Tasting notes from August 2003

Mason 2001 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Delicious Sauvignon Blanc. Lively tropical fruit with some aggressive gooseberry and lime flavors thrown in. Creamy palate. Just the right amount of acidity. Sweet fruit. Like it. $16

Marquis Philips 2002 Sarah's Blend South Eastern Australia Like a blackberry cobbler al a mode. Creamy oak, sweet blackberry fruit, maple and cassis flavors along with another toasty bread quality. Yummy, occasionally cloying. $15

Siduri 2001 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Fruity, fuller-bodied Pinot, but the nose has an off-putting glue and caramel quality. Whatever oak treatment Siduri uses, I don't think I like it on their Pinots. $19

Etim 2001 Grenache Monstant Has some interesting fruit qualities, a bit like creosote and cherries, but the wine lacks concentration on the palate. Watery in the middle, and possibly in need of a little time in the bottle. $12

Behrens and Hitchcock 2001 Petite Sirah Spring Mountain This seemed rather youthful and tannic. On the nose it shows some baking spice and bramble fruit but it seems to lurk behind a seven-foot wall of tannin. It opens some with air, but the tannin overshadows the mid and late palate so much that I wonder if it will ever seem accessible. Judgement reserved. $42

Mas de Avelyans 2001 Syrah Vin de Pays du Gard Nice little wine that shows ripe red and black fruit with a toasty oak quality and a hint of honey and stone fruit which reminds me of Cote Rotie. Lush, thick, and balanced. Nice. Excellent QPR. $12

Capcanes 2001 Mas Donis Barrica Monstant Ohh, this has potential. On the nose if shows a sweet red fruit liqueur whiff, then a touch of creosote and tar. Sappy red fruit. At times seeming full bodied, at others merely medium bodied. Finishes with some tangy acidity. Complexity seems to lurk in here. This is a lot of wine for $12. Excellent QPR. $12

Chateau Tahbilk 2000 Marsanne Nagambie Lakes Victoria Yum, this one scores again. Creamy lemon custard. Sweet, perfect acid backbone, lush, long. Occasionally lightly nutty and honeyed. Like it. $14

Allegrini 1999 La Grola Veneto Excellent value in a "Super-Valpolicella." If memory serves, this is blended with some Syrah. Wax and burlap on the nose with a hint of oak and tannin. Smells a little hard and tannic. On the palate the wine is slightly austere, but has enough to black fruit to be nice. Full bodied, viscous with moderate acidity. Nice. $20

A blind tasting of Southern Rhone wines, other than Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneud du Pape at Campsisi’s

Hiedler 2001 Gruner Veltliner Thal Austria Sweet apple nose. Wax and appleskins. Somewhat full bodied with a pear fruit finish. Not bad.

Chateau Valcombe 2002 Rose Signature Cotes du Ventoux Smells like a really light, tank fermented Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir blend. Lemony palate. Watery. Watermelon. Pass.

Le Font du Vent 2002 Cotes du Rhone Les Promises #1 - Chalky red fruit nose. Peppery Grenache fruit.Okay strawberry fruit. Lightish with a bitter finish. Clear translucent ruby in the glass. Eh.

Montirius 1999 Gigondas Pepper, leather, earth, strawberry fruit and liqueur. Sweet, but a bit alcoholic. Tobacco. Possibly a damaged bottle.

Domaine des Amouriers 2000 Vaqueyras #3 - Sour, bit of brettomyces. Sweet rich strawberry and cherry fruit on the palate. White Pepper. Briney. Nice.

Domaine de la Bouissiere 2000 Gigondas #4 - Chalky bitter strawberry nose. Deeply colored. Nuts, plummy, ripe. Menthol finish.

Tardieu Laurent 2000 Costieres de Nimes #5 - Deeply colored with a sweet nose of new oak? And a hint of Brett. Youthful big wine. A musky apricot quality had me wondering if it had some Viognier in it or perhaps just a large percentage of Syrah. Pretty decent stuff. $25

Visan 2000 Cotes du Rhone #6 - This wine is a Bobby Kacher import. Translucent ruby in the glass. Bland, sweetish red fruit. Vanilla. Bland. Pass. $15

Sean Thackrey NV Pleiades California Off bottle of this wine.

Perrin 2000 Vacqueyras #8 - Sweet red fruit. Bit short, but plump and correct. Peppery. Okay, overpriced, international in style. $20

Mouline de la Gardette 1998 Gigondas Peppery mint dry grass. Pass.

Santa Duc 2000 Rasteau #10 - Peppery sour Brett. Richer fruit than the nose would suggest. Okay. Suggestion of Red Hots candy. Cinnamon. Bit hot in the finish. So-so.

Caves de Papes 1999 Gigondas Oratorio Dusty dry earth. Hay. Sweet red fruit. Just okay.

Chateau de Beaucastel 1998 Cotes du Rhone Coudoulet de Beaucastel Showing some clearing in the glass. Hint of tawny. Okay. Creamy and balanced with a waxy side suggesting a high Mourvedre percentage. In retrospect on the eveing, this might have been in my top 5.

Domaine Fondreche 2001 Cotes du Ventoux #13 - New oak on the nose. Bit alcoholic. Mona thinks it smells a bit like air after a rain shower. Bell pepper. Decent fruit, heavy Grenache.

Domaine de Pallieres 1998 Gigondas White pepper. Cool, flinty nose. Easy, soft red fruit.

Tardieu Laurent 1998 Vacqueyras Vielles Vignes Deeply colored, inky and opaque. Big massive, full-bodied wine. New world oak component, but not dominant. Reduced. Caramel. Needs time to integrate, but this was my one and only bottle. Shame. Wine of the night for potential. $30

Clarendon Hills 1997 Grenache Blewitt Springs Sour Brett, pepper. Sweet palate - candied raspberry. Touch watery in the finish. Surprising, not so great a showing.

Santa Duc 2000 Gigondas Prestige de la Garrigue #17 - Red liqueur. White pepper, dusty. Sweet fruit. Interesting wine.

Domaine Grangeneuve 1998 Cotes du Tricastin Cuvee de la Truffiere Sweet red fruit. Strawberry. Okay, but it is too late in the evening to really pass judgement.

Chateau la Nerthe 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape This was rocking. Rich raspberry fruit. Excellent balance and persistence. Yummy. My favorite of the night.

Beaumalric 2001 Muscat Beaumes de Venise Sweet tropical pear fruit.

Durban 2001 Muscat Beaumes de Venise Soapy pine and cedar. Only sweet. This doesn't have a thing on the Beaumalric.

James’ 28th Birthday dinner at Lola

Darioush 2002 Viognier Napa Valley This was a welcome addition to the menu. Stylistically it cuts a wonderful middle road between the heavy Dolly Parton-style Viognier, and the lean, fruitless, mineral version. Rich apricot fruit with some minerality. Racy, yet sweet and lush. Very nice. $24

Le Ecole 41 2001 Syrah Columbia Valley Suggested by our waiter Troy. Smells of toasted oak barrels, smoke, garrigue, meat, and pepper. A very tasty, varietally accurate Syrah. The oak is possibly a bit much, but the wine is quite tasty. Lots of fruit. A bit of burnt rubber.

Titus 2000 Cabernet Franc Napa Valley This was Mona's favorite of the night. I really like this winery based on all my past experiences. New oak along with red fruit and a pleasant stemminess from the grape. Medium-full bodied, lush. A bit short perhaps, but that can be overlooked. $30

Allegrini 1998 Amarone della Valpolicella Decanted just before service. On the nose this wine is classically Amarone to my palate. Caramel, burlap, liqueur, herbs. Rich, mouth-coating. Full-bodied and a joy. We drank it too quickly to let it show its stuff.

Brochelle 2000 Zinfandel Paso Robles 15.1% Alcohol. Nice nose of baking spices. Vanilla. Lush Zinberry fruit with enough acid to the keep the wine from becoming ponderous. I like this as much as some of the baby Turleys. An interesting thing happened when I went to open this wine. The wine had a plastic cap over the cork. Using my "rabbit" style opener, I attempted to press the screw into the cork, but instead it pushed the cork into the bottle and forced a spray of wine out of the bottle in flurry and fizz that sent wine all over me and all the way to the ceiling. Messy. $32

Pascal Jolivet 2001 Sauvignon Blanc Attitude Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France Not so good. Musty minerals with lean lemon fruit flavors. Stony, steely, tart. Needs better balance and more fruit. $14

Mitolo 2001 Shiraz Jester Tarlton McLaren Vale Screw top. Big oaky wine. Heavy vanilla, licorice, liqueur, toasty oak. Lots of red and black fruit. Creamy. Not bad if you are in the mood for it. $20

Carlisle 2001 Zinfandel Gum Tree Ranch Russian River Valley 16.1% alcohol. Yummy wine. We had intended to enjoy this with homemade hamburgers, but alas, the meat didn't make it home from the store with us. Mona was livid. The wine however, was wonderful. Lots of Eucalyptus on the nose with molasses, briar fruit. The alcohol is fairly well hidden, in that the wine doesn't burn, but it does lend sweetness to it. Jazzy red fruits. Nicely done Mike. $27

Casa Castillo 2000 Monastrell Jumilla Subdued all around. Shows a flint, mineral, and wax quality muffling the fruit on the nose. Medium-bodied with some sappy red fruit. Juicy red fruit. Softish on the finish. A pleasant quaff, but not showing much more than that to my palate tonight. $10

Pride Mountain 1999 Merlot Napa County Sonoma County On the nose, mocha mixed with toasted oak and a bit of roasted coffee. Sweet red fruits on the palate. Full bodied, rather intense initially, but softer and more approachable on the finish. Pretty good. $50

Chateau Montroche 2001 Costieres de Nimes Very interesting wine for the money. Shows some meat, iodine, and tar within its dark fruit package. Decent. Seem to recall liking the 2001 better than the 2002. $7

Terrazas 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza Charles McArdle, Diane Gambill and I celebrated Charles' birthday at Fogo de Chao along with this wine. Chosen for its price more than anything (the markup was obscene - $44 from the list). Decent Cabernet hallmarks on the nose - cedar and lots of red currant fruit. Ripe, fruity, not very structured, but a pleasant drink. $11

Casa Lapostolle 2001 Merlot Rapel Valley Vastly overpriced at Fogo de Chao, but rather serious for an inexpensive Chilean Merlot. Mint, mocha, some cedary oak. Some tannins on the palate. Okay. $12

Carlisle 2001 Three Birds Sonoma County This is Mike's blend of Grenache (70%), Mourvedre, and Syrah. 15.7% alcohol. Somewhat fragrant with raspberry, tea, strawberry, and violets. Somewhat plummy on the palate and a bit watery. Decent, even great by Cotes du Rhone standards, but not my favorite Carlisle wine. $18 James and Mona's Third Anniversary of Meeting

The 2003 Dallas Blur Tasting, hosted by Lindy and Larry V

Seghesio 1989 Barolo La Villa Touch of tawny in the glass. Sweet licorice nose. On the palate it shows bottle sweetness and some moderate acidity. Not bad. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Guigal 1990 Hermitage La Chappelle Sweet nose with rich raspberry fruit. Touch of stone fruit. Holding on beautifully. Very nice. Elegant. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Quilceda Creek 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Yakima Intense licorice and cedar nose. Lots of power and potential but also currently fairly approachable. I heard some complaints that this could use more fruit. $80

Marquis Philips 2001 Shiraz Integrity McLaren Vale Tastes a lot like the 2001 Shirvington Shiraz…intense, thick sweet creamy vanilla and graphite all wrapped up in a ton of lush, almost syrupy red and black fruit. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1982 Pauillac Las Cases Stinky initially. Somewhat soft, rusty. Older, past prime in my opinion. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Sine Qua Non 2000 In Flagrante California My first Sine Qua Non wine - Burnt rubber, minerals. Reduced red fruit. Nice wine, but I don't understand the hype. This wine is mostly Syrah. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Penfold's 1997 Grange Showing lots of oak and some late astringency. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Penfold's 1998 Grange Lance brought this in a Lancer's bottler as a joke. Inky, with lots of concentrated red and black fruit. I recall some currant fruit as well. Lush, seamless, accented with some toasty oak, but I find it mostly in the background. I didn't have a clue what this might be, but the scale of it made me think things like Petite Sirah. $185

Pride Mountain 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley I found this wine a bit closed, with some light mineral charcoal flavors and deep currant fruit. Full bodied, somewhat tannic, though drinkable Pretty nice. $120

Calon Segur 1982 Pauillac I preferred this to the Las Cases - it showed some more fruit and better balance. On the whole it was lost in this crowd of wines. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Gaja 1997 Sperss Langhe Sweet violets on the nose. Some licorice. More violets on the palate with raspberry and strawberry fruit. Nice, if a thing apart here. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Araujo 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard Napa Valley Delicious cedar, red currant flavors. Sweet opening with a bit of mint in the finish. Seamless and likable. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Guigal 1986 Cote Rotie La Mouline Medium red in color, slightly cloudy. Sweet nose of soap, leather and red fruit. Plums. Medium-bodied. Nice. Has a certain Je nais se quois. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Chateau Lynch Bages 1988 Pauillac Pinon, cedar, sandalwood, bell pepper. Medium-bodied red fruit. I was pleasantly surprised by the palate based on the green edge in the nose. "Cab-ish" Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Shafer 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Stag's Leap Sweet and slightly porty Cabernet fruit. Delicious. Acid streak and sweet tannins suggest lost of longevity. Thick and "sweet" in the mouth. Nice. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Peter Michael 1997 Les Pavots Napa Valley Rather tight and unappealing…huh? Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Noon 2001 Eclipse McLaren Vale Sweet candied citrus nose. Rich red fruit with somewhat abundant acidity. Needs a little time. $50

Pesquera 1994 Janus Ribera del Duero Cedary pinon nose. Smells rich, cloudy appearance. Fullish in body. Red fruit, cigar box, sweet acid finish. Interesting. Oxidized? Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Turley 1999 Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard In a word, "Yum!" and way better than the other Turleys this night. Big spicy sweet fruit. The impression of sweetness is what really made it stand out. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Turley 1999 Zinfandel Grist Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Dallas Blur Tasting 2003 Montepeloso 1999 Rosso IGT Austere, yeasty nose. Cherries. Rich on the palate but a bit tart. Good length. Okay. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Quintessa 1996 Quintessa Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Tenuta Sette Ponti 2000 Crognolo IGT Cabernet and Sangiovese? Cherry fruit, acid. Okay. Tasting this the next day it revealed more complexity. Still slightly austere and structured but with some herbs and graphite to add interest. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Guigal 1998 Cote Rotie Chateau de Ampuis Sweet oak nose with caramel and licorice. Medium-full bodied with an acid streak. Interesting potential. Rather oaky. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Cuilleron 2001 Condrieu Les Chaillets This was impressive Condrieu. Intensely rich with spicy honey and some stone fruit. Lots of minerals. Tight. The next day, after sitting open on the counter all night, this tasted great even at room temperature. Has a hint of sweetness to it. Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

Chateau Bellevue 2000 St. Emilion This showed well. Lush new world fruit but surrounded by the tannic structure of Bordeaux. I was impressed. Mocha, red fruit. Dark bitter chocolate. Precocious. $100

Altamura 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Tasted day two - sweet caramel and black cherry fruit that turns to minty cough syrup. Eh Dallas Blur Tasting 2003

And the wines I didn't get a chance to taste:

Shirvington 2001 Shiraz
La Spinetta 2000 Barbaresco Vigneto Stardieri
Ares 1999 Shiraz Barossa
Turley 2001 Zinfandel Duarte
Turley 2001 White Coat SLO
La Fleur Petrus 1995 Pomerol
Rayas 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Pignan
Turley 1999 Zinfandel Dogtown
Vine Cliff 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon
Clark Claudon 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon
Kathryn Kennedy 1997 Syrah Maridon Vineyard
Tenuta Sette Ponte 1999 Oreno IGT Toscana
Michel-Schlumberger 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek
Carlisle 2001 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard RRV
Chapoutier 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac
Meville 2001 Syrah Estate
Pine Ridge 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap
Tua Rita 1998 Redigaffi Toscana
Ornellaia 1998 Bolghieri
Heitz 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon
Alban 2001 Syrah Central Coast
Steltzner 1998 Sangiovese Riserva Stag’s Leap
Swanson 1994 Alexis Napa Valley
Kistler 2000 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Domaine Pichot 1989 Vouvray Moelleux
Castello Rampolla 1995 Sammarco
Chateau Talbot 1988
Chateau Puligny Montrachet Meursault 1er Cru “Les Poruzots”
Baumard 1997 Quarts de Chaume

Cheers!
James

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