Best of Bordeaux vs Kings of Kalifornia

prima
Tasted Friday, December 18, 2009 by soyhead with 622 views

Introduction

After much electronic verbal banter, the event got underway. Significant Spousal attendance include John's, Mario's, and Steve's wives. CindyLoo brought her boyfriend Brian. Also attending were as Errol, Duane, Doug, and that bastion of willpower Bob. Notibly absent was Mr. Aspen. All wines were tasted double blind. The wines were impressive. Several different favorites were noted. Attempt were made to call wines old or new world. As usual, I was highly confident of my picks, and wound up missing the mark on more than 50%. John repeatedly brought to our attention his ability to accurately predict new vs old world, though his methods may be questionable. But for sure he can tell an old world merlot when he tastes one , yo, so there you have it! The pope (JD) declared a favorite and seemingly the cardinal's votes fell into order. Kalifornia carried the day, thanks to some impressive bottles. Contrary to the medical advice of the two physicians and one cosmetologist present, cigars were smoked out back by a select few. All scores below are mine and of course, arbitrary.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2004 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Nose - roast coffee.
    Mouth - dark berry, plum, licorice, juicy sweet fruit but possibly a touch thin texturally. A hint of spice on the finish. A lovely start to the evening

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Flight 2 (1 Note)

  • 2004 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

    nose - tight. red cherry, not much giving here
    mouth - dynamite rich red fruit, very silky, very ripe, very delicious, and monolithic. In my estimation it lacked the complexity of several of the wines to follow, but no denying that it was a gorgeous bottle. Group Runner up. Thanks Doug!

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 1993 Opus One 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    nose - tar, poop, stinky, musty, stunning nose with some fruit in there as well. It kept smelling different throught the night.
    mouth - complex red fruit with distinctive mushroomy flavors. Still tannic, and impressively complex. Possibly stumbling slightly on the finish. Pretty much everyone though it to be old world. Wine of the Night and Winner of the match Mario.

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Flight 4 (1 Note)

  • 2000 Château Clinet 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

    nose - radish (!), strong heavy flower smell that i cant ever really remember getting from a wine. Cindy suggested gardania/jasmine. Hints of banana. Extremely aromatic almost to the point of being perfumed.
    mouth - cola, cherry, sassafras (Dude - WTF?), cherry fruit, with a touch of vegetation. The nose trumped the mouth. Also a complex wine and puzzling - is it over the hill or perhaps needs more time?

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2000 Château Lynch-Bages 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    nose - plenty of old world funk. mouth - cherry fruit, good tannins. Hitting some palate fatigue by this point in the evening. Steve with more Lynch Bages experienced picked it out right away.

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Flight 6 (1 Note)

Flight 7 (1 Note)

Flight 8 (1 Note)

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