Holiday Wine Tasting

Our new friends had a holiday wine tasting party at their house. Each guest brought a bottle that cost between $15 and $30. The whole group tasted these blind first, then they were all revealed and we tasted the ones we liked again.

These were the wines that were brought by all the guests. Some were good, some were not, but they all fell in the $15-$30 range.

• 2002 Dussek Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  Tasted blind at a holiday wine party. Well, I got that it was a Cab. That's a start anyway. This was my WOTN, and not just because I picked the varietal. A bit of a barnyard and cedar nose, and really big, dark fruit flavors and earth. Full bodied, with a very nice mouthfeel and long finish.

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• 2004 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva 90 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo

  Tasted blind at a holiday party. Flavors of plum, currant and mocha. Thought this one was a Cali cab. Really nice wine, and a great value. Much better than the non-reserve wines we tried from Norton.

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• 2001 Hogue Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Tasted blind at holiday party. Didn't get the best notes on this one, but it had good currant and cherry flavors and a smooth finish.

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• 2003 Pirramimma Shiraz 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Tasted blind at holiday wine party. Nose of dark berries with some spice and oak. Flavors of dark fruit, and some pepper and earth. Not nearly what I had expected from a McLaren Vale Shiraz in the WS Top 100.

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• 2003 Tsillan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Tasted blind at a holiday wine party. Sweet dark fruit flavors and something like peanut brittle or toffee. I thought for sure that this was a Shiraz, but nope... wrong again.

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• 2003 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon California 89 Points

  USA, California

  Tasted blind at holiday party. This was a easy and enjoyable wine. Good dark fruits and some earth. Nice finish. Great value.

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• 2003 Zenato Ripassa 88 Points

  Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Ripasso della Valpolicella Superiore

  Tasted blind at holiday wine party. Of course, I was very wrong on this wine. We don't drink a lot of Italian wines, but I did have this one before though it was a different vintage. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out what it was. Good cherry and plum flavors, with some earthiness. Good value.

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• 2004 Yalumba Mourvedre-Grenache-Shiraz Hand-Picked 86 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa

  Tasted blind at holiday wine party. This was only the second time I have had a wine with a significant amount of Mourvedre in it. I'm not a big fan of it. Some dark fruit, cedar and pepper on the nose. Spicy, woody flavors that almost seemed dirty. Just not my style.

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• 2004 Cafaggio Chianti Classico Villa Cafaggio 83 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG

  Tasted blind at a holiday party. This one was rough. Cherry flavors, but major mouth drying tannins, and hot on the finish. Not real pleasant.

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• 2003 St. Francis Zinfandel Old Vines Sonoma County 83 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Tasted blind at holiday party. Tough and tannic. Quite a spicy zin, that just isn't my style.

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• 2003 Stone Wolf Pinot Noir 80 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley

  Tasted blind at holiday party. This wine was light bodied, and also slightly hot. Didn't enjoy it very much. Most Pinots are lost on me. I like a bigger and bolder wine. This isn't my style.

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We had some of these before the tasting, and some after. It was a big wine night.

• 2002 Baer Winery Arctos 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Smoky nose with some dark fruits. Earthy flavors with more dark fruits and some licorice. I think that I'm starting to like the Ursa more than the Arctos now, but I didn't when these were released.

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• 2004 Mark Ryan Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

  Tasted from magnum. Nose of blackberries, licorice and some vanilla. Flavors of blackberries, currants and chocolate. Good mouthfeel and a long finish. This was a big, powerful wine that was still very easy to drink.

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• 2004 Gorman Winery Cabernet Sauvignon The Bully 91 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain

  This bottle came near the end of a huge holiday wine tasting. My notes were getting pretty sketchy by this point, but I really enjoyed this big wine and wanted to revisit it again when the foreseeable hangover was gone.

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• 2003 Pirramimma Shiraz 90 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Second bottle of the night. We had tasted the first one blind, and tried this one when we knew what it was. I did enjoy it more, but the spice and a bit of tartness made me wish we had held on to this bottle for a few more years before opening it.

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• 2003 Baer Winery Ursa 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Nose of dark fruits and some oak. Flavors of licorice and dark fruits with a nice mouthfeel. Full bodied, and really nice acidity.

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• 2003 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Nose of jammy fruits and earth. Big currant flavors and some oak. Mouthfeel was pretty good, and the finish was very powerful, but not that long. Good wine, but not the best value.

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This was a lot of fun, and really got everyone in the holiday spirit. We would really like to do this again in the summer.