Friends sharing good wines

A few us got together to share some good wines. All of them were tasted blind and were very good. We did not score them but I am guessing they all would have scored between 89 and 93. Unfortunately my notes were pretty brief.
My favorites were the Laird and the Clarendon Hills pinot that was much bigger and more tannic than a lot of Pinots. My least favorite were the Turleys, surprisingly. Ann's favorite was the Laird.

• 1998 Cakebread Cellars Rubaiyat

  USA, California, North Coast

  Color is showing some bricking. Cherries with floral hints and a little cola. Minimal tannins. Nice wine.

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• 2003 Elio Grasso Barolo Gavarini Chiniera

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  Nice firm tannins, cherries, a little cola, dry. When I came back to this wine later in the night it was very dry. I liked it better right out of the bottle, but then again my pallet was fried by the time I came back to it. I was surprised at how easy this was to drink for a young barolo. I guessed old world and grenache.

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• 2005 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Big nose of smokey fruit, tobacco and cedar. Way too much cedar for my taste. Others liked it though.

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• 1990 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Bricking halo. Black fruits and bell pepper. The tannins are minimal. Nice smooth wine. A little too much bell pepper for my taste though.

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• 2001 Clarendon Hills Pinot Noir Hickinbotham

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

  Cherry fruit with some spice and hints of cedar. Nice tannins. A really nice wine. The few wines I have had from this winery have been consistently good.

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• 2004 Luce della Vite Lucente

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Wow this wine is chewy and puckering. But I liked it. Dark fruits, leather, hints of bell pepper (but not too much). A pretty good value and one that has a lot of life left in it.

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• 2006 Etude Pinot Noir Estate Carneros

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Intense cherry fruit. I would have sworn this was a Williams Selyem (it was tasted blind). Enjoyable.

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• 2005 Turley Zinfandel Ueberroth Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Classic Turley nose. Tobacco, smoke, cedar and dark fruits. Again to much cedar for my taste. Everyone else loved it. I am starting to think I like the lower end Turleys better.

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• 1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  Pleasant nose but not very intense. The honey quality reminds me of an older barbaresco. Bright red fruits. Medium/light tannins. I guessed new world syrah - something like a Tablas Creek. Once the wine was revealed I was surprised at how light it was given my preconceived expectations of the producer. No brett or barnyard. Not real intense or tannic. More elegant than I would have anticipated. Nice wine.

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• 2001 Laird Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Ranch

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Chocolate, hints of bell pepper and intense fruit on the nose. Rich, with nice fruit, balanced tannins and acidity. Very good. One of my favorites of the night.

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• 2005 Clos Apalta

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley, Apalta

  Rich wine with dark fruits, slight bell pepper, bacon fat, and coffee? It is hard to imagine that it is WS wine of the year but it was very good.

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