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One Fun-Filled Afternoon Spent Poolside with Friends
Los Olivos, CA
Tasted August 26, 2018 by JonnyG with 282 views
Introduction
It was family day for our tasting group, with beautiful weather and fine contributions to the potluck. I provided the bottles, with the reds organized in pairs intended to pose a relatively restrained wine against a comparable powerhouse, based on reputation anyway, though I can say that perception mirrored reality in most instances.
Flight 1 - Assorted Whites for the Afternoon Heat (6 notes)
White
2014 Accendo Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
92 points
I don’t turn too often to Sauv Blanc, but was really pleased by this expression. All the expected flavor notes: citrus, grass, some tropical fruit and a fine acidity. What really made this work for me was the wine’s precision, a purity and balance that for me added some energy and seriousness to an easy drinker.
White
2010 Jermann Vintage Tunina Venezia Giulia IGT
91 points
I didn’t get to spend much time with this bottle, but the quick tastes I had confirmed for me that time continues to serve this wine very well. The crisp fruit is now complemented by a honeyed warmness, adding depth as well as texture. A bit clipped on the finish, but very enjoyable.
White
2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
89 points
Others enjoyed this more than I did. Fairly advanced and oxidative, but the fruit is there still, and rounded out with air. Notes of honeysuckle, cedar, white pit fruit and herbs. Missing the energy I noted in previous bottles. Drink up.
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White
2012 Sine Qua Non In the Abstract
92 points
A hard wine to wrap one’s head around, offering things very familiar and others that defy categorization. Fat and concentrated, with intense stewed apple, lemon, orange, mint and floral notes. Very good balance, medium finish. My reflections bounce between deeming this a hedonistic treat and a one-off curiosity, but in the end I can’t dismiss this as a serious wine.
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White
2011 Castello della Sala (Antinori) Umbria Cervaro della Sala
93 points
A stellar showing. The acidity that was excessive a few years back has settled down, leaving the wonderful, viscous fruit and minerality of this bottling to joust playfully for supremacy. Notes of underripe apple, almond, lemon and orange oil. Pure class. No rush whatsoever to drink.
White
2011 Peay Vineyards Viognier Estate
90 points
This showed much better than prior bottles, which were lean and ungenerous. Floral and citrus notes, a touch of apricot. Benefitted from air and warmer temperature.
Flight 2 - US Pinot Comparison (2 notes)
Red
2009 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard
94 points
Nearly ten years old, and firing on all cylinders. A seamless wine, absolutely no edges. Sweet cherries and plums, with touches of fennel and mint. Acid, fruit, structure — harmonious, confident, powerful.
Red
2009 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf Estate
93 points
At first somewhat austere and bitter, it took hours for me to perceive the quality of this wine, and when I went back to it the next day, it was even better. Beautiful, smokey red fruit, both sweet and tart, some orange peel and muted spice that rounds out the very long finish.
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Flight 3 - US Grenache Comparison (2 notes)
Red
2009 Keplinger Red Slope
92 points
Another wine I wanted to spend more time on, this showed a great purity of aromatic, black and blue fruit, complemented by a fennel aspect. Grippy and energetic. Florality emerged in the expansive, slightly tannic finish. Just entering the earliest stages of its drinking window in my estimation.
Red
2011 Booker Vineyard Grenache The Ripper
93 points
A fascinating, and divisive, wine, but one I really enjoyed despite the evident heat. There’s a place in my wine world for fruit-forward powerhouses when held in check by the wine’s energy and mineral backbone. Loads of bright red fruit, pepper and mild. Decadent doesn’t mean flawed, to me anyway.
Flight 4 - Super-Tuscan Comparison (2 notes)
Red
1997 Castello del Terriccio Lupicaia
96 points
Just a stellar wine. Possibly the best QPR red of my life, with each bottle topping the last. This has no right to be such a profound and complex bottle. Cassis, blackberry, some cherry, beautifully balanced. Sweet tannins emerge on the mid-palate and carry into the lengthy finish.
Red
1998 Castello dei Rampolla Vigna d'Alceo
94 points
Super-Tuscans indeed have a reason to exist, and not just my Bolgheri Syrah and Merlot favorites, as proven by this Cabernet-driven beauty. Why this estate remains below the radar in the US is beyond me, but no complaints. Here’s a 20-year old beauty, easily obtainable, and drinking in its prime. Plenty of cassis and sweet tannins, but with its accents of licorice and bay leaf, I doubt anyone experience confuses this with France or Napa. Found it hard to move on to the next wines.
Flight 5 - Aussie Shiraz Comparison (2 notes)
Red
1996 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone
94 points
Easily my best bottle so far from an auction lot I got about three years ago. The brett blew off quickly, and what a treat, smooth, pure and powerful, with loads of green and black pepper, some menthol and a touch of dark cherry. Velvety texture, smooth and rewarding.
Red
2003 Clarendon Hills Astralis
91 points
Presents as very young, in fact almost backwards. More liquor than fresh fruit, kirsch and blueberry, along with plenty of green pepper. Evident heat. Extracted and powerful, but will need time to show finesse, and with time may even display true elegance.
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Flight 6 - A Cannibalistic La-La Battle (2 notes)
Red
1994 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
95 points
My last of these, and the best performer — Wine karma anyone?! Plenty of dark red fruit, meat juice, pepper, some smoke and spice. Very expansive finish. A true classic.
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Red
2008 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
94 points
Just a baby, but the roadmap for a stellar Syrah is all there. Plum and fig, pepper, leather, some tobacco. Gained weight and concentration with air. Very long finish.
Flight 7 - US Syrah Comparison (2 notes)
Red
2009 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Thrill of...
92 points
So dense and concentrated, and while that’s no surprise, I found this as monolithic and unyielding a Sine Qua Non as I’ve had, even when revisited two days later. More blue and black fruit than red, showing a bit green, with the Viognier evident as well. Just too intense. Maybe with time?
Addendum: It took four days for this wine to open. That was anything left from a bottle that usually gets drained the most quickly tells you how inward and shutdown the wine was on Sunday, and no movement Monday or Tuesday. So here we are Wednesday, and there are some very good signs of life: dark blue and black fruit, smoke, and chewy tannins that expand on the finish. Patience required.
Addendum: It took four days for this wine to open. That was anything left from a bottle that usually gets drained the most quickly tells you how inward and shutdown the wine was on Sunday, and no movement Monday or Tuesday. So here we are Wednesday, and there are some very good signs of life: dark blue and black fruit, smoke, and chewy tannins that expand on the finish. Patience required.
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Red
2010 Ovid Syrah
95 points
Wow, it’s been a while since I encountered a wine that paired pleasure with seriousness as easily and confidently as this one. Neck and neck with Colgin for the best Napa Syrah I’ve had (though I am due to pop a Tynan, the upstart darling of the moment — fingers crossed!). No need for air. Rich, lush, smooth black fruit, plus a myriad of spice, bacon and truffled aspects. In prime drinking form, I can’t imagine there’s a hurry here.
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Flight 8 - Aussie Cab. Comparison (2 notes)
Red
1990 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch
96 points
Color me biased, and take this note with a grain of salt, but as an aficionado of Aussie wine, with an appreciation of its legacy, I am again humbled and awed by this wine. It tastes as if 8-10 years old, consistent with other recent bottles, and present as complex an array of Cabernet signature notes as I have encountered. Cassis, eucalyptus, some smoky sage notes and smooth, sweet tannins. Unmistakably of its place, and with a firm footprint in the global wine cartography.
Red
2005 Noon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
90 points
True to form, a crazily concentrated powerhouse, but as much as I wanted to love it, the heat and polish just aren’t my thing these days. Eucalyptus, mocha, baked raspberries and smoke. Opulent, structured, but veered over the top to my palate. Not sure I could ID as Cab if tasted blind.
Closing
Another instance of Italians and Aussies staying well in stride with French and US examples, if not outpacing them in terms of interest level as well as quality, but truly everything showed exceedingly well, making for a wonderful day indeed.