2006 Retrospective
Central Coast, CA
Tasted January 31, 2019 by JonnyG with 227 views
Introduction
A fascinating chance to check in on a wide variety of wines from a somewhat challenging vintage in many places.
Flight 1 - A Smattering of Whites (4 notes)
The Dauvissat ruled. In addition, we enjoyed three Rieslings served blind, but I didn’t focus on these.
White
2006 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru La Forest
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
Defying the odds, this bottle showed superbly at 13 years of age. It also defied expectations, insofar as maturity took this bottle closer to Beaune than Chablis. Rather than flint, steel, saline and minerality, we found a mature Burgundy of the Côte d’Or variety, with a savory, creamy texture and a hazelnut dominated palate, with touches of light citrus and marzipan. A real treat, and my white WOTN.
White
2006 Copain Roussanne James Berry Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Fresh and energetic, with a neat combo of lanolin and anise notes alongside some honeyed apple and ginger. At this age, the acidity is outweighed by the fruit, making it a touch flabby. An easy drinker with lots of life left, if lacking in the complexity department.
White
2006 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Fresh and showing plenty of energy, with a petrol-dominated, slightly floral nose (it was served bling alongside some Rieslings) and honeyed pears on the palate. Good tension.
Flight 2 - Pinot Noir (3 notes)
I found it interesting that all of these seemed youthful, yet lacked anything special to spark one’s interest either.
Red
2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
My second encounter with this wine, and the prior tasting (from a 375) was much more enjoyable. Flabby and undistinguished, with a clashing array of flavors: smoke, cherry cola and leather.
Red
2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Outperformed the KB Russian River of the same vintage, with an enjoyable mix of strawberry and framboise notes. Nothing memorable though...
Flight 3 - Grenache (3 notes)
Three radically differing expressions of the varietal.
Red
2006 Kenneth-Crawford Grenache Larner Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
A tremendous showing, at peak but with years of life left. A weightier expression of the varietal, with dark cherry notes and a spice backbone that energized the wine. Fine tannins. Expansive finish.
Red
2006 Sine Qua Non Grenache Raven Series
USA, California
Slow-ox’ed for six hours. The last, and least interesting, of my stash. Monolithic, dense and unyielding, with no typicity. A decant would have helped, but would not have transformed it I’m sure. Smoke, mocha, some candied fruit, but all subordinated to a density that made this a difficult wine to enjoy.
Red
2006 Argiolas Turriga Isola dei Nuraghi IGT
Italy, Sardinia, Isola dei Nuraghi IGT
My first of the vintage. Not a very representative Turriga, but super-interesting in its own right, and delicious. Nose of herbs and mild menthol. More of the same on the palate, chewy and spice-driven. Additional notes of sage, rosemary and cherry. Very long, expansive finish. Real upside from here.
Flight 4 - CdP (3 notes)
A killer flight. The Beaucastel stood out above the rest, though.
Red
2006 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Part of a killer CdP flight, which didn’t serve this wine well in that the others outperformed. Good typicity, with tart red fruit, some smokiness and game. Somewhat lightweight, and dried out on the finish.
Red
2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
My first of these in more than five years. This bottle was just singing. Floral notes and bright red fruit, some leather and charred meats, delineated and perfectly balanced. Explosive finish, which bodes well for the future.
Flight 5 - Five California Syrahs (5 notes)
Perhaps we were too deep into an ambitious night to appreciate these, and none distinguished themselves, save for the AMV, but that had the benefit of nearly 24 hours to open up. I wouldn’t have thought all of these Cali Syrah would remain this youthful after thirteen years.
Red
2006 Carlisle Syrah Russian River Valley
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Dense, monolithic and a bit lifeless. Notes of kirsch and mocha. Surely not still developing at this age, so an unsatisfying wine for me.
Red
2006 Jonata Winery La Sangre de Jonata
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
A wine I’ve loved in the past, but this bottle bore no resemblance. Whereas before I found freshness and power, with layers of texture dark fruit, tonight the wine was dense and impenetrable. I can’t imagine even a lengthy decant would have changed it so I’ll call it flawed. No rating for this one in any case.
Red
2006 Andrew Murray Syrah Thompson Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Popped and poured. Somewhat elusive on night one: green pepper, some sweet oak, a touch of garrique. Really came into balance on the next day, with more black than green pepper, less pronounced oak and a sort of candied fig aspect I quite liked.
Flight 6 - Two More for the Road (2 notes)
Closing
Very few clunkers, and surprisingly few wines past (or even at) peak. Cheers to our friend for organizing such an enjoyable evening.
© 2003-24 CellarTracker! LLC.