Outstanding example of Napa mountain fruit and American/New World craft brought to Rhone varietal staple. After letting the wine open for about 45 minutes, we were rewarded in our patience with subtlties and power in the body, nose and finish that delight in their complex, counter-intuitive expressions and melody of seemingly contradictory characters. I'll add more to this note when I'm not bound to use my BlackBerry. However, that I'm compelled to enter this much via this device should give you an indication of the wine's composition.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Excellent experience with a wine from a rare challenged vintage out of Napa. Toward dispatching the deficiencies of this wine quickly, it was obviously a wine of lesser vibrancy, depth and sophistication as compared to the award winning 2002 and other "peak year" vintages, the 2000 enjoyed this evening suffers only by comparison. As it was the only wine we opended this evening, it proved itself to be a stand out. Then again, if one were to consider it in comparison to most other cabernet heavy Napa offerings from the 2000 vintage, this wine is a star.
As for the wine itself, the body is supple with some truly lush carmel and eathy tones, yet on the whole remains light, effervescent and playful. I believe that the janus-like fusion of opposite impulses revealed themselves in such balance as an aspect of this wine's age. I expect we'll be finishing our remaining bottles over the next few months with all of the elated expectation of a child chasing visions of ice cream inspired by Good Humor's melody hypnotically infusing the dusky breezes of July. Ah yes, the wine. Pardon my carrying on, but I was - and remain - delightfully surprised as I had expected this wine from this vintage to have turned flabby and flat. This wine was anything but that.
In the end, my surprise and delight must find proportion, context, within which an attempt at objective measure can be rendered. Thus my rating of a 91 for this bottle. Subsequent samplings from this vintage may induce me to at a point, no more, to my judgment. Stay tuned as time will tell.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
2005 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah
5/17/2009 - NW_HURLEY wrote: 94 Points
Outstanding example of Napa mountain fruit and American/New World craft brought to Rhone varietal staple. After letting the wine open for about 45 minutes, we were rewarded in our patience with subtlties and power in the body, nose and finish that delight in their complex, counter-intuitive expressions and melody of seemingly contradictory characters. I'll add more to this note when I'm not bound to use my BlackBerry. However, that I'm compelled to enter this much via this device should give you an indication of the wine's composition.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2000 Joseph Phelps Insignia
5/14/2009 - NW_HURLEY wrote: 91 Points
Excellent experience with a wine from a rare challenged vintage out of Napa. Toward dispatching the deficiencies of this wine quickly, it was obviously a wine of lesser vibrancy, depth and sophistication as compared to the award winning 2002 and other "peak year" vintages, the 2000 enjoyed this evening suffers only by comparison. As it was the only wine we opended this evening, it proved itself to be a stand out. Then again, if one were to consider it in comparison to most other cabernet heavy Napa offerings from the 2000 vintage, this wine is a star.
As for the wine itself, the body is supple with some truly lush carmel and eathy tones, yet on the whole remains light, effervescent and playful. I believe that the janus-like fusion of opposite impulses revealed themselves in such balance as an aspect of this wine's age. I expect we'll be finishing our remaining bottles over the next few months with all of the elated expectation of a child chasing visions of ice cream inspired by Good Humor's melody hypnotically infusing the dusky breezes of July. Ah yes, the wine. Pardon my carrying on, but I was - and remain - delightfully surprised as I had expected this wine from this vintage to have turned flabby and flat. This wine was anything but that.
In the end, my surprise and delight must find proportion, context, within which an attempt at objective measure can be rendered. Thus my rating of a 91 for this bottle. Subsequent samplings from this vintage may induce me to at a point, no more, to my judgment. Stay tuned as time will tell.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2003 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile
5/9/2009 - NW_HURLEY wrote: 88 Points
May have once been good, but was well past its prime drinking age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment