Chez Panisse

Chez Panisse, Berkeley

Classic.
Fresh.
Well executed.

Lunch

Baked Andante Dairy Goat cheese with garden lettuces $10

Wood over-roasted squid with cannellini beans, kale, rosemary, and toasted breadcrumbs $19

My wine pick:
2008 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé

Fantastic.

The kitchen in action between service.

Eric Kent Spring Releases

We like them a lot. It is always a pleasure to support small production, high quality wine made by great people. In other words, the name of the game.

The first two Spring releases are in.

2008 Eric Kent Pinot Noir Russin River Valley
Retail: $35.99
The first “appellation” Pinot Noir from Eric Kent and a wonderful house wine that delivers loads of drinking pleasure. Light ruby in color, with aromas of bing cherry and pomegranate. Offering up notes of cherry, raspberry, plum, and cola. Medium bodied and fruit forward with gentle but present tannins. The final blend consists of 93% Windsor Oaks, 4% Cleary and 3% Stiling Vineyard.

2007 Eric Kent Syrah Dry Stack Vineyard
Retail: $39.99
2007 hearkens back to a cooler vintage like ‘05, but what a different wine! A clonal mix of 877, 174 and 470 – no Estrella River in this one – plus 1/3 whole-cluster fermentation and more time on the skins has made a wine with layers of complexity, wonderful depth, a medium to full body and great structure. Classy Syrah.

Carlisle Spring Releases

The 2008 Carlisle Spring releases are in this week.

2008 Carlisle Winery Zinfandel Sonoma County $22.99
A blend of various old-vine vineyards such as Taylor in Dry Creek, Tin Cross in Alexander Valley, and Rossi in Sonoma Valley. A little Dry Creek Petite Sirah from Teldeschi Vineyard seemed to bring the components together, rounding out the palate nicely. Aged in French oak, 20% new, and based upon the success of our experiment last year, bottled completely in screw cap. Tasting Note: Medium-dark ruby-garnet. Red cherries, berry compote, and notes of bittersweet chocolate and brown spices greet the nose. Fresh and juicy on the palate with red and black berry fruits highlighted by hints of licorice, smoked meat, and earth. Finishes with great energy and thrust. Once again, an absolute steal for the price. 481 cases produced.

2008 Carlisle Winery Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley $33.99
Predominantly from Teldeschi Ranch (planted in 1885) and Mounts Ranch (planted in 1952), yields were generally in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 tons per acre. An 11% mix of petite sirah and carignane completed the palate, adding just the right amount of tannin and acidity. Aged in French oak, 23% new. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Tasting Note: Medium to medium-dark garnet-ruby. Classic Dry Creek zin aromas of red cherries, minerals, and dusty, red earth. Bright and lively in the mouth with plenty of cherry-laced fruit flowing into the persistent, sappy finish. Strikes a lovely balance between ripeness and freshness. 292 cases produced.

Small production. Artisan wine. Reliably great. Realistically priced.

The wines of Uccelliera

Wine Advocate says: The proprietor of the Uccelliera estate, Andrea Cortonesi, embodies the finest of the artisan tradition in Montalcino. Cortonesi’s wines have always been bold and exciting but with the newest vintages Cortonesi has arrived at a new level of elegance.

Wine Spectator says: ... a sweet little winery with about 16 acres of prime vineyards near some of the top vineyards in the region. Uccelliera, which in recent years has been making top wines, has some outstanding to great reds in the works. And if it's any indication for Montalcino as a whole, it means plenty of excellent Sangioveses in the future.

We say: we like ‘em. These three wines represent the very latest releases from Uccelliera. Some are in very limited supply.

2008 Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino $29.99 Italy
2005 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino $59.99 Italy
2004 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva $141.99 Italy *very limited

Our best advice regarding wine buying in general is always, find a producer you like, and buy them in all vintages. You will discover that not only does the winemaker find a way to make the best wine possible under all conditions, but you will also experience the singular place where that wine comes. Uccelliera is one such producer to follow.

The charming estate is located in the Montalcino countryside just below the town of Castelnuovo dell’Abate, where the beautiful Sant’Antimo abbey is.

Taste Italian History - The Wines of Sella

The wines of Stella were a real discovery. The Lessona and Bramaterra regions are some of the oldest wine-producing regions known in Italy, dating back to 1671.

The wines are based largely on Nebbiolo but also include small amounts of Croatina and Vespolina in some of the blends. The regions are a few hours north of the famed Barolo and Barbaresco regions but fans of Nebbiolo will love the unique expression.

There is not much of this wine made and a good chunk of it is allocated. We are happy to have some. And kudos to importer extraordinaire, Oliver McCrum for ferreting out these gems!

2005 Sella Bramaterra Piemonte $34.99
(90 Points: Wine Advocate) The 2005 Bramaterra is a joyous wine for its generous core of red fruit and finessed, silky tannins. This is an especially pure, elegant Bramaterra with gorgeous textural balance and a long, refreshing finish. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2013.

2003 Sella Lessona Riserva Omaggio A Quintino Sella $64.99
(91 Points: Wine Advocate) The 2003 Lessona Omaggio a Quintino Sella is an utterly beguiling wine. Bold, assertive aromatics lead to an expansive core of sweet perfumed fruit, with wild herb, mint, spice, mineral and French oak overtones that are layered into the wine. There is lovely clarity and precision here, along with a prominent vein of minerality that gives the wine its sense of proportion. This is a terrific effort from Sella. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2023.

Siro Pacenti

The Siro Pacenti wines hold a soft spot in our heart. We visited them in 2002 and had the pleasure of meeting Siro, who turned over the winemaking reigns to his son Giancarlo (starting in 1988). The wines are consistently some of the best in the region.

The Rosso di Montalcino represents their more approachable-when-young wine and given the nice deal we found on the 2006 (while some of the 07 Rosso’s have come and gone), this is a must have for any Tuscan wine-lover.

2006 Siro Pacenti Rosso di Montalcino
(90 Points: Wine Advocate) Pacenti’s 2006 Rosso di Montalcino is a sleek, lush wine loaded with soft-textured fruit that flows onto the palate with remarkable elegance and finesse. With air it gains weight and expansiveness in a gorgeous display of Rosso. As is often the case, Giancarlo Pacenti’s Rosso di Montalcino is among the finest wines of the region, although in this vintage he has more competition, which suggests producers are paying more attention to the quality of their Rossos. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2011.

Price: $29.99 Italy

Supper Club 6

first course whitefish crudo, preserved lemon, fried capers, onion pickles
paired with: NV Domaine J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Brut

second course puree of smoked turnip, poached pear, sour crème fraiche
paired with: 2007 François Pinon Vouvray Tradition

third course sautéed wild mushroom, wooley thyme, crouton, shaved piave
paired with: 2008 Fenouillet Vin de Pays Vaucluse

fourth course cassoulet beans with braised slab bacon, duck leg and mirepoix
paired with: 2007 Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone Vaison-la-Romaine