Jen's Fund Raiser Dinner

Max's Bistro, Fresno Ca.
Tasted Sunday, June 6, 2010 by Mrbuzz with 967 views

Flight 1 - Starters (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Chardonnay Flight (4 Notes)

  • 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Reuling Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Intensely young tasting, high acidity with slight tingle, little alc showing....but the rich smoky buttery fruit is enough to balance it out. A monster Chard, well mineraled, slight pine sol cleaner nose, should last a long time.

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  • 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Quarry Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Super dusty, chalky minerals, exotic honey butter, rich fruit with a citrus edge....well balanced. Best Chard of the flight!

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  • 2007 Kongsgaard Chardonnay 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Big spice and dripping with honey butter....toffee, pears, green apple tinge acidity...very floral with honeysuckle, rich, minerals. Loved this!

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  • 2003 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Ah oh....sherry on the nose? Little oxidized, but not off putting. Baked apple, creamy pears, honey, hazelnut spice. Good amount of crushed stone, lemon citrus...but the hot '03 vintage really was noticeable. The wine seemed to do a little better later on in the night, but definitely had some ox issue.

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Flight 3 - Pinot Noir Flight (4 Notes)

  • 2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Total KB here....huge floral sandalwood spice, candied wildberry fruit, underbrush, cola tingle, little heat. Big and rich....wonderful spice! Best Pinot of the flight.

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  • 2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    KB here as well! Huge sweet Xmas spice, fresh crushed raspberry/cherry fruit, dried potpourri. Wonderful!

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  • 2002 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Ten 92 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

    Not like the others in the flight.....really creamy like chocolate, somewhat tannic....wonderful raspberry torte, cake spice, plum, cedar oak. Not as tasty as the KB's, and not as I remember my last bottle.

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  • 2005 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir East Block 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Skunky funky nose.....lots of earth notes, mulch, dried tea leaves. Did come around, became quite interesting....very smooth wild berry fruit, herbal. In the end, this grew on me....liked it!

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Flight 4 - Calif. Rhone Flight (4 Notes)

  • 2003 Saxum Cuvée Rocket Block James Berry Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

    HUGE dark berry fruit, fresh crushed with Gobs of glycerin, dark chocolate, exotic wood spice, floral violet, very smooth and well balanced...especially for the 16.6%. Lots more left in this one.

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  • 2003 Saxum Broken Stones 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Rich chocolate brownies, dark berry fruit, dusty white pepper spice, smoked clove, creamy oak....all well balanced, yet powerful. Classic Saxum!

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  • 2003 Linne Calodo Sticks and Stones 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Sweet fresh crushed red berry fruit, somewhat candied, with a little tomato to it? Kirsch liqueur, licorice, florals, nice minerality....but more veggies than I like, but still tasty.

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  • 2001 Alban Vineyards Syrah Seymour's Vineyard 97 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    Believe it or not, my first Seymour's! OH YEA....Alban funk in the house! HUGE classic Alban smoky asphalt/tar, oozing dark berry fruit opaque in the glass, florals of violets galore, creme de cassis, beef blood, white pepper spice. Just gorgeously well balanced, full of terroir, tasty as hell! If I had this bottle alone by myself...it might merit 3 digits. In a mass tasting as this....a few points less.

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Flight 5 - Domestic Bordeaux Blend Flight (4 Notes)

  • 2002 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Shows more sweet herbs, some veggies, little caramel. Nice cedar tannins, some earth, florals....nice, but hoped for more.

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  • 2002 Peter Michael Les Pavots 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

    Very Bordeaux-like with leather, dusty dry tannin, dried herbs, deep dark spice. But you know it's not a Bord, because it has tons of fruit! Still quite tannic, wonderful florals like wisteria, dusty graphite spice. Super wine!

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  • 2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, Washington

    HUGE dry sawdust-like tannins here! Dark berry fruit...monster fruit underneath the wall of tannin. Powdery graphite, deep spice, violet florals, exotic woods. This wine at first was dry.....but it REALLY gained on me as a sleeping giant, and showed fascinating flavors underneath. I LOVED this wine! I should have spent more time on it. Needs more time. ++pts

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  • 2001 Ramey Jericho Canyon Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Very plummy, prunes, currant fruit....graphite tannin, cedar spice. Not up to par with the others in the flight.

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Flight 6 - Extra pops (6 Notes)

  • 1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Gorgeous leather, earth mulch, mint, currant, blackberry fruit.....smooth and dry lush tannins, wonderful cigar box spice finish. Loved it!

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  • 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 95 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    Still quite massive.....was going even stronger 12 hours after I opened it! Dusty mocha powder spice, creamy vanilla bean, smoked cedar, toffee. Huge wild berry, cherry fruit.....held hostage by a wall of dry powerful tannins. Needs more time, but tasty now, with room to grow.

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  • 2003 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir East Block 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    More RC cola than the '05 we also had. Smooth, well earthed, dried tobacco leaves, deep berry fruit, dried cranberry spice. Still quite youthful. Why didn't I do a side by side with the '05??? Great wine!

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  • 2005 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Larkmead Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Blind....this stumped me at first. I was getting Rhone flavors(meat, iron, earth)...little red wine vinegar? Can't be a cab? Later on, it began to come around....more blueberry, with a sour skin red berry...vanilla oak, barrel spice. Tasty wine...just don't tell me its a cab.

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  • 2005 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This was spectacular! Came towards the end of a long night...wish I could have spent more time with it. Wonderful dark berry fruit, rich, and held together firmly with amazing dusty charcoal tannin spice. Bold and deep flavors....Kirsch, smoked vanilla bean....all well balanced. Want to try this again!

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  • 1974 Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This was AMAZING! This was at the end of the night, so we were all pretty shot. Can't believe the age....it was so dark and young looking. Sourced from a very cold cellar. The flavors were of dark berry fruit, mushroom, wet leaves, dusty dry leather....still tannic. Had some interesting electrical fire thing going on....burnt leather. Very much alive....plenty of fruit and aged complexity. Again, wish I could have payed more attention to it. You could have painted a house with all the sediment!

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