Tasting Notes From February 2002

2029

Pikes 1999 Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre
Clare Valley

Ripe high toned fruit with moderate acidity. Spicy and toasty oak. Stood its ground next to Indian food. Pleasant, but not exciting. Reasonably priced at $22. $22.00

2030

Chateau de Valcombe
2000 Costieres de Nimes

Ripe fruit, medium-full bodied with moderate to low acidity. Plummy fruit with green olives and pepper. Unfortunately most of the fruit is up front and the palate is lacking in flavor. $14.00

2031

Domaine de Fondreche
2000 Cotes du Ventoux

Medium bodied, low acid, and also a bit low in fruit. Lovely creamy mouthfeel and a very milky and balanced palate, but rather lacking in fruit character beyond some generic red fruits. Pretty good little pizza wine though. $10.00

2032

Luna
1997 Merlot Napa Valley

Initially coffee, chocolate, and maybe vanilla, though if anything it is probably a mixture of French and American oak. Ripe palate, with some astringent oak character. Or maybe tannins? Sweet, medium-full bodied, with a strawberry aftertaste. $24.00

2033

Cap de Faugeres
1998 Cotes de Castillon

Nose of toasty oak and rubber. Deep color. Medium bodied, ripe, balanced save for some midpalate acidity that lasts through the finish. Chalky tannins. Not bad for inexpensive Bordeaux. $12.00

2034

Abadia Retuerta
1998 Sardon de Duero Selection Especial

Inky thick appearance. Nose of french oak, orange peel. Medium-full bodied, ripe, with good concentration. Some lurking tannins in the finish. It may have some oak and balance issues, but there seems to be fruit all across the palate. It's a lot of wine for 21 bucks. $22.00

2035

Domaine Albert Belle
1999 Crozes Hermitage

Thick looking, rich red. Rather lush and rich for Crozes Hermitage. Green olives and pepper add nuance to the red fruits. Somewhat lacking in complexity, but balanced and lively. $25.00

2036

Justin
1998 Justification Paso Robles

Cloudy, slightly translucent red in the glass. The nose is dominated by oak, which the bottle claims is 30% new, but mostly French. To my nose, the American oak heavily dominates. Medium bodied, pleasant. Slight astringency. Decent, but far from great and somewhat expensive. Not as chocolatey as I remember. $30.00

2037

Abundance
1999 Zinfandel Lodi Mencarini Vineyard Reserve

Translucent with a clear rim. Slightly cloudy. Nose of strawberry and cranbery and balsam? Along with a little spice. Too much alcohol for the level of fruit perhaps, but not flawed. Nice price, but I think it was a "clearance" thing. $12.00

2038

Markham
2000 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley

Pleasant, varietally correct nose. The palate is creamier, more like the paradigm for most California Sauvignon Blanc. Could use a bit more concentration mid-palate. $12.00

2039

Markham
1999 Chardonnay Napa Valley

Lots of French oak. Fairly pedestrian. $15.00

2040

Markham
1998 Petite Sirah Napa Valley

Big Vanilla oak nose. The winemaker said it sees mostly American oak with some year-old French. Ripe palate, full-bodied, lush. Nice. Reminds me of Zinfandel in many ways. I would like it even more for slightly less money. $20.00

2041

Markham
1999 Merlot Napa Valley

Pleasant, well built, though unexciting Merlot. Reasonably priced, but not a bargain. Nose shows mostly toasty oak, palate has cherry fruit, with average length. $24.00

2042

Quinto do Crasto
1998 Douro

Impressive little wine! Deep color, mostly opaque garnet. Nose is grapey with mild mushroom and wet earth must adding interest. Also a touch of wood. Medium-full bodied, ripe, fairly complex, moderate acidity. Bright cherry flavors. Touch of stem in the nose adding additional interest as the wine opens and I become accustomed to it. High QPR. $12.00

2043

Joseph
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Mclaren Vale Coonawarra

Yum. Deep liqueur like nose. The palate is ripe, slightly sweet, full-bodied and concentrated. Long on flavors of coffee, leather, perfectly ripe fruit. Finishes with some slightly out-of-whack acidity. Very impressive wine. Not very impressive value, but cheaper than most Amarone, which this wine is modeled after. Kind of like a Turley to my palate, but I haven't had but a couple. $38.00

2044

Domaine Follin-Arbelet
1999 Pernand-Vergellesses Premier Cru Les Fichots

Simple berry fruit. Just about zero complexity. Slightly tart, medium-bodied. This wine was cooked in shipping from Burgundy Wine Company. They were not nice about fixing the problem. $24.00

2045

Bodegas Arzuaga
1995 Ribera Del Duero

Slight funk in the nose that smells like masa dough - a bit like making tamales or a mexican restaurant. Perhaps as a result, it went well with tortilla chips. Anyway, deep color, rich, balanced and fruity. Just a little vanilla. Lots of body for Tempranillo. International style. Great value for $25 at a restaurant. $25.00

2046

Andrew Murray
2000 Syrah Central Coast Tours les Jours

Yum! Funky nose of horse,, pepper, game, creosote, and maybe a hint of shoe polish. Ripe, full bodied and concentrated. Not very complex on the palate, but has decent balance and great purity of fruit. Nice value. $15.00

Cheers!
James

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