4th Saturday Group: Uptown Brown Bag

In honor of M&R's 21st anniversary, the August tasting was an uptown brown bag.

• 2018 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg 88 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Double blind. Pale color with a subtle bouquet showing stone fruit and apple notes. More of the same on the palate. Lighter in body and slightly soft on the finish. I was debating between Alsatian riesling and pinot blanc and ended up guessing the latter.

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• 2018 Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs 87 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Double blind. Pale color. Aromas of crab apple, white flowers and stone fruit. The stone fruit shows up on the palate. Drier style, slightly similar to WU1 but not quite. Seems more obviously riesling. Guessed domestic riesling from the Pacific northwest. 87-88 pts.

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• 2019 Wollersheim Winery Dry Riesling 89 Points

  USA, Wisconsin, Lake Wisconsin

  Double blind. Slightly deeper color than the first two with notes of flowers, spice and cardamom. Weightier on the palate as well, with pear and something just slightly tropical. Medium finish. Nice. Guessed viognier.

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• 2013 Saxum James Berry Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles Willow Creek District

  Double blind. Aromas of cherry, spice, currants and a hint of earth. In the vein of pinot, but not quite. Spic, cherry and red berry fruit on the palate. More red fruit as it breathes in the glass. Like a big-styled pinot, but not in other ways. Ended up guessing pinot...hopefully not an indication of how my night is going to go, but I digress. Best showing of a Saxum I have experienced, wit the overly ripe and hot/alcoholic qualities. (M&R)

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• 1999 Louis Jadot Clos Vougeot 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

  Blind. Cherry and earth, adding a melted brown sugar/molasses quality with air, along with Christmas spices. Soft and balanced, with cherry, earth and tobacco flavors. Develops mineral and herb notes and maintains the soft cherry fruit elements. Excellent. 91+pts. Easy to pick out in the lineup as our Burgundy as it was clearly pinot and much older then the other wines of similar color.
  
  This had been carefully and quickly double decanted off its sediment an hour before the flight was poured. It improved over the span of four hours before starting to fade at the end of the night.

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• 2011 Peter Michael Pinot Noir Le Caprice 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview

  Double blind. The last of the three lighter colored wines in the flight. Aromas of white currants, spice, florals and red berries. Cherry and red fruit on the palate, showing nice balance and finishes well. Shows more spice the longer it sits. During the tasting I remarked that this would be great with lamb. It reminds me slightly of the 2016 Chateauneufs, with their nice bright fruit, spice and balance, though this has less of the raspberry fruit. Still, I guessed Rhone. 93-94 pts. Not surpirsed to see a Peter Michael pinot...which only rarely to my palate end uptasting like pinot. A good wine, but not what I am looking for if I am reaching for a pinot. (R&D)

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• 1999 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Double blind. Shows just a bit of bricking at the meniscus with a deep core. Aromas of burnt embers, black currant, singed balsa wood, forest floor and just a hint of funky horse blanket/barnyard. Intoxicating, complex bouquet. Medium-bodied with soft, near fully-integrated tannins and flavors of currants, black fruit, plum and tobacco. Adds weight as it sits in the glass. Feels very much like a middle aged Bordeaux; I guessed '95 Graves, but should have realized the fruit was just a bit too prominent for Bordeaux. A terrific showing for this wine, courtesy of MM. 94-95 pts.

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• 1997 Ridge Monte Bello 94 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Blind. Garnet core with some bricking. Perfumed violet and flroal notes over currant, plum and spice. Just a hint of age bouillon in the bouquet which fades as the wine sits in the glass, but it gave the wine away as I had double decanted this an hour before the flight was poured. Nicely integrated and balanced, this shows red fruit on the palate, along with tobacco and spice elements. Long finish. Beautiful. Got better as the evening wore on and we revisited this during dinner following the tasting.

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• 2012 Herb Lamb Cabernet Sauvignon HL 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Aromas of dark fruit; quite syrupy actually. More of the same on the palate. Picks up a barbecue sauce-like smoky/sweet thing, a touch of molasses even. Fairly well-balanced in spite of the sweetness. Guessed syrah. Courtesy of R&D.

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• 2016 Mirror Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Double blind. Brown sugar, black fruit and herb aromas. Medium- to full-bodied, with candied black fruit flavors and a bit of sourness. Doesn't change much as it breathes, staying on the fruity/sweet side of the spectrum, but it's not sweet/fruity in a bad way. Guessed cabernet. Courtesy of M&R.

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• 2007 Ridge Monte Bello 96 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Blind. Black currant, violet, cigar box, spice and red plum notes. Full-bodied with medium tannins and abundant fruit on the palate. Long finish. I immediately knew this was our '07 MB, which had been double decanted two hours before the flight was poured. Easily the best wine of the 2nd flight. Gorgeous.
  
  This vintage has always shown well. Early on we went through half a case of this. Plenty of life ahead but this is just such a wonderful, easy drinking vintage of MB it's hard to resist the temptation to pull another cork right away.

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• 2012 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Rector Creek Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Double blind. Aromas of clay, vanilla and black fruit. Good fruit on the palate, with more of the earthy clay element. Opens as it sits, showing blueberry and chocolate qualities. Starts to show just a bit of heat too. Balanced; finishes with nice length and plenty of fruit/spice. 92-93 pts. T&L.

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• 2010 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Double blind. Opens with a weird chemical/plasticy quality, something along the lines of a new rubber ball. That eventually fades enough to allow herbs, black fruit and plum to dominate. Medium tannins. Good. T&L.

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• 2015 James Joseph Cabernet Franc Reserve 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Opened and allowed to breathe about an hour before supper. Dark fruit and herb notes, with soft tannins. Good.

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• 1997 Château Climens Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

  Courtesy of R&D, standard bottle, but just a bit off. Slight TCA.

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Many thanks and happy anniversary to M&R for hosting a fun tasting.