St. Patrick's Day Tasting
East Bay
Tasted Sunday, March 18, 2012 by aagrawal with 538 views
Introduction
Lessons learned:
-I don't really like grenache.
-Aged cabernet is awesome.
-Well-aged vintage port is awesome.
-Moderately-priced pinot often compares very favorably to moderate-priced versions of other varietals. I reliably picked these as the ones I would drink over their competitors.
NV Eagle Rock Vineyards Rare Red 3 - Grape Blend 87 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Red fruits, ripe, slight funk; palate is spicy, peppery, slightly smoky, palate has big read fruits. Very good. Actually, this is one of the few wines where I actually liked the palate much more than I liked the nose. 87-88
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2008 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red 70 Points
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway
Funky nose; palate alcoholic and unbalanced, new world, Aussie was my guess. Frankly terrible.
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2007 BearBoat Pinot Noir 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Grenache? Nose had sweet red fruits; palate showed good fruit, balanced, structured, moderate length. Very good. 89
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2007 Mazzoni Rosso Toscana IGT 86 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
Muted nose, structured palate. Enjoyable but simple and linear.
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2009 Bodegas Borsao Garnacha Campo de Borja 82 Points
Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja
Red fruits, a bit hot, syrah/rhone blend?. A bit tannic, but good now. Red fruit without much else. 82
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2009 Red Shed 80 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County
Hint spice, red fruits, closed? Palate young, tannic, big, and boring.
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2002 Greenpoint Shiraz 75 Points
Australia, Victoria
Rotten fruit on the nose, unappetizing, sulfured?; palate showed red fruit, simple but pleasant. Nose=50. Palate=83
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2002 Cedarville Vineyard Zinfandel 83 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado
Savory nose; insipid fruits, balanced, guessed a cab/merlot blend. Lacks the peppery qualities of zinfandel.
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2008 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz 84 Points
Australia, South Australia
Juicy fruits; balanced ripe red fruit. OK.
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2008 Santa Helena Cabernet Sauvignon Vernus 86 Points
Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley
Young cab blend, black fruits, nice overall. 86-87
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1985 Tulocay Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Savory red fruit; palate has balance, acidity, and freshness, but most of the fruit has dropped out already; nice satisfying finish. This is certainly over the hill but still very enjoyable. 89-90
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1985 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points
USA, California, Central Coast
Complex nose, spice, great remaining fruit; palate has great acidity and balance. One of my favorites of the night. At perfect maturity. 92-93
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2008 Kingston Family Vineyards Syrah Lucero 78 Points
Chile, Casablanca Valley
Overripe, unbalanced, unpleasant EtOH.
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2008 McManis Family Vineyards Petite Sirah 88 Points
USA, California
Red fruits, hidden; structured but juicy, balanced. Decent.
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1999 Cline Cellars Zinfandel Big Break 90 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County
Red sweet fruits; palate has great structure, good fruits. 90
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1999 Cline Cellars Zinfandel Live Oak Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County
More unbalanced than its counterpart, showing more EtOH, but great spicy fruit.
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2009 Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir 88 Points
USA, California
Bright red fruits, balanced, ready to drink now.
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2009 Artazu Garnacha Navarra Artazuri 87 Points
Spain, Navarra
Sweet red fruit; decent palate, balanced, good structure. Grenache is not my favorite grape. 87
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1985 Graham Porto Vintage 93 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
From a magnum. Light bricking, nose has lovely raisoned fruit; complex palate, just the right amount of sweetness, not overly hot, integrated tannins and structure, quite light and fresh on the palate (a good thing). Ready to drink now and excellent overall.
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