TCF February 2006 Off-Line

Napa - Powell's
Tasted Friday, February 3, 2006 by GreenDrazi with 1,367 views

Introduction

Thanks to Pyang for hosting the TCF off-line at his house and thanks to DJ Hombre for the excellent food. The evening lasted a good 6 hours and the time flew by. A great evening and it was a pleasure meeting the people behind the names. After having toured several Napa wineries during the day, which included generous barrel tastings, I don’t believe that I ever had that much wine in a single day. And when adding in more tastings the next day, I was toast at the end of the day on Saturday.

The guests were, excluding several who crashed the event later, (my apologies for any errors):
Anwar & trigirl, pyang and guest, DJ Hombre, ttepper, Sir Willy, whiner, GreenDrazi, and benchland and mrs. benchland. Bugs was also hunting around and was very intrigued by the entire event.

Flight 1 - Warm-up (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Double Blind (2 Notes)

  • 2004 Neal Family Vineyards Zinfandel Rutherford Dust 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

    Served blind and I don’t recall anyone guessing the varietal correctly. Just bottled. Fruit forward with black and red fruits along with an asian spice component adding complexity and depth. Low acidity with a nice lingering mid-palate.

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  • 2002 Coya Malbec 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Served blind and I don’t recall anyone guessing the varietal correctly. I thought it was a South American Cab/Syrah blend.

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Flight 3 - Lewelling Vertical (6 Notes)

Thanks to Pyang for providing the Lewelling vertical. These, as a group, have a pretty consistent fruit profile of cassis and a streak of red cherry with a licorice component throughout the vintages. My concern with these is their ageability. They seem to have much more vigor and energy in their youth, but I would like to have had the ‘97 to fully test this.

Flight 4 - Other Bordeaux Varietals (7 Notes)

Flight 5 - Rhone Varietals (4 Notes)

I held out on these until towards the end of the reds, having gone through most of the Cabs to let these breathe some more and to try them as a group.

  • 2002 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    Full decanted for 2 hr’s before tasted. Nose of light, white pepper. Nice balance of rich blueberry fruit with a light touch of game and the slightest hint of smoke and anise. Nice edges on the palate. This was still a bit tight and could benefit from more cellaring or decant time.

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  • 2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Bottle decanted 2 ½ hrs before my first sip. Slight burgundian funk on the nose and also brown tinted hue. Red fruits and smoke with a caramelized banana flavor turning to brown sugar note increasing the longer in the glass. Finished very light.

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  • 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Bottle decanted 2 ½ hrs before my first sip. Good, complex floral nose. This was very tight and not wanting to reveal much no matter how long in the glass, nor when I returned to visit it a few times. Flavors of blueberry and some cherry with white pepper, hints of violet and game along with a touch of smoke. Good consistent palate with abundant acidity and very light tannins, but could use some weight.

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  • 2004 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. 97 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Bottle decanted 6 hr’s before my first taste. Thick, violet nose. This has huge flavors of black and blue fruits with some raspberry and chocolate mixed in with just a touch of pepper picking up on the finish. Nice complexity with excellent depth and a plush, textured, mid-palate that expands further on the lengthy, heady finish. Fine to chalky tannins with some minerality and acidity, this can drink wonderfully now if given adequate decant time, but should do well for several years to come.

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Flight 6 - Finale (1 Note)

  • 1998 Château Rieussec 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    No decant. Excelent nose. Sweet and lush honey with just a touch mineral/lemon. Wonderful finish and low acidity makes this easy to drink now.

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