Minneapolis Wine Club Does Highly Rated Aussies and some Bordeaux to boot
"Jan's Pseudo-place"
Tasted Saturday, February 5, 2011 by rocknroller with 720 views
Introduction
This was a night with some very highly rated wines, including both the Run Rig and the Apricot Block that had 99pt ratings from parker. The wines were all outstanding, but no 99 pointers for me. In addition we had a tremendous number of bonus wines. The wines are presented in two flights. The first is the planned line up followed by the bonus bottles. Wines were intermixed and not in this order.
Flight 1 - Original Line Up (6 Notes)
Flight 2 - Bonus Wines (6 Notes)
Closing
My highlights were the Penfolds Grange (my WOTN), Torbreck Run Rig (my second WOTN), and the Rauzan-Segla my third place wine. The group WOTN was the Apricot Block followed by the Run Rig. this was a fantastic night with some truly great wines. Thanks to all who brought bonus bottles and to Jan for hosting.
1999 Penfolds Grange 95 Points
Australia, South Australia
Purple color. Incredibly expressive and complex nose that evolved over the night. Nose shows floral, herbs with some eucalyptus, blackberry liquer, blueberry, evolving to to lose the eucalyptus, while still showing lighter herbal elements, earth emerges, sweet black fruits. The palate is deep and layered, but shows an elegance found in great wines. This is incredibly well balanced with layers of fruit balanced by velvety tannins and an fantastic 60++ second finish. My WOTN for its overall complexity and elegance. 95-96pts.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2000 Château Rauzan-Ségla 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Dark red color. Gorgeous Margaux nose that I could smell forever: perfumed, floral notes, great earth, cassis, pencil shavings, spice. The palate is deep and layered with excellent balance of black fruits, sweet round tannins and good acidity. This bottle had a short decant and continued to open through the evening. Really a classy wine. Pure pleasure in the glass.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue
2001 Torbreck RunRig 95 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Purple color. Nose shows great aromatics, loads of herbs, eucalyptus, spice, blackberry liqueur, plum, cassis, and espresso. The palate is dense, chewy, & concentrated with black and blue fruits showing with spice and pepper on a long long finish. The Viognier is apparent on the nose and provides additional complexity. Very well made wine. 94+ to 95pts. My #2 WOTN.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2004 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Dark red purple color. This wine did not show as well tonight, but was really on the up swing through the evening. clearly this is a wine that demands a significant decant, I recommend at least 4 hours. Creme de cassis, pencil lead, earth. Full on the palate with a long finish.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz Apricot Block 94 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Purple color. Nose shows persistent notes of blackberry liqueur, herbs, pepper, cedar, with subtle earth tones developing. The palate is extremely dense, big, ripe, maybe a bit over extracted. While this is an outstanding wine, I found it to be less complex than both the Run Rig and the Grange.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
2003 Gould Campbell Porto Vintage 90 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Dark purple red color. This was a second chance to drink this in about a week. This bottle had been decanted for about 2 hours and that definitely helped. Blackberry and licorice on the nose. Still some heat, but much better balanced and better integrated tonight. This is still young, I will cellar mine for 2-3 years before approaching.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue