2008 Pott Wines

Earlier this week, I met with Aaron to taste thru most of his 08's. That was Monday and the e-mail came out on Tuesday. I just got back home late last night and the Incubo is already sold out. I did not get to taste that one, but I guess I should have put my Order in while at the winery. Oh well, I can be very happy with the rest of these wines.

IIRC, Aaron had opened the wines the day before for his wife to try them. So, though not decanted, the wines had been open for 24 hours. They could handle that and more. These are some of the most backward wines I have tasted out of Napa. OTOH, they were not as backward as the 07 Arsenal, which is the only othe rpott wine I have opened so far. They all had a wonderful texture which to me is the sign of a great wine even when too young to fully appreciate now.

A big thank you to Aaron for taking some time to let me taste thru this lineup. I also tasted the recently picked 2010 Arsenal, Young Vyd, and Stage Coach Vyd wines. Obviously 2010 was a widely variant year, but these wines seemed to be right there at this way early date!

• 2008 Pott Wine Carignane Pour Ma Gueule Alfred Frediani Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga

  This is a GSM blend from 100+ year old vines. Earthy with raspberries and black raspberries. Lots of depth. Some tobacco notes on the palate. Also some heat. Long finish. Really interesting.

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• 2008 Pott Wine The Oligarch Hudson Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  This is very good but the "weakest" link for my tastes. It is a blend of 95% Merlot and the rest Cab Franc. The texture is just phenomenal and that may mean the wine is just hiding right now and will emerge with some age. It did seem to show a lot of green tobacco along with the cherries. Lots of tannins.

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• 2008 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Actaeon Quixote Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  I had just come from Shaffer and the parallels to this fruit (which is right night door) are unmistakable. This is complex and has great depth of fruit. Wonderful texture. Excellent wine. Apparently, this section of vines was just too old and under producing and has been pulled out. Too bad.

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• 2008 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Kaliholmanok Bel Canto 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  This has mostly cab with 1% each of Cab Franc and Petite Verdot. It is a huge wine that needs to be cellared for quite some time. Luckily, Aaron let em take the bottle which I then shared with Carrie, Randy and Ronnie. It really didn't budge much, but it did allow me to spend more time with the wine. It starts off slow and then builds toward and explosion of complexity and fruit on the palate. Very intense fruit that needs to unwind. My favorite of the tasting.

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• 2008 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon The Arsenal Greer Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  This was actually softer than most of the wines and seemed more accesible. Still some tannins, but lots of fruit and complexity. I would drink this now to 15 years at least.

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• 2008 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Neruda Brix Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  This is a big delicious Cab. It will need five years in a cellar to develop and be good for 15 after that, but seems the most "classic" of all the Cabs. Lots of tannins and lots of fruit and lots of deliciousness.

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