Best of Bordeaux vs Kings of Kalifornia
prima
Tasted December 18, 2009 by soyhead with 623 views
Introduction
After much electronic verbal banter, the event got underway. Significant Spousal attendance include John's, Mario's, and Steve's wives. CindyLoo brought her boyfriend Brian. Also attending were as Errol, Duane, Doug, and that bastion of willpower Bob. Notibly absent was Mr. Aspen. All wines were tasted double blind. The wines were impressive. Several different favorites were noted. Attempt were made to call wines old or new world. As usual, I was highly confident of my picks, and wound up missing the mark on more than 50%. John repeatedly brought to our attention his ability to accurately predict new vs old world, though his methods may be questionable. But for sure he can tell an old world merlot when he tastes one , yo, so there you have it! The pope (JD) declared a favorite and seemingly the cardinal's votes fell into order. Kalifornia carried the day, thanks to some impressive bottles. Contrary to the medical advice of the two physicians and one cosmetologist present, cigars were smoked out back by a select few. All scores below are mine and of course, arbitrary.
Flight 1 (1 note)
Mouth - dark berry, plum, licorice, juicy sweet fruit but possibly a touch thin texturally. A hint of spice on the finish. A lovely start to the evening
Flight 2 (1 note)
mouth - dynamite rich red fruit, very silky, very ripe, very delicious, and monolithic. In my estimation it lacked the complexity of several of the wines to follow, but no denying that it was a gorgeous bottle. Group Runner up. Thanks Doug!
Flight 3 (1 note)
mouth - complex red fruit with distinctive mushroomy flavors. Still tannic, and impressively complex. Possibly stumbling slightly on the finish. Pretty much everyone though it to be old world. Wine of the Night and Winner of the match Mario.
Flight 4 (1 note)
mouth - cola, cherry, sassafras (Dude - WTF?), cherry fruit, with a touch of vegetation. The nose trumped the mouth. Also a complex wine and puzzling - is it over the hill or perhaps needs more time?
Flight 5 (1 note)
Flight 6 (1 note)
mouth - tobacco and tannins. Again, my performance slightly marred by palate fatigue.
Flight 7 (1 note)
mouth - tooti fruiti - overall a touch candied, in a solid lineup (see Tasting Event) it relatively lacked complexity, but on any otherday of the week I would have jumped at the chance to drink it.
Flight 8 (1 note)
mouth - red dark fruit, and very very tannic. Oooh, a baby, but already yummy, and plenty of aging potential