by u235craig | August 25th, 2010
Friday night I went to my good friends John and Becky Stoddard’s home in Olympia to do my annual wine tasting that is auctioned off at the St. Michele’s School Fund Raising Gala. It is really a jolt for my ego that people will bid thousands of dollars to spend a night drinking wine with me. Maybe it is the wine I bring and they tolerate me. It still is fun.
We started out with Gruet bubbly from New Mexico. I believe it is the best deal on sparkling wine there is at $15 a bottle. This bubbly allows folks to get the chit chat out of their systems and gets them to listen to what the featured wines are. It also builds a little suspense for the wine.
I started with a 1997 Arns Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. It was perfect. This was the prime example of why you should be patient and age your wines. It was as smooth and elegant as a Ferrari. Next I popped a 1997 Viader. This was so seductive I didn’t want to share it with the guests. One of the guests and his wife wanted to buy some. They offered whatever you want if you’ll give us a bottle of this. “No” If I had another I wouldn’t sell it to you. This is about being rewardrd for being patient enough to let this wine develop. Next was a 1996 Andrew Murray Santa Barbara Syrah. I didn’t think California Syrah would come out this well. Finally, The wild card a 1993 Benzinger “WoW” Cabernet Franc. This was a show stopper. Cab Franc if done right is one of my favorite grapes. This was hogged down quickly.
After a brief intermission and Becky’s wonderful food: shrimp tacos, grilled steak lettuce wraps, three kinds of home made pizza, bruschetta with great toppings, Humas and pita, and more.
Act Two: A collection of aged Andrake Cellars 2002 wines. Starting off with the X Merlot, the wine Steve Wynn had in his picture in Wine Spectator Magazine when his casino opened. It was so good. We went on with the Sangiovese. The best sangiovese I have ever tasted. Then the Syrah, Cabernet Franc, X Cabernet Sauvignon and the Reserve. All more stunning than the one before. My friend and guest Brian made a very good observation. “These wines could be recorked now and served for lunch tomorrow and maybe be better.” Still big but smoother than when they were young. A real treat.
We went on with some more wines Notably; a Columbia Crest Reserve Red, A Marietta Reserve Red, A Gray Eagle, And lots more reall good wines that were sadly overshadowed by the feature wines. I can safely say a good time was had by all.