A long weekend in Seaside, OR

We went down to Seaside, OR with two other couples that also had their toddlers in tow. This was our first mini-vacation as a group with our toddlers along.

After a day of travel, we just ordered a pizza for dinner and started opening some bottles. No big theme for the wines on this night.

• 2004 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc 92 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  (6/5/2009)

  Upon opening, the nose had some bell pepper, brett, and tart red fruit aromas. With about an hour of air it picked up some earthy aromas, but the horsey note was still there. The palate showed flavors of dark fruits, and notes of olives or mushrooms. Nice mouthfeel and a fairly long finish. A nice bottle of Cab Franc, and a good bottle to have with a pizza.

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• 2004 Antinori Tignanello 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (6/5/2009)

  The nose had red fruits and earth along with a brett note that I hadn't remembered tasting before. After about 2 hours of air, the nose took on a pumpkin pie like aroma that was really interesting. The brett was no longer noticeable. Medium bodied at first, but it did gain some weight with additional air. I first tasted this wine back in 12/07, and it has lost some of the blackberry flavors and velvety mouthfeel that it had back then, but it was still an excellent wine that I would love to taste again.

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• 2004 Poderi Stebbi Riserva Toscana IGT Flawed

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (6/5/2009)

  Bought through Garagiste. Waited over a year after payment was made for the delivery of the wine, even though the offer said it wouldn't be nearly that long. After all that, the first bottle we opened was corked! The original offer from Garagiste said,"...I think you will be convinced that Tignanello or other far more expensive examples will be put out to dry by this elegant, aromatically perfumed monster of a beverage." We opened an 04 Tig to compare the Stebbi to just for fun. The Tig was great! I'm done with Garagiste.

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• 1999 Joseph Phelps Insignia 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (6/5/2009)

  Upon opening, the nose showed currant, cherry and cedar aromas. Over 2 hours the nose developed more to reveal tobacco, plum, and cherry aromas with the cedar note beginning to slip into the background. The palate had nice red fruits and earthy flavors with some nice minerality coming through after about 2 hours. Good mouthfeel and a long finish. This was the second time that I have tasted this wine, and I enjoyed it much more this time than I did a couple years ago. My WOTN, and a pleasant surprise.

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• 2005 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  (6/5/2009)

  The nose of this wine had big candied cherry aromas with a vanilla note. The palate was consistent with the nose. A very monolithic wine, but the one thing it does, it does really well. The finish was a bit clipped which was too bad, because before the finish dropped off, there was a moment where this wine seemed like it might score in the mid-90's. But it didn't.

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We grilled steaks for dinner this evening that Steve brought along. Wow, they were good. The Cayuse wines stole the show on this night

• 2000 Domaine Lucien Barrot et Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape 91 Points

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

  (6/6/2009)

  The nose of this wine showed red fruits, brett, and an aroma that I couldn't quite identify. Some of the group said fried egg, and some said celery root. I'm just not sure what it was, but it seemed to fit it pretty well. The palate had tart cherry and raspberry flavors. Tasted better than it smelled. Medium bodied with a medium to long finish. The tart fruit and other high-toned notes really come through at the finish. This bottle was brought back from France by friends who were there a couple years ago. This was fun to drink with them.

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• 2002 Cayuse Cabernet Sauvignon The Widowmaker En Chamberlin Vineyard 96 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (6/6/2009)

  The nose of this wine had dark cherry, blackberry, and black licorice aromas. None of that Cayuse funk was present on the nose - that was a big surprise, but this smelled awesome without the funk. The palate had dark cherries, earth, and a hint of the black licorice again. Huge, smooth mouthfeel, and a long, rich finish. We tasted this next to the 06 Widowmaker (which really brought on the Cayuse funk), and the 02 was much more enjoyable to me. My WOTN, and my favorite wine of the weekend.

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• 2006 Cayuse Cabernet Sauvignon The Widowmaker En Chamberlin Vineyard 94 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (6/6/2009)

  The nose had a full dose of the Cayuse funk. Nothing sticking out more than anything here, just a pleasant and distinct aroma. The palate had dark fruits, licorice, and a vanilla oak note. After about 2 hours, a slight bit of a cola note started to develop. This wine really opened up well, and after about 3 hours, it had gained weight and had an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. An excellent wine, but still a couple steps behind the 02 Widowmaker that we tasted this next to.

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• 2001 Viader 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (6/6/2009)

  Nose of red fruits, leather, and a woodsy or loamy-like smell. A little heat was also evident upon opening. The palate had plummy flavors with that loamy-like note being present again. I'm not sure how to best describe it, but it's just not up my alley. Medium bodied wine with a medium length finish. Still has some tannins left, and at times it had a nice mouth-watering finish, but it didn't last. My last bottle of Viader, and that's OK.

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• 2005 Famille Perrin / Perrin & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Sinards 88 Points

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

  (6/6/2009)

  The nose had red fruits, herbs, oak and some heat. The palate was lighter than the nose suggested with flavors of plum, raspberry, and some minerals. Medium bodied with a medium length finish that turned a little green or tart at the end.

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Dinner was crab legs and grilled salmon. We had the Pinots with dinner, but as the temperature cooled off, we got into some Syrahs as well.

• 2006 Mark Ryan Viognier Columbia Valley 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  (6/7/2009)

  This wine had nice citrus and apple flavors. A nice length finish, and very refreshing. Didn't take a lot of notes on this wine as it was the starter for the day, and I was grilling salmon, but it was enjoyable.

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• 2005 Roar Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  (6/7/2009)

  The nose had cherries, raspberry, and grapefruit aromas. The palate was consistent with the nose and had wonderful acidity. The grapefruit flavors from Rosella's are always interesting to me. This wine wasn't quite the stunner that I remembered tasting back in May 07, but it was still excellent. Paired really well with grilled salmon with grey sea salt, lemons, and rosemary.

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• 2006 Aston Pinot Noir Clone 777 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (6/7/2009)

  The nose had some spice and jammy red fruit aromas. The palate had slightly candied cherry flavors and a little spice. Medium bodied with a medium length finish. This wine was darker and fuller bodied than the 05 ROAR Rosella's we tasted it next to.

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• 2004 Plumpjack Syrah 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (6/7/2009)

  The nose had plum, blackberry and a smokey oak note. The palate was lighter than expected, but had the same flavors the nose suggested. Medium bodied with a nice length finish. This bottle went really fast with the group. One guy did get a really big pour, but that doesn't make the whole bottle go fast. Pretty good crowd pleaser.

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• 2007 Carlisle Syrah Russian River Valley 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  (6/7/2009)

  This wine smells huge. Big blackberry and vanilla aromas. The purity of the fruit really comes through on the palate. We drank this wine outside on the deck at a cooler temperature than I previously did, and the heat was not noticeable. Great mouthfeel and a very long finish. I should have bought a lot more of this than I did.

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• 2002 Pepper Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 84 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (6/7/2009)

  I thought the nose showed a fair amount of acetone, but most of the group didn't get that. There was some nice red fruits there as well, but I just wasn't enjoying this right from the start. The fruit was much less expressive than I have remembered from a recent 03, and an 01 from a while back. Just a good bottle for me.

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The weather didn't cooperate while we were there, and we had car problems on the way back, but the wines and company were sure good while we were there!