TN: I kill babies. 07 Peter Michael Belle Cote, 07 Carlisle Montafi, 06 Arcadian SH chard

A couple of my friends and I gathered to drink a few bottles of newly shipped wine. Travel shock and youth be damned, we're trying you out tonight! Each wine was in our possession for about 3 weeks before opening. Hope you enjoy the notes and the sacrifices we made to open up these babies for you =P.

• 2007 Peter Michael Chardonnay Belle Côte 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

  Spent our whole night killing babies. This wine needs time in the decanter in bottle.. it just needs time. When we first popped it there was ZERO finish. You take a sip and then everything is gone. After about a hour in the decanter you smell strong hints of alcohol with vanilla, brown sugar, apricot, and very light pineapple. Really big creamy wine on the palate, it just coats your mouth with that almost glycerin thickness , very fat and opulent. Some slate, with a little bit of granny smith apple, tropical fruit butter, alcohol, and limited acidity on the palate and some honey finish. it was constantly changing over the night but the alcohol and fat on the wine never went away and it overwhelms me right now.
  
  Edit: Drank the rest the next night. The alcohol significantly lowered, still a big fat wine but with a more focused mid palate of bright tropical fruit with cream and light butter. A slightly longer finish than the night before, but still missing some of that acidity backbone.

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• 2006 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Put it in the decanter, covered with plastic wrap and stored it in the wine cooler for 4 hours. A nose of pineapple brulee with brown sugar, the tropical fruits on the nose is really strong. Bright citrus and tropical fruit on the palate with a little bit of butter mixed in. The finish is pure tropical fruit with tongue piercing acidity. Like J said, this isn't quite the same as the 05. The 05 has this really nice layer upon layer of complexity on the mid palate. But the mouthfeel is great on this wine, it's not lush and forward , no alcohol present at all. you know this thing will age for awhile. Not the stunner the 05 is, but still one of the best values in CA chardonnay right now. I'm positive this thing is gonna get better with time, hell, if it wasn't for Arcadian's generous 40% off, we shouldn't even have this wine in our hands till next year!

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• 2007 Carlisle Zinfandel Montafi Ranch 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  I liked this wine, it's interesting because it's "ready to drink" but at the same time you know it's going to get better with time. Drank this over the course of 4 hours. A huge nose of peanut butter chocolate with hints of mint, strawberry, little bit of fresh bread/oak and a tinge of heat. Dark lush berries with cocoa powder and eucalyptus, with a light streak of green. Incredibly easy to drink, it almost tasted like a really nice fruit forward grenache. I actually thought it tasted it's best with the most interesting nose right when it was opened. You could smell the wine from 5 ft away when you first pop the cork. I won't be touching my last bottle for awhile.

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