Ann's, Avondale, PA
Tasted Thursday, February 5, 2009 by Outplaying with 705 views
A few us got together to share some good wines. All of them were tasted blind and were very good. We did not score them but I am guessing they all would have scored between 89 and 93. Unfortunately my notes were pretty brief.
My favorites were the Laird and the Clarendon Hills pinot that was much bigger and more tannic than a lot of Pinots. My least favorite were the Turleys, surprisingly. Ann's favorite was the Laird.
1998 Cakebread Cellars Rubaiyat
USA, California, North Coast
Color is showing some bricking. Cherries with floral hints and a little cola. Minimal tannins. Nice wine.
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2003 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Nice firm tannins, cherries, a little cola, dry. When I came back to this wine later in the night it was very dry. I liked it better right out of the bottle, but then again my pallet was fried by the time I came back to it. I was surprised at how easy this was to drink for a young barolo. I guessed old world and grenache.
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2005 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Big nose of smokey fruit, tobacco and cedar. Way too much cedar for my taste. Others liked it though.
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1990 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, California, Napa Valley
Bricking halo. Black fruits and bell pepper. The tannins are minimal. Nice smooth wine. A little too much bell pepper for my taste though.
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2001 Clarendon Hills Pinot Noir Hickinbotham
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon
Cherry fruit with some spice and hints of cedar. Nice tannins. A really nice wine. The few wines I have had from this winery have been consistently good.
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2004 Luce della Vite Lucente
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Wow this wine is chewy and puckering. But I liked it. Dark fruits, leather, hints of bell pepper (but not too much). A pretty good value and one that has a lot of life left in it.
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2006 Etude Pinot Noir Estate Carneros
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Intense cherry fruit. I would have sworn this was a Williams Selyem (it was tasted blind). Enjoyable.
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2005 Turley Zinfandel Ueberroth Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Classic Turley nose. Tobacco, smoke, cedar and dark fruits. Again to much cedar for my taste. Everyone else loved it. I am starting to think I like the lower end Turleys better.
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1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Pleasant nose but not very intense. The honey quality reminds me of an older barbaresco. Bright red fruits. Medium/light tannins. I guessed new world syrah - something like a Tablas Creek. Once the wine was revealed I was surprised at how light it was given my preconceived expectations of the producer. No brett or barnyard. Not real intense or tannic. More elegant than I would have anticipated. Nice wine.
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2001 Laird Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Ranch
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Chocolate, hints of bell pepper and intense fruit on the nose. Rich, with nice fruit, balanced tannins and acidity. Very good. One of my favorites of the night.
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2005 Clos Apalta
Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley, Apalta
Rich wine with dark fruits, slight bell pepper, bacon fat, and coffee? It is hard to imagine that it is WS wine of the year but it was very good.
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