Kobe Burgers and New World Wines

Post skiing/boarding dinner with friends.

• 1999 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  Deeply colored, yellow gold rim, very fine mousse. On the nose plenty of citrus/green apple, seashells, and toasty autolytic aromas... no oak aromas. On the palate quite dry with very high acidity, low palate weight, no creaminess. Good balance, length, and intensity... ok complexity. Good finesse and texture... very Le Mesnil. Overall a firm, non-malo, non-oaked, mineral driven stlye with good depth of flavor that has several more years to improve, gain depth.

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• 2007 Montes Alpha Syrah 89 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Very dark, glass staining color... purplish rim. On the nose plenty of spiced, dark and red fruits... definitely some tar... On the palate a very pleasant ascent with medium + acidity, a nice round and fleshy syrah midpalate, a very nice transition into a moderately firm yet ripe tannin finish... moderate + alcohol. Good balance between ripe, not overripe fruit and moderate acidity/tannins... good length, great intensity of flavor, ok complexity. Nice finesse, very fine texture and quite true to place. I have had this wine several times lately and have been quite impressed every occassion for the way it delivers its fruit with oak and syrah-ness in balance at a remarkably good price point (around 15 USD if you look carefully). Superb qpr and an excellent wine... I wouldn't age this much as I don't think many Chilean wines benefit with more than a couple of years of age.

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• 2004 Pax Syrah Cuvée Keltie 85 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  Dark color, ruby red rim. On the nose very nice depth of fruit with a wide range of red and dark savory fruits of pretty high ripeness... background pepper and baking spices. On the palate moderate acidity, good fleshy yet firm midpalate, nice transition into a moderately tannic finish that is pretty well integrated... it drank lower than its 15.5ish ETOH. Decent balance, length, and complexity... very good intensity. Reasonable finesse for its style, fine texture, and does a good job of being NW without being too over the top. I was a bit surprised by this wine... it wasn't as overdone and abnoxious as I suspected it would be... still for its price range I would want more out of it in the finesse and complexity departments. I wouldn't hold on to this for more than a year or two...

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• 2004 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity 81 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Deeply colored, ruby rim. On the nose plenty of vanilla and blueberry (some other mixed red and dark fruits)... hint of eukalyptol... still relatively primary. On the palate an awkward ascent with a flash of heat early... rich and sweet midpalate, very ripe and well integrated tannins on the finish... high ETOH. Wine a little out of balance on the soft side with ripeness of fruit, high ETOH, sweetness midpalate exceeded by coarse, added acidity. Decent length, good intensity of flavors, low to average complexity... really lacks finesse and has some textural issues... very good expression of place. I think with time the wine's textural issues will worsen so I would drink this up... for its style (40+ USD Barossa shiraz) I suppose this is a "good" wine but I don't really see the qpr here and neither will many other people who are more textural tasters.

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• 2001 Neal Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Second Chance Vineyard 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Atlas Peak

  Dark color, ruby red rim. Somewhat muted aromatics though had a distinctly herbal, red fruit cabernet profile which surprised me... plenty of barrique spice. On the palate the wine held itself together well with good acidity, a very classic cabernet midpalate, a n ice transition into a firmish tannic finish... I guessed this at 14.5 to 15 which is .5+ less than actual ETOH. Quality wise this wine didn't have many highs or lows and had reasonable balance between moderate + ripe fruit and good firmness of texture... decent finesse, intensity, and complexity... good length, texture, and expression of place. Not a wow wine and of hugely suspect qpr... but for its size and style it held it together quite nicely. Will hold a few more years though I don't lnow how much better it can get.

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• 1997 Viña Quebrada de Macul Cabernet Sauvignon Domus Aurea Clos Quebrada de Macul 60 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley

  Dark color, murky with a red brown rim. On the nose stewed and muddled fruit, tons of slighlty bitter/resiny smelling eukalyptol. The palate of this wine is a wreck and the wine is clearly past its prime. I have had this wine several times with consistent notes... even in the Chilean wine industry this wine is considered a bit off the charts with its strong eukalyptol aromas... factor in the fact that Chilean wines for whatever reason don't have a history for aging well (not just my opinion but that of nearly every Chilean winemaker I have ever spoken with) and this is the result. Chile and the Maipo have so much more to offer... look for less expensive (stay premium not ultrapremium), less eccentric, and younger wines.

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Always seem walk away from these New World Wine tastings we do bored and disappointed... especially when price is factored in. Chile is stellar for fruit driven, not over-the-top, wines in the 13 to 18 USD range... no other country IMO can compete with them with as many varietals and climates in this range and style... the Montes Syrah being a perfect example. The wines don't age though... there are many theories why... the most popular over there has to do with the huge diurnal temperature variation "aging the wines" before they are in bottle... I visited 27 wineries there this past January and nobody I talked to would strongly disagree... Domus Aurea being a great example of this observation tonight. The Duval showed how difficult it is to add big time amounts of acid to wines deftly... the Pax and Neal for me were ok but indicative of Cali's problem of crazy expensive wines underdelivering... higher hopes for tonight!