SF Wineberserkers Offline (BerserkerDay)
San Francisco, CA
Tasted Sunday, January 27, 2013 by aagrawal with 865 views
Introduction
Special thanks to Gene for hosting us at his house for this wonderful offline. It was great to see old friends again and to meet some new wine friends as well.
Flight 1 (25 Notes)
Here are the wines in the rough order that I tasted them. I generally have more of a European palate, so keep that in mind as you read my notes.
For the whites, I was most impressed by the Fevre (my contribution... not premoxed!), the Mayacamas, and to a lesser extent the JJ Prum (though that needs a lot of time).
For the reds, I was particularly impressed by the 02 Lignier-Michelot Faconnieres, the 01 Chevillon Les Chaignots, the 2004 Cavallotto Barolo (though this was very young as well), and the Ladd cellars Cuvee Abigail. My other bottle, the Moris Farms Avvoltore, showed good complexity and went well with the food, though perhaps didn't stand as well alone as some of the other wines present.
The last six wines toward the end of the evening got lower scores. I don't know whether it's because my palate was getting tired or because I tried the types of wines that I generally like early. Probably a bit of both, though I suspect that even with a fresher palate my favorites still wouldn't change.
2002 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru
Lovely light golden, almost yellow color; nose is quite intense, wafting out of the glass, creamy, toasty, a little waxy, melon, some lovely spice/just a hint of vanilla; palate is fresh, medium-full bodied, fantastic acidity and balance on the palate that provides lift, mixture of melon and citrus fruit, creamy texture; medium length finish. No hint of premox, and this bottle is absolutely brilliant. Substantially better than my last bottle 2.5 years ago, and it makes me long for the pre pre-mox days. My last bottle. 94-95
Update- Day 2: The wine has lost some of its intensity that I really enjoyed yesterday and comes across today as slightly lighter with slightly less acidity, but it is still quite nice and goes well with lightly salted edamame. 92-93
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2009 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
From magnum. Nice unique minty nose, fruity; palate is full bodied, balanced, nice clean finish. 92+
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2008 Agathe Bursin L'As de B 88 Points
France, Alsace
Nose has significant intensity with floral components and almost overwhelming saffron, very aromatic; palate is dry, clean, peach, white fruits. Nice, but a little too round and could use a bit more acid. 87-89
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2007 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 91 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Nose started out sulfurous and reductive, petrol, lovely white fruits underneath; palate has moderate sweetness and decent acidity (though it could use a bit more to make it more racy), very young, good white fruits, peaches. Nice, needs much time to integrate well. 91-92
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2008 Keller Estate Chardonnay La Cruz Vineyard 84 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Creamy, Californian style, palate is a bit oaky. Nice, but not a highlight. 84
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2009 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Fresh lifted nose with white fruits, floral, creamy; full bodied, balanced, slightly tangy; med finish. 89
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2009 Ceritas Chardonnay Porter-Bass Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Nice citrus, oily; medium bodied, fresh, very nice, fresh, food friendly. 91
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2008 François Chidaine Montlouis-sur-Loire Les Choisilles 89 Points
France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Montlouis-sur-Loire
Lively balance, great acid, balanced. Solid food friendly white, but could use more character to help it stand out. 89-90.
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2002 Domaine Lignier-Michelot Morey St. Denis 1er Cru Les Faconnières 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Morey St. Denis 1er Cru
Very aromatic, complex, red fruits, strawberry, slight funk; palate shows nice lovely fruit, light to medium bodied, light to medium tannin; short-med finish. Very nice pinot made in a traditional old world style, drinking well now but with likely years to go of development ahead. More traditionally made than other burgundies tried today (01 Chevillon, 2010 Faiveley). 92-95.
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2001 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru
Initially seemed like riper styled fruits, but then it developed a lovely funky sweaty complexity, lots of red fruits; palate has light smooth tannin, nice fruits. Very nice, made in a slightly riper style than the lignier-michelot, but still obviously old world. 90-92
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2004 Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 93 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nose is slightly muted with some red fruits and floral; palate is stronger with solid red fruits, dense fruits, great acidity, strong but velvety tannins; med-long finish. Stellar backbone, but needs 5-10 yrs to really show well. 92-94.
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2009 Château Calon-Ségur 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Dense, ripe, licorice, prune, nose is a bit overripe; palate is approachable, black and blue fruits, blueberry, medium integrated tannins. This just didn't fit well into the tasting today, and I suspect it may have shown better by itself or a decade from now. On retasting at the end of the night, it seemed to have improved, but my palate was tired and I'm sticking to my initial impression for now. I would love to retaste this in a decade and see how it turned out. 87
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1997 Moris Farms Maremma Toscana Avvoltore 90 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Maremma, Maremma Toscana
Consistent with previous notes. Lovely red fruits, dusty complexity, midpalate is a tad simple but otherwise quite good. Particularly enjoyable when paired with food (meatballs). 90-91
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2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
Ripe red strawberry fruit; solid palate with red fruit, light and fresh. Nice new world styled pinot with obviously good quality, but it is not distinctive and lacks any unique character. 89
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1996 Hanzell Pinot Noir 84 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Funky nose without much fruit. Palate has good acid. Past it's prime for my palate. 84-85
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2009 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Cuvée Abigail 92 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Nose is complex, combination of balanced fruits with complexity, red fruits but not overripe; palate is young, balanced, fruity but not overly so. This is an excellently made pinot that comes across as a very traditionally made but still recognizably californian pinot, which is exactly what I like from California. Excellent! 92
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2009 Ladd Cellars Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Nice fruit, quite ripe. Has character but not as much as the Abigail, and this wine is made in more of a ripe Californian style. Simpler, but still enjoyable. 89
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NV Pertois-Moriset Champagne Brut 90 Points
France, Champagne
Tough to assess after the reds, but the nose comes across as yeasty, clean; palate shows nice mousse and great freshness. 90
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2010 Faiveley Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Pommard 1er Cru
Light ruby colored; nose is rustic, red fruits, spice, medium intensity nose; palate has light tannins (surprisingly), good fruit. This is a young and atypically approachable Faiveley, especially for a Pommard (though the nose is rustic enough to hint at the proper appellation). The quality appears good, but I find it hard to predict how this will turn out from this early stage. It needs significant time for its complexity to bloom. This may have been an atypical bottle, though we couldn't find anything off about it. 89-93. 90 today.
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2008 Kendric Vineyards Pinot Noir 88 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Marin County
Red fruits with complexity; palate is simple but balanced, solid. 87-89
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2006 Cabot Vineyards Syrah Kimberly's 85 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Humboldt County
Reticent nose with vanilla; palate is full bodied, big black fruits, ripe but not overripe. Just Ok for its showing today. 85
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2008 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Harvest Moon Santa Cruz Mountains 86 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Nose has overly ripe fruits, but the palate is more in balance. I'm normally a big fan of Stefania quality, and this is still enjoyable but it seems like a nice everyday cab. 86
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2009 Chester's Anvil Malbec 83 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Ripe red fruits, ordinary palate. Decent, nothing more. 83
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2004 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 86 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Nice, ripe fruits. Not much character here, though that may have come out with more air. 86
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2002 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Ripe upfront fruity wines. Decent wine in more of a newer world style. 89
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