Tag: Zachys

Zachys Bordeaux Grand Tasting

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Zachys is a fine wine retailer and auction house. Founded in 1944 by Zachy Zacharia, it was a destination wine shop in suburban Scarsdale for many years. They eventually moved their store and operations to Port Chester, New York at 30 Midland Avenue.

Like many wine shops, they will host informal wine tastings for customers, but on occasion they will host a ticketed and a more focused wine tasting.

Port Chester is about an hour train ride north from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. I’ve been to several of those ticked tastings and I can say that it’s worth the train ride. Whatever theme or category the tasting will be, it will be an excellent tasting, and they will be pouring quality juice.

On September 20th, they held a Bordeaux Grand Tasting. The event featured over 30 wines from the major appellations. It was a very enjoyable tasting because they not only poured current vintages, but poured some older vintages as well.

Pauillac

2003 Chateau d’Armailhac: Cloudy medium brick, big perfume of violets and sweet crushed gravel, chewy dark fruit with mint notes, great balance and a long finish.

2021 Chateau-Pontet Canet: Clear medium purple, ceder, graphite and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky red fruit with dusty, tree bark notes on the finish.

2022 Chateau Lynch-Bages: Opaque dark red, purple rim, slate and gun metal on the nose, chewy and dusty crushed black fruit ending with silky tannin.

2022 Chateau Clerc Milon: Opaque dark red, purple rim, cedar and sweet red fruit on the nose, dense and chewy black fruit with a good grip and a balanced and long plummy finish.

2022 Chateau Haut Batailley: Opaque dark purple, closed nose of ripe fruit, chewy red fruit with silky, firm tannin, long finish.

Pessac-Leognan

2014 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark brick, perfume of cedar, cigarette smoke and sweet cooked fruit, chewy with mouth crunching tannin, long finish with mint notes.

2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark brick, perfume of smoke and barnyard, chewy black fruit with crushed rock notes, silky and dusty tannin on the balanced finish.

2022 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark purple, cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy black fruit with silky and firm tannin with green herbs on the long finish.

Margaux

2008 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Cloudy dark brick, stinky barnyard on the nose, silky, chewy red fruit with barnyard notes on the firm finish.

2009 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque dark brick, crushed slate and barnyard on the nose, chewy red leather fruit with roast meat notes, chewy finish with a great balance.

2021 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque dark purple, mint, red tar and roast meat on the nose, concentrated tight red fruit with bitter cherry notes, moderate tannin and acidity, long finish.

2022 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque black, purple rim, crush red berry, mint and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy and toasty fruit with dark chocolate notes, good grip, long finish.

Saint-Julien

2014 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Opaque dark brick, tar, mint and barnyard on the nose, chewy dark fruit with crunchy tannin, great grip, tarry finish.

2016 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Clear medium brick, tree bark and red tar on the nose, concentrated and dusty ending with tart acidity.

2018 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Opaque medium brick, sweet barnyard on the nose, chewy, mouth filling fruit with cedar and gun metal notes, great balance.

Saint-Emillion

2005 Chateau Canon: Opaque medium brick, perfume of slate, steel and dirt, chewy fruit and chewy tannin with crushed rock notes, long finish.

2009 Chateau Canon: Opaque cloudy dark brick, ripe, juicy fruit on the nose, chunky and steely with bitter cherry notes ending with a nice grip.

2015 Chateau Canon: Opaque black with a brick rim, saline, cinnamon and earth notes on the nose, chewy with slate notes, great grip, long finish.

2022 Chateau Canon: Opaque medium brick, perfume of dusty red fruit, chewy red fruit with green herb notes, nice grip, long finish.

Saint-Estephe

2016 Chateau Les Bosq: Opaque dark brick, ripe red fruit on the nose, chewy and chunky dark chocolate fruit, good grip.

Zachys Burgundy Grand Tasting

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On September 14th, Zachys wine shop held another one of their comprehensive wine tastings at their retail store which is located at 30 Midland Avenue in Port Chester, New York.

The event was the Burgundy Grand Tasting. It was a walk around tasting of over 30 selections of wines to showcase the “diversity and complexity” of the region and to experience “the essence of Burgundy’s terroir”.

The majority of the wines were from the 2021 vintage which was a “challenging” vintage. A challenging year usually means that the grapes didn’t have the opportunity to ripen which in Burgundy means that many of the wines come out thin with high acids.

It was an excellent tasting of wines from one of the premier wine regions of the world, but I have to admit that I was struggling to find a red that I would enjoy having a full glass of, I did try some nice whites though.

Some of what I sampled:

White

2016 J.Michel Guillon Santenay Blanc: Clear medium gold, ripe peaches on the nose, juicy, moderate fruit ending with good acidity.

2017 J. Michel Guillon Marsannay Blanc “Champs Pedrix”: Clear light gold, roast almonds on the nose, nice fruit with a firm, spicy finish.

2021 J. Drouhin Meursault: Clear light gold, perfume of tropical fruits, moderate fruit with firm acids on the balanced finish.

2022 JJ Vincent Pouilly Fuisse “Marie Antoinette”: Light gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, moderate juicy fruit with some toast notes on the finish, nice balance.

2022 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc “Oncle Vincent”: Clear, almost colorless, lime notes on the nose, juicy, citrusy and toasty, good grip.

Red

2020 J. Drouhin Corton: Clear medium purple, pretty perfume of smokey crushed raspberry, silky red leather fruit ending with firm tannins.

2021 Domaine Gerard Julien & Fils Nuits St Georges: Clear medium brick, red cherry on the nose, moderate silky fruit, balanced finish.

2021 J. Faiveley Bourgogne Pinot Noir: Clear light purple, perfume of sweet red leather and smoke, dusty fruit with crushed rock notes, tart finish.

2021 Domaine Parent Pommard “Les Epenots”: Clear light brick, perfume of tar and sandalwood, silky, red tarry fruit, firm grip.

2021 J. Faiveley Bourgogne: Clear light purple, perfume of sweet red leather and smoke, dusty, crushed rocks on the fruit, tart acids.

2021 J. Faiveley Mercurey “La Framboisiere” Monopole: Clear light purple, sweet smokey tar on the nose, plummy with tight leather fruit.

2021 J. Drouhin Clos des Mouches: Clear light purple with a spicy, tarry, smokey nose, silky red fruit with stone notes, firm with a long finish.

2021 Denis Mortet Gevrey-Chambertin “Mes Cinq Terroirs”: Clear light purple, closed nose of roast meat, moderate tight red fruit with a tight and firm finish.

Zachys Escape to Tuscany Italian Tasting 2024

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Zachys has been a family-owned seller of fine wines and spirits since 1944. As with most wine shops they will host tastings for consumers at their store. On occasion they will hold a more intensive tasting that you need to buy a ticket to attend.

I’ve been to a few of those ticketed events, and they have been worth the cost of admission and the hour train ride to Port Chester as they can be counted on to pour quality juice for whatever theme they are pouring for that day.

They held one of those ticked tastings on Father’s Day weekend last June. The “Escape to Tuscany” was a tasting of 50+ Italian wines from the (mostly) 2021 vintage.

In addition to the wines, they had a handful of premium spirts on hand to sample. That included single malt Scotch from Dalmore, Laphroaig and Port Askaig, Tequila from Hiatus and Italian malt whiskey from PUNI.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 Vallepicciola Bianco (Tuscany): 100% Chardonnay. Medium gold with a floral nose, tight with nice acidity with lime notes.

2021 Fattoria le Pupille Piemme Bianco (Tuscany): Clear yellow with a floral nose, moderate fruit with a touch of sweetness in the back end, good balance.

2019 Vallepicciola Migliore (Tuscany): Bordeaux Blend. Opaque dark red with tar, dark cherry and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky, smoky fruit with silky tannins and a good grip at the end.

2021 Tenuta Luce Luce (Tuscany): Opaque medium purple, closed nose of tarry meat, tight red fruit ending with big tannins.

2021 Le Serre Nuove Ornellaia (Tuscany): Clear dark red, earthy, black cherry nose, crushed dark fruit with oak notes, gritty tannins.

2021 Poggio Valente Le Pupille (Tuscany): Clear light brick, red cherry tar on the nose, juicy red fruit, good grip. long finish.

2021 Greppicaia I Greppi (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar, smoke and graphite on the nose, silky, violet and tarry fruit with a red cherry finish. good grip.

2021 Tenuta di Biserno Il Pino (Tuscany): Clear medium red, closed nose of tar and barnyard, chunky dark chocolate fruit ending with firm, gritty tannins.

2021 Tenuta di Beserno Berseno (Tuscany): Clear medium red, crushed red cherry on the nose, red cherry fruit, moderate acids, long bitter cherry finish.

2021 Voliero Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear light brick, spicy tar on the nose, silky red fruit with moderate acidity and firm tannins.

2021 Antinori Guado Al Tasso (Tuscany): Clear medium red, black cherry and barnyard on the nose, cherry dark chocolate and dark black fruit, great balance and a long finish.

2021 Torre Alle Comete Campo Alle Comete (Tuscany): Clear medium red, perfume of earth and smoke, chewy, silky fruit ending with firm, silky tannins and a long finish.

2021 Montepeloso Nardo (Tuscany): Clear medium red, earthy tar on the nose, silky fruit, silky tannins with a good grip on the great finish.

2021 Montepeloso Eneo (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earthy, smoky dark chocolate on the nose, silky and smoky fruit with smoke notes on the balanced finish.

2021 Castello dei Rampolla Chianti Classico (Tuscany): Clear medium reds, earth, tar and leather on the nose, tight silky red fruit ending with dusty and firm tannins.

2020 Felsina Fontalloro (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earth and tar on the nose, chewy red leather fruit with firm acidity.

2019 Brunello Revisited

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Brunello del Montalcino is an Italian red wine made from 100% of the Sangiovese Grosso grape grown around the town of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy.

They produce a regular Brunello and a Brunello Riserva. According to the DOCG rules, the regular Brunello has to age a minimum of four years and can be released on January 1st of the fifth year. The Riserva an extra year.

That means the current release, the 2019’s, were released in January of 2024. In November of 2023, the Consorzio del Brunello, an organization representing the Brunello estates, held their Benvenuto Brunello tasting in New York City for members of the restaurant trade which was a pre tasting of the soon to be released 2019 vintage wines.

This was an opportunity to sample the wines before they were released to the consumer.

Those pre release tastings can be a little tricky. The wines have just been bottled and they are awkward at this point and a little rough around the edges, but you take that into consideration when tasting.

Keeping that in mind I attended the event and tasted many of the 2019 wines (and a few 2018 Riserva).

I have to say that at the end of the day, I wasn’t that impressed with the wines, knowing that they were way too young to be drinking at the time.

Since then, I’ve been hearing a lot of accolades about the vintage. Accolades such as “an excellent vintage”, “vintage of the decade”, etc., so I was hoping to be able to try the wines again with a few more months in the bottle.

Fortunately, that opportunity came on May 4th at Zachys wine shop. The wine store, located at 30 Midland Avenue in Port Chester New York, held a consumer tasting of the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino.

Zachys is a wine store in business for 80 years. As most wine stores do, they hold complimentary tasting for customers. On occasion, they have more intensive tastings that purchasing a ticket is required for. Those tastings are worth the hour ride on Metro North since they can be counted on to pour quality juice.

They poured 25+ Brunello, a handful of grappa, and a trio of some excellent organic Sicilian vermouth from Naturlale.

The tasting was very different this time around. The wines were starting to drink well, still young and some more accessible than others, but I enjoyed the quality of the wines overall.

Some of my highlights:

2019 Brunello di Montalcino

Val di Suga: Clear medium brick, tar and leather on the nose, earth notes and nuts on the fruit with silky tannins.

Val di Suga “Poggio al Grancho”: Clear light brick, sweet cherry and bacon on the nose, tight with gritty tannins.

Talenti: Clear light brick, dark chocolate and roast meat on the nose, silky fruit, good grip, nice balance.

Cal di’Orcia: Clear light red, perfume of roses and dark chocolate, balanced, silky red fruit, long finish.

Castelgiocondo Frescobaldi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm finish, nice balance.

Piancornello: Clear medium brick, perfume of roast meat and vegetable, silky red fruit with a nice balance.

Poggio Salvi: Clear light brick, perfume of barnyard with earthy fruit and firm but silky tannins.

Castello di Camigliano: Medium brick with a perfume of red tar, silky fruit, firm, silky tannins.

Casanova di Neri: Clear medium red, earth and dark chocolate on the nose, silky red fruit. firm fruit.

Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova: Medium brick, perfume of barnyard and dark chocolate, silky red fruit with dusty tannins

Biondi Santi: Clear light brick, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, tight fruit with a bitter cherry finish.

Tenuta Luce: Clear light red with a brick rim, crushed red fruit and green herbs on the nose with silky red fruit.

Banfi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm fruit with a nice balance.

Pioggiotondo: Clear light brick, dark chcocolate on the nose, silky chocolate fruit, firm tannins.

Pelagrilli Siro Pacenti: Clear medium red with a brick rim, barnyard and sweet black fruit on the nose, chewy dark fruit ending with firm tannins.

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Zachys Winter Champagne Soirée 2023

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Zachys has been a wine and spirit retailer and auction house since 1944. They had a store in Scarsdale for many years but ended up moving their operations to Port Chester in 2022.

Like many fine wine shops, they often host wine tastings. Some are complimentary and some are more extensive tastings that you have to buy a ticket to.

I attended one of those extensive tastings last May which featured a wide selection of wines of the world. On December 2nd they held their Winter Champagne Soirée tasting for the upcoming Christmas and New Years Eve holidays.

Many of the large Champagne houses were on hand to pour several of their wines from their “regular” bottles to their uber luxury label.

I have to say, this tasting had an excellent price to quality ratio. For the modest cost of the ticket, you had the opportunity to sample some really high-end wines.

Some of the wines I sampled:

Bollinger: Le Grande Annee 2014, PN Brut AYC 2018, Special Cuvee Brut NV.

Laurent Perrier: Grand Siecle Iteration 26, Brut Cuvee Rose NV, La Cuvee Brut NV.

Ruinart: Blanc de Blancs NV, Brut Rose Second Skin NV.

Tatttinger: Comtes de Champagne Rose 2008, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2012, Brut La Francaise NV

Charles Heidsieck: Rare 2018, Rose 2008, Brut Rose Reserve NV

Deutz: Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2011, Brut Rose NV, Classic Brut NV

Veuve Clicquot: La Grande Dame 2012, Rose NV, Brut NV

Gosset: 12 Ans de Cave a Minima Brut, Grande Reserve Brut NV

Krug: Grande Cuvee 171st Echoes Limited Edition NV

Dom Perignon: Blanc de Blancs 2013

They also had a selection from a few small, mom & pop grower champagne producers such as Laherte Freres, Larmander Bernier and Pierre Moncult.

Scarsdale Music Fest 2023

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The 3rd annual Scarsdale Music Festival was held this year on June 6th. Not surprisingly it was held in the village of Scarsdale which is a 45-minute train ride on Metro North. It was held in the village center which is conveniently in front of the train station.

The event which was presented by Morgan Stanley, was to “bring together people of all ages to celebrate their love of music, food and community”.

There were 10 bands playing on two stages with food trucks and a couple of bars providing food and drink to the festival goers.

The “Grand Tasting Tent” was sponsored by Zachys wine shop and had a selection of wines from the major wine producing countries of the world.

They seemed to have fewer wines available for tasting this year than in last year, probably because they had their big wine tasting at their shop a couple of weeks ago. For the tasting they offered small, plastic cups to sip from which did nothing to enhance the tasting experience.

Some of what I sampled:

NV Piper Heidsieck Brut Reserve Rosé

2022 Domaine deTriennes Rosé

2021 Rombauer Caneros Chardonnay

2021 Bruno Giacosa Nebbiolo d’Alba

2020 Domaine Ferret Pouilly Fuisse Autor de La Roche

2019 Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

2019 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco

2018 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolo

2018 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo Montfaletto

2018 Castello dei Rampolla Chianti Classico

2017 Tenuta Nuova Casanova di Nervi Brunello di Montalcino

2017 San Lorenzo Brunello di Montalcino

2016 Castello dei Rampolla Vigna D’Alceo

Scarsdale Music Festival 2022

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On June 6th, I attended the Scarsdale Music Festival located, not surprisingly, in the village of Scarsdale, New York which is a suburban town about a forty-minute train ride North of Manhattan. As you step out of the train station you are in the scenic village center where the festival was held. The festival was held to raise money for Feeding Westchester.

There were several food trucks scattered around the town center and a stage where a rotating selection of live music played throughout the afternoon.

The purpose of my visit was to experience the Grand Tasting Tent which was sponsored by local fine wine shop Zachys (now moved to Port Chester). I attended the last time the festival was held pre pandemic and I found that for a consumer event, the wine tent poured a nice selection of wines, and they did not disappoint this year. It made for an enjoyable sunny afternoon of wine drinking.

Some of what I sampled:

NV Bollinger Special Cuvee

2008 Charles Heidsieck Rare Millesieme

2011 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

2020 Patrick Piuze Chablis

2009 Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva

2015 Franco Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino

2016 Castello dei Rampolla d’Alceo

2016 Piancornello Brunello di Montalcino

2017 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino

2018 Heights Justice Vineyards Pinot Noir

2018 St.-Estephe de Calon Segur

2018 Ricasoli Colledila Chianti Classico Gran Sellezione

2018 Castello dei Rampolla Chianti Classico

2018 Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru

2018 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir

2019 Ridge Vineyards Three Valleys

2019 Joseph Drouhin Cote de Beaune

2019 Joseph Drouhin Gevrey Chambertain

2019 Volpaia Chianti Classico

2019 Ornellaia

2019 Sassicaia

2020 Le Volte dell Ornellaia

Scarchella Music Festival 2019

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On Saturday, September 14th the Scarsdale Business Alliance hosted the first annual Scarchella music festival which supports local charities to help fund community programs.

The festival was held in the town of Scarsdale in Westchester county which is just under an hour north of New York City via the Metro North rail line and was located in the Scarsdale village center which is conveniently located just off the train station. It’s also where Zachys wine shop is located.

It was an afternoon of live music from various local bands, food trucks for the hungry and more importantly, the Zachys wine shop sponsored Grand Tasting Wine Village.

The wine shop has a good reputation for throwing good wine tastings so I had high hopes for the event. It did not disappoint and was well worth the fee that was charged for the quality of the wines that were offered this afternoon. There were a couple of quirks under the tent this afternoon. One was that none of the vendors pouring provided water to rinse out a wine glass, and the other was that you weren’t allowed (by State law apparently) to use your own wine glass. I always bring a proper wine glass with me when I go to consumer events because I know that sometimes the “glassware” consists of plastic wine glasses as it was in this case. Who knew?

In any case there were some nice wines poured this afternoon while being serenated with live music.

 

As usual I like to start the day with some Champagne.

2009 Dom Perignon Blanc de Blanc

2008 Louis Roederer Cristal

NV Deutz Classic Brut, Brut Rosé

Over 100 wines poured, some highlights:

2016 Dominus Estate Napanook: Decanted. Dark red, dried leaf on the nose, concentrated dark fruit, balanced, long finish.

2015 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: Decanted. Dark red to black, crushed red berry and mint on the nose, concentrated with some oak on the firm finish.

2016 Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon: Decanted. Cloudy dark red, crushed black berry on the nose, concentrated, dark dusty, firm fruit.

2016 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia: Medium purple, green herbs and black olives on the nose, tight, smoky fruit and a peppery finish that drops a bit at the end.

2016 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico Riserva: Medium amber, tar nose, silky red fruit, dusty, firm finish.

2016 Castellare di Castellina Poggia Ai Merli: Dark red with a purple rim, cooked fruit on the nose, thick and dusty.

2015 I Greppi Greppicaia Bolgheri Superiore: Medium red, sweet cherry on the nose, dusty black cherry on the firm finish.

2015 Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione: Light red, sweet cherry nose with sweet red fruit on the moderate finish.

2014 Ridolfi Brunello di Montalcino: Light amber, sweet tar on the nose, silky sweet fruit on the firm and balanced finish.

2013 Poggio Antica Brunello di Montalcino: Light amber, closed nose of tar, tight with big tannins.

2016 Fattoria Le Pupille Saffedi: Dark red, sweet tar and leather on the nose, starts juicy ending tight and tannic.

2016 Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambetin Poissenots: Medium red, toast and tree bark on the nose, foral,silky red fruit with great balance.

2008 Duhart Milon Rothschild: Medium red, amber rim, sweet perfume, minty black fruit, tight and crisp with dried leaf notes on the finish.

2016 Duhart Milon Rothschild: Medium purple, pretty perfume of tree bark and dark fruit, silky red licorice fruit with crushed nuts on the firm but balanced finish.

2016 Haut Bailly: Medium purple, dusty dried leaf on the nose, tight and concentrated, firm finish.

2010 Marquis de Murrieta Ygay Gran Reserva Limited Edition: Medium red, sweet red tar on the nose, red fruit with a firm, balanced finish.