OCP4W VIII

A couple weeks ago a group of fellow CT’ers gathered at the Wine Cellar Club in Irvine, CA for the 8th installment of our Orange County Poker for Wine (OCP4W) series. Usually we do a themed tasting, and this time, with fellow CT’er and Berserker, Dave Smigielski, in attendance, we did a blind Grenache tasting. Dave brought a couple bottles of his 2008 Dacalier - De La Terre CA Rhone blend to the tasting, including one to throw into the blind tasting.

Coincidentally, Dave brought both of my favorite wines of the blind tasting: a cheapo Spanish wine that was my favorite (score!!), and his ‘08 De La Terre. As with most blind tastings, there were some surprises and some disappointments. At the end of the event, Bob (aka: fingers) opened my WOTD, the 2007 Clos des Papes, which might be the best CdP I’ve ever tasted.

• 2009 Curran Grenache Blanc

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  -- popped and poured --
  -- tasted non-blind over 15 minutes --
  
  NOSE: perfumed; some warm tropical fruits --- smells a bit like a musky chardonnay; moderately expressive.
  
  TASTE: intense and rich; alcohol is somewhat noticeable; a bit sweet; typical Gren. Blanc. flavors; medium-full bodied; sweetness is a bit distracting.

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• 2006 Tercero Grenache Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  – popped and poured –
  – tasted non-blind over 15 minutes –
  
  NOSE: hint of diesel; bit of cardboard; papaya; moderately expressive; a bit less expressive than the ‘09 Curran - Grenache Blanc that this was tasted next to.
  
  TASTE: medium bodied; sweet tarts/cotton-candy sugaryness; minerality kicks-in on the back end.

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• 1983 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  
  NOSE: kirsch; smells a bit aged; leathery spice.
  
  BODY: garnet color with a bricking throughout and at the edges; medium-light bodied
  
  TASTE: smoky; alcohol pokes through a bit; hint of pepper; some kirsch; nice, but seems to lack structure; good acid; no tannins.

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• 2007 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  -- 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah --
  
  NOSE: smells very sweet; a tad stemmy; HUGE wine; very ripe/concentrated; a bit oaky.
  
  BODY: dark purple color of great depth; full bodied
  
  TASTE: boysenberry; very ripe; smooth tannins with decent acidity; round; lacks structure; warm in the belly.

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• 2004 Domaine de Beaurenard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  -- wine was decanted for 5 hours before the event --
  
  NOSE: maple syrup; a bit of tar; smells ripe/extracted; black licorice with a hint of eucalyptus.
  
  BODY: purple-garnet color with a hint of bricking at the edges; (forgot to note wine's weight)
  
  TASTE: a tad oxidative; black licorice; slightly drying tannins; open knit; not built for age.

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• 2007 Domaine de Piaugier Gigondas

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  
  NOSE: very tight/closed; a bit woodsy and yeasty.
  
  TASTE: juicy; muted fruits; touch of leather; a bit hot in the belly; tight -- probably a young CdP; good acidity; 14% abv.

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• 2008 Herman Story Grenache On The Road

  USA, California

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: pure oak; a tad smoky.
  
  TASTE: very ripe; medium-full bodied; extracted; huge; not complex; glycerin; 16.1% abv.

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• 2008 Altovinum Evodia

  Spain, Aragón, Calatayud

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  
  NOSE: orange rind; spicy; stemmy; expressive; Christmas tree; I liked this a lot.
  
  TASTE: orangey; light-medium bodied; spicy/smoky/meaty; lower in alcohol; bits of red berry; good acid with a hint of tannins. This was my favorite of the tasting. 14% abv.

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• 2006 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Blonds

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: smoky; hints of tangerine and sausage; moderately expressive, but does seem a bit tight.
  
  TASTE: garent color with slight bricking; strong tannins; muted dark fruits; closed; thought this might be a shut-down '04 CdP.

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• 2004 Domaine Benedetti Côtes du Rhône Vieux Clos

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: a bit pruney; raisined; expressive.
  
  BODY: garnet core, becoming more mahogany colored towards the edges; medium bodied
  
  TASTE: ripe fruit; good tannin/acid balance; a bit loose; too ripe.

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• 2008 Denner Grenache

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  -- tasted blind over 10 minutes --
  -- 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Counoise --
  
  NOSE: earthy flower bed; smoky oak; matchstick (sulfur?); some earthy red fruits.
  
  TASTE: purple color; ripe; big; drying tannins; ripe boysenberry; a bit jammy, but has enough acidity to keep it from becoming cloying; 15.5% abv.

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• 2007 Core Grenache Santa Barbara County

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: port-like in a good way; ripe sweet red fruits; at first the Nose was laden with alcohol/varnish, but this did give way to that which I noted otherwise.
  
  TASTE: dark purple color; overripe; a bit port-like; oaky; HUGE; too big; massive fruit concentration; 14.9% alc.

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• 2008 Dacalier De La Terre

  USA, California, North Coast, Lake County

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  -- 81% Grenache, 14% Carignane, 5% Syrah --
  
  NOSE: minerally; earthy; smoky rubber.
  
  TASTE: medium-full bodied; drying tannins; leather; good acid; lots of leather; animale. This was my second-favorite wine of the tasting; was very surprised to see this as an '08 CA Rhone, as I thought it was old-world with some age on it; I don't think this will age well, but it's delicious today. 13.8% alc.

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• 2007 Delas Frères Châteauneuf-du-Pape Haute Pierre

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 15 minutes --
  
  NOSE: fruity; ripe; smoky.
  
  TASTE: ripe blackberries; underlying Spanishy funk/leather; decent acid; cherry pie; raspberry; well-balanced between acid and tannin; huge wine.

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• 2006 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  -- 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre --
  
  NOSE: ripe/huge; dark; smells young.
  
  TASTE: dark purple color; juicy boysenberry; alcohol; somewhate non-desript; sweet. 15.8% alc.

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• 2007 McPrice Myers L'Ange Rouge

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: not complex; big/huge; ripe; purple fruits; blackberry; hint of mineral
  
  TASTE: sweet; full bodied; "dark" tasting. 15.8% alc.

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• 2007 Domaine Juliette Avril Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: leather; spicy; dark fruits.
  
  TASTE: medium bodied; red fruits; good acid; thought it was the '04 Boisrenard CdP that I brought.

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• 2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: loads of smoky sulfur; some dark fruits.
  
  TASTE: full bodied; a bit smoky; dark fruits; earthy; over-extracted; a tad bitter.

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• 2005 Yangarra Estate Grenache High Sands

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: alcoholic; a bit port-like (nutty); dark earthy purple fruits.
  
  TASTE: very ripe; boysenberry jam; smooth; very jammy; fine-grained tannins; sooo jammy. 15.5% alc..

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• 2008 Stolpman Grenache

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  -- tasted a single glass blind over 10 minutes --
  
  NOSE: ripe purple fruits; seemed tight.
  
  TASTE: ripe and a tad overextracted; lots of plum; tannic. 15.6% alc.

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• 2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 96 Points

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

  – tasted non-blind over 25 minutes –
  
  NOSE: ripe; funky; dense; ripe boysenberry; smoky; could smell this for days; pretty freakin’ awesome.
  
  BODY: purple color of great depth; full bodied.
  
  TASTE: super ripe; leathery; spicy; good acid; blackberry/dark fruits/kirsch; ridiculous amounts of fruit concentration; huge wine; very well-balanced, which absolutely astounds me given the massiveness of this wine. 15% alc..; possibly the best CdP I’ve ever had.
  
  B: 50, 5, 14, 18, 9 = 96

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