4th Saturday group uptown tasting

One of the couples in our group is moving out of state, to Napa Valley actually, and so for their last round as hosts they declared an uptown tasting. We were a group of fourteen for this event. As usual, the wines are in brown bags, double blind to the group, and poured in flights of no more than six, with the entire range ideally situated from lighter to heavier. As we mix up the bottles a bit, a few wines inevitably end up in the wrong flight.

• 2014 L'Ecole No. 41 Sémillon

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Double blind. Notes of grass, citrus, lanolin and florals. White fruit on the palate but also quite acidic. Given our host's history for "unique" warm ups, I assumed this was an Italian white, though another taster thought albarino, which was also a good guess given the high acidity.

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• 2014 Bouchard Père et Fils Pouilly-Fuissé 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé

  Double blind. A touch funky at first, developing melon and orchard fruit notes. Citrusy lime, orchard fruit and mineral qualities on the palate. This one was difficult to nail down...I don't recall anyone correctly identifying this.

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• 2014 Davis Family Vineyards Cuvée Luke Sarelee's Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Double blind. Citrus notes are very subtleotherwise this seems tight, or just very nondescript. Better on the palate though- lovely white fruit with citrus and floral qualities and bright acidity. Develops a tropical quality with air. Medium finish.

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• 2015 Purlieu Sauvignon Blanc Le Pich 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Notes of melon and sweet orchard fruit. Has a nice richness on the palate in spite of the higher acidity, with flavors of citrus and lemongrass.

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• 1998 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence 93 Points

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

  Double blind. Dusty garnet color with some bricking. Notes of spice, cherry and sous bois. Flavors of cherry, earth, tea and red fruit. Integrated tannins with an astringent finish. Needed twenty minutes in the glass to really open up...aromas of forest floor, currants and florals. Peppery spice qualities join the red fruit that lingers through the finish, becoming much better without the astringent, dried out qualities. This really needed some time to blossom and show its origin...give it a half to a full hour and enjoy. Should hold at this level for another three to five years. 93-94 pts.

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• 2014 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Double blind. Aromas of incense, blackberry and mulberry with mint and violet undertones. Flavors of black fruit, licorice and blueberry. Tannins are firm but sweet and fine-grained. A gorgeous young cabernet.
  
  TLV brought this one and had decanted it at 10:00am (this flight was poured at 5:20pm).

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• 2000 Château Troplong Mondot 83 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Double blind. Dark color. Aromas of mushroom and dark fruit with a bit of a stewed overtone. Chewy tannins with flavors of dark fruit, herbs and a bit of a raisiny quality.
  
  If I recall correctly the couple that brought this purchased it at Binny's earlier in the day.

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• 1996 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  Mildly corked.

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• 2001 Sloan 75 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Single blind. Aromas of plummy dark fruit mixed with red fruit and saddle leather with a beef bouillon cube overtone that became more dominant as this sat in the glass. Softened tannin with flavors of dark fruit and bouillon. I guessed Cab Sauv and was surprised that this was our Sloan.
  
  This had been quickly double decanted off its sediment 90 minutes before this flight was served and the wine was very promising at that point. Very disappointing considering the price tag and lofty reviews.

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• 2013 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Rutherford 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Double blind. Inky dark color. Vanilla and black fruit notes dominate; hint of incense underneath. Structured and tannic, showing flavors of cassis, vanilla and mocha. There's also a plush quality here, perhaps this has a bit of Merlot blended in? Lengthy finish. Needs time. Guessed young Napa Cab blend.

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• 2013 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Double blind. Dark color. Aromas of incense, cherry, cassis, black raspberry and violets. Medium tannins. Cassis and chocolate with a lengthy finish. Guessed Napa cab sauv.

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• 1990 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Double blind. Rather green with red fruit, currants and herb notes. Loads of red fruit on the palate, well-integrated and balanced. Flavors of red currants and green tobacco. Tobacco and leather notes emerge with time in the glass. Guessed 1990 Pichon Lalonde.

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• 2003 Sloan 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Opens with a melange of red and black fruit, licorice and violets. Medium tannins with flavors of red and black fruit, tobacco and saddle leather. Excellent. 94+ pts.
  
  This had been double decanted off its sediment just over two hours before the flight was poured.

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• 2011 Merryvale Profile 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Dark color. Incense, beef blood, dark fruit and chocolate notes. Somewhat firm tannins with flavors of dark fruit and chocolate. Finishes with good length.

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• 2012 Peter Michael Au Paradis 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Double blind. Cherry, rose, lavender and red berry notes. Red fruit tones dominate the palate. Tannins are firm but not obstructive. Young and in need of some time. Napa cab sauv.

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• 2009 Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT 91 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Double blind. Opens with an odd funky quality that eventually blows off leaving dark fruit and herb notes. Structured and firm with flavors of black fruit, spice and green herb flavors. Finishes with good length. Young. Guessed Napa cab.

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• 2012 Wayfarer Pinot Noir Golden Mean Wayfarer Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview

  Double blind. The first run through this flight I found this just a bit hot and large-scaled- it reminded me of a Peter Michael pinot, but the longer it sat in the glass the more tame and elegant it became. Notes of cherry, lavender and other florals. Full-bodied and elegant, with lovely cherry fruit taking center stage along with rose water, mineral and spice qualities. 93-94+ ptr

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• 1997 Havens Wine Cellars Bourriquot 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Opens on the weedy/green side of the spectrum and doesn't really move all that much. Flavors of macerated red berry fruit linger on the palate. Medium finish. It's slightly lean through the midpalate. Would probably be better paired with a meal. Guessed cab franc dominant right bank Bordeaux.

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• 2011 Amuse Bouche

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Notes of red and black fruit give way to a very odd cheesy jalapeno aroma that takes over and I had a hard time getting past it. Medium tannins with flavors of red fruit and spice on the palate. Tastes better than it smells, but this is weird and not very good...likely a compromised bottle and not representative.

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Nonblind, enjoyed with a wonderful spring beef stew, along with a raspberry chocolate torte and an almond cake.

• 1996 Joseph Phelps Insignia 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Popped and poured with dinner, courtesy of S. Displays a melange of red and black fruit along with saddle leather, spice, florals and dried herbs. Integrated and balanced. Red currants and plum, tobacco and earth flavors with a lingering finish. At peak.

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• 2005 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Still pretty dark in color, opening with grapey dark fruit and white pepper notes. Flavors of blackberry, spice and raspberry liqueur. Sweet and jammy but in a thoroughly enjoyable way. This has been double decanted off it sediment over three hours before it was served with dinner.

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• 2006 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Notes of pepper and dark fruit- blackberry and plum. More spice than the 2005. Loads of blackberry and dark fruit on the palate with a slightly rustic quality. I have a slight preference for the jammy exuberance of the 2005 by comparison. This too had been double decanted off its sediment a little over three hours before being served with dinner.

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• 1995 Château d'Yquem 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Light golden color. Notes of honey, apricot and marmalade. The palate follows the bouquet, with some interesting spice qualities coming in on the finish. Rich texture with a long finish.

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• 1992 Fonseca Porto Vintage 93 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Red and black fruit, spice, licorice and rose water notes. Black fruit, cherry, spice and licorice flavors. Long finish. 93-94 pts.

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Well they can't all be winners, and we had our share of disappointments today, but all things considered it was a great way to send off R&C as they head west. Hopefully the group can reconvene at some point in the not too distant future for the first "Napa edition" of the Saturday group tasting.