Minneapolis Wine Club 3/06/10
Tasted Saturday, March 6, 2010 by Mattshank with 526 views
Introduction
This time around it was the battle of the Merlots ~ New World vs. Old. Not surprisingly the old world won in my view (and in group consensus). As always the wines showed well and there were no corked bottles although the first bottle of Pavie John previewed early in the day was corked, returned, and replaced thus preventing disapointment. We all know corked bottles happen but that's why we preview our wines. The event was fun and an interesting view into the stylistic variations of Merlot.
2002 Hurricane Ridge Cabernet Franc 89 Points
USA, Washington
Served as a mystery starter wine. Nose: Dark and red fruits. Reminded me of a CA Cab. Palate: Soft styled with mature fruit, some dusty qualities and a fair amount of sediment. Drink up.
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2002 Columbia Crest Merlot Reserve 89 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
Nose: Black fruit aromas and some subtle spice. Palate: Good spice up front with dark fruits and a clean finish. Decent QPR.
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2005 Château de Sales 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Nose: Fragrant stone fruit and traces of orchids. Palate: Good acid with dark and red fruits and a clean finish. Good minerality. While not quite as good as the last bottle tasted 12/24/09 this is still a beauty, but give it plenty of air.
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2003 Château Bourgneuf 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Nose: Allspice with some chalky mineral and inky hints. Palate: Soft styled with the chalky mineral showing with plums. Nice and tied with the '05' De Sales Pomerol.
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2001 Northstar Merlot Walla Walla Valley 89 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Nose: Coffee mocha with black fruits. Palate: Sweet black fruits with spice. Almost Zin like. A fun wine but very up front in style. Later in the evening this showed better but still merits an 89 for my palate preference.
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2003 Spring Valley Vineyard Uriah 89 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Nose: Dark fruits and anise. Palate: Dark fruits show with major spice. Interesting wine but a fair amount of alcohol heat on the finish keeps this under 90 pts.
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2004 Château Pavie 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Nose: Pepper and spice with black fruits and subtle perfume. Palate: Bacon and scorched earth with the black fruits and a solid wall of tannin. This was decanted for 6 hours and still is a closed monster. After John beat it up some more in the decanter we retried and it was a little more open. Either decant all day in a mag decater (at minimum) or wait at least 4-5 years before touching this wine. 94+ point potential with cellaring. My WOTN.
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