Tasting Menu at Meritage

This was a gathering of regulars from The Cellars wine lunches. Tonight was an offline doing a customized tasting menu. All the wines showed extremely well.

• 2000 Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Light gold color. Nice nose of minerals, apple, pear, yeast. palate shows crisp acidity, apple, pear, hint of citrus, slightly toasty, yeast. Clean with a long finish. This was a remarkably better bottle than the one we had at a tasting just 3 weeks ago. Both the nose and palate were vibrant and the finish was excellent this go round. It also paired nicely with the oysters. 92+pts.

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• 2007 L'Ecole No. 41 Chardonnay 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Rich gold color. Nose is buttery, modest oak, tropical fruits, minerals. Nice acidity on the palate along with a creamy mouthfeel, good body, apple and tropical fruits, mineral and a medium finish. Well balanced. One of the nicer chards I've had recently, and a good QPR.

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• 2001 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Evenstad Reserve 90 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Medium deep red color, mild bricking. Nose of cherry, raspberry, seems tight, tad of spice, adds a little floral note later. The palate had red fruit as the nose, lighter body, soft tannins, decent acidity, medium finish. This was nice, I had hoped for more, this was elegant, but pretty restrained. 90+pts.

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• 1999 Smothers Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon Remick Ridge Ranch 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Dark red, almost purple. Nose reveals loads of earth, funk, leather, game, dark berry fruits, light oak, loam. The palate is consistent with the nose showing an elegant balance of dark berry fruit, earth, and loam. The tannins are well integrated and the finish was quite long, 60+ sec. This bottle was aerated into the decanter and then immediately resealed before serving, it did continue to unfold over the hour it was in the glass. This was a fabulous wine and what I hoped for from the first bottle. 93+pts and WOTN.

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• 2002 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E & E Black Pepper 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Dark red/purple color. Nose shows a lovely floral note tonight, herbs and some eucalyptus (first time), light pepper, black fruits. Velvety in the mouth, nice body and dark fruit. Medium plus finish. This bottle was very good, but I didn't find the really nice secondary characteristics of previous bottles. I believe this bottle had received a one hour decant, it may be that it just needed more time. It's hard to live up to my expectations with this now. 92+pts.

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• 2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese 93 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Lovely deep gold color. Nose is citrus, pineapple, meyer lemon, mild petrol, mineral. Beautiful on the palate, lushious in the mouth, citrus, meyer lemon, pineapple, honey, crisp acidity, impeccable balance. Very long finish.

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WOTN was the 1999 Remick Ridge Cabernet. Thanks to Chef Russell Klein and the staff of Meritage for preparing a wonderful meal for pairing and providing us with outstanding service.