Holiday wine/food party

Had some friends over for a day of football, vino and food. Great time with some pretty good stuff. The Lawton Pinot stole the show for me, but the consensus was that the Clos Apalta was the best wine of the night (and hard to really argue with that). Should've had it one bottle earlier as it was likely a shade wasted on the group by that time. The Newton and Veramonte bringing up the rear worked out just great and have me interested to see how they taste on a fresher palate. I have a bottle of each of those left.

• 2006 Sineann Pinot Noir Oregon 89 Points

  USA, Oregon

  A crowd pleaser as always. Not quite the finish I recall from last time but still a big fruity pinot that has some good secondary earthy and even spicy flavors going on.

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• 2004 Lawton Winery Pinot Noir Reserve 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Wow, this was absolutely gorgeous. Nice musky earth, shrooms and raspberries on the nose. Complex and balanced with a great finish. Cements for me that 2004 is a vintage I adore and must acquire more of, in general. Really a pleasant surprise.

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• 2001 Luigi Righetti Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Capitel De' Roari 89 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

  This was very nice. Good nose, some quality leather and dirt. The fruit was big in the mid palate but was a little sweet and out of place with some of the other elements.

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• 2007 Sineann Old Vine Zinfandel 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  2nd bottle from the case. Needs more decanting time than I gave it (45 minutes). Still, lucious red fruit with a good finish. A hair flabby.

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• 2005 Clos Apalta 92 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley, Apalta

  Wine of the Night by consensus, though I suspect that the whole WOTY thing biased the ladies. Still, this is a highly drinkable very balanced effort that is just not going to disappoint your average wine drinker.

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• 2001 Newton Claret 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This wasn't too bad. I was starting to fade a little, but found it a shade disjointed. Decent fruit with some green notes that didn't seem too out of place.

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• 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 88 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Last bottle of 7 so take with grain of salt. Decent nose, restrained but good fruit and a pretty goof finish. No complaints.

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