Since we were not able to meet last Friday, the FEWC Executive Committee decided to convene an emergency session on Wednesday night. It turned out to be a big night for old vintages.
We started off with a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from the O’Shaughnessy Winery in the Mt Veeder region of Napa Valley.
This Cab was excellent. The color was very dark purple while the body was medium to full. It had a wonderful nose that nobody could put a likeness to. It just smelled good! The taste had a nice balance of fruit, acid and tannins, with a wonderful soft mouthfeel. It was a hit!
Next we opened one of Scott’s oldest bottles from his wine futures stock. A 2010 Bordeaux from Chateau Villars.
The color was dark but not quite as dark as the first bottle. This one had very little to offer on the nose, at least from what we could tell, but it tasted wonderful! Lenny thought it was a bit more acidic than the Cab, which gave it a bit more balance. The mouthfeel was not quite as lush as the Cab but this was one of those wines that got better and better with time to breathe. This was Janet’s favorite of the night. At this point we were 2 for 2!
The third bottle was a 2014 Montepulciano from Canneto Vineyards in Italy.
This wine was much lighter in color than the first two. Although nobody could actually put their finger on the nose, 3 of us agreed that it was kind of “funky smelling”. Lighter in body than the first 2, it had a nice fruitiness with medium tannins. This was a nice bottle with which to finish the evening.
As for treats, Janet put together a splendid charcuterie board that was part savory and part sweet. With a couple of very nice cheeses (Compte was the star) toasted French bread, 2 different Italian hard salamis and scrumptious marinated green olives holding up the savory side. Warmed caramel went terrific with fresh apple and pear slices. If caramel was not your thing you could drizzle honey on your fruit! There were soft chocolate cookies and peppermint/chocolate bark. No one left hungry. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture… I was too busy eating!
Without question, a wonderful session of the Friday Evening Wine Club.