Wine Dinner

Wine club event, attended by the 8 founding members. The wines were drunk one at a time in the order listed.

• 2011 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja Rosado 87 Points

  Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

  Light in color and body, this was quite a different rose than the French roses I have more experience with.
  Aromas and flavors of strawberries with firm acidity, and decent length and complexity on the finish. This rose worked well with shrimp cocktail and cheese & crackers. Some may find the slight bitterness off-putting, but I viewed it as interesting.

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Appetizers of assorted cheese and crackers, as well as shrimp cocktail.
Then a green leaf salad with toasted goat cheese crackers paired with the chardonnay.

• 2010 Goldschmidt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Katherine Goldschmidt Crazy Creek Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Moderate intensity of color for a cabernet. The pleasant reticent aromas of blueberry and dark fruits slowly evolved as the tannins smoothed out and became more silky. A very pleasant easy drinking cabernet with a little bit of complexity, but weak on flavor. This is not an ager - drink now.

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• 2010 J Vineyards & Winery Chardonnay Estate 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Pale gold in color with aromas of oak and tropical fruit - pineapple, peach. PnP from refrigerator this wine showed well, with buttery oak as the wine warmed slightly. However, as it approached RT the oak overwhelmed the delicate fruit... drink this one cold!!! Not much fruit here, so don't wait too long to drink this one.

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Baked chicken and garlic scalloped potatoes.

• 2012 Yalumba Viognier The Y Series 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  Pale gold in color with mild aromas of peach and pear, some tropical fruit, which strengthened over time. Very flavorful with some sparkle, but without much body. Great QPR.

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• 2011 La Crema Chardonnay Monterey 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey

  Well balanced chardonnay with good fruit of pineapple, peach, and enough oak to balance but not overwhelm it. The oak became more apparent as the chardonnay warmed to RT. Overall tasty.

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The Yalumba muscat was paired with tiramisu, and the other 2 wines with brownies and chocolate cookies.

• NV Yalumba Muscat Museum Reserve 90 Points

  Australia, South Eastern

  Rich and syrupy sweet, but not overpoweringly so due to a healthy dose of acidity, especially paired with food. Aromas of dried fruit and cinnamon spice lead to a smooth finish with good length. This wine paired very well with tiramisu.

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• 2006 Joullian Muscat Hamburg 87 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Carmel Valley

  The pairing with dark chocolate brownies and cookies worked well, but overall this black muscat seemed flat and bland when compared with a fortified muscat and LBV port. Not quite a fair comparison I know, but it was what it was.

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• 1995 Warre Porto Late Bottled Vintage 90 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Good mellow port, with a long finish and touch of complexity. This port went well with dark chocolate brownies and cookies, as they seemed to mellow/meld together. A solid port, but nothing too memorable.

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A great time was had by all, and not a drop of wine remained!