From Russia with love…the Russells are back and guess what? They’re drinking again…wine tasting just north of Sonoma

I am very pleased to welcome back one of our favourite teams of guest bloggers, Pete and Lynda Russell have been taking it for the team and putting themselves through the agony of wine tasting in North Sonoma….it’s a tough job, but someone had to do it. Over to you, guys…I’m booking my next California holiday NOW

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We’d heard that Hartford’s wines were often rated in the 90s (out of 100, the Robert Parker way, see http://www.erobertparker.com/info/legend.asp), and were anxious to try their Burgundian varietals. We had intended to taste at 2 vineyards, this one and “Sbragia” (Ed Sbragia recently retired from Beringer and was responsible for the best Chardonnay we’ve had) way up north in the RRV region, but after an incredible 11 wine taste at Hartford, our palates were too tired for Sbragia. I won’t regale you details of all 11 wines, but here’s the three we bought:

1. Hartford Court 2008 Stone Cote Chardonnay: This wine had spent 11 months in oak, had that delightful vanilla spiciness on the nose which indicates a Mersault-like Chardonnay. One to cellar for 2 years or so.
2. Hartford Court 2008 Fog Dance Pinot Noir: Grown in the cool Green valley district, we noted cherry, raspberry and rose like aromas, some tannin in the taste indicates its youth, its all round elegance make this an outstanding, subtle Pinot which will take a few years in the bottle before giving its best, although it’s drinking well now so we’ll probably drink it this Thanksgiving.
3. Hartford 2007 Russian River Valley Zinfandel: Very different from the big, chewy Zins we have been drinking lately. The cool climate here makes for a longer growing period with less tannin. We thought this very elegant, again cellaring for a couple of years will be beneficial.

A relaxing lunch was now called for, and as chance would have it, the “Korbel Champagne Cellars” tasting room just up the road had a deli/cafe that had been recommended. Pete ordered a salami and brie sandwich washed down with a Mimosa (Buck’s Fizz to you and me), and Lynda chose the pulled pork sandwich and Pomegranite Bellini. Fortified, we ventured into Korbel’s tasting room. Now Korbel have been making sparling wine by the méthode champenoise technique since the mid-1890s, but we’d seen their Brut Rose in supermarkets, and were put of by the price (cheap, around $10 per bottle) and label design, I know, how very silly!

We inserted ourselves into the milling throng, everybody anxious to get their 4 tastes for free, and I must say we were agreeably surprised. We chose to taste the Korbel Natural ($12), Korbel Brut ($10), the Korbel Chardonnay ($10) and the Korbel Extra Dry ($18.50), all champagnes and all very drinkable, especially in Lynda’s new love, champagne cocktails, of which more in a later post! We purchased a bottle of the Chardonnay-based champagne and hi-tailed it to our hotel for a nap before dinner.

Not much to be said for the West Sonoma Inn & Spa, except it was good value and very acceptable for an overnight stay.

Over at The Applewood, Bruce Frieseke, executive chef, is ‘amazed’ at his newly minted Michelin star, he’s off the beaten track, Guerneville is not one of California’s most elegant towns, and a 10-roomed B&B isn’t a natural for Michelin recognition. Apart from a little cock-up with the timing of the starter, we thought it was great and tremendous value. As one would expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant, the food was thoughtfully designed, elegantly presented and left us in no doubt that the kitchen deserved it’s accolade. But the way the menu was presented was an object lesson in how to sell wine. With each dish, the wine list recommended an old world wine bottle, a new world wine bottle and a wine by the glass. We had brought along a bottle of red and a bottle of white since the restaurant allows its clientele to bring its own wines at a cost of $20 corkage/bottle, but we decided to go with the recommended wines by the glass. For starters, Pete’s Croquette of Salt Cod Brandade with Grilled White Shrimp in a Guajillo Chili Broth was very pleasing, the broth adding a piquancy to the flavour with the chewy flesh of the three whole shrimp complementing the softness of the croquette. As we all know, Lynda’s love affair with fungi has still a long way to go, and her Madeira Scented Forest Mushrooms, Soft Cooked Duck Egg and Truffle didn’t disappoint. Lynda’s entree of Braised Short Rib of Beef, Pumpkin Polenta, Cipollini Onion with Parmigiano and Sage looked almost chocolaty on the plate and was rich enough to deserve this description, the polenta acting as a foil for the richness. Pete had to help out, since Lynda couldn’t manage to eat it all. Pete meanwhile decided to see what Wagyu Beef was all about with Grilled Bavette of Wagyu Beef, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Brown Butter Celeriac in a Bone Marrow Bordelaise. The expected ‘liver like’ mouth feel of the beef was there, but the beef was tasty and went perfectly well with the mushrooms, celeriac and sauce. Whilst he wouldn’t fault the kitchen, Pete will stick with rib-eye steak or Prime-Rib in future. He also couldn’t resist the Garden Pear Frangipane Tart with Huckleberries, Crème Anglaise and Mint Whipped Cream, a heavenly concoction which he washed down with a N.V. Chambers Rosewood Muscadelle (Tokay) from Australia, while Lynda made do with a glass of alcoholic raisin juice, a.k.a. El Maestro Sierra Pedro Ximenez from Jerez in Spain.

By now we were feeling no pain, especially since the Applewood was exceedingly good value for a Its Michelin star, and we got back to the West Sonoma Inn & Spa without incident.

So, how did Russian River match up? We loved the quality of the wines at Hartford, definitely up a notch up on New Zealand, and we think better value than Burgundy for an equivalent quality.

This is an area we’ll return to frequently.

Pete & Lynda Russell, Dublin, CA, November 2010.