the 2000 Schramsberg Reserve has a light golden hue and extremely small bubbles. I pick up a tart, almost Mosel-like petrol/slate nose and definitely agree with the scent of almonds. there's a fair amount of body to the palate along with a salted dough impression. On one of my trips to Napa I visited the tasting room at Schramsberg having the intention of taking the tour until I discovered that it's 45 minutes of meandering around the property. So what I did was skipped the tour, had a few glasses of Schramsberg, and snuck into the caves that are located just off the tasting room. I wandered through those cavernous wonders for at least 20 minutes (the sort of thing I do after a couple of glasses) thus conducting my own tour of the only part of the winery I really cared about in the first place. I've been drinking a lot of Champagne lately and the finish just doesn't stack up to the likes of the basic, enrty-level Bruts from Henriot and Charles Heidsieck. There's a lack of 'snap' that leaves this wine a bit dull once swallowed. Not worth $70 but still very good.
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The 2005's are here! In the glass the Le Boscq is a deep magenta. On the nose there seems to be perfect balance of spice, vanilla, deep black fruits, and a touch of earth. A very impressive nose indeed. The wine doesn't fulfill the promise made by the boquet. While there is very good balance, the palate is a bit thin and the finish ends rather abruptly. I won't say I'm disappointed since I only paid $24 for this but I will say I'm looking forward to greater things from some of the other 2005 Bordeaux's I purchased which include the d'Issan, Lagrange, Pontet Canet, La Confession, Haut Bergey, and Smith Haut Lafite, to name a few. Unfortunately those notes won't be entered for many years so until then, drink great wine my friends, do good work, and enjoy life.
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Just before I pulled the cork, Michael told me this would be too young. I heard him but didn't listen. I opened it, poured it , smelled it, and made a face. Without any air, the 2004 Rasteau from Domaine Grand Nicolet smelled reduced, offering generous amounts of canned asparagus and a pasty trait. It wasn't pretty. That's when I turned to Michael and said "I told you it would be too young, but you never listen." Within 15 minutes the wine started releasing a boquet of candied raspberries but not much more. The Nicolet is so disjointed at this point I would recommend either breathing this for at least 45 minutes or much better waiting until 2010 to open a bottle. There's a lot of potential here but the wine needs time to assembe itself and hopefully go from a schoolgirl to a dark-skinned beauty. Unless you like fruit bombs I would give this time to shed some of its weight and let the fruit evolve a bit.
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2000 Schramsberg Vineyards Reserve
12/13/2009 - therussian wrote: 89 Points
the 2000 Schramsberg Reserve has a light golden hue and extremely small bubbles. I pick up a tart, almost Mosel-like petrol/slate nose and definitely agree with the scent of almonds. there's a fair amount of body to the palate along with a salted dough impression. On one of my trips to Napa I visited the tasting room at Schramsberg having the intention of taking the tour until I discovered that it's 45 minutes of meandering around the property. So what I did was skipped the tour, had a few glasses of Schramsberg, and snuck into the caves that are located just off the tasting room. I wandered through those cavernous wonders for at least 20 minutes (the sort of thing I do after a couple of glasses) thus conducting my own tour of the only part of the winery I really cared about in the first place. I've been drinking a lot of Champagne lately and the finish just doesn't stack up to the likes of the basic, enrty-level Bruts from Henriot and Charles Heidsieck. There's a lack of 'snap' that leaves this wine a bit dull once swallowed. Not worth $70 but still very good.
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2005 Château Le Boscq St. Estèphe
4/20/2008 - therussian wrote: 87 Points
The 2005's are here! In the glass the Le Boscq is a deep magenta. On the nose there seems to be perfect balance of spice, vanilla, deep black fruits, and a touch of earth. A very impressive nose indeed. The wine doesn't fulfill the promise made by the boquet. While there is very good balance, the palate is a bit thin and the finish ends rather abruptly. I won't say I'm disappointed since I only paid $24 for this but I will say I'm looking forward to greater things from some of the other 2005 Bordeaux's I purchased which include the d'Issan, Lagrange, Pontet Canet, La Confession, Haut Bergey, and Smith Haut Lafite, to name a few. Unfortunately those notes won't be entered for many years so until then, drink great wine my friends, do good work, and enjoy life.
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2004 Domaine Grand Nicolet Rasteau
4/2/2008 - therussian wrote: 88 Points
Just before I pulled the cork, Michael told me this would be too young. I heard him but didn't listen. I opened it, poured it , smelled it, and made a face. Without any air, the 2004 Rasteau from Domaine Grand Nicolet smelled reduced, offering generous amounts of canned asparagus and a pasty trait. It wasn't pretty. That's when I turned to Michael and said "I told you it would be too young, but you never listen." Within 15 minutes the wine started releasing a boquet of candied raspberries but not much more. The Nicolet is so disjointed at this point I would recommend either breathing this for at least 45 minutes or much better waiting until 2010 to open a bottle. There's a lot of potential here but the wine needs time to assembe itself and hopefully go from a schoolgirl to a dark-skinned beauty. Unless you like fruit bombs I would give this time to shed some of its weight and let the fruit evolve a bit.
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