Blind Pairs @ Howard's

Old Greenwich, CT
Tasted Saturday, March 15, 2008 by mdefreitas with 709 views

Introduction

Each person presented a blind pair of wines. Each pair contained a "special" bottle and a "QPR" bottle of the same general theme.

Howard C, Rick F, Mike J, Jim B, Doug K.

Flight 1 - STARTER WHITES (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Precise, sharp and nervy. Lemons, apples and a hint of custard. Very classy, almost Burgundian, with excellent length. A touch of minerals in the finish. WOTN.

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  • 2005 August West Chardonnay Rosella's Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

    Ripe, sweet pineapple other tropical fruits mixed with and copius oak spice. Round mouthfeel with a slightly astringent and jagged oakiness on the finish. Impressive concentration, yet could perhaps use more time to get the oak integrated. A bit too creamy for me.

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Flight 2 - DOUG's FLIGHT (2 Notes)

The Lagrange won by a vote of 6-0.

Flight 3 - JIM's FLIGHT (2 Notes)

The L'Aventure Esate Cuvée won by a vote of 5-1.

Flight 4 - MIKE's FLIGHT (2 Notes)

The Williams Selyem Riverblock won by a vote of 4-2.

Flight 5 - HOWARD's FLIGHT (2 Notes)

This flight ended in a 3-3 draw.

  • 2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Smokey cassis fruit. Some camp-fire embers. Grippy, deep, animal-like and complex.

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  • 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    A bit simple at first, with mosty cherry liquor flavors. Syrah? I voted the companion wine of the flight, the 2004 River's Marie Cab the winner of the flight, but with air this picked up weight and power. This became more dense and assertive, with the fine-grained structure nicely framing the ripe fruit. In the end, I gave it the same score as the River's Marie.

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Flight 6 - RICK's FLIGHT (2 Notes)

The Niño Jesús won by a vote of 6-0.

Flight 7 - MY FLIGHT (2 Notes)

The Clos des Papes won by a vote of 4-2.

  • 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 87 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    I think I might have decanted this too much (9 hours). When I first opened this up, the nose showed nice ripe red fruits, cracked black pepper and hot stones. A lot of the freshness disappeared after the lengthy decant, leaving noticable acetic acid, cough syrup and alcohol. Got a bit overbearing after a while. The score reflects an average of my impressions from both the time I opened it and 9 hours later.

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  • 2004 La Bastide Blanche Bandol 92 Points

    France, Provence, Bandol

    Classic Bandol. Dark, inky, blackberry jam, licorice and savage animal scents. Bright and lively on the palate with lingering animal notes on the finish. Yum.

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