Somewhat impromptu and small gathering earlier this week with fellow Berserker Matt Latuchie in town from Chicago. I was definitely outnumbered by Old World devotees…figured I would use the occasion to go to the other end of the extreme and uncork a 2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah. I really can’t apply scores as I don’t drink these style wines with any regularity. Some brief notes in the order tasted.
2007 Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Brut - More mineral than fruit for me, but bubbles are really not my thing…though the group really enjoyed it.
1995 Château Montus Madiran - Potent “barnyard” on the nose…the Old World guys were loving it…for me, what’s the fuss? Some tobacco and spice. What impressed me most is coming back to the glass after almost two hours and it still held its weight despite its age.
2006 Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino - Decent nose of light red fruit…very light mouthfeel and hollow finish. I didn’t get the sense the wine was on the downhill…perhaps just a “dumb” bottle…no need to rush out and drink up.
2005 Rotllan Torra Priorat Reserva - Loved the nose on this one…jammy, tobacco, leather…spicy with great mouthfeel and solid finish.
2003 Massena Shiraz The Eleventh Hour - I remember buying these as a decent QPR back in the day. Still a nice bottle with blue fruit; jammy. Very good with the lamb burger. No need to wait any longer on this one in my opinion.
2007 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape - This was my WOTN…Combination of dark red and blue fruit…pleasant mouthfeel and a medium finish that made me wanting to go back for more.
2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - I opened this about four hours before dinner. Had some issues with the cork and a few small pieces feel in. Don’t know if this impacted the bottle much, but this wasn’t its night. The darkest of the wines, but not nearly as big as what I’ve come to expect from SBR PS…the 2005 still my “gold standard.”
Had a great time with the guys in Nashville. I’ve been traveling down there consistently for over a year now and sadly this was the first time I had enough time to meet up. Looking forward to my increased frequency of trips over the Summer/Fall, too.
Big thanks to Adam Landa for organizing this fun tasting. While many of the wines were outside my norm, I had a really great time meeting everyone and hanging out. I also thought Burger Up is a great location for a dinner…$0 corkage, great stemware, great burgers…my TOTAL bill was under $30.
Looking forward to the next time I’m down in Nashville.
2007 Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Brut- France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray Pétillant
Beautiful chenin fruit here with great floral lift. Had some vanilla sweetness, nice mineral cut, and really vivid white peach flavors. Love the energy on the palate. Probably not as good as the 2002, but I did like this a bit more than the 2005. (91 pts.)
1995 Château Montus Madiran- France, Southwest France, Madiran
Wasn’t as thrilling as the last bottle. This did have the same great aromas of dried tobacco, rich red cherry, cedar, and underbrush but lacked the depth of flavor. Everything seemed to be at a 6 or 7…a good, but not great bottle of Montus. (89 pts.)
2006 Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino- Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Nice floral nose, with some red fruits, cedar, and subtle mocha. Certainly an understated, lithe, Brunello but very pretty. The finish was a bit hollow, I guess, but it was hard to tell if this was just in a quiet phase or simply a one-noted Brunello. (89 pts.)
2005 Rotllan Torra Priorat Reserva- Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Definitely outside of my comfort zone. The fruit was DARK and extracted. Lots of blueberries, blackberries and charcoal on the nose. THe palate was also firm, and hot. A dark, warm, fruit stew.
2003 Massena Shiraz The Eleventh Hour- Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
Outside my comfort zone, by a country mile. Nose was prickly and dark…lots of charred wood, chocolate, blueberries, blackberries, and coffee. The alcohol really bothered me on the palate, too…just seemed like a warm berry cocktail.
2007 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape- France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
As 2007 CdP goes, this is quite elegant. Had that brambly red fruit with subtle undergrowth notes and lots and lots of red fruits. Luckily, the palate wasn’t an alcoholic mess (as I’ve found many 2007 CdP’s to be of late) and had decent balance and a nicely spicy and rich character. A pleasant surprise. (87 pts.)
2006 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley
This had received a number of hours of air before dinner. Despite the warnings of my fellow diners about its size, I didn’t think was the big bruiser it was supposed to be. I thought the nearly 17% alcohol was an unnecessary distraction and turned this into a grapey cocktail - not my style of wine.
Adam – Do you guys every meet at the 12th Avenue location? My youngest daugther is starting a Lipscomb this fall (actually next week!). Thus, my wife and I will be in the area more often. Hopefully, we will have a chance to participate at some point. I’ve been reading previous posts with interest.
Matt – If schedules ever mesh, we’ll have to throw in a few Pinots – they’ll go well with burgers, particularly the lamb burger.
Greg…Please give us a heads up when you will next be in town. The Cool Springs location is owned by a good friend of one of the guys in the group so he allows us to come in, but we can typically come up with a good spot around town.
I finally just joined the Berserkers, having been eavesdropping for a few weeks. I guess it was your post about your latest Nashville meet-up that did it for me, as I’ve had some difficulty connecting with wine folks since I moved here from LA in 2003. My wife and I have tried a couple of other groups, whose idea of a meet-up essentially consisted of getting plowed on Yellow Tail and Crane Lake while talking about the drama in their lives. Anyway, glad to hear there really are folks in middle TN who take their wine enjoyment a little more seriously. If your get-togethers can accommodate another member or two, we’d love to participate sometime.
Not sure what the parameters and protocols are in terms of theme, cost, etc. (maybe you could message me about that), but I generally focus more on Rhones, Zins, Petite Sirahs, etc. (the spicy stuff) and Pinot Noir than on the Bordeaux varietals (although I can certainly appreciate a good Cab!). I would say I’m about a 7 or 8 on the geek scale (although my wife would place me higher).
Anyway, just a bit about me. Looking forward to dishing it up with you all!
Thanks, Adam. We’ll be there this weekend, moving my daughter into the dorms. However, it’s too short of notice and too many other things going on to try and schedule anything. Our next trip will probably be parents weekend, but I’m not sure exactly when that will be. We’ll keep in touch.
There is a very good crowd of Off-Liners in Nashville on the WS Boards. Have meet up with them in the past. Perhaps someone should try to cross thread with WS and see what happens!