Merlot-based wines and Sauvignon Blanc at Lola

The theme for this tasting was New and Old World Examples of Right Bank blends and white Bordeaux. Wines were mostly served blind. The food at Lola was excellent again. I will be sad to see this restaurant close in October.

• 2008 Grey Stack Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Rosemary's Block Dry Stack Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley

  Blind White 1 - High toned lime zest passion fruit nose. Creamy texture. Rich medium bodied. Nuances of saline and pepper. The nose suggests New Zealand, but the palate somewhat surprises with its richer and more lush texture. Nice.

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• 2008 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc Icon

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  Blind White 2 - austere green bell pepper nose. Sweet lemon lime palate. Chalk. This is clearly New Zealand SB. The pepper on the nose was off putting to most of the table. I found it interesting, but didn't love it.

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• 2004 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux

  France, Bordeaux

  Non-blind bonus wine from Craig - open for four days - Stinky cheese nose. Oily petrol. Palate shows chalk and white fruits. John described it as a bit flabby, which I think is accurate. Medium full bodied, relatively low acidity. Eh, pass. May have been open too long.

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• 2005 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  non-blind bonus pour from Craig 2 - open four days - Bright nose shows touch of grass and cereal with some underlying fruit. Ripe fruit on the palate. The palate is rather dilute and watery, but overall this is open for business and creamy. Pretty nice for being open four days.

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• 2002 Jean Boillot & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Mouchère

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

  Blind White 3 - cereal nose with a touch of toasted nuts. Expressive hazelnut pear white fruit palate turning a little tight/oaky/acidic(?) late in the finish. Touch mineral and saline. Very nice. Good complexity.

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• 2003 Peter Dipoli Iugum

  Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol

  Blind Red 1 - Deep color with translucent edges. Ripe dark fruit nose with a touch of cocoa. Medium-full bodied and rather open dark cherry fruit with some late bark. Tasty. Thought this was a '98 right bank. Apparently 60% Merlot. The wine is labeled "Ugum" as well.

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• 1998 Vieux Château Certan

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Blind Red 2 - Deeply colored, a touch tawny and somewhat translucent. Smells decidedly old world with a touch of green over black currant. Fairly ripe black currant fruit. Waxy mint. Medium bodied. This is clearly Bordeaux. Nice. This came across as being fairly ripe and youthful to me, until we tasted it along side the next couple wines, at which point it seemed more evolved and the green quality became more pronounced in the comparison. Nice wine though.

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• 1998 Château Le Bon Pasteur

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Blind Red 3 - Deeply colored, pretty much opaque and youthful looking. Wooly black fruit and tannin nose. Ripe open black currant and wax. Lots of fruit. Slightly dry tannin finish. Nice. Coming across as much more youthful than the Certan from the same vintage that preceded it. Candidate for WOTN.

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• 2000 Château Clos de Sarpe

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Blind Red 4 - Deeply colored, opaque. Inky smelling. Bit reticent nose. Rather full bodied and somewhat tannic with dark fruit. Pretty good, but in need of a little more time.

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• 1998 Château Péby Faugères

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Blind Red 5 - Deeply colored, opaque. Some interesting minty/soapy notes on the nose (in a good way). Concentrated ripe black fruit. Some noticeable oak, but in check. Vanilla creme. Fairly fruit-forward and made in a riper style. Enjoyed this. Other candidate for WOTN.

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• 2004 Fattoria Petrolo Galatrona

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Blind Red 6 - Deeply colored, opaque. Inky. Sweet, slightly floral brown sugar nose. Rich dark fruit and brown sugar on the palate. This is quite good. Surprisingly rich and fruit forward. Nice. I thought this might be a Washington state Merlot. Price point?

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In addition to this wine, there was another dessert wine -Sauterne? that I didn't get notes on.

• 1992 Joseph Phelps Johannisberg Riesling Special Select Late Harvest

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Blind Dessert Wine - Oily Petrol nose. Clearly riesling, Medium-sweet fruit cocktail palate. Not really my thing, but I would not have guessed this was from California.

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