BOERNE WINE CLUB - SYRAH AND ZINFANDEL - Scenic Loop Cafe (10/4/2009)
Overall, I think this was the best wine tasting even we have had so far. Great selection of wines and a fantastic effort from the Scenic Loop Café in hosting. Special thanks to Tim for putting things together again, and graciously giving out a bottle of ’00 Chateau La Grange to the person who brought the wine of the night. At the time, everyone voted for their top 2, with Trust being the winner. Putting a ranking system together with points for the top 5 and Parque’No? comes out on top due to several 4th and 5th place votes.My rankings below reflect points for the top-5 wines from the scoring sheets that were turned in. Either way, a fantastic selection of wines with a wide range of Zinfandel styles and some very good Syrah’s. Great time all around.
Below I’ve included my notes for the evening, as you can see with the great disparity from my ranking and the groups, we all see things differently. Hopefully you’ll still be able to remember the wines from the notes below…
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2005 Tintara Shiraz - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Very ripe red fruits on the nose, with blueberry and plum and a touch of olives. Palate is dense and plush with slightly chalky tannins. Lengthy finish of charcoal, oak/vanilla, mocha with just a flash of heat. Solid Aussie shiraz that is a good example of the restrained balanced but still fruit forward style. Solid go to wine. 88 My #10(tie) Group # 12 (88 pts.) -
2006 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Petite Ruche - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Slightly funky barnyard nose. Sour cherry palate, acidic and slightly thin, but has a refreshing mineral finish with a little grip. Typical northern Rhone style, solid, without much flash. 87 My #13 Group #11 (87 pts.) -
2007 Cline Cellars Zinfandel Bridgehead - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County
I found this surprisingly complex. Nose with mostly dark fruits, with wild berry highlights. Big round palate with candied fruit, and strong oak and vanilla influence. Lengthy dark fruit finish and chewy tannins. Was open, complex and balanced. An impressive Zin for me (who isn’t that into Zin). 90
My #6 Group #7 (90 pts.) -
2006 Mollydooker Shiraz Blue Eyed Boy - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
I brought this mainly for discussion as I really liked big Aussie shiraz a few years ago. I figured some would like it, but it turns out this was a discriminating group and NO ONE put it in their top HALF.
It performed as expected, Fruit BOMB with gobs of black fruit, vanilla, and oak, jammy mouthfeel, lengthy finish. Quite hot and it was brought to the tasting at cellar temp. Really stood out at this tasting, but not a style I go for anymore. 87 My #14 Group #13 (tie, no votes) (87 pts.) -
2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
I was very excited to try this wine given the reputation and it lived up to the hype! Focused nose with strong dark fruits, and some nice floral highlights. Rich round palate, with fine plush tannin background. Nice acidity, with blueberry, blackberry, and plum notes, a strong black pepper note that really won me over, and some strong but not overpowering oak influence. Lengthy vanilla, chocolate finish. Fantastic balance and my WOTN 93. My #1 Group #4 (93 pts.) -
2005 Tres Sabores Porque no? - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Surprisingly tight and focused for a Zin, I was later told this is 15% Cab so maybe that was it. A rather shy subdued nose of mocha and berries. Refined focused palate with a little grip, red berries, with oak/vanilla coming in and extending into a lengthy finish adding some wet stone. Just seemed slightly tight and shut down compared to the competition, but obviously a well made balanced Zin-blend. 89
My #7 Group #1 (89 pts.) -
2002 Renwood Zinfandel Grandmère - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Unique at this tasting. Strong port-like nose, very sweet and floral. Reduced, stewy fruits with some oak coming out on the finish. The oldest of the Zin’s tasted. Despite the reduction/stewed fruit, did not show any heat and had some delicacy. Not really sure what to make of it, but I did enjoy it. 89 My #9 Group # 10 (89 pts.) -
2006 St. Francis Zinfandel Old Vines Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
Strong vanilla, cedar, and oak on the nose. Palate adds some black cherry and plum, with a strong oak finish. The oak was quite prominent, but was still an easy drinking enjoyable red. Given the stiff competition, seemed simple, but was probably the context rather than a poorly made wine. 86 My #15 Group #13 (tie, no votes) (86 pts.) -
2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
This really changed over the course of the evening. At first has a strong candied, cola nose and palate that I found off-putting and one dimensional . 88
After being open a couple hours, the candied red fruit remained, but was not as prominent allowing nice charcoal, scorched earth, and coffee flavors to emerge, coupled with a nice acidic zip, fine tannins, and lengthy finish, really came together as a strong candidate for WOTN by the end. 91 My #3 Group # 6 (91 pts.) -
2007 Trust Syrah Les Collines Vineyard Block 50 - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Complex nose of earth and coffee, with candied red fruits. Palate was nicely balanced between fine acidity and plush tannins. This was the only wine of the night that had a herbal spiciness on palate that really set it apart. Lengthy finish showing the herbal note, mocha, earth and sweet red fruits. Nicely done, but I wasn’t as wowed by this one as the group was. 89 My #8 Group #2 (89 pts.) -
2004 Green & Red Vineyards Zinfandel Chiles Mill Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Big black and red fruit nose that extend themselves on the palate with a strong vanilla note. Lacked some acidity on the palate and was on the verge of being flabby, but pulled things together with a lengthy finish with a charcoal/earth note. Fun Zin. 90 My #6 Group #13 (tie, no votes) (90 pts.) -
2005 Heitz Cellar Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley
A much more focused Zin than some of the others. This has a nice berry floral nose. Palate with wild berries, plums, strong blue fruit flavors. Oak influence was present, but integrated, and has a smooth buttery note. 90 My #5 Group #3 (90 pts.) -
2004 Zaca Mesa Syrah - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Nose of mostly coffee, chocolate, earth and oak. Dense fruit packed palate adding to the scorched earth and mocha flavors. Lengthy complex finish. This was a surprise for me as I haven’t been greatly impressed with their other offerings in the past. 91 My #4 Group #8 (91 pts.) -
2006 DeLoach Vineyards Zinfandel Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Sweet reduced nose with a spicily vanilla note. Very fruit forward wine with slightly stewed fruits and some charcoal in the background. This was a little overdone for me, but some group members picked it as the WOTN. Maybe I was missing something on this one. 88 My #10 (tie) Group # 9 (88 pts.) -
2005 Perrin & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres Les Cornuds - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres
A big surprise to me as I had this last year and it was a wall of tannin and wasn’t much fun to drink. Tonight, this was very accessible with a fantastic nose of red fruits and violets. Nice acidic palate, focused, with wild berries and cherry palate, with balanced integrated tannins. Lengthy finish with the red fruits carrying on and a nice stone/mineral quality coming in. 92 My #2 Group # 5 (92 pts.)
Until next time!
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