My bottle from Jay arrived last week. Gotta say I’m looking forward to trying this bottle out. I got his shipped out on Tuesday, it should be in his possession soon, if not already.
I’ll pull the bottle tonight…
I’m reviving this thread as it seems it got lost while we were waiting for our wines to arrive.
I did a swap with Rick T. I traded him a 2012 Myriad Sugarloaf Whole Cluster Syrah for a 2010 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles. I was looking forward to diving into this wine as my experiences with Cornas are few and far between. In the end it was enjoyable but not a step up from what I have been drinking domestically. I’m not sure whether that should be viewed as a plus for my choices of Calif Syrah or a poor showing for the Voge. I’ll go with the prior though. Hope you enjoy the note. Thanks to Todd and Mike for dreaming this up and thanks to Rick for opening his cellar to another Berserker! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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2010 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (11/3/2015)
Initial nose was meaty with pure fruit on the attack but little else. Acidity and tannins mild. Not giving up a whole lot. Day two had similar notes so I let it sit another night.
Day 3 the nose turned earthy with a touch of barnyard/sulphur and black olive. Red and blue fruits dominate the juicy and tart palate. Some iron notes peek through the chalky tannins. Would probably benefit from another 3-4 years of age. At this time it is very similar to some California Syrahs I enjoy such as Wind Gap Sonoma Coast and Halcon Alturas. Really tasty but has nothing to set it apart from the other wines. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just that I was expecting a new experience. In the end it’s Syrah. I love Syrah!
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I realized I put the TN for the Turley into the other thread. PS–Hey Rat, I don’t deserve the credit for this TN event idea—it goes to Mike Pobega.
Here is the bottle from my trade with Arnie Caplan. Before my TN, a few words about Mr Caplan. He and his wife, Lisa, have been good friends for a # of years and we met through E-Bob years ago. Generous people, which is a trait I find often within this community, he and Lisa have also been one of our key Falltacular supporters, bringing in new guests to the event each year. It is because of people like the Caplans that Falltacular has grown to the success we have seen. In terms of wine, we do drink on different planes, as Arnie does love the Napa cabs and has a terrific cellar breadth and is I would say far off from the leaner styled, shrill, acidic style I follow and buy today. Not surprising that he would offer up this Turley for the trade, both generous and indicative of the wine he and Lisa enjoy.
As to my TN below, I will let it speak for itself. Make what you want of my brett-like remarks. I offer that remark not to be provocative, but simply tell the story of what is in the glass, alongside what is a well, made petite.
2012 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (11/1/2015)
When I opened this, I took a whiff from the stem and it smelled a little barnyardy. Huh. Swirl again, the same. I then went to look at the rest of the TNs to see if I was off the mark and I saw that Milennial’s note mentions the same thing. With a little more air, then some graphite swirls out of the glass, with the barnyard fading. The palate? Pretty seductive, like for me what I want from petite that I drink. Not a lot of structure but a lot of different fruit markers like dark blueberry, blackberry. Then, a molten quality with mint. Lots of texture and things to ponder in it. Going to let this breathe and see how it unwraps in a few hours…re-tasting the following day, some of that barnyard still persists. There is a whiff of it on the nose and some it is diffused into the palate. It’s not overwhelming but there is some here. The wine has completely fleshed out and IMO can be enjoyed with aeration (and believe the people who tell you that you can’t drink petite for 10 years or more after release…candidly, that is bologna IMO). This has a juicy, blue and black core that is short of full bodied, which I appreciate–reminds me more of a richer styled CA syrah, made in the modern, blue-fruited, richer style. And, to the credit of how this was made, I sense no heat here, which for some petite can be a problem. Overall, a good wine and would be better if the stinky stuff was not here.
I realized I put the TN for the Turley into the other thread. PS–Hey Rat, I don’t deserve the credit for this TN event idea—it goes to Mike Pobega.
Here is the bottle from my trade with Arnie Caplan. Before my TN, a few words about Mr Caplan. He and his wife, Lisa, have been good friends for a # of years and we met through E-Bob years ago. Generous people, which is a trait I find often within this community, he and Lisa have also been one of our key Falltacular supporters, bringing in new guests to the event each year. It is because of people like the Caplans that Falltacular has grown to the success we have seen. In terms of wine, we do drink on different planes, as Arnie does love the Napa cabs and has a terrific cellar breadth and is I would say far off from the leaner styled, shrill, acidic style I follow and buy today. Not surprising that he would offer up this Turley for the trade, both generous and indicative of the wine he and Lisa enjoy.
As to my TN below, I will let it speak for itself. Make what you want of my brett-like remarks. I offer that remark not to be provocative, but simply tell the story of what is in the glass.
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2012 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (11/1/2015)
When I opened this, I took a whiff from the stem and it smelled a little barnyardy. Huh. Swirl again, the same. I then went to look at the rest of the TNs to see if I was off the mark and I saw that Milennial’s note mentions the same thing. With a little more air, then some graphite swirls out of the glass, with the barnyard fading. The palate? Pretty seductive, like for me what I want from petite that I drink. Not a lot of structure but a lot of different fruit markers like dark blueberry, blackberry. Then, a molten quality with mint. Lots of texture and things to ponder in it. Going to let this breathe and see how it unwraps in a few hours…re-tasting the following day, some of that barnyard still persists. There is a whiff of it on the nose and some it is diffused into the palate. It’s not overwhelming but there is some here. The wine has completely fleshed out and IMO can be enjoyed with aeration (and believe the people who tell you that you can’t drink petite for 10 years or more after release…candidly, that is bologna IMO). This has a juicy, blue and black core that is short of full bodied, which I appreciate–reminds me more of a richer styled CA syrah, made in the modern, blue-fruited, richer style. And, to the credit of how this was made, I sense no heat here, which for some petite can be a problem. Overall, a good wine and would be better if the stinky stuff was not here.
Posted from CellarTracker
My bad. Edited.
Chris Seiber and I swapped a couple bottles of his new world Pinot Noir for a bottle of old world Burgundy. Popped open the first bottle yesterday - a 2009 Sojourn Ridgetop Vineyard Sonoma Coast.
The aromatics were a little subdued on the pull of the cork, but hinted at red fruits like strawberry jam and red raspberry with a hint of cinnamon. It’s much darker than Burgundy, more like the color of grape juice rather than cranberry juice tone that I’m used to. Poured the first small glass immediately and was greeted with tart red fruits and cinnamon that coated my entire mouth, plus a green element. Poured a second glass after chilling the decanter for a half hour, and noticed the green component developed into a sort of bay leaf flavor with a pinch of sage in the mid palate through the finish… and that’s not a bad thing. Without it, this might tasted like a no sugar added Cran-Grape juice. The green characteristic faded slightly over 2 hours, but never disappeared, while a hint of cola came into play on the finish. This stayed constant on the 2nd day.
Overall, I enjoyed this - but my wife did not. The point of trying domestic PNs is to find her something she’ll drink under the $50 price point, and this is a swing and miss in that department. However, I’d drink this again in a heartbeat, even over a Chianti with Italian food because of the bay leaf and sage hints.
I’ll be trying the second bottle Chris sent me in a couple days.
Paired with Turkey on a spit grilled and roasted over an open fire. Excellent pairing. Wine was on the light and elegant side. I wouldn’t want to drink a TRB Napa Cab with turkey, but this worked very wll. Thanks to Chris Tumey, who picked this wine for me.
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2013 Harrington Trousseau Siletto Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Cienega Valley (11/15/2015)
Traded with someone (CT from Louisiana) I did not know for a bottle of 2000 D’Armailhac as a result of FMIII’s proposal on Wineberserkers that we swap bottles with someone to expand our horizons. or for some other reason I do not recall.
This is an excellent wine. Not quite a WOW factor to poke its nose into the outstanding category but still excellent. I had never had a Harrington wine and the only Trousseau I had before was a bottle that was severely flawed. Pop and pour. Very nice. I liked it a lot. The first flavor I got was spicy pepper and then berry fruit on top of that. Strawberry, but a wild, tart strawberry, and maybe a bit of cherry. Light acidity and no sharpness. I suspect there is not a lot of acidity, but the website needs some work, and has no useful information about this wine. Once it took on about 90 minutes of air, it took on some depth and smoothed out a bit. (89 pts.)
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Jay, I’m glad you enjoyed the Trousseau. So far this year I’ve enjoyed quite a few of Bryan’s wines, all of them being excellent and more than a few as, “Wow wines” as you put it. I will agree with you that while he makes great wine, his website is woefully lacking in relevant information. I don’t even order off of it, I just contact him directly and work it out that way. I’m sure you were really interested in the tech specs he’d be happy to discuss them with you if you emailed him.
Anyway, I unfortunately won’t be able to get to the d’Armailhac until after Thanksgiving thanks to a long family vacation. I am looking forward to it though. Thanks again for sending it my way.
I’m a fan of that wine, the 2000 d’Armailhac
I’m surprised the 2007 was showing so well for you. I had several bottles of the 2007 Saralee and found the wine to be stunning in 2013, but on a steep decline since then. I opened the last bottle about a week ago and was shocked by how much the wine had changed – and not for the better.
Odd - like Mike, I also had a great experience with the 2007 Saralee’s, quite recently also. What was your experience with the wine?
me=Millennial…Me love some barnyard haha
me = Generation X, and just missed being a Baby Boomer by a year or two. You’re welcome to all the barnyard you want. Forest floor for that matter too… and you can take Brett with you! ![[rofl.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/a/a7452fcd8e675af869f8da01174474a545b03944.gif "rofl"){kind=small}
Dennis Kanagie approached me about swapping old world for new world pinot. This proved to a very rewarding and enjoyable experience - thank you very much Dennis.
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1995 Bertrand Ambroise Corton Le Rognet et Corton - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (11/24/2015)
We had this over about two hours at a restaurant. In retrospect, the right treatment for this would have been to let it decant for an hour or so, or slow aerate for some longer period, so as to get most of the wine as of how it showed towards the end of the bottle.
Initially, this is fairly closed on the nose, and the fruit is dense and tightly coiled. The color is fairly dark red-purple for Burgundy and especially at age 20.
As this opens, it is dense dark cherry fruit, a bit of bay leaf and pine, with a fairly tannic and astringent finish. But the fruit sweetens some as it lingers in the mouth.
After 60-90 minutes, this has opened into a ripe strawberry flavor, light hints of green which add interest, and spice starts to emerge on the finish. Most of all, the wine really picks up some energy and electricity, with some real pop to the flavors and the finish. This is overall a more masculine style wine for a Burgundy - my friend who shared the bottle with me said he thinks of it as a Burgundy which is true to its place yet also a good entree to Burgundy for those used to drinking new world pinots. I think that is a fair comment.
A lovely experience, and good learning for me. (94 pts.)
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Glad you enjoyed it Chris! It’s a favorite at my house. Many Cab drinkers find it to their liking, even the ones that are skeptical at first.
Much appreciated, Dennis. It was most generous and thoughtful of you.
What did you think of the 08 Dehlinger Estate? I know your wife didn’t love it, but I’m curious what you thought (even just quick impression from memory if you didn’t take a tasting note).
I liked it as much as the Sojourn. It had a similar green element to it, and a little darker fruit if I remember it correctly. It seems domestic PN’s have quicker aging curves than Burgundy.
It’s been a while, but I was finally able to get to the bottle Jay sent me. It was an enjoyable contrast to the younger Cali wines I find myself drinking more of these days and went well with the rib eyes I grilled last night. So thanks again Jay, I enjoyed swapping bottles with you.
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2000 Château d’Armailhac - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (12/27/2015)
Preface : The capsule was sticky and smelled of past seepage. Wine was not decanted but popped, poured and tasted over 3 hours.
Nose: Strong notes of sandlwood, leather and damp earth. There are undertones of dark dried fruits, plum, pomegranate and a bit of cherry.
Palate: Slightly weedy, but not in a bad way. The acid is still sharp but somehow a little soft (yea, it doesn’t really make sense, it’s hard to accurately describe). The tannins are silky and intigrated.
Finish: Astringent and long with hints of dark fruit and “forest floor”.
Thoughts: I was at first rather underwhelmed, but with a little air the underlying fruit seemed to emerge from behind the more brown/green aspects adding some wonderful depth and character. This bottle seems to be over the hill, but it’s near the top and not at the bottom on the other side with several years of life left. (90 pts.)
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Well?