Tasting Notes From September 2004

Abadia Retuerta
2002 Rivola
Sardon de Duero
Interesting aromatics, rather like violets and pencil lead. Fragrant and perfumey. At first I wondered if it might be a little corked, but the overall quality of the wine was high enough that I dimissed this thought. Black cherry fruit, nice mouthfeel. Rather elegant. Not quite the value it once was, but still decent QPR. $14

Garretson
2002 Georgia's Cuvee
Central Coast
Slight citrus Grenache nose. Intense black raspberry fruit. Interesting contrast on the palate between the bright, sweet fruit, and the slightly bitter quality reminiscent of crushed blackberry seeds. Framed with just a hint of new oak. Slightly Grenachey. Dark color. The nose also has some nice peach and apricot aromatics, hence the name, I guess. Slightly zippy acidity in the finish. Nice. $20

Terlano
2000 Sauvignon Blanc
Winkl Alto Adige
Stylistically, this is somewhat difficult to place. Grassy aromas, traditional Sauvignon Blanc flavors, in a lush, round, and slightly sweet package. Decent, but not exciting. Lola

Kongsgaard
2002 Viognier Roussanne
California
This started off a little tight, but absolutely shined with my Lentil de Puy soup. The earthiness contrasting with the stone fruit flavors. Apricots, honey, minerals. The palate is dense and concentrated. Seamless across the palate. Nice. Darioush is cheaper and more crowd pleasing. Lola

Paola Bea
2000 Sagrantino de Montefalco
Van brought me a glass of this blind and I could have sworn it was a Northern Rhone Syrah. Lime, funk, roasted rocks, olives. Dense, concentrated black fruits, tar. Interesting wine. Lola

D'Arenberg
1998 Shiraz
The Dead Arm
Whoa…another tight one. Aromas of ink, vanilla, toast. Swirling brings out dark fruit. Teeth staining. Lots of potential, but this monster was tight tonight. Lola

Flying Goat Cellars
2000 Pinot Noir
Santa Maria Valley Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley
Translucent in the glass with pretty ruby color. Enticing aroma of cloves initially that fades into more of a Pinot Noir, metallic herbalness. Later it smelled a bit more like the green stems of strawberries. The palate is lush and sweet with balanced acidity. The flavor combination evoked a memory of Dole Orange Pineapple Strawberry juice - it they still/ever made such a thing. Pleased. $30

L'Hereu
NV Cava
Raventosi Blanc
Lovely yeasty chalk nose. Light. Bright citrus. Medium-full bodied. Decent $18 Spanish at De Tapas

Marques de Valcarlos
1998 Navarra
Reserva
Dry smelling on the nose. Medium-bodied, soft cherry fruit. Eh. Spanish at De Tapas

Clos de L'obac
2001 Priorat
Costers del Siurana
Hint of oxidation? Mint. Light French oak. Great attack of sweet red berry fruit. Brightly flavored red fruit flavors. Less structured than the nose suggests. A little short with late tannin. Crushed raspberry. Likely to improve with a little time. Mostly Grenache we agreed. Spanish at De Tapas

Mallelolus
1999 Ribera del Duero
Smells like buttered popcorn, nuts, toasted oak. Black fruit and graphite underneath. Good complexity on the nose. Rich, sweet palate, pretty nice. Maybe a little short. This is Emilio Moro's high-end wine. A blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo. Spanish at De Tapas

Campo Eliseo
2001 Toro
Very bretty nose - Rhonish, roasted dirt with some cinnamon and/or pinon spice and pepper. Medium-full bodied, a bit masculine and different. Decent. Spanish at De Tapas

Finca Sandoval
2001 Syrah
Manchoula
Blind Red 1 - Big heavy bottle. Floral nose - high-toned feminine - powder. Touch of Brett. Dense berry fruit. Lush black cherry. Medium-bodied. Nice. Probably not for aging. $22 Spanish at De Tapas

Pesquera
2001 Ribera del Duero
Crianza
Plummy soft black fruit. Nuances of complexity that didn't make it into my notes. Bit of floral. Decent. $24 Spanish at De Tapas

Regusci
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
Stag's Leap District
Blind Red 3 - Dense meaty nose, but sweet on the palate. A little Aussie-like in its oak profile and lush texture. Spanish at De Tapas

Martinelli
1999 Sauvignon Blanc
Russian River Valley
Decent - seeming a little sweet? Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Rochioli
2001 Sauvignon Blanc
Russian River Valley
Creamy-figgy. Semi-sweet citrusy fruit. Has some funkiness on the nose. Turns grapefruit-like on the finish. Eh. $24 Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Rochioli
2000 Pinot Noir
Little Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Slightly nutty nose. Toasty oak. Medium-bodied, slightly austere. Buttery. Hmm…Didn't really thrill me. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

August West
2002 Pinot Noir
Rosella's Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands
Blind - Clearly Pinot Noir from the nose - slightly metallic with the right amount of acidity. Slightly citrusy black cherry, black pepper. Nice. Good food wine. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Sociando Mallet
1988 Medoc
Earthy with a little bell pepper. Earthy, earthy, earthy…showing impressive density on the palate with a suggestion of fruit. This doesn't seem to have the stamina to improve from here. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Cakebread
1991 Cabernet Sauvignon
Reserve, Rutherford, Napa Valley
Dusty nose - Rutherford dust I suppose - rich sweet black currant fruit. Balanced. Decent. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Saxum
2000 Syrah
James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles
Blind - Deep, dense, meaty - Syrah? - Northern Rhone? - High-toned with a slight lime and olive nuance. Tea, leather secondarily. Blackberry jam through the middle. Guessing Central Coast Syrah nose. Pretty nice stuff. $45 Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Antinori
1995 Brunello di Montalcino
Pian del Vigne
Medium-bodied with sweet cherry fruit. Decent. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Antinori
1999 Tignanello
IGT
Inky. French oak. Concentrated. Clearly flavors of Bordeaux varieties and a nod toward their winemaking style as well. Black fruit. Not great with Italian food, but tasty. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

Turley
2001 Zinfandel
Old Vines, California
Nice clove nose. High-toned red Zinberry fruit. Pleasing. Meet The Dohrmans at Momo's

L'Aventure
2001 Zinfandel
Paso Robles
Concentrated boysenberry and blackberry fruit. A bit monolithic. Full-bodied and dense. While the fruit is obviously very ripe - and the wine is like 15% alcohol - it doesn't come across as sweet as many similar wines might. Sort of a restrained quality to it. Hardly austere, but perhaps a nod in that direction.

Inama
2002 Soave
Vigneto do Lot
Big heavy bottle of something I've never seen before. Interesting nose. Rather piercing. Mona suggested club soda. Sweet lemons. Nice. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Elena Walch
2002 Pinot Bianco
Alto Adige
Vinous nose. Lemon. Light. A bit richer on the palate than it smells, but eh.. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Martinelli
1999 Chardonnay
Woolsey Road, Russian River Valley
Minerals, light butterscotch. Pear fruit. Okay. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Cantina Fonterutoli
1997 Chianti Classico
Riserva
Blind Red 1 - Medium-red with clearing edges. A bit dried out smelling with tobacco, tree bark, and old wood aromas. Medium-sweet cherry and cranberry fruit. High-toned, food friendly, but not intrusive acidity. Sweet oak…a little woody. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Numanthia
2002 Termes
Toro
Blind Red 2 - Smells downright Australian. Sweet vanilla oak, sweet maple, not much finish. Smells a bit like a Marquis Philips wine without the creamy black fruit. Decent, but thin compared to descriptions of previous vintages. 100% Tinta de Toro. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Antinori
1997 Tignanello
IGT
Blind Red 3 - Medium color with moderate translucence. Smells a little floral and peppery. Prickly acidity on the attack. Medium-bodied and softer in the mid-palate. Light. Some evidence of wood on the nose, but mostly light black fruit. Where is this from? Doesn't compare well with the 1999 I had on Saturday. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Montevertine
1998 Radda in Chianti
Il Sodaccio
Blind Red 4 -Old world, dried out, too long in wood…eh Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Castello di Rampolla
2998 Sammarco
IGT
Blind Red 5 - Deeply colored with a subdued nose. Smells dense and concentrated though. Medium-bodied with sweet black fruit on the attack along with a bit of old wood. Falls on the low acid side of Italian wine, and it does taste Italian, if I had to pick a place. Classy, very classy. Cherries. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Tenuta di Belguardo
2001 IGT
Blind Red 6 - Sweet new oak, rather new world in style. Concentrated. French oak. Medium-bodied. A Cabernet blend perhaps? Yum. Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Tardieu-Laurent
1998 Costieres de Nimes
Blind red 7 - Somewhere in between new and old world. Oak. Bit high-toned. Seems indicative of Syrah. Rather messy. Not coming together the right way. $28 Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Fattoria le Pupille
1997 Morellino di Scansano
Blind Red 8 - Whoa! Stinky nose. Sulfur, wet dog. High acid cherry and cranberry. Eh. $15 Super Tuscans at Campisi's

Loring
2000 Pinot Noir
Garys' Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands
This wine was showing wonderfully last night with sweet, slightly candied, black cherry fruit, lovely purity and richness. Excellent with Mona's pasta creation of smoked pulled pork, tomato sauce, rigatoni, gruyere, and sauteed onions. $40

Neyers
2001 Zinfandel
Pato Vineyard, Contra Costa County
15.9% Alcohol. Spicy nose with bits of clove and aromas of sweet lemon citrus and red berries. Somewhat high-toned with a sense of soy sauce to boot. Lots of crushed red raspberry fruit on the palate. Sweet, but hardly cloying with excellent richness. Lemony acidity keeps everything moving in the mouth. Nice. $30

Juslyn
2002 Sauvignon Blanc
Napa Valley
Not so successful. The aromatics are little off - slightly funky with a suggestion that the wine spent a little time in a barrel and it muddied the flavors. Lemons, figs, a little mineral. Maybe a bit sweet on the mid-palate but the acidity cuts it back. Not flawed, but not great. $15

Morambro Creek
2002 Shiraz
Pathadaway
Deeply colored with dense, velvety black fruit, some vanilla cream, maybe some thyme if it wasn't the thyme in the mushrooms I ate with the wine, and a definite sense of sweet black forest ham with a hint of gaminess like proscuitto. Concentrated, lush black fruit on the palate with more of the creamy vanilla oak late. Decent. $15

Domaine Weinbach
1998 Riesling
Cuvee St. Catherine, L'Inedit!, Alsace
Subdued nose of wax and petrol. Rather sweet and soft with tangy fruit cocktail and rainier cherry flavors. Decent, but shouldn't it be drier? Women Winemakers at Suze

Selene
2003 Sauvignon Blanc
Hyde Vineyard, Carneros
Tangy nose of lemon…initially this was served a bit too warm and didn't show well. Cooler, it shows some cereal (oak?) alogn with decent lemony fruit. Not great. Women Winemakers at Suze

Merry Edwards
1999 Pinot Noir
Olivet Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Corked. $45 Women Winemakers at Suze

Martinelli
2000 Pinot Noir
7 Mules Vineyard, Russian River Valley
Funky, slightly gamy and a touch metallic. Plummy, pruney, tomatoe. Touches of cola and earth. A bit hot. Lots of complexity, but there is nothing here to keep me coming back. Women Winemakers at Suze

Sea Smoke
2001 Pinot Noir
Southing, Santa Rita Hills
A bit perfumed on the nose. Concentrated, monolithic and not giving much but a hint of the underlying quality. Somewhat structured and extracted. Lots of potential - this is a large-scaled Pinot Noir. Women Winemakers at Suze

Eichinger
2002 Riesling
Gaissberg, Kemptal, Austria
Melony nose. Tropical fruit with interesting citrusy acids. Not bad Women Winemakers at Suze

Viader
1997 Red
Napa Valley
Not showing so well. Disappointingly thin, weak, and past its prime. Women Winemakers at Suze

Merry Edwards
2001 Pinot Noir
Windsor Gardens, Russian River Valley
Perfumey, powdered red fruit. Nice. Surprised it wasn't a little more intense. Women Winemakers at Suze

David Bruce
1997 Pinot Noir
Central Coast
This wine really should have been dead. Even the winemaker recommended early consumption, but no, it was hanging in there. Funky, tin can Pinot fruit with a zingy streak of green strawberries and lime-like citrus. Red berry, strawberry fruit. Medium-bodied. Okay. Day two this had declined significantly and was less interesting to sip. $17

Marquis Philips
2002 Shiraz
South East Australia
Not a good showing for this wine - perhaps an off bottle? Smells a bit like swimming pool water, less the chlorine. A bit clumsy and ponderous with thick, vague black fruit flavors. Drinkable, but not exciting. $15

Titus
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
In sum, a great Cabernet at a fair price. The nose shows toasty oak, cedar, light black currant. The palate is complex with black currant, cedar, mocha, and hints of black raspberry and black cherry. Full bodied, with enough tannin to make you want meat with it, but not so much that the mouthfeel is anything but plush and balanced. Nice. $32

Justin
2002 Syrah
Paso Robles
Not bad - rather Australian in style, but with slightly more earth and pepper than many Aussies. The nose shows creamy oak tinged with vanilla along with a earth, and a little olive and pepper, more subtly. Rich mouthfeel. Overall, I would not have guessed that this cost more than $20, but I think it does. The second day, this wine had changed considerably. From the apricot flavors on the nose, I would guess this was cofermented with some Viognier. Less focused day two, but still decent, and I like the nose. $24

Carlisle
2002 Zinfandel
Sonoma Valley
Corked

Marquis Philips
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
S2, McLaren Vale
True to variety flavors of black currant, but with a hefty dose of Marquis Philips vanilla creaminess. Not as over-the-top as I recall this being. $20

Capcanes
2001 Costers del Gravet
Monstant
The nose is dominated by grenache-like aromas, with a touch of coffee grinds, earth, bark-like wood, strawberry, red berry fruit. Slightly hard smelling. The palate is somewhat easier to manage with sappy red fruit in a medium-bodied format. Maybe some late spiciness. Decent, but a bit pricey, especially compared to its sibling, the 2001 Mas Donis. $22

Castano
2002 Solanera
Yecla
The nose suggests a more internationally styled wine, with new oak aromas. Creamy red berry fruit. The finish falls apart some with acidic, unbalanced flavors. Hmm..decent…feel like I need to retaste. $15

Cheers!
James

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© 2004, James Vineyard