Yuletide Wines 2005.

The Wines.

Buttonwood 2000 Trevin, Santa Ynez Valley. 50% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon, 25 % cabernet franc. 13.7%Alc.
Huber 2000 pinot noir, Santa Ynez Valley. Table wine (15%Alc. or less)
Il Podere Dell'Olivos 2001 teroldego "Homage to Elisabetta", Central Coast. 13.5%Alc.
Foxen 2002 cabernet franc, dry farmed Tinaquaic vineyard, Santa Maria Valley. 14.5%Alc.
J. Wilkes 2003 pinot noir, Block Q, Bien Nacido vineyard, Santa Barbara County. 13.7%Alc.

The Food.

Santa Ynez Valley Venison
Roast Duck
Leg of Lamb
Breast of Lamb
Imported and domestic cheese

The Pairings.

Venison with Jeff Wilkes' pinot seemed like a good idea. The '03 has a more rounded body that stands up to roasts, but doesn't stand down where other pinots might be a little timid, yet it doesn't dominate the tastebuds as a syrah might under the circumstances. I wasn't looking for something that might be a little shy in the gravy either where a splash or two brings everything together.

I like to score the skin of duck all over with a sharp knife so that most of the fat runs off and the skin gets tight and crispy but the meat remains moist, what else but Huber's pinot. Memory served me well here, it's noticeably dry yet still zesty with fruit, a great palate cleanser with the juicyness of the duck. This one allowed the subtle meat flavours to remain but gave a coating of strawberries and pomegranate. Not the kind of wine for a cold winter's day, but here in SB, late December was hovering around 70 degrees.

Lamb especially the breast, which is not easy to find, can be very greasy and has flavours somewhat different from the leg. Foxen's cabernet franc and Buttonwood's Trevin worked their magic. The '02 franc is still bone dry, but lacking the patience to let this lay down for a few years, I opened it up a couple of days earlier and decanted instead. The '99 Trevin was always treated this way too but the current '00 release offers more immediate gratification and only needed a couple of hours. The contrast in wines with the same dish, the franc has plenty of dark fruit, whereas the Trevin is almost like a pinot with muscles even though the blend itself suggests something bigger, this is SB remember and Mike Brown never ceases to surprise. By the time you read this I can't guarantee there will be any more of the cab franc left as only 200 or so cases were made, I'm sitting on a few bottles of this so stay tuned to see what to do with it next.

By process of elimination, the cheeses and the teroldego. This is the kind of wine you hope and expect to find in the locals only quarter in the back streets of a mediterranean village where the room is filled with smokers, noise, laughter and great food. The '01 is huge, tarry, licorice, piles of perfectly ripe dark berries, rich and velvety and killer with stinky cheeses, cold cuts and olives (what else?). A couple of hours at the kitchen table with a good book or pile of magazines to wade through. Say no more.

January 2, 2006

Cheers, I'm stuffed.