The other night we went over to our dear friends house in the suburbs for dinner (yes, they remain our dear friends even though they live in the ‘burbs).  We probably make the half an hour drive out there 2-3 times a month, but given travel schedules of the parties involved it had been over a month since our last trek out.  I do not particularly like the drive, but once we get out there, we are always treated to a fabulous meal and I am more than able to get my drink on (especially since my wife is always much more responsible than I and can drive us back home).  As I usually do, I texted in the afternoon to see what wine(s) I should bring.  I was not too optimistic since the last time I was told simply ‘White‘.  This time I was given more detail, but not necessarily useful information: ‘Olive oil poached shrimp, black risotto, salsify, & prosciutto.’  OK, I have recently been much more involved in the kitchen, I have been trying new things, branching out.  But I had no clue how to poach shrimp in olive oil (you need to do it Sous Vide–cooked at a very low temperature in water–the shrimp were cooked at 60°C), I had no idea where you get black risotto (you apparently add squid ink to the risotto [and where do you find squid ink?]) and what in the hell is ‘salsify‘?  I have never heard, seen, tasted, smoked, snorted, planted, or recycled salsify.  Apparently, it is a root vegetable, which was peeled and then also cooked sous vide.  The meal was amazing.  I really can’t describe it better than that.  Our friend is such a great cook, it really has become impossible to come up with additional superlatives.

So I won’t try.  I’ll stick to what I know:  booze.

I brought a rosé sparkling wine that I had brought back from Austria, and it was fabulous.  But that’s not what this post is about.  I wanted to bring a second wine, too, but what goes with olive oil poached shrimp?  Or Squid frickin’ ink risotto?  So I texted our friend for some direction: ‘What should I bring?  White?  Pinot?’  The response?  ‘Sure’.  Oh boy, that helped.  So as I have done many times before, I ventured into the ‘cellar’ for some inspiration.  I first thought chardonnay, but there was not really time to get a good chill on and I was really craving pinot; it had been several days since I had popped a decent one.  The problem?  A big juicy Cali might be too much (but how the hell would I know?  I mean squid ink?!?).  So I needed a lighter pinot–no problem, that’s what Burgundies are for, after all.  I went to grab a Burg and that’s when I saw my nemesis: a particular California pinot.  I had bought six bottles several years ago for a rather pretty penny, and I still had five of them left.  When I bought them I was so excited.  They were made by one of my favorite wine makers, Ehren Jordan, wine maker for Helen Turley (mega-famous Napa wine goddess) and owner/wine-maker of his own Failla wines (one of my absolute favorites).  The wine is called ’32 Winds’. I do not know much about the winery–not even sure where it is, but it had become my nemesis.

When I bought the 6 of them back in June of 2009 (I also bought 6 of their cabernets), I figured they would be fantastic, but I decided to wait.  First, I wanted to let them settle down a bit after being shipped, and second, to let them ‘mature’ a bit in the bottle.  I wanted to wait at least a year before opening one.  Why? I have no friggin’ clue, but a year is a rather distinct unit of time.  Well, I after ten months, I could not take it any longer–the bottles kept staring at me every time I went down into the basement.  So I popped the first one.  I was so excited.  Then I tasted it.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad but it in no way met my expectations.  Here is my tasting note at the time:

Been sitting on these for a while. I am a huge Failla fan, so I was really excited about these. Popped and poured through a Vinturi. Very, very light color–almost a rosé even. Some nice aromatics, but thin on the palate and short to medium finish. Over all not bad, but I was expecting a whole lot more. Disappointing. 85 points.

OK, yes, I am a wine geek and need to get a bit of a life.  Yes, I just put that mildly.  Whatever.  It’s not like I cried or anything (as far as you know), but I was bummed.  And I had five bottles left.  And I paid a lot for them (at least for me at the time).  So I did what any self respecting, obsessed, on the verge of OCD ‘Wine Guy’ would do–I put them in the back of the cellar, essentially hiding them.  Part of me thought they might get better with some more age (yeah right) while the other (much larger) part did not want to face the fact that I had five bottles of largely uninspiring wine.  Every time I went down into the basement looking for a bottle, I would run across them and they would laugh at me, hence becoming my nemesis.  I had no idea when I would drink them and not be bummed.

Until good old squid ink came along, that is.  I thought: “I need a light pinot, I think.  Hell, I don’t know what I need [other than the aforementioned ‘life’], so I’ll just grab one of those.”  Boy am I glad I did.  We opened it up and not only was it a totally different wine (understatement), but it might be the second best pinot I have ever had (and the first one doesn’t really count because it was so long ago) and I have had a lot of pinot.  Wow.  It was amazing (I know, I know it is only wine, it’s not like it’s Dancing with the Stars or anything).  Here is my tasting note:

2006 32 Winds Pinot Noir Tasted 3/19/2012. Retail ???  I paid $30ish.  Popped and poured.  A very interesting nose of eucalyptus, cinnamon, and root beer of all things.  On the palate, it was close to life changing–black and dark red fruit with incredible balance and just the right amount of velvety feel.  Incredibly long finish. On the verge of extraordinary. This is why I love pinot.  95+ points.

Moral of the story: be afraid of and disappointed with your wine and it might just grow up to surprise you.  Maybe I should try that with the boys….