Some nice wines after a day of wine tasting

I spent the better part of the work day tasting wines today. The reason? Every fall the local PBS station along with some of the wine community and Heinen's (a local grocery chain) put on a weekend World Series of Wine. This is a mass tasting designed for a good time. Many of the wines are entered into a competition and a group of local ITBers and consumers volunteer to judge the wines blind. The judging was today. After 4 or 5 hours of tasting, the sponsors serves us lunch and open some wines, mostly from the cellars of Heidelberg Distributors, one of the larger distributors in the area. The wines are served non-blind in a social setting and it is a very generous gesture on their part.

As for the tasting competition, my favorite wine was the Earthquake Zin. Always a good value and it really showed well. Blind, I guessed the Orin Swift The Prisoner (not too far off, but $10 less).

These are the wines I tried after the tasting.

• 2004 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Always a nice bubble. Golden in color. Clean nose, lots of small bubbles. Some lemon-lime. Nice clean finish. Could use more depth but a fun start.

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• 2007 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Had not had this in a few vintages. Very nice. Love the nose, earthy, some cedar, cassis. Complex and drinking well right now. Really in a good place. I doubt it gets better. Earthy, cassis and some tobacco on the palate. Nice finish.

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• 2007 Pieve Santa Restituta (Gaja) Brunello di Montalcino 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  I thought this was in a very good place. A modern take but not a fruit bomb. The nose is dusty, cherries, forest floor and very nice. Layered on the palate. Nice fruit within reason. Cherries and forest floor. A second bottle was just as good. This needs a bit of air, but it good to go.

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• 2009 Kapcsándy Family Winery Endre 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville

  I am a big fan of Kapcsandy and there is some relative value in this bottling. That said, it is a huge wall of fruit right now and hard to get thru. It seems like all the stuffing is there and has a lot of nice qualities, cassis, green tobacco, pencil lead on the nose, but is very young and if not shut down, it is hiding its depth. I would hold these for now.

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• 2009 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Proved somewhat controversial. It is what I used to jokingly refer to as Pinot Syrah. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and some earthiness. Great juicy texture. Palate matches the nose, more purple fruits than red. Nice acidity. An enjoyable wine for sure, just not the kind of Pinot I like.

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• 2008 Château Clerc Milon 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Nice to try this wine. I tried it on opening and later and it didn't matter a whole lot. It is just not in a great place right now (as one might expect of a good Bordeaux at 5). Still, the nose has nice smoke, cassis and some cigar tobacco. On the palate, this has a nice texture. Cassis fruit. Nice balance. I suspect another 5 years sees this improving a fair amount.

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• 2010 L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  I used to drink a lot from this winery but for whatever reason it fell off the radar for me. This bottle was outstanding. Plums, clay, coffee, raspberries and spice. Seems like a GSM blend but is there Petite in here? Serious wine but not over done. A bit of oak showing, but I think a couple of years will integrate. Great juicy texture. Long finish. Really nice.

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• 2006 Achával-Ferrer Quimera 90 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo

  A Bordeaux blend from South America. This had been decanted for a bit, not too long though. Toast, cassis, cherries and licorice on the nose. On the palate, raspberries and cherries with some oak. This is restrained and very nice. Nothing green here, blind I would have thought Bordeaux.

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• 2008 La Follette Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Nice wine. Lighter but that's not a bad thing with Pinot. Cherries and cherry juice on the nose. Medium bodied. Not super complex but some layering of cherries and earth. Nice finish.

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• 2010 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  I liked this quite a bit. Not really sweet, but I don't want sweet from a Kabinett. Great texture. Some depth. Balanced well. Wet rocks and minerals. Long finish. Clean and no petrol.

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