This weekend we traveled up to a house on the E shore of Lake Michigan
for a quick getaway. Arriving late Friday, we grilled some ribeye
steaks and opened a bottle I had lugged back from the 2001 alt.food.wine
"field trip" to New Zealand with Ian & Jacquie Hoare and Lord St. Helier:

1999 Te Mata Awatea (Cab S/Merlot blend)
nose: dark, plummy fruit, a hint of herbs
palate: dusty tannins, restrained fruit, solid acidic backbone, supple

This bottle, the last of the cache of wines brought home from that trip
in '01 didn't disappoint in the least. On the basis of our impression
on Friday, I'd say that it could easily have gone another 5 years, but
it was a fine accompaniment to the steak, with the tannins helping cut
through the fats of the meat.

On Saturday, we returned to a restaurant we like in the town of Douglas,
MI. From their list, we got:

2007 Patricia Green Croft Vineyard Pinot Noir (Wilamette Valley, OR)
nose: tart red fruit, a hint of minerality
palate: taut, lithe PN fruit with plenty of acids, medium body

Still painfully young, this wine really impressed me with its clarity of
fruit and taut structure. As it sat open over the course of our dinner,
the fruit grew deeper and more open. I have a sneaking suspicion that we
ordered this same wine at this restaurant when we ate there in August,
but if so it has gained with further time in the bottle. We were very
impressed with the PN Ms. Green made while at Torii Mor and she seems to
have not missed a stride making wine under her own name.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
...
> This weekend we traveled up to a house on the E shore of Lake Michigan
> for a quick getaway. Arriving late Friday, we grilled some ribeye
> steaks and opened a bottle I had lugged back from the 2001 alt.food.wine
> "field trip" to New Zealand with Ian & Jacquie Hoare and Lord St. Helier:
>
> 1999 Te Mata Awatea (Cab S/Merlot blend)
> nose: dark, plummy fruit, a hint of herbs
> palate: dusty tannins, restrained fruit, solid acidic backbone, supple
>
> This bottle, the last of the cache of wines brought home from that trip
> in '01 didn't disappoint in the least. On the basis of our impression
> on Friday, I'd say that it could easily have gone another 5 years, but
> it was a fine accompaniment to the steak, with the tannins helping cut
> through the fats of the meat.
>

Hi Mark

Glad this wine showed so well.

Caught up with my friends Dave & Rosemary (we lunched with them in
Christchurch just prior to your departure - they now live in Auckland).

By co-incidence, to accompany slow cooked lamb shanks, Dave opened the Te
Mata Coleraine 1982, and it was living proof that well made NZ
Cabernet/Merlot blends can last the ages.

Kind regards

st.helier

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> This weekend we traveled up to a house on the E shore of Lake Michigan
> for a quick getaway. Arriving late Friday, we grilled some ribeye
> steaks and opened a bottle I had lugged back from the 2001 alt.food.wine
> "field trip" to New Zealand with Ian & Jacquie Hoare and Lord St. Helier:
>
> 1999 Te Mata Awatea (Cab S/Merlot blend)
> nose: dark, plummy fruit, a hint of herbs
> palate: dusty tannins, restrained fruit, solid acidic backbone, supple
>
> This bottle, the last of the cache of wines brought home from that trip
> in '01 didn't disappoint in the least. On the basis of our impression
> on Friday, I'd say that it could easily have gone another 5 years, but
> it was a fine accompaniment to the steak, with the tannins helping cut
> through the fats of the meat.
>
> On Saturday, we returned to a restaurant we like in the town of Douglas,
> MI. From their list, we got:
>
> 2007 Patricia Green Croft Vineyard Pinot Noir (Wilamette Valley, OR)
> nose: tart red fruit, a hint of minerality
> palate: taut, lithe PN fruit with plenty of acids, medium body
>
> Still painfully young, this wine really impressed me with its clarity of
> fruit and taut structure. As it sat open over the course of our dinner,
> the fruit grew deeper and more open. I have a sneaking suspicion that we
> ordered this same wine at this restaurant when we ate there in August,
> but if so it has gained with further time in the bottle. We were very
> impressed with the PN Ms. Green made while at Torii Mor and she seems to
> have not missed a stride making wine under her own name.
>
> Mark Lipton

Ah Patricia Green's Pinot. Always good and always too soon.