Beautiful nose -- Joel is spot on with lemon/orange rind. There's a bit of fresh fig, some melon, and a floral note. Nice balance and finish to the wine, price considered. A terrific value.
Still garnet core but bricking at the rim. Licorice and bretty band-aid aromas dominate initially. The funk does blow off to reveal a very pretty nose that adds current bush and flowers to anise. The fruit is really sweet and mouth filling, but like so many other '83s, the tannins are still a little chunky and coarse. The wine gradually faded over the course of the tasting -- but, when it was on, what a treat. Contender for wine-of-the-tasting.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Deep garnet color to the rim. The nose shows a bit of heat and a lot of really ripe (bordering on stewed) plummy fruit. The wine is rich, lush, alcoholic, and long. There's something creamy to it suggesting oak. A little less stewiness and heat and this would be fantastic. A bit of a modern slant here -- I would be interested to know if this wine saw any new oak. A nice wine and a particularly solid 1999 CdP.
More than a bit of funk -- a big step down from the 1999 flight from last week. There seemed to be a really nice wine underneath the funkiness -- but, it was obscured with horsey aromas and dirty socks. It became less and less enjoyable as time passed. Not recommended.
Quite modern in style with a lot of oaky coffee / dark chocolate notes over very ripe, rich dark plummy fruit. Some greenness to the wine adds some interest. The wine is balanced and maintains freshness despite being quite ripe. Good finish. Not particularly Graves-like at this early stage. This one will be interesting to follow.
I've had this several times in the past couple of years and this bottle seems to have put on some weight, with some even guessing California and even Australia. I thought it was a 2000 St. Emilion, which does suggest this is continuing to develop in a very positive way. Now, if I can only keep my hands off of mine! The nose has some deep black fruits and a bit of coffee but a little less of that green-coffee aroma I typically associate with this wine. I like everything about this -- it's grippy and lush at the same time. The finish is very long. A solid wine that, like many other 2001 right bankers, is under-appreciated. (Credit to Jean-Marc Quarin for pointing that out some time ago).
Very 2003... a bit of brett blows off, then there's that typical praline aroma you get in so many of the '03s. A bit superficial in that much of the palate impact is front-loaded. The wine's affect is all in the beginning and middle -- the finish is hollow. That said, there's a lot to like here. It needs a little grip and depth -- and, it will be interesting to see if/how this wine ages.
Some sulfury burnt rubber aromas eventually blow off. This is very rough still -- angular... almost like an anglianico or European version of a Petite Sirah. There's a really deep core of fruit to this wine that should give it legs. It wasn't liked by many at the table and we held side bets as to whether this will get better or worse with time. And, while not one to really advocate aging California Cabernet, I do think this wine might be in a better place in a few years. I think it's got both the fruit and structure to evolve into something better. John has a half dozen left. so I am sure we'll see...
Unpleasantly hot vapors explode from the glass, ruining what would otherwise be a pleasant fruit-pie of a wine. If you can get past the heat and volatility, there's a really beautiful core of fruit underneath it all... but, getting past the unpleasantries is easier said than done. Some will love this style, I am sure (I haven't seen any other scores on this from critics or CT). Don't count me among them, though. And, for those who think this will get better than it is today -- don't count on it.
For fun, I served two bottles of this blind -- one from my 55 degree cellar and the other from my 90 degree garage, where it had been sitting in a box, long forgotten, with a handful of other wines that were to have been a gift. The garage-cellared wine, surprisingly, wasn't a leaker -- the styrofoam shipper it was kept in may have helped.
The wines were served blind to the group, and while not identified as the same wine, they were very similar. The notable difference between the two was an absence of grip / acidity in the garage wine. Colors were the same and both were equally aromatic, featuring lime, slate, and white flowers. The lack of grip / balance in the garage stored wine took a solid 4 points off of that bottle -- but, at least one person at the table preferred it to the one from my cellar. In the end, the heat had surprisingly little effect in this experiment.
2007 Château Graville-Lacoste Blanc 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves
Beautiful nose -- Joel is spot on with lemon/orange rind. There's a bit of fresh fig, some melon, and a floral note. Nice balance and finish to the wine, price considered. A terrific value.
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1983 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Still garnet core but bricking at the rim. Licorice and bretty band-aid aromas dominate initially. The funk does blow off to reveal a very pretty nose that adds current bush and flowers to anise. The fruit is really sweet and mouth filling, but like so many other '83s, the tannins are still a little chunky and coarse. The wine gradually faded over the course of the tasting -- but, when it was on, what a treat. Contender for wine-of-the-tasting.
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1999 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz 91 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Deep garnet color to the rim. The nose shows a bit of heat and a lot of really ripe (bordering on stewed) plummy fruit. The wine is rich, lush, alcoholic, and long. There's something creamy to it suggesting oak. A little less stewiness and heat and this would be fantastic. A bit of a modern slant here -- I would be interested to know if this wine saw any new oak. A nice wine and a particularly solid 1999 CdP.
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2001 Château Talbot 84 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien
More than a bit of funk -- a big step down from the 1999 flight from last week. There seemed to be a really nice wine underneath the funkiness -- but, it was obscured with horsey aromas and dirty socks. It became less and less enjoyable as time passed. Not recommended.
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2001 Château Smith Haut Lafitte 91 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Quite modern in style with a lot of oaky coffee / dark chocolate notes over very ripe, rich dark plummy fruit. Some greenness to the wine adds some interest. The wine is balanced and maintains freshness despite being quite ripe. Good finish. Not particularly Graves-like at this early stage. This one will be interesting to follow.
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2001 Château Trotanoy 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
I've had this several times in the past couple of years and this bottle seems to have put on some weight, with some even guessing California and even Australia. I thought it was a 2000 St. Emilion, which does suggest this is continuing to develop in a very positive way. Now, if I can only keep my hands off of mine! The nose has some deep black fruits and a bit of coffee but a little less of that green-coffee aroma I typically associate with this wine. I like everything about this -- it's grippy and lush at the same time. The finish is very long. A solid wine that, like many other 2001 right bankers, is under-appreciated. (Credit to Jean-Marc Quarin for pointing that out some time ago).
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2003 Château Malescot St. Exupéry 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Very 2003... a bit of brett blows off, then there's that typical praline aroma you get in so many of the '03s. A bit superficial in that much of the palate impact is front-loaded. The wine's affect is all in the beginning and middle -- the finish is hollow. That said, there's a lot to like here. It needs a little grip and depth -- and, it will be interesting to see if/how this wine ages.
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1999 Hanna Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 89 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Some sulfury burnt rubber aromas eventually blow off. This is very rough still -- angular... almost like an anglianico or European version of a Petite Sirah. There's a really deep core of fruit to this wine that should give it legs. It wasn't liked by many at the table and we held side bets as to whether this will get better or worse with time. And, while not one to really advocate aging California Cabernet, I do think this wine might be in a better place in a few years. I think it's got both the fruit and structure to evolve into something better. John has a half dozen left. so I am sure we'll see...
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2005 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Unpleasantly hot vapors explode from the glass, ruining what would otherwise be a pleasant fruit-pie of a wine. If you can get past the heat and volatility, there's a really beautiful core of fruit underneath it all... but, getting past the unpleasantries is easier said than done. Some will love this style, I am sure (I haven't seen any other scores on this from critics or CT). Don't count me among them, though. And, for those who think this will get better than it is today -- don't count on it.
Not recommended.
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2003 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese *** 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
For fun, I served two bottles of this blind -- one from my 55 degree cellar and the other from my 90 degree garage, where it had been sitting in a box, long forgotten, with a handful of other wines that were to have been a gift. The garage-cellared wine, surprisingly, wasn't a leaker -- the styrofoam shipper it was kept in may have helped.
The wines were served blind to the group, and while not identified as the same wine, they were very similar. The notable difference between the two was an absence of grip / acidity in the garage wine. Colors were the same and both were equally aromatic, featuring lime, slate, and white flowers. The lack of grip / balance in the garage stored wine took a solid 4 points off of that bottle -- but, at least one person at the table preferred it to the one from my cellar. In the end, the heat had surprisingly little effect in this experiment.
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