City Line Church Wine Tasting 2009

City Line Church (http://www.citylinechurch.net) hosted its first wine tasting cultural event with 13 different wines in different styles from all over the world. White Stone Gallery (http://www.whitestonegallery.com/) graciously hosted us in their lovely gallery, which was showing work by Ruth Naomi Floyd. A wide range of cheeses were brought from DiBruno Brothers to try with different wines.

A light New Mexico sparkling wine to start the evening

• NV Gruet Winery Brut Blanc de Noirs 87 Points

  USA, New Mexico

  nice gold color with persistent mousse. fresh fruit flavors of strawberry, green apple, with a doughy component.

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A nice contrast between the unoaked and oaked chardonnay -- the Yarden was the fan favorite in this flight, but I preferred the other two wines.

• 2007 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay 89 Points

  New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

  green tinges to the color of this, the nose shows some interesting aromatics, with green apple jolly rancher, tropical fruit (papaya?) and a distinct lemon note. the palate is very juicy and quite pleasant until it turns sour on the finish. nice value.

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• 2007 Golan Heights Winery Chardonnay Yarden Odem Vineyard 86 Points

  Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights

  beautiful gold color. nose shows butterscotch, mango, and fairly heavy oak (although this was directly after an unoaked chardonnay). pleasant palate, although the medium finish gets hot after a few seconds.

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• 2007 Lamoreaux Landing Gewürztraminer 88 Points

  USA, New York, Finger Lakes

  nice example of gewurztraminer -- not as spicy as i recall, but with a really strong aroma of lychee and some floral notes -- a beautiful nose. A little bit flat in the midpalate, and shortish finish. A great value at the $10 discounted price -- even at full list quite nice.

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I thought there was a clear winner here, but many didn't like the subtle Burgundy as much as I did.

• 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Vigne de L'Enfant Jesus 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru

  What would a church wine tasting be without L'Enfant Jesus? This showed a beautiful dark fruit profile, with blackberry, tar, and earth most forward on the palate. A medium+finish radiates the lovely flavors through the mouth and adds some herbal character. My last of 4 bottles -- but I am on the lookout for more!

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• 2004 Chateau Musar Cuvée Rouge 84 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  a pale red that is transparent, even at the core. the palate is extremely juice-box like, with overly bright red fruit. The finish is clipped and leaves a sweet aftertaste. Not what I expected from Musar, and not at all in line with my prior note from the same case.

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• 2005 Bodegas y Viñedos de Murcia Jumilla Pico Madama 82 Points

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Dark purple, the nose is dominated by anise/licorice. The palate shows some underlying dark fruit, but it is still hidden by the licorice. Medium finish that I did not particularly enjoy. The profile is aligned with prior note, but I did not enjoy it nearly as much from this bottle.

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The Donjon showed extremely well in this flight, but I was impressed all around

• 2004 Montes Alpha M 93 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  Really nice. red currant, plum, and nice light violet notes on the nose. the palate brings those, and adds an underlying chocolate mocha flavor that I really enjoyed. medium(+) finish was very pleasant.

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• 2006 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 94 Points

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

  Loads of fruit on the nose of this -- dark plum, blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, and some blood/steak. really beautiful finish that merges the fruits together without becoming overly sweet or hot. Probably the favorite of the night from the group.

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• 2007 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile 89 Points

  USA, California

  Sweet and spicy, this shows nice black pepper notes on top of black currant. The finish shows too much alcohol in this.

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Mmm... The Prum was outstanding, as was the Port. Some were turned off by the high alcohol on the port. A lovely end to the evening.

• 2005 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 95 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Opened a few hours prior to tasting. Still a bit of sulfur that had not blown off. The nose showed honey, peach, apple, slate, and sprite. Palate dominated by a sweet peach flavor, with a little sweet red apple. The finish goes on for a long, long time as you lick your lips. Sweet, but well balanced with a surprisingly high level of acid to prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying. My WOTN, and consistent with my past notes. A beautiful wine.

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• 2003 Château Rieussec 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  A beautiful color on this wine, as always with Sauternes. The palate showed great promise, with nice apricot and honey notes. The palate showed sweetnes that couldn't be cut by the acid, leaving this cloying. The sweet finish went on for a while.

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• 1977 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 94 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  The cork was in great condition and came out in one piece. very nice nose, with notes of plum and tobacco. The palate showed quite youthfully, with blackberry adding to the flavors from the nose. Long finish. A consistent performer.

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A great evening -- the Vieux Donjon was popular with the group and was one of the first bottles to empty. I love my dessert wines, and my scores and notes show that. Still, there were some nice surprises and some wines I expected to do better that did not. I can't wait for the next one!