The temperature was dropping, and
large, wet, white snowflakes had just started drifting slowly from the
sky. In the distance, the beautiful
white-topped Rockies could be spotted hovering over the brown grass of the
plains. However, it was not the snow or
those beautiful mountains with ski slopes we were rolling into Fort Collins to
enjoy…it was wine, the Fort Collins Wine Fest to be exact! This was our third consecutive year of
enjoying the festival, which is a wonderful fundraiser for Fort Collins’ Disabled
Resource Services. We have greatly
enjoyed every year, and one of the special treats is an amazing private wine
tasting put on before the actual festing and feasting starts. This year’s private tasting was as amazing as
ever, with a mix of wines from all over the world that were as majestic as the
Rocky Mountains on the horizon!
Wine one: Marc Hebrart Brut Rose non-vintage Champagne—This
sparkler from a small producer was a beautiful baby pink with strong yeast and
strawberry aromas. The mineral and crisp
bite was a pleasure, and the incredibly long finish was even better. This bubbly was a mix of the classic
champagne grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinto Meunier and was a classic
tasting beauty!
Wine two: Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils Mersault
“Les Clous” 2006—This white Burgundy ages quite well, and though this ’06 could
still cellar a few more years, it had a great mineral aroma. With some butter on the palette from the old
oak yet a crisp, citrus finish, I enjoyed this single vineyard Chardonnay,
especially with the soft cow’s milk
cheese provided by the local cheese mongers at the Welsh Rabbit in FoCo.
Wine three: Prince Florent De Merode Corton Renardes
1990—From the excellent 1990 vintage, the Corton is slightly cloudy, with baked
cherry, anise, and leather flavors and scents.
I am a sucker for a good Pinot Noir, and this Noir from the Cote De
Beaune was a great example of a Burgundian Pinot. The fact that this bottle
would retail for $350 a bottle had nothing to do with the how much I enjoyed
it!
Wine four: Tondonia Gran Reserva 1994—Talk about a
special wine! This Rioja was produced in
1994, but not released until 2012. No, I
didn’t do the math incorrectly there (though as an English teacher by day, you
all have the right to question my expertise with numbers). This wine is aged in cask (in French and
American old oak) for nine years and then in bottle for nine more years. I love the Tempranillo grape, and this blend
of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Garanche, and 10% other was filled with supple and
smooth fruit. An excellent wine and
value for the aging time (at around $100 a bottle), Robert Parker gave this
very high 90s scores (not that we go by Parker necessarily; however, it does
show the respect for this wine).
Wine five: Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bricco Bussia
Vigna Colonnello 1989—By far my favorite wine, the Barolo was bursting with
baked fig, as if there was a Fig Newton in my glass as I sniffed. Of course, I love, love, love Nebbiolo, and
this beautiful brick-red colored wine cemented that love once
again. From an excellent, “old school”
producer and a great vintage, I would have loved to drink this entire bottle to
myself (over the course of several days though, of course)! The $400 price tag? Yes, that is always my luck; I seem to have
very expensive tastes!
Wine six: Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de
Lalande 2003—From the Puac in Medoc, this Bordeaux blend starts with 50%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the remaining a blend of Cab Franc and Petit
Verdot. On the nose, the 2003 showed
hints of earth, currant, green pepper, and smoke, and on the palette fresh
berries. Though this wine has already
aged for ten years, it could still cellar two or three more and be a great
example of a red Bordeaux. (Retail? A cool $500!)
Wine seven: Caymus Special Edition 1992—My emotional
favorite, I actually bought a bottle of this last year at the wine fest because
it was a 1992, the year my daughter was born.
My husband and I opened the bottle on her twentieth birthday last summer
and toasted to her and our parenthood!
It is a classic California Cabernet (blended from Cab grapes from eight
of Napa’s sub appellations) with an aroma of spice and earth and tastes of
berry, spice, and cedar. It was
perfectly aged and timed exactly to drink.
Wine eight: Joseph Phelphs Insignia 1998—Another classic
California Cabernet Sauvignon with a beautiful, almost-black, undertone, the
Phelphs smelled like baked cherry and fig.
The very fruit-forward wine would age well for three-four more years
since it is from an excellent producer.
Wine nine: Elderton Command Shiraz 2004—As the only
Australian wine represented in our tasting, the Shiraz made Australia look
good! From the Barrosa Valley (and from
a very good vintage), the wine was filled with scents of green pepper, spice,
and earth. On the palette, this was a
berry bomb with a wonderfully, long finish.
The style of this wine is exactly what Robert Parker likes, and he liked
this one; he gave it a 98!
Wine ten: Barros Vintage Port 1997—Though Ports are not
my favorite (because hard liquor burns my throat—see my feelings about whiskey
several weeks ago), I have learned to appreciate Port on several levels. This Port was very special, since only two
percent of Ports are actually vintage, and after the initial heat of the
brandy, the lovely raisin taste was incredibly smooth. I imagined my chocolate pot de crème recipe
as I sipped this final wine.
The beautiful and wondrous Rocky
Mountains make a superb backdrop for some beautiful and wondrous wines. Though the picturesque snow storm caused some
road blocks to the event and weekend, there was nothing blocking the ten wines
we were able to enjoy. This tasting was
just the beginning of a great night filled with three of my favorite
things: wine, food, and shopping! Look for the explanation to that coming soon…
