Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
Tasted Thursday, July 26, 2018 - Thursday, August 2, 2018 by rocknroller with 527 views
This was our first time venturing out for IPNC. We had a really fun group with Siggy, Candace, Lonny, Matt L, Jason and Tracy G, and Vicki and I. It was a wonderful experience to bask in the glory of Oregon wine country and enjoy talking with the winemakers and growers in such an up close fashion. The food through the weekend was outstanding too with many area chefs contributing to the event's success. It is also amazing to see the number of volunteers that make this event happen. A special shout out to our favorite flashy Somm "Ric Ecrane" who really made our experience fantastic all weekend long. Hopefully no one will glean his true identity. We'll be back at some point to do it all over again. I tried to document as many of the wines as possible. Many notes are very brief and gut impressions.
Northern Rhone Theme
This seminar was a focus on the Bella Vida and Temperance Hill Vineyards and winemaker influences
(7/27/2018)
Medium dark red color. Drank 1 glass over an hour. Slightly tight on the nose, subtle cedar, touch funky, deep red berries emerge with more dried earth. The palate is somewhat herbal, dill weed, red cherry, a little spicy, fine grain tannins, mouthwatering acid and a touch of citrus. Evolved nicely over the hour.
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(7/27/2018)
Medium dark red color. Drank 1 glass over an hour. In the style, deeper and more intense, love the nose, crushed flowers, dark berry, hints of blue fruit, vanillin, and the dry earth note emerges gradually. Deeper on the palate too, nice acid, tart dark berry, that gets brighter, hints of green tea.
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(7/27/2018)
Medium red color plus. Drank a glass over an hour. Very different, blood orange on the nose, stems, dark red fruit, medium body, tart and tangy, more tannnin, but still sleek, good acid, mineral, almost kir like in some ways. Somedidn't like this at all. I found it intriguing in a good way.
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(7/27/2018)
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. The nose is cedary, brambly almost mountain berry fruit; palate darker berry and black cherry, framboise, and hints of tart strawberry. Good, falls off a bit, as it appears to shut down.
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(7/27/2018)
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. This was singing, and singing my song loudly. Just a great nose, deeply earthy on the nose, what I call a classic Oregon signature, damp earth, perfumed, beautiful strawberry fruit. The palate is briary, sous bois, red raspberry, cherry, medium body and lithe. This is so tangy, with delicious ripe tart fruit, lifted, baking spices, and hints of blue fruits. Impressive showing and my wine of the trio.
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(7/27/2018)
Part of a trio of THV's from 2016 with Lumos, Walter Scott, and Bergstrom. This has even more fruit than the Walter Scott. Red berries, great purity and focus, slightly dusty and rather floral, hints of blood orange. The palate has dried earth, saline, cedarbox, great purity, herbs, medium body and harmonious. This may be the ultimate winner with some age. 92+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Light, simple, pleasant, pear.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Very pale straw color. Pretty good, nice acid, saline, earth and mineral, gooseberry, citrus. 88+ to 89pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Woody, wood spices, clove, subtle, light cherry, rose hips. there is a lighter bodied elegance here. Prefer to the '15 by a fair bit.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour Light medium red color. Dried herbs, slightly green, an interesting soil note, a little vanilla, tight, muted fruit.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I like this one, fresh, peach, very good. 89+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Not so much, herbal, grassy, tropical green fruit.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Red fruit, soft, spicy, a bit tighter on the nose.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Good, a fun wine, dark fruit core, resolved, might be a little past peak. Bethel Heights, Cristom, Kew Wright, and Penner-Ash collaboration. Just a really cool project that could maybe only happen there.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Tart cherry, herbs. A solid but not memorable effort.
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A focus on six wineries and the transition from one generation of winemaker to the next.
(7/27/2018)
Tasted a small glass. Medium ruby red color. Nice concentration, tart cherry, good acid, simple, clean and fresh. Well done.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Medium dark red color. Dry earth, more tannins, concentrated dark red fruits, nice and sleek. A step up from the Gevrey VV. 89+(+)pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Resin, wood, little bit sharp, red fruit palate, tight nose.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Lots of spice, black cherry, angular finish, firm tannins, ripe.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Nice. Dark tart berry, firm, licorice, young but promising, concentrated, 18 months aging, 20% new oak.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Alright now, nice open nose, tons of mineral and iron, firm round tannins, lots of roses and floral notes on the nose about 45 minutes in, deeper red fruits. 90+ to 91pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Slightly green and herbal, thinner, Palate better than the nose at present. Young, but I wasn't feeling it. Score reserved.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. In a better place than the '15, this has nice spice, complex, soil, mineral, ferrous, red cherry, very bright, good tannins, medium bodied, transparent, the fruit may be a little thin in the middle.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Medium red color. Solid, red to dark red fruits, briary, a bit brawny.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Medium red color. Lovely Volnay character, a nice mix of fruit and minerality, depth and finesse, blood meal. Gets better and better in glass. 92+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Medium dark red color. Just a lovely nose, very floral, rose petals, leather; nice acid, red cherry, transparent, fine tannins, mineral dense, medium plus body,long and resonant finish. 92+ to 93pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over an hour. Medium dark red color. Lesser known then Chenes, doesn't see the U.S. typically. Spice, sous bois, more feminine than the Clos des Chenes and very floral. Very good.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I didn't care for this, very typical central coast, herbal, stemmy, ripe, spicy, Dr. Pepper.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Very good, surprisingly open, earthy, nice red fruits. 90+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I like the nose more than the palate, it is rather earthy with good aromatics, the palate has a green quality to the darker tart red fruits.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. No details, very good already, nice upside potential. 91(+)pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I wasn't crazy about this, it was angular and rather ripe, maybe just at an awkward point.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Nice, pretty red fruits, a little more body than you might expect, nice texture, soft tannins. 90-91pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Solid, firm right now, but there is that purity of Temperance Hill that shows in the red berry fruit. I could see this getting better with a few years.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Oak, spice, riper cherry, forward, medium plus body. 89-90pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. A riper Cali style, but not overdone, medium full bodied, some vanillin with the ripe berry aroma and flavors, forward.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I expected to like this a lot more than I did, kind of so-so now. It was larger scaled, not really unexpectedly, quite a bit of vanilla now, ripe darker fruits, compote. I'd let this sit for awhile myself.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Oh, this is good, firm but with really good purity to the deeper red fruits, a little firm as you might expect, but this built to age.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. This was ok, bigger, spicy, a bit like getting worked over by an actual Percheron.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Medium red color. We both really liked this, ripe berries, but so deeply earthy and damp, balsamic, sappy red berries, but not at all heavy, delicious stuff. 91+ to 92pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Ok, unremarkable
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Nose much better than the palate; earth, floral, cherry. Not one of my favorites, but maybe some time..
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. First vintage was in '09. These grapes are some of Dick Erath's original plantings circa 1969. Very good already, red fruits, poised, graceful, fine spices and dried earth.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. I like this, nice red fruits, cherry, currant, good acid and very earthy, blood meal.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. This sharp and angular right now. Score reserved.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Good, light medium body, red fruit, fine grained with good acid.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Another one that needs some time to come around. Spicy, darker fruits, some grip too.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Excellent, great depth, medium red color, one of those pristine wines of sheer beauty that is already evident. These always age great and this will be no different. 92+ to 93pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasted, aromatic, floral, a bit pungent, ok
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(7/27/2018)
Tasting pour. Solid, earthy, pear, medium body, smoke.
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(7/27/2018)
Medium red color. Drank a glass over an hour with Chris Hyde. He was our winemaker/table ambassador for the Grand Dinner at IPNC. First of all, Chris is a super guy, very humble and genuine, and his wines are well made impressive examples what the Hyde vineyard can do with Pinot Noir. I found the style to be rooted in Burgundy and a far cry from what so often comes out of California these days. I appreciate the transparent style and mid-weight wines that reflect the terroir and respect the grape. This is earthy and well balanced; very complex and pure, with a lovely fruit expression while not being heavy and extracted. Some scorched earth and smoke too. The cool night breezes of the vineyard show through in the acid and vivacity of the the wine. The '15 Hyde we had earlier had the same profile, so this is not a one hit wonder. 91+ to 92pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Dark red color. Drank a glass over 45 minutes. More ready than the last bottle, this showed the same profile of deep red berry, soil and iron, with a distinct spiciness, but it was much more giving and lively. Probably still not all the way there yet, but this was a PNP. 91+(+)pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Medium red color. This bottle was opened about an hour before serving. Drank 1 glass over 60 minutes. Same bottle as Bellissino and the same experience. We've had this a several times now and it has been a consistent charmer to say the least. Great perfume, red berry, mushroom, currants, damp earth and soil infused minerality on a medium frame. This was rocking.
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(7/27/2018)
Small pour, no notes, but this was nice enough.
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(7/27/2018)
Small pour. PNP, Pretty good stuff, red fruits, good spices, wood tones, fairly mature and still in good shape. Solid. 89+ to 90pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass. Rather earthy, pepper, good texture, meaty on the nose, slightly angular finish. Good. 88+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over 30 minutes. Never had this cuvee before. Silky, great feel, spices, verve, a bit bigger in density, vanilla, dark fruits.
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(7/27/2018)
Translucent bricked red color. Randy was wandering around the grounds pouring this from a double magnum. Wow, this was head turning and gorgeous, aged and elegant, mouthwatering, orange peel, citrus, tart cherry, pomegranate., dried earth and florals. One of the highlights of the evening. 93+ to 94pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over 20 minutes. Good, firm tannins, bold cherry with some espresso, meat, oak. 89 to 90 pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass over 20 minutes. Good, spicy, pepper, a mix of dark red and black fruits, young though. Give it 18 to 24 months. 90+pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Small glass late in the evening. Spice, cherries, dry earth, medium body, nice tannins, in a good spot.
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(7/27/2018)
Tasted, no notes. 87+ to 88pts.
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(7/27/2018)
Drank a glass very late in the evening. We had been badgering our Somm supreme, "Ric Ecrane", to see if he could find us some DRC and low and behold he found what we suspect to be a counterfeit bottle of 1996 La Tache. The dead give away was the hastily crossed out Escarpment label and the Sharpie written "1996 DRC La Tache" over it. Names have been changed to protect the creatively innocent. Imagine our disappointment :). There was wine in the bottle, and I think it tasted like Pinot Noir from far south of the border.
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Host by Dr. Madaiah Revana and winemaker Brain Weil at Alexana Vineyards
(7/28/2018)
Dark red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Top 10 barrels of the Estate wine. To be honest, I was expecting more from this wine. In retrospect, I should have realized that a '13 Alexana was not going to be showing great yet. It is a cool vintage and Alexana tends to need some time to flesh out anyway and particularly in the cool years. This was further evidenced by the '11 Revana I picked up while we there for the salmon bake later that evening - it was much better two days later. This was very firm and structured and showing some heat too. Dark red fruits and oak spice dominate currently.
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(7/28/2018)
Purple hued medium dark garnet red. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Very young, wood, soft mouthfeel, spices and warmth on the palate, brooding ripe black cherry. concentrated, a big ripe wine with some heat presently. Hard to see through this right now. I'm reserving judgement for now, but as is 88 would be reasonable.
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(7/28/2018)
Light medium transparent ruby color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. This was the ringer in the bunch as it was the one wine with age on it. I'd never had this producer before, and I was duly impressed by this bottle. This has a classic Oregon feel to it, with that lighter weight, earthy with perfumed red fruits, floral with dried roses; on the palate this has a pretty red raspberry fruit, light medium body but plenty of energy and intensity along with some zippy 2010 acidity. I'd like to try more and see if this is a consistent style. Excellent, right in my wheelhouse.
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(7/28/2018)
Medium red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Very pleasantly surprised by this, earthy up front, tangy red fruits, a little vanilla, medium weight, has some grip on the tannins. It will be better in another year I think. Tasty.
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(7/28/2018)
Medium red color. Drank 1 glass blind over an hour. Good, red fruits, a bit more austere, soil, mineral driven, spicy, has some power and bigger structure, very young, very Burgundian. 91(+)pts.
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Guest Chef: Sarah Schafer of Irving Street Grill in Portland, OR
(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass upon welcome at Alexana. Easy drinking on a very hot day, crisp and lively, pear. 88+pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. 70% malo, 70% oak, 5% new. Very nice, medium bodied, just enough texture, still decent acid despite the warm vintage, crisp, cut pear, tart.
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(7/28/2018)
Deep ruby hue. Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. Herbal, red fruited, plush texture, plenty of spice. This is pretty darn young, but still good. I sense a trend coming here.
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(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. A slightly green edge, vanillin, dark red and black fruits, crushed rock. Again way too young as the trend continues.
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(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. Very spicy, black pepper, more acid than the East Block, macerated blackberry, ripe black raspberry. Also young and bold.
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(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass with lunch at the winery. Tart, racy acidity, white peach, white pear, petrol.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Totally captivating, alluring silky texture, damp earthiness, very pretty red fruits, elegant and impeccably balanced. Can't wait to see where this goes from here, stunning right now. 93+ to 94pts
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Just great, really looking forward to getting all over this at the Sparkling Brunch on Sunday.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Good, vanilla, red currants, straightforward.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. I like this, very young right now with firm tannins, medium weight, red berry, tighter on the nose, but everything seems to be there. 90-92pts potential.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Very tanninc now, red currants, sour, cranberry.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Very good, a mix of darker red fruits, licorice, soil and medium full bodied. 91(+)pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. I really like the nose here, very aromatic and enticing, but the palate is quite brooding, lots of wood, grippy tannins, dark red fruits. Has very good potential.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. This hit a cord for me, and maybe it was talking with Brian Talley while sipping, but this had nice red fruit, round and pleasing, with some tannins that will sneak up on you. Give this 12 to 18 months.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. From the estate vineyard planted in 1972, This had nice aromatics, sullen earth and a good core darker red fruits.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Similar to my previous note. This bottle was tighter and more firm. 90+pts
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Good already, red fruits and blood orange, medium body, spice.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Oh, this was really good, great structure, firm but not grippy, great forest floor character on the nose and palate, dark berries. 92+(+)pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. This had some blue fruit, blackberry liqueur, woody, some floral notes and dried herbs. Good, but maybe not my stylistic preference.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Really dank and horsey, and that's coming from someone who likes their Brett, also more thin on the palate yet it manages to be really grippy. The nose is better than the palate. 86 to87pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Dark fruits, modern, somewhat green, interesting meaty savoriness.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasting pour. Never had this producer and was impressed by this wine and at a good value. As the name would suggest, a selection of top barrels, vines planted in '74, '81, and '82 I believe. This was very well balanced, elegant style, medium body, red fruited. Very nice. Really nice people and a place I want to visit next time back. 91+pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Pale gold color. From magnum. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Northern Italy, 3400 feet elevation. I loved this, just great minerality, seething with ocean tastes and smells, tart, sterling acid, citrus. This a match made in heaven for shellfish and grilled fish.
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(7/28/2018)
Tasted. This still has a good nose, but the palate was dead and gone with heat and virtually no fruit. OTH, at least this one.
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(7/28/2018)
Medium dark red color. Drank a glass over 20 minutes. This was one of the library wines at the salmon bake. Have not had a Mondavi pinot in some time, in fact maybe never other than at the winery. This was a pleasant surprise. In good shape, nice big dark berry fruits, boysenberry, blackberry, and dark cherries, spicy, some warmth but not in a bad way, sauvage,
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(7/28/2018)
Light medium red color. Drank a glass over 30 minutes. Poured from a Jeraboam as Randy worked the grounds at the salmon bake. Another great bottle, maybe not quite as good as the '04 Signature the night before, but damn close. Amazingly complex spices seem to dance across the nose, wow, then the pretty red fruits and floral perfume joins in and mixes with some bacon fat as this keeps on singing. As good as this '07 is now, in this large format it still feels youthful on the palate. So if you have any 5 liter bottles of this at home, you might want to sit on them for 5 years :). 93+pts
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(7/28/2018)
Tasted. Very ripe, tastes more like RRV than Dundee. Maybe that's in part the vintage, but this thing is hot and presumably past.
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(7/28/2018)
Another salmon bake library wine that is long overdue. Pay the fine and move on.
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(7/28/2018)
Light-medium golden color. Drank a glass over an hour. Our roving Somm "Ric Ecrane" found our table to see what was going down. His timing was impeccable as we'd just opened this. To quote him: " We somms have a phrase for wines like this: "Good shit". You gotta loves the pro's technical descriptions. This was one of those "good" bottles of the '99 though. Really deep and toasty, sterling minerality, energetic white fruits.
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(7/28/2018)
Drank a glass over an hour. A super and earthy nose. On the palate very juicy and almost succulent fruits, tart cherry, soil, iron, darker fruits, some wood, and the tannins are coming around now. This may get better.
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(7/28/2018)
Had this also at the salmon bake. This seemed off to me tonight. I was getting a fair bit of heat and wood on the palate. We've seen some bottle variation on these with some previous storage concerns.
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(7/28/2018)
Dark red color. PNP, drank a glass the first night and again the following night. I bought this at our IPNC winery lunch at Alexana for that night's big salmon bake dinner. I was looking for something with a little age on it for dinner and this was the oldest they had. I prefer the cooler vintages so I was happy to find this. At the salmon bake, this was still very tight and showing firm tannins and some edginess. I took the leftovers with me figuring this may well need some more time. Well hey, did this ever come around for day two. It's a shame everyone didn't get to see it where it ended up. The nose and palate shows a mix of dark red fruit, along with a blue fruit tinge of tart huckleberry, anise, and a dense rocky mineral laden finish. There was a striking evolution of the tannins and wood tones with the tannins becoming quite satiny vs. the grippy mess they were day one. The sense of wood and a green streak has literally fallen away. A lot of 11's are good on PNP, this clearly was not. Give this another year or so or decant generously. 91+ to 92pts.
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(7/28/2018)
Capping off the night at the salmon bake. This showed lots of botrytis spice, baked apple, orange, orange peel, a little thinner on the palate tonight.
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(7/29/2018)
Tasted. Simple, cherry, good.
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(7/29/2018)
Drank a small glass over 20 minutes. PM based, tart, citrus, citrus pith, grapefruit, ginger, a bit more aggressive on the palate.
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(7/29/2018)
Drank a glass over brunch. I liked this, fairly fresh and lively, light ripe cherry, fairly refined with a touch of yeast and very clean across the palate.
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(7/29/2018)
Finished off IPNC at the sparkling brunch with one of the wines we'd looked forward to all weekend. Thanks to super somm "Ric Ecrane" we had our own personal bottle to share over the morning. This is a delightful wine. Everything I want in my rose Champagne is there in perfect balance. Year in and year out what they do is quite impressive. This is delicate and elegant while offering a creamy palate with vibrant and pure strawberry fruit, hints of almond, perfect mineral notes and a great lifted feel on a the long finish. 93+pts.
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(7/29/2018)
Pale gold color. Off the restaurant list. Very enjoyable, nice purity with white peach, melon, lemon and hints of lychee, mineral, medium body, very clean and refreshing. 90+ to 91pts.
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(7/30/2018)
Pale green gold color. Off the list at Newman's 988. I'm still liking this, loaded with tart citrus, minerally, gooseberry, tart green apple, more yeasty than I recall. Very solid.
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One word: "spit"
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2002 Lanson Champagne Noble Cuvée de Lanson Blanc de Blancs Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
(7/26/2018)
Light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour. This had another gear tonight, and I found it particularly appealing with toast, baked golden apples, brioche, and hazelnut. Medium plus weight, mature and showing its class. I love Lanson's BdB. 93(+?)pts.
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2008 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage Rosé 92 Points
France, Champagne
(7/26/2018)
Just had this last weekend and for the sake of completeness I'll share that this was delightful again. Didn't quite reach the same height, but that may be the setting and pairing, or lack thereof. I wish we'd have had this with the watermelon and feta-mint salad, it would have rocked. As it was, the raspberry fruit was quite distinct tonight. 91 to 92pts.
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2007 Didier Dagueneau Silex 94 Points
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
(7/26/2018)
Light gold color. Simply stunning tonight and a brilliant pairing to our oyster course. This has such focus and precision, it has balance to the nth degree. I love the earth, dank nose with crushed crustacean minerality, lime, citrus and wet stones. This adds a honeyed note on the nose that is quite captivating. This has such nice acidity, very pretty and it just resonates. SB doesn't get much better.
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2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
(7/26/2018)
Light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour. Outstanding, toffee, almond paste, poached pears, flinty, great depth and resonating texture; lemon oil, spice as it warms. Lovely. 93+pts.
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1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Côte-Rôtie Les Jumelles 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
(7/26/2018)
Dark bricked red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. Enticing nose of mushroom, wet leaves, soil, red fruits, pepper. The palate is medium bodied, well integrated tannins, cassis, anise, red cherry, graphite, damp earth and cedary spice. This bottle was in a good spot, and I don't think I'd push it a lot further.
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1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Flawed
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
(7/26/2018)
This bottle was ok on the nose, but the palate was suffering from alcohol, a lack of fruit and seemed disjointed. A bottle just a week or two later was exceptional.
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1995 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
(7/26/2018)
A classic bottle of Chave, mouth watering, gorgeous, translucent dark fruits, full bodied and impressive depth.
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2010 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
(7/26/2018)
Very dark red color. PNP, drank a glass over an hour. There's a mix of red and black fruit on the nose along with orange peel and peppered spice. The palate shows restraint, blackberry, fairly soft mouthfeel, pepper, spicebox, soft silky tannins. 91+ to 92pts.
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2014 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Stonessence
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
(7/26/2018)
Youthful, dominated by vanilla and oak right now, but round and buttery, dark fruits, nice tannins. Needs some time to sort it all out.
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2005 Château Rieussec 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
(7/26/2018)
From 375ml, succulent, tropical, coconut, pineapple, orange creamsicle, spot on and cruising along.
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