TN: Cheryl does Cleveland (Sanguis, Aubert, Sineann +++)

WINE TALK
1

On Saturday, Cheryl Mills was in town with a few hours to kill. She joined me and a few friends for an afternoon of drinking some wine. All wines were consumed blind over a few hours. All bottles popped and poured. There was bread, cheese and a few other food offerings. It was a pleasure to meet Cheryl! The best part of Internet BB’s is getting to meet the people in person.

2008 Sineann Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
My friend Peter Rosback, also makes wine in New Zealand. Screw capped. Silver gold in color. The nose has lifting aromatics. Kiwi in personality but Californian in style (or Oregon?). The nose has some grass which give way to tropical fruit. Quite complex. Full bodied with a slightly oily texture. This is fresh and vibrant with gooseberries on the palate. It may have been the combination of the beautiful day outside, but this wine seemed to hit everyone’s sweet spot for an opener. Impressive. 50+3+14+17+7=91

2006 Gianni Voerzio Langhe Arneis Brice Cappellina
Light, silvery gold in color. The nose has minerals and some almonds. Clean and I was thinking northern Italy. Lemony and lemon popsicle on the palate. Nice finish. Good wine that is perhaps a bit past prime. It seems to have lost its exuberance (I am guessing as I did not have it before). 50+3+11+16+6=86

2007 Kutch Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard
Ruby/purple/blue in color. The nose has cherries, complexity and charcoal. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, this was slightly warm due to Cheryl having just arrived from NY and we probably should have stuck it in the cooler for a minute or two. It never really recovered from this and showed a lot of heat and alcohol on the palate. Perhaps it is in an awkward place right now. It was nice but I don’t think at its best. 50+4+13+16+5=88

1998 Villa Poggio Salvi Brunello Di Montalcino
Ruby/brown in color. The nose has cherries and anise. Medium bodied. On the palate, this had tart cherries. Some tea leaves. Nice complexity. Seems to be past prime and I would drink up. I brought this and took home the remains. With a few hours of air, it got darker with more purple in color. Never become outstanding but this does seem to need some air to show its best. 50+3+12+16+6=87

2002 Radio Coteau Savoy Pinot Noir
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose has cherries and a dusty quality. Nice complex layering. Light (almost tea-like) tannins. Some heat on the finish. Nice cherries on the palate with an underlying smokiness. 50+4+13+17+7=91

1978 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir Estate
Red/brown in color. The nose showed some acetone which eventually blew off. Musty with cherry juice. On the palate, this has caramel and dried cherries. Not bad and over the afternoon seemed to revive to have some cherry juice too. Not great but still alive and worth drinking. 50+2+12+16+5=85

1994 Benton Lane Pinot Noir
Seemed like an off bottle. NR.

2004 Failla Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch
Corked.

2006 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard
The cork had shown some signs of leaking. Not to worry, this showed really well. Perhaps the extra air even helped as this bottle showed much better than a bottle last January. Ruby in color with some purple. The nose has cherries and is full and complex. On the palate, layers of cherries and anise. This wine drinks really. Some oak but not intrusive. Some heat on the finish. 50+4+13+18+7=92

2007 Fulcrum Pinot Noir Alexander Valley
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose shows cherries and black cherries. Maybe some raspberries. Easy to drink. Not much complexity at this point but it may get there. The palate is a bit heavier with black and purple fruits. Somewhere between Pinot and Syrah like. That said, I really enjoyed this wine. 50+4+12+18+7=91

1998 Pascal Boulet Volnay
Corked.

2001 Monsupello Pinot Nero 3309
ruby/purple in color. The nose has dusty cherries with a nice mineral base. On the palate, this has a striking acidity compared to the US Pinots, which I liked. Nice cherry fruits, this wine needs some food. Went well with Tom K’s delicious Risotto! 50+3+12+17+7=89

2005 Sanguis Bossman Syrah
The theme was supposed to be Pinot But since Mike P., wasn’t crazy about that theme, I also brought this. Where were you Mike?  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, grilled meat and black pepper. Full bodied. On the palate, black raspberries. Smooth and easy to drink. Still a bit young and in need of some cellar time. This is very good. The packaging and bottle make it an SQN wannabe and it is not up to that level. I also think it was over priced (I bought it for $90). 50+4+13+18+8=93

2

[dontknow.gif] [dontknow.gif] [dontknow.gif]

Who is this Cheryl Miller person you speak of?

3

She told me last year her last name was Mills. Has it changed? Did she lie to me? She is getting more mysterious by the minute!

4

It’s a conspiracy, be very very careful and trust no one.

5

I may have to disagree with her assessment of the Kutch!!!

6

WINES IN CLEVELAND WITH LOREN AND FRIENDS - Cleveland, OH (5/23/2009)

I had the pleasure of meeting Loren and a number of his friends this weekend in Cleveland. I’ve followed his posts for some time and was really happy to meet him and his family in person. Thanks for putting the afternoon together. It was my pleasure.

The Aubert and Sineann were outstanding among other good wines. I would’ve bet the Sineann was an 07 Dry Stack SB Rosemary’s Block, which is my biggest white wine compliment!

2008 Sineann Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
This was fantastic. A definite buy. Sweet grapefruit jumps out of the glass. Big, pretty, slightly sweet, smooth and floral. Gorgeous.

2006 Gianni Voerzio Langhe Arneis - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Sweet and fruity on the nose, oily on the palate, slightly less sweet on palate, some acid. Okay +

1998 Villa Poggio Salvi Brunello di Montalcino - Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
Browning, sweet dark plums on the nose. Soft and lovely palate and mouthfeel. I liked this. Thought it was US.

1994 Benton-Lane Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon
I think everyone else thought this was an off bottle. I thought it had some nice qualities, but I haven’t had too many old pinots. Thoroughly brown in color, not for me, but okay.

1978 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate Grown - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
This was nice. Brown at the edges and pretty much throughout. Some acidity. Soft and integrated. Great on its own (without food). This is ready today and while it might not have a lot more life in it, I really enjoyed it now. This might be the oldest pinot I have and I liked it.

2002 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Beautiful nose, everything I want in a wine. This is young with some alcohol on the nose and palate. Dark cherry on the nose and palate. This is really good now and would be fantastic if the alcohol would dissipate. I have the 04 and 05 and hope they are as lovely as this.

2007 Kutch Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Alcohol on the nose, but really easy drinker. I didn’t get great notes on this, just recall it being almost “gulpable”. Sweet and easy.

2007 Fulcrum Pinot Noir Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
Ok. Barnyard on the nose that blows off. This wasn’t great.

2001 Monsupello 3309 - Italy
This wasn’t great. Significant alcohol.

2005 Sanguis Bossman - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Darkest purple in the glass. Opaque. On the palate is heavy alcohol. That this could have been a very young Aussie syrah. I didn’t care for it.

7

ALRIGHT MILLER, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH CHERYL MILLS?

[diablo.gif] [diablo.gif] [diablo.gif]

AND WHAT WAS THE WOTN?

8

Mark - your post made me realize there was something missing from mine, my Aubert note. It was fantastic and my WOTN. I didn’t, however, ask the table to vote so let’s just assume that it would have been the Aubert if we’d voted!! [bye2.gif]

2006 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/25/2009)
Yes! My wine of the afternoon. Pop and pour. Lovely palate. Some alcohol on the nose. Big, dark fruit. Really nice. In my opinion, this is ready to go now. I can’t speculate where it will be in the future, but if were looking for a great bottle to open now, I’d look no further than this.

9

10

Wow, Cheryl, your modesty is amazing… :wink:

I usually like Aubert’s Chards, but have never had their Pinot. However, “Some alcohol on the nose” reads to me like it was either out of balance or needed time to integrate. To me, evident alcohol is a flaw, not something I look for.