The Board Meeting -- February 10, 2010

Kind of a weird name for a food and wine extravaganza. Or the "Bored" Meeting as Chiqui calls it because only guys are invited. The Board Meeting is an Adam Chilvers (Wine on the Way.com) concept wherein he brings together selected customers and distributors at an area restaurant for no purpose other than to drink great wine and eat great food. Attendance is by invitation only and invitees are expected to bring a great bottle of wine from their cellars for sharing. Attendees are also expected to pick up their dinner check such that there is no implication of there being a quid pro quo.


Yesterday's Board Meeting was originally scheduled to be held at the dock on the lake at Houston's (a wine-friendly restaurant (WFR)) but due to the cold temperatures was shifted to Luma's on Park (a very WFR). The published guest of honor was Donald Patz of Patz and Hall who happened to be in town, heard there was free wine to be had, and wangled an invitation.


We convened in the bar at Luma's to admire the offerings prior to being shown to our table. The bottles on offer are shown below.

The wines were all good but two stood out above the rest. The first was a 1995 Patz and Hall Chardonnay which was sent by Cavanaugh Wines in honor of Donald Patz's attendance. The wine was stunning and a treat for everyone there including Donald. It gave up tons of toasted hazelnut and apricot and still had good acidity. Donald indicated that he normally expected his chards to last from two to three years but that this particular vintage had been derived from 50 to 60-year-old vines.

The other standout wine was the Abacus X bottling from ZD. The Abacus is a "solera-style" wine where each bottling is made from every prior vintage of ZD Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. This blending gives incredible complexity to the wine and great length of finish. The Abacus X had great acidity and showed strong notes of vanilla and espresso.

Source: ZDWines.com

The Board Meeting was an unqualified success and we all left Adam with the task of getting back to us quickly with the date for the next scheduled meeting. Want to get that on the calendar as quickly as possible.