A round up of notes from november and december

Tasted Saturday, October 31, 2009 - Saturday, January 2, 2010 by gorm with 847 views

Introduction

November and december were busy months with little time to post, but here is a brief round up of some of the more interesting wines I came across and haven't posted on before (in addition to the Uncorked tastings of 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and mature Napa I posted on earlier this week).

Flight 1 - California (3 Notes)

Another great Morlet and a newly released HSS.

  • 2007 Morlet Family Vineyards Pinot Noir Joli Coeur 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    (10/31/2009)

    Dark red. Day 1: a bit shy nose with sweet and cool dark fruit, but also some bitterness. In the mouth it is very high pitched showing a bit of heat as well as pepper and juniper bitterness. Day 2: much better with a more open and seducing nose with the typical lush Morlet fruit. Also in mouth this is better balanced and less bitter. More tightly wound that the En Famille which I actually enjoyed more.

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  • 2007 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone Vineyard 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

    (12/3/2009)

    Dark red. Dark and spicy nose with cherries, pepper and cinnamon. Dark fruited and spicy pinot showing just a bit of heat.

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  • 2005 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    (12/4/2009)

    Dark red. Nice nose with blackberries, blackcurrant, cinnamon and smoked meat. In the mouth this clearly acts as a very young wine with plenty of fruit and tannins. A couple of hours of air makes it appear pretty balanced and nice to drink. Probably bigger than the 2004 HSS, but not as approacheable at the moment. 95++.

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Flight 2 - 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (2 Notes)

Easy warm-up to our Uncorked DK tasting and perfect christmas wines.

  • 2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

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

    (10/31/2009)

    Very dark red. Very typical CNDP nose with stables, hints of cheese, loads of mature cherries, garlic and pepper. Smooth and polished in the mouth and a long peppery aftertaste. Very enjoyable and fine QPR, but not as amazing as the Marcoux.

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  • 2007 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 94 Points

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

    (12/20/2009)

    Dark purple. Nice nose of cherries and some spicyness. Very young, but pure and easy to drink. Great potential for development.

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Flight 3 - White burgundies (5 Notes)

Quite a lot of these with an emphasis on 2005 and 2008.

Flight 4 - Red burgundies (4 Notes)

Also quite a lot including checking in on 1999 and 2005 and sampling one of the few 2007's that I've bought.

Flight 5 - A couple of italians (2 Notes)

A nice QPR and a wine opened much to prematurely.

  • 2006 Luciano Sandrone Barbera d'Alba 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d'Alba

    (11/23/2009)

    Dark red. Nice nose of dense, but pure, mature cherries, spice and a little warmth. Nice juicy palate and spicy aftertaste.

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  • 1999 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 95 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    (12/31/2009)

    Dark red. Very young nose of intense and pure red cherries. Not much else on palate, but the quality of the fruit is formidable and the potential for further development huge. Wait another 5-10 years.

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Flight 6 - Sweets (2 Notes)

Sweet and great.

  • 2000 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 97 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    (12/24/2009)

    Very dark. Sweet and very deep nose of dark cherries, blackberries, raisins, smoke, cedre, clove, anis, cinnamon and orange peel. Very intense and concentrated, yet with good lift and a relatively light mouthfeel. Very young with sligtly bitter tannins and a long aftertaste. A sleeping monster...

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  • 2005 Sine Qua Non Chardonnay Mr. K The Noble Man 97 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    (12/31/2009)

    I think this was the greatest Mr. K I've had until now. Darkisk yellow. Vibrant and intense nose of peach, orange peel and coconut. Great intensity in mouth. Sweet and fat, yet vibrant. Very nice - could have easily killed the half bottle myself.

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Flight 7 - A great surprise (1 Note)

  • 1990 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (12/24/2009)

    Bottle variation!? This is my first bottle of this and have to say that for this bottle the 79 RP rating doesn't make any sense... It was dark red - looked very young. It has a massive nose of pure dark blackcurrants, pine needle (is this what RP calls green) and some sweetness. In the mouth the fruit appers very young. Also there is fine tannins and a long aftertaste. Seems to me like a delicious wine with a long life ahead of it. My sister-in-law brought this and I drank it unaware of the low RP rating. It was christmas eve and my judgment might have been clouded, but I still cannot understand that this should be 79p with all of those mediocre cabs getting 85-90p all the time...

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