Philadelphia, PA, USA
Tasted Thursday, May 17, 2018 by oldwines with 458 views
Our wine tasting group, largely organized by Steve, convened at Garth's apartment. We all brought at least 1 bottle of California "Cult" wine, mostly Cab's. Garth organized some appetizers and dinner, along with some wild venison I brought to serve along with the appetizers on a slice of baguette with goat cheese and a boysenberry, venison demi-glace sauce. With 7 of us in attendance and at least 15 bottles opened some of the details are a little "fuzzier" than usual. Thank goodness for written notes!
Garth catered some nice food including a very tasty sesame crusted tuna as well as a duck crostini along with the venison I brought. Salad was also served.
Filet Mignon of Beef Tenderloin, the simple but perfect match to a big red wine.
There were 2 additional bottles that I thought we had opened since I had written them down but I saw I had no notes and the bottles were not in any pictures I took...they were a 2005 The Vineyardist and a 2005 Fourteen Appellations??? Perhaps they never were actually opened. p.s. I have confirmed they were not opened, which probably would have been a waste if they had been!
I do forget exactly what we had but I recall one as being chocolate and the other mostly fruit which worked well with what we ended up bringing
We had a wonderful time exploring these wines. There was not a real conclusion or ranking done as in some past events, so, I know my rankings, ratings and comments may differ with others who I would encourage to add their own notes. For me one of the conclusions was pretty much as expected, I am not such a big fan of this style yet the best ones are certainly enjoyable in the right circumstances. Though that doesn't deal with the rather poor QPR in most if not all cases.
2008 Stony Hill Chardonnay 94 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
This bottle seemed a bit different than the previous ones in that it was slightly oxidized such that it did exhibit different characteristics than before and may perhaps give a foreshadowing of the eventual aged condition of the wine some more years down the line. This was decanted and given 90 minutes to breathe in the cellar then re-bottled for taking to our "Cult Cali" night at Garth's in Philadelphia, about a 2 hour drive away. Then tasted by the group prior to and during the first course with dinner. The color is more light to medium gold than bright yellow. It has very high acidity and distinctive grilled apricot, caramel and minerals on both the nose and palate. The finish is long and honeyed suggesting a touch of residual sugar.
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2015 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard 94 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
I had many Kistler Chards from the 1980's and 90's and found then over oaked and too buttery, lacking vibrancy and stopped drinking them. One of the attendee's (it may have been Garth??) at our "Cult Cali" night at Garth's in Philly brought this as a preamble and I tried one for the first time in well more than a decade. He indicated they had changed style some time ago and wow, they sure have! This wine was bright and energetic with medium+ acidity. The nose and palate had some butter but also good minerality and a lemon/citrus core with hints of pear and green apple. It was well balanced and had that mouth feel I love in great Chards wherever they come from that is both rich and vibrant at the same time. The finish was pleasantly long as well. Quite enjoyable and one of my favorite wines of the evening..
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2014 Staglin Family Chardonnay Estate 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Brought by one of the attendees to our "Cult Cali" night at Garth's in Philly. This has a nice, bright lightly golden yellow color. It had medium+ to high acidity. Clearly a "New World/Cali" Style with plenty of oak, smoke and butter on the nose and palate along with a long caramel finish. Well done though not my favorite style personally.
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