Dinner at Ember with Brian and Rosemany Talley and friends
Arroyo Grande, CA
Tasted Friday, February 23, 2024 by HeavyPourWine with 46 views
Introduction
My wife and I purchased the Talley Vineyards auction lot at the Atlanta High Museum Wine Auction in 2023. We decided to visit Talley as a part of my 50th birthday celebration which consisted of three days on the Central Coast and then four days in LA. We kicked off the celebration with a bottle of Champagne at the hotel and then the six of us headed out to dinner at Ember in Arroyo Grande, CA.
Prior to the trip, I had purchased three birth year ('74) Napa Cabs at auction and had them shipped to Talley weeks ahead of time to avoid any bottle shock. Brian expertly opened the 50 year old wines prior to our arrival at the restaurant - three perfectly intact corks were waiting for us (well done Brian!).
When we arrived, Brian Talley (and his mother Rosemary) greeted our group and we started with a lovely sparkling wine. We ordered everything family style and consumed some wonderful library wines from Talley and enjoyed one of the '74s (The Mondavi was good, the Sterling and BV, unfortunately, were bad). I was hoping that at least one of the 74's would be good, and thankfully that was the case!
This really turned out to be a wonderful dinner with wonderful wines; Brian and Rosemary were excellent hosts! A perfect start to the trip!
We were even encouraged to take the unopened wines and a few opened bottles back to hotel to continue the celebration! :)
WOTN for me was the '16 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rincon Vineyard.
2016 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru l'Esprit 93 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Toasted with good friends at the hotel to kick off my 50th birthday trip/celebration. Delicious! Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2019 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. Nice bubbles to kick off the dinner! Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2017 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Oliver's Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. My favorite of the two chards that were served. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2017 Talley Vineyards Chardonnay Rincon Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. I preferred the '17 Oliver's over this one. This one was a bit too tart for my taste. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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1974 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Bought three different '74 Napa cabs for my birthday celebration. This bottle was way past peak and was barely drinkable. Poured most of it out. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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1974 Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Bought three different '74 Napa cabs for my birthday celebration. This bottle was way past peak and undrinkable. Poured all of it out.
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1974 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. I brought three different '74 Napa cabs for my birthday celebration that evening. This bottle was a bit past peak but was very nice. At PNP it was an 89 for me but it actually improved in the glass a bit so my end rating was 90. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2014 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosemary's Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. Very tannic vintage according to Brian. Very dry and tannic on the mouth. Not a lot of air given to the wines, assume this would have settled down with more air. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2016 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Rincon Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. WOTN and drinking very well! Picked up some of this library wine from the winery the next day for my cellar. Brad - heavypourwine.com
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2013 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Dinner with Brian and Rosemary Talley and friends at Ember. From Mag. It was very good that night (92pts), but after putting the Mag under argon gas, we finished off the bottle a few nights later after some more air and it was SO much better, like 2 points better. So I'm going with the fact that this needs a lot of air and now regret that I didn't pick up some of these from the winery! Brad - heavypourwine.com
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