First time going to the High Museum Wine Auction in Atlanta (the largest wine auction supporting the arts in the country) yesterday. Before the auction itself, there’s a tasting tent with about 100 different wineries, mostly California, mostly with the winemakers doing the pouring which is great. They tilt to Napa cab, but there are plenty of pinot-centric wineries as well. I was most excited by having the chance to taste the likes of Au Bon Climat, Kosta Browne, Hirsch, Patz & Hall, etc. (full list of wineries participating at フィンペシアの効果はAGA・薄毛・抜け毛の改善！)
The pleasant surprises for me were some of the more offbeat whites (I think they do better in a setting like a tasting tent since they don’t fatigue the tongue like the big reds do).
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Jim Clendenen was pouring '13 Au Bon Climat Hildegard, which was fantastic - funky, lush without being too much, nice floral and spice over the fruit (Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc/Aligoté).
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Austin from Ovid had their “Experiment W2.5” (which I wasn’t familiar with, very small releases of non-estate grown fruit) - Roussanne, Sauv Blanc, Viognier, Albarino. Native yeast, partial malo, delicious stuff - slightly crisper than a CdP or Rhone blanc I tink, but very intricate. This goes for $85, which I would find hard to justify, but it’s a really lovely wine.
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Bob Lindquist from Qupe was pouring his '12 Roussane and '13 Marsanne - both fantastic. The Marsanne (I think) had a really nice funky Savennieres-like depth to it. Both of these seem like they would be built for the long haul.
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Kathy Joseph from Fiddlehead had her new Gruner. I’m not that familiar with Gruner beyond the sub $20 ones (which I like), and I commented that this seemed more lush than typical Gruner - she said I need to try the really great Gruners that go for $80+ and mentioned a few names which I promptly forgot. In any case, she was more inclined to compare hers to those!
Favorite reds included an 07 Keefer Ranch PN from Failla - they were mostly pouring current releases, but offered me a pour and I couldn’t refuse. A few years does this stuff mighty good. Lots of other very good pinots, but nothing else stood out to me like that Failla.
Not part of the main tasting, but also did a small seminar with Marcus from Stag’s Leap, which included 87 and 97 Cask 23 among others. Lots of similarities between the 87 and 97, both with prominent bell pepper on the nose at first, which blew off into those stewed tomato notes and dark fruit. The 97 had a better combination of depth and vibrancy, not too big at all.