Broadbent Selections "Hidden Gems"

     Thursday June 16, 2016

Reservations Closed
Course Pairing / Description Wine
Hors D' Oeuvres Sriracha & Honey Glazed Chicken Sate (Cucumber-apricot slaw with roasted sesame seeds) Arugula, Feta & Roasted Pepper Tartlets (Lemon aioli and micro herbs)
A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines are made in the Paardeberg area in Swartland district of South Africa. Owned by cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst, they restored the cellar on the farm that was last used in the 1930’s to make natural wines in the traditional manner. The vineyards are made up of very old bush-vines planted with Chenin Blanc (average 40 year old vines), Cinsault (average 45 years) and Grenache (average 58 years). The vines are un-irrigated and farmed as biologically as possible. The vineyards are planted on East, North and South facing slopes bringing tremendous variety to the fruit. The Badenhorst family has, for the last three generations, nurtured their vines so that they produce fruit of integrity. Their first bottled Secateurs Chenin Blanc was in 2009 and represented the start of a life-long affair with this most wonderful grape. The 2015 vintage spent time on its lees in concrete tanks and old casks - this is an important part of the maturation and gives incredible texture and palate weight to the wine. The aromas are flinty with honey, orange blossom with white stone fruit notes. The 2015 vintage was characterized by a long ripening period, a very dry summer but mild ripening conditions, which has the effect of good ripe flavors and slightly lower acids than in previous years. 		Badenhorst Chenin Blanc Secateurs 2015
Salad Course Lump Crab & Dried Tomato Salad Stuffed Avocado (Organic greens, cotijo cheese, mango salsa and charred grapefruit vinaigrette)
Owned and operated by the Johnson Family, Spy Valley Wines is one of Marlborough, New Zealand’s few remaining 100% Kiwi family owned wine companies. Located up the road from a U.S. government listening post (the Spy base), Spy Valley is known around the world as one of New Zealand’s most acclaimed producers. The Johnson Family established the first of their 380 acres of estate vineyards in 1993. Pioneering what was then a Marlborough sub-region, the Johnsons’ Lower Waihopai development continued, with the fruit being grown and sold to other wine companies. In 2000, the first vintage under the Spy Valley label was released. With a modern, fully integrated winemaking facility and a passion for excellence, Spy Valley consistently produces globally acclaimed award winning wines. Like most Marlborough wineries, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are Spy Valley specialties, but chief winemaker and aromatic fanatic Paul Bourgeois and his team, have set a benchmark for New Zealand aromatic whites. The grapes for the Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc were grown in shallow and stony soils with overlying sandy loam and deep river silts. After picking and gently pressing, each vineyard block was separately fermented, with a portion occurring naturally in barrels before blending and bottling. This Sauvignon Blanc has flavors of ripe citrus, melon and passion fruit. The secondary barrel fermentation notes are very subtle. A warm growing season shows through this wine with sweet mid-palate richness and an array of fresh fruit flavors. 		Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Soup Course South African Chicken, Sausage & Yam Stew (Stewed tomatoes oven roasted chick pea flour and root vegetables with Jasmine rice)
After 12 vintages in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley on the Western Cape of South Africa, focusing on producing world class Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, Hannes Storm discovered two vineyards with particularly exceptional terroirs planted with the tiny bunched red grape variety that he loves intimately. With these two sites, one with low vigor, stony, clay-rich shale soils in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and the other, a small vineyard in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley with granite soils, Storm Wines strives to steer the purest characteristics of each site towards bottle and cork. Meticulous viticulture, minimal intervention in the cellar and a constant nod to the Old World present the wines with a warm personality and character. With the maiden vintage for both vineyards in 2012, Storm Wines continues to handcraft, perfect and shepherd Pinot Noir from their unique terroirs into very distinctive site specific wines. The Storm Vrede Pinot Noir hails from a steep northeast facing slope in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with low-vigor, stony, clay-rich soils. 2013 was an exceptional vintage for this wine which displays richness and generosity with an alluring, opulent, dark fruit perfume flavor. This wine is not flashy or overly fruity, but it has great depth, purity and structure, all characteristic of the site’s low-vigor, stony, clay-rich Bokkeveld shale soils. 		Storm Pinot Noir Vrede 2013
Beef Course Cabernet & Rosemary Braised Beef Short Rib (Tempura green beans and roasted garlic cloves with roasted red pepper essence and smoked rosemary sprig)
The Warwick Wine Estate in South Africa was known as the farm “Good Success” from 1791 until 1902. After the Anglo-Boer war, Colonel Alexander Gordon from the Warwickshire regiment bought the farm and renamed it “Warwick” as a tribute to his regiment. In 1964 Warwick was purchased by Stan and Norma Ratcliffe. The Ratcliffes recognized the quality of the terroir and began planting Cabernet Sauvignon, selling grapes to wholesalers and other wineries until 1984 when the first Warwick vintage was released. Norma Ratcliffe was the first female winemaker in South Africa and her winemaking talent was quickly recognized around the world. Estate Reserve (known outside the U.S. as Trilogy) soon became a paragon of the South African wine Industry. The farm today is still very much a family affair. In 2001, Stan and Norma’s son Mike assumed the role of Managing Director. The Warwick First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has a deep and intense ruby red color. The bouquet reveals dark chocolate, bramble berries, star anise, cloves, cracked black pepper and notes of fresh thyme. The smooth, ripe, round tannins make this wine easy to drink while still retaining good structure. 		Warwick Cabernet Sauvignon The First Lady 2014
Dessert Course Vanilla Bean & Blackberry Brioche Bread Pudding (Cabernet and brown butter caramel, clove scented whipped cream and 70% cacao dark chocolate shavings)
Quinta do Crasto, which traces its roots back to the 17th century, was purchased by Constantino de Almeida, a partner in the Port house of Constantino, in 1910. In 1981, Constantino de Almeida’s granddaughter, Leonor (“Tita”) and her husband, Jorge Roquette took over the Quinta, determined to restore and revitalize the family estate. Following the change in Portuguese law allowing single quintas to bottle and export wine, Crasto has been producing and exporting table and port wines since 1994. The perseverance and commitment of the Roquette family has restored Quinta do Crasto to its rightful status as one of the great family estates of Douro, Portugal. The grapes for the Quinta Do Crasto Douro Red were chosen from selected plots and taken to the winery in 22 kg plastic boxes. On arrival in the winery, they were rigorously inspected on a sorting table. The grapes were then de-stemmed, crushed and transferred into stainless steel tanks where they fermented. The alcoholic fermentation took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for 5 to 7 days. The wine was aged in 95% in stainless steel vats and 5% in oak barrels. It is deep ruby in color with very ripe red fruit aromas. This wine is very fruity on the palate, with good structure and light tannins which make it a very pleasant wine. 		Quinta Do Crasta Douro Red Reserve 2012
Chateau Musar was founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar. In 1959, after studying oenology at the University of Bordeaux, his son Serge became winemaker. The civil war that tore Lebanon apart from 1975 to 1990 did not defeat Chateau Musar. Serge refused to abandon the wine and lost only the 1976 and 1984 vintages to the war. Owing to his inspiring determination and grand passion for his wines, Serge received the inaugural “Man of the Year Award” from Decanter magazine in 1984. Recognition from Michael Broadbent, at the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair, threw Musar into the international spotlight and helped create a cult-like following. Chateau Musar is one of the most written-about and discussed wines in the world today. Rated 92 points by Robert Parker, the 2007 Chateau Musar, the flagship estate red, is the typical, roughly equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault, aged for 12 months in French oak. Finishing with complexity, earthy nuances and a gamey hint, it is a relatively polished Musar that shows both finesse and flavor on the finish. After opening rather soft and reticent, the underlying power emerges strongly. There are tannins lurking underneath, of course. Add the acidity, providing some steel and intensity and this becomes a completely different wine with three hours of decanting, up to and including, what seems to be a high-toned nuance, a hint of Amarone. 		Chateau Muser Red 2007