it was a bad bottle and I was not going to have a failed repeat performance. Unfortunately, the wine did not hold up its side of the bargain, and again failed me. I really hope the two bottles were aberrations, but I have my doubts.
The wine note follows below:
2007 Galil Mountain Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Kosher – Score: B
The nose on this electric garnet colored wine with blue halos is vibrant with cranberry, well balanced mineral notes, raspberry, and toasted herbs. The nose is as good as this wine gets, and I must really stress that the nose’s mineral notes were in perfect harmony with the nose’s fruit and herbs – really quite nice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine follows the nose with cranberry, blueberry, and raspberry, balanced well with integrated tannins. The mid palate is acidic with just enough tannins to keep your attention, but the finish is short and not so satisfying.
I must say this could have been OK (and higher), if this was the end of the story and if the finish would have extended as it opened up, as I have found in previous years. But this vintage is not as good as its predecessors. What is funny is that the bottle’s wine notes are a copy of the previous years, and they do not even closely approximate this vintage’s reality – which is a shame.
What happens to this bottle as it acquires air is that it becomes overly astringent with a mixture of acid and tannin. This has happened now to two bottles. I had hoped that the news would have changed, but no such luck! The mouth becomes astringent as I have said, and then it becomes overly unbalanced and almost totally floral as it gains even more air. Either way, this nice wine goes to pot quickly after it receives air. Maybe both of my bottles were flawed – but I doubt it.
Four Gates Merlot M.S.C., Galil Mountain Winery Yiron, Carmel Cabernet Sauvignon Zarit
This past Friday night saw us invited to a friend of ours for dinner, and so we brought a bottle of wine, and so did a couple of other folks as well. Dinner was wonderful as usual. It started with Teriyaki Salmon and a really nice salad. It was followed by thick and lustrous leek/carrot/potato bisque that went along wonderfully with the killer freshly baked challah. Finally, it was followed by a killer braised black olive/carrot chicken, served alongside brown rice and almond encrusted green beans. The meal was really lovely and the wines served were quite nice as well. The host started with Benyamin’s yet to be released 2006 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. It still needs sometime to hit its stride, as of now it is still too tightly wound, and is one of the main reasons why he has yet to release it. We put it to the side, and it opened nicely an hour or so later. That was followed by an almost smooth 2003 Galil Mountain Winery Yiron. That one has hit its stride, and is slowing down, so drink up. That was followed once more by the 2003 Carmel Cabernet Sauvignon Zarit, which is at its peak, if not a bit below it. I like a wine to have a bit of bite, so I think it is at its peak, others who like it completely smooth, would maybe want to wait a few more months. Of the three wines, we ordered them as such; Four Gates Merlot, Zarit Cabernet, and Yiron. They all received an A-, but I would order them in that manner.
We want to throw major props to the direction of our hosts and thank them profusely for their hospitality and the wonderful meal. The wine notes follow below:
2003 Carmel Cabernet Sauvignon Kerem Zarit – Score: A-
The nose on this purple to black colored wine is a classical old style Cabernet, which means more green than red or black. The nose was herbaceous and smoky with green pepper, and a hint of oak. The mouth of this full bodied wine was a complete opposite of the nose, with mounds and layers of blackberry, licorice, and plum that was solidified by nice tannins. The mid palate flows nicely with bracing acidity and tannins that flow into a long finish of spice, black fruit, and a touch of oak. This is a nice wine and is ready to drink.
2006 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. – Score: A- (not yet for sale)
This has not changed much from the previous time that we tasted this wine, other than the plum and heat in the nose. The heat blows off quickly, and the plum completes a wonderful mouth feel, quite nice.
The nose on this black garnet colored wine filled with candied raspberry, blackberry, plum, roasted herbs, and intense sweet wood. The nose changes with more air to a richer nose of opulent wood and more plum and cranberry. The mouth on this full bodied wine is concentrated, full in the mouth with mouth coating tannins, and complex layers of plum, raspberry, blackberry, and cherry. The mid palate is a balance of oak and acid that play off the full mouth. The finish is long and spicy with more sweet wood, acidity, coffee, and vanilla.
2003 Galil Mountain Winery Yiron – Score: A-
The nose on this black colored wine is a new world cabernet first and foremost, it is packed with blackberry, cassis, red fruit, tobacco, a touch of bell pepper, and oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is smoky and concentrated, but utterly smooth, it has hit its stride. It starts with cassis, blackberry, and red fruit. The mid palate has just enough acid to keep this wine balanced, along with nicely integrated tannins. The finish is long and spicy with black fruit, chocolate, and rich oak. Drink up and enjoy.
