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International Food & Wine Festival at Herzog Wine Cellars 2009 Results
This past week saw Benyamin and I going to Los Angeles to visit the Herzog Winery’s showcase event of the year. The winery threw this event last year, and it was a major success. This year I arrived a bit earlier for the press tasting and stayed on for the public one as well. I was able to spend far more time with the three wine makers that were there this year. I spent some time with Goose Bay’s Philip Jones – Managing Director & Senior Winemaker who is the founder of the winery. I asked him how the relationship occurred between Goose Bay and Royal Wines. He explained that he had always wanted to make kosher wine – but was not in the right place and time to make that happen, until a few years ago when he contacted Royal and things just popped into place. Listening to him talk about Ph, excess acidity, malolactic fermentation, etc. really gave me an appreciation for the decisions that wine makers need to make when crafting a wine. The myriad of minute issues that pop-up are mind boggling and the stress of not really knowing what the outcome will be, can only but exasperate the issues. I want to thank Phil for taking the time to explain his wines to me and for making the event that much more special. I also had the luck to talk with Joe Hurliman and to ask him a few questions about the event and the lineup of wines that Herzog was presenting from their own winery. Of course the coming out party was for the new flagship wine from the To Kalon vineyard, but there were far more wines from Herzog that were on display and many were quite nice. I saw Eli Ben Zaken walking about and spent some time with him around the French wine table.
I arrived at 3 PM and started tasting the French wines. This year they had more verticals than they had last year, but they also had fewer French wines that were top notch than last year. Also, a few of the bottles on the French table and many more around the whole event were oxidized or corked. Either way, about 6 to 9 bottles overall had to be pulled, or were not right, which is a shame. The French wines that were not oxidized were also not knockouts. That is except for the usual French suspects of — Pontet Canet and Chateau Guiraud Sauternes. The stars of last year were either no shows or DOA.
- Yatir was a no show
- Segal was a no show
- Castel C was there, but the 2003 vintage, which is not available. Kind of makes you wonder what they thought about the 2006 vintage, if they did not want to bring it.
- Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Leognan was a no show
- Francois Labet Puligny-Montrachet 2002 – which was last year’s star, was oxidized.
- The Meursault Premeir Cru – was also oxidized or corked.
- Carmel and all of their wonderful single vineyard and appellation wines were a no show
- Finally, the 2005 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Flor de Primavera tasted fine but was oxidized on the nose to the point of not being able to enjoy it. Same goes for the Binyamina Ruby Syrah – which was a major hit the last time I tasted it.
With all the misses, there were a ton of hits including the awesome food made by Todd Aarons, chef of the winery’s Tierra Sur Restaurant. The food was incredible, from pulled duck Gnocchi, to lamb bacon, to chicken mole. You name it, it was there. Essentially, the menu of the Tierra Sur restaurant was open to the guests – which was quite a treat.
So I want to thank the winery for being such gracious hosts and putting on a fabulous show. The wines were wonderful, and the food was to die for. The wine notes follow below:
2003 Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint Julien – Score: A
The nose on this garnet to black colored wine is huge with blackberry, cassis, cranberry, eucalyptus, and cloves. The mouth on this full bodied and crazy bold black wine is mouth coating with sticky tannin. The mouth starts with blackberry, cassis, figs, and anise. The mid palate is boldly tannic, with oak and coffee. The finish is long and astonishing with balance of oak, coffee, chocolate, and more tannin. This wine continues to impress and is a dense black wine with complex layers of black fruit, tannin, coffee, and chocolate. Impressive, but still too tannic.
2002 Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint Julien – Score: B
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is hot to start but that blows off after a few hours, along with cassis, cranberry, oak, and allspice. The mouth of this full bodied wine is tannic with cranberry and cassis. The mid palate is acidic, oaky, and tannic. The finish is long with a heady mix of tannin, core acidity, and a nice balance of rich oak. A nice wine, but one I think that is either sleeping now or again a bad bottle. Read the rest of this entry
Vegetarian Stew and Baron Herzog Merlot
This Friday night was a quiet one for us and I wanted to make a recipe that actually hit the spot. I was in the mood for stew and my wife was not in the mood for a meat dish, so we agreed upon Vegetarian Stew. Readers of this blog will know that I am a fan of many of Mollie Katzen’s recipes, from her original vegetarian cookbook, which is getting harder and harder to find. The recipe calls for a nice mix of starch and mirepoix vegetables, along with mushrooms chopped up – to mimic the meat texture and flavor. We changed the recipe a bit to meet my interests this week, which was deep stew flavors and thick comfort food. I think I was successful, the stew smelled and tasted great, but the texture was what worked for me. The stew was thick yet sccopable.
I chose a wine to pair with the stew that was not about the wine. Also, I was wined out, and so, I chose a simple wine that is ok, but not one I would drink again, unless there was nothing else. I opened a Baron Herzog Merlot 2004 – which is a plain Merlot. It was OK, the same old same old. The interesting thing was that the more air it got, the nicer the nose became, but the more cooked the wine tasted – funny thing how Mevushal wine acts. It’s real fault is its plain mouth and body, lack of acidity, tannins, life. It has a quick but fleeting feeling in the front of the mouth and nothing more. That is what you get for a kosher 9 dollar bottle of wine. Just more stuff to talk about on Daniel’s other thread about wine prices.
Baron Herzog Merlot 2004 – Score: B-
A fine wine to drink but nothing exceptional. The wine starts off with a mild nose of blueberry, cranberry, oak, and plum. The nose does get better as it gets more air. The mouth of medium bodied wine starts with plum and red berries. The mid palate is more fruit. There is no acidity, no bracing tannins, this wine has been smoothed or fined to meet the quaffing needs of the public. The finish is short and has no carry effect to speak of.
International Food & Wine Festival at Herzog Wine Cellars 2009
In the words of our illustrious Governator – “I’ll be back” and here, the “I” is the International Food & Wine Festival at Herzog Wine Cellars that I covered in person last year. This year the winery is once again throwing the biggest kosher wine party of the year, and it is once again bicoastal, as it is occurring in Oxnard, CA and then in NY – a week apart.
The press release from Herzog Winery follows below:
Following the success of last year’s festival, Herzog Wine Cellars will once again be hosting some of the finest names in kosher wine today. On Wednesday, February 18, Herzog invites you to celebrate the kosher renaissance of fine drinking and dining at their state-of-the-art facility in Oxnard, California. The wineries hail from France, Spain, Italy, Israel, New Zealand, Argentina, of course, California, and others. They include such renowned wineries as Chateau Valandraud, Chateau Leoville Poyferré, Chateau Giscours, Chateau Pontet Canet, Chateau Yon Figeac, Chateau Giraud, and Barons “Edmund Benjamin” de Rothschild (from France); Capçanes Flor de Primavera (Spain); Domaine du Castel, Yatir, Barkan, and Binyamina (Israel); and Herzog and Covenant (California). This second annual event will offer attendees a most extensive and exclusive array of high-end kosher wines as well as the opportunity to meet winemakers who rarely find time to come to California. And with Passover just around the corner, it’s the perfect opportunity to stay abreast of what’s happening in this dynamic market.
In addition to the impressive line-up of wines, attendees will be treated to a mouth-watering selection of gourmet delicacies prepared by Chef Todd Aarons of Tierra Sur restaurant, located inside Herzog Wine Cellars. Tierra Sur has been highly praised by Los Angeles Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila, who dubbed Tierra Sur “one of the best restaurants in Ventura County.” This year, Chef Aarons will continue to dazzle diners with his Mediterranean-influenced cooking, which will be on display for all to eat throughout the festival.
This year we are excited to host special guest Daniel Rogov, Israel’s renowned wine critic. Mr. Rogov will be available for a book signing of his latest 2009 edition of Rogov’s Guide to Israeli Wines.
At the spacious, contemporary Herzog Wine Cellars, guests will not only be able to taste wines and enjoy dishes prepared by Chef Aarons and his staff, but they will also be able to view the winemaking facility, located about one hour north of downtown Los Angeles, a mile off Route 101 at the southern edge of Oxnard. For directions, please visit our website or contact me directly by phone or e-mail (see below).
Doors will open to the public at 7:00 p.m. For more information or to R.S.V.P., please call the Tasting Room at (805) 983-1560.
The International Food & Wine Festival at a glance:
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Location: Herzog Wine Cellars
3201 Camino Del Sol
Oxnard, CA 93030
Time: Doors open at 7:00 pm
Tickets:
$100 per person
$85 per person (for 2 or more tickets)
Herzog Wine Club members – $75 per person
Special Offer: For each pair of tickets purchased before January 30th, receive a complimentary copy of Daniel Rogov’s book.
Please call the tasting room at 805-983-1560 to purchase tickets.
Pineapple glazed salmon with Herzog Special Reserve Russian River Chardonnay
This week found me visiting with family in Chicago and boy was it crazy cold. I did come prepared, but it was still a bit too frigid for my taste. However, I stayed indoors most of the time, and so life was quite nice, especially the time spent with my close relatives. This evening we stayed in from the cold, and I was treated to restaurant quality food, in a warm and hospitable, family ambiance. They were truly kind to share their wonderful food and wine with me. The dinner started with a bowl of warm Minestrone soup. The soup was quite nice with just the correct amount of pasta and vegetables that gave way to your bite, but stood up to the spoon, quite nice. I helped whip up a quick batch of faux Spanish rice, by sautéing some onions until they were soft and sweet. Then I sautéed the rice until the rice glistened, then I added the prescribed amount of water, brought the pot up to a boil, and then let the rice cook under low heat. In the mean time, my in-laws put the final touches on some beautiful pineapple glazed salmon. First of all, the fish was just beautiful, a lovely orange that looked real instead of dyed. Then they took this lovely fish, and created a glaze made of pineapples, vinegar, and sugar. Finally, the fish was coated with the glaze, and then roasted in the oven along with pineapple chunks that become caramelized in the oven. My hosts said that they normally barbeque the fish on the grill, but with six inches of snow covering the deck and grill, that was out of the question, and downright unhealthy. While this was going on a bottle of Herzog Chardonnay Special Reserve was chilling in the fridge. The dinner was spectacular and greatly appreciated.
The wine was quite nice. The wine stayed the same pretty much throughout the diner and then the next day as well. It is a classic California Chardonnay, with so much oak and acidity, that even if all fruit has left the building, the wine is still kicking. The wine notes follow below:
Herzog Special Reserve Russian River Chardonnay 2000 – Score: B+
I must say that when my hosts were kind enough to suggest opening the bottle, I thought we better have a backup, as this bottle has to long gone. But to my surprise, this wine is still kicking, though most of the fruit has gone stage left. The nose on this dark straw colored wine, opens with a rich almost creamy aroma of sweet oak, peach, and ripe apples. The mouth on this heady and full bodied wine starts with ripe peach and summer fruits. The mid palate is dominated by rich and almost aggressive sweet oak, but balanced with bracing acidity and citrus flavors. The finish is long with sweet oak, citrus acidity, and spice. If it were not for the acidity, this wine would be unbalanced. However, the fruit and acidity still have enough presence to counter balance the sweet oak. I would say drink up and enjoy with friends and family.
Herzog and Four Gates Wines
This past week we met with some friends and I must admit we brought the dud of the evening 😦 which is a real shame. Herzog Winery makes some fantastic wines, but the Syrah Special Reserve line is one that is fantastic right out of the chute. I have had a few of my friends get burned on this wine line. The 2001 vintage was supposed to be the bomb, and in the end, it bombed. The 2003 vintage was even better out of the chute, yet unfortunately it too has met a similar demise. All I can say for now on this varietal follows the adage from my hometown (Chicago – go WhiteSox) – drink early and often 🙂 . And if you wish to test fate – buy one more at most and if it is the bomb feel blessed, and if it bombs, chalk it up to another learning experience (albeit a bit of an expensive one).
So if my donation to the evening was the dud, all we can say is that the Four Gates Winery wines we had were the hits. The evening started with a Four Gates Cabernet Franc 2005 and ended with a Four Gates Syrah 2004, with my dud was sandwiched between them. In closing, to be fair, the 2003 vintage of Herzog Syrah Special Reserve may be a poor showing of its original self, but the new vintages are doing fine – and showing well, just drink them now and enjoy.
In order of what we drunk – best wishes!
Four Gates Cabernet Franc 2005 – Score: A-
The Four Gates Cabernet Franc was a real joy to drink, it is a classic Cabernet Franc with a Tasmanian Devil attitude. I need to stress that this is not a copy of one of my favorites which is a Cabernet is a Franc’s clothing. Nope this one is a real Franc – but with a bit of tude to boot. The nose on this dark garnet colored wine just explodes with cranberry, cherry, raspberry, and vegetal notes. Stopping for a editorial comment – a Cabernet Franc must have floral, berry, and herbaceous flavors to make it a Franc to me – end of editorial. This one has all of those along with an acid core that solidifies the wine’s body. The mouth on this medium bodied wine explodes with a red fruit attack that is wrapped in an acidic core that tames the fruit, while accentuating the fruit quality. The mid palate is filled with continued acidic notes and lovely herbaceous flavors. The finish is long and filled with fruit and wood shavings. All and all a real winner. This one stood up to some serious food, but I would not throw it at lamb or such.
Herzog Syrah Special Reserve 2003 – Score: B
This line of wines (Herzog Syrah Special Reserve) need to be drunken early – maybe two to three years after the vintage year. They must be doing something to them to make them so accessible early. They have no cellar life – a real shame!!! The spicy, fruity, and tar flavors are long gone. The color is still a nice purple, but the nose has gone south. There are aromas of blackberry, oak, and a bit of nutmeg. The mouth of this medium-full bodied wine is almost fruitless at this point. There are still hints of black fruit. The mid palate has a slight burn of alcohol and the finish is woody with a hint of pepper.
Four Gates Syrah 2004 – Score: A-
This wine was enjoyed with the last bit of lamb and then continued on to desert. When thinking about the wonderful lamb – only one word comes to mind – steamrolled. The poor lamb had no idea what hit it. The Syrah continued its assault on the peach cobbler and the two were actually quite a nice pair, though not as nice as the lamb pairing. The sugar in the cobbler was nice with the acidity and body of the Syrah, but the spicy and tangy flavor of the lamb paired better with the acidic and full bodied Syrah. Enough editorial. To be truly fair this wine needs a few hours of airing – as the alcohol flavor blows off by then and the lovely fruit, tar and inky flavors come pouring out. The nose on this purple colored wine (with orange halos) is filled with blackberry, tar, and tons of oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is packed with black fruit; blackberry and plum along with a huge inky and viscous mouth-feel. The wine almost levitates in your mouth, almost like time stands still while it wishes about in your mouth. The mid palate is filled with more ink characteristics and leather notes. The finish is long and satisfying with notes of tar and wood.
This past week…
We had a few friends over and we had a few wines. Two were solid winners – while the other was passing. The meal was meatballs and rice, so we thought we would go with wines that had enough firepower (acidity, power). So Syrah was the wine of choice. These are them.
2003 Herzog Syrah Special Reserve – Score: B
This was the ‘M’ version of the wine, which means it is Mevushal (cooked). The color was a lovely purple, but the nose was non existent. All I got was wood and a bit of spice. The mouth feel of the full bodied wine was fruitless. It was a nice balanced and spicy full bodied wine. But without fruit or a good finish this wine is lacking.
Galil Mountain Winery Syrah Yiron 2004 – Score: A
The Yiron Syrah was the best of the night. It is a wine that will be best if opened two to three hours before serving. The wine’s color is a crazy purple, which shimmers with a halo of orange. The nose on this purple monster is filled with luscious ripe blackberry, cranberry, wood, and sweet notes of figs and dates. The mouthfeel on this full-bodied wine starts with a full plate of black fruit: blackberry, cassis, and plum. The middle of the mouth is filled with wood and chocolate. The finish is a long and satisfying stroll – filled with nice acidity, wood, and pepper.
This wine pairs wonderfully well with roasted lamb, thick beef stew, and rich, creamy dishes. The acidity and sheer power of the wine is able to stand up to almost any pairing. Finally, chilling the wine a bit before drinking it will add yet more to what will surely be a wonderful experience!
Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel/Syrah Special Reserve 2002 – Score: B+
The wine is much like we blogged about this before, but it is going down hill. The color was a bit more brown then before. Also, there was some funk in the flavor for sometime, but when it finally did blow off, some of the good flavors left as well.
This past week…
We laid low this past week. We had some great sushi (Ahi Tuna, Avocado, and cucumber). To offset the rice and fish, we opened a Herzog Pinot. To be honest, the previous week I had opened one and it was bad – DOA! I had heard good things about it, and I was sad. However, this one was fine, so that was nice. That said, it still was not up to my expectations. It is a fine bottle, but far more in the French style – and even a bit wimpier – to me. Shame really, as the sushi was awesome 🙂 !!
2005 Herzog Pinot Noir Special Reserve – Score: B
This is a light wine with French styling – and not lovely ones (editorial comment there). The nose on this pale red wine is nicely filled with cherry, strawberry, and light hints of green aromas. The mouth on this light-medium bodied wine is fruity but flat. The mouth starts with a nice attack of red fruit; cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. The middle is very mineral – almost terrior like. The finish is short and not impressive. The wine starts off so well, and dies well before the finish line. If it had more body and more finish – it would be a winner – oh well, this is a wine that is nice to receive as a gift, but not worth the buy, spend your money elsewhere.
Wines that we had at the end of Passover…
So Passover came and went. Before it did, we had a few more wines, so I thought I would muse them up. Overall the wines on Passover did not totally blow me away. There were a few nice ones – a couple of Four Gates and a Meshcha, but no blow me away wine. This is something we need to work on 🙂
So we had a few folks over at the end and these are the wines we popped (the french wine was a gift)
Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve 2003: B+
We opened this one and it was the winner of the night. A thick and heady wine. It has strong dark fruit characteristics – but not very complex. It really is just a fruity and over oaked Cabernet. We had hope that it would carry the night. It was still better than its older sibling – which was a dud.
Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve 2002: B-
We opened this one and it was the loser of the night. A thick and boring wine. It has nice charred wood notes. A bit of fruit and that was it. No real life or complexity. It did get a bit better as the night progressed – but it was dead.
Chateau Labegorce Lede Margaux 2001: A-
When we opened this wine at night, it was the loser for sure. Thin, no life, and almost scary. Well what a resurrection it made the next day! It had opened. The wine was still a bit mature looking, but the mouth had opened and the nose was alive. It screamed of red fruits; cherry, raspberry, red plums. The mouth was nice and long. Lean and balanced, yet enough bite left. A real nice wine and the actual winner of the day.
Ruth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2002: A-
Same can be said for this wine. At night it was dead – we all thought that I had kept it too long. The next morning we had a real wine. The nose screamed black currents and red plums. The mouth was alive with mellow tannins and sweet wood. The finish was long and laden with tobacco, mint, and nice wood characteristics.
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