One of my good friends was married this weekend in Dallas. With friends in town, a stop by Grailey’s and then Bodega Bar was a must.
1990 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne – A wonderful way to start the evening. Bartlet pear, honeysuckle and apple integrated nicely with lees, a hint of oak, and a soft touch of hazelnut. I thought it was the 1996. It still had nice acidity and minerality to go with the mature but still fresh palate. Very good, and should stay that way for a while. 93
2007 Robert Foley “Howell Mountain” – There was only one barrell made of this wine, and I’ve now been lucky enough to have it on two occasions. Frankly, it’s incredible. Beatiful blackberry, currant, and hints of plum married with well-integrated oak, blackberry bramble, spice, and a touch of licorice. The wine is certainly rich, but has a nice tannic structure to carry the fruit. This is the embodiment of Napa Cabernet. Exceptionally long finish and dense midpalate. This wine is certainly not in a dumb phase. Will last for another decade or two. Really, really great wine. Oak is better integrated in this wine than the 2007 Schrader Tokalon of the previous night. 97.
1997 Chateau Palmer – It was probably unfair to have this along side the Foley. Tobacco, savory oak, and damp earth cover most of the muted cherry notes. The fruit is certainly not the star of the show in this wine. It’s there a little bit, and does provide some pleasure, but even at 15, secondary and tertiary notes lead the way. The wine is mid-weight, hollow on the mid palate, and has a somewhat clipped finish ending in gritty tannins. Not a particularly pleasant wine, and not one that will improve in any way with age, given the fading fruit. 87-88.
2009 Turley Zinfandel “Pesenti Vineyard” – This wine surprised me. I don’t drink many Turley zins, and was expecting a jammy fruit bomb. The Pesenti was certainly not that. Immediate notes of pepper, incense, black cherries, and blackberry bramble. Palate was more of the same, except with a really racy mineral note. Nice acidity and cut, and not overly concentrated or dense. Sufficient fruit to avoid being “lean.” An AFWE zinfandel??? I have no idea what the ABV was, but the alcohol was well masked and all but unnoticeable. I’d buy more. 92
2009 Quinto do Crasto Reserva – Plum, black cherry, and baker’s chocolate with a faint hint of leather on the nose. Rich, and seemingly lower in acidity than the Pesenti. Palate is similar, showing dark chocolate covered cherry, and other rich black fruit notes. Subtle spice notes and bittersweet chocolate round out the moderate finish. Fair structure. A little muted right now, but should develop with age, based on my experiences with the producer. 91
NV Roederer Estate – Crisp apple and white toast with fairly nice minerality. Hint of candied lemon. A nice producer of domestic sparkling wine, and at a great price point. This is a more fruit forward release than others, and really sings sparkling granny smith. A delightful wedding wine. 90
2006 Catena Alta Chardonnay – Nose is dominated by spicy oak and lots of hazelnut, with apple pie and pineapple playing third and fourth chair. Seems like full malo and aggressive aging in new oak. On the palate, the oak really dominates the nutty apple and pineapple notes. There is acidity here that helps cut the oily texture and heavy, oaky finish, but this is still out of balance to me, and I am often fine with big chardonnays. Some will love this, but I don’t. 87