Since I know many of you like that namby pamby wine with no alcohol, no flavor and no guts, I thought I would post a list of my top rated wines with flavor in 2013. ![[stirthepothal.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f40faec63ca1018898a40805efbf9f0066a3d205.gif "[stirthepothal.gif]"){kind=small}
[*]2011 Sine Qua Non The Moment - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (11/28/2013)
A great white wine. Tremendous depth and breadth of flavors. There is a real meatyness with some honey and spice. Very long finish. The mouth feel is extremely smooth and almost creamy despite the flavor profile, which seems more likely to generate a harsher feel. My son, whose tasting notes are usually no deeper than “good” or “I like it,” asked for a second glass (I told him I had finished the bottle myelf) came up to me a few minbutes later as we were working on the potato latkes for Thanksgiving dinner and said, “You know, that white wine that you said you didn’t know what was it it was really good.”
If the Professor is right, the wine is 55% Roussane with a good dose of Viognier and Chard with a bit of Petit Manseng. Seems to fit with the flavor profile. (95 pts.)
[*]2007 Saxum Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (10/10/2013)
WOTY thus far. Absolutely exceptional. Preparation - I was drinking it at a dinner in NYC so it was in my office. No decanter so three hours before dinner I poured out about four ounces into a glass and the poured it back, let the bottle rest open, and then recorded to bring to the restaurant. Decanted into a wide bottom decanter at the restaurant and then sat for about another hour as we had a Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet with shrimp cocktail. The color was extremely dark. Red, but almost impenetrably black. When I poured this, the nose was spicy as well as fruity. There was some cedar pn the ose as well. Dark fruit. On the palate, there were layers and layers of complexity, even though still mostly primary. Raspberry and dark red fruits, a bit of blueberry. Smooth dark smoked black pepper with the characteristic meatiness that people ascribe to the Mourvedre. Still some tannic bite to it but rough edges of youth are gone. BRAVO Justin. I have more and this could be the WOTY every year for the next five years . . . But then again I’ve got other Saxums to enjoy. (97 pts.)
[*]2010 Outpost Zinfandel Howell Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (9/8/2013)
This was better than the 2009 we tasted at the winery in May of 2012. This is from a zin vineyard close to the top of Howell Mountain. The winemaker is Thomas Rivers Brown, my favorite among the new wave of Cali stars. Popped and poured at the Meadowlands Jets Tailgate at 11:30 in the morning. Drunk out of a large bowl Burg shaped glass. The flavor really blossomed after about 15 minutes of air. Lots of pepper spice with dark red fruit and acidity. This has 16.1% alcohol. I noticed it between the ears but not on the palate, a comment that was echoed by one of the other people who had a glass. No jammy fruit and no sweetness at all. Smooth and balanced, but a wine with stuffing. We drank this with ribs and smoked pulled pork. Not a wine to drink with veal marsala. (96 pts.)
[*]2009 Black Sears Winery Zinfandel Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (2/11/2013)
This wine is consistenly fantastic. Abosolutely exceptional. My third or fourth bottle. This one actually seemed a bit light in color than the others, but probably just more ambient light. There is a tripartite flavor profile. At the front of the tongue, there’s fruit, but not sweet fruit. Dark. Somewhat brooding. In the middle, there’s a depth combining roasted meat and herbs. I can’t describe the herbs by flavor, but it’s more like the no sweet depth of oregano or thyme than sweet and flowery lavender, without actually tasting like either of them. Throughout the palate, but especially at the back, is pepper. Starts as a pepper background at the beginning and ends with soaked pepper at the back of the tongue.
I want to save one of these for 5-10 more years because recent aged zins have been fantastic, and this one could be a true religious revelation if it gets better. Alas, I doubt I will be able to keep my hands off them that long. (96 pts.)
[*]2005 Saxum James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/19/2013)
This is a wonderful, prodigious effort of extreme complexity, great smoothness and excellent balance. This was popped and poured at dinner at a restaurant that specialized in seafood, so the pairings were far from perfect, but I really wanted to drink the wine. I did not regret it.
The nose is dark, brooding fruit with some roast meat depth. The nose was matched by the palate, with plum, dark berry and cherry fruits. As the wine took on air, the flavor profile morphed a bit and took on a roast meat - meat juice component, with occasional flavors of chocolate and coffee in the background. The mouth feel was very smooth from the front to the back of the palate. The finish was moderate on the tongue, but very long between the ears. There was no sweet raspberry, which I perceived in some of the 05 and 06 Saxums in their youth. For my next bottle, I will give it a one hour decant if I can keep my hands off it that long. (96 pts.)[/list]
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