Wine tasting at Jay & Meredith's

Kirkland, WA, USA
Tasted Saturday, March 29, 2003 by Eric with 1,258 views

Introduction

Our friends Jay & Meredith hosted a "wine tasting" party for friends where each person brought a bottle or two. This was a non-wino crowd for the most part.

Flight 1 - WHITES (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - REDS (12 Notes)

  • 1998 Terra d'Oro Winery Zinfandel Deaver Vineyard Old Vine

    USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County

    Grapey, hot and peppery. This has a sweet entry, dry palate, like grape jelly on the finish.

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  • 1999 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    My bottle. At first it showed a lot of toast on the nose and lots of acid on the palate. With time the palate really filled out and gained a lovely sweetness. Medium finish. However, with time this also developed a strange 'plasticene' note on the nose which I found really off-putting. Meredith and several others seemed to like it a great deal, but it wasn't among my favorites of the tasting lineup.

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  • 2000 L'Ecole No. 41 Merlot Estate Seven Hills Vineyard

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Coffee and lots of alcohol on the nose. Nice body with loads of tannin and acid. This is very disjointed and awkward.

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  • 1995 Byington Merlot

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    The nose shows a massive herbal note (in a good way) with some heat. On the palate and finish this is a different story. Great juice and personal WOTN!

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  • 1996 Bonair Merlot

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

    Aggressively herbal nose, green tobacco. Very offputting. With time the nastiest ashtray smell ever emerges. Nasty, not tasted, DNPIM!

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  • 1996 Bonair Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

    Medicinal nose with a subtle ash (bitter ashtray really) element. Thin, ascerbic, bitter on the palate.

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  • 1999 Waterbrook Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    Oak, oak, and more OAK! Some licorice peeking out. Big, primary palate. Very dry tannins.

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  • 1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Nowhere near as nice as the same wine tasted 5 days earlier at the Library Bistro offline. (Still, it's quite a nice week when one gets to taste Insignia 1994 on two occasions!) Licorice and coffee on the nose. Remarkable purity on the palate.

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  • 1995 Château Haut-Bages Averous

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Earthy, dark, and medicinal on the nose. Well resolved palate. Strong finish. My #3 WOTN.

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  • 1991 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

    This was a magnum that Meredith had been holding for a while. The cork was not in terribly good shape (showed a fair bit of seepage), but the wine seemed to be doing OK. Presumably the large format helped quite a bit. Classic aged CA-Cab nose with medicinal elements. Super-sweet on the entry. Soft, resolved palate. Smooth finish. Nice wine. My #3 WOTN.

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  • 2001 Marquis Philips Cabernet Sauvignon S2 91 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    My bottle. I opened and decanted this 30 hours early. Right out of the bottle it was an oaky, alcoholic, chocolatey mess. However, after a day it had settled down quite a bit and was drinking very well. A number of people flipped over it, a real crowd pleaser as can be expected for the style of wine. This stuff is black syrup, totally opaque. Massive extraction. Coffee and oak are bursting on the nose. On the palate this is profound stuff. Cough-syrup thick, remarkable sweetness, nice layering of flavors. My written notes are very terse: "PROFOUND STUFF!!!" In reality, this was a wine I could easily appreciate from a distance but not one which I care to drink that often or that much of. Impressive but not quite my style.

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  • 1992 Leeuwin Estate Shiraz Art Series

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    Weedy, moldy, and hot. Nasty!

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