Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Dinner at Doc Eisenstein's house in Dana Point

-Pey-Marin, Riesling "The Shell Mound", Marin County, 2007 (a contender, along with Poet's Leap, for perhaps the finest domestic Riesling on the market)
-Hill Family, Chardonnay, Carly's Cuvee, Napa, 2006
-Domaine Ostertag, Pinot Noir Fronholz, Alsace, 2006
-Edge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, 2005
-Pax, Syrah, Walker Vine Hill Vineyard, Russian River, 2005 (surprisingly, not as huge as I expected it to be, having had it 6 months ago. The wine was certainly big, but had a lot of finesse and depth. I quite enjoyed it).

-Patz & Hall, Chardonnay, Napa, 2006 (over oaked and sweet)
-Croker & Starr, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa, 2006 (excellent)
-Donabaum, Riesling, Wachau, 2006 (great)
-Lewis, Chardonnay Reserve, Napa, 2005 (very, very good)
-Luis Felipe Edwards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua, 1994 (loved this wine. It was my first experiance with this producer and I was really impressed).
-Luis Felipe Edwards, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, Colchagua, 1995 (phenomenal! Even better than the 1994. It outshined the Beychevelle or any of the other Cabs on the table. A great experiance).
-Chateau Beychevelle, Grand Vin, St. Julien, 1995 (good, but not showing it's full potential. It looked and tasted 15 years older than it was. Perhaps not stored properly. Imagine the teapdrop falling as I forced this one down my gullet).
-Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander, 1985 (surprisingly still super oaky. Smelled of Cedar box and vanilla and nearly void of fruit, but not because of the age. I thought that the heavy oak was just a trend of the past 10 years for this producer. The bottle was still half full by the end of the night.)
-Alban, Pandora, Edna Valley, 2002 (closed and tight knit. The wine never really opened up. It was good, just not very showy).
-David Arthur, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, 2003 (pretty awesome stuff. Wish I owned some wine from this producer)
-Lewis, Cabernet Sauvignon, "L", Napa, 2002 (soupy, heavy extract, fruit dominated wine. It lacked structure big time. Lately, I've had really mixed quality with Lewis).
-Turley, Zinfandel, Dusi Vineyard, 2005 (Almost undrinkable. It smelled like grape fruit Roll-Ups. Super ripe, syrupy, sickningly sweet. I dumped it in the bushes and still can't erase the memory).

What a great evening of wine drinking. A big thanks to Isaac for opening his "cellar" (spare bedroom) and allowing us to grab bottles).