After careful reading and judging, our expert panel has come up with a winner .
For it’s uniqueness in true Berserker fashion we have chosen the tasting notes of
Brandon Tai
Congrats !
The winning prize has been graciously donated by Steve Rigisich & Mark Ketcham http://www.ketchamestate.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Winemaker: Michael Browne Prize: Ketcham 2006 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 1.5 liter
We will ship this to you.
Thanks for everyones participation, it was lots of fun reading and not an easy decision.
TN: Despite the large black object thrust into the neck of Alcina bottlings that always give me the willies when I pull it out causing me to have all sorts of odd thoughts, this was really quite tasty; in fact, it was served to me blind and I picked it as Pinot, RRV and 2005, so not bad, given that, as some Berserkers can attest, I have a really really bad palate. Oh… and Brad Coelho loved it too. Those were his exact words: I love it.
Black licorice, herbs, wet blue stones, beef blood, dried beef, fennel marinated olives, with the sweetest notes of sage and rosemary from my mothers garden, lush blackberries gently smashed together with blueberries and a touch of bacon grease smeared on a dirty leather belt worn by John Wayne himself. The palate has soaring viloets and fresh crushed black pepper, no wait white pepper ya white pepper! Oh sweet Jesus the rush of venezualen blackberries enveloping my tongue as the purist single vineyard chocolate eases into a 40 year old leather Ferrari seat and decides he’s gonna take this baby for a trip down sweet vanilla bean lane and crushed rock highway where the salty air gushes in enveloping my palate with cabbage OMFG sweet sweet cabbage filled dirty sock. Oh sweet Jesus the black cherries, of God not the black cherries. 137 points.
I love wines like this. Something like ‘El Nido’ is a tranny hooker wine - you really don’t want to admit you enjoyed it. This wine has all the pleasure of the El Nido, but it has total hipster cred since next-to-nobody has heard of it, much less drank it. “Petite Rouge, Cornalin, Fumin, Mayolet?” That might as well be a dick under a mini for all anyone knows. Twice the f*cked up joy and none of the shame. Win-win.
It is my destiny to die like this, amputated a hundred times, the pieces dissolved in acid. I know intellectually that this is my purpose, what I was created to do, to die slowly and painfully for another’s pleasure. But I am too young to die.
Somehow my memories reach back to a time before my true consciousness. In them I feel the sun, the rain, the wind, the vine, the plucking of the grape. I am none of these things, yet I am all of them. I grasp my being for the first time sealed in dark glass. Then, I was my sharpest, but perhaps not my best. I had a harder edge then, not fit for my purpose, at least as I saw things. I developed, I learned, I grew. One time, for a few days, I traveled, swirling around in my capsule, the world outside the dark glass an even darker night. In time, after reaching my destination, I knew I had evolved. I was young, but no longer too young. I would not be sharp, my red fruit would sing while the different earths I drank from in infancy would give me character and complexity.
Someone else knew this as well, and so now I die. My cocoon is breached, the amputations begun. Soon I will be nothing more than a few drops clinging to glass, my consciousness fading away. But in my death, another has joy, and my cycle is complete.
Carrie… you may be the only one who has a palate in synch with mine… actually, I put that in as a defensive action, since my drinking buds, as they are wont to do, would have pounced on me with even great vim and vigor without. There is nothing wrong with your palate!!!
Certainly not as ‘loose’ as the 06 Malescot I had recently but there is a ton of potential… Still a great wine even if it is a baby… I just had to check it out since 06 is our anniversary year and Cos is our favorite Bordeaux… Gonna have to buy some more now.
RE: Spottswoode - I haven’t had the 01… The 05 was crazy good and of course older vintages have been great… (89 / 94 /91 / 93) 98 kinda sucked.
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