Birthday Barbecue

Tasted Monday, April 14, 2008 by ruddy with 512 views

Introduction

Opened a bunch of wines to go with barbecue, so I decided to bag the pinots and syrahs and serve them single blind. Amusing to see how we were so susceptible to peer pressure and wanted to agree with each other, to the point that everyone was convinced that the Kosta Browne was actually the Sea Smoke. All six of the people who preferred the Alban Reva thought it was a Saxum (but since none of them had ever had an Alban, I guess it's forgivable). Personally, I got the Alban right, but chose what I thought was the Saxum as my WOTN, only to find it was actually the Ojai Roll Ranch. The Arcadian (my first Arcadian Syrah) was by far the best match for the ribs and I chose it as my #2 WOTN. At least we all got the pinots and syrahs straight.

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

  • 2006 Scherrer Winery Dry Rosé 88 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Pleasant mouthful of watermelon and cherries, well balanced with a bit of acidity. Alcohol is completely hidden.

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  • 2006 Kutch Pinot Noir Rosé 87 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Beautiful pinot essence, with a blast of nice fruit, but the intervening year has not been kind to the balance of the wine, which now feels a bit hot.

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  • 2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    Decanted for twenty-four hours. An absolute storm of plum, kirschwasser, smoked bacon, pepper. This wine is seriously young, but I had to just check out what Alban is all about. My others will sleep for a few more years at least. Six votes for wine of the night, even if everyone thought this was Saxum Booker.

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  • 2004 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, South Coast, Ventura County

    Over the top deep purple color, which fits cause this thing is blasting out Smoke on the Water. Heavy notes of plum, campfire, pepper. The first few hours with this wine (after a 3 hour decant) are amazing as the palate evolves and opens, revealing more depth. Unfortunately, only another hour later it it was totally disjointed, losing it 2 points. But during the tasting, this one got my vote (and one other) for top Syrah (although I thought it was the Saxum Booker).

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  • 2000 Arcadian Syrah Garys' Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    The yin to all the other wines' yang, this one was lean, cool climate syrah with fully resolved tannins. Blueberries, lavender, a slight wintergreen lifesaver note make for a very pretty wine that was the best food match of all the syrahs in the tasting, getting my vote for number two. The only thing I thought the wine could stand would be a bit of white pepper and a longer finish.

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  • 2005 Saxum Syrah Booker Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Not at all ready to be drunk, I found this wine quite unyielding on both palate and nose for a few hours. Eventually there were some nice rich chocolate-y notes, with a creaminess that is intriguing. Hard to get a bead on it, but I expect it will all sort itself in another year or two. The score is based on the typically amazing Saxum flavors that I expect to resolve into an excellent wine in time.

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  • 2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Spicy was the first word that came to mind. Bit of tobacco/asian spice and cherry. Oak needs to integrate better. Not the best K-B I've had, but very nice and will get better.

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  • 2005 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Not my favorite Southing by far, but still an opulent expression of pinot. Just a bit too much vanilla oak and monolithic fruit right now. Need to give it a a year or two.

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