Meeting of Minds OG Crew

This was an opportunity for the MoM OGs to meet-up while I was back in town for a short visit. Obviously, we needed to break out some good stuff. Over-consumption ensues.

All wines were serially tasted in non-blind fashion.

• 2008 August Briggs Pinot Noir Dijon Clones 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. This bottle had a hefty amount of funk on the first pour...and I liked it. I guess I was expecting something a bit more fruit forward...you know, approachable for the masses. This was not that wine on this day. While a good amount of fruit was certainly present and while it's likely that one would not mistaken it for an old world version of PN, it's still a pleasant surprise to get that kind of complexity from Napa Valley.

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• 2010 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir Reserve Russian River Valley 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. This was the biggest surprise of the evening, for me. Not necessarily because it was so brilliant at being a Pinot Noir...rather because it had the stuffing to keep up with the other wines we consumed throughout the evening. Plenty of fresh, red fruit...which I find pretty typical for RRV. Pretty solid value if you like this sort of version of PN. Burgundy lovers should probably look elsewhere.

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• 2007 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. Is this really 17% ABV?!!! I wonder if that's a typo. I would have never guessed considering how well this was drinking 7 years on. I expected loads of heat and stewed fruit and I received the exact opposite. This bottle blows away the theory that high ABV wines will make for a hot mess. Instead, we were treated to fresh, perfectly ripened brambles with a pleasant addition of spice. The texture was smooth and seductive...really very sexy...borderline slutty. Tied for my WOTN. I would love to experience this again...sadly, it's far too limited to expect such a thing. Drinking very nicely now on the PnP...why wait?

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• 2007 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Blonds 94 Points

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

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. Tremendous, right out of the gate. Gorgeous red brambles, spices, garrigue...love the complexity. I was slightly concerned considering the reputation of the 2007 vintage producing overly-ripe, heat-laden cuvees. This didn't appear to be a victim...at least not yet. No apparent signs of bricking and nothing seems stewed or muddled. This bottle was fresh and ready to enjoy now...but has plenty of tannin and enough acid to hold should you want or need.

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• 2010 Bodegas Volver Monastrell Tarima Hill Old Vines 90 Points

  Spain, Valencia, Alicante

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. Another marvelous example of Monastrell courtesy of Jorge Ordonez...and what a great QPR. Nothing over the top...fairly well balanced...not enough heat to be off-putting...bold, dark fruit with a little anise?? Anyway...I didn't spend too much time pondering this one but that's mostly because it was easy enough to enjoy. While I don't think it's quite the 93 that WA gave it...it is plenty tasty. Worth picking up more.

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• 2008 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. This was a bit of an outlier compared to the rest of the flight this evening (it was the only Bordeaux blend of the group) and probably deserved more cellar time if we're going to be honest. That being said, this is showing a lot of potential; solid structure and good concentration of dark fruits. I'm confident this is built to last with its best years still well down the road. Still a decent enough drink right now but I would hold for a few more years if I had any in my cellar.

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• 2011 Linne Calodo Outsider 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Popped and poured; consumed over a four hour period. There's no question that this is a Zinfandel dominated blend. Massive, ripe fruit with a little bit of black pepper. Probably a bit more heat than I would prefer but it's not a jammy mess. A fun, well made wine that pleases well enough...but, considering the tariff, I would probably not visit this often. Anyway, I prefer the Rafanelli style of Zinfandel more and when you have access to that, it's hard to want others.

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Honestly, there wasn't a dud in the flight and a couple of them were big (pleasant) surprises for me (both PNs). The Villa Creek and the Patrick Lesec were tied for my WOTN but the Isosceles could have stole the show on a different day with a different line-up.