COURSE DESCRIPTION

Legendary Wineries and Their Wines

Here is a brief description of the wineries and wines included in this one-evening event:

Vega Sicilia
            Vega Sicilia has long been Spain's most famous winery and the source of many of its most expensive wines. Since the 1940's when there was little if any Spanish table wine exported, Vega Sicilia was the choice of international connoisseurs, including notables such as Winston Churchill. In the 60's and 70's it was Spain's lone brand of distinction. "It was the country's Lalique, Cartier, Givenchy, Rolls-Royce and Dunhill, all in one... It has no neighbors to compare itself with, no classifications to rank its stature. Lafite has Mouton, Antinori has Gaja, Opus has Dominus and Dom Perignon has Krug, but Vega Sicilia stands alone." (B. Shoenfeld, 12/30/09)
            Regarding the 1995 Vega Sicilia "Unico" the Wine Advocate rates it 97 and notes its "...aromatic complexity which nearly defies words." Vega Sicilia is known for  maintaining its traditional style. Its uniqueness derives in part from its terroir and in part from its singular blend of Tinto fino (Tempranillo), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and occasionally some white Albillo grapes.

Louis Roederer
Domaine Louis Roederer is best known for its prestige wine, Cristal, which was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia and supplied, at his request, in a clear crystal bottle. Cristal was the precursor of the "prestige cuvées" or premium wines of the major Champagne Houses. It was first made available commercially in 1945. Unlike other prestige Champagnes, Cristal's bottle is made with clear glass, though wrapped in a lovely yellow-orange cellophane, and with a flat bottom.  Louis Roederer is one of the largest remaining independent champagne houses owned by the same family since it was founded in 1776.
            Writing in the Wine Advocate, Antonio Galloni states, "The 2002 Cristal is a gorgeous, sculpted wine of extraordinary elegance. Graceful, well-delineated aromatics lead to ripe pears, spices, flowers, minerals and mint in this precise Champagne." 96+

Biondi-Santi
            Biondi-Santi is the wine estate which gave birth to the famous Brunello di Montalcino. It was Ferruccio Biondi Santi, grandson of the founder of the winery, who isolated and produced wines from a particular clone of Sangiovese grapes in 1880: the famous Brunello, also known as Sangiovese Grosso. This clone is now the variety for all of the Brunellos and Rosso di Montalcinos grown in Montalcino. Ferruccio's grandson, Dr. Franco Biondi-Santi, 84, maintains to this day the traditional winemaking practices of his ancestor.
            Biondi-Santi's traditional wine making practices, such as using Slavonian oak vats instead of French barrels, steer away from a New World style of wine.  Yet Wine Spectator did recognize their 1955 Brunello Riserva as one of 12 of the best wines of the century! The 1999 Biondi-Santi Brunello Riserva was given a 90 rating by Wine Spectator's James Suckling and referred to as "one of the best in a long time."

Domaine des Comtes Lafon 
            One of Burgundy's benchmark producers, Comtes Lafon has premier cru vineyards in Meursault-Charmes, Meursault-Gouttes d'Or and Meursault-GenevriPres. Of these, the French regard the Meursault-Charmes as "incontournable" - Lafon's signature wine.                               
            The original comte Lafon, Jules Lafon, started in 1923 the famous La Paulée de Meursault, which revived the traditional grape harvest celebration to which, in the Middle Ages, Cistercian monks invited their vineyard laborers. It has become part of Burgundy's "Trois Glorieuses", the three glorious days that take place around Beaune on the third weekend of each November. La Paulée takes place on the Monday following the famous Sunday auction by the Hospice de Beaunes. Recently, this tradition has spread to the USA with a La Paulée in New York, San Francisco and Aspen.
            The 2006 Domaines des Comtes Lafon Meursault-Charmes is said to have a finish that really "...Charms, enveloping and fanning out expansively, with no let up in sweetness of fruit or suggestions of crushed stone." WA 92-93

Ridge Vineyards
            The Monte Bello Vineyard, its Cabernet Sauvignon, and Paul Draper, the wine maker, demonstrated in the 1970’s and 1980’s that excellence in vineyards and wine making existed outside of Napa and the North Coast of California. Ridge Monte Bello was the only non-Napa Valley American wine entered into the famous Judgment of Paris 1976 wine tasting. Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was acclaimed in subsequent competitions, including The Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary, the 30th anniversary retesting of the same red wines evaluated in the 1976 Paris wine competition. In this blind tasting, held both in the US and the UK, judges in both countries ranked Ridge Monte Bello number one among all the wines judged.  
            The 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello is described by Parker as being "...a blockbuster, powerful, concentrated... (with) a touch of oak in the flavors, which are otherwise dominated by minerals and jammy black fruit... a terrific Monte Bello..." 95

Didier Dagueneau
            An iconoclastic wine grower from Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire, Didier Dagueneau raced motocross and ran sled dogs before bringing his risk-taking, perfectionist attitude to wine growing. He died in September 2008 when the ultralight plane he was piloting stalled in mid-air.
            He made "...some of the world's most beautiful sauvignon blanc wines..." (Eric Asimov, NYTimes) and, in the process, was one of, if not the most, controversial wine growers in France. He criticized his neighbors for harvesting high yields of barely ripe grapes, while he cut yields severely in his vineyards and sought greater ripeness. Looking like a Hells Angel, his reputation and his wines drew international attention and wonder. Parker said of him: "One of the great winemakers and viticulturalists in the world... Didier Dagueneau is the great master of Sauvignon Blanc... Dagueneau has become an inspiration to the younger generation in the Loire Valley and his wines are a beacon of integrity and greatness. He bottles at least four versions of Pouilly-Fumé,  but his two greatest are the Pur Sang and the Cuvée Silex."
            His 2005 Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang was rated 97 by the Wine Spectator and was number 21 among their 2007 top 100 wines of the world.

Clos des Papes
            The name of Chateau Clos des Papes derives from the name of its vineyard which was once part of the papal vineyards located within the walls of what is now the ruins of the  14th century New Chateau of the Pope. Clos des Papes has been one of five or six outstanding Chateauneuf du Pape wines over the past 40 years.  The 2005 Clos des Papes was ranked number one on Wine Spectator's list of the 100 top wines of 2007.
            The Clos des Papes 1999 is principally made up of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre and received a 96 rating from Wine Spectator.

Great Royal Tokaji Company
            Hungarian Tokay has a famous history dating back 400 years. Under Communism the art of making this distinctive, famous wine was dying. The Royal Tokaji Company was founded in 1989 by well-known wine author Hugh Johnson and other investors to restore and preserve what they considered a dying art. It became the first foreign company to invest in the Tokaj wine region of Hungary. This leap of faith prompted the Hungarian Government to privatize other state owned vineyards and sell them to other foreign investors, mainly French insurance companies. Thus started the rebirth of this once famed region, evolving from one state winery production and label to some twenty private winery producers and wines today.
            "It's easy to run out of superlatives when talking about thrillingly complex wines such as the Mézes Mály or Nyulászó from the Royal Tokaji Wine Company..." (Wine & Spirits, December, 2006) Only 235 cases were made of the Royal Tokaji 1993 6 Puttonyos Nyulászó.