9L party

Woodinville, WA
Tasted Saturday, May 15, 2010 by last chance with 752 views

Introduction

We had two 9L bottles opened this day and shared with many friends. There was also a 5L bottle of Ferrari Carrano Merlot that was opened, but I did not get to taste that wine.

Flight 1 - The 9L bottles (2 Notes)

We had purchased these bottles with friends at an auction a few years ago. It was nice to finally get to open them.

2003 Baer Winery Ursa 90 Points

USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

Tasted from 9 Liter. I thought there would be plenty of time to be able to come back to revisit this, especially since there was another 9 Liter of Mark Ryan Dead Horse open at the same party. Well, it went much faster than I thought it would, so there really wasn't an opportunity to see it open up too much... The nose had some volatility at first with a rubbery/sharpie aroma. With some time and swirling in the glass it seemed to be more perfumed than volatile. At least it didn't bother me anymore. There was also some heat evident on the nose, but again, not too much. Mixed dark fruits and some peppery spices were the only other aromas that I was able to pick out. The palate had flavors of blackberry, plum, licorice and earth. Nice mouthfeel and a medium-long finish. It had been a long time since I had tasted this wine - and it was a lot of fun to re-visit it and talk about some of our early days of going up to Woodinville on Saturday afternoons. Good times and memories.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Mark Ryan Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard 93 Points

USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

Tasted from 9 Liter. I thought there would be more time to be able to come back to revisit this, since there was another 9 Liter of Baer Ursa open at the same party. There wasn't much time on this bottle at all, as it was a bit hit at the party. This was gone in probably just about an hour and a half, but it was fun while it lasted! The nose had beautiful aromas of blackberries, cherries, anise, and some brown spices. The palate had flavors of dark berries, currants, licorice and some chocolate. This wine was full bodied with a very nice mouthfeel and a long finish. What a fun bottle this was to share with a very large group!

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Flight 2 - Other wines that we drank after the 9Ls (7 Notes)

2002 Baer Winery Arctos 88 Points

USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

Tasted from magnum. The nose of his wine had aromas of blackberry, plum, licorice, and smoked spices. The palate wasn't as complex as the nose suggested, and left a bit of a perfumed taste in your mouth behind the red/black fruit flavors. This wasn't one of my favorite tastings of the Arctos, and I have several 750s still left of this vintage. I hope that they can show better than this, or it may just be time to drink up. This wine is just a shadow of it's former self - I loved getting to taste a barrel sample of this at an old Passport to Woodinville event, and could hardly wait until the next year to buy some of it...

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2003 Baer Winery Arctos 90 Points

USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

Tasted from magnum. After tasting the 02 Arctos from magnum and not enjoying it like I used to, I was a little concerned on this one. This was much better. The nose had dark fruit aromas with some tobacco and cedar notes. The palate had currant and dark cherry flavors along with some nice earthiness and pepper. Medium to full bodied with a medium length finish. I've got a couple 750s of this vintage as well, but I'm not concerned about them like I am the 02s.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2007 Sine Qua Non Stripes & Stars 90 Points

USA, California, Central Coast

It's been just over a year since the first time that I got to try this wine. I knew what to expect, but I was still surprised! The color is even darker than I remembered, and there were some cherry flavors that were in place of what I remembered as strawberry flavors. It still had some nice watermelon notes, and the spritziness was also still there. I noticed the 15.8% alcohol right away this time as well. This bottle went fast, as the starter to a huge event, so there wasn't a chance to revisit to see it with some more air. Not a typical Rose, but a very fun bottle to start the evening with.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2002 Bergström Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve 92 Points

USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

Tasted blind from magnum (well, almost). This was brown bagged and brought out for us to taste blind. Just a little bit of the burgundy wax around the neck was showing where the bag didn't cover. The guy pouring is a Pinot freak, and the wax color had me thinking Kosta Browne or Bergstrom right from the start. The magnum format made me almost sure it would be Bergstrom. The nose had a very nice Pinot funk on it, and certainly called out OR Pinot. The palate had cherry and plum flavors with a spicy and minty note that also gave clues to whole cluster fermentation. Medium bodied with medium-long finish. Nice OR Pinot, but I really prefer the Shea from Bergstrom over this bottling.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2001 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sorì San Lorenzo 94 Points

Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

The nose had aromas of dark fruits, tar, pencil shavings and a bit of a licorice note. The palate had currant and berry flavors with notes of earth and tobacco. Medium bodied with a nice mouthfeel and a very long finish. The tannins are beginning to mellow, but it's still got a long time ahead of it. What a pleasant surprise to get to taste this wine tonight!

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2006 Rudius Syrah 92 Points

USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

The nose of this wine had aromas of dense, dark fruits, spice and an olive note. The palate was much more reserved than the nose led me to believe it would be, and also not as complex. The palate had plum and berry flavors with a little earth and spice. Medium bodied with excellent balance and a medium-long finish. The balance was really the star of the show here. The label said 15.4%, but this didn't seem like it was anywhere near that at all. Once I tasted it, I remembered reading on eBob about one barrel that Jeff left out of the final blend that had a huge alcohol content. I think that brought the final alcohol level down significantly under what the label said.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2005 BOND Matriarch 94 Points

USA, California, Napa Valley

The nose had aromas of currants, and a spicy coffee note. The spicy coffee note was really interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot. The palate was richer than the nose had suggested with flavors of cherry, cassis, cedar and a little peppery spice. Nice mouthfeel and a long finish. This was a fantastic wine, and my WOTN.

Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue