My wife and I were first introduced to MacPhail a few years back when we we scheduled a tasting at his backyard winery after doing some research for a Sonoma trip. We were blown away by his Pinot Noir, and the fact that James himself spent a couple of hours with us, pouring his wines and just hanging out. We have been back since with friends and each experience is extremely personable and the wines are always fantastic. In addition to tastings at the winery - which is literally behind James and Kerry's home - they are opening a new tasting room in The Barlow in Sebastopol. I'm looking forward to visiting soon.
James has been making wine for a while under his own label, and is a former assistant winemaker to the esteemed Merry Edwards. He sold his brand to The Hess Collection a few years ago, but retained ownership to his winemaking facility as well as control of the winemaking process. This is a very good thing. I think James makes the quintessential "California" Pinot Noir - beautifully balanced with a silky mouthfeel, pure fruit and distinctive notes of earth, spice, etc., which express the characteristics of the unique vineyards from which he sources his grapes. James also makes a killer Rose of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Unfortunately, MacPhail Family Wines have only been avaialble to Louisianians when purchased at the winery or online...until now. MacPhail recently gained distribution in the New Orleans area, and the winemakers dinner at Dominique's on Magazine was the kickoff event.
This was our first time to dine at Dominique's, and it was excellent. The evening started with some social time, during which we got to visit with James and meet up with some friends, whilst sipping some 2012 Rose of Pinot Noir. The Rose is medium-bodied and bone dry, but with tart fruit flavors. Perfect for a hot July day, and proved to be a perfect pairing for the First Course of Octopus and Lemon Fish Ceviche.
Next, we moved on to the 2012 Gap's Crown Vineyard Charonnay and the Second Course: Sauteed "Feuille de Brick" Crusted Local Flounder. Gap's Crown Vineyard is located in the Sonoma Coast AVA (and actually very near the Pacific Coast in Sonoma), right at the mouth of the Petaluma Gap, which funnels cool breezes and fog from the Pacific Ocean up into the Russian River Valley. It is a cool but sunny site and, in this case, produced a rich, intensely fruited Chard that remains crisp, with zippy acidity and a clean, sea breeze finish. It was a great match with the flounder, which was basically wrapped in pastry, and melted in our mouths. Delish.
Our Third Course, Duck "Menage A Trois" had a racy but apropos name, as it included seared duck breast, duck leg confit, and foie gras. Not coincidentally, it was served with a trio of stunning 2010 Pinot Noirs - the Sangiacomo Vineyard, Pratt Vineyard, and Sonoma Coast. I could barely contain all the Pinot-awesomeness. My favorite was the Sonoma Coast, which MacPhail just released this past Spring, quite a bit later than the single vineyard wines (James said this was because he used whole clusters and the wine "just needed more time"). I'm glad he did, because the wine is absolutely singing right now - juicy and smooth with some interesting earth and spice notes.
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| Is this Heaven? No, you're just surrounded by awesome MacPhail wine at a swanky NOLA restaurant. |
For dessert, we enjoyed Blonde Chocolate Mousse, served with Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine. The mousse was very good, but the Le Reve stole the show. This is one of my favorite bubblies. Fresh and complex, it reminds me of drinking on the terrace at Domaine Carneros overlooking Carneros. James doesn't make a sparkling wine (yet - I think we may have convinced him), so we appreciated him serving the good stuff along side his fine wines.
All in all, it was a great evening, and we look forward to enjoying a lot of MacPhail wine when we dine in New Orleans for years to come. Now if we can just get MacPhail to Baton Rouge...
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| My lovely wife and I with Mr. MacPhail |
We had a similar experience as yours: meeting James at his winery. After a long day of visitors, including a rowdy busload, he welcomed us with a leisurely tasting. Subsequently, we helped arrange a MacPhail tasting here in NYC, which was as enjoyable as, it appears, was his NOLA wine dinner. James and Kerry are a delight to know and MacPhail wines are part of many of our special occasions.
ReplyDeleteWe also are big fans of James and Kerry and the beautiful wines they craft. We have had awesome memories at the winery. MacPhail wines are constant staple at our dinner table. The dinner you enjoyed sounded fabulous, thanks for sharing your story.
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