When old friends came knocking

By: Allen R. Balik

Our family has always loved Thanksgiving as we appreciate the good fortunes of the past combined with the anticipation of what’s to come. It is more than just ushering in the coming holiday season with a festive dinner. Thanksgiving gives each of us the chance to carry on our three generations and many decades of holiday traditions as we gather together at home to celebrate.

Our daughter Shelby and her family hail from Centennial, Colorado while our son Randy and his family live in Hermosa Beach, California. So, the Thanksgiving holiday is a very special time of year when all of us to come together and create new memories.

Our Thanksgiving menu has not substantially changed over the five decades we’ve enjoyed this celebration with family and friends. However, with each passing year there are some subtle additions and deletions with wine always playing an integral part of each day’s events.

This year, in addition to Thanksgiving dinner and our customary Friday “Leftover Night,” we took advantage of an additional holiday. Chanukkah began on Sunday night after all the kids left. So, since the family was together, we decided to celebrate Chanukkah’s first night on Wednesday, just a few days early, with all the traditional foods, gifts, activities and games.

Chanukkah and Thanksgiving menus are quite different. Matzo ball soup and gefilte fish in contrast to roasted tomato/butternut squash bisque and homemade pumpkin bread. Potato latkes vs. sweet potato casserole. Brisket and maple-glazed Brussels sprouts as opposed to turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.

With this year’s double holidays, Barbara cooked for weeks with refrigerators and freezers filling far beyond their normal capacities. Even the expected “sneaking” to steal Barbara’s health food cookies from the freezer (yummy but nowhere close to healthy) and Shelby’s triple-chocolate covered strawberries from the fridge make our family time together even more hilarious and special.

The additional holiday also gave me an extra incentive to search the cellar for some intriguing choices focused on North Coast winegrowing areas spanning a range of older vintages, varieties and stylistic impressions.

The late wine legend Peter Sichel once remarked: “Wine is an intermediate stage between sweet grape juice and vinegar.” I’ve always found this an interesting perspective since wine (as opposed to beer and spirits) is a living entity that ages in the bottle. Yet how well individual wines transition from youth to adolescence, teenage years and adulthood is another question that can only be answered by popping the cork and savoring the experience.

So, what better time to explore some older vinous treasures with family and friends than Chanukkah, Thanksgiving and Left Over Friday? With this celebratory mix, culinary tradition is based on distinctive menus that have evolved over the ages and neither is oriented to “ideal” wine pairings.

During the fun and football-filled days, younger enticing wines were accompanied by a wide range of lighter fare and other treats. A few of our choices included: 2018 Dutton-Goldfield Gewürztraminer Green Valley, 2019 Domaine Hüet Vouvrey Le Mont Sec, 2018 Chalk Hill Sauvignon Gris, 2017 Judd’s Hill Grenache and Schramsberg Mirabelle Rosé.

I’ve always been a fan of well-made aged Chardonnays even though “conventional wisdom” says California Chardonnays (in contrast to those from Burgundy’s most esteemed appellations and producers) are not meant to age. So, I pulled a few favorites to test the theory while enjoying the “fruits” of the search.

The 1991 (yes, a 30-year old treasure) Peter Michael Mon Plasir was not only a special surprise, it dramatically demonstrated that when grown and produced in a time-honored manner, California Chardonnays can stand with the best. Its medium-golden hue gave the first clue of the elegance and appeal to come. Highlighted by an intense structure, the brightness of youth gently blended with the richness of age for a marvelous experience. As a bonus, there are (surprisingly) still some years to go with this magnificent example.

The 2007 Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay displayed a deep golden hue leading to richness on the nose. It was lively on the palate with a bright tropical and white pitted fruit character. A complex textural finish left a lasting memory. The 2012 Hess Collection Chardonnay was the youngest of the group showing sweet apple and cinnamon on the nose and pitted fruit on the palate.

A 1991 Joseph Phelps Insignia perfectly demonstrated the rewards of meticulous viticulture and winemaking protocols combined with proper cellaring. Stemming from a pristine Napa Valley vintage, this exemplar was redolent with the secondary aromatics of tobacco and moist earth that preceded accents of blueberry and black current notes on the finely textured palate and elegance on a multidimensional finish. Perhaps at a peak now but years to go while riding the crest.

The 2002 Anomaly Cabernet Sauvignon from St. Helena retained a bit of its youthful concentration on the nose and palate. Black fruits, cassis and an elegant robe combined with impeccable structural elements and breadth led to a layered finish promising future rewards with additional aging. Also, from 2002, Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon had a compromised cork but still displayed notes of the vitality of youth combined with the grace of age. This wine is a must to enjoy now but will continue to grow with time in the bottle.

2005 Cosentino THE Poet is a classic Bordeaux-style Meritage blend that carries forward both the distinction of the vintage and Mitch Cosentino’s blending skills. The translucent medium-ruby/garnet hue hinted of the elegance to follow with bright cherry and forest floor aromatics on the nose. The palate exhibited a luscious mouthfeel with red cherries, cranberry and blue fruit notes leading to a long, elegant and layered finish.

Along the way, we also enjoyed three “adolescents” that have shed much of their “baby fat” but still face a long journey to adulthood. 2012 Humanitas Signum Cabernet Sauvignon is big and bold with the vibrancy of youth and the structure to ensure many years ahead to maturity. 2013 Sciandri Coombsville Cuvée is also a bold expression of a great Napa Valley vintage. The youthful nose remains a bit tight while a full bodied palate artfully displayed rich notes of black cherry and cassis.

Ridge’s 2015 Montebello was one of the most highly regarded wines of an excellent vintage and valiantly lived up to its reputed pedigree, but is still too young to thoroughly enjoy directly from bottle to glass. With time in the decanter this Montebello grew and coalesced into a stunning display of power, elegance, and breed that continued to develop in the glass. Like many other Ridge Montebellos from stellar vintages, this is wine to watch and sample every few years as it gracefully matures.

Just one more “sparkling” treat to complete our timely celebrations. The 2007 Schramsberg Blanc de Noir was a delightful expression of the pleasure, finesse and ageability found in the finest wines made in the Méthode Traditionnelle (e.g. Champagne’s Méthode Champenoise). The secondary fermentation in the bottle shaped the intriguing aromatics of freshly baking bread that combined with bright citrus and green apple on the palate, luxurious textural components and a memorable finish.

With the 2021 holiday season off to its official start, we look forward to more festivities ahead. While the gatherings may be smaller than in years past, hopefully, the food, fun and wines we enjoy are among the best ever. Here’s hoping your holiday gatherings meet your greatest expectations.