San Francisco Wine Berserkers Offline

Radius, San Francisco
Tasted Wednesday, September 4, 2013 - Thursday, September 5, 2013 by aagrawal with 642 views

Introduction

A lovely dinner with some wine friends from wineberserkers. All the wines showed very well!

Flight 1 - Whites (1 Note)

A very enjoyable white burgundy.

Flight 2 - Non-Syrah (4 Notes)

My favorite among these was definitely the Etude. I love well aged california cabs with a bit of a green streak, and the Etude fits that description beautifully. All the wines showed really well, and I'm curious about how the Romililly will age. (I have no experience with the vineyard and if the acid integrates, it could be a beautiful pinot.) The Tempier is always a treat.

  • 1994 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (9/4/2013)

    Cork broke on opening with waiter's friend (use ah-so next time). Deep ruby color with only a little bricking for its age; nose is wonderful with some mint, blackberry, slight vegetal, eucalyptus; palate is full bodied, balanced with acid so it doesn't feel dense, integrated tannins, juicy black fruit, concentrated until just before the finish when it fades a tad; finish is medium length. This is a perfectly mature california cab made from before everything was over-ripe, superb to enjoy now. Not a superlative wine (could use a bit more complexity on the palate and not super-unique), but representative of what a well made California wine can become... pleasurable, balanced, and appropriately but not over-the-top fruit-forward. Still going strong, not drying out at all, with lots of life ahead. 93
    Day 2: Noticeable oxidation. Still delicious and I'm drinking it, but an unfortunate casualty of the wine dinner. Will try to drink my future bottles in one day. Lovely, lovely wine.

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  • 2010 Romililly Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    (9/5/2013)

    Slightly cloudy, light ruby color; very sweet and intense cherry fruit; palate is light, has huge amount of acid, nice fruit, simple, very young; tart finish. Very nice pinot overall, very young. If the acid integrates a bit and the palate fleshes out so it is less biting, this could be a great pinot. For now, a bit hard to drink but still enjoyable. 88-89

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  • 2005 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    (9/5/2013)

    Deep red-purple color; spicy nose, very sweet red fruit, nice nose but has a synthetic quality; palate has approachable tannins that still need time, pure black fruit, tapers off before the finish; med finish. Young California cab, needs time, won't be great and not made in my style. 87-89

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  • 1998 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine 91 Points

    France, Provence, Bandol

    (9/5/2013)

    Medium ruby, very little bricking; gamey, funky nose, red fruits; medium body, tannins still young and a bit drying, good red fruit, persistent flavor; medium finish. Good, but not superb. I liked this, but I don't think I liked it as much as some of the other attendees. 90-91

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Flight 3 - Syrah (3 Notes)

This was the flight of the night, and it was a very interesting comparison. The Hermitage was the clear runaway winner for me, not even close. The Cornas and Copain were very respectable though, and on any other night could certainly have been stars themselves.

  • 1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    (9/5/2013)

    My WOTN. Stunning nose with complex spice, red fruit, dense meaty nose, woodsy; medium-full body, superb texture, silky smooth but structured and fresh, superb complex fruits, persistent subtle flavor, red and black fruit; finish is smooth, long, balanced. Truly a superb wine, one of the world's best, drinking well now but with a long life ahead. 96+

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  • 1999 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    (9/5/2013)

    Funky, slight green, complex nose, capsicum; dense, young, still tannic, black fruits; finish is medium length, slightly drying. Not as well balanced as the Chave but still a very nice wine. Maybe a bit young, but also a bit drying already so unclear whether or not to age. 92

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  • 2007 Copain Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands

    (9/5/2013)

    Ripe red fruit, sweet; palate has nice red cherry and strawberry fruit, drying finish. Very young, almost hard to assess next to two great examples of northern rhone syrah. Comes across as a similar style but much less complex. 90

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