TN: Charity Tasting (Ramey, Massican, Pepiere, Patricia Green, LdH, Idlewild, Bedrock, Riverain and more)

TN: CHARITY TASTING (RAMEY, MASSICAN, PEPIERE, PATRICIA GREEN, LDH, IDLEWILD, BEDROCK, RIVERAIN AND MORE) - (2/7/2020)

The payoff for my annual charity tasting. This time the winners were a group of folks who all liked wine, but with wildly different levels of experience. Lots of good talk about the wines, as well as questions.

I opened all of the wines, and tasted them all about an hour before the event. One bottle (see below) may have had issues, but overall this showed very well.

• 2017 Lagier Meredith Rosé - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
  Vibrant pink color plus vibrant red fruit meant vibrant drinking by the group. Gone in a flash to smiles all around.
  
  
  
• 2012 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Clisson - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
  Another big winner with the group, this is showing mid-palate richness, but still has great finishing cut. Wonderful to drink now, and for a long time.
• 2017 Massican Gemina - USA, California
  Bright lemon and apple skin. Very refreshing. Some loved the freshness. A bit “too puckery” for a few, but I loved the cut. Some well chosen food (we just had cheese and some pot luck stuff) would have been good for this.
• 2014 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
  The call of the sea! Minerals, salty, fresh lemon and crisp apple and pear made for the most complex white of the night. Hugely popular, even with the people who “don’t like Chardonnay.” Where’s my plate of oysters?!?
• 2016 Ramey Chardonnay Fort Ross - Seaview - USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview
  Does David Ramey make the most consistently delicious appellation level Chardonnays in California? Seems so. Fresh apple fruit with a bit of creaminess, and spice. Just the lightest touch of vanilla. Fabulous wine. One of the participants grabbed the bottle and held onto it for the rest of the night. Love at first sip!
• 2014 Trimbach Riesling Reserve - France, Alsace
  Proving the point that Riesling is not always sweet - crisp almost to the point of severe, this showed very taut fruit and a long, mineral infused finish. I loved it, but it only made a few friends with its austere style. Another one that needed the right food. It was pretty good with the crab and avocado crostini.
  
  
  
• 2015 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Durant Vineyard Madrone Block - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
  The second most widely popular of the red wines, this was in a very good place. It had lots of red fruit, but also some hints of earthiness and herbs. Looks to be heading into a great drinking window.
• 2005 R. López de Heredia Rioja Reserva Viña Tondonia - Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja
  Great showing for this wine, with plenty of dusty red fruit, as well as a full complements of leathery, rustic tones, and some roasted meat on the finish. I could have sat with this all night. Divisive for the neophytes in the group, with a few who loved it, and a few who were not fans.
• 2018 Idlewild Flora & Fauna - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
  Best value red blend in California? It made a lot of friends last night with its bright red fruit and vibrant mid palate. Love the complexity from the mix of Italian grape varieties.
• 2015 Castello di Neive Barbera d’Alba Santo Stefano - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba
  A better match with much of the available food, this showed plenty of red fruit and depth. Typically bright acids worked well for some of the group. Others wanted something a bit softer. It showed exactly how I expected it would.
• 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine - USA, California
  Not sure this was a sound bottle, as it was a bit thin, and quite tart. Judgement reserved. Unfortunate, as it’s normally a good value, and I wanted to make that point.
• 2015 Riverain Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
  The most popular red wine of the night. It showed beautifully, with lots of full bodied red and black fruit, and silky tannins. I only got a tiny pour, as the rest of it was gone in a flash!

Fun night. Educational and entertaining.
Posted from CellarTracker

That’s a really fun lineup, kind of geeky, but a less pedantic crowd can also have a good time. Especially when the wines show well as it sounds like most of these (sans Bedrock) did.
I’m becoming more of a convert to Pepiere, not sure how I was not on board all these years. The 12 sounds excellent.
As does the LdH.
And '14 Chablis are so damn good.
Well done.

Nice tasting there David - good combo of approachable and learning oriented for a newbie crowd. Haven’t had a Clisson in a while and reminds me that I should check in on one.

I don’t own much “crowd friendly” wine, so I try to go with things that are accessible, even if the flavors might be new to folks.

Really bummed about the Bedrock, as the value was supposed to be a highlight.

Divisive indeed. I’m just not a fan of LdH. It lacks the depth and finish to make it stand out.

I will just say that I completely disagree with you.

Very cool David, my kind of tasting. Variety is the spice of life.

Tom

Yes, very nice; they are lucky to have you as a guide.

I literally had a bottle of the Idlewild Flora & Fauna in my hands when you posted this (I didn’t see it timely), as I drove 60 miles round-trip to pick up the last 2 bottles of the 2016 Produttori del Barbaresco from a wine store. I looked at the label, but it didn’t list the grapes. Had I known, I would have bought a couple.

Bummer.

Did you look it up? It’s Barbera, Dolcetto and a little bit of Nebbiolo.

I looked it up when I returned home - the owner told me he would be getting some more of the Barbaresco, so would grab some of this when I return - they also had some Halcon and Baer in the store.

Of course, it’s $50 for the Barbaresco, and I think the F&F was $28?

Sound about right. It’s my absolute favorite pizza wine.

Excellent!