I had the pleasure of joining Gary and some of his friends last night for a dinner at Mark's in Houston, TX. Hats off to the amazing staff and of course the talented to Mark Cox for putting together a top notch evening. Gary, as you may or may not know is quite the character, and his stories are usually not appropriate at the dinner table. But it is enjoyable every now and then to have a 'lively' wine dinner. The story I enjoyed must was how he got his clippings. The story, as only he can tell, started in the early 80's on a drunken evening in Burgundy. He vividly displayed in front of the dinner table at how he stumbled over the wall at DRC La Tache and gathered 300 clippings from the vineyard. Then proceeded to smuggled them "balled" up in his groin area through customs. When questioned what was in his pants he said he was Italian and apparently they let him through....anyway on to the dinner.
Course 1: Lucia Vineyards Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2007: Planted in 1982, Concentrated tropical fruits and minerals tightly wound on the nose. Nice acid levels, perfectly balanced with the 60% new french oak treatment. Mandarin orange, fresh cut pineapple, fiji apple, and thyme on the palate. Very luscious and rich finish. 16.5/20
Paired with: "Seafood Trio" Hearth Roasted Lobster w/ Corn Pudding, Laughing Bird Shrimp w/ Chalet Chardonnay Sauce, Caviar w/ Fried Maryland Softshell Crab & Fava Beans & Sundried Peppers.
Course 2: Lucia Vineyards Pinot Noir, "Gary's Vineyard", Santa Lucia Highlands, 2005 Beautiful color, deep ruby, with tones of brick forming on the rim. Intense baking spices, raspberries, cola/rhubarb, and roasted herbs on the nose. Well integrated red fruit core, with layers of baked strawberry, rosemary, more cola, and velvety tannins on the finish. This is drinking beautifully now, and for easily another 6-8 years. WOTN. 17.5/20
Paired with: "Quail & Duck" Quail w/ Serrano & Duck Ham Foie Gras Cinnamon & Black Pepper Scented Tourchon Roasted Kumquats, Apple Rose accompanied w/ a French Cherry Compote.
Course 3: Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2008 This was poured directly next to the glass of 05 PN I still had in my glass and the color difference was shocking. I do realize this is a young 08 bottling but it looked like a glass of '10 zinfandel. Upon smelling the wine I was smacked in the face with a massive amount of alcohol and charcoal. Gary immediately noticed and ran over "literally". He knew exactly what the problem and notated the "high octane" problem that was in front of me. He assured me it was 14.6, but after another glance he said "they fudged a little bit". This wine was not for me, and probably over time on this board you will realize that I am a huge fan of lower alcohol wines and not impressed with the fruit bombs. For the alcohol, fruit bomb lovers out there this is for yall! Wine was very disjointed, and there was a wound up black fruit core, and probably some bottle shock. I honestly question is this was 100% PN. Hopefully this wine will come around with a couple weeks in the bottle. Stop chasing scores Gary, make classy PN like you have done in the past. 14.5/20
Paired with: "Lamb & Veal" Rack of Lamb w/ Adirondack Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, French White Asparagus & Glazed Globe Carrot & Veal Sirloin w/ Natural Sauce & Big Morels, Champagne Morel Sauce.
Course 4: Lucia Vineyards, Syrah "Gary's Vineyard" Santa Lucia Highlands 2005. I have a weak spot for Syrah and was nice to end the evening with this wine. Verses some "wine room" only dessert wine the winemaker decided to make cause he had 1 ton of Malvasia Bianca laying around. Fruit was still fairly wound up and a nice visit to the decanter for 2-3 hours would of helped things. Core of blackberries, licorice, and hints of violet, tannins still a little rough around the edges. Pleasant, but not life changing, well made. 15.5/20
Paired with: Flourless Chocolate Cake w/ a Honey Goat Cheese - Mascarpone Cheesecake, dusted with Peppercorns & Graham Cracker Crust with Fresh Blackberries.
