saturday night wine double blind tasting with noobs

food was served potluck style with american, indian, asian, and mediterranean cuisine. whites and rose were served from the bottle. 13 reds were tasted double blind and revealed at the end of the night. 15 people tasted the wines, many are wine noobs, but a few people were more experienced.

2007 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva -- highly acidic and unpleasant 83
2006 Bodegas Castelo de Medina Verdejo Rueda nice melon notes. greatly improved by food. 86
2006 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape La Chapelle de Negly sour watery bland 81
2006 Black Box Chardonnay dry weird muted soil and honey tones. strange but not bad. 85

2005 Vinícola del Priorat Priorat Ònix Clássic chalky, some fruit, tart, boring. generally disliked by group. 86
2006 Sebeka Cape Blend great structure, body, killer finish this was the second favorite wine of the night. around $10 at bevmo. 91
2000 H. Coturri & Sons Zinfandel great rich big fruit bomb nice finish. 90+
2004 Maison Patrice Rion Bourgogne bacon grease, asparagus, not my thing 84
2004 Château Jonc-Blanc Montravel Le Rubis distinct latex glove nose, puckering tannins, got worse after open for a couple hours 83-85
2005 Beckmen Vineyards Cuvée le Bec nice grenache heavy wine 90
2004 French Rabbit Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d'Oc big lush full bodied good! shockingly good for under 10 bucks. 91
2002 Eppalock Ridge Shiraz alcoholic! but sweet rich and delicious too. 91RP, $20 90+
N.V. Braidenwood Estates Cabernet Sauvignon California ripe fruit mild tannins definitely decent. 49 cents a half bottle at grocery outlet! was liked or loved by most of the tasters.. 86
2004 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Aisling sweet tart finish, a little dull. i was a bit embarrased because ive loved this in the past, but in the blind i didnt like it and neither did most everyone at the tasting! $25 83
2003 Silverado Vineyards Merlot dry chalky tannins, fair 87
2004 Cumulus Shiraz Chasing Clouds sweet shiraz a little dull 2.99 at trader joes 87

and WINE OF THE NIGHT goes to:
N.V. Pacific Peak Cabernet Sauvignon California acted like an AUS shiraz big sweet and nice on clearance for $1.69 at Bevmo and intended as more of a joke than a serious contender, it was the favorite wine of 9 of the tasters narrowly beating out the Sebeka pinotage.. 90

for someone like me who has been spending some pretty pennies on building a wine collection this tasting was a little disturbing. some sub $10 wines were easily better than their $20+ counterparts, emperor, no clothes, etc.