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Weeknight Wine Tasting

Bistro 7, Philadelphia PA

Tasted August 31, 2011 by ews3 with 591 views

Introduction

A weeknight wine tasting arranged with Bistro 7, a wonderful BYOB in Old City Philadelphia. Gathered some friends and popped some corks. We went all American (dessert wine exemption) and loosely grouped the wines.

Flight 1 - Whites (3 notes)

White
2008 Auteur Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
86 points
nose smelled a little fishy to me, but i dont think the bottle was off -- just some odd aromatics. green streaks run through this -- it was offputting at times. lots of underripe orchard fruit -- little oaking obvious on this. finish is a bit sour.
White
2007 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
92 points
syrup oak dominates the profile, but there is also some lush ripe red apple and nice clove notes. although prominent, the oak is well integrated and does not ruin the wine -- those who talk down the CA Chard style could give this a try to understand what an oaked Chardonnay can be even at a reasonably budget-friendly price point. med (+) finish.
White
2004 Kongsgaard Roussanne/Viognier USA, California, Napa Valley
92 points
honeysuckle dominated the palate for me, with nice floral notes and the waxiness i love on white rhones. heat creeps in on the finish and detracts from an otherwise pleasant wine.

Flight 2 - Pinots (3 notes)

Red
2005 Chehalem Pinot Noir Reserve USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
87 points
nice red sour fruit profile. a little underripe with a slight green streak. watery on the mid-palate, this has decent acidity and would go well with food. medium(-) sour finish.
Red
2007 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
93 points
nice berry fruit profile with blackberry and raspberry. some soft pepper and sarsparilla notes late on the midpalate. medium(+) finish is quite pleasant. a pleasure to drink this.
Red
2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
91 points
this wine surprised me, as i had an 07 alesia falstaff the night before and loved it -- i had even higher expectations for this. there were some serious green streaks in it at present (had ~ 2 hours of air before we got to it). i am hoping that it is just too young and this is actually a sign of more advanced structure than i typically see. it was primarily on the attack and then rounded into a lovely dark fruit driven mid-palate which led into a delicious finish. sharp acid here shows potential for aging. i will wait a while to open my second bottle and check in on CT notes to make sure it will be integrated.

Flight 3 - Syrahs (3 notes)

Red
2005 Pax Syrah Griffin's Lair USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
flawed
moderately corked. could have been drinkable, and i went back a bit later to check again, but definitely corked.
Red
2007 Saxum Broken Stones USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
96 points
decanted 4-5 hours. delicious, and insult added to injury when i got the e-mail the next day saying 'no wine for you'. beautiful dark fruit profile, with blackberry, boysenberry, and dark spice notes of clove and black pepper. this is a powerful wine, and yet avoids becoming a pure pleasure bomb, showing a modicum of restraint amidst all the fruit. long finish continues to show primary fruit. will continue to purchase on the secondary market where i can until i make it.
Red
2006 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
93 points
where the saxum showed restraint, this did not. loads of ripe fruit that has been overly extracted -- this was almost, but not quite, pushing into mollydooker territory for me in terms of the extraction and concentration of fruit -- in the good way, but also in the bad way of noticeable heat and cloying on the palate. (i may have been prejudiced by calling this a 'slutty' wine all night based on my past taste of it). long fruit driven finish.

Flight 4 - Dessert (2 notes)

White - Sweet/Dessert
2007 Ojai Viognier Ice Wine Roll Ranch Vineyard USA, California
85 points
simple and a bit disappointing (tough for the $11 i paid at auction, i shouldnt compain). apple, light honey -- a bit watery on the medium finish, which surprised.
Red - Fortified
2004 Mas Amiel Maury Vintage Reserve France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Maury
90 points
nice s. france dessert wine. pomegranate, plum, and some light smoke. long, port-like finish does not show the same heat.
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