Private Tasting: Best of the US

Waterford Wine, Milwaukee
Tasted Thursday, May 10, 2012 by moods with 614 views

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • 2010 Folk Machine Pinot Noir Shapes/Shadows 89 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Potter Valley

    Very pale in colour, with light salmon pink rim. Sweet strawberry fruit aromas dominate, but there's some secondary earthy, savoury, smoky bacon character. Light palate, but plenty of juicy red fruit that lingers on thru the finish. This wine is drinking well now, so not sure there's much point in cellaring it. Delightful supper wine, or perhaps one for a lunch party.

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  • 2009 Adelsheim Pinot Noir Bryan Creek Vineyard 86 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

    Mineral, earthy nose. Cranberry fruit, slightly baked. Palate is very ferric, can taste the volcanic terroir. Behind that there's some ripe wild strawberry fruit, with a dollop of vanilla cream. It's undeniably a well made, very good wine. But for a $67 wine I'd have expected more oomph on the palate and not such a short finish. Maybe it's just my personal taste; not unlike the pinot noir grape itself, I can be a tad fussy at times.

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  • 2006 Calera Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan

    First off I want to make it clear the rating is time stamped. I'm thinking this will be a 93 pointer in 2-5 years. Looks and feels incredibly youthful. Dark colour, just a very slight tawny hint to the rim. Cherry, brambly aromas. Perfumed fruit, lifted with a herbal/eucalypt note. The palate is very tannic, with a great depth of fruit. Has nice level of acidity to provide some balance to what is still quite an oaky, chewy mouthful. It has tremendous length and plenty of life ahead of it. And as I said up front, will be more approachable in a few years.

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  • 2009 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block 90 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    You know you're in a proper tasting event when a $45 white wine is used as a 'palate cleanser' at the end of a flight of fine pinots! But this positioning doesn't do this wine enough justice. Fantastic nutty aromas, touch of butter. Weighty palate with a creamy texture. Minerality and zippy acidity. Lovely length. Thoroughly enjoyable, well made chardonnay.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

  • 2005 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District 84 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    Mineral, ferric aromas with distinctive leafy (tomato leaf?) notes. Possibly the cab franc? Green. Earthy and tannic on the palate. Just re-reading my notes, and I don't seem to mention much about the fruit. Hm. Well, it certainly is a little different from the Napa cabernet norm, and I suspect it'd appeal to many folks. But perhaps not my cup of tea, or maybe not quite showing its best when lined up against a couple of Ridge Monte Bellos. Benefit of the doubt? Sorry - I tried, I really did.

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  • 2007 Ridge Monte Bello 95 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Tasting was called Best of the US. This wine (IMO) is the best of the US. I'm happy for others to invite me to tastings to prove me wrong! Classic Bordeaux blend aromas - blackcurrant, cassis, tobacco, spice, touch of forest floor and truffle. Smoooooth and silky on the palate, with chunky black berry fruit. Oh so deliciously long, juicy and incredibly moreish. Not too sweet or overextracted. Lovely fresh acidity. Actually drinking very splendidly now, but I suspect will keep for another 10-15 years or possibly more (especially judging by the 1997 we tasted next)...if you can keep your hands off it!

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  • 1997 Ridge Monte Bello 92 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Notes of leather and raisin fruit. Secondary going on tertiary notes, with a little bit of meatyness. Palate is lovely and smooth, somewhat velvety in texture. There's flavours of coffee and mocha, with its ripe brambly fruit still present. The lingering acidity gives it a real freshness despite its age, and there remains a good chunky tannic bite too. Lovely wine, demonstrating well how Ridge Monte Bellos can age rather nicely indeed. Bravo!

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  • 2010 Buty Sémillon/Sauvignon/Muscadelle 89 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

    I love the complexity that muscadelle brings to a semillon/SB blend. This wine is floral, well perfumed, with grapefruit, citrus and some green fruit/veg aromas. Sweet fruit palate, but without being cloying mid palate, and finishes nicely dry. Quite full bodied and with a rich oily texture, but with a real fresh zippy lift from the acidity. Perfect for summer drinking.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

  • 2008 Andrew Will Two Blondes Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

    Hm. Rather closed at first. Initial aromas were vegetal - corn and leafy. Not a great start IMO. But...with plenty of careful swirling (9th wine of the night, hence the need for caution) it opens up revealing floral violet notes. Palate is soft, with a shed load of blackberry, damson and plum fruit. I think the 9% malbec and 19% cab franc do jump out at you from behind the predominantly cab/merlot curtains. Has those right bank Bordeaux characteristics. With time, noticed some chocolate in there too. If you're planning on opening this one soon, I'd suggest an hour or so in the decanter. One for the cellar.

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  • 2008 Buty Rediviva of the Stones 91 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    Yum, yum, yum. Intense notes of baked bramble fruit pie with a spoonful of vanilla cream. Contender for 'whiff of the night'. Sweet fruit, quite jammy, but I certainly don't mean jammy in a bad way. Distinctive peppery notes too, though strangely I got white pepper, others got the usual characteristic black pepper of syrah. Maybe I need to sniff more pepper. Anyway, palate had plenty of lovely fruit, with the acidity providing a lovely lift and balance to the ripe supple tannic structure. Noticed quite a good deal of minerality too. Complex, serious wine. Very well made. Perhaps not unlike a N Rhone - maybe a Crozes?

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  • 2009 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel Eastern Exposures 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Initially...aromas of rhubarb, apples, cloves. With a little time, some raspberry notes. Certainly very fragrant, in a home baked pie sort of way. Very appealing anyway. Palate is tannic and fruity. Somewhat medicinal (cough mixture?). But don't let that put you off, because it's a bloody good wine. Very nicely balanced, and certainly doesn't taste like many an alcoholic Zin monster.

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  • 2011 Robert Sinskey Vineyards Vin Gris of Pinot Noir 87 Points

    USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

    Nice finish to a great evening of fine US wine. Earthy, fragrant light strawberry fruit. Delicate, yet with sufficient intensity on the palate to bring out the fresh fruit character of pinot. Austere, mineral style. Sort of Bandol/Tavel. Actually really worked well as the palate refresher at the end of a predominantly red wine evening. That probably sounds cras I know, but hey ho. So be it.

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