Tasting Notes - 'high end wines' Kistler, SQN, Kamen, Schrader, etc

I went to a tasting tonight of ‘high end wines’ at Hi-Time Wine Cellars Winebar with Veronica Castro and her friend Lorraine.

2006 Altamura Sauvignon Blanc: Rich mouthfeel - seems like a bunch of new oak in this wine (why wouldn’t it be a Fume Blanc?), finish is a bit syrupy, but good fruit and strong acidity.

2006 Kistler ‘Durrell’ Chardonnay - light in color, very interesting nose, but not giving up much, just a bit of floral and citrus. No detectable oak on the nose. I got a huge dose of malolactic on this wine - not my style. Big structure, good acidity, particularly on the mid palate, strong gravelly minerality, and a very long finish.

2006 Sine Qua Non ‘Hoodoo Man’ Proprietary White - Very nice nose of apples and sweet citrus. Substantial, silky mouthfeel, blast of oak comes through on the palate, very bitter and acidic on the finish, and huge alcohol at a claimed 15.8% (seemed like much more)

2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard - Strawberries and milk chocolate on the somewhat tight nose, satiny mouthfeel, but a rather thin body. Very high acid, but balanced. Bright fruit, some new oak, finish of red fruits, more oak. I surmise that this wine would be a perfect match with salmon or another rich fish with its high acidity and strong fruit presence. My first SVD Williams Selyem, and not a disappointment.

2005 Kamen ‘Kashmir’ Cabernet Sauvignon - Very rich, deep red purple color, big nose of black fruits, anise, lilacs - beautiful. Rich, silky mouthfeel, dark fruits, red meat. Finish starts a bit on the bitter side, but the long finish timeline brings black fruits, some gravel, and just over the course of 30+ seconds it very gracefully fades into raspberries, very pleasant, particularly on the finish. A very well made wine for sure - my WOTN, and not at all my typical ‘style’.

2006 Winter Cabernet Sauvignon - Nose started to shut down in the glass immediately after pouring, which was disappointing, as it started out very fruit-forward. Lighter body, seemed more ‘spoofalated’ to me, as if it was engineered to cover up a bad vintage. Lots of new oak, red fruits, short finish.

2007 L’Aventure ‘Cote a Cote’ Proprietary Red - Very big nose, typical Central Coast Grenache being the dominant component. Big entry, big midpalate, lots of new oak, high alcohol, hot finish, and big tannins. (See the trend?) Yes, everything was over the top, but that’s not to say it was not enjoyable. It’s a very good bacchanalic wine, with lots of ripe fruit and a huge mouthfeel, which is sometimes what you might want.

2006 Schrader ‘PNV’ Zinfandel - This was a wine that Hi Time bought in the Napa Valley Auction as a barrel. Only 62 bottles, and these puppies cost a whopping $175.00!! The nose started out nice - fruits, spices, but then it quickly turned to all alcohol. It smelled of Isopropyl Alcohol, essentially. Huge heat on the palate, overpowering everything. Finish settles down to a spicy red and blue fruit component, more alcohol. I’m guessing this sucker is over 17% ABV EASILY. Very disappointing, and for the price - are you kidding???


I then had a pour of some 2004 Renato Corino Barolo, as it was there, and being poured. Very nice nose of anise and red fruits - not as much floral as what I’ve come to expect (and love) of 2004 Barolo. Very well made, great acidity and grip on the midpalate, and a finish that lasted at LEAST a full minute. Fantastic for the money (around $34.00), and easily life in it for the long term.

Lorraine had a pour of the Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet (2005) Clos des Murees, and that was a spectacular young white Burg.

i got the email about the Kamen from the winery, i really like their regular cab at $75, with great length and the backbone that I think will age for awhile. The guy that owns Kamen I think wrote the Karate Kid!

Nice notes. Very helpful in several respects.

Thanks,

rOB

Charlie, you are right about Robert Kamen. Here are some notes about posted about tasting with him.

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=195693&highlight=kamen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

truthfully i am still waiting to taste my 1st NV Auction Barrel wine that is really great stuff. i doubt i’ll live long enough to ever have one i’d consider even a reasonable value.

Kistler Durell’s need time. The 95’s are in a great place right now.

Nice notes Todd! My wine notes were not as detailed as yours, more in the happy/sad face category.
My WOTN was definitely the Kamen Kashmir. Dark berry fruit, bittersweet choc, sandalwood, sweet tannins and a finish that went for over a minute. I went in biased, since the standard Kamen CS is my favorite cab, and I know I like all of Mark Herold’s wines and Sonoma fruit, so it did not disappoint.

I also enjoyed the Williams-Selyem PN, beautiful raspberry notes, a little acid, silky, well-balanced.

The Winter CS I thought they should have poured before the Kamen as it was more on the elegant side.

I enjoyed the Roederer Brut Premier, got lightly toasted hazelnuts and apples from it. Could drink that all day long, was a delightful.
Also a highlight for the evening, the Basil Gimlet using Damrak Gin. I ordered a Basil Gimlet at Mahe in Dana Point yesterday. They used Bombay… not quite the same. It was a nice time out all in all, great company to boot! [berserker.gif]
Cheers,
Veronica

Todd, what no flirties in your TN’s??? flirtysmile
That Schrader sounds like my kind of wine. Yummy. You pull a muscle and just rub some in. You can drink it or bathe in it. The kind of wine that Parker can still taste. [thumbs-up.gif]

Jack, I didn’t want to steal your flirties, but what the hell! I’ll repost here complete with Flirties!

A new version of the tasting, complete with Flirties, for Jack. (Max of 5 Flirties)

I went to a tasting tonight of ‘high end wines’ at Hi-Time Wine Cellars Winebar with Veronica Castro and her friend Lorraine.

2006 Altamura Sauvignon Blanc: Rich mouthfeel - seems like a bunch of new oak in this wine (why wouldn’t it be a Fume Blanc?), finish is a bit syrupy, but good fruit and strong acidity. Two Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile

2006 Kistler ‘Durrell’ Chardonnay - light in color, very interesting nose, but not giving up much, just a bit of floral and citrus. No detectable oak on the nose. I got a huge dose of malolactic on this wine - not my style. Big structure, good acidity, particularly on the mid palate, strong gravelly minerality, and a very long finish. Two Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile

2006 Sine Qua Non ‘Hoodoo Man’ Proprietary White - Very nice nose of apples and sweet citrus. Substantial, silky mouthfeel, blast of oak comes through on the palate, very bitter and acidic on the finish, and huge alcohol at a claimed 15.8% (seemed like much more) Another with Two Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile

2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard - Strawberries and milk chocolate on the somewhat tight nose, satiny mouthfeel, but a rather thin body. Very high acid, but balanced. Bright fruit, some new oak, finish of red fruits, more oak. I surmise that this wine would be a perfect match with salmon or another rich fish with its high acidity and strong fruit presence. My first SVD Williams Selyem, and not a disappointment. Three Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

2005 Kamen ‘Kashmir’ Cabernet Sauvignon - Very rich, deep red purple color, big nose of black fruits, anise, lilacs - beautiful. Rich, silky mouthfeel, dark fruits, red meat. Finish starts a bit on the bitter side, but the long finish timeline brings black fruits, some gravel, and just over the course of 30+ seconds it very gracefully fades into raspberries, very pleasant, particularly on the finish. A very well made wine for sure - my WOTN, and not at all my typical ‘style’. Four Flirties for this puppy flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

2006 Winter Cabernet Sauvignon - Nose started to shut down in the glass immediately after pouring, which was disappointing, as it started out very fruit-forward. Lighter body, seemed more ‘spoofalated’ to me, as if it was engineered to cover up a bad vintage. Lots of new oak, red fruits, short finish. Three Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

2007 L’Aventure ‘Cote a Cote’ Proprietary Red - Very big nose, typical Central Coast Grenache being the dominant component. Big entry, big midpalate, lots of new oak, high alcohol, hot finish, and big tannins. (See the trend?) Yes, everything was over the top, but that’s not to say it was not enjoyable. It’s a very good bacchanalic wine, with lots of ripe fruit and a huge mouthfeel, which is sometimes what you might want. I’d say two and a half Flirties on this one, but can’t make a half flirtysmile flirtysmile 1/2

2006 Schrader ‘PNV’ Zinfandel - This was a wine that Hi Time bought in the Napa Valley Auction as a barrel. Only 62 bottles, and these puppies cost a whopping $175.00!! The nose started out nice - fruits, spices, but then it quickly turned to all alcohol. It smelled of Isopropyl Alcohol, essentially. Huge heat on the palate, overpowering everything. Finish settles down to a spicy red and blue fruit component, more alcohol. I’m guessing this sucker is over 17% ABV EASILY. Very disappointing, and for the price - are you kidding??? One Flirtie, only because I could probably get drunk on it flirtysmile


I then had a pour of some 2004 Renato Corino Barolo, as it was there, and being poured. Very nice nose of anise and red fruits - not as much floral as what I’ve come to expect (and love) of 2004 Barolo. Very well made, great acidity and grip on the midpalate, and a finish that lasted at LEAST a full minute. Fantastic for the money (around $34.00), and easily life in it for the long term. Four Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

Lorraine had a pour of the Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne Montrachet (2005) Clos des Murees, and that was a spectacular young white Burg. Four Flirties flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

the 96 is smoking good right now too. both of them are great! drank my last one in May sigh

Excellent Toddmaster. flirtysmile flirtysmile flirtysmile

I’m not a big cali cab drinker but the Kamen is very good. Would be a terrific ringer in a bordeaux line-up.

That’s a good point, Paul - I was also quite surprised that it was Sonoma fruit.

I’d be all over that wine if it was under $40, but it’s nowhere near that.

under 40 for a four flirtysmile wine? [berserker.gif]

How much is it out there?

Yup, I’ve had several. This is a four Flirties wine, but priced out of my interest level.

Hi-Time sells the Kamen Kashmir at: $125
Kamen CS is $75.

Sorry to see the 2006 Altamura Sauvignon Blanc only meriting two Flirties. The 2005 two summers ago, for me, was at least three Flirties and maybe even four Flirties… flirtysmile


-Michael

can we get a guide explaining the flirties ratings. Is there a 5 flirty wine? does it max out at 4/5/6? [stirthepothal.gif]