SANDY’S NOT-YOUR-USUAL-VARIETAL TASTING AND POTLUCK - Chez Sandy, San Jose, California (7/19/2009)
This was a fun way of whiling away an unusually hot weekend afternoon during this otherwise remarkably mild summer we’re experiencing in the SF Bay Area. Between the shade in Sandy’s backyard and several ice buckets, we kept the wines within reasonable tasting temperatures. As usual Chez Sandy, there was an abundance of tasty food, and a good time was had by all.
Most of us kept to the unusual varietal criteria in bringing wines, but later on in the afternoon, standards lessened some, as a couple more common varietals–e.g., a Riesling, and Pinot Rosé–snuck in (apparently when someone went looking for a vino to pair with a particular dish). My several theme-appropriate favorites of this relaxed tasting day were the '06 Belluard Gringet Vin de Savoie Le Feu (who ever gets enough of the lovely Gringet varietal?); the '07 Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Kerner (always a winner); and the '04 Michele Alois Trebulanum (gotta love that Casavecchia grape – the ancient Romans apparently did). Wes Barton also deserves special mention for sharing not only some of his typical old Cali rarities with us (a '77 Sebastiani “Pinot St. George” and '76 Calera late harvest Zin), but also a wine he had helped make from a non-typical varietal–apricots–that wasn’t half bad.
Bubblies
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N.V. Franck Pascal Champagne Cuvée Reserve Extra Brut - France, Champagne
Bright canary yellow color; toasty, tart peach, nectarine, green apple nose; green apple, mineral, green melon palate with high acidity; medium finish 88+ pts. (88 pts.) -
2006 Vincent Careme Vouvray Brut - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Light canary yellow color; green apple, cream and mineral nose; tart lime, green apple, mineral and ripe lime palate; short-medium finish (89 pts.) -
N.V. Vignaioli di S. Stefano (Ceretto) Moscato d’Asti - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Moscato d’Asti
Light yellow color; jasmine, honeysuckle, Muscat and ripe lime nose; tasty, light, ripe lime, green melon and orange blossom palate; short-medium finish 90+ pts. (90 pts.)
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2005 Niño Jesús Calatayud Estecillo Blanco - Spain, Aragón, Calatayud
Medium yellow gold color; tart citrus, baked lemon nose; nice tart lemon, citrus, mineral, lemon oil palate with good acidity; medium finish (89 pts.) -
2006 Domaine Belluard Gringet Vin de Savoie Le Feu - France, Savoie, Vin de Savoie
Medium canary yellow color; mineral, delicately herbal, oregano, thyme and sage nose; tasty tart citrus, mineral, stony, tart peach, pear and ripe grapefruit palate; medium-plus finish 92+ pts. (92 pts.) -
2007 Can Feixes Penedès Blanc Selecció - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès
Light yellow color; herbal, lime, chalk, mineral, lemon basil nose; light, citrus, clementine, lemon, mineral and chalk palate; medium-plus finish (90 pts.) -
2004 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Cuvée Eden - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine
Light yellow color; light green fruit, green herb nose; tart, minerally, green fruit, lime, herbal palate; medium finish (91 pts.) -
2007 Abbazia di Novacella (Stiftskellerei Neustift) Kerner - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler
Light yellow color with a tinge of green; rich lime and mineral nose; tasty, tart lime, mineral, lemon grass palate with depth; medium finish (92 pts.) -
N.V. Sokol Blosser Evolution 12th Edition - USA, Oregon
Pale yellow color with a green tinge; appealing fresh green apple, green pear, honeysuckle nose; simpler on palate, Pinot Blanc, apple, pear palate; short-medium finish 86+ pts. (86 pts.) -
2007 José Maria da Fonseca Loureiro Twin Vines - Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde
Light lime and white peach nose; light bodied, frizzante, lime, tart peach palate; short finish (87 pts.) -
2008 Edmunds St. John Heart of Gold - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Light yellow color; apple, white peach nose; tart white peach, lime palate with good acidity; medium finish (59% Vermentino, 41% Grenache Blanc) (90 pts.) -
2001 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhauser Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Light yellow color; nice, focused, apple, petrol, herbal and green fruit nose; tasty, poised, tart green fruit, tart white peach palate with depth; medium finish (92 pts.) -
2006 Champalou Vouvray - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Light medium canary yellow color; tart mineral, cream and lime cream nose; tart white peach, lime, mineral and nectarine palate; medium finish (88 pts.) -
2003 Peay Vineyards Viognier Estate - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Light medium canary yellow color; oxidized, hazelnut, honeydew melon nose; tart peach, oxidized, hazelnut palate; short finish (82 pts.) -
2007 Weingut Gritsch Mauritiushof Riesling Smaragd 1000-Eimerberg - Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau
Light canary yellow color with tiny, tiny bubbles; minerally, chalk, tart nectarine nose; nice tart lime, mineral, chalk palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish (89 pts.) -
2006 Handley Pinot Noir Rosé - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
Bright orange pink color; tart cherry, pink grapefruit nose; tart, a little clunky and front-loaded, tart cherry palate with lime acidity; medium finish (83 pts.)
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2005 De Tarczal Trentino Marzemino Superiore di Isera - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Trentino
Medium cherry red color with pale meniscus; Gamay-like, tart red fruit nose; good tart red fruit, iron and mineral palate with depth; medium finish 91+ pts. (91 pts.) -
2004 Casa Vinicola Michele Alois Trebulanum Campania IGT - Italy, Campania, Campania IGT
Opaque black violet color; spicy plum, lavender, baked berry nose; ripe, rich, tasty, spicy plum, berry, black fruit, herbal and mineral palate; medium-plus finish (93 pts.) -
1977 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Pinot St. George Knightly and Noble - USA, California, North Coast
Bricked brown red color with clear meniscus; mature, shitake mushroom, baked plum, prune, tar nose; mature, prune, shitake mushroom, baked plum palate; medium finish (87 pts.) -
2001 Aminea Taurasi Baiardo - Italy, Campania, Taurasi
Garnet red color with pale meniscus; berry, herbal nose with a touch of white pepper; tasty, juicy, black fruit, tar and tart plum palate; medium finish (91 pts.)
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2004 Massandra Saperavi South Coast Kagor - Ukraine, Crimea, Massandra
Opaque dark red violet color; prune, fig, chocolate nose; ripe, port-like, plum, fig, spice, fig newton palate; medium-plus finish (84 pts.) -
1976 Calera Zinfandel Zin Essence - USA, California, Central Coast
From 375 ml - bricked, medium red-orange-brown color with pale yellow meniscus; mature, fig, plum, berry, mushroom, VA nose; mature, tobacco, orange spice, tart plum palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 87+ pts. (“bottled for Calera by La Noche Cellars Soledad”) (87 pts.)
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2007 Burton’s Apricot - USA, California
Medium canary yellow color; lemon bubblegum, lemon honey, floral, vanilla nose; ripe pear, apricot, floral, tart clementine, grapefruit and lime bubblegum palate; medium-plus finish 88+ pts. (Wes Barton, who helped make the wine, poured it blind. I at least guessed that it was not made of grapes, and guessed stone fruit. It wasn’t as obvious that it was apricot as I would have expected.) (88 pts.)
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