STG does White Burgundy and a bonus Cabot tasting

Gig Harbor, WA
Tasted Thursday, July 15, 2010 by Eric with 958 views

Introduction

Steve Saxon hosted the Seattle Tasting Group for a nice sunset tasting at his house in Gig Harbor. Also joining us as special guests were John and Kimberly Cabot, a real treat to have them here!

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

After a long drive (I5 was shut down in Tacoma due to a rollover truck fire), it was nice to finally get to Steve's and have some wine. A fair of fresh ones got us going.

Flight 2 (6 Notes)

Next we moved into a series of Corton-Charlemagne. To a wine these showed just stunning liquid minerality and really started to give me a much better sense of the appellation.

  • 2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    OK, now we're getting serious. Some complained of heavy bottle stink right when this was opened, but by the time I got to it ten minutes later it was clean as could be. This is pure liquid minerality, totally wound up, intense, barely yielding. Packed and stacked and in need of some time if you are willing to take the premox risk.

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

  • 2005 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Much more forward than the 2002. Creamy and spicy, a bit young, but packed and stacked. Slightly salty on the finish, but this is pure yum even at this very young age.

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

  • 2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Young, young, young! A bit of magic marker and marshmallow on the nose followed by a hint of resin. This is seriously wound up on the palate, very savory, crazy minerality.

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

  • 2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    My favorite Corton-Charlemagne of the evening. Really nicely integrated although also still feeling very young. It is showing some mushroom and a hint of butterscotch (thanks Ed for the descriptor), quite complex on the nose. A simply fantastic palate.

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

  • 2004 Bouchard Père et Fils Corton-Charlemagne Domaine

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    This was perhaps the most controversial wine of the evening. It has a strong green element, sort of a stemmy/stalky thing, that really bugged a few folks. That said, I thought it was really intriguing. Nice graphite notes on the nose as well. Crazily wound up on the palate, very salty. This needs a lot of time to settle down.

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

  • 2005 Domaine d'Ardhuy Corton-Charlemagne

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Perhaps the least ready of the wines we tasted. Somewhat forced and abrasive. Not so enjoyable for me.

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

Flight 3 (3 Notes)

As the evening cooled and Steve lit a bonfire to warm us up, I broke into the last three of the whites.

Flight 4 (6 Notes)

The Cabots had very generously brought a selection of their wines. It was a serious treat to break into these, and for me as a lover of Old World wines it was remarkably refreshing to taste some 'cooler' wines from Northern California. To a wine these were all incredibly fresh, clean and showed great varietal character. If you are seeking big, round, ripe concoctions these are not for you. If you like some crunch, some acid and have a yen towards the Old World, I would be shocked if you didn't appreciate the purity and character of these wines.

  • 2007 Cabot Vineyards Klamath Cuvée

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    Awesomely cool, peppery and bright. Quite red in personality with a hint of cinnamon candy. Slightly grippy but mostly just fresh and clean.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2007 Cabot Vineyards Syrah Humboldt County

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    Mmm, another peppery wine. Tannic and firm, a cool menthol note washes over the palate followed by slightly sour red cherries and then a nice bit of tar. Very expressive Syrah.

    Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

  • 2006 Cabot Vineyards Syrah Aria's

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    Booyah! Crazy, sexy nose. Some stem (there is 50% whole cluster Syrah as well as 5% Viognier) is followed by an expressive nose of leather and meat. The palate is silky with soy and more meat. Did I mention this was sexy? My favorite of the lineup. Really awesome juice!

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

  • 2006 Cabot Vineyards Syrah Kimberly's

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    We had two different bottles of this. One had been opened overnight, and the other was popped and poured. Neither was quite as expressive as the Aria's. The overnight bottle had a full, round palate, black fruit, probably the ripest personality of any of the wines. The pop and pour bottle had a bit of overt sulphur that took some work to swirl off. This was more red in personality, wound up, very peppery and powerful. I had one of these at home a few weeks ago that showed more like the second bottle, very wound up.

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

  • 2004 Cabot Vineyards Confluence

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    75% Cabernet and 25% Merlot. Licorice and smoke. This has a really nice raspberry note, toothsome and persistent.

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

  • 2003 Cabot Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Klamath River

    USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County

    Oh yeah, very lifted and bright with a floral violet note. Now this is Cabernet. Cool, nice stalk and leaf, firm, clean, a very pretty expression. I wish more New World Cabernet could show this sort of freshness and varietal character.

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

Flight 5 (1 Note)

Steve opened a bottle of Betz as a comparison to the Cabot wines.

  • 2004 Betz Family Syrah La Serenne Flawed

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Having had this several times (including a bottle at home just 5 weeks earlier), I don't think this bottle was quite right, or maybe my palate was in a bad place. Lots of dried fruit, raisin and fruitcake on the nose. The palate was better, big and chunky by comparison to the Cabot wines, but loaded with gorgeous layers of black fruit.

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

Closing

Thanks to Steve and to the Cabots for a great tasting!

×
×