Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Waipara Springs, Chardonnay, New Zealand, 2007
Waipara Springs, Dry Riesling, New Zealand, 2007
Waipara Springs, Riesling, New Zealand, 2007
Waipara Springs, Pinot Noir, New Zealand, 2007
Wellington, Merlot, Sonoma, 2004
Wellington, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma, 2004

Frog's Leap, MErlot, Napa, 2005
Enkidu, Syrah "Odyssey" RRV, 2004
Canis Major, Zin, Perotti Vineyard, Dry Creek, 2005

Wednesday, January 29th, 2009

J. Wilkes, Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido, 2006
Saxon Brown, Semillon, Cricket Creek, 2007
Joseph Swan, Pinot Noir, Cuvee de Trois, RRV, 2006
Saxon Brown, Pinot Noir, Black Kite, Anderson Valley, 2007
Saxon Brown, Syrah, Parmalee Hill, Sonoma, 2005
Mara, Syrach, Syrah/Merlot, California, 2006

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Bott-Geyl, Pinot d'Alsace, Alsace, France, 2007
Bott-Geyl, Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France, 2007
Bott-Geyl, Riesling, Alsace, France, 2007
Some Cornas, France, 2006

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

-Sete Cepas, Albarino, Rias Biaxas, Spain, 2007
-Xavier Clua, Tinto, Terra Alta, Spain, 2006
-Las Rocas, Garnacha, Catalunya, 2005
-Hacienda Don Ramon, Tempranillo, Rioja, Spain, 2006
-La Planeta, Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain, 2007

-Arietta, Quartet, Napa, 2006
-Grace Family, Cabernet Sauvignon "Blank Family Vineyard", Napa, 2005
-Torrin, Syrah, "Akasha", Paso Robles, 2006

Aaron, what was the cab you brought this night? (Leave a comment)

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

-Hug, Pinot Noir, Cedar Lane Vineyard, Arroyo Seco, 2006
-Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Vinsobles, 2004
-Hahn, Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast, 2006

Thats it.

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Bordeaux Deconstructed

-Chateau Grimard, Bordeaux, 2006
-Chateau Paveil de Luze, Margaux, 2004
-Chateau Petit Bocq, St. Estephe, 2005

-La Playa, Carmenere, Colchagua, Chile, 2006
-Maipe, Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, 2008
-Wayne Thomas, Petit Verdot, McLaren Vale, 2005

-Hahn, Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast, 2006
-Chateau Vaugaudry, Chinon, France, 2005
-King, Merlot, Solano County, 2007
-Gain Bay, Cabernet Family, Napa, 2006

Saturday, January 18th, 2009

Same wines as yesterday, plus-

-Chateau Montelena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, 2005
This was soft and plummy, not nearly as masculine as I would have expected. I actually liked it a lot, because of its easy-drinkability.

-Orin Swift, The Prisoner, Napa, 2007
This was the best showing yet of 2007. It's starting to fully integrate and I feel this may possibly be the finest vintage of The Prisoner yet.

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Some Frechies and then some Donated Bottles

-Tissot, Traminer, Arbois, 2006 (Definately the Wine of the Night!)
-Chidaine, "Les Truffeux", Montloius Sur Loire, France, 2006 (Stellar!)
-Sylvain Bailly, Sancerre Rouge, Loire, France, 2006 (100% Pinot Noir from Sancerre. It's delicious and light, and just a lovely expression of the grape.)
-Tissot, Poulsard, Arbois, 2006 (Awesome, Nebbiolo-like with its light extract but hard tannin shell. It tastes of strawberry and rhubarb. Just a lovely wine.)
-Chateau Grimard, Bordeaux, 2006 (Good)

-Cosentino, Meritage, Poetry, Napa, 2004 (Loved it. Great, no-nonsense drinking)
-Bad Dog, Cabernet Sauvignon, Milpitas, 2004 (This was pretty decent. It's a homemade wine from someone's backyard, but clearly has the influence of a professional winemaker. It is soft, plush, full bodied Cabernet. Just a night little wine.
-Domaine la Milliere, Cotes du Rhone, Vielle Vigne, 2005 (This was awesome stuff. Loved it.)

-Booker, Fracture, Paso Robles, 2006 (Full, inky, thick, almost in the style of SQN. It's more reductive than the last time I had it. And the alcohol seemed better concealed. Good bottle.)

-Noon, Shiraz Reserve, Langhorne Creek, 2005 (This is a Parker 99 pointer! Aussie Shiraz isn't my style of wine, but this was undeniably great. It was opaque and thick, but pulsed with nuance. It was open for about 4 hours in a decanter, and it showed great immediately. Aaron, mentioned that it showed even better after tasting the Booker, which is made in a similar style but not quite as polished.)

Thursday, January 16th, 2009

A Whole Bunch of Wine

-Calera, Pinot Noir, Central Coast, 2006
-?????, Pinot Noir, New Zealand, 2006
-?????, Barbera d'Alba, Italy, 2006
-Robert Craig, Affinity, Napa, 2005
-Terra Valentine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mtn., 2005
-Viader, Cabernet Sauvginon "Dare", Napa, 2006
-Numanthia, Termes, Spain, 2006
-Seghesio, Zinfandel "Old Vine", Sonoma, 2006

The Viader was the Wine of this Flight

Blind Tasting
-ZD, Chardonnay, California, 2007
-Bonny Doon, Syrah, Central Coast, 2006
-Spicerack, Syrah, "Punchdown", Sonoma Coast, 2006
-Domaine Ligneres, "Norte Dame", Corbieres, France, 2003
-McKeon-Phillips, Bella's Nebbiolo, Santa Barbara, 2005
-Feather, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, 2004

Feather was the Wine of the Night. It's evolving very nicely. It's opened up a bit in the past 12 months and is showing a lot of purity.

Wednesday, January 15th, 2009

Aussie

Longboat, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ, 2007

I can't remember the name of the following wines, but they were all from Jess Jackson's import portfolio. I'll update it when I check the exact details.

Viognier, AU, 2007
Rousanne, AU, 2006
Chardonnay, AU, 2006
Shiraz, AU, 2006
Grenache, AU, 2006

Good stuff, but not particularly unique.

Sanford, Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills, 2006
It's good. Soft, silky, delicate, but the alcohol is something that I can't ignore any longer. It is just slightly high. Overall thumbs up.

Tuesday, January 14th, 2009

Slipstream, Chardonnay, McLaren Vale, Australia, 2006
Slipstream, Sauvignon Blanc, McLaren Vale, Australia, 2006
Delille, D2, Yakima, Washington, 2006
The Delille was really good, however it conflicts with my commitment to buy less expensive wines in 2009. The wine was awesome though.

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Fattoria Failla, Verdicchio, Italy, 2006
Zenato, Lugano, Italy, 2007
Quinta dos Roques, Encruzado, Portugal, 2006
Farnese, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy, 2006
Alto Moncayo, Garnarcha 'Veraton', Campo de Borjo, Spain, 2006
Protocolo, Tinto, Spain, 2006

Again, I think I had something else, but I can't remember what it was.

Friday, January 9th, 2009

All Italian Fool

-Fattoria Laila, Verdicchio, Italy, 2006
-Zenato, Trebbiano, Lugana, Italy, 2007
-Zenato, Valpolicella, Italy, 2006
-Elio Grasso, Dolcetto d'Alba, Italy, 2005
-Arceno, PrimaVoce, SuperTuscan, Italy, 2004

-Orin Swift, Papillon, Napa, 2005
-Paro, Zinfandel, Russian River, 2007

I had something else, but I can't remember what it was.

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

Awesom and intersting day of tasting-

Tissot, Traminer, Arbois, 2006

Tissot, Chardonnay, Arbois, 2006

Tissot, Vin Jaune, Arbois, 2000

Tissot, Poulsard, Sas Souffe, Arbois, 2005

Tissot, Spirale, Arbois, 2005

These are all incredible wines. They're super unique. A will do more research and report back.

Roessler, Chardonnay, Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, 2006

This was awesome.

Travaglini, Gattinara, Italy, 2003

This is a great little Nebbiolo from a lesser known DOCG in Piedmonte. 'Nuff said.

TR Elliot, Pinot Noir, Queste, Russian River, 2006

This is such a great wine that no one is award of. Very, very pretty, with a lot of complexity and depth, and a very appealing subtlty.

Saxum, Broken Stones, Paso Robles, 2005

This is probably the 5 time I've had this in the last 12 months. It's always good, but I'm getting burned out on the style. It showed a lot of flash, but just a bit too intense for my liking at the moment. It is a great wine for the release price of $45, but hard to justify the current marker value of $75+.

Massena, The Moonlight Run, GSM, Barossa, 2005

This was very similar to the Saxum. It has all ripe fruit, raspberry jam, chocolate, and alcohol. Good, but not for me.

J. Runquist, Zinfandel, Amador County, 2006

Really a great showing for this wine. Kind of a darkhorse. It was almost more refined than the Saxum and the Massena. A lot of fruit, but not overdone, just a great, pure, fresh Zin.

Monday, January 5th, 2009

I know I drank wine before the 5th, but this is the first tasting worth noting.

California Chardonnay Showdown - Blind

The Concept:
4 High-Scoring California Chardonnay's served Blindly to 4 guests. The guests knew that the theme was Chardonnay, but did not know which producers were included in the tasting. My hope was to identify the "true" quality of the wines without any hype, and whether or not they are worth the hefty pricetags.

Each guest was given a sheet to evaluate the wines. The evaluations included basic catagories like "Aroma" and "Color" but also allowed for a reevaluation as the wine developed at the 1 hour mark, and the 2 hour mark, and how if was affected by food, then a final "Final Assement" after the bottle was consumed, taking into account the evolution of the wine.

In the end, we did not attach point values, but we did arrange the wines in order according to our favorites.

The overall consensus was that the Diatom was least favorite one the table and the Kongsgaard and Peter Michael were contenders for 1st and 2nd place. I liked the Aubert a lot, but all three others rated it as their 3rd favorite.

*Another interesting note - this wines were sampled by a 5th person 24 hours later and he favored a completely different order! 1st Diatom, 2nd Kondsgaard and Aubert, and then 4th Peter Michael. So, apparently this is completely subjective. Who knew?!

My overall assessment is that the wines are not worth the heafty price tags. At under $100, the Aubert and Peter Michael are justifiable, but at secondary market prices, they are not. I'd prefer to drink Delhinger, Walter Hansel, or a handle of other producers at a fraction of the price and nearly the same level of quality.

Here are the wines in the overall order that they were prefered on Monday night:

Kongsgaard, Chardonnay "The Judge", Napa, 2005
RP: 98 points
Tanzer: 98 points

This was my 2nd favorite overall. It was incredibly intense, gorgeously perfumed with lemon oil and white flowers. It had a oily, rich, viscous palate feel, but with an awesome backbone of acidity. Oftentimes with that richness, it's tough to tease apart the nuances of the wine, not the case here. It was super-complex and even moreso with food. It showed a lot of brightness and also a real sense of place. It had mineral undertones and a certain uniqueness that one could probably identify if they tasted this wine frequently enough. I liked it a lot and think that it shows tremendous potential.

“The 2005 The Judge Chardonnay flirts with perfection. Incredibly intense flowery notes along with a liqueur of honeysuckle and crushed rocks complete with some tropical fruit, quince, orange, and pineapple characteristics. This intensely full, fresh, lively, gorgeous white benefits from 22 months aging in barrel, and bottling off the lees unfiltered.” Robert Parker, 98 points

“Good bright yellow. Brooding, mineral-driven aromas of peach, pungent stone, smoke and nuts. Extraordinarily dense and tactile in the mouth, with a distinctly saline character to the superconcentrated flavors of peach, lemon and liquid stone. Conveys a much sweeter impression today than the 2006 Judge but without any loss of vibrancy. Perhaps most impressive of all on the whiplash of a finish, which features palate-saturating peach and apricot fruit flavors and great tannic support. It's tempting to say that this monumental Chardonnay is Burgundian, but it would be hard to find a Burgundy with the sheer size to stand up to this. Kongsgaard advises drinking it between 2010 and 2016.” Stephen Tanzer, 98 points

Peter Michael, Chardonnay "Belle Cote", Sonoma, 2005
RP: 95 points
Tanzer: 93 points

This was everyone elses 2nd fav, but my 3rd fav, a very close 3rd. It was more restrained in style. Still flashy, but not as rich and opulent as some of the other wines. It smelled of lavish oak and vanilla. It had the most femininity and delicateness, in the best possible way. It lacked a little mid-palate focus. It then rebounded with a light, but beautifully lingering finish that sailed on. As I write these notes, it seems like a style that highly appeals to me, but that night it was overshadowed by the other wines.

“The Chardonnay Belle Cote is always a more exotic wine. There are 2,200 cases of the 2005 Chardonnay Belle Cote, a wine with undeniable notes of crushed stones, white peach, orange, nectarine, and quince. Medium to full-bodied, with zesty acidity, stunning minerality, and a firm structure, this is a gorgeous, French-styled Chardonnay that should drink nicely for up to a decade.” Robert Parker, 95 points

“Hazy pale gold. Explosively perfumed nose, with intense iodine and smoke notes accenting ripe orange and pear aromas. Remarkably concentrated citrus and mineral flavors are deepened by sweet butter, smoked meat and an exotic cherry pit note. Really stains the palate and finishes on a zesty citrus pith note, with outstanding persistence.” Stephen Tanzer, 93 points

Aubert, Chardonnay, Lauren Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, 2006
RP: 96 points
Tanzer: 92 points
WS: 93 points

I'm just a big fan of Aubert. Other felt this wine was disjointed and unbalanced. I thought it was particularly exotic with more tropical fruits like Guava and Passion fruit. It was definately unfiltered and murky which adds a lot of texture to the mouthfeel. The oak gave it a caramel and hazelnutty character and the acidity seemed to pulse across the palate. I loved the uniqueness of this wine and will continue to purchase my full allocation.

“The 2006 Chardonnay Lauren Vineyard is a brilliant effort. One has to admire Aubert’s ability to turn out something of this majesty in such a challenging year when so many Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards were filled with botrytis. Lemon blossom, orange marmalade, and white currant aromas jump from the glass of this light straw-colored cuvee with a greenish hue (a characteristic that also appears in the Aubert 2007s). Beautiful notes of tropical fruits and crushed rocks are present in this gorgeously rich, full-bodied, well-focused Chardonnay. All the Aubert Chardonnays offer abundant power, vivid acidity, and dramatic, laser-like focus.” Robert Parker, 96 points

“Palish green-yellow. Intriguing aromas of white peach, green tea, pear, nectarine, spices and minerals. Dense and powerful, but the flavors of nectarine and minerals are kept fresh by a green-appley acidity and a minty nuance. I find this stony, flinty wine a bit youthfully musclebound today. The slightly dry-edged finish features good spicy lift and a suggestion of butterscotch.” Stephen Tanzer, 92 points

“Pure, complex fruit is shaded by mineral and light, cedary wood, yet the core fruit flavors of ripe white peach, apricot and subtle pear flavors make for an intriguing flavor profile. Needs time. Best from 2009 through 2014.” Wine Spectator, 93 points

Diatom, Chardonnay, Babcock Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills, 2007
RP: 94 points

This wine basically got creamed by all the others. Interestingly, it was the favorite or our "lone taster" 24 hours later. On Monday, tasters commented on it being underripe (which I think is just in context to the other wines which are ultra-ripe). I found it to be very unique in flavor profile, but also superficial. The flavors were bubble gum, and red fruit, along with the standard green apple. It was very round on the palate, but also seemed tight still (note the 2007 vintage). Interestingly, no one identified the fact that there was no oak on the wine. It is fermented and aged in stainless, but goes through full malolactic and comes out awefully rich for a wine that doesn't have oak. It was a pretty poor showing for Diatom, but perhaps it could have been the wine of the night in a different line up.

“The 2007 Chardonnay Babcock is much more exotic, with ripe pineapple, pear, white currant, quince, and some subtle earthy, loamy soil undertones. The wine has fabulous fruit, sensational flavor penetration on the palate, but no sense of heaviness. Extraordinary precision gives this wine amazing vibrancy in spite of its formidable size. It is hard to know how these will age, but they seem incredibly pure and very long, although I would still opt for drinking them in their first 2-3 years of life.” Robert Parker, 94 points.

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

New Years Eve 2008

It's New Year's Eve, you gotta go big, right? We had an assortment of Champagnes. The finest of which was-

R.H. Coutier, Grand Cru, NV

and then we went for the gusto.

Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, 1998

The short story is, it's not worth the price tag. However, it is a phenomenal bottle of wine. 1998 is "off-vintage" by most critics assessment, however, I've found that they are drinking beautifully right now and much better than most 1997s that I've had (which was a vintage that the critics loved).

While this isn't the best vintage ever produced by Screagle, it shows all the same hallmark character that the winery is known for. Tremendous density and plushness, without the Port-like overripness that Harlan showcases. It honestly reminded me of Lafite-Rothshchild in a warm vintage. It was showing at its finest about 4-5 hours after being opened. For all its massiveness, it was incredibly delicate and light-footed. The flavor profile was a smorgasbord of black fruits and cream with a penatrating and lengthy finish.

I loved this wine. It's very hard to justify such a extraodinary price tag, but there is no denying the greatness of this producer. I've previously only had the 2002 vintage, which was equally compelling and perhaps even more nuanced. I wish I could drink it more frequently.

With all the changes happening at the winery (new ownership and winemaker) it'll be interesting to see how the new vintages differ. I doubt that they would let quality suffer, but I certainly hope that they continue to produce the same house style that they established the brand with. It's like Van Hallen with Sammy Haggar, sure, it's familiar and you're still going to sing along, but it's just not same as David Lee Roth. You know what I'm saying?

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Myriad, Syrah, Los Carneros, 2006

A great wine from Mike Smith. It has ultra polished tannins, with a silky mouthfeel. The nose boasts of roasted meats and lavendar. The palate is still somewhat simple, not a ton of depth, but it makes up for it in charm and overall likeability. Its a great wine that I doubt will age long, but is perfect for near-term drinking.