Chris Cannan Portfolio Tasting
St. Regis - Washington, DC
Tasted Thursday, October 20, 2011 by tooch with 539 views
Introduction
I stopped by the Chris Cannan tasting today to try out a selection of Spanish, French and Greek wines. I enjoyed the lower-tier reds and the whites very much but didn't find much to enjoy at the higher price points except a very enjoyable Clos Mogodor Priorat.
2010 Ulacia Getariako Txakolina 89 Points
Spain, País Vasco, Getariako Txakolina
Fresh citrus with herbs and melon. Light-bodied and stylish with intense minerals and white florals I could see this being wildly popular
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2008 Marqués de Irún Verdejo Rueda 86 Points
Spain, Castilla y León, Rueda
A medium-bodied verdejo that had nice balance. Had some banana peel and melon on the palate with smokey minerals. Medium-bodied.
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2008 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Monopole Blanco 86 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Minerals, melons and citrus characterize this wine with a smokey undertone that was pretty nice. Medium-bodied, not overly complex.
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2009 Domaine des Dorices Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Hermine d'Or 85 Points
France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Mineral driven wine that has nice citrus and white florals. Palate is lithe with nice smokey minerals, crisp acidity and good citrus tones.
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2006 Viña Herminia Rioja Crianza 88 Points
Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
A bit more feminine than the CUNE Crianza, this was more floral and red-fruit driven. Had nice lithe dried red florals on the palate, cranberry and some baking spices. A nice wine.
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2009 Viña Herminia Rioja 89 Points
Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
A very nice Tempranillo with spicy red fruits, some tobacco, earth and florals. Palate was medium-bodied with traces of oak, baking spices and a firm red-fruited core. Great value.
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2007 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Cune Crianza 86 Points
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
A relatively straightforward Crianza with burnt rubber, dark fruit and spicy dark fruit on the nose. The palate was medium-bodied with integrated oak, dark fruit and some nice florals. A nice value.
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2006 C.V.N.E. (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España) Rioja Imperial Gran Reserva
Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
Very tannic with dark fruit, cedar, and tobacco on the nose. Has some rustic components to the palate that I enjoyed, but the tannins made it feel like I was chewing on a wool sweater!
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2009 Domaine Saint Gayan Côtes du Rhône
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
Pretty simplistic with juicy red fruit, spices and dried red florals on the medium-weight palate. Won't blow you away, but enjoyable.
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2007 Clos Mogador Priorat 91 Points
Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
I was pretty turned off by its nose - dark plums, heavy baking spices, dark chocolate and toasted oak - not what I'm usually enticed by. The palate, however, was far more exciting. Despite the over-done nose the palate was balanced and as close to harmonious as I've ever tasted in a priorat. The flavors were still dense, but it worked for whatever reason. This had a sour cherry, dried floral, subtle espresso and clove spice on the palate with a tiny hint of balsamic. I'm sure this could age for decades...would be interesting to wait.
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2009 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Châteauneuf-du-Pape 87 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Ruby colored with a spicy red fruit nose. It also had dried florals and a nice mushroom note. Palate was medium-bodied and pretty nice - I thought the oak came through a bit too much, but it was incredibly noticeable. Finish had nice acidity.
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2004 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5°
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Interesting nose of charcoal, dried herbs, mocha, dark fruit and a perplexing radish flavor. The palate was dense and primary with the oak really coming through. It has dense dark fruit, baking spices, mocha, dried herbs and violets packed in there too. Hard to really assess at this point for me since the toasted oak was hard to get passed.
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2007 Bodegas Pintia Toro Pintia
Spain, Castilla y León, Toro
Another vintage of Pintia, another over-oaked mess. DENSE oak on the nose that blocks all the stewed black and purple fruit from really emerging (maybe it's a good thing?). Palate is incredibly polished, smooth with muddled dark fruit and not surprisingly incredible amounts of vanilla and oak. After a sip my mouth was coated with this palate-staining mess for far too long. I'm just not getting it at all.
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2007 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero
Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero
Dark color with a lot of charred wood on the nose. Vanilla, blackberries, and coffee also emerge as the major components. The palate seems overproduced with incredible weight with dense vanilla, cream, blackberry and charcoal tones. Not as egregious as the Pintia, but just too modern and overdone for my tastes.
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2005 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Vendimia Seleccionada
Spain, Castilla y León, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León
Another example of an over-extracted, overly synthetic tasting wine. Color is essentially black and I think Tanzer hit the nail on the head with the aromas of wild flowers, cherry-cola and dark fruit. I also picked out heavy oak and vanilla tones that made the nose come together in a dizzying melange of dense, clunky tones. The palate was tannic, muscular, and spoofy. It reminded me of drinking cherry-cola and whiskey...the smokiness of the whiskey and the synthetic cherry flavor of Cherry Coke. Actually, this was more like the vanilla cherry cokes I used to drink at a local diner near my house in Philadelphia as a kid. Sickingly sweet was great back then...not so much today.
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