Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Scholium Tasting
Trestle on Tenth, NYC
Tasted November 1, 2010 by ews3 with 836 views
Introduction
We trekked up to NYC to taste through a variety of wines from the Scholium Project. As expected, it was quite an adventure. Abe Schoener himself was there to offer perspectives on the wines, stories, and brought some fun stuff from the library.
These wines are tough to score -- in many cases they are non-traditional so there isn't a benchmark to match them up to... but I gave it my best shot.
The highlights were the more powerful reds, especially the 05 Babylon and the 07 Androkenteinos. The 04 Glos and 05 Cena were my favorite of the whites. But no individual wine could match up to the experience of trying so many different things from the same winemaker trying different things.
Food and service was excellent at Trestle on Tenth.
I'm missing a few wines in here -- most notably a barrel sample of the '09 Cabernet "Chuey" (sp?) that was quite nice. Also an Italian dessert wine and a few others I got a sip of.
Flight 1 (26 notes)
White
2008 Scholium Project Chardonnay Choêphoroi Los Olivos Vineyard
85 points
interesting -- tropical fruit and watermelon jolly rancher. not what i would expect from a chardonnay, but i kept drinking it. honeyed note on med(-) finish.
White
2005 Scholium Project Naucratis Lost Slough Vineyards
88 points
how is this wine still alive? amazing, and my score cannot tell how impressive this was. lime, peach, and underripe pear. med(+) acidity. tartrate crystals all over in the bottle. a little sour on finish.
White
2008 Scholium Project Naucratis Lost Slough Vineyards
90 points
a different and younger version. fresh acidity. floral notes, citrus and minerality. crisp finish. great value.
White
2004 Scholium Project Glos McDowell
93 points
really nice. weighty body that is really surprising for sauv blanc. peach, apricot, pink flowers. some toffee. very nasal quality to the mouthfeel that was surprising and reminded me of an alsatian gewurz in its aromatic quality. long finish is pleasant and interesting at the same time.
White
2009 Scholium Project Rhododactylos
88 points
shockingly light color -- took me a few glances to believe it was a rose. very aromatic and floral with light strawberry flavors. shortish finish shows a little heat.
White
2008 Scholium Project Riquewihr Lost Slough Vineyards
87 points
interesting/odd -- can't decide which... very hot on the palate and finish, but a wonderful aromatic nose -- flower concentrate.
White
2002 Scholium Project The Sylphs Guman Vineyard
91 points
honey and smoke dominate on this with a very rich mouthfeel. some oxidation already. lovely flavor and nose -- the mouthfeel gets a little flabby and could use some acid to carry it through to the finish.
White
2005 Scholium Project Cena Trimalchionis Farina
92 points
after the Riquewihr, this one fell on the interesting side of the "interesting" vs "strange" tug-of-war. Honey, citrus, white flowers, and tree sap. sweet nose but dry palate. fascinating.
Red
2002 Scholium Project Proserpina Maldonado Los Olivos
86 points
sweet plum, dark cherry candy. hint of cough syrup flavor was not appealing. med(+) finish.
Red
2001 Scholium Project St. Harry's Chapel
87 points
From magnum -- Abe told a story about how it had boon out on his deck near a laundry machine... heat, vibration, the whole 9 yards... and yet holding up surprisingly well. light bodied grenache, but the flavors show nicely -- black pepper dominates with a hint of light sanguine flavor. shortish finish. impressive given the history.
White
2007 Scholium Project The Sylphs Guman Vineyard
87 points
moderate light putty/roux nose. light vanilla american oak. overall lighter bodied example of the sylphs and surprisingly agile. med(-) finish disappoints.
White
2008 Scholium Project The Sylphs Guman Vineyard
92 points
fatty green apple. nice acidity, but you definitely feel the alcohol. med(+) finish turns a bit hot.
White
2006 Scholium Project The Sylphs Guman Vineyard
89 points
apple with a splash of lemon and nuttiness. interesting combination of green apple with an extra kick of acid. med (-) finish.
White
2007 Scholium Project La Severità di Bruto Farina
90 points
honeysuckle and melon. sweet spice surprises. med(-) finish.
Red
1973 Mastroberardino Taurasi
90 points
very italian and thrown in the middle of a scholium tasting -- an odd twist to a night full of odd twists in the glass. tar with a surprising floral hint. light finish leaves a little heat.
Red
2004 Scholium Project Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards
92 points
very tannic. wonderful red fruit profile -- cherry, cranberry -- delicious. med(+) finish.
Red
2005 Scholium Project Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards
95 points
really great. although less tannic than the 04, there was better structure, with powdery tannins that coated the mouth. this leaned more towards the black fruit but was more concentrated with a longer finish. delightful.
White
2000 Scholium Project Les Ténèbres
85 points
Many were a fan of this -- I did not think it was holding up quite as well. Honey, marmalade, a little RS and some oxidation starting to show. where it disappointed most was ont he med(-) finish, which was a bit clipped.
Red
2008 Scholium Project Gardens of Babylon
89 points
nice lighter red. more fruity than some of the powerful reds, with a lighter body and more sweetness/juice-box flavor to the fruit. shortish but pleasant finish.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2004 Scholium Project Lydian Queen Oro Puro
89 points
interesting battle between caramel and honey -- enough acidity to prevent cloying -- finish is only medium and left me a little disappointed.
Red
2006 Scholium Project Margit's Master Blend
92 points
really delicious stuff. dark fruit, floral notes. slight hint of oxidation, though my palate could have been tired by this point... well balanced wine that leads into a med(+) finish.
White
2006 Scholium Project The School Of The Plains Elsa's Vineyard
90 points
nice summer wine. fresh acidity underpins some tropical fruit and peach notes. a little honey comes late on the midpalate. medium finish.
White
2007 Scholium Project The Prince In His Caves Farina
88 points
fascinating wine. cloudy in a way that mwill be offputting to many. most dominant note i got was pink grapefruit, but there was also some stone fruit and minerality behind it. shortish finish.
Red
2002 Scholium Project Scheria Hudson Vineyard
93 points
blood, red fruit, and black pepper -- a hint of sweet spice. really rich wine with a med(+) finish. good stuff.
White
2006 Scholium Project Gemella Lost Slough Vineyards
88 points
loved the nose on this -- citrus dominated. palate couldn't quite live up to it, but was an interesting transition to stone fruit and minerality.
Red
2007 Scholium Project Androkteinos Hudson Vineyard
94 points
delicious! black pepper, smoke, meat. this is like steak in a bottle. med(+) body and a delicious midpalate the moves into a long finish. wish the price were lower, but it is worth every penny.