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2002 Pride Vintner's Select Merlot, 2001 Pride Cab, 2002 Shirvington Cab & 2004 Mitolo GAM

Monterrey, Mexico

Tasted May 23, 2008 by hcampana with 434 views

Introduction

My wife and I invited 2 couples for a wine tasting at our apartment. I had originally prepared to taste a white, 6 reds and a dessert wine, but my wife convinced me that our guests were not going to drink all of that wine, so I played it little by little and we only got to taste 4 reds (I forgot to pull the white out of the freezer and as a result the wine froze, expanded and pushed the cork right through the foil capsule).

All wines were served blind in Riedel Vinum glasses. Given that our guests are wine novices, I only asked that they try to pair the two Aussies and the two Napas together and also pick their WOTN. It ended up been a fun night as we chat ted and ate appetizers for several hours while sipping on these fruit bomb New World wines.

Flight 1 (4 notes)

Red
2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon USA, California, Napa Valley
94 points
Wine No. 1

This was very well received by the crowd. Ripe, concentrated, full of black fruits, full bodied. After unveiling, I was somewhat surprised that the tannin is completely assimilated so soon. This is a great cab that is drinking very well. My second place wine.

5 of 6 votes for 2nd place.
Red
2004 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
86 points
Wine No. 2

This wine is hot, un balanced and disjointed. Granted it has a ton of fruit, but it is impossible to see why The Wine Advocate would ever annoit it 97 points. I stopped buying Aussie Shirazes a couple of years now and this reminds me why.
Red
2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot Vintner Select Mountain Top Vineyard USA, California, Sonoma County
97 points
Wine No. 3

This is an instant hit with everyone. This is, for me, a classic example of the Foley school of winemaking. This is ripe, flamboyant, flavorful, showing caramel and tons of fruit. Right on the edge of the ripeness-over ripeness border. For lovers of this style (I am one), it doesn't get much better than this!

5 (of 6) votes for WOTN
Red
2002 Shirvington Cabernet Sauvignon Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
93 points
Wine No. 4

Initially, this wine seemed hot and unbalanced, which led everyone to tie it to Wine No. 2. With time in the bottle though, this improved a lot. This is a ripe, flavorful, full bodied Cab that tasted a lot like a Shiraz. I really liked it, which is a bit surprising given that I have been shying away from Aussie wines more and more in the last few years.

Closing

The tasting confirmed why Pride is such a favorite of mine. Both rocked, as did the yummy Shirvington Cab. The Mitolo GAM was a big disspaointment.

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