Mirabelle Restaurant Austin, Texas
Tasted Wednesday, December 9, 2009 by austinwinesalon with 720 views
After fourteen salons where the great wine regions of the world were discussed and sampled, by a group of sommeliers, wine and food professionals, and gourmands, we decided to change formats and go straight into a series of tastings, in small groups. Let the wines speak for themselves for awhile. We began with a series of unrelated flights of great wine to celebrate the holiday season, and our wine and food, as usual, was quite fine: a pheasant dish by James, cheese from Paula, sundry delights from Mirabelle, meat balls from Brian.
Showed very well, was quite seedy, herbal, and tart, with some ash and dustiness, black olive, leather, prunes, sour cherry. With high acid, it was a beast in its day and may still improve.
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This drank well, with simple but good fruit, some chcocolate and dried/lush dark fruit, dry tannins, a pleasant nose, perfect oak, a balanced palate, and a medium finish.
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Needed decanting, somewhat dumb, with soft tannins, weird earth, red berry, green, some prune, tar,and dustiness. This has more cab franc than cheval blanc in 1998 and after four hours it drank very well and softened considerably.
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Had dark fruit, earthiness, some tobacco, blackberry, cherry, even cranberrry fruit. Was balanced, big, and bold, a bit rustic but full-bodied and a mouthful - a favorite of the salon.
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A favorite of a 2002 middle Mosel flight, with a lean nose, some bright acidity, notes of green apple skin, lemon rind, mild honey; was crisp, slightly diesel, and gave a long slate finish.
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Had some effervescence initially with quince and citrus on the nose, and medium acidity. Notes of ripe grapefruit, cantaloupe, and some mango with a long sweet finish and high residual sugar.
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Was very savory and spicy, with thai, basil, lemon/limeflavors. It had low acidity for a riesling, some diesel and mineral notes. It was the most evolved of a group of 2002 middle Mosels tasted.
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Had bright, tropical fruit and less viscosity than expected. Some tasters were surprised how well it drank, with spicy apricot, quince, key lime peel,and very ripe fruit notes, with sweet, high acidity at the back-end.
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A simple, good dinner wine, with good structureand notes of cherry and plum. Pleasant but not much finish, a very good Bourgogne.
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How can a village wine better a grand cru......well, if it's a Dujac..... A favorite of the twelve tasters and an over-achiever, a village wine that ages well, with a very nice bouquet, and floral. Balanced, round, elegant, with a soft mouth feel, it seemed feminine. Had notes of cherry fruit with some spice, nice acid and tannins. Still developing but enjoyed by all.
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Another favorite of the dozen tasters, this is classic Nuits,with good fruit and grip. It had some cola and herbal notes along with dark fruit, some smokiness, was well-balanced and still young. Might be better in six years, though it had good length now.
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Was light and elegant, with flavors of tart cherry, pure fruit, some mushroom. This should improve with age, as it was complex but a bit shut down. Should have been decanted.
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Had low acidity and good balance, with flavors of stewed fruit, olives, and hay. Some of our dozen tasters liked this a lot, and others disagreed. The stewed fruit component was probably the differentiator in the debate.
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Did not have much nose but had great structure and elegance, with soft, ripe dark fruit and high acidity. It needs time so seemed a bit austere, and identified by all as young new world. Tasted blind.
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One of only two "major" Bordeaux wines that is a single grape (in ths case, merlot with the other producer La 'Fleur de Gay), this was tasted blind in a group of merlots. Way too young now, this wine improved greatly after four hours. Initially it was dry, and oaky, with graphite and mineral notes. It tasted more like a Pomerol than St. Emilion, though has bell pepper and vegetable flavors. Rustic, though well balanced and with much promise.
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Tasted blind, a favorite of many tasters as it drank well now. With a fruity nos and quite, ripe, it had notes of sweet black and red fruit, dark chocolate. It was a classic merlot with good acidity as it coated the mouth with cherry cola flavors. A nice food wine and the surprise favorite of this merlot flight, though it probably is at its prime and will not improve.
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The lleast favorite of four dessert wines in a flight, this might need time and definitely needs some bischotti. It had a caramel nose and flavors, with notes of apricots, Valencia orange, honey, and almonds. A bit heavy and hot, it might need more time to meld and balance out
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A favorite of the salon, and quite a bargain. It was the lightest of four dessert wines, with, good acidity and brightness. Well-balanced, it had a pretty, floral nose and notes of mango/pineapple/agave nectar, ripe apricot, and honeysuckle. Though the finish was rather short, it was refreshing, and would be wonderful at the beginning or end of a meal, with or without food.
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Controversial as some thought this wine was oxidized, some did not. For its fans, it had coconut on the nose, and notes of crème brulee, honey, sweet and savory, and some citrus. This was somewhat oxidized and other 1990's have shown much better; it had off-tones, less on the nose and more on the palate and finish. Still a treat to drink alongside vin santo, eiswein, and tokai.
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Bright, tropical fruit, with less viscosity than expected. Some tasters were surprised at how well it drank Had flavors of spicy apricot, quince, key lime peel, was very ripe fruit and sweet, with high acidity at the back-end.
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1976 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast 94 Points
USA, California, North Coast
Probably the favorite of the 24 wines tasted at this wine salon, it surprised everyone about how well it drank-- full and bright with black and red fruit, some raspberry and currant, high tannins, some cedar and mint. It was indeed remarkable in its structure and long finish. "Would steal it" a veteran server said.
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1992 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Montelena's 20th anniversary wine, this was a debated wine: some thought it lacked balance and had a glycerol mouth feel, others liked the tannins and the red and black fruit flavors This might improve but the tannins overpower some of the fruit that tasters enjoyed in our other Montelena vintages.
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1996 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Had a perfume nose, with rose petals, its tannins were resolved with good structure and lots of pretty dark fruit and spices; a bit chewy as it is still young. Impressive in its balance and flavors but needs time.
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2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Thjis was decanted for 5 hours, and we should have decanted the other Montelenas. Quite tannic and a classic Napa cab, was masculine, solid and a bit harsh; had good acid, much wood, over-ripeness, with notes of leather, coffee, earth, and plum. Needs years and to be left alone, but could develop into a classic, aged Montelena (like our 1976?)
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