The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Another spectacular, gastronomic, educational dinner at Scott & Kate’s, this time with Harumi and Rob, built around Northern Rhône legends and one very serious Champagne. The evening actually began in my cellar, staring at three Burgundy bottles and trying to decide what could possibly make sense after a lineup of young Chave, Jamet, and Allemand. Note: for Burgundy geeks, finishing a meal with red Burgundy and Époisses is almost always a defensible answer. My heart wanted to bring the 2010 Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots du Milieu. I absolutely love that wine, and mature-ish Volnay from a great vintage often delivers more immediate pleasure than a same-age grand cru from Morey-St-Denis. But I suspected the group would want something more “serious,” and honestly, I was curious too. In the end, I decided to bring all three bottles, announce them to the group, and then serve just one blind. Then into the wine carrier everything went, color-matched with the shoes, naturally, and off to ...

Great dinner last weekend at Chris & Molly's (our dear friends) - Chris is a master griller and he impressed once again with his lamb chops! (pun intended). Serious winos in attendance contributed a tasty array of wines. While most of the wines delivered, the consensus seemed to be that the 1996 Clape Cornas stole the show with the lamb. I especially liked the 2002 Beaune-Greves 1er Cru burgundy from Michel Lafarge, even though it was perhaps a bit too bright and delicate for the lamb, but so satisfying, complex and charming like only an aged burgundy can! Here are the wines and dishes to salivate over: Champagne starter. Fascinating wine - a 1987 Corton-Charlemange white burgundy from Mommessin, the producer of the famous Clos de Tart grand cru - who knew he had a white grand cru! Silky texture, copper tones (color and palate), unfortunately over the hill, with oxidized notes. Still a rare treat. The '97 Brunello Poggio Alle Mura from Castello Banfi was in goo...

Following a recent fantastic showing of Clape Cornas documented here , I had the pleasure of a focused Cornas dinner, organized by my friend Scott, which is turning into something of an  annual  event. I have to admit - a tasting simply cannot compare with actually drinking  the wines over the course of several hours with food and company (and licking off drippings off the bottoms of the "dead soldiers" the next morning, with an unadulterated palate still in-tact :) At the fabulous dinner hosted at Domaine du Chevsky (i.e. my house), we once again confirmed greatness of the 2010 vintage in Rhone, as both August Clape and Thierry Allemand showed spectacular. All wines displayed zesty olive-tapenade and herbal notes resting atop of deep dark smoky fruit. Excellent acidity gave the wines energy and precise shape. The big boys Clape Cornas 2010 and Allemand Cornas "Reynard" 2010 were dense, sappy and structured, with Allemand showing more pepper-spice-box and tobacco ar...

A vertical of Auguste Clape Cornas "Renaissance" at a local wine shop provided an excellent look at how the recent vintages of the venerable Northern Rhone producer's younger vines are doing. With Clape, even his entry level bottlings - Vin Des Ami and Cotes Du Rhone are seriously good wines if you like old world Syrah, which I think blows the socks off of any new world contenders I've tried. His Cornas is a classic rivaling great Hermitages and Cote Roties. The "Renaissance" cuvee is made from younger vines, and is a notch below his straight Cornas, and therefore still represents relative bargain, as the prices for the flagship wine have recently shot up to $200 bottle after Parker gave them two consecutive 100-points (in 2009 and 2010 vintages). Here are my tasting notes: 2010 Clape Cornas "Renaissance" - deep, awesome nose. Dark, elegant, slightly roasted (but not unpleasantly) olives, pepper spice, almost Cabernet-like graphite, but jus...

If you are in the mood for robust yet stylish, go no further than Cornas . Think viking in a suit. Cornas has become one of the great wine appellations of the world. An unsung star of Northern Rhone, outshined for so long by Hermitage and Cote Rotie. In years past, considered savage and rustic. The current breed of winemakers have cleaned and dressed it up. Perhaps Cornas' time atop the vinous Olympus has come! And so have the prices (sigh!) In this rough terrain of Northern Rhone, Syrah reigns supreme among the reds. But the whites too achieve sublime. Here the deep, dark, black expressions of blueberry-and-olive drenched exotic-pepper-spices-n-herbs and primal, raw meat echo unmistakably from the depths of the thick elixirs, impossible anywhere else in the (new) world. With our busy-bee 15-month-old, Rona and I don't get out much for gourmet dinners these days. So our friends master chefs Scott and Dan came to the rescue by agreeing to cook their Michel...