Rhone / Rhone Ranger night

The group gathered together at Joel and Julie's for some short ribs and Southern Rhones. Rhone Rangers were also included in the theme, and many wines that didn't fit the theme also came along for the evening.

• 2006 Sea Smoke Chardonnay 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  Tasted from magnum. The nose had pear, apple and citrus aromas. The palate had green apple, pineapple, grapefruit and a little bread dough flavor. This wine had a big, round and slightly oily mouthfeel with a medium length finish. This was a very easy drinking chardonnay which was great because it was in a magnum format! A very fun starter wine.

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This worked out very well to get to taste two 04 CdPs next to each other.

• 2004 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  The nose of this wine had aromas of lavender, rosemary, thyme, anise and brett. Not much in the way of fruit evident on the nose at all. The palate had red fruit, damp earth and brown spice flavors. Very smooth mouthfeel, and a medium length finish. This wine had quite a bit of brett in it while the 04 Beaucastel we tasted next to it had none. I preferred the Beaucastel.

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• 2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  The nose had dark cherry, spice and vanilla aromas. The palate had darker fruit flavors than the nose suggested - most notably plum and blackberry flavors. This was full bodied, and the big percentage of Mourvedre (35% I think) was evident in the mouthfeel and long finish. There was no brett in this wine either, though I think it just hasn't bloomed yet. I really enjoy drinking Beaucastel when it is young before the brett shows up.

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This also worked out well to get to try two different Saxums next to each other.

• 2003 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  The nose of this wine had red and blue fruit aromas with eucalyptus notes. With some time in the glass, the red fruit aromas became somewhat medicinal. The palate of this wine shows its age with some very smooth plum and berry flavors and the eucalyptus showing up again on the mid-palate. This wine seemed fully resolved and ready to drink now. The long finish also ended with the medicinal flavors coming forward. This was a wine that I had wanted to try since reading that Robert Parker gave it 100 points in the 10/09 Hedonist's Gazette - although that was out of a magnum. I wouldn't call this near 100, or think that it will last much longer, but it was very enjoyable now.

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• 2006 Saxum Broken Stones 95 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  The nose showed blackberry, roasted meat, espresso and anise aromas. Just a really amazing nose that I really enjoyed. The palate had cassis, smoke, coffee and mineral flavors. Very full bodied with a huge mouthfeel and very long finish. This is a great bottle of wine, and one of my favorite Saxums that I have tasted to date.

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• 2004 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  No spritz in this bottle as I had worried about after reading so many TNs about this wine. The nose had bramble fruit and herbal aromas. The palate had plum and raspberry flavors with notes of earth and burnt charcoal. This wine didn't have a big mouthfeel like I had expected, but it had a very long finish that brought out some nice spice notes. This wine was in a very nice place to drink now I don't think there's any rush on it though.

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The Scarecrow was a planned deviation from the theme, and the WA Syrahs were all a nice compliment to the Rhones.

• 2006 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Not nearly as dusty as I thought it would have been, the palate had nice currant and cassis flavors with great balance and a very long finish. This bottle went very fast, and had a better showing than the past couple times I had tasted it.

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• 2007 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  The nose of this wine had meaty aromas with some dark cherry notes coming through as well. The palate really brought out the meat and spice notes, but cherry, vanilla and plum flavors were also evident but not entirely complimentary to the meaty notes. This just didn't seem to be all together yet. The meat notes were high toned, and again they seemed to be more like fried baloney than any type of roasted meat. It was full bodied and had a nice mouthfeel and a medium-long finish. I think that this just needs more time in the bottle to come together.

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• 2007 Betz Family Syrah La Serenne 93 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  The nose had roasted coffee beans, earth and roasted red and black fruit aromas. The palate had cherry and blackberry flavors with notes of smoke, tar, and coffee. Full bodied with a good mouthfeel and long finish. I'm not usually a fan of La Serenne until it has had a few years in the bottle, but this was drinking very well already.

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• 2006 Scarborough Syrah The Immortal Lewis Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  The nose was fairly reticent with just dark fruit and spice aromas being able to be coaxed out after a lot of swirling in the glass. The palate had red and dark fruit flavors with stemmy, and green olive notes. It seemed like there was a lot of whole clusters used in this wine since it was medium bodied and had a lot of greenish flavors. This isn't a style of Syrah that I enjoy very much, and didn't show well next to some of the full bodied Syrahs we tasted this next to.

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Sauternes for dessert wtih apple pie fits any kind of theme you can come up with. Always a great end to a meal.

• 2005 Château Guiraud 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  The nose had pineapple, apricot, and citrus aromas with a latex-like note. The palate had apple, lemon, lime and a little bit of honey. The mouthfeel was lighter than the nose suggested, but there was much more acidity to this than in most Sauternes that I have tried. Medium bodied with a medium length finish. I enjoyed this much more with a delicious slice of apple pie - that was a very nice pairing.

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This was another fun themed evening even though several of us don't have many/any Rhone wines in our cellars. It's always fun to get to taste these wth others who really enjoy them. I'm still not too sure about the Grenache based Rhone wines, but when there is more Syrah or Mourvedre in the blends, I start to enjoy them more. Hmmm... Maybe a Northern Rhone themed evening would be appropriate now.