The Blind Drunks monthly tasting

Our monthly tasting group met in Jody's father's garage, for a "garage" wine tasting and chili cook-off. The wines arrive in brown bags and are arranged into flights. The wines were tasted from Riedel Overure red wine stems.

• 2001 Palmina Friulano Bien Nacido Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Tasted double blind. Pale straw color. This sounds odd, but on the nose, there something reminiscent of flavored popcorn salts from my youth. Lush tropical fruit on the palate, short finish.

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• 2001 Inama Soave Classico Vigneti di Foscarino 89 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Soave Classico

  Tasted double blind. Muted nose, some soft fruit notes appear with significant swirling. Supple fruit on the palate, nice finish.

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• 2004 Thistle Wines Pinot Gris 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tasted double blind. Sweet fruit on the nose, some honey. Soft and interesting. Lots of tropical fruit on the palate.

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• 2004 Kunin Viognier Stolpman Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  Tasted double blind. Lots of floral notes on the nose of this one. Plenty of good, ripe fruit on the palate. I guessed Viognier, correctly.

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• 2003 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Napa Valley 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted double blind. Straw colored wine. Notes of toasty oak and faint vanilla. Flavors of oak, butterscotch and nice fruit. Oak is not overbearing - this is enjoyable. Easy to identify as Chardonnay from California.

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• 2002 Sine Qua Non Whisperin' E 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Tasted double blind. Light floral aromas on the nose, faint fruit note too. Nice fruit on the palate, along with some oak. Very nice.
  
  I guessed another Chardonnay here. This is why I love tasting in this format - no influence from the label. My first taste of an SQN. I liked this by a "+" over the Kunin Viognier (90+ pts vs. 90), but I wouldn't buy it at the current price of $110+.

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• 2000 Siduri Pinot Noir Arbre Vert Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tasted double blind. Ruby color. Notes of tea leaf and white pepper. Lots of red fruit on the palate, medium finish, slight tannins. I incorrectly guessed Grenache-dominated S. Rhone.

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• 2004 A.P. Vin Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Taken to March Blind Drunks tasting. The theme was garage wines. Served double-blind to the group, I was able to pick this one out as my bottle. Earthy aromas on the nose, plenty of lush, ripe fruit on the palate. Seemed to be well-liked by the group.

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• 2004 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Taken to March Blind Drunks tasting, the theme was garage wines. Served double-blind to the group, I picked this bottle out as one of mine. Again, well-received by the group. Soft earthy notes, followed by big fruit and tannins on the palate. The future bodes well for this wine. I have yet to be be disappointed by a LWC Pinot.

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• 2003 Dominio IV Tempranillo

  USA, Oregon

  Tasted double blind. Deep purple color. Plum and spice notes. Tasty, with lots of dark fruit, but overly tannic.

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• 1998 Vigil Cabernet Franc Solari Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted double blind. Initially, very muted nose. Swirling brought out some tea leaf notes. Soft red fruit and noticeable heat on the palate. I correctly guessed Cab Franc on this one.

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• 2004 The Galvanized Wine Garage Timbuktu Big Block Red 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Tasted double blind. Dark and thick in the glass. Coats the glass as its swirled. Dark fruits and eucalyptus on the nose, with blueberry and dark fruit on the palate. Finishes hot. Aussie Shiraz was my guess. It's a blend of Cab, Shiraz, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot.

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• 1980 Clos Triguedina Cahors Prince Probus

  France, Southwest France, Cahors

  Tasted double blind. You could tell when this was poured that it was dead. Brown in the glass. Raisins on the nose. Dare I taste this? I did...no flavor. Maybe this bottle was poorly stored, but this bottle was long gone.

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• 2003 Les Caves de la Colombe Côtes du Rhône 86 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Tasted double blind. Pale ruby color. Sweet candied, jammy raspberry notes. Follows right on through to the palate. Tasted like raspberry fruit wine.

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• 1999 Marchesi di Montecristo Nerelo Del Bastardo Vino da Tavola

  Italy, Piedmont, Vino da Tavola

  Tasted double blind. Red fruit on both the nose and palate. Has a nice mouthfeel, soft and well-balanced.

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• 2001 Clos Dubreuil 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. My first written comment on this wine was "daddy like!". Notes of plum, earth and tobacco. The palate is loaded with dark fruit, fine tannins and a nice finish. Bordeaux. My WOTN.

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• 2001 Château La Confession 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Tasted double blind. Deep color to this wine. Notes of blueberry, menthol and noticeable alcohol. Loaded with dark fruit flavors carrying on the finish. Incorrectly guessed an Aussie Shiraz.

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• 1997 Vigil Valiente 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted double blind. Ruby color. Some noticeable alcohol on the nose, along with menthol/mint aromas. Dark fruit on the palate, good structure and balance. 89/90.

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• 1998 Loxton Syrah Timbervine Ranch 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted double blind. Pepper and another very odd (not bad) aroma on the nose. The fruit on the palate is slightly tart.

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• 2001 Les Caves de la Colombe Côtes du Rhône

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Tasted double blind. Earthy red fruit aromas, leading to a plush, velvety mouthful of red fruit. Nice.

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• 2004 Trader Moon Zinfandel Old Moon [Old Vine] 89 Points

  USA, California

  Tasted double blind. Red fruit, mint and menthol notes. Bright red fruit on the palate.

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• 2002 Stag Hollow Pinot Noir Reserve 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Yamhill County

  Tasted double blind. Notes of tea leaf and tobacco. Palate was very balanced, with plum, dark fruit and fine tannins.

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• 1998 Carlisle Two Acres 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted double blind. Notes of pepper, menthol and noticeable alcohol. Good depth of fruit and fine tannins. Very nice.

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• 1998 Carlisle Two Acres

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  Tasted double blind. Two people in the group independently brought the same bottle, which even ended up in the same flight, right next to one another. This bottle was corked. Very educational to have the same wine side by side, one singing, and one corked. The difference is amazing.

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