DaveZack
Member #84,439 signed up 6/22/2009
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2011 Fess Parker Syrah Rodney's Vineyard
10/5/2017 - DaveZack Likes this wine: 93 Points
I received this always-fabulous/estate-grown wine from Fess’ wine club in March, 2014. The bouquet exhibits degrees of the soil and herbaceous elements. The wine pours VERY dark, about as black as a Petite Sirah. The fruit profile is about 90% dark/black fruits and 10% red fruits; such as plums, blackberries, black cherries, then sour cherries and red currants. Next “up to the plate” are substantial herbaceous and black pepper elements, such as a dozen dried herbs and a mountain of black pepper about as big as Mt. Everest. This wine is deeply and complexly-flavored and delicious!!!!!! It is also slightly creamy (thanks to the oak elements that are not obvious in the flavor profile), and structurally significant (the acidity and tannins are very food-friendly, and age-worthy). This wine is drinking beautifully right now and has structural elements (tannins and acidity) that may allow it to continue to age gracefully and beautifully for another 5-10 years. This “beauty” also has a VERY lingering finish and palate-cleansing elements that make this wine a VERY food-friendly red!!!!!
I paired this wine with tenderloin filet mignon steaks from CostCo spiced with Kosher salt, black pepper, and ground cumin; this wine would pair beautifully with any/all high-quality red protein dishes, such as prime rib, Beef Wellington, lamb chops, rack of lamb, as well as any/other high-quality steak. I consider this wine one of (if not THEE) best American-made/grown Syrah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This wine is ALWAYS 90+ points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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2011 Tablas Creek En Gobelet
9/29/2017 - DaveZack Likes this wine: 92 Points
I received this always delicious red blend “beauty” from Tablas Creek’s (T.C.) wine club in September, 2013. The bouquet is rather sharp and tannic, truly revealing the wine’s structural elements (tannins and acidity) instead of its fruit, herb, oak, and/or soil elements. This Rhone-styled red blend consists of 29% Mourvedre, 27% Grenache, 26% Tannat, and 18% Syrah. The wine pours very dark, almost as black as a Petite Sirah. The flavor profile is about 50% black fruited (blackberries, plums, black cherries) and 50% red fruited (raspberries, sour cherries, red currants), along with delicious black pepper and various dried herbs. The structural elements (tannins and acidity) are VERY food-friendly and palate-cleansing. The flavor profile is VERY deeply and deliciously complex and sophisticated. Even though the wine is very dark and structurally muscular, it’s generally light-bodied. The finish is very long and lingering. I paired this “beauty” with beef loin tenderloin filet mignon steaks from CostCo, spiced with Kosher salt, black pepper, and ground cumin. Based on the structural elements of this “beauty,” this wine would pair PERFECTLY with rich and fatty red protein dishes, such as Beef Wellington and/or prime rib. This wine is drinking beautifully right now (even though T.C.’s vintage chart lists this wine in its early stage of maturity), and will probably drink wonderfully for another 10 years or so. I generally like to drink red wines about five years after being bottled, this fabulous red blend is drinking wonderfully about six years after being bottled (and/or grapes being harvested in the vineyards). Tablas Creek’s Rhone varietals are ALWAYS wonderful (single varietal bottlings as well as red and white blends). I’ve been a T.C. wine club member for about eight years – all of their wines are ALWAYS fabulous. If I were to ever win one of those massive lotteries ($250,000,000 - $800,000,000), I would hire a truck driver that has a refrigerated “big rig,” to go to Domaine Chandon in Napa Valley to buy about 25 cases of their always fabulous sparkling wines, as well as go all over the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County to buy a ton of high-quality Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays (the RRV is one of the best Pinot/Chardonnay regions on Earth), as well as all over Paso Robles (I’m a huge fan of several wineries in Paso, ESPECIALLY Tablas Creek), as well as Santa Rita Hills (another awesome Pinot Noir and Chardonnay region), as well as Santa Barbara wine country (especially Fess Parker winery, another winery I’ve been a wine club member for many years; their wines are always wonderful).
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2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel
9/27/2017 - DaveZack Likes this wine: 94 Points
I received this beauty from Tablas Creek’s (T.C.) wine club in October, 2009. The bouquet is very interesting, revealing herbaceous and earthy/soil elements of the wine. The wine pours VERY dark (about as dark/black as a Petite Sirah), not too surprising since this red blend consist of 44% Mourvedre, 29% Grenache, 21% Syrah, and 6% Counoise. This always fabulous red blend generally goes into its “closed” phase about five years after being bottled. This wine recently “exited” its closed phase and is drinking wonderfully/beautifully now. I’d imagine this wine was about a 96-point wine before it went into its closed phase around 2012.
The flavor profile is about 90% dark/black-fruited, such as black berries and plums and black cherries, along with 10% red-fruited elements, such as red currants, sour cherries, and raspberries. There are also delicious herbaceous elements as well, consisting of a huge variety of dried herbs. This wine is also slightly rich and creamy, along with food-friendly structural elements (tannins and acidity). This wine is super food-friendly and palate cleansing, along with an elegant and lingering finish. I paired this beauty with filet mignon tenderloins from CostCo spiced with Kosher salt, black pepper, and ground cumin. This wine paired beautifully/wonderfully with those tenderloins and would also pair well with chops and racks of lamb, as well as Beef Wellington, prime rib, and any other high-quality steak. This wine is structurally elegant and deeply/complexly-flavored, and would pair well with just about any red meat protein dish, along with pot roast, stew, etc……… Tablas Creek’s wines are ALWAYS fabulous/fantastic/delicious (all of their single-varietal bottlings, as well as all of their blends). If I were to win one of those massive Powerball lotteries, I would hire a truck driver that has a refrigerated “big rig” and go to Tablas Creek and buy probably 50-to-100 cases of their always-fabulous/fantastic wines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since their Esprit De Beaucastel (now named Esprit De Tablas) always goes through a “closed” phase about five years after being bottled, I’ve started drinking those red blends before they go into that phase. I recently finished all of the 2012s and will soon begin drinking the 2013s. This particular vintage is drinking beautifully right now and will probably continue to age gracefully/elegantly for another five years or so.
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