Dinner with friends

Last night, my wife and I were invited (along with one other couple) to friends for dinner. Our hosts are beer and bourbon people so we were assigned wine to bring. They also opened a couple of their own wines. The night was great with lots of great conversation, delicious food and some wine. While I wish they would have opened some beer or bourbon and left the wine to us, I did appreciate the thought and effort to try. In any event, it was a great night.

• NV Pierre Boniface Vin de Savoie Les Rocailles Brut de Savoie 90 Points

  France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie

  Second time trying this sparkling wine. It is very nice IMO. And for $20, a great value. Light silvery-golden in color. Lots of medium to small bubbles. The nose has a nice minerality. Also some lemon-lime qualities. On the palate, less citrus, more savory. Good texture. Easy to drink. Some depth to it. Nice finish with some fresh ginger notes. Very nice.

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• 2012 Sineann Pinot Noir Oregon 90 Points

  USA, Oregon

  Glass cork. Its coming along, but this is still a bit tight especially compared to a couple of recent 2014's. This is the base Pinot. Nice cherries, slight sour cherries on the nose. On the palate, this is big but one dimensional. Very nice texture though. Good finish. The crowd did not go after this, so a couple hours later, I tried a bit more. Much more opened up but still seemed to be holding a lot back. I would not be opening these right now. A couple of more years should serve this vintage well. YMMV.

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• 2006 Jaffurs Syrah Verna's 95 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Just a great showing for this wine. Everyone remarked about it and then, the bottle was drained in 15 minutes. Should have brought two. Purple in color, it has lost a bit of the shimmering quality. The nose is gorgeous. Deep, black raspberries, leather, grilled meats, black pepper and decayed meat. On the palate, wonderfully supple texture. Juicy black raspberries. Great balance. Deep. Layers of complexity but fresh and young with no signs of being old or even at peak. Kept getting better in my glass (I only got one glass). Just a great wine.

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• 2006 Hyde De Villaine Belle Cousine Hyde Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Bought a bunch of these on close-out a while back. It is really coming into its own, but probably needs more time. I believe this a "Right Bank" styled Bordeaux blend from Carneros. Purple/ruby in color. The nose is nice with dark cherries, spice, leather and slight cherries. On the palate, this is showing nothing old, but starting to show some maturity. Layers of cherries, dark cherries and damp forest floor. Nice texture. Good balance. Nice finish. Very food friendly. A hit at the table.

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• 2013 Noble Vines Pinot Noir 667 Monterey 70 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey

  Purple/ruby in color. The nose is generic. Not sure blind I would call this a Pinot by the nose. Sort of dark cherries. Also confectioner's sugar. Maybe some spice. The texture is full and not bad, but the taste is hard to take. This is very sweet. The finish leaves a sugary feel to it. I could not finish my three ounce pour. I searched for a way to dump this. Others (our host) at the table seemed to like this though. Not for my tastes.

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• 2013 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  One of the other guests brought this. He asked me what I thought and I said, great winery but let that rest for a decade. He said he had three and decided to open it. We gave it a vigorous decant into a water pitcher and then let it air for an hour or so. Inky purple in color. The nose has boysenberries, some graphite - very tight. Great texture. A wall of tannins and purple fruit. Very tasty but hard to get much detail for now. Lots of potential here but I would hold these for a while.

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• 2011 Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Family Classic North Coast 79 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  Purple in color. The nose has some cassis but a huge streak of green bell pepper with some celery. The palate matches the nose but the green is a bit harder to take for me. I have had this wine in other vintages and while its not a wine I love, this is not its best showing.

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Thanks to D & L!