Tasting for Newbies in Gusbo's honor ('97 Pride Reserve Cab, '02 Pride Cab Franc, '01 Karl Lawrence Cab, '01 Numanthia, '01 Henry's Drive Reserve, '93 Disznoco Eszencia, '99 Delesvaux SGN, etc.)
Monterrey, Mexico
Tasted January 13, 2006 by hcampana with 1,787 views
Introduction
I hosted an eclectic wine tasting for a few of my friends and co-workers to honor my friend Gusbo's visit to town.
Wines were served in an informal setting and acompanied by cold cuts of Salami and Serrano ham and several cheeses (Parmigianno Regianno, Manchego, Brie, Roquefort and Granna Padano). I never got to bring out the desserts (carmalized pears and figs).
Flight 1 - A treat before the other guests arrived (1 note)
As Gusbo and I set up the 72 Riedel glasses for the tasting, we shared a wine I'd been dying to taste. Perks of the host I guess.
Red
1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
Decanted for half an hour. Very dark ruby with a gorgeous nose of black berries, smoke and vanilla milkshake. The fruit concentration on this wine is amazing. It is not flamboyant by any menas, but boy, does it have a lot of flavor. Tannins are ripe and the finish is long. Despite its size, this wine is balanced. This is a great wine that requires additional cellaring to open up more.
Gusbo commented he likes it more than the 1997 Harlan (which I've never tasted).
Flight 2 - A Champagne and a Chardonnay to start things off (2 notes)
I've found Champagne is great to kick off things. People seem to get in a good mood when they're drinking Champagne.
White
2002 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Sbragia Limited Release
USA, California, Napa Valley
This was my second ottle in two consecutive nights. It confirmed my previous impression. Medium gold color. This gorgeous Chardonnay oozes with tropical fruit aromas. The texture is creamy, buttery and full bodied, with some oak but by no means obtrusive. This is silky and surprisingly crisp. A beauty.
Flight 3 - The reds (4 notes)
I chose an eclectic mix to keep things interesting for the wine rookies that still do not know what they like very well.
Red
2001 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very dark ruby. Nose dominated by vanilla at first, and then followed by spicy black currant and flowers. This wine is loaded with fruit. Full to medium body, with noticeable but very ripe tannin and a nice long finish. This wine was drinking beautifully tonight, but will improve with 2-3 more years of cellar time as the wood integrates better. This was my 2nd favorite wine, as well as most other tasters'.
Red
2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc
USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma
Purple black color with a gorgeous nose crammed with black fruits, vanilla and a hint of chocolate. There were no green aromas of tobacco leaf or bell pepper as is usual with cab franc. Medium to full bodied, silky with very ripe tannin, loads of and loads of flavour and obviously open for business. This confirms why Pride is my favorite California producer. My and the group's WOTN. 7 out of 9 people chose this as their favorite wine.
Red
2001 Henry's Drive Shiraz Reserve
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway
Inky black color. Intense fruit bomb nose of blueberries, licorice and grilled toast. Full bodied and thick, this wine exhibitted very low acidity and slightly high alcohol. This is an extreme example of Australian shiraz that is not for everyone. I have loved this wine before, but tonight it seemed rustic and slightly hot when compared with the 2002 Pride Cab Franc and 2001 Karl Lawrence Cab. It received one WOTN vote, but it was a consensus third place winner.
Red
2001 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia
Spain, Castilla y León, Toro
This wine is a brute. A monster. A tannic beast. Inky black and completely opaque. There are blackberries and oak in the very muted nose. Very full bodied, thick and oh sooo tannic. I am not sensitive to tannin and this was too much for even me. There is enough of a substrate to hope for positive development, but it will take at least a decade to become approachable. This was my last place wine and also the group's, even when it received 1 WOTN vote form a pregnant girl that was barely sipping a half ounce of each wine.
Flight 4 - The desserts (2 notes)
In my opinion, this was the star flight of the night.
White - Sweet/Dessert
1993 Disznókő Tokaji Aszú Eszencia
Hungary, Tokaji
Oh boy. What an ending to our tasting. Deep golden color, this thick, viscous tokaji is crammed with honey, pineapple and apricot aromas. The acidity is out of this world, balancing the huge residual sugar. This wine coats the entire mouth with pleasure. The finish lasts forever. One of the best desert wines I've ever had.
Closing
I had a lot of fun in this tasting. It resulted more memorable for the laughs we shared than for the wines we drank. The group had very good chemistry and, since we know each other very well, we teased each other all night. The tasting started at 9:30pm and when Gusbo and I were scavenging some of the leftover wines, we noticed it was nearly 5am! I guess times fly when your having fun.
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