Cotat, Myriad, Yalumba, Nicora, Keplinger

Last night, my wife and I joined our friends Chris and Rene for dinner before going to the Indians baseball game. It was a reasonably quick meal as we had about 1:15 from start to stop. Still, we managed to make a good dent in these bottles. The Keplinger was consumed with everyone back at home after the game.

• 2011 Domaine Pascal Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Beautiful wine especially for the vintage. Bottle was opened about two hours prior to consuming. Golden in color. The nose is all about minerals. No grass, no tropical fruits, etc. Crushed shells, rocks, etc. On the palate, this is quite smooth. Some lemons and great acidity. Blind, I would have been more likely to guess Chablis than Sancerre or especially Sauvignon Blanc. Just delicious.

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• 2011 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Three Twins Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This showed a bit better than a bottle earlier this summer. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has nice cassis, slight coffee grounds, some blueberries and a bit of leather. On the palate, a lovely supple texture. Nice cassis fruit. Very good for the vintage. Showing young and seems like it will develop. One of the better 2011's so far.

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• 2002 Yalumba The Signature 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Beautiful wine. Chris opted for pnp as he heard this doesn't hold up at this point. It was so lovely on opening I thought that odd, but indeed it lasted about a half hour before starting to decline. I never got to revisit it later than that to see how it rebounded. Ruby/purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, and charcoal. Nice texture. This is not a monster shiraz in any way at this point. Showing layered complexity. Black currants with some spice and some woodiness. Nice balance.

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• 2011 Nicora Grenache Euphoric 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  My first time trying this wine. I think Chris said he is the assistant winemaker for Torrin. This was good. It is a big wine (not quite to the extent of Torrin), but not over powering. The nose has black cherries, some jammy qualities, but also some spice and floral notes to counter that. Lush texture. Easy to gulp. Enough acidity to hold up to food. Lots of dark cherry and raspberry fruit on the palate. Very primary at this point, but this might be better served young. I am not sure, so it would be fun to see how this develops.

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• 2011 Keplinger Caldera 89 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County

  This is nice but I would have hoped for a bit more. Purple in color. The nose is better than the palate. Deep with black raspberries, blue berries, slight leather and a hint of camphor. On the palate, its good. It seems like it will be outstanding as it builds, then just stops a bit short. The four of us had not problem finishing the bottle. Just one of those times the results fell short of expectations as opposed to an off bottle.

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The Tribe won!