Community Tasting Note

RajivAyyangar wrote:

Thursday, January 14, 2016 - MS-style Blinds (6 in 25 minutes) at Californios (Californios SF): Brief notes:
This was killer - well-structured, with herbaceousness that I really enjoyed, and some nice development. Could stand to age for a long time. Score: Around 9.
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Full Notes:

Visual

- clear, just bright
- moderate concentration ruby with red at the rim, fading to garnet
- no gas or sediment
- moderate tears

Nose

- clean
- [forgot to note intensity]
- some signs of development
- earth-driven in nature
- fruit - blackcurrant, dried black cherry, dried blackberry
- herbaceousness - notable baked bell pepper, suggesting pyrazines from a Bordeaux varietal
- earth - there’s some baked earth
- [forgot to note florals]
- [forgot to note oak]
- complexity is moderate plus

Palate

- [forgot to note dryness]
- medium plus body
- medium plus alcohol - 14-14.5% (correct - 14%)
- high tannins
- elevated acidity
- echoing the blackcurrant on the nose, but mostly driven by earthiness and a fair dose of herbaceousness
- no signs of brettanomyces
- slight presence of new oak - pretty well integrated though. [forgot to quantify oak]

Initial Conclusions

- cabernet or cab-dominant
- use of new oak takes me to Bordeaux or California.
- Bordeaux blend with some age
- Napa Cab with some age
- alcohol is elevated which suggests Napa
- the intensity of cassis fruit isn’t as much as I’d expect from Napa
- so I think this is from Bordeaux
- Left bank, cab-dominant with merlot
- has some development, and is pretty ripe structurally
- 2010, based on the tannic structure

Final Conclusion

- 2010 Cabernet blend with merlot, Bordeaux, Left Bank, Classified Growth [didn’t specify Medoc, and didn’t specify what level of classified growth]

Actual - 2002 Viader Napa Red Blend - 51% Cab, 49% Cab Franc - Howell Mountain, 14% alcohol.

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