| | The Vayniac Party! WLTV Store Tasting Four wines were poured, but I only tasted two due to the long line. Good thing I brought my own glass! - 1982 Château Calon-Ségur - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (3/30/2008)
Tasted from a double magnum at the WLTV party.
NOSE: Complex woody earth. Extremely delicious. Only a faint background barnyard. Still some soft fruit.
PALATE: Beautiful in every regard. Silky smooth tannins and mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Dry. Nice finish. JoeG: "absolutely classic old bdx." I wish I could have explored this further, I have no doubt it would have revealed more complexity. List price: $1500/3L (91 pts.)
- 2004 Château Valrose St. Estèphe Cuvée Alienor - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party.
NOSE: buttered popcorn.
PALATE: Medium bodied, slightly stronger tannins than the '82 Calon-Segur. Don't really like this nose. (80 pts.)
WLTV Episode Taping Everyone tasted along! The energy was as palpable as the riot of ambient wine aromas. - 2004 Château Lyonnat Lussac-St. Émilion - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Lussac-St. Émilion (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party live taping!
NOSE: Funky, a little delicious. Warm, woody. Not that much fruit. Some funkiness in common with Calon. I initially liked it... but I was soooo excited I'm sure the emotion of the moment affected my judgement. Not a lot of fruit.
Palate: weak tannins, a little black fruit, some bitterness on the back end. Medium-low acidity. When I took a proper-sized sip: a little unripe greenness, quite bitter, hollow. Low tannins. Finish - not great. 80pts. (80 pts.)
- 2004 Château Sansonnet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party live taping.
NOSE: Decent fruit, a little funk, creaminess.
PALATE: A little short on fruit. Short finish makes the tannins seem bigger than they are. Fruit ends after ~10 seconds, leaving acidity, then just tannins. (84 pts.)
- 2004 Château Clos St. Martin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party live taping.
NOSE: Smoke, campfire, fleshy, BBQ sauce. One hint of something really bad in the cheap merlot/altos hormigas wines. Don't know what it is, but it turned me off a bit.
P: Medium-strong tannins. The ample fruit makes the tannins seem less, but they're there. The finish is longer than the Sansonnet, that is, the fruit in the finish lasts longer in this wine than the Sansonnet. Nice deep fruit on the midpalate. 85? (79 pts.)
After the WLTV Episode Four Martini Cabs were made available after the taping. There was high demand for these old bottles (left from the previous day's episode), so I only managed to taste two. Joe's Car This is the life. Spitting out the window you get a blast of fresh cold air that's as invigorating as the swirl of flavors in the glass. - 2003 Sandro Fay Valtellina Superiore - Sassella - Italy, Lombardia, Valtellina, Valtellina Superiore - Sassella (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party, between the store party and Basilico's, with JoeG, DaveCanada, and GregO.
Color was fine, but the wine was quite oxidized. Probably just a bottle defect, but Joe exchanged it for a different wine, just in case. (FLAWED)
- 1998 Château Simard - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV party, between the store party and Basilicos, with JoeG, DaveCanada, and GregO.
NOSE: Some pyrazine and some cedar/wood. Tobacco, dry leaves. Salty ash - like cigarette ash, not sweet cigar/pipe tobacco.
PALATE: Very light mouth feel (watery). A little short on fruit. Medium acidity. Dry. 85 points. Interesting - don't like the greenness in this case. (85 pts.)
Basilico's So many wines! The food included excellent bread and three courses: Pasta, Slow-cooked beef with cabbage, and chocolate cake with cannoli. Notable wines I missed: Penfolds Bin 707, Turley Zin, '75 Cos d'Estournel (I heard it was oxidized). - 2007 Domaine du Salvard Sauvignon Blanc Unique - France, Loire Valley, Val de Loire (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: Major lime component. Pineapple, passionfruit.
PALATE: Medium acidity. good finish. Some residual sugar. Don't like the RS, but other than that not a bad wine. (78 pts.)
- 2006 Lailey Vineyard Pinot Noir - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara River VQA (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: Funky nose, some mushrooms, earth. Not that delicious.
PASS: Some floral tones. Light body, good acidity. Simple finish. Pass. (75 pts.)
- 2006 Horton Vineyards Cabernet Franc - USA, Virginia, Central Virginia, Orange County (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: pyrazine, some fruit, shallow, "tinny" (DaveCanada's term).
PALATE: Legitimately off-dry. Oaked. Simple and pretty bad. Pass. (60 pts.)
- 1996 Joël Taluau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil Vieilles Vignes - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
This is the second time I've tasted this - I brought it as my offering to the Basilico's tasting. Maybe didn't open up well (no decanter this time), or maybe I just liked it before because I spent more time with it. It showed well - balanced and not as tinny as the other wines. But it didn't stand out. Of course.... it's hard to pick up subtleties in that environment! (88 pts.)
- 1993 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
COLOR: Copper like no white should be, unless it's a 100-year-old Sauternes.
NOSE/PALATE: This wine was completely oxidized. (FLAWED)
- 2001 Cavallotto Barbera d'Alba Bricco Boschis Vigna del Cuculo - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
Nothing special. High acidity, lowish fruit. Low-med tannins. But when tasted with the pasta, the food filled in the "holes" in the wine, making it taste rounder and fuller and less tannic. (75 pts.)
- N.V. Childress Vineyards Pinnacle - USA, North Carolina, Yadkin Valley (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: Weird, not good, fake.
PALATE: Residual sugar. Simple.
pazzzzz (60 pts.)
- 2005 Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: Pineapple, honeyed pineapple.
PALATE: More pronounced honey tones, though I've seen honey completely take over the palate, and this was more restrained. Medium acidity, not as much as I'd like in a white with that much residual sugar. Pretty good overall, though a bit sweet for me. (83 pts.)
- 2005 Domaine Des Hauts Chassis Crozes-Hermitage Les Chassis - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (3/30/2008)
Tasted at the WLTV after-party at Basilico's.
NOSE: A little meat, luscious and creamy. Good fruit.
PALATE: Flavorful, hints of pepper, deep fruit. White pepper, blueberries, bbq sauce, slight mustard sharpness. Medium acidity, strong tannins. Nice finish.
OVERALL: Interesting and quite good. Reminds me a little of the Valderiz, but without the residual sugar. (90 pts.)
Although my palate died after the Des Hauts Chassis, and everything started tasting oxidized, it was a terrific day. |
