Mixed California Tasing

Tasted Saturday, August 13, 2016 by GoBlue2002 with 234 views

Introduction

Group of 12, with all wines provided by the organizer, although the gracious host through in a bonus bottle.

Flight 1 (10 Notes)

  • 2006 Roederer Estate L'Ermitage Brut 91 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

    Tasting pour. Green apple, juicy, slight yeastiness. More similar to champagne than say a vintage Schramsberg.
    Nice bright fruit.
    Me - 91, Wife - 90

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  • 2012 DuMOL Chardonnay Chloe 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Tasting pour. High toned acid touched by slight oak. Some richness.
    Fair amount of oak/butter, as well as stone fruit.

    Me - 90/91, Wife - 92/93

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  • 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard 88 Points

    USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

    Tasting pour.
    Odd bottle -- the group discussed whether it was flawed but in the end decided against it.
    Definitely Burgundian in style, but even so this just lacked fruit and acidity, although it did show some spice.

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  • 2009 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Tasting pour.
    Bright fruit (especially following the Rhys), well structured, lush, earthy w/great acidity and spice. Some notes of vanilla and smoke on nose - roasted marshmallow?

    Me - 92, Wife - 92/93 (but less balanced than others in lineup after returning, 91 pts)

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  • 2009 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Scherrer Vineyard Alexander Valley 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

    Tasting pour.
    Well balanced, dried & dark fruit. Smooth, and a more elegant expression of zinfandel than say a Bedrock or Carlisle. In this tasting format we actually enjoyed the wine much more than the bottle drunk last year. This seemed rich compared to other wines in the lineup (other than the Saxum).
    Me - 91, Wife - 92

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  • 2008 Keating Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

    Tasting pour.
    This is a burly steak wine with enough Napa fruit to keep it interesting. Smooth, integrated tannins.

    Me - 91, Wife - 90

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  • 2009 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 89 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasting pour.
    Even with a 3 hour decant this seemed tight, too young, and quite tannic. Hard to evaluate with a tasting pour, but in general this was not my preferred style of high-toned Napa fruit.

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  • 2009 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasting pour.
    Ya, more our style of cab - high toned ripe fruit, red fruited. This was PnP so a little tight/tannic, but man this is flavorful. However, despite a fair amount of tannins they were somewhat disorganized and didn't provide as much structure as expected.
    All that said, this is a fun Napa cab. Drink now, age, whatever.
    Special thanks to the host for opening this extra bottle for the group.

    Me - 91, Wife - 93

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  • 2008 Saxum Syrah Booker Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Tasting pour.
    Hard to evaluate at this point of the evening. This stood out as such a big wine, but seemed almost over the top compared to the other wines in the lineup. However, this was still our WOTN and the group's WOTN. I'd like to drink a full bottle of this wine sometime in order to better evaluate it. I am curious how this will age.
    Big, powerful, and tasty. At 15.8% ABV it was a little boozy, but the tannins were well integrated. If I were to have this wine with food I'd pair a nice juicy steak.
    The finish stood out compared to others in the lineup -- long, long finish.
    Thanks to Joe for sharing.
    Me - 92/93, Wife - 92/93

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  • 2005 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

    Tasting pour.
    Inky black, super spicy, secondary aromas and flavors (mushroom, earth), black fruit. Tannic yet smooth. An interesting wine.

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Closing

Group rankings:
WOTN: Saxum Booker Syrah
2nd place (far behind): Silver Oak Napa cab
3rd place: DuMOL Chardonnay Chloe

Thanks to Joe for providing such wonderful wines and the group for a great evening!

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