Seven tasters gathered at Peter Pratt’s Inn for our monthly “Blind” tasting and dinner. I love this format as you never know what anyone is bringing, there is no theme. Some really interesting wines always find their way to the table though. The first four wines were not served blind as they were some samples brought in to try. Everything else, save for the Malbec, were served double blind.
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2007 Léon Vatan Sancerre - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (10/8/2009)
Very crisp and clean, loads of minerality; it was akin to sucking on a stone. Some hints of kiwi and grapefruit in the midpalate, some lemon zest on the finish as the acidity became very obvious. Nice. (86 pts.) -
2005 Manoir de Gay - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol (10/8/2009)
Extremely tannic and hard, devoid of fruit, very harsh edges, slowly allowed hints of earth and forest floor but no fruit whatsoever. (76 pts.) -
2007 Château du Trignon Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet (10/8/2009)
Nice notes of game and grilled meat followed by distinct Shitake mushroom, hints of smoke and dark cherry. Very well laid out wine. Yummy. (90 pts.) -
2005 Reignac - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur (10/8/2009)
Very enjoyable, nice soft fruit, supple and round on the mouth, hints of pencil tips, good depth, turned a little tannic and harsh on the finish as it started to close down. Cellar for a few years and revisit. (89 pts.) -
2002 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/8/2009)
A decent amount of oak, very heavy on the palate. Most tasters immediately guessed Cali chard. with votes for Ramey, Aubert and one Kistler vote. I found a nice amount of butterscotch on the palate and some cool melon notes. A nice wine overall and well received by all tasters. (91 pts.) -
1993 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Ruchottes-Chambertin Clos de Ruchottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Ruchottes-Chambertin Grand Cru (10/8/2009)
Fantastic nose that grew throughout the night. Wonderful essence of spice, cardimon, paprika, cummin, very earthy on the palate with only some of that wonderful spice coming through. I revisited later in the dinner and the nose was wonderful, but it lacked any oomph for me, not enough fruit. It was wonderfully light on its feet and deftly balanced, the points are mainly for the nose, which I could linger and smell for hours. (90 pts.) -
2004 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba - Italy, Piedmont, Alba, Barbera d’Alba (10/8/2009)
Second blind red wine. The nose had a heavy presence of matchstick, it was high-toned which the person who brought the wine said was indicitive of the grape, I still couldn’t guess Barbera, I was thinking Rhone varietal at this point. It had some very nice notes of boysenberry and rhubarb, seemed quite young. Lots of people were pretty surprised when this was revealed. Nobody guessed Italy, let alone Barbera. (91 pts.) -
2004 Sadie Family Shiraz Columella Castro Bonae Spei - South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland (10/8/2009)
Very interesting wine and a bit polarizing amongst the tasters. Some (including myself) thought it to be Aussie tasting, but old world enought to suggest an established producer. Nobody guessed South Africa. It had a nice purity of fruit, wasn’t too big or too bold, had a good sense of balance to it as well. Some vanilla bean, maraschino cherry and creme de cocoa notes were present. The finish was nice and silky smooth. Good wine. (91 pts.) -
2007 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (10/8/2009)
This wine was decanted prior to my arrival, when Lance asked me to try it and see where it fit, I just loved it, but thought more decanting would help. Once we got to it, it was lovely. The wine screamed Rhone, I actually threw out a guess of Hermitage. This is a big wine, but impecably balanced, stuffed with notes of black olives, plums, coriander and grilled sausage. A real treat and the wine of the night I would drink on a daily basis as it was big, but not over the top. Delicious! (94 pts.) -
2001 Bodegas y Viñedos Alión Ribera del Duero - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (10/8/2009)
This wine was flat out delicious. I really thought we had a good Chateauneuf du Pape on our hands here. Lovely notes of grilled beef, smoke, black raspberry, sugar plums and pie crust. A wonderfully balanced wine with no edges, just smooth and pure. Really nice. (94 pts.) -
2004 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (10/8/2009)
This was a monster wine, loaded with ripe black fruits and licorice. I think more than a few people guessed Aussie, but this wasn’t a spoofed wine, just big and very full on the mouth. Nothing overdone here at all and very pleasant. The first Aussie wine I’ve had in a while that hasn’t turned me off. (94 pts.) -
2000 Enrico Fossi Malbec - Italy, Tuscany (10/8/2009)
This was not served blind, but would have been VERY interesting if it had been. Nothing about it screamed Malbec, tasted more like a nice California Cabernet than anything else. It had nice fruit, was a little acidic, had some decent oak treatment, sour cherry, soft dark chocolate. Very enjoyable and interesting. (90 pts.) -
2006 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Hudson Vineyards - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (10/8/2009)
Massive wine with layers of black fruit, freshly roasted Columbian coffee, anise, creme de menthe and road tar. Chewy tannins on the finish lead me to believe this wine has a long future and is very young at this stage. Delicious wine that needs more time. (94 pts.) -
1997 Romano Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore Vigneto Monte Lodoletta - Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Superiore (10/8/2009)
This wine had loads of sweet fruit, was impressively built, very stout and sturdy and in no danger of decline. Some guessed Phelps Insignia with a little age and I could absolutely see the correlation. Really enjoyable wine with no flaws at all. (93 pts.) -
2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla El Nido - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla (10/8/2009)
I decanted this wine for 12hrs. The nose was insanely good, lots of spice and ripe fruit. On the palate, the wine was massive but not overbearing. Some comments and guesses of perhaps a SQN came out, but I was most impressed when Mike K. called out “El Nido”, he is the Spanish wine buyer for Suburban Wines and has as good a palate as anyone I know. It was amazing for him to pick this wine out almost immediately. The wine itself had a real hearty richness to it and was really well balanced. Nothing was out of place and the oak was pretty toned down considering what I’ve experienced in the past with these wines. The fruit is thick and pure, lots of blueberry, raspberry and chocolate ganache notes. Hints of annisette and cocoa bean as well. A really wondeful wine. (95 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
I liked the El Nido the most, but would drink the Tablas Creek every day.