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Tampa Spring Break III
Tampa FL
Tasted February 16, 2018 - February 18, 2018 by retired_and_roving with 633 views
Introduction
My second time joining the CT Tampa Spring Break celebration and what a fun weekend it was. Special thanks to Mark, Larry, Claudia and Nancy for organizing and hosting such a fun event and herding all of us winos. The weather was terrific this weekend with temperatures in the 80's and lots of sunshine to warm the frozen souls of those of us from the Northeast.
We had some great wines this weekend and thanks to all the participants for sharing their cellar treasures. It was really great to reconnect with those of you I have met before and to meet some new folks this year. What a great tradition!
For an additional perspective on the wines and detail on all the food served please take a look at Mc2wines tasting story here: https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=37620&searchId=B9F5E544&UISource=list
Flight 1 - Post - arrival welcome bubbles (3 notes)
The NYers all stayed at the same hotel and we were met at check-in with a bottle of celebratory welcome bubbles which turned into everyone opening their wine bags and pulling out some more. Sitting in the sunshine on the terrace, sipping some nectar of the gods, what a great way to kick off the festivities. Given a super light lunch on the airplane - some of us opted to get a snack sampling and ordered a margarita flat bread, parmesan fries, and zucchini ribbons.
Rosé - Sparkling
2011 Soter Brut Rosé Mineral Springs Ranch
First glass of the weekend - immediately upon arriving at the hotel - what a lovely way to begin the festitivites! This has a pretty red fruited nose. On the palate lots of strawberry, essence of blood orange and then crushed rocks. Finishes with a hint of sweetness. Very pretty.
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White - Sparkling
N.V. Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Premier
When the welcome glass decides to turn into a mini round of champagne tasting - this is wine #2. Very fresh and lively on the palate with fine zingy bubbles and some toast and biscuit notes. Quite enjoyable!
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Rosé - Sparkling
2005 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut
My first time with the Comte Rose - and while I enjoyed it I am not thoroughly convinced it is worth the price of admission. Perhaps it needs more cellar time to develop additional complexity. Most striking characteristic was the bright salmon color. On the palate some strawberry and a little bit of yeasty bread dough, some creaminess on the mouthfeel - but no fireworks here.
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Flight 2 - Old World Dinner at Seasons 52 (10 notes)
Great meal paired with some fun wines, many of which were the first time I had tried.
Favorites for me:
2000 Chateau Pavie Decesse & 2007 Fattoria Petroli Galatrona
1996 Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
1981 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Vina Tondonia
For full notes on the menu served please refer to Mc2wines tasting story.
White - Sparkling
N.V. André Clouet Champagne Un jour de 1911...
My first time with this wine and I quite liked it. Served from a champagne flute, so the aromatics were a bit difficult to assess and it started a bit too cold. Left a bit in my glass to come back to and it really opened up upon coming to room temperature. Yeasty and a bit oxidative in style - with some rich base notes on the finish. Would love to revisit this in a regular stem.
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Red
1981 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia
Lots of barnyard funk of the nose - in a good earthy perfumed way. Color is quite brown. On the palate, the dark fruit is mostly receded with teritiary notes of leather and dry leaves and a backbone of acidity holding it together. I really enjoyed this one.
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Red
1982 Château Canon
The nose on this one was a bit reticent. Color had quite a bit of browning. It tasted of dried plum, leather, and old library with lots of fine silky tannins. Very velvety in the mouthfeel with a nice finish. Enjoyed.
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Red
2006 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino
Not sure how much decanting this one had, but if you own these I would recommend holding off opening for another 5-10 years or giving a very long decant. Still very youthful and full of grippy tannins, blackberries and a bit of heat from the alcohol. The structure is all here to age well, but I think this one needs a bit more time to knit together.
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Red
2007 Fattoria Petrolo Galatrona
Served from magnum. This was one of my favorite wines of the dinner tonight. The nose is very earthy, freshly tilled soil comes to mind. On the palate you know you are drinking merlot with the smooth, rich, and velvety mouthfeel. The fruit and earth are playing really well together here for me with neither overpowering the other. Really nice!
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Red
2000 Château L'Evangile
On the nose - leather and earth. This one is perhaps too young for current enjoyment or perhaps needs a super long decant. There was some debate around the table as to whether the two bottles poured were tasting quite differently and perhaps one of them was off. My glass was a bit shut down, tasting quite tight and astringent. I did not get to taste from the other bottle so unsure as to the comparison.
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Red
2000 Château Pavie Decesse
My first time with this wine and another one of my favorites from this dinner. This bottle was just open knit and ready for business - if you have this in your cellar don't be afraid to pop one open. The nose was dark fruits and leather. On the palate, warm dark plums, some spices and silky texture with a nice persistent finish. Really nice!
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Red
2000 Château Léoville Barton
Still a total infant this bottle needs more time. Very interesting flight - as it seems '00 left bank needs much more time but '00 right bank maybe ready to go - although probably not a large enough sample size to draw a conclusion. On the nose leather, black fruit and earth. On the palate the tannins overwhelmed with lots of drying astringency. Cellar for 10 more years.
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Red
1994 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage
Got this bottle from auction, so not sure about the storage conditions and think it was showing a bit over the hill. This was decanted for sediment and poured. The nose was quite restrained. On the palate the acid was very prominent with some sweet fruit lurking in the background, a bit of smoked meats and bacon but very lean and not the complexity I expect from Chave. First time with this vintage so not sure if it was the bottle or the wine??
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Red
1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
This was probably my third favorite of tonight's tasting and seemed a very classic Bordeaux style - elegant. On the nose - old english library and leather. On the palate this is elegant and restrained with mature red fruit, leather, pencil shaving and some drying tannin on the finish. Pretty and elegant - quite enjoyed.
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Flight 3 - Night Caps on the terrace (2 notes)
Ending the night back where we started out on the terrace - enjoying the warm air and reflecting on all the wines we sampled over dinner.
Red
2013 Château des Tours Côtes du Rhône
My favorite producer for both high end and daily drinking bottles and as always they seem to deliver terrific wine in every part of the spectrum. Bright red translucent cherry color, earthy spicy nose with red fruit. On the palate cherry, cranberry, spice, herbs, black tea leave and layers of flavor. Yummy.
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White - Sweet/Dessert
1962 Château Suduiraut
This was a really fun bottle to try. The bottle itself looked like it had lived quite a life - if glass could talk:-) The color was dark caramel. On the palate it reminded me of "Bit-o-Honey" candy from the 1970's - butterscotch a burnt caramel - with just a touch of sweetness. Lots of toasty notes - really fun to try - but in reality probably past its prime drinking window.
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Flight 4 - Buoncristiani Tasting with winemaker Matt Buoncristiani (2 notes)
Given the big day before, I opted to taste the wines and enjoy the company at this tasting, so no formal note taking. There were two wines that really stood out for me here that we decided to add to our cellar - so I will share some of my thoughts from memory here. Thanks to Matt for coming all the way from Napa to share his lovely wines with the CT group, thanks to Mark & Claudia for their gracious hospitality hosting this event and thanks to Larry & Nancy for organizing the tasting. A really special and fun event.
White
2016 Buoncristiani Triad Blanc
I really enjoyed this wine which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay. I am not normally a fan of straight new world SB or Chard - but think the Viognier here really added some interesting notes to this wine. We bought some of this from Matt and look forward to sipping it on the roof top this summer.
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Red
2014 Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon The Core
This wine is still very young, but showing the power and structure to age into something really lovely with a good decade in the cellar. Today it is quite bold, with juicy blackberry and black raspberry, grippy tannin and a nice backbone of acid holding it together. My husband liked it for drinking now, but I think I will appreciate even more in 2028. Thanks for sharing this with us Matt!
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Flight 5 - Naps or Drinks??? Guess what we chose..... (4 notes)
A couple of hours between the afternoon winemaker tasting and the new world dinner. A discussion ensued over whether naps made sense or whether we should just keep rolling. Group consensus agree we should just keep on rolling - so out came the bonus bottles. Wines were paired a couple helpings of tasty parmesan french fries.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Nature
100% Pinot Meunier. I find this producer to consistently make champagne in the lean, mineral crisp style. This was full of bright acidity, lemon, green apple, tart raspberry and minerals - zippy bubbles. Paired with parmesan truffle french fries - which worked well as I think this style likes to have some food with it.
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Rosé
2012 Kapcsándy Family Winery Grand Vin Rosé State Lane Vineyard
A very interesting rose, the age combined with the rarer choice of cab suav as the grape - make for a much heavier style than you normally think of when you think rose. The color on this was almost electric pink - really pretty in the glass. On the palate this tasted more vinous, with quite a lot of base notes, and some light grippy tannin on the finish. Raspberry fruit, some pink watermelon and strawberry, with a persistent finish. Very intriguing.
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White
2014 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
95 points
This was just delicious for my palate, "white wine crack" actually. The second time I have gotten a recommendation to decant this wine before drinking (the other was for the 2011) - and I think it really helps to warm it up to room temp and let it unspool its flavors. On the nose here I am in a french bakery - heavenly. Tastes of lemon custard tart, smooth and creamy mouthfeel, the custard is tamed from being overblown by the acid and then minerals. The finish keeps on going. Awesome.
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Comments (2)
White
2005 Y de Yquem
93 points
My second time with this wine, and I was really excited to try again based on the first experience. On the nose lots of honeysuckle and white peaches. On the palate, the balance is really lovely, with the tropical fruit providing top notes and the honeysuckle and stone fruit filling in the mid palate. Complex and layered this is a very interesting wine, but not quite the same pleasure as the Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes served alongside.
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Flight 6 - New World Dinner (15 notes)
The New World Dinner on Saturday night was held at Capital Grill. We had a great line up of wines, and some new faces joining the dinner tonight. I have to say it was a really special treat to get to try the 1998 Grange - which was the last red served and my WOTN - thanks Ibetian.
White - Sparkling
N.V. Charles Mignon Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Comte de Marne
My first time with this producer. More of a leaner styled champagne, bright acidity, lemon, tart green apple, crushed gravel, fine mousse. Nice bright and clean.
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White - Sparkling
2006 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs
Following on the heels of the Charles Mignon, this is a bit richer and yeasty in style - more in the middle ground. Bright, lemony, then biscuity flavors - from champagne flute so no real chance to smell the nose. Smallish pour so gone to quickly to discover the more complex layers, that revealed themselves when I last tasted this wine.
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White
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard
This has a rich fruited nose of apple, honey and caramel. The palate is consistent with the rich nose - butter and honeycomb but very well balanced with good acidity. I find it simultaneously rich and bright. A bit of heat on the finish. Normally I don't care for chardonnay from the new world but this was quite interesting and enjoyable. Nice transition from bubbles to the reds.
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Red
2005 Two Hands Shiraz Ares
And we are out of the gates with a big full throttle aussie red here. This is bruiser of a wine, just bursting from the glass with ripe blackberries and blueberries. The nose is reminiscent of warm jam on scones. The alcohol here is on the higher side so a bit hot on the finish. This is a wine for lovers of big, ripe, fruit forward styled wines, clearly well made in that style.
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Red
2006 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard
A big rich wine, but following the Two Hands, seems more restrained. Tastes of ripe blackberries, cracked black pepper nicely balanced with some good acidity. Sporting a long finish, but with a flush of heat. More fruit forward than savory in style.
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Red
2012 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
The third in the flight of big powerhouse Syrahs. Nose of dark ripe fruit. On the palate this is still very young and a bit disjointed for me with lots of new oak dominating the flavor. I would recommend holding these for at least another 3-5 years to let it come together a bit more.
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Red
2006 Kapcsándy Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon State Lane Vineyard
91 points
Grabbed these by mistake when packing the wine for the trip - without reading glasses '06 and '09 look way too similar early in the morning. The good news is I think these are probably more firmly in their drinking window then the '09's so no harm done. The nose was a bit muted with some dark fruit, but not overly perfumed. On the palate the fruit leaned more to dark plums with almost an underlying sweet note coming through. Smooth dusty tannins, a hint of chocolate, good and very drinkable but not a stand out.
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Comments (2)
Red
2008 Kapcsándy Family Winery Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard
Drank side by side with the Kapcsandy '06 Cab Sauv SL - this was clearly drinking much younger. I think if opening now I would try and decant this for 3+ hours (not sure if this was) or better hold drinking for another 5 years. Dark fruits with good acidity, but the tannins for me were still a bit unyielding and astrigent on the finish. Blend is 68% Cab Sauv, 22% Merlot with the balance to Cab Franc & Petit Verdot
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Red
2004 Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
This one had what I describe as Cotton Candy on the nose - which is a note I often find in certain Napa Cabs. Interesting because while I find the smell a bit too sweet, I often find that wines with this nose profile - this was no exception. Dark red and black raspberries, freshly tilled soil, dry leaves and then smooth tannins. Very nice silky mouthfeel - quite enjoyable!
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Red
2001 Colgin Cariad
Nice perfumed nose on this - sweet fruit and earth. The taste profile on this leaned a bit more to sweet fruit, but there was enough acid so it was pleasant and not cloying. Red fruits (raspberry, cherry, plum), leather and earth. Paired with the steak each component tasted better and the layered flavors began to unravel. Long finish. Lovely
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Red
2006 Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon The Core
It was nice to drink this today in comparison to the '14 we tasted earlier which was so young. Gives you a chance to see how this wine can evolve with cellar time. This one was coming into its drinking window, with the fruit and tannins nicely knit together, black fruits (black currants and blackberries), spices, and a hit of pepper - with a bit of grip on the finish.
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Red
2009 Favia Cerro Sur
This was still a total baby of a wine, with the tannins and acid stealing the show from the black fruit and cracked black pepper. I think probably a longer decant or more time in the cellar - makes me think the CT drinking window is way to short.
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Red
1985 Penfolds Grange
The nose on this seemed a bit closed, perhaps needed more time in the glass to open up, but since this was the last flight served we did not have time to linger with the wine. On the palate, clearly one of the more mature wines tasted this evening and very elegant. Dark fruits and leather and spices, and a complexity that had not been evident in the earlier wines. What a pleasure to get to try this.
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Red
1998 Penfolds Grange
Last of the reds served in a long line up and clearly the WOTN for me. Wow - is this a beauty and still very much a baby. Just beautiful and complex and layered - tons of structure here so can only imagine how this will be in 10 or 20 years. Hands down WOTN!
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White - Sweet/Dessert
2005 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes
Last wine tasted in a very long day - so just a few sips. Honeysuckle on the nose. The palate here leans a bit too the sweet side, without as much acidity as I prefer to balance. Flavors of pineapple, honeysuckle, lemon and white peaches. Nice few sips to end the meal.
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Flight 7 - Pour to Impress Brunch (18 notes)
A few whites were brought to sample prior to the blind tasting. All the pour to impress wines were blinded with tin foil and then shuffled and assigned a number. Tasters worked their way through the line up and submitted scores which were tabulated to arrive at an overall average for each wine. The wines were then revealed from lowest to highest score. Tasters also made guessed as to origin/variety/region and vintage - but we ran out of time at the venue to tabulate - so this year the tasters were not ranked.
Lots of diversion in the scores as you can see from the ranges. Think we had a mix of new world and old world palates going here - clearly no general consensus - every wine from the top to the bottom had some yays and some nays. Blind tasting is very humbling - that is all I can say. Lots of fun to do it with other enthusiasts though!
Results as follows:
90.42 - #17 - 2007 Clos Erasmus Priorat - range (84-96)
91.00 - #16 - 2009 Saxum James Berry Vineyard - range(89-95)
91.30 - #8 - 2007 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Éloge range(?-?)
91.44 - #15 - 2013 Nine Suns - range (89-95)
91.60 - #7 - 2007 Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauv - range (89-96)
91.70 - #13 - 2001 Henri BonneauChâteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins - range (85-97)
91.80 - #6 - 1997 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauv Reserve - range (82-99)
92.30 - #1 - 2010 Peagau CdP Cuvee du Capo - range (?-?)
92.35 - #12 - 2013 Herman Story Grenache 440 Days - range (90-94)
92.40 - #9 - 2002 Dominus - range (90-96)
92.78 - #4 - 2005 Roy Estate Cab Sauv - range - (90-96)
93.05 - #11 - 2007 Alban Grenache Estate Vineyard - range (90-95)
93.20 - #3 - 2009 Cayuse Bionic Frog - range (82-100)
93.27 - #10 - 2012 Memory Found Syrah - range (87-99)
93.45 - #2 - 2007 Colgin Tyschon Hill - range (91-98)
93.75 - #14 - 2004 Bond St. Eden - Range (90-96)
A great event - thanks again to the organizers and to everyone for bringing such great wine.
My personal favorites of the tasting were:
2009 Bionic Frog
2010 Domaine du Peagau CdP Cuvee da Capo
2012 MTR Productions Syrah Memory Found
2007 Colgin Cabernet Sauv Tychson Hill
White
2011 Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling Magdalena Vineyard
My first time with a finger lakes Riesling and I really liked this. First wine of the day - and hit the right note to warm up the palate prior to the pour to impress "reds only" brunch. Pineapple, lemons and then a flush of mineralogy to finish, bright acid and a hint of sweetness - balanced and lovely.
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Red
2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo
1/17 wines tasted double blind. One of my favorites of the day. Color is ruby red. Very savory palate of red fruit, with possibly some whole cluster, giving it great savory notes. Sappy, crunchy fruit, then meaty and gamy goodness. Totally in my wheelhouse.
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Red
2007 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Tychson Hill Vineyard
2/17 wines tasted double blind. Funky barnyard nose. Color is dark leaning more to purple than red. On the palate smokey, dark fruits, leather. My guess was cab Sauvignon/bordeaux blend - I thought it was old world, bordeaux or if new world my guess was Dominus. Very good - in the top 5 for me.
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Red
2009 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog
3/17 wines tasted double blind. A very pretty floral nose (not the usual barnyard Cayuse - more perfumed). On the palate, red berries and cranberries, herbs and black tea. A bit of a candied note on the finish. Was really thinking this was grenache/syrah. Loved this wine - probably my WOTN
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Red
2005 Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
4/17 wines tasted double blind. Definitely new world - thinking Cab Sauv from Napa maybe late 90's. Quite ripe blackberry and blueberry, leaning a bit sweet with smooth tannins. A bit of heat on the finish.
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Red
2011 Long Shadows Wineries Côté Nicault Stone Tree Vineyard
5/17 wines tasted double blind. This one had a lot of sweet red fruits on the nose. Color was a bright ruby red - so clearly quite young. On the palate gobs of sweet red fruit and soft tannins. Seems like a warm vintage - thought maybe '07 Napa Cab Sauv.
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Red
1997 Spring Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
6/17 wines tasted double blind. This one was really quite a surprise for me as well as others I believe. Would have been sure this was a Bordeaux from the 90's. Some browning on the color. Very restrained and elegant on the palate, with leather and cedar notes coming through the mature dark fruit. Quite interesting - first time with this producer.
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Red
2007 Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon
#7/17 wines tasted double blind. Barnyard funk on the nose. The palate seems like classic napa cab. Palate has dark and red fruits, smooth tannins and leans a little bit to sweet side.
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Red
2007 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Éloge
8/17 wines tasted double blind. This one was another confusing one for me. There was a lot more acidity on this wine then the prior bottles in the line up - so it made me think possibly old world and maybe either Italian (although the fruit profile was different) or possibly Loire Cab Franc. Fruit was dark and there were also some more green notes. I would have liked to have spent more time with this one to try and figure it out.
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Red
2002 Dominus Estate
9/17 wines tasted double blind. My guess here was Napa Cabernet or Bordeaux Blend. This was expressing a classic napa profile to me and with riper fruit but still had good balance.
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Red
2012 MTR Productions Syrah Memory Found
10/17 wines tasted double blind. One of my favorites of the tasting line up today. From the nose, full on "bring out the noise bring out the funk" barnyard (in a good way) I am thinking must be Cayuse - so my guess was '09 Syrah from Washington. Dark crunchy fruits, savory notes, good spine of acidity - lots of layers here and a super long finish. Just delicious!
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Red
2007 Alban Vineyards Grenache Alban Estate Vineyard
11/17 wines tasted double blind. This one also had a funky "in the Rocks" type of nose one it. Color was ruby red. There is quite a bit of heat on the palate on this one particularly on the finish. Not as balanced as the one prior to it in the line up - but the fruit is red bright sappy with a bit of a candied note. Should have guessed grenache here give the candied note - but the nose threw me - so I guess '09 Washington Syrah again.
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Red
2013 Herman Story Grenache 440 Days
12/17 wines tasted double blind. Funky nose on this one again. The palate is quite big with some lush fruit, savory notes (was this whole cluster?) and some decent acid. Random guess of New World - napa - cab blend here.
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Red
2001 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins
flawed
13/17 wines tasted double blind. I bought this one at auction and when I opened to decant in the morning the color seemed way off for an '01 - was pretty brown and the fruit seemed a bit stewed. Looked and tasted way older than its years - suspect heat damage somewhere along its life. Blind my guess was a very old, old world wine - thinking 70's or 80's - lots of cherry cola notes on the palate, but not much fruit or deliciousness to be had here - big disappointment.
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Red
2004 BOND St. Eden
91 points
14/18 wines tasted double blind. I brought this one but had never tasted it prior, so wasn't sure what to expect. It actually was the overall winner of the tasting, but lower middle of the pack for me. My guess here was old world, right bank. The palate on this was drinking very smoothly with a velvety texture which had me thinking merlot. It was nice, but did not have the savory and sauvauge notes of some of the wines that I preferred today.
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Red
2013 Nine Suns
15/17 wines tasted double blind. Color leans to purple. On the palate lots of blue berry and black berry and quite a bit of heat from the alcohol. Very young still and probably needs quite a bit of cellar time or a longer decant to open up if drinking now.
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Red
2009 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
16/17 wines tasted double blind. The nose on this was very hot with a bit of a burnt rubber smell to me. Very big and ripe, and a bit disjointed at this point. Perhaps going through a dumb phase?
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Red
2007 Clos Erasmus Priorat
17/17 wines tasted double blind. Hmm.... this was quite different from all the wines that preceded - seemed much older than it was - my guess was '80's bordeaux. Lots of leather and cola notes for me on this and just very different - interesting.
Flight 8 - My first LaLa on the terrace (1 note)
Red
1996 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline
Excited to try my first LaLa - courtesy of friends as an extra pour to impress wine was brought to the event. This had been decanted in the morning. Color is quite dark in the glass. Palate is dark fruit (currants, blackberry, and dark raspberry) but savory notes, and some sauvage meaty notes coming through on the finish. Pretty darn tasty.
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Flight 9 - Bern's dinner (10 notes)
We arranged to get the wine list well in advance of our trip and pre-marked all the selections of interest - it was a very long list. The somm came back with suggestions in each category to help us hone in the best selections for each region. At the end of the day we settled on 10 bottles - all of which opened beautifully except for the Barolo. Original pull was dead on the nose - so this was swapped out for a second bottle. Very memorable dinner - great wine - excellent company - lots of laughter. A terrific way to end the weekend.
White
1987 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia
From the wine list at Bern's. Straw color. Oxidative nose. On the palate this is very complex, with an oxidative sherried palate - brining to mind crushed toasted walnuts, caramelized honey, with a waxy mouthfeel and a super long finish. Just really interesting and contemplative and delicious - lovely way to open our meal at Bern's.
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Red
1979 Leon Revol Cotes-Du-Ventoux
From the wine list at Bern's. What a bargain ($21) and a lovely surprise this little beauty was. Color is translucent ruby. Still drinking lively and fresh with lots of red fruit (hello grenache) and acid and some lovely earthy notes. Fun to drink and a great QPR.
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Red
1975 Parducci Charbono
From the wine list at Bern's. Next to the '75 Cote du Ventoux the color was much darker and dense. The nose was very smokey. Taste was still full of dark berries with smoke, tobacco and earthy notes - continued to improve with an hour in the glass. Very fun - need to try and find some of these at auction.
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Red
1978 Joseph Phelps Syrah
From the wine list at Bern's. Color wise, this was lighter than Charbono but darker than the Revol Cote-du-Ventoux. Great funky nose. On the palate this was all about bacon, smoked meats, spice, some dark berries with a great spine of acidity. All nicely coming together for a delicious glass of wine - this held its own for about 3 hours in the glass. Delicious and my favorite of three very lovely wines in our flight from the 70's.
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Red
1922 Château Lagrange (St. Julien)
From the wine list at Bern's. We all loved the label on this old bottle - the vintage year is actually shown inside the little flag on the castle - how whimsical! Unfortunately this one was showing pretty far over the hill. On the nose lots of earthy, mushroomy funk. On the palate the fruit is gone and this is all about earthiness and mushroom farming. The first sips were the best but the mushroom flavors begin to overwhelm the glass after a bit. We enjoyed it as we thought about what was happening in the world during the roaring '20's - and how this bottle was probably in the private cellar of some english lord.
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Red
1942 Château Ausone
From the wine list at Bern's. Probably the WOTN for me. The WWII vintage prompted quite a bit of historical discussion with the somm and around the table. It started with the blue color of the glass bottle - the somm explained that they were using copper to tint the glass back then and it resulted in the blue color. This was also just drinking beautifully. Lively on the palate with dark red plummy fruit, wrapped in a soft blanket of earth & tobacco leaves with a velvety mouthfeel. What a joy to sip this throughout the meal - I held it to the end and it never fell off the cliff.
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Red
1957 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse
From the wine list at Bern's. Compared to the '42 Ausone which this served alongside, this just was not showing nearly as well. The acidity was a bit too prominent overwhelming what was left of the dark fruit and making the whole wine taste a bit out of balance.
Red
1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto di Serralunga d'Alba
From the wine list at Bern's. 1st bottle opened seemed a bit off, as the nose was totally shut down, so the somm replaced the bottle with a fresh one. This was decanted for about one hour prior to serving. I suspect a longer decant would have really helped the wine, as it opened up quite nicely in the glass. Quite a transition from the older Bordeaux wines as this was still very much alive and kicking. Great Barolo nose of leather, old library and rose petals. Initially a bit reticent on the palate, but with time in glass, plummy fruit, tar, black tea leave, leather and bright acidity with a long finish. A really beautiful glass of wine.
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Red
1980 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
From the wine list at Bern's. My second LaLa (of the day). At 38, this is still a very youthful and powerful wine. Dark fruits with some sappy, juicy quality still showing through along with spices, and pepper and a bit of smoked meat, but ultimately this leans a bit more sweet than savory. Really delicious.
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Red
1999 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace
From the wine list at Bern's. A very big and powerful wine to end the evening's line up. This still seems quite young and clearly has the structure to benefit from at least another decade of aging. Dark ripe berries, dark cocoa powder and some black licorice notes, with grippy tannins. Perhaps a bit too powerful and extracted for my palate, but I can appreciate the quality of the wine.
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