Popped and poured. Pretty gritty, chalky tannins dominate this wine at the pop and mask the dark fruit and tar underneath. Muted nose with hints of black flowers and blackberries. This needs time, time, time to hopefully integrated those tannins. It seriously was like drinking sandpaper. Once the tannins began to mellow with some air there are some really nice dark fruit and earth flavors in there, just not sure what to make of it right now.
As grafstrb said, this is a very understated zinfandel that really lets the boysenberry and blackberry fruit flavors shine without ever getting big and jammy. a little muted on the nose, but this is a zin that I can get behind.
Wound up pretty tight at the pop, but with only about 15-20 minutes of air this turned the corner in a big bad way with excellent floral, tar, and dark fruit aromatics. Much of the same on the taste, excellent structure and a really enjoyable spicy black fruit finish. This is just a baby and while it is excellent now, should get better with age.
Sweet red fruit nose with a touch of mint and chocolate. Palate is dominated by red cherries, sweet oak, some spicy vanilla, and a bit pomegranate. I didn't really get the tannin structure that previous tasters mentioned. I found it a bit thin throughout. Overall a pretty enjoyable wine, but just not my style.
Interesting showing for this wine as, tasting blind, we all were guessing that it was likely a New World Rhone wine with it's floral, funky black fruit nose and soft fruit flavors. As the air took it, it gained quite a bit of weight and it became clear that this was a much more robust varietal. All in all this seems to be a well made wine with good structure and depth of flavor. If you're popping one, give it a run in the decanter for about 30 minutes and it should get you to the good stuff.
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Fantastic....just...fantastic. Not much more to say about this extremely elegant and feminine styled CdP. My first taste of Donjon, and although I typically prefer the bolder styled CdP's like Pegau, this wine was so incredibly charming that I fell in love with it. Beautiful floral and funk on the nose, one of those wines I could just sink my nose into and smell for days. The color was a fascinating light garnet red that was almost completely translucent. Soft red fruit flavors, with a depth of earthy funk and spice and sweet flowers out of the long finish. WOTN for me.
Hmmm...this one made me scratch my head a bit. I have had quite a few 04's recently that are really showing well, so I have been wanting to check in on this wine for some time now. Unfortunately it seems in a bit of a closed phase. Chewy tannins and pencil lead dominate with the fruit hiding far beneath. I'll let the next one rest for a couple more years before coming back. Still tasty stuff!
I just don't know German Riesling well enough to sound at all intelligent about drinking a nice one such as this. Petrol, lemon zest, wet stones, and a bit of nectarine on the nose. Oily mouthfeel witha good zip of acid to keep it lively. Sweet apricot, pineapple and honeysuckle. Probably on the sweet side for my personal tastes, but certainly enjoyable.
Interesting vintage port here. Lots of mint and eucalyptus on the nose and palate which really gave a nice refreshing feel to the heavier roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and prune flavors. I think this is still young, despite being so integrated and flavorful. I would be curious to check back in on this in 10+ years to see how it evolves.
2004 Ridge Grenache Lytton Estate 86 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Popped and poured. Pretty gritty, chalky tannins dominate this wine at the pop and mask the dark fruit and tar underneath. Muted nose with hints of black flowers and blackberries. This needs time, time, time to hopefully integrated those tannins. It seriously was like drinking sandpaper. Once the tannins began to mellow with some air there are some really nice dark fruit and earth flavors in there, just not sure what to make of it right now.
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2007 Sandler Wine Company Zinfandel Buck Hill Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County
As grafstrb said, this is a very understated zinfandel that really lets the boysenberry and blackberry fruit flavors shine without ever getting big and jammy. a little muted on the nose, but this is a zin that I can get behind.
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2007 Denner Grenache 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Wound up pretty tight at the pop, but with only about 15-20 minutes of air this turned the corner in a big bad way with excellent floral, tar, and dark fruit aromatics. Much of the same on the taste, excellent structure and a really enjoyable spicy black fruit finish. This is just a baby and while it is excellent now, should get better with age.
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2006 Daou Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon La Capilla Collection 86 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Sweet red fruit nose with a touch of mint and chocolate. Palate is dominated by red cherries, sweet oak, some spicy vanilla, and a bit pomegranate. I didn't really get the tannin structure that previous tasters mentioned. I found it a bit thin throughout. Overall a pretty enjoyable wine, but just not my style.
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2003 Dover Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Hansen Vineyard 86 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Interesting showing for this wine as, tasting blind, we all were guessing that it was likely a New World Rhone wine with it's floral, funky black fruit nose and soft fruit flavors. As the air took it, it gained quite a bit of weight and it became clear that this was a much more robust varietal. All in all this seems to be a well made wine with good structure and depth of flavor. If you're popping one, give it a run in the decanter for about 30 minutes and it should get you to the good stuff.
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2003 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Fantastic....just...fantastic. Not much more to say about this extremely elegant and feminine styled CdP. My first taste of Donjon, and although I typically prefer the bolder styled CdP's like Pegau, this wine was so incredibly charming that I fell in love with it. Beautiful floral and funk on the nose, one of those wines I could just sink my nose into and smell for days. The color was a fascinating light garnet red that was almost completely translucent. Soft red fruit flavors, with a depth of earthy funk and spice and sweet flowers out of the long finish. WOTN for me.
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2004 Château Pontet-Canet
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Hmmm...this one made me scratch my head a bit. I have had quite a few 04's recently that are really showing well, so I have been wanting to check in on this wine for some time now. Unfortunately it seems in a bit of a closed phase. Chewy tannins and pencil lead dominate with the fruit hiding far beneath. I'll let the next one rest for a couple more years before coming back. Still tasty stuff!
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2006 Dönnhoff Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Spätlese 89 Points
Germany, Nahe
I just don't know German Riesling well enough to sound at all intelligent about drinking a nice one such as this. Petrol, lemon zest, wet stones, and a bit of nectarine on the nose. Oily mouthfeel witha good zip of acid to keep it lively. Sweet apricot, pineapple and honeysuckle. Probably on the sweet side for my personal tastes, but certainly enjoyable.
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2001 Guenoc Vintage Port 90 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Guenoc Valley
Interesting vintage port here. Lots of mint and eucalyptus on the nose and palate which really gave a nice refreshing feel to the heavier roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and prune flavors. I think this is still young, despite being so integrated and flavorful. I would be curious to check back in on this in 10+ years to see how it evolves.
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