Spottswoode & Kisltler Wine Pairing Dinner, Triple Creek Ranch, Montana October 24, 2020

The grand finale dinner was a culmination of culinary excellence along with spectacular wines from the two vineyards. Following two wine seminars, guests were able to enjoy the wines with special menu items selected especially for the wines presented. I have provided both my own as well as the professional reviews of the wines presented as well as my impressions on the wine and food pairings understanding we all taste both food and wine at times differently. I would say in general the food match-ups were what you might expect with one exception at the beginning that turned out to be a wonderful exception.

1st Course

Lemon Sole with fennel puree, toasted sourdough, lemon brown butter, chervil and apple

2016 Spottswoode, Mary's Block, Sauvignon Blanc, St. Helena, Napa Valley V 92 

The nose and bouquet presented a tart apple and pear flavor profile that was bright. The taste was a little harsh but immediately dissipates presenting a predominant flavor of Granny Smith tart apple. Acid content is moderate and food-friendly. 

92 points Vinous "The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc Mary's Block emerges from a single parcel on the estate property right next to Spring Creek. Dense and surprisingly powerful, the 2016 is built to show off textural volume and intensity rather than the brighter aromas and flavors that are typical of Sauvignon. The 2016 was done entirely in oak, 8% new. More importantly, it is a wine of real personality and class. (AG)" 

2017 Kistler, Lagune Ridge Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Chardonnay WS 97 RP 95 

I have this wine in my cellar in magnum. The nose presented with a flint, mineral profile making me think that Kistler was now back on track making Chardonnay in the French European style. It truly was closer to Burgundian than California style. There was a taste of tart pear with mild oak and vanilla overtones. The finish was slightly harsh but long. Again acid was moderate and food-friendly. 

97 points Wine Spectator "Rich and powerful, with an unctuous creaminess to the ripe apple and pear flavors, featuring notes of dried tropical fruits, backed by engaging fresh acidity. Hints of dried savory herbs show on the finish, revealing concentrated minerality and buttery nuances. 

95 Points Robert Parker "The 2017 Chardonnay Laguna Ridge Vineyard features scents of baclava, baked apple, quince paste, lime peel, and warm yellow peaches with notions of gunflint, hazelnut, citrus blossoms, and crushed stone. Medium-bodied with a lovely creamy texture, it has an intense flavor layers, uplifting tangy acidity, and a very long flavorful finish. 

Food match - A perfect example of how preconceived ideas regarding food and wine matching are frequently wrong. Both Clark and myself prior to any tasting predicted immediately the Kistler Chardonnay would match best in that it would be buttery and like a French Montrachet that "always" goes great with "sole" right? Not so fast. Not here. In fact, the Spottswoode was the better match. Even though it was a Sauvignon Blanc because of its balance and lighter presentation it matched the lemon sole perfectly. The Kistler seemed to clash somewhat and I suspect it was due to a little harshness to the wine. The delicacy of the fish matched with the softness and acid of the wine was a match made in heaven. 

2nd Course

Lobster and Quail salad with Belgium endive, red sorrel, celery root puree, toasted walnut roasted grape vinaigrette 

2016 Kistler Natalie Cuvee Silver Belt Vineyard Pinot Noir JD 97 RP 95 

The nose and bouquet was a heavy red cherry but also had some complexity with a rose perfume smell. A somewhat bitter cherry taste that was tart and tannic. Tannins were well developed and acid to me was somewhat high. Again there was a lot of tannin due to its youth and consistent with Kistler Pinots. 

97 points Jeb Dunnuck "The 2016 Pinot Noir Cuvée Natalie is a mix of Calera and Swan clones as well as cool, more iron oxide-driven soils. It offers more red fruits with sensational notes of strawberries, spice, and wet stone literally soaring from the glass. Perfectly balanced, with ultra-fine tannin and a seamless texture, drink this complex, layered, multi-dimensional Russian River Valley Pinot Noir anytime over the coming 10-15 years." 

95 points Robert Parker "Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie Silver Belt possesses quite an earthy nose of truffles, underbrush, tilled soil and mossy bark over a core of Black Forest cake, warm red and black plums and raspberry compote. Full-bodied and laden with black berry and earth layers, it has a velvety backbone and very long mineral-tinged finish." 

Food Match - I was a little disappointed with the food match here as the wine due to its tannic structure seemed to overwhelm the food at times. The Quail was one of the best I have ever had, truly enjoyable, and the wine clearly matched better with the Quail. The fat in the meat balanced out the tannins well in the wine. 

3rd Course

Carmen Ranch Beef Tenderloin with red creamer potatoes, baby kale, smoked vanilla-herb butter with a red wine reduction 

2003 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Napa Valley Served from Magnum RP 95 W&S 94 

A complex nose and bouquet of chalky, smoky, cedar chocolate, and cigar. I was impressed highly that this is still a young youthful puppy with no age on it continuing to evolve for years. On the taste was pucker up tannins with a flavor of licorice and chocolate. The finish was pleasant and long. Acid and tannin through extensive were moderate and balanced. I noticed a hint of color loss on the edges but you would have never known this was an aged wine based on the taste. To me, it was a complex wine well made and well structured that should age for years but I admit with the color showing some loss, even though minimal, the wine might rapidly deteriorate quicker than expected. Reminds me of the 2003 French Bordeaux's who initially came out not that highly rated, after a few years developed extremely well and approached higher ratings than expected then crashed and burned and rapidly matured so you had to go and drink them fast. 

95 points Robert Parker "In 2003, production jumped up to 3,700 cases, with the blend identical to so many other vintages with 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc. This was a year where there were some freaky heat spells, but this wine has come through nicely. Deep bluish purple with notes of blackberry and cassis and charcoal followed by a soft, velvety-textured, opulent, and full-bodied wine that seems to be approaching full maturity. It is interesting, this wine is far more evolved, and on a faster evolutionary track than the 2001 or in 2002. Nevertheless, it is a beauty, loaded, layered, and impressive. It must be one of the top 2003s. Drink it over the next 20-some years. (RP)" 

94 points Wine & Spirits "The Spottswoode estate celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, and its latest release is a fitting tribute to the vineyard on the property first planted in 1916 by the Spotts family. The Novak family bought Spottswoode in 1972 and replanted the vines. Tony Soter made the first Spottswoode Cabernet in 1982; this current vintage was made by Rosemary Cakebread. Her '03 is lovely, a wine of tremendous richness packed with black currant flavor. It's smooth and lush, a sleek Napa Valley red, destined to be a classic."

2010 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Napa Valley RP100 ST 97 

A super dark black color with no edge loss. Of all the wines this weekend this one had the darkest color. Opens up with a licorice nose and bouquet as well as Jasmine so a complex nose. Again a young wine with young tannins still even after 10 years. A nice smooth mouthfeel. A very well, balanced wine with moderate acid integrated with the tannins well. A long pleasant finish. Clearly deserves the 100 point rating. I wrote this prior to reading the following reviews and was pleased to note that my comments regarding the smooth mouthfeel as well as the licorice taste and floral characteristics were picked up by the professional tasters. Gives me faith in my tasting abilities. 

100 points Robert Parker "Production in this cooler year than 2009 produced 2,586 cases and the blend was 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Consistently perfect from barrel and bottle multiple times, the 2010 is one of the recent blockbuster efforts from Spottswoode. Superb aromatics of spring flowers, blue and black fruits, forest floor, and a touch of toast, are followed by a wine of exceptional intensity, texture, purity, and a full-bodied finish with velvety, but noticeable tannins. This is still extremely young, but also remarkably impressive even though it is only six years of age. Expect this to hit its prime in about 10 years and last for at least 40. (RP)" 

97 points Vinous "A rich, exotic beauty, Spottswoode's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is one the most representative wines from a cold vintage that was marked by heat spikes at the end of the growing season. That contrast makes for a viscerally thrilling wine endowed with magnificent complexity and pure class. Powerful and unctuous, with tremendous depth and tons of character, the 2010 is a total stunner. Dark plum, cherry, chocolate, spice, and new leather all flesh out in this vivid, utterly breathtaking wine. There is so much to love here. (AG)" 

96 points Stephen Tanzer "Good bright ruby. Huckleberry, blackberry, violet, and licorice on the scented nose; became increasingly floral with air--a real essence of its St. Helena site. Enters the mouth suave, silky and floral; wonderfully pliant in spite of its acid-driven energy, precision, and youthfulness. The wine's perfume and definition pique the taste buds in the middle palate and on the very long, rising finish, where the noble tannins play a supporting role without impinging. This wonderfully youthful, floral wine appears to be at the beginning of a long plane of peak drinkability. Really fills the mouth with perfume, but not at all weighty or overly fleshy. Finishes with great sappy, rising length, and grip. My sample was even better after 72 hours. (ST, for Vinous)" 

Food Match - Both wines matched well with the food. Tasting as young as they both did the tannin structure was perfect for the fat of the meat and both to me were equal matches with nothing off or unbalanced. In summary, both wines were outstanding choices to have with beef and I would add with other meats as well including wild game. In general, I personally liked the 2003 best only because I was so impressed was how young it presented given its age. I only wish my body would perform the same at my age! 

4th Course

Milk Chocolate Mousse with roasted pecans, cranberry orange coulis, smoked dark chocolate powder, dried meringue chips, cranberry compote, caramelized cocoa nibs.

2015 Domain de Durban, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, France 

Alas, I could find no professional reviews of this wine so mine will have to do. Dominating the Southern Rhône Valley from the foothills of the Mont Ventoux, Domaine Durban enjoys stunning views of the area and is in the Gigondas region. I must confess I have a bias herein that the Vacqueyras wines of the Southern Rhone are my favorites. Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is considered by many one of the best of all the Muscat wines made in Southern France, and Durban is considered the best estate. The wines have distinctive Muscat flavors of flowers, tropical fruit, and honey. A basic dessert wine that goes with foie gras, melon, and Roquefort cheese. I found the wine to have a nice nose of honey but the taste was somewhat bitter and tannic which made me think it was fermented with stems in the must. On the taste, the honey taste continues. The wine went well with the dessert dish which I have included a photo of as it was an artistic presentation. 

Traveling with Covid-19

Having just returned from a trip to Montana it seems like a good time to address traveling risks associated with Covid-19.  Daily there is information put out by the media, some accurate, some not so much.  Who can you trust and what do you do to protect yourself and your family.  Clark and I traveled on American Airlines across the country, changing planes in Dallas going to the Triple Creek Ranch in Darby Montana outside Missoula, Montana airport.  In general, we felt safe and saw no overriding concerns.  There is no question it takes time to overcome ones phobia's and fears, and I am no different than anyone else.  Until I was 28 years old I had a phobia and fear of flying on an airplane.  My father was an aircrewman on a B-24 Liberator flying 30 combat missions over Nazi Germany and as a civilian had a private pilot's license.  When I was 6 years old he took to me to the St. Petersburg airport to fly on a demonstration flight.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  For some reason, I did not want to go and was afraid of the airplane and kicked and screamed until he took me home.  It haunted me for 22 years.  But as a scientist, I recognized that science and data and not perception should guide my decisions in life.  I went to Honolulu, Hawaii to do my internship in medicine for many reasons but one reason was to face down my fear of flying as the only way to get there was by plane.  To lessen my fears I flew first class and got fairly intoxicated on the way figuring if I was going to die might as well go happy and in style.  I enjoyed the trip immensely and now if a trip takes more than 4 hours in a car, I fly.  Today, even with its inconveniences I love to fly.  To me, it is a miracle to break the bonds of earth and soar in the heavens.  Even with the worst years and with the years that included terrorist attacks and 9/11 flying in a commercial airliner is one of the safest things you can do.  Driving in a car is one of the riskiest things you can do.  The majority of people killed in a car accident are 5 miles from home and going 45 MPH.  The chance of dying in a plane crash is in the millions.  Today with Covid, flying is in my opinion still safer.  Looking at the data since Covid the reported cases that were spread on an airplane occurred early in the pandemic before the airlines and the public started taking proper precautions.  Even then the number of cases transmitted was in the low hundreds compared to millions who flew on airplanes so the absolute risk was low even then.  Today as we speak the airlines have taken extreme precautions to prevent any transmission.  Everyone wears masks, filters on airplanes have been upgraded and changed frequently, boarding procedures are safer than before, so in general safety, protocols are working and in just the last month as an example, I have heard of no transmission of the virus on an airplane.  We have multiple friends who have traveled by airplane multiple times in the past month with no problems and no infections.  Clark and I for years now have disinfected our seats and area on a plane immediately when we get on.  We carry Clorox wipes and have been wiping everything down for years and to our knowledge never gotten sick from an airplane trip.  Even with the planes being spotless we still wiped everything down this trip to Montana.  Every passenger had a mask on and everyone seemed to watch out for everyone else.  I at least felt very safe, and again safer than if I was driving in a car.  At the airports, social distancing and masks were done as much as I could tell.  At our destination, the Triple Creek Ranch followed all protocols and we felt safe there.  So we have been home for a few days now, feel fine, felt safe on the trip, and will self-quarantine for at least a week at home.  The reality is that Covid is everywhere, at your home, and wherever you might choose to go.  It is spread with human to human contact through the air with coughing sneezing and talking.  Social distancing at least 6 feet and wearing a mask works.  Washing your hands' works.  If you and everyone around you are doing these things then your risk is less and mitigated.  It will not be 100% risk-free for a long time but nothing is 100% risk-free.  My opinion and comments for many years is if you don't like risk and don't want to take risks please don't get into a car and walk.  The reality is driving a car is one of the highest risk activities we do.  In my opinion, wearing a mask on an airplane is a lower risk than that so I am willing to travel under the current protocols and just did and so far so good.  I should also mention that the day before we left to drive back to the airport there was a huge blizzard that dumped one foot of snow covering the roads.  No one really saw it coming.  As a result, we had to drive down the twisty mountain and drive 80 miles back to the airport.  I assumed out west and in the past, the roads are quickly cleared.  Because this storm was not predicted we ended up driving 80 miles on top of approximately 2 inches of solid ice as the temperature dropped to 5 below zero and no they didn't clear the roads.  I know for sure driving 80 miles on top of fresh ice is the risky thing you could ever do.  Obviously, we did OK but it was an adventure.  We only spun out once.  

Triple Creek Ranch Darby Montana

 I have been remiss in posting new articles.  Covid-19 has cramped my style.  With no travel, I ran out of what I considered new ideas.  Fortunately, the travel bug would not let me go so I now have a series of articles to share with you.  We just returned from a wine seminar in Montana and I will have at least 4 articles out of that for you.  Here is the first one regarding our stay overall at the Triple Creek Ranch.  I hope you enjoy what is forthcoming and will keep you posted.

Triple Creek Ranch, Darby, Montana is a Relais & Chateaux property and as Tom Selleck says in his latest reverse mortgage ad this was not our first Rodeo.  We stayed at Les Pres d'Eugenie, Maison Guerard and had 3 meals a day at Michele Guerard's 3 Michelin star restaurants and went with high expectations Triple Creek would be close to the same experience.  It was not.  It is hard to review any place today due to COVID-19 as the virus has severely impacted everyone and I am sure made it difficult for even 3 star Michelin establishments to deliver consistent high-end services so I am willing to cut everyone some slack.  The highlight of our trip and the reason we went in the first place was to attend a Kistler and Spotswoode wine tasting and it was in fact the best part of the trip and all of the tastings and grand finale dinner were excellent and worth the trip.  The final dinner was a triumph and the peak experience of the weekend.  Our cabin was very comfortable and the wood-burning fireplace cleaned and ready daily was a treat.  The spa bathroom was one of the best we have seen.  When you arrive they tell you anything you need just ask and for the most part this was true.  The day we left unexpectedly the roads were covered in inches of ice and we had only rented a standard car so to get off their mountain requires about a one or two-mile drive down the mountain and they drove our car down to the base of the mountain which exceeded our expectations.  Housekeeping was excellent and met all of our requests the first time and every time.  After the weather turned we noticed they were able to give some guests winter coats for activities and I don't recall being told that in advance but if I had I might not have taken some of our winter clothing as we have been to the mountains yearly and know to be prepared which we were.  At the ranch, they have an extensive list of activities you can participate in at no additional cost but our time was limited by wine seminars but again the day we could have done something there was a sudden early season blizzard that dumped a foot of snow so we were cabin bound watching movies which were fine.  The one outdoor activity we did do was very over simple but was fun but brief.  Unfortunately, there were two or three issues that severely detracted our enjoyment of the trip.  The maintenance of our cabin was unsatisfactory.  It was almost as if nothing had been inspected prior to our arrival.  We were given a golf cart that was dirty, had not been cleaned, and even worse did not function properly.  The engine cut off causing us to spin out of control on a patch of ice.  We were given a new cart that worked and excuses that maybe it was not preparing the roads properly but the fact remained it should not have happened.  We had a coat/robe rack in the room that clearly was cheaply and incorrectly mounted that fell off the wall and maintenance came and mounted it back on the wall correctly, but upside down with the coat hooks pointing towards the floor.  The food was plentiful and good and the beef was excellent but it was not 3 star Michelin dining.  And of special concern evening service was poor, unprofessional, and unacceptable.  Every dinner our entree had to be sent back as it was not served as ordered.  At least one service staff was loud, overtly friendly to a fault, and unprofessional.  A simple request for coffee required this staff member to recite for over 5 minutes everything she had to do to bring a simple cup of coffee.  The staff was young and in our opinion poorly trained.  House wine choices were few and not the best.  To get a better bottle required a purchase and though their wine list was good prices, as usual, would be considered somewhat high.  Constantly we heard the words, "Sorry about that", awesome, and perfect.  It seemed that if they said the word "perfect" enough you would leave thinking everything was "perfect" and again it was not.  We had breakfast in our room daily and service there was excellent and lunch service was excellent and served by the same staff that covered lunch.  Breakfast and lunch service was one area we gave an additional gratuity to.  Sadly nothing for dinner staff.  The price we paid was significantly higher than other Relais & Chateau properties we have stayed at so understandably our expectations were high and only met in a few areas.  I might return but one incident at the end completely soured my impression.  My wife left an inexpensive pair of glasses and an electrical outlet extension behind and the staff found it and they contacted us on what address to return it.  They also requested a credit card to pay postage.  I'm sorry but again that is poor customer service.  For what we paid per day they could afford to cover the postage for two small items.  In addition, I doubt we would have used a different address than the one they had.  Good customer service would have been us receiving the items a few days later with no notification and a thank you card for staying and here are some items you left behind.  So our final impression is a facility that favors profit over people and staff does not seem to pay attention to detail.

This is an update on Monday, November 2, 2020.  I was contacted by the general manager, David Macilmraith after I posted this review after he read it on his own survey website.  He was very helpful and interested and reassured us that our concerns were valid and he had already made on the spot corrections to improve service.  He actively made amends and I was very impressed with everything he did to make things right.  Frankly, I have for years posted reviews to basically have them ignored and this is one of the first in memory where the facility immediately took us seriously and used our suggestions to improve and it speaks highly of them.  I would highly recommend anyone travel there as I can verify Triple Creek Ranch is dedicated to the best and will make it right.  I now firmly believe our experience was an isolated incident and won't happen again and feel good about returning next year.  I had a very similar experience close to 30 years ago with American Airlines that was handled in a similar positive manner and to this day I still fly American Airlines and in fact, this trip was on American Airlines.  Clark and I wish to thank David for his immediate attention to our concerns.