This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on HotCosts.Join our mailing list to be notified when a new featured wine is offered.2005 Napa Valley Estate Zinfandel. Only 499 Cases Produced. This week, HotCosts is offering a hand-crafted artisan wine produced by Tofanelli Family Vineyards. This old vine (planted in 1929) Zinfandel vineyard has been managed by the Tofanelli's for 3 generations. HotCosts has obtained a very small allocation for this weeks' featured wine. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. About the VineyardTofanelli Vineyards has been family owned and farmed since 1929. The historical vineyard now stands as one the last examples of pre-World War II grape growing. The methods they still use were once prevalent through-out the valley; no irrigation, an organic philosophy, and no trellis systems on the red varietals. Given the reputation of the vines and the limited production of the winery, Tofanelli vineyards sells some fruit to other wineries such as Turley, Spottswoode, Schrader, Orin-Swift, Neyers and Duckhorn. Consisting mostly of Bale Series, gravelly loam, it drains well and doesn't retain nutrients. The effect is natural devigoration that results in smaller, more concentrated clusters of fruit. Wines produced from this site are organically grown and dry farmed. Rootstock includes St. George, 1103 Paulsen and 110 Rupestrus. Summary of Tasting EventThis wine was tasted on March 8, 2008 by a panel of 8 tasters in a blind tasting format and paired with Crown Roast Of Pork With Wild Rice Stuffing. These magnificent dry farmed vines are a living testament to the unique combination of this old Zinfandel clone grafted to St. George rootstock. The result of this dry farmed effort is a powerfully built old vine zin. The initial taste is packed with pepper and rich black cherry fruit with some notes of cassis. We found the wine to have a good structure of acid and fruit tannin on the finish. After 10 minutes in the glass we noticed a significant difference in the texture of the wine. We tasted the same pepper and dark berry flavors, but the wine took on a silkier, smoother texture in the mouth. We recommend an hour decanting period followed by a short time in the glass to extract the maximum taste and texture out of this wine. This Zinfandel can be cellared for 2-5 years. The pork went well with this Zinfandel but the wild rice stuffing really brought out the best in the pairing. The Madiera wine sauce poured over the pork and rice also added nice acidity.
Tasting NotesOur mission is to provide unbiased opinions of the wine being offered. These notes come from up to 10 guests who tasted this wine in a blind tasting format (wine is concealed so their identity is unknown). Why this format? Tasting blind completely throws out any hype associated with a certain winery, style, price point, etc; it forces the taster to accept what is in the glass without any predetermined notions. Our guests utilize Robert Parker's Glossary of Wine Terms for their comments for consistency purposes. In addition, we utilize the wine aroma wheel to enhance ones ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. Notes are posted on this wine during the tasting to ensure they accurately reflect the impressions.Selected Wine Tasting Notes
SS: Very smooth, coats your mouth. Dark color and pepper nose. Tasted black cherry. Really smoothed out after a little time in the glass.
RLA: Cherry and casis nose and taste. Full-body but smooth, especially after some time in the glass.
BM: Very nice, smooth wine. Medium bodied with a very long finish. Let it sit in the glass for a while and you get a smoother wine.
LM: Very big wine flavor and arouma to begin. Returned 10 minutes later to find a completly different wine. Thats the single biggest change in a wine Ive ever tasted. Buttery in the mouth, I found cherry and Jasmine in the nose. Medium bodied with a very long finish.
MA: This wine exhibits aromas of dark berries, red currant and straw. The aromas lead to an explosion of pure dark cherry fruit and pepper in the mouth, backed by a firm structure. The essence of this wine continues over the palate with more fruit on the finish.
Technical Data
Winemaker's Tasting NotesExploding with classic Zin aromatics, one also detects scents of orange-dark chocolate and finely ground white pepper. Flavors of ripe mulberries layer with blackberry and cherry Heering. This wine begins with a brawniness, yet eases into an elegance as the tannins and acidity merge to a seamless finish. Enjoy this wine now and for the next 7 to 9 years.Recipe: Crown Roast Of Pork With Wild Rice Stuffing from cooks.comINGREDIENTS:
1. Preheat oven to hot, 400 degrees. Place roast on rack in long shallow roasting pan. 2. Cook rice according to label directions. 3. Saut onion, celery and garlic in butter in skillet just until tender, about 5 minutes. 4. Combine sauted vegetables, rice, pine nuts, all but 2 tablespoons of the apricots, ginger and allspice in bowl; mix well. Spoon lightly into center of roast. (Spoon any extra stuffing into buttered shallow baking dish; bake during last 20 minutes of roasting.) Cover ends of bones and top of stuffing with foil. 5. Roast in preheated hot oven, 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to slow, 325 degrees. Roast for 30 minutes per pound of meat, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer registers 170 degrees when inserted in thickest part of roast; do not let thermometer touch bone or fat. 6. Remove roast to heated serving platter. Keep warm while preparing gravy. 7. To prepare gravy. Skim off and discard fat from pan drippings. Add cloves, bay leaves, Madeira and broth to juices in pan. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits from pan. Increase heat to high; cook until gravy is reduced by a third. Strain into sauce boat. Serve with roast and any extra stuffing. Garnish rib ends with kumquats, if you wish. Serves 8 |
Featured Wine
2005 Napa Valley ZinfandelTofanelli and DiGiulio Ranch vineyards of Calistoga$36/bottle Free shipping! HotCosts Mailing List
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