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april fools wine tasting
Scott & Todd's
Tasted April 1, 2012 - April 2, 2012 by silton with 671 views
Introduction
The themes for this tasting were Bordeaux varieties and indigenous Italian varieties. The tasting was April 1 but I retasted about half the wines on 4/2. Several wines that were meant to be reserves were opened early in the day by mistake and crowded out several guest wines that would have brought a little more variety. Most of the red wines were opened 3-4 hours before service and rotated into a decanter for about an hour before being returned to the bottle.
Flight 1 - Arrival Whites (3 notes)
White wines from either theme, served non-blind.
White
2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc Kick Ranch
90 points
Opened 3/31. Modestly rich for a SB, with tropical grapefruit and increasing grassiness with air. Few notes taken by me or anyone, with more attention being paid to the less familiar wines floating around at the same time. Solid SB, but in my mind just a SB.
White
2009 Marisa Cuomo Costa d'Amalfi Ravello
89 points
My favorite wine of this trio on day 1. Floral and broad at the front with some minerals and acids arriving to give shape to the back, although the finish turns simple. Different. The Gruner reference below makes sense but my favorite Gruners have a white pepper streak and more transparent minerality than this wine but this wine would be more versatile at the table. Interesting blend but the 2 halves of the wine have not harmonized? 60% Falanghina, 40% Biancolella. Probably a point or two for the novelty factor.
White
2010 Casa D'Ambra Biancolella Ischia Tenuta Frassitelli
90 points
This wine showed on the shrill side yesterday but a day 2 inspection finds it in a better place. The nose is almost like Chardonnay with light garden smells but not that effusive or compelling. The palate has strong base of white melon with crushed flowers and pineapple and also something green. The wine's harmonious sweetness/acid balance provides for a medium+ finish.
Flight 2 - Red Bordeaux Varieties (4 notes)
With 8 such wines we split this into 2 mini flights. The 8 bagged bottles were randomly selected into the flights.
Red
2006 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor
93 points
4/1/1/0 1st/2nd/3rd/4th place votes in this flight, so clearly WOTF. Wonderful combination of power and complexity. Cassis with a bit of lavender, mineral infused blackberry, dark chocolate, medium sweet oak and just a hint of thyme. Carl's WOTD and one of my top 3 wines of the day. Drink with a good decant or hold. Deserving of its international pedigree.
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Red
2006 Wood Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc
89 points
Served blind. 0/1/3/2 votes for 1st/2nd/4rd/4th place in this group of 4. Screams cab franc with the herbal / bell pepper theme but has plenty of lip smacking red berry fruit, cherry bark, and mocha. Forward if mostly one dimensional nose with a shorter finish than any of the wines in this group on day 1; on day 2, the nose is hiding a bit but the finish extended by what seems to be the emergence of some tannic grip. It probably had that grip all along but it wasn't as apparent next to even longer wines. I like how this is juicy in the middle but ends on a sweet but not too sweet note. 79 cases produced. 89-90
Red
2007 Rudius Cabernet Sauvignon
92 points
0/2/1/3 1st/2nd/3rd/4th place votes in this flight, but also #2 WOTD from Lee who otherwise didn't rank. A plush, full bodied and delicious Napa Cab with a powerful nose and generally sweet profile. I wonder how this would have fared against the other plush Cabs that dominated the next flight. Not exactly complicated but this floated an ocean of plump fruit effortlessly across the transom.
Red
2005 Chateau Rollat Cabernet Sauvignon Edouard de Rollat
92 points
2/2/1/1 1st/2nd/3rd/4th place in this flight. The deep currant flavors to this wine go on forever, with some smokey coffee tones providing a toasty low register and some cedar/graphite a nice higher register. Showed a little barn on day 1 which turned off some of the taters but that appears to have blown off entirely. A very fine wine with a lighter touch with the oak than many others. Perhaps my favorite of this flight on day 2. 75% Cab, 20% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc.
Flight 3 - Red Bordeaux Varieties pt 2 (4 notes)
Red
2008 Stuhlmuller Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
91 points
2/2/2/0 1st/2nd/4rd/4th. A strong modern effort, ripe but balanced with a black currant and plum profile and some overt oak. I did not write down the vintage but believe this bottle, hence departed, was the 2008.
Red
2004 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank
90 points
0/3/2/1 1st/2nd/3rd/4th. Less interesting to me and most tasters compared to the Cabs. Evoked skittles candy in some ways but had a multidimensional outro of considerable length. Still some structure but basically at its peak. This might be more interesting in a less toasty year. Gained a deeper pitch on day 2, felt a bit more solid in a good way.
Red
2006 DaVine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
91 points
4/1/1/0 1st/2nd/3rd/4th so the clear winner in this little flight. Nicely balanced full bodied sweet n' juicy cab. The extras went home with someone else so I'm guessing at the vintage based on what they are selling online. Young, fruity, with oak and a smoother, more accessible profile. Ugly label, strong QPR. 91-92.
Red
2009 Kitek Malbec
86 points
0/0/1/5 1st/2nd/3rd/4th. Sweet vanilla Malbec milkshake, not fooling anyone.
Flight 4 - Indigenous Italian Reds (4 notes)
The first 3 wines served blind. Basically everyone preferred the Bordeaux based varieties.
Red
2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Serpico
0/1/4 1st/2nd/3rd place votes, the clear loser in this flight. Tart, leathery red fruit. Better with food but outclassed by the competition.
Red
2000 Villa Raiano Taurasi
0/4/1 1st/2nd/3rd. Forgettable in the grand scheme of the day, but noticeably better than the Serpico (another Anglianico based wine in this flight). Maybe this grape is not for me.
Red
2006 Baricci Brunello di Montalcino
90 points
Pinch me, I'm dreaming. This makes 2 Sangio based wines in a row that I really liked. More accessible than either of the older Angianicos tasted alongside. Leathery but not dry, plum, cranberry, fresh bark, a touch of brown spice, showing even better on day 2. Still not my favorite grape but its nice to get a sense of where it belongs.
Red
1999 Azienda Bricco Rocche (Ceretto) Barolo Bricco Rocche
91 points
I put this in my top 6 for the day based on the intriguing nose, which showed no menthol or anything related to heat. The palate combined a light acid wash with rose, raspberry, minerals, and black mud. Better with and nearly requiring a food match. Kristy's wine of the day. Served non-blind.
Flight 5 - Outro (4 notes)
The Bartons were served alongside each other and the next two wines served serially.
Red
1997 Château Léoville Barton
89 points
Consensus was that this was musty and I agree that it must have been past prime. Balanced but a bit boring. There were a few ounces left over but the bottle was not corked overnight... lost a bit but not undrinkable.
Red
2008 Château Léoville Barton
93 points
Open for business from the pop and pour, past an hour+ decant, and then the next day. Luxurious without getting sloppy or sweet, like a tightly woven silk rug, or corduroys made of cashmere. Nose of strawberry ganache, prickly pear and sawdust. Classic currant, lead, plum flavors with good length. A lot more like the Cali Cabs than I expected but has a bit of restraint at the end, not as showy but classier for it.
Red
2009 Williams Selyem Zinfandel Papera Vineyard
92 points
Hedonistic Zin toward the end of the night. A bit smoother/sluttier than the Carlisle version of this vineyard. The Italians who formed the California wine industry were smart to plant Primitivo. Delicious. Minimal decant.
White - Sweet/Dessert
N.V. Ajello Sicilia Shams
95 points
My wine of the day out of 19 wines, this was just magnificent. A kaleidoscope of flavors, white fruits, melon, almonds, lemon curd, fresh flowers, lilac blossom honey, Grand Marnier. infinitely long. Also Lee's WOTD. A great Garagiste buy.
Closing
Thanks to Phil & Maria for the dips, salad, pasta, and Anglianico as well as the St. Emillion that we thankfully didn't open; Lee for co-sponsoring the Barton tasting; Stephen for the cheese, Malbec and bonus Bprdeaux, Carl for the Cab Franc and Brunello as well as bonus cheese, Kristy and Grant for bringing the Davine, Kim for bringing the Stuhlmuller and another Sonoma County wine that we will enjoy soon... just a tremendous array of interesting and superior wine and food and company that rocked the house. All day Sunday is the way to celebrate spring break baby.