Impressions from a Small, but High-End Tasting in Austin Last Night

Joe Valha, one of our fellow board members, was in town yesterday and asked me to participate in a tasting he was putting together. The lineup of wines he brought was unreal and quite frankly, if it wasn't for Joe's generosity, I may not have gotten to taste some of these. Either way, I figured I would post some impressions, as I didn't take formal tasting notes. Here's the lineup:

Pinot Noir:

2001 Dumol Finn Pinot Noir (RP 95)

This one was weird. Super-extracted with gobs of fruit, but I was missing the acidity I would expect to go with a wine of this pedigree. Reminded me a little bit of the 2002 Acacia Carneros Pinot. I also got this pineapple taste on the palate. Overall, I am surprised to have seen people describe this as burgundian on the board, as I think this is clearly a new world Pinot. Very complex wine, but not my thing.

Cabs:

2002 Pride Cab (RP NR / 2001 = 95)

Great stuff. Really nice nose, and what a monster on the palate. This one, IMO has all the signs of a wine that will age beautifully, but that still will be drinkable early on in its lifespan.

1998 Shafer Hillside Select (RP 94)

This is what I'm talking about....my personal WOTN. Despite being a '98, this wine was tremendous. Bordeaux-like nose yet distinctly California. Gorgeous bouquet, and silky smooth on the palate. This will age to be a great one.

2001 Lewlling "Wight" Vineyard (RP 95)

Another very nice wine. Different style compared to the Shafer, but nevertheless tremendous. Fine-grained tannins, a mouthfull of fruit. I personally think this has too much fruit right now to be consumed, but if you like'em fruit-up-front, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

2001(?) A Rafanelli

Great stuff. The amount of sediment in this bottle was something else. I understand that it is available only in very small quantities. Too bad.

1999 Guillam

I had never heard of this producer, but I really liked the wine. According to the person who had brought the wine, this winery is right around where Pride is. Very Bordeaux-like and smooth, without the explosive up-front fruit. An elegant and pleasing offering.

2001 Cellers Ripoll Sans Closa Batllet-Grattalops (Rioja) (RP 96)

OK. I must admit I am a Spanish-ignorant. I have not had many Spanish wines and even fewer Spanish wines that I liked. I thought this one was good, but frankly, I didn't get it.

Zinfandel:

2002(?) Turley "Ueberroth"

What a nose. Dried flowers, candied fruit, dried dates, dried raisins and fig. Definitely the most interesting nose of the night. Unfortunately, it didn't give me equal satisfaction on the palate. Simply too much dried and candied fruit and clearly heat on the finish.

Syrah:

2002 Pax Syrah (RP 95)

Yow. Nose of barnyard and horse maneur. Just what I would expect. This wine is so big on all counts (tannins, fruit, acidity) that it makes your tongue pucker, feel pelty, but still feel sweet and silky also. I am not a huge Syrah drinker, but this one I really liked.

2001 Alban "Seymour" Syrah (RP 95)

Another one of the barnyard and horse maneur noses. In my opinion, its nose was even more so than the Pax. On the palate, this one is a bit less huge and that makes for better drinking right out of the bottle. Most enjoyable.

I brought two great QPR Bordeaux (2000 Petit Bocq and 2000 Les Trois Croix), but with the lineup above, nobody was wasting their drinking on these Bordeaux. I could have brought Gruaud and the outcome would have been the same. Thus, I'll spare you the notes on these two wines as well as the notes on a 2001 Merlot from Italy that was tasted and that was not very interesting.

Thanks again Joe for putting on this show and for your generous contributions to this tasting.

SP