TN: 2006 Brick House Chardonnay Cascadia + brief (long) addtl notes

WINE TALK
#1

First I want to say this is my first post on the board and have been watching in for some time, so hello to all. I had a bottle last night that I wanted to share along with some other bottles (brief notes). I will have to write more formal notes on the others later.

2006 Brick House Chardonnay Cascadia: Rich, dusty, crushed hazelnut, super fresh floral aromas that make it tough to leave the glass. Cloudy in the glass with a deep gold color that floats around the glass. Balance and fresh acidity on the palate, with a medium length finish. This is a special chardonnay from that region, and I enjoyed it above and beyond their regular Chardonnay bottling from 2006. Strongly recommend++. Saving my last bottle for 3-4 years at least although it is singing now.

Additional Notes: Other bottles we were lucky enough to try were: 2002 Chateau Haut Brion (my first, first growth, they gave this to me blind and I guessed Lascombes 1998 for whatever reason, I knew it had a few years on it, but was still fairly tight. After my guess, I noticed the saddle leather which was very rustic and hard to place my finger on until someone mentioned the descriptor, but was also a little austere at this point. Looking at it, it seemed very polished and well put together. Blind, you knew it was a special wine. Thanks a ton to my friend Keith for this. Bring on more blinds similar to this), 2007 Kutch McDougall Ranch (Deep, dark fruit, little heat, although this drank well now, I will save the last bottle for a few years to gain more secondary aromas), 2007 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Balcombe Vineyard Dundee Hills (side by side, we enjoyed the 13% alcohol over the 14.1% of the Kutch), 2007 William Selyam Pinot (do not recall the specific bottling, but I do remember it being Sonoma Coast, and the cherry fruit was very bizarre in a good way, and side by side with Kutch, both were great wines but had cherry profiles that were completely different), 2005 Cristom Syrah Estate (tasted this blind to a few friends, and immediate guesses were Rhone with a faint “latex/paint” aroma, broading deep dark fruits, but then guessed new world since they figured I was trying to throw them off. After visiting Cristom this year, they said they do not get ripe enough fruit each year to make this but for $30 when they do make it, I’m a buyer for its unique flavor profile), Bollinger Champagne (always a great opener to the night, crisp, balanced, and pure light fruit), 2003-or 2004 Paradigm Cabernet Napa Valley (late in the night but decent Cali Cab). We had a few other wines but these are the few I remember off the top of my head.

What a night of great wines though. I wish I had more time to make the notes less sloppy but wanted to share the overall bottles we were lucky enough to try.

#2

Thanks for the notes and thanks for jumping into the fray. To you main topic, I haven not had that particular wine but when I see Brick House I am always confident I am in for a treat.

Jason

#3

I hope to open a bottle of the Cascadia tonite, if the swine ful loosens its grip on me. Given the note, I’m looking forward to it.

#4

Josh, how was the 07 Balcombe? This is one of my favorite bottlings every year from Jim and Patty and I figured it would perform better than most in 07.

#5

John - The Balcombe was a nice bottle. I double decanted this before bringing it over and everyone seemed to enjoy the lower alcohol on this compared to the Cali pinots it was drinking next to. I think my next bottle I want to pair with food, and definitely let it have some bottle age to bring out more subtleties. Deep, murky, unique oak component, primary cherry/strawberry nose, orange rind, and overall enjoyable wine. Well made wine at a decent price point. I think I paid $35. BTW…I was up there last month and tried the 08 from barrel. Holy smokes that and the other PG wines were rockin. What an exciting vintage that will be.

James - Be curious what you thought of the Cascadia if you opened one up. Hopefully the flu’s not holding you down still.

#6

Josh, we got the chance to open the Cascadia yesterday, and your notes are spot on (except the hazelnut, which I didn’t find)!! Dark yellow in the glass making us think it was older than 2006, and it was cloudy, though I don’t see that as a defect at all. Terrific balance and acidity, it just kept getting better with some air; when we went back to the last 1/2 later in the afternoon, it was just awesome, more old than new world in style. Lovely bottle. Like you, I’m going to hold my other bottle for a bit to see how it develops. This is another Oregon Chard (SI is another) that I would buy anytime without thinking about it.

We bought this after a terrific tasting with Doug at the winery last summer. I had been a little worried about my bottles after a shipping snafu, but it seems all is well. This is definitely a winery from which I would like to buy more in the future.

#7

Josh, was great to see everyone this weekend…the 13 lb prime bone in rib eye “roast” was probably worth mentioning. Even amongst some fine company that Brick House was WOTN for me, earth, truffle, beautiful fruit, after you have pushed and pushed me I am now a buyer. Definitely would give them a few years before I opened them.

The Paradigm was an 02 and beings as I opened it, I can say…it sucked. I was very disappointed…over oaked, slightly hot, and overall just a mess…all the while I dont think it was really a faulty bottle, simply not good…my favorite saying when a good CA cab sucks…MORE TIME?? [scratch.gif]

I will get my notes in order on the others.