Find the pair! TNs: 2001 Paloma Merlot, 2001 Pride Merlot, 2001 Dead Arm, 2001 Henry's Drive Reserve Shiraz, 2001 Alion & 2001 Pintia.

I hosted this tasting of 6 wines from the same vintage so a group of newbies could have fun trying to pair the 2 Napa Merlots, the 2 Aussie Shirazes and the 2 Spanish Tempranillos. Easy right? Only one person did the pairing right (but he had all wines screwed up).

I served all wines single blind in Riedel Vinum glasses. Dinner was an assortment of Pesto Pizza, Brie Cheese en croute and other goodies.

• 2001 Paloma Merlot 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Beautiful black purple color. Exotic nose of blackberry, smoky mocha & dark chocolate. Full bodied, dense with fulll mid palate coverage and a fruitful, smoky finish that lasted very long. This is a damned good wine! My Guess: 2001 Paloma.

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• 2001 Henry's Drive Shiraz Reserve 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway

  Very dark purple color. Flamboyant nose of anise, melted butter and caramelized fruits. This wine shows some notes of sur maturité but is not at all hot as the substantial fruit balances the lofty alcohol out. Full bodied and thick, this is by far the most flamboyant wine of the group and is easily recognizable. This must be the 2001 Henry's Drive Reserve.

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• 2001 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero 87 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Blackberry, some licorice, a bit of minerality. This medium bodied wine shows too much acidity and is thus un-balanced. My least favorite of the night. My guess (by elimination) was 2001 Pride Merlot. An off bottle?

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• 2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot 88 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  Animal fat, melted butter and a slight barnyard note in the nose that was my demise. With swirling, some black fruits emerged. This medium bodied wine has a much better palate than nose. Not a star in my book. My guess: 2001 Alión...wrong!!!!

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• 2001 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  This bottel was decanted 2 hours prior to serving. Black purple color. The somewhat reticent nose showed black currants, cedar, roasted coffee and stony licorice. Medium to full bodied and showing surprising acidity, this wine is in obvious need of more cellar time but was surprisingly approachable. My guess: 2001 Dead Arm.

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• 2001 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia 91 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

  The nose on this puppy was very weird and funky. I could detect some blackberries, new leather and vanilla, but there was something else odd that I couldn't make out. Full to medium bodied, showing nice acidity and a wall of tannin that made this an easy guess: 2001 Pintia.

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I took a vote at the end of the night for the favorites and, expectedly, gathered results all over the board. Some people's favorite was another person's dog wine.

WOTN: 2001 Paloma Merlot (3 first place votes, 2 second, 1 fourth and 2 sixth place votes).
Runner up: 2001 Henry's Drive Shiraz Reserve
3rd place: 2001 Alion.

This was a fun event becasue we laughed a lot. I like starting new people on wine because it is fun to help some people "get the wine bug".