Caribbean Cruise - Flights and Bottles

These are all wines tasted during my Princess Caribbean Cruise.

This flight ($25/pp) was tasted in the listed order with selected paired canapes.

• NV Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  (3/24/2013)

  Moderate strength nose of peach, roasted nuts, honey, and mineral. This is light bodied yet elegant, with everything in balance. The strawberry finish has good length.

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• 2010 Michel Redde et fils Sancerre Les Tuilières 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  (3/24/2013)

  Light in color, with lovely stinky aromas of grapefruit, melon, and citrus. Light in body and flavor and showing minimal complexity, nonetheless this sancerre has a lovely dry & crisp finish with amazing length.

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• 2011 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 90 Points

  Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Trentino, Valdadige

  (3/24/2013)

  Light green in color, with a strong floral and fruity/apple nose. Well balanced, with a dry finish.

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• 2006 Luce della Vite Lucé 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (3/24/2013)

  Nose of smoke and mild dried dark fruit, tobacco, and dark chocolate. The tannins are velvety smooth and inviting and the acidity is very much in balance, even without food. The finish is very long, with minimal/moderate complexity.
  Best wine of the tasting lineup -- very good!

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• 2005 Mount Veeder Winery Reserve 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (3/24/2013)

  Light in color for a cabernet, and showing its age. The nose has little primary fruit, but does show some dried fruit, currant, and cocoa notes. The tannins are quite firm, but this cab still drinks well now. The finish is long with a touch of complexity. Overall a pretty good cab at this price point.

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• 2006 Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 89 Points

  Chile, Aconcagua Valley

  (3/24/2013)

  Minimal notes on this one, the last wine in the tasting lineup. Overall a decent wine, with a unique smoky nose and flavor which came across as over oaked to my taste. The flavors also included spice, and red & black fruits. Moderate length finish.

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These wines were consumed with dinner, one bottle per night. The Serabel and Bolla Soave were purchased from the ship's wine list, all other bottles were from my home cellar and brought aboard in luggage.

• 2011 Serabel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  (3/24/2013)

  Drank bottle with dinner. A steal for a restaurant price of $31.
  Light in color for CdP, with an expressive nose of garrigue, and currant. Some complexity in flavor, with smooth (yet weak) tannins -- drink this within the next 3 years. The smooth finish lacks distinction, but paired very well with butterflied leg of lamb w/thyme and mint.

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• 1996 Schramsberg Vineyards Reserve 94 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  (3/25/2013)

  Wow. This pinot/chard champagne blend is drinking amazingly well right now. Golden yellow & clear in appearance, with a subtle and complex nose of green apple, apricot, nuts, peach, and toast. The aroma and taste of roasted honeyed candied nuts is exactly how I love my champagne blends. Loads of flavor and complexity are evident here. The long finish is soft in the middle and then bursts with flavor before slowly fading. Spectacular.

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• 2009 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir 90 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

  (3/26/2013)

  Drank 1/4 before dinner and 3/4 with dinner... this pinot went down slowly. Dark in color and slightly cloudy, this wine exhibited strong aromas of earth, dried fruit, and toasted oak. I would consider this pinot more burgundian than california.
  The strong acidity allowed it to pair wonderfully with food... just not so good on its own.

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• 2011 Bolla Soave 86 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Soave

  (3/27/2013)

  Drank with dinner. Not a good value at the restaurant price of $25. This wine does have some flavor, but almost no complexity. A decent wine to pair with food. Drink now.

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• 1984 Renaissance Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 93 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, North Yuba

  (3/28/2013)

  Birth year wine for my wife, consumed over several hours before, during, and after dinner.
  Prior to this cab, the oldest cab we've ever consumed was a 10-yr old bottle. So jumping to 29 years was an entirely new experience for us.
  Dark purple, with bricking on rim, although it still looked youthful. The aromas and flavors were of leather, oak, anise, spice, tobacco, and a touch of dark dried fruit -- much different than we've ever had before. The finish is long and drying. After dinner the finish was so drying it detracted from the wine too much for my taste.
  Overall a very interesting experience, and one we'll have to do again!

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• 2005 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  (3/29/2013)

  Purple in appearance with slight bricking, but still very youthful. Took 30-45 minutes to open up at all. Then a complex and unique nose of green/black olive, black cherry, spice, cinnamon, and floral notes. The flavors showed a beautiful balance of moderate fruit, acidity, and some tannins with a complex yet light mouthfeel. The finish is moderately long and sports some dark dried fruit.
  This CdP is drinking very well right now (to my tastes)!

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An excellent week of wine (oh and that cruise stuff was pretty good too :-)