Colgin, SQN, SHS, Saxum, Bevan, DP ++++

Last night my wife and I joined 2 other couples for a great night of friends, food and wine. We met at one of our favorite places and had one of the great experiences brought about by a common love of wine in which the wine took a back seat to the friendship and the food.

The wines were served in pairs with what seemed like a non stop flow of food.

We started with a flight of Champagne to get the evening going.

• 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne Andy Warhol Label 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  I was worried when I popped the cork. There was not much expansion of the cork. This happened to me a few weeks ago on a different Champagne and it was flat. No worries here, the wine was effervescent, but I do wonder if the bottle was off at all. I really liked it, but Tom F thought it a bit hollow. The nose is toasty with a slight burnt toast note. Great acidity. Lots of tiny bubbles. Long, long finish and quite smooth. Not a lot of fruit, but complex and interesting

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• 2008 Marie-Courtin Champagne Efflorescence Extra Brut 94 Points

  France, Champagne

  My first time trying this wine. Unique and quite nice. It is very light and spry on the palate, yet it is full bodied with a lot of fruit. Dry as a bone, but the finish has the tart citrus quality to it. I thought it more orange but others though lemon candy. Long finish. Not quite as layered, but the different fruits gave it an interesting complexity. Really a nice wine.

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Paul said his wife, Jane loved Sauvignon Blanc, so this was theme for our whites. It was a great pairing as they were both excellent, well crafted and could not have been more different in style or palate. A combination of winemaker and terroir, I am sure, but the wine geek in me, loved this comparison. If I had to pick, I liked the Cotat more, or at least found it more interesting. The group seemed evenly split.

• 2012 Bevan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Tench Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Another Bevan crowd pleaser. The nose explodes from the glass. Tons of grape fruit. very smooth on the palate. Lots of grapefruit and a creaminess that is lovely. Enough acidity to work with food. I imagine these will age, but drinking them young is what will make them special IMO.

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• 2010 Domaine Pascal Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre

  Really interesting to drink along side the Bevan. The nose is not big, but more seductive with minerals, lemons, honey and slight grapefruit notes. Slightly oily texture. Dry. Layered and complex. Flavors of grapefruit, blood oranges and a slight salinity. I think this will continue to improve for years.

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We started with the California Cab flights. These were different in style with most, but not all, of the group preferring the Maybach. It was just more of everything.

• 2005 Continuum Proprietary Red 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Gorgeous way to start off the reds. A nose of red berries, and cassis. On the palate, young but integrated. Soft smooth tannins. Layered red fruit with a charred under layer. Elegant. Lovely balance. Nice finish.

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• 2006 Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Wow. This is intense. Great nose. Lots of cassis, black raspberries, licorice, leather. Complex. On the palate, this is soft and easy to drink. Layered and starting to unwind. Velvety tannins. Long finish. Not huge but in that direction. Fantastic.

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I think the Colgin blew everyone away. I will say if we do this again in 5 years, the SHS might be closer, but the Colgin is going anywhere soon.

• 2004 Colgin IX Estate 98 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wow. This was way more than I expected. The nose is wonderful with cassis, cherries, dark cherries, pencil lead and slight blueberry notes. Complex. As good as the nose is, the palate is better. Smooth, complex, layered, gorgeous. Black currents layered with a charred element and integrated. No hurry on this, but just fantastic right now. My WOTN.

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• 2005 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  A wonderful wine if not quite the Colgin. There is a slight VA on the nose when opening but it blows off quickly. The nose has cassis, black raspberries, grilled toast and some pencil led. It is young and more monolithic at this point. Tightly packed, I would hold these for a few years. Still as the VA blew off and it unwound, it is a very pretty wine and more elegant than say the 01-03 or 07 (wines which I have had recently). One of the true First Growths of Napa IMO and always a privilege to drink.

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It was fun to have a Saxum flight. Tom was texting back and forth with Justin. I have a lot of Saxum in the cellar and occasionally wonder if they need to be drunk soon. But I have yet to find one close to over the hill, despite some naysayers predictions, they are ageing great.

• 2005 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard 97 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  The nose on this is gorgeous. Best nose of the night. Complex, black raspberries, bacon fat and leather. Perhaps not as good on the palate, but still an amazing wine. Drinking really well right now. No sign of age past shedding its baby fat. No sign of alcohol or heat, but it is a big wine. Layered, accessible black raspberries with enough acidity to balance the fruit. It worked just fine with the food. Every sip is delicious.

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• 2006 Saxum Broken Stones 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  There is a some VA on the nose at first. Noticeable, but after a few minutes it blows off leaving raspberries, black raspberries, slight blueberries, grilled meats, and white pepper. Layered, complex and delicious. Full bodied but a bit slicker than the Bone Rock. Great balance. Long finish. No heat or noticeable alcohol. Saxums, for m, almost always have this nimbleness on a large frame (think Ali) that makes them easy to drink and complex.

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So, Tom at the last minute, wanted to compare SQN with our Sonkin wines. I can't say that I was excited, but I did think it would prove instructive. I am sure I am biased but I do try to approach these things as a consumer wine geek. Still, when we all agreed the Persona had the better nose in this flight, I was pleased. Yes, the SQN was the better (I didn't ask the others), but I did feel that our wine at least had a place at the table and was not embarrassed. It is hard to quantify that feeling other than to say there is some satisfaction there. I am not trying to blow our own horn or stimulate sales (the wine is sold out long ago), but for us, it is part of the wine geek experience.

• 2009 SonkinCellars Persona

  USA, California

  Biased review, I know, yada yada. Still, its good to check in on them. I really liked the nose on this. Very pretty with black and red raspberries, some black pepper and a bit of charred meats. Velvety tannins. On the palate, this is still not at peak but drinking well While we all thought it had a better nose than the SQN, it is not quite as complex on the palate. Still, there is a there here and has some complexity.

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• 2009 Sine Qua Non Syrah The Thrill of... 96 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  This is young and despite a few hours of slow ox, it needs more. It opened up in the glass though. The nose has raspberries, black raspberries, and some black pepper. It is much more explosive on the palate. Complex with lots of things going on. Great fruits. Layers. great texture and acidity. Beautiful wine, but really needs to sleep a few years or a lot of air.

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Similar to the prior flight, this was fun and instructive and gives us some directions to shoot for. Despite my misgivings, this was cool.

• 2010 SonkinCellars Persona

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  This is brighter than the 09. Not as seductive of a nose, but just as nice, with lots or black raspberries, some grilled meats and white pepper. On the palate, I really enjoy the acidity on this wine. It makes it very food friendly. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of fruit and this is not a shy wine, but there is a component that makes this mouth watering. Probably closer to peak than the 09, but both are a few years away right now IMO.

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• 2010 Sine Qua Non Syrah Five Shooter 97 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast

  Wow. This is an amazing wine. I am sure some won't like this style, but if you do, this rocks. Black raspberries, blueberries, a bit of dark chocolate, smoke and black pepper. It is drinking well right now. It is a huge wine, but with a rich velvety texture that drinks well. I don't know if this will shut down, but it is unctuous and open now. Long finish. I get the argument that these may be too big for some food, but at this point, there is so much flavor, I had no issues.

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And some dessert.

• 2008 Kapcsándy Family Winery Vino Del Sol State Lane Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville

  Perhaps gilding the Lilly, but we finished things off with this. Dark cherries and raisins on the nose. On the palate, dark cherries, raisins, some coffee. This is really nice. It drinks like a cherry flavored port if that makes sense. Lovely thick texture. Warming without being hot. A nice finish.

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Thanks to Tom for setting this up. Hope to see everyone again real soon.