Tasting Notes From June 2002

2138

Edmeades
1998
Pinot Noir
Anderson Valley
High alcohol on this puppy - 15.8% which seems ridiculous for a Pinot. Garnet with some translucence. Stewey fruit nose with classic Pinot funk. Better the second day but still a bit cough syrup-like.

$19.00

2139

David Coffaro
2000 Syrah Dry Creek Valley Deep color…almost full bodied? - The nose is like cinnamon tree bark with green pepper, earth, pinon, and smoke. Somewhat tart palate with lemony acidity.

$15.00

2140

Gregory Graham
1998 Syrah Napa Valley
Olive and grilled meat nose. Initially soft and supple, but gained texture with aeration. Fairly ripe with a mineral hardness on the palate. Not bad, reminds me very much of a great vintage Croze Hermitage done in a modern style.

$27.00

2141

Chateau Peby-Faugeres
1998 St. Emilion Grand Cru
Fantastic - and un-Bordeaux-like nose of toast intermingled with asian spice and maybe some tobacco. Full bodied and well balanced. The texture give this away as not American in my mind.

$100.00

2142

Borsao
2000 Campo de Borgia
Peppery raspberries. Enough acidity to make you notice it on the palate. Pretty much full-bodied. Great value and I like this bottle more than the one or two I tasted prior. Good sweet fruit with a touch of creosote.

$6.00

2143

Pride Mountain
2000 Viognier Napa Valley
Spicy nose of apricots. Ripe, full bodied and concentrated

$40.00

2144

Pascal and Nicolas Reverdy
2000 Sancerre Cuvee "Le Coutes"
Tries treading the extreme line and falls overboard. Tart sour orange juice and lime flavors with some steely mineral nuances. Shows lots of potential. The flavors were good. If a proper food match could be found to tame the acidity, a right-fine food match would be in order.

$20.00

2146

Shafer
1999 Relentless Napa Valley
The color is a striking contrast the Pinot in the glass beside it. Smoke, toasted wood and deep blackberry fruit on the nose. Full bodied, rich, and tannic at this stage. Needs time but shows promise.

$45.00

2147

Pride Mountain
1997 Merlot Napa Valley
Great nose of yeasty bread rising along with red and black fruits and toasty oak. This wine just keeps on pumping. My palate detects enough acidity to suggest it can go awhile yet.

$34.00

2148

Brewer Clifton
2000 Pinot Noir Rozak Ranch Santa Ynez
Pale translucent color with a light haze and a tawny cast. Strawberry fruit dominates the nose but pleasant Pinot funk underlies the fruit with a green herb and tomato flavor. Full-bodied on the palate with a tendency toward the acidic. Pleasant enough, but vastly overpriced at III Forks steakhouse in Dallas.

$24.00

2149

Roshambo
2000 Sauvignon Blanc Frank Johnson Vineyard Sonoma County
Apparently a new Sonoma winery with an architecturally modern new facility. Until finding this, I had no idea that "Roshambo" was what some people call "Rock Paper Scissors" or "Farkling." Pleasant fruit with a grassy streak, grapefruit, and a dollop of acidity. Fine, but not exciting. Middle of the pack given the price.

$17.00

2150

Norman
1999 Zinfandel
The Monster Paso Robles
Medium-dark ruby garnet color. Nose of ripe boysenberry and anise, with a hint of raisin, but not overly so. Sweet tasty young mouthfeelvery good balance and very long off-sweet finish that shows just a trace of heat. Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+ from Eric Anderson - this is right on the money

$20.00

2151

Markham
1996 Petite Sirah Napa Valley
Almost black color with no signs of translucence or fading. Seductive nose of sweet asian spices, cedar, pine, vanilla, and black cherries and raspberries. Full-bodied and tannic but still with enough sweet fruit to make it a pleasant, balanced wine. Maybe a bit short on the finish. Funny to think this was once one of the more expensive wines I purchased.

$16.00

2152

Sean Thackrey
NV Pleiades X California
Minerals, Lanolin, Sheeps wool, wet dog, iodine, licorice, and white? Fruit. Great complexity. I like this loads more than I did six months ago.

$24.00

2153

Rombauer
2000 Chardonnay Carneros
This nose is all about minerals and butterscotch. Heavy toast. The nose reminds me of Pride Mountain's Chardonnay. This is a blend of French and American oak. Good sweetness. Not a bad Chardonnay

$30.00

2154

Rombauer
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Shows the dark side of the 1998 vintage with heavy notes of tobacco and coffee. Earthy, underripe, but certainly well-made, but short, and the finish is quite rough and tannic.

$30.00

2155

Rombauer
1999 Merlot Napa Valley
Decent, four-square Merlot. Ripe fruit, good length, medium-oak level. Fine, not gonna rush out for any.

$30.00

2156

Rombauer
2000 Zinfandel El Dorado County
Fruit for this was sourced from Scott Harvey (Renwood, now Folie a Deux) in El Dorado County. 15.5% alcohol. Spicy asian anise nose with a liqueur note from the alcohol. Ripe, full-bodied, and sweet. Very tasty. It got high marks from Mona, who's a sucker for sweet, high-octane Zinfandels

$28.00

2157

Argiolas
1999 Costera Isola dei Nuraghi IGT
Great nose of roasted rocks and herbs with asphalt lavender? And oregano? A bit overripe, Full-bodied, rich and long. Extremely good value. Has enough acidity to work well with food. This wine is reportedly 90% Grenache (also known as Cannonau, the local clone of Grenache). Is Costera a region? Where does the name derive from?

$12.00

2158

Sausal
1999 Zinfandel Alexander Valley Century Vines
Disappointing based on the sales pitch given by the sommelier. Almost no flavor - just heat and body and touch of fruit. Pass.

$35.00

2159

Brancott
2001 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Lime and other citrus fruit zest on the nose with green herbs and citrus fruit. Ripe, medium bodied, with a hefty wollop of acidity. Pleasant.

$12.00

2160

Sportoletti
1999 Rosso di Assisi IGT
Roasted herbs nose, much like a southern Italian wine such as Colosi from Sicilia. Snappy acidity but nice fruit. Ripe, sweet, round wine. The nose is its greatest asset. The palate suffers from some vacant spots and underconcentration. Cinnamon and flowers act as secondary flavors in the nose. This wine was made in part by Ricardo Cottarella and includes equal parts Sangiovese and Merlot. Nice value.

$14.00

2161

Onix
1999 Priorat
Black pepper, black cherry, olive, garrigue. Medium-full bodied, moderately rich quaffing wine. No presence of oak. A blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Carignan. Tart acidity in the finish.

$10.00

2162

Scala Dei
1996 Cartoixa Priorat
Vanilla and heavy balsa wood nose with some cedar and herb notes as well. Medium-full bodied with cottony tannins and ripe cherry fruit. This wine seems to have lost some of its glycerin and lushesness as it has aged. Probably on its way downhill as the wood begins to dominate.

$16.00

2163

Gilbert Alquier
1998 Faugeres
Captivating nose that suggests either Syrah or Cabernet Franc. Medium bodied, ripe, sweet, long and complete. Delicious bargain, I do wish I bought more. Strangely, the second day it was completely uninteresting. Weird.

$12.00

2164

Becker Vineyards
2001 Viognier Texas
Floral spicy apricots nose. American oak-like qualities. Sweet on the palate - sweeter than the nose suggests. Full bodied with some bitterness in the finish. Not bad for Texas Viognier. This is probably one of the best Texas wines I've tasted and it’s a bargain.

$12.00

2165

Alain Graillot
1996 St. Joseph
Stinky nose of detergent, barnyard, smoke, sweaty sauna, and olives. Tough to like but has some nice qualities. Moderate acidity.

$20.00

2166

Australian Domain Wines
1999 Alliance Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Barossa Valley
Creamy vanilla fruit bomb type wine. Plump and round initially with some late acidity. Chocolate milk texture. Lots of wine for the money but I suspect the oak will eventually overpower the fruit.

$18.00

2167

Perry Portier
2000 Quincy
Sweet lime juice on quartz rocks. Saline. Light bodied with pleasant fruit and balance. No one would mistake this for a new world Sauvignon Blanc, as some suggested.

$12.00

2168

Ravenswood
1999 Zinfandel Lodi
Spicy nose. Ripe fruit, perfectly competent Zinfandel. I do enjoy that Lodi fruit. 14.9% alc and .66 acidity. Nice value - just 3-4 dollars more than the Vintner's Blend gets you a lot of wine.

$13.00

Cheers!
James

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