FEBRUARY WINE DINNER - (2/11/2012)
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2007 Château Villa Bel-Air Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. PnP. Nose of honey and a hint of apples. More apples on the palate along with some caramel. Decent length on the finish. Perfect enjoyable non-intellectual wine. (89 pts.) -
1999 Château Carignan Prima - France, Bordeaux, Entre-Deux-Mers, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Bottle had been decanted prior to tasting for an unknown amount of time. Nice merlot nose with an earthy component. More of the same on the palate with more earth, some spice along with cassis and leather. Medium length finish. Mostly resolved tannins. Ready to drink now with some air but has a few to several years of life left. (90 pts.) -
2000 Château Brisson - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Côtes de Castillon
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Slow-oxed for 4 hours prior to tasting. Nice nose of cassis, violets and leather. Tastes of cassis, tobacco and cedar. Medium length finish that is consistent with the taste. Firm tannins, could use a few more years of bottle aging but it quite enjoyable now with some air. (90 pts.) -
2005 Château Le Clos Daviaud Les Cîmes - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Smell and taste dominated by alcohol (didn’t take note of the amount on the label but seemed like 15%) along with some hints of . Despite the seemingly high ABV it was very light bodied and thin. Very short, clipped finish. Not my style but it might appeal to others. -
2009 Château Arnauton - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Fronsac
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Nose of cassis and plums and a hint of leather. Similar on the palate. Short-medium length finish. Fairly tannic but enjoyable now. Very one dimensional but not a bad modern/New World style wine. (87 pts.) -
2003 Bremer Family Austintatious - USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. PnP. Strong nose of cassis and leather. More of the same on the palate but is balanced with some spice and hints of earth and cocoa. Fairly long finish that is very consistent. Overall a nice New World BDX blend. Drink or hold a few more years. (92 pts.) -
2006 Reverie Cabernet Franc - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Bright, energetic nose of violets, red fruit and leather. More of the same with some spiciness on the palate. Long finish. Very enjoyable wine. Certainly a very modern wine but is show a good amount of restraint at the same time. Drink now and over the next few to several years. (92 pts.)
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2008 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Bottle had been open for several hours before tasting. Nose of cherries, leather, tobacco, cassis. More of the same on the palate with a slight hint of smoke. Long finish with some sour red fruit. Mouth coating tannins but is surprisingly drinkable despite its youth. I noted that the ABV on the label is 15.1% but the wine carries it well as I would never have thought it was any higher then 13.5-14%. (91 pts.) -
2007 Château Haut-Beauséjour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Decanted for 5 hours then double decanted back into the bottle. Nose of wet rocks, earth, dark fruit. Similar tastes on the palate with some leather. Medium length pleasant finish with notes of cassis and cedar. Nice wine overall but very tannic as expected. Hold for a few years and definitely decant liberally if you open now. (90 pts.) -
2007 Château de Pez - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Decanted for 5 hours then double decanted back into the bottle. Very weak on the nose with hints of cassis, cedar and smoke. Similar palate with a hint of sweetness. Medium length consistent finish. I would give these several more years in bottle before opening. It was certainly drinkable now but I believe it will evolve significantly and hopefully the nose will come around. (91 pts.) -
2000 La Dame de Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Decanted for 3-4 hours then double decanted back into the bottle. Nose of cassis, leather, anise and a hint of violets. On the palate, it had more cassis, cedar, graphite and a hint of sweetness. Long finish with cassis and graphite. Drinking great now with a generous decant but should improve marginally and hold for several years. Middle of the fairway classic BDX for my palate and good QPR. (92 pts.) -
1998 Château Pontet-Canet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Nice nose of cedar, cassis and leather. More of the same on the palate with some spice. Medium length finish with some graphite at the very end. The tannins are fully resolved and this one is ready to drink now. (91 pts.) -
1973 Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted non-blind at a wine dinner. Slow-oxed for 5 hours, decanted into a clean bottle and tasted after another 3 hours. Nose of cedar, leather and a hint of blackberries. On the palate it has more of the same with some spice. Very long consistent finish. Fully resolved tannins. Outstanding wine overall and seems to be towards the end of its life. There is a little bit of fruit left but not much. (93 pts.)
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