Tasting Notes From July 2003

Paringa 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia - Very pleasant inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet nose of candied red fruit with a hint of cedar and maybe anise. Medium to full bodied with ripe red fruits on the palate. Decent length. Touch of leather in the finish. Like it. Great QPR. $10.00

Vinum Cellars 2001 Petite Sirah Wilson Vineyard Clarksburg "Pets" - This is a big, chunky mouthful of a wine. On the nose it smells of grape juice and crushed blackberry seeds. On the palate it is loaded with grapey black raspberry fruit that fills your mouth with its sweetness. Some Asian spices seem hinted at. Crowd pleasing wine that was perfect for Chipotle burritos that carry a bit of heat. $14.00

Castano 2000 Solanera Monastrell Yecla - Touch of tawny in the wine's hue in the glass. Big nose of sweet American oak, vanilla, and a bit of whisky barrel and brown sugar. Medium to full bodied with loads of sweet red fruit. Nice little wine that I would think needs to be consumed soon. Certainly international in style, which might not appeal to purists. $12.00

Marquis Philips 2001 Shiraz 9 McLaren Vale - Big, sweet vanilla and black fruits in this wine. The creamy oak quality seemed somewhat reduced from my last tasting. Nice. $30.00

Abadia Retuerta 2001 Rivola Sardon de Duero - I was suffering from allergies while enjoying this, so I fear a lot of the nuance was lost, but…This tasted of pure, ripe black cherries….tons of them. Also had a sappy quality intermingled. I may have imagined the mocha and chocolate on the nose. No evidence of new oak. Pretty nice, though not the best its shown. Still going strong on day two. $11.00

Chateau Faugeres 1998 St. Emilion - Decanted about half the bottle. Very deeply colored with no evidence of clearing. Fragrant bitter cocoa, flowers, old wood pencils. Soft and fairly supple with lush, mouthfilling red fruit and velvety tannins on the tongue. Some lemony flavors. Hint of funky undergrowth and mint. At times this wine seems medium-bodied and at others medium-full bodied. 13% alcohol. Nice little Bordeaux. $25.00

Borsao 1998 Campo de Borja Crianza - Pretty strawberry and vanilla nose that at times is overwhelmed by dried out vanilla oak. Medium bodied with sweet red fruit and a dry finish, again probably from the oak. Decent acid and fruit balance. Imminently quaffable. Reminds me of Rioja. Fades quickly based on its showing day two. $10.00

Andrew Murray 2001 Syrah Tours les Jours Central Coast - Nice QPR wine with an alluring, high toned nose of pepper, black cherries, leather, liqueur, and kirsch. Medium-full bodied with tangy acidity giving the wine lots of cut. At the same time, lush, rich red and black fruits. Not bad. $12.00

Cline 2000 Syrah Sonoma County - This wine's nose is baffling. It smells like liqueur with white pepper, raspberry jam, violets, cinnamon, and vanilla crème. The nose is its best attribute, as it is a bit short on the palate, but a fine quaff with an alluring nose. $13.00

On this night in July, a small group of us gathered at Traci’s for a Burgundy tasting. In attendance we had Van from Lola, myself, Mona, Christine, Traci, John, and Laurie.

Daniel Etienne Defaix 2000 Chablis - Light bodied pear fruit with maybe a touch of brown butter. Decent richness with a steely finish that doesn't come across as overly acidic. Okay.

Verget 2000 Chablis Cuvee de 10 Ans - Lanolin and oak nose with toasted ginger and a bit of medicine. Tight toasty fruit. Lean citrus and apple. Oak made this standout from all the whites, save the Meaursault.

Guffens Heynen 2000 Pouilly Fuisse Les Hauts de Vignes - Initially I found this rather boring and vinous. Crisp white fruit with vague flavors. Steel. Probably would be better on its own. Van thought this opened some with time.

Latour Giraud 1999 Meursault les Navaux - Spicy oak nose with ginger. Tight fruit. Spicy. Nice. Along with the Verget Chablis, this was my favorite white of the night.

Marc Morey 2000 Chassagne Montrachet - Skunky nose, but the fruit on the palate was ripe and sweet. I had trouble getting past the nose.

Pillot 2000 Puligny Montrachet Noyers Bret - Well-made, new world styled white. Pleasant, even very good, but somewhat atypical.

J-L Confuron 1998 Cotes de Nuits Village Les Vignotts - Aggressive nose…tough herby green that blows off and morphs into cinnamon. Good weight to the fruit.

Derain 1999 St. Aubin Le Ban - Pretty nose of red fruit, mostly strawberries. Wonderful fruit purity with fairly high acidity. Nice little wine. Not much in the way of secondary flavors.

Barthod 1999 Chambolle Musigny Charmes - Cinnamon on the nose. Beautiful rich red fruit. A touch of brick flavor. Very nice. My favorite of the night.

Barthod 2000 Chambolle Musigny aux Beaux Bruns - Yeasty rich smelling fruit with obvious new oak. The oak smelling a bit raw here. Clearly similar lineage to the 1999, but the vagaries of the vintage seem not to have endured the winemaking. That said, very nice Burgundy for an off year.

Louis Jadot 1990 Corton Pouget - Tough of dirty diaper initially. Smoky, burnt rubber. Salty? Sweetish fruit on the palate and a retronasal licorice. Clear at the rim and mostly tawny in color. Interesting wine, I think I would have enjoyed it slightly younger.

Boillot 2000 Volnay les Caillerets - Tight, with a nose that reminds me of oily iron or metal being machined at heat, but this is not off-putting. Young, meaty wine with great potential. I like this producer.

A. F. Gros 1999 Vosne Romanee Clos de la Fontaine - Sweet deep fruit with an acid backbone. Jammy black cherry fruit.

Chauvenet Chopin 1996 Nuits St. George Aux Argillats - Mint, funk, earth. Straightforward rich plummy fruit. Decent.

Ambroise 1996 Nuits St. George En Rue de Chaux - Mostly I just recall nice richness and structure with this wine. Rather large scaled. In fact, the 1996s definitely showed similiarities in body.

Serafin 1999 Gevrey Chambertin Le Fontenay - Tannic herbs. Bit hard, with lots of fruit all obscured by structure.

Hartford 1999 Zinfandel Highwire Russian River Valley - Spicy, well made Zin that doesn't really show its 16% alcohol. Sweet fruit, but far from cloying.

Williams Selyem 2000 Muscat - From a 375 that Christine brought. Jazzy muscaty, lychee tropical fruit. I managed to drop this bottle and shatter Van Robert's plate, spilling the cold wine on him in the process. What a klutz.

Marquis Philips 2001 Shiraz McLaren Vale - Gorgeous, sweet smelling nose of liqueur, brown sugar, toasted raspberry seeds. Beautiful, lush sweet fruit. Yummy. $15.00

Etienne Riffault 1999 Sancerre Les Caillottes - Initially stinky but the palate showed ripe chalk flavored lemony fruit with decent sweetness to it. Overall okay, if you can get past the nose, but could use more flavor concentration. $16.00

Voss 1999 Merlot Napa Valley - Medium-bodied red with a sweet raspberry liqueur nose accented by a bit of mint. Somewhat short, but decently made with a toasty oak finish that isn't objectionable, but is a bit short. $20.00

Patz and Hall 2000 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - With dinner at The Mercury with Mom, Dad, and Mona. The first wine we chose, a Gary Farrell Merlot, was awful and sent back. This wine showed a herbal tomatoe nose with some strawberry fruit and Pinot Noir funk. On the palate it had searing acidity which gave it a prickly mouthfeel. $30.00

Miner 2002 Viognier Napa Valley - Beautiful, exuberant Viognier. Lots of spicy apricots and honey in a medium-bodied, sweet package. Very pleasant, and probably reasonable when purchased at retail. This was with dinner at The Mercury, Mom, Dad, and Mona. $17.00

Domaine Vacheron 2002 Sancerre Blanc - Really awesome showing for this wine. Grass, chalk, and minerals with wonderful ripe, sweet fruit coupled with lots of acidity that keeps things lively. Like it. This would shame some expensive other Loire whites. $20.00

Novy 2000 Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands - This wine had an Australian-like nose of sweet oak, liqueur and caramel. Ripe, sweet, and full-bodied on the palate with monolithic red and black fruit framed in some toasty, vanilla oak notes. Not bad. $23.00

Huia 2001 Gewurztraminer Marlborough - Decent enough Gewurztraminer that paired pretty well with Vietnamese, though not brilliantly. Dry, even a little bitter at times, with sweet and spicy fruit. Clearly Gewurztraminer on the nose. $14.00

Castano 2001 Hecula Yecla - Deeply colored though slightly translucent. Smells like old wood and ink. Slightly reminds me of an inexpensive Bordeaux. Some tannins in evidence. Restrained nose. Full-ish in body. Mona really liked it. I thought it was okay. $10.00

Domaine des Cantarelles 2002 Viognier Vin de Pays du Gard - Spicy viognier fruit with a bit of bitterness. Ripe, honey and apricot fruit is somewhat marred by the spices and bitterness. I like it, but not like I liked the 2001 vintage of this wine. $12.00

Colosi 2000 Sicilia Rosso - Funky nose of roasted herbs and garrigue. Plummy fruit. Good pizza wine. $10.00

Jade Mountain 1997 Syrah Napa Valley - Moderately deep color with some translucency. The nose hints at the 5%? Viognier with a delicate apricot and musk note. Slightly hard and minerally with red fruit and pear fruit flavors but with an underlying sweetness. Tends toward medium-bodied. An interesting example of California Syrah. Slightly like a Cote Rotie from a hot vintage. $20.00

Fieldstone 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley - Pretty nose of liqueur, red fruit juice, black cherries, and cedar. Medium bodied with lush black cherry fruit and hints of fruity coffee. Drink away, I can't see this getting better with time. Great value. I purchased this for $12. I believe the retail is closer to $20. $12.00

Rotllan Torra 1997 Priorat Reserva - Labeled as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Carignane. Deeply colored. The nose on this wine shows some black and red fruit with an edge of tar and earth. Full-ish in body. Nice flavor intensity on the palate. This was a lot of wine. Bronwen Dyll gave Mona and I a magnum of another wine from this producer as a wedding gift. $14.00

Turley 2001 Zinfandel Juvenile - This was consumed outdoors with BBQ at the Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX. The nose seemed to get blown away by the breeze, and it was a bit hot outside for red wine, but this showed a rich, sweet, fruity body with decent balance. The Carlisle showed it up, though. $30.00

Carlisle 2001 Zinfandel Sonoma County - Yummy clove and other baking spices on the nose. Rich palate with enough acidity to keep it fairly light. Boatloads of flavor. Nice. Showed up the Turley Juvenile from the same vintage. $20.00

Dominio de Atuata 2000 Ribera del Duero - Interesting and successful wine. According to Tanzer, this is the first vintage from this producer. Deeply colored like blackberry juice. The nose is like smoky black fruit. Plenty of tannin on the palate keeps the wine slightly austere, but generally the wine is plump and fairly lush with fruit-forward black and red berry flavors. Nice if young. $20.00

Marquis Philips 2002 Sarah's Blend McLaren Vale - Yum…sweetish ripe red and black fruit. The nose shows loads of maple, creamy vanilla oak. Full bodied, again, sweetish fruit, some backbone of acidity. Nice. Mona really digs it. $15.00

For our bimonthly tasting, the regular tasting group gathered at MoMo’s for a tasting of Cote Rotie and Hermitage.

Domaine Sauvete 2002 Touraine Blanc - Tart melony fruit with some chalky minerals. Pleasant, but acids could get overwhelming.

Chapoutier 1996 Hermitage Chante Alouette Blanc - Musty waxy nose with a light nuttiness. Intense nose. Not showing much fruit, but on the palate the wine has obvious sweetness and ripeness. Interesting wine. Thanks Lori and Lee, this was my first Hermitage Blanc.

Delas Freres 1996 Cote Rotie - fragrant white pepper, stonefruit, leather, blood, metallic olive. Elevated acidity and roasted fruit. Looks a bit tawny in the glass. Decent complexity.

Gilles Barge 2000 Cote Rotie Cuvee du Plessy - Green olive nose. Roasted fruit and a touch of roasted earth. Acid and mint finish.

Michel Ogier 1998 Cote Rotie - Musky nose suggests Cote Rotie. Cedar, sweet fruit with apricot taste on the palate along with black fruit. Youthful with rather hefty acidity. Pretty nice. Could have been a ringer for its ripeness and touch of new oak.

Chapoutier 1992 Ermitage Le Pavillon - Ripe, tight Rhony funk with roasted black fruit, strawberry, leather, tar. Sweet attack. Tannins moderate with a fullish body. Pepper. Impressive longevity.

Jade Mountain 1999 Syrah Paras Vineyard Napa Valley - California I suspect here. Creamy apricot. Honey and red fruit nose. Creamy candy liqueur. Cinnamon. Yum yum. Very nice. Sadly, everyone seemed to think this was perhaps the wine of the night and it wasn't even part of the theme.

Guigal 1999 Hermitage Brune et Blond - Subdued nose. Touch of olive, roasted fruit, and pepper. Blackberry fruit. Nice, though seems a little atypical. More fruit driven, but quite good. $50.00

Porter Creek 1999 Syrah Timbervine Ranch Russian River Valley - Pine soap on the nose. Deeply colored. Distinctive "Mountain Fresh" nose. I was thinking Cote Rotie. Rich fruit but with a tart finish. Interesting, rather young. Not my favorite of the night.

Cave de la Tain 1995 Hermitage Le Nobles Rives - Classic French Syrah nose of game, funk. Black fruit underneath, but not much beyond black fruit. Some tangy acid in the finish. Okay.

Jasmin 1994 Cote Rotie - Short, bland. Too old. Pass.

Clarendon Hills 1997 Shiraz Brookman Vineyard - Sour pickle, bad. Do Not Put in Mouth.

Ogier 1995 Cote Rotie Cuvee Belle Helene - Cinnamon, pepper, wood, pine, mesquite nose. Very different. Deeply colored with lanolin wax. Rich, fruity, solid, meaty. Nice wine. Overpriced, of course. $73.00

M. Sorrel 1996 Hermitage La Greal - Weird nose - vomit. Strawberry on the palate. Tough to like. The nose is too much.

Mas de Avelyans 2001 Syrah Vin de Pays du Gard - Screams Aussie at me. Candy, rich fruit syrup. Sweet caramel. Nice for the style. Very Nice for the price. I can't believe I missed this. It was quite different from the other two bottles I had of this wine. $13.00

Guigal 1999 Cote Rotie Brune et Blond - Rhony, roasted olive nose. Deeply colored. Medium-bodied with a rubbery aspect. Okay.

Belle 1997 Hermitage - Dry smelling - dusty. Lavender. Opens nicely. Fruitiness is somewhat new world in style. Not bad.

Guigal 1998 Cote Rotie Brune et Blond - Intense nose. Fruity, medium-bodied. Fairly dense with reticent olive flavors.

Chateau de Campuget 2001 Syrah Costieres de Nimes - Rich and sweet. Dense monolithic fruit with mineral accents. Decent blind. Nice for the price.

Jasmin 1997 Cote Rotie - Decidedly Rhone. Musky. More mesquite wood? Smoke. Good nose. Okay overall.

Amphora 2001 Petite Sirah Sonoma County - Heavy smelling with rich, chewey, plummy fruit. Minty finish. Chewiness makes this wine a little difficult to swallow late into the tasting.

Baumard 1996 Quartes de Chaumes - Sweet pears. Tropical fruit. Juicy canned pears. Pretty tasty, though has nothing on Sauternes to my palate.

Cheers!
James

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