Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Winmaker's Dinner Event for WFSO
July 25, 2008 at Restaurant Bleu
WFSO and WWT member, Bill Kimmer, and his wife and current President, Pat, put on another Winemaker's Dinner in July at the Restaurant Blue, which serves as the restaurant for the Western Culinary Institute. Bill and Ty Wells, the General Manager, put together a wonderful menu for this event to showcase the wines of Alexandria Nicole Cellars. WWT members Greg Bunnell and Howard Johnson, and their wives, Cami and Kathleen, also attended the event.
We were greated just outside the restaurant by the General Manager as some young children were performing as part of an Asian celebration that evening. We were then escorted to a private dining facility near the back of the restaurant with floor to ceiling windows. Pat Kimmer gave a short talk and then introduced the Jarrod and Ali Boyle of Alexandria Nicole Cellars.
The winery spans nearly 250 acres in the acclaimed Horse Heaven Hills Appelation overlooking the bluffs near the Columbia River at Prosser, Washington. Jarrod, the cellar's winemaker, has planted fifteen varietals in their estate vineyard, Destiny Ridge. Jarrod and his wife are proud to produce small lots of hand-crafted wines with character and depth. Jarrod got his passion for winemaking while working for Hogue Cellars. Jarrod and one of his childhood friends planted the first vines at Destiny Ridge in 1998. The winery is aptly named after Jarrod's wife, Ali. The winery now offers two tasting rooms, one in Prosser and the other in Woodinville. They also have ventured into the food business with a small tapas cafe at the winery.
Ali and Jarrod Boyle with Pat and Bill Kimmer (l to r)
We started the event with an Amuse Bouche, a smoked oyster with kumquat preserve on a Chnchego crisp that was paired with the 2007 Crawford Viognier. Everyone agreed that the smoked oyster's flavors and the Viognier's structure married well together.
For the second course, Jarrod poured the 2007 Shepards Mark, a Rhone-style blend with Rousanne, Viognier and Marsanne is barrel fermented in neutral oak. This wine was enjoyed with a Lemongrass Consomme with a Chicken Dumpling. This "Rhone Ranger" had great mouth feel and a long finish. This seemed to be the most balanced of the whites we tried during the evening - it wasn't overly extracted and the blending percentages were ideal.
The last white we sampled was the 2007 Reserve Viognier. This was paired with Spring Asparagus tossed with a basis vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese crisps. Once the reserve bottling warmed up, you could tell that the grapes had been harvested and handled with care. Indeed, the grapes were hand picked, whole cluster pressed and barrel fermented with three yeast strains. This bottling is 100% Viognier from the Destiny Ridge Vineyard.
The fourth course took us to the first red wine of the evening, a 2005 Merlot. The Merlot was matched with a Smoked duck breast with Potato Rosti and Balsamic Veal Glaze. The duck was served medium rare, the way it should be and the glaze complimented both the Merlot and the meat. The Merlot is also blended with about 20% Malbec and some Petit Verdot, with the Malbec definately contributing to the backbone of the wine.
We then sampled the 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon with a Roasted Beef Tenderloin Medallion with summer squash risotto and a demi glaze. The risotto was creamy and very flavorful and the tenderloin's flavors were a great compliment to the Cabernet. The estate Cabernet is barrel aged for twenty two months and does contain small percentages of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, a blending made famous in France.
For dessert, a molten dark chocolate ganache tart with fresh strawberries was paired with an over the top red, the 2005 Block 17 Syrah of which only slightly more than 200 cases were produced. The wine offered up multiple layers of dark fruit and soft tannins.
A special thanks to both Jarrod and Ali for making the trek to Portland to share their lovely wine and the entire staff at Restaurant Bleu for making this event memorable.