Old School Wineauxs do Rhones

The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch
Tasted Wednesday, March 11, 2009 by WetRock with 625 views

Introduction

Once again we convened at the Cal Poly Pomona's School of Hospitality and Restaurant Management for dinner. That's right, we drank at school. They treated us great as per usual giving us our own small room so that we could be as rowdy as we liked. Since we have become one of their favorite groups the management requested we name ourselves and we did with what you see in the title. If you live somewhere nearby and have never gone the restaurant is quite a bargain and a treat. The management is made of of school professors and all the staff are students in the capstone class. All tips are a donation to the school.
Our theme was Rhones this time and we ended up with a stellar lineup of some top flight Rhone variety wines. I got to try my first La-La and Colgin Syrah, neither of which disappointed. We also had some of the best Syrahs from California with a Saxum and SQN on the table. Favorites for me would be the Colgin, Outpost Grenache, Guigal and the Saxum.
There was some trickery afoot by a new attendee who served us the SQN Atlantis Fe blind. Not only covered in foil but also in a Two Buck Chuck bottle where we could still see the pull strip on the capsule. Nice one Joseph Wu. There were guess that it was SQN but the bottle kept some of us off the trail. Charlie also brought a foil covered red ice wine from China. I could not find it or anything similar in Cellar Tracker. Smelled f cut grass and autumn leaves with a palate of tart sweet peaches.
Thanks everyone for another great evening. Til next time, kick it Old School.

Flight 1 (19 Notes)

  • 2005 Les Costières de Pomérols Picpoul de Pinet Hugues de Beaulieu

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Picpoul de Pinet

    Nose of straw with some smokiness. Tart and clean, bit short. Good acidity and balanced. Very good for the price.

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  • 2007 Thacher Winery Viognier Hastings Ranch

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Nice flowery nose. Rich palate that is a bit heavy but overall nice.

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  • 2006 Sine Qua Non Autrement Dit

    USA, California

    Big aromas of freshly cut strawberries. This seems to have shed some of its baby fat and evened out over the last year. Juicy with the finish being a bit rough but gets better in the glass cleaning itself up. Still not eh wine that wowed me right after release but very good.

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  • 1996 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Nose of pure ground pepper. Lovely balanced palate showing some cherries and great acidity. Could have used some flavor complexity but a terrific wine.

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  • 2003 Lagier Meredith Syrah

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

    Bright ripe nose of boysenberries. Plenty more boysenberry on the palate that is on the tart side with tons of grip. A good Syrah if a bit one dimensional.

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  • 2004 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    Bright big nose of violets and big juicy ripe berries. Some complexity peaking through on a tight palate. Strong grip. This almost drank new worldish to me with its abundant big ripe berry fruits and none of the seconday characteristics you usually see in the regions bottles. Very good but not your dad's CdP.

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  • 2004 Kilikanoon Shiraz Oracle

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

    Mocha, mint chip and blackberries define the nose. Big bright fruit on the palate though with the typical Aussie tart finish. Good concentration.

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  • 2004 Colgin Syrah IX Estate

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Pepper is the first thing that greets a sweet pretty nose and then there is some vanilla and chocolate candies over dense dark berries as well as some notes of stem inclusion. Lots of fruit on the palate yet not overbearing tip toeing that line. Lovely with a very good finish. Stem inclusion shows again on the palate and there is lots of grip here. This could use a couple more years in bottle but a touch one to keep ones hands off. I've heard a lot about Colgin Syrahs and it didn't disappoint.

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  • 2005 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Lots of stemmy asparagus notes on the nose. Nice balance and doesn't come across as overly extracted. Juicy and surprising in structure to me in comparison to past run ins with Pax. Desperately in need of some bottle time or 24 hours of slo-oxing.

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  • 2005 Lillian Winery Syrah

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    Dark feeling nose of roasted meat, mocha with a slight green quality. Showing its oak dressing. Thick, rich, soft and broad with dark chocolate and rich dark berries. Feels more balanced with air and the berries really come forward but still a big thick wine. It is of a certain style to be sure but still doesn't seem interesting beyond that for my palate. I can see how this would be very popular in the SQN/Foley-esque sort of way.
    Enough for a glass brought home shows nearly the same on the 2nd night. Oak doesn't seem as prominent.

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  • 2005 Château La Sauvageonne (Gérard Bertrand) Terrasses du Larzac Cuvée Les Ruffes

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Terrasses du Larzac

    Tight nose barely giving up anything. Lean feeling with a good grip and a nicely complex finish of pepper and bright cherries. I think this needs a couple more years to unwind.

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  • 2005 Garretson Wine Company Syrah "The Craic"

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Vanilla over sugary raisins. Ripe juicy and hot.

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  • 2005 Sine Qua Non Syrah Atlantis Fe2O3~1a, b & c

    USA, California, Central Coast

    Served blind. Funky nose giving green stem notes, pepper, bacon and some vanilla. Lean feeling yet showing plenty of oak keeping it soft. Juicy with greenish stems and some heat. Good but not exceptional and in need of some time.

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  • 2006 Outpost Grenache

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Very lightly colored. Big flowery nose of bright berry juice. The nose almost becomes like sweet strawberry candy later on. Lean feeling and well balanced the palate carries a dark undertone. Nice peppery quality. Very nice wine and interesting to see the lack of color. Seems to be letter the fruit speak for itself which it does nicely.

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  • 2006 Saxum Broken Stones

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Big nose showing the berry pie with some mocha and stem notes. Huge but balanced but excellent acidity. Love the acidity Justin gets in these, never tart and sets Saxum apart from lots of similar wines.

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  • 2006 Noble Storm Syrah Santa Ynez Valley

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

    Funky reductive nose. Light a pretty but is lacking in concentration and has a rough finish.

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  • 2006 Jaffurs Syrah Verna's

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    Nose really only gives up pepper. Big yet not fleshy, juicy and plenty of tannin. Would leave this alone a couple more years. Hard to read.

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  • 2004 Domaine des Baumard Coteaux du Layon Carte d'Or

    France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon

    Light nose showing soft white apricots and other stone fruits. Not overly the sweet the sugar already seems to be relaxing giving the palate a nice light feel. Could use more acidity.

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  • 2006 Buttonwood Sémillon Late Harvest Sémillon

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

    Straw and sugar on the nose with a touch of light wood. Bright with good balance showing tart apricots.

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