Liquid Farm, Janasse, Fontodi, Wind Gap, Thackrey ++

A couple of nights ago, my wife and I joined 5 others for dinner at our favorite high end Northern Italian restaurant. This is a long, slow 11+ course meal that takes a few hours. We had plenty of wines to help us through. The wines were served non blind and we went back to the wines on and off thru the evening.

Some whites to start:

• 2013 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (12/5/2014)
  From Magnum. This is very nice and easily accessible. Light golden in color. The nose is nice with peaches, and a bit of ginger. No signs of oak on it. On the palate, there is a slightly creamy texture which leads me to suspect neutral oak barrels instead of steel. Very soft mouth feel which I liked. There is just the slightest bit of sweetness which was off-putting to one of us, but I enjoyed it. Nice pear and slight citrus notes. For me, it was quite nice next to an over oaked Cal chard, and I could keep going back for more. Someone told me it would be more like Chablis, but I didn't get that. Very much ripe fruit and Californian in nature. But, in a very pleasant package. (92 pts.)
• 2009 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros (12/5/2014)
  I struggle with this wine and I have had it in other vintages. No question it is well made and some would love the style. for me, it just gets wiped out by the oak. It dominates the nose and the palate and especially the finish. Certainly, I have had far oakier wines than this. If it was the only bottle, i would have drank it. But the fruit seemed so distant to me. I did not assign a score as that's not fair (for me, maybe in the 85 -87 range?), but as I had plenty of other wines to go to, I did not finish my glass. Other's at the table may have liked it more.
• 2010 Sean Thackrey Viognier Lyra Noble Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley (12/5/2014)
  I was a bit disappointed by this. I had it a few years ago IIRC right after release and I quite enjoyed it. I love Viognier from the Rhone, but seldom from California. On release, it was fresh, floral and the oak seemed quite in check. That was also from Magnum. This bottle seems well past prime to me. The fruit is present but the floral qualities are faded. The oak while not dominating, is much more present and persistent. There is also some heat/oak on the finish. It is better on the palate, than the nose. I am probably being a bit harsh as I had higher expectations. This is still better than most Viognier from CA, IMO. In any event, I would drink these in their first year or two, which is probably my advice on most Viogniers, even the ones that do age well. (87 pts.)

And some reds:

• 1999 Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva Vigna del Sorbo - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG (12/6/2014)
  From Magnum. Awesome showing IMO although some in the crowd did not appreciate an older Chianti. This was pop and pour. The nose has some slight earthy funk to it along with cherries, dried cherries, tea leaves and forest floor notes. Vibrant fruit and acidity. Layers on layers of complexity. Soft texture with mild tannins. This got better with air. Lots of cherry fruit along with some ender currents of forest floor on the palate as well. Great with food. At least in Mag format, this wine is everything you want in CCR. Sadly, it was my only bottle. (94 pts.)
• 2006 Wind Gap Wines Grenache Booker Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (12/6/2014)
  This is in a nice place right now. Ruby in color. The nose has nice strawberries and raspberries. More complex on the palate than the nose. It is feminine and elegant. Medium bodied. More "Charvin" than "Clos des Papes" in CdP terms. Very pretty wine. The crowd seemed to want more, but I enjoyed this wine. While I think it might work with some foods, it was ok, but not great with our Northern Italian food which I was surprised at. Still, there is plenty of life left in this wine, so no hurry. (91 pts.)
• 2009 Kamen Estate Grenache Sonoma Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (12/6/2014)
  This is nice. It is a bit mono-dimensional next to the other wines. At the same time, it still drinks young, so there is time to develop. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has raspberries and some floral notes. A bit of clay. On the palate, this drinks easy. Nice raspberry flavors. Solid finish. (89 pts.)
• 2010 Domaine de la Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/6/2014)
  From Magnum. Most of the wines were on the more refined style and the group wanted something with a bit more there there. This was pop and poured. It is drinking very well if young today. Purple in color. The nose has kirsch, violets, black raspberries and smoke. Full bodied. This is a big wine. Tons of black raspberry fruit on the palate. Juicy acidity. After a lot of wine, this did provide some welcome pleasure without needing contemplation. While this has a long life ahead, this may be how it drinks best. At least worth checking if you have more than one. (93 pts.)

And yes, Friday morning was slow.