Please note that this is a thread from last year.
My travel friends will be drinking the following on Sunday June 15 at North Square in NYC.
SPARKLING WINE
Australia
2004 House of Arras Grand Vintage (Tasmania) What a nice surprise. Baby bubbles. Butterscotch on the back end? No yeast.
Champagne
France
Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne Plenty of bubbles. A good champagne that was outclassed by some other bottles.
'02 Pierre Paillard Milliseme Hazelnut with lots of bubbles. This was Champagne of the night. We drank this last year. The extra year made a difference. Time to get a bottle or 2.
'06 Larmandier-Bernier, + Vieille Vigne de Cramant, Grand Cru, Extra Brut
2008 Pierre Paillard bouzy blanc des blancs Hazelnut. This was the 2nd best champagne.
2008 Franck Bonneville millesime. Lot of bubbles.
NV Pierre Peters, Cuvee de Reserve, Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs Brut Tingly and dry.
NV Guy Larmandier, Cramant Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs Brut Lots of little bubbles. The others were better to much better.
Spain
NV Rimarts Cava Gran Reserva 40 (Cataluña) - Not my style.
STILL WINES
Rosé
Mourvedre (California)
2012 Tablas Creek Dianthus (Central Coast, Paso Robles) This was flat.
Chardonnay (California)
2010 Dehlinger Chardonnay Unfiltered (Sonoma County, Russian River Valley) Somewhat restrained. I enjoyed this.
2010 Freestone (Joseph Phelps) Chardonnay Fogdog Sonoma Coast (Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast)
2011 Kosta Browne Chardonnay One Sixteen (Sonoma County, Russian River Valley) Nice nose. Creamy, but no butter. Smooth. I thought this and the Dehlinger were equal.
Grenache (California)
2011 A Donkey and Goat Grenache Blanc (Sierra Foothills, El Dorado)
Riesling (California)
1990 Chateau Montelena Johannisberg Riesling (North Coast) This was a dark amber color. Undrinkable. It was dead.
Sauvignon Blanc (California)
2007 Altamura Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) Fruity. Clearish. This was no Merry Edwards, but still a nice wine.
2012 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) This was a nice drinking wine too. Better than the Altamura.
White Blend (California)
2012 Arnot-Roberts Old Vine White Field Blend (Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley) A hint of acid. It was ok. I’m holding my other bottle for at least a year.
Cabernet Sauvignon (California)
2004 Anderson’s Conn Valley Reserve This was so smooth and silky from the first taste to the last (60 minutes later). No rush to drink. . WOTN.
2005 Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain Ranch Vineyard (Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain)
2010 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Napa Valley) I thought this was young.
2010 Sojourn Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietary Cuvée (Napa Valley) This was smooth. Limited notes as the evening went on. HOLD!
Malbec (Argentina)
2009 Rutini Antologia XXXI (Mendoza) It was ok. Nothing special.
2010 Fincas Notables La Coleccion (Salta) This was a big bold, muscular wine. The best of the wines from Argentina.
2011 Tres Catorce (Mendoza) A little smoke on the nose. I liked this wine.
Malbec-Cabernet (Argentina)
2010 Marcelo Miras Reserva(Patagonia)
Pinot Noir (California)
2006 Wild Hog Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast)
2008 Failla Occidental Ridge Pinot Noir (Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast) Darker color. A wow nose. Drinkable on pop 'n pour. After 2 hours this was opening up. No rush to drink. Much better than the Hirsch below.
2011 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir San Andrea (Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast) A lighter color and smooth; but not remarkable. Not a fair comparison with the Failla.
2012 Hartford Court Pinot Noir Land’s Edge Vineyards (Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast) A hint of fruit vs the above. Full bodied.
Red Bordeaux Blend (California)
2003 Cosentino Winery CE2V Meritage (Napa Valley) Some tannins. I liked this wine.
2010 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Éloge (Napa Valley) This was very young. Hold.
Zinfandel (California)
2011 Turley Zinfandel Dusi Vineyard (Central Coast, Paso Robles) Some fruit. I liked this.
DESSERT WINES
California
'03 Ridge Zinfandel Late Harvest Lytton Estate (Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley) This wasn’t for me. I thought it was sharp.
'05 Austin Hope Late Harvest roussanne. This was a sweet wine. I liked it, but at this point, couldn’t take another sip of anything.
Other
07 QUINTA DO NOVAL Port LBV Single Vineyard Unfiltered. This was nice, but young.
As you can see, there are some wines without notes. Those went untasted. If anyone wants to teach me how to write wine notes, I’m listening. With so many wines, there was so little time to sit down and explore each one.