TN: Tasting Notes from Some Wines Tasted in 2004 and 2005:
TN: 2001 Dom. Borie de Maurel, Cuvee Alex, Minervois. A southern French Syrah dominated blend. Huge nose of sweet fruits right on pouring. Surprisingly intense strawberry and blackberry jam. Same on the palate. A touch of liquorice, too. A big, friendly wine that is ready to go. Midpalate is so-so, but the finish swells up and lasts for 25-30 seconds. Not complex and more than a hair over-the-top, but quite delicious. $17. 89 points.
TN: 2003 Thumbprint Cellars, Pinot Noir Schneider Vineyard, Russian River Valley. Sappy red cherry and plum. Then the rhubarb and strawberry kick in. Candied pinot fruit, though not a Syrah want-to-be, you’d never mistake it for Burgundy. Enjoyable, though a touch cloying in the finish. 86 points.
TN: 1986 Chalone Chardonnay Estate Bottled. Bottle no. 2145 of 4713 750s. Old gold leaning toward brass. Sherry nose suggests its certainly well past its prime, but there is enough life left to enjoy the bottle (am I English?). Nuts! No, no, I mean loads of nuts on the palate. Like drinking a lower alcohol Oloroso crossed with a well-aged white Burg from the Cote d’Or. Later, sweet apples, making even more obvious its earlier death. I bet this was a truly wonderful bottle in its day, when the best vineyards Chalone owned/s were included in the Estate bottling (I believe) and it was more of a boutique operation (compared to today). $24 on close-out is money well spent to me. For the pleasure of experiencing this bit of California Chardonnay history, and by ignoring the fact that it is a Chardonnay, I’d give it a solid 89 points. In truth, 82 points.
TN: 1997 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Cassis and sweet oak. Simple, mature cabernet fruit straight out of the bottle. A touch of brown sugar on the finish with air. Later, mocha espresso in spades. Much more oak than I prefer, though its integrated fairly well and, though always present, does not dominate the ample fruit. Better than the last bottle I had a year or so ago, though I suspect bottle variation over benefit from time. This bottle is a crowd pleaser for the non-Bordeaux, non-oak-adverse set. $24. 88 points.
TN: 2003 Duboeuf “La Trinquee” Julienas. Ripe blackberry and black cherry. Crisp and crunchy fruit. A dry finish dominates the fruit at the end - a finish that seemed to come from the wood treatment, though there is some tannin there too for sure. What is the wood treatment on this wine and Duboef’s other higher end cuvees? Whatever it is, this needs another year or two, and hopefully the wood on the finish (?) will retreat (though its not oak/vanilla - just drying wood). I would bet this will improve, as the glass my wife left on the table had not oxidized over night and had a beautiful nose this morning. $13. 88(+?) points.
TN: 2001 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet, Napa. A very modern, silky, medium bodied Cali cab unencumbered by complexity, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of toasty vanilla, licorice, and truffle. Not a great mid-palate, but a very persistant finish. The wood is drying on the tongue at the end. Hard for me to drink a lot of this - a touch too scientifically constructed for me, but a crowd pleaser. $28. 86 points.
TN: 1997 Atalon Mountain Estates Merlot, Napa. Drinking very well now, and even better after two hours of air. Cold coffee and chocolate drowning dark cherries. No obvious oak at this point to get in the way. Still some tannin to fully resolve, and no rush to drink them up. Fairly lush for mountain fruit, but not a fruit bomb. Only lacks for a bit of complexity. Very nice. $35. 91 Points.
TN: 2001 Atalon Merlot, Napa. Vanilla/oak dominated nose and palate so much so that I find this wine nearly undrinkable. No complexity, just a milkshake of wood, vanilla, and a simple plum and black raspberry fruit drowning in the former. Same on day two. What a major disappointment - blech. 83 points. $16.
TN: 2001 La Confession, St. Emilion. Dark purple. Big nose of blackberry right out of the bottle with some vanilla/oak. After a while, there is also a slight astringency on the nose, probably from the high (40%, i think) cab franc in the mix. Gobs of slightly sweet, powerful blackberry fruit dominate in the mouth, counter-balancing the noticeable oak treatment. Drying tannins on the finish, but they are sweet. Time will reward this wine for sure, especially if the oak is absorbed. I won’t touch another bottle for 5 years, but t I’ll enjoy following the evolution of this high cab franc St. Emilion. $34. 91+ points.
TN: 1997 Zind Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Herrenweg Turckheim. A beautiful brassy gold with big fat tears. Honey, sweet apricot…very unctious with a lot of flash. On its second day open, its lost some of its Gewurz spice and gained some density. I always love a Zind Gewurz around the holidays! $28. 93 points.
TN: 1997 Mount Eden Estate 25th Anniversary Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains. A nice golden yellow. Sweet honeysuckle and subtle lemon on the palate (with a bit of the same on a somewhat reserved nose). Any oak is well integrated in this mature wine. If I had any more 97s in my cellar, I would drink them sooner rather than later (over the next year or so), as some fruit has faded and any additional complexity gained with age doesn’t seem to be making up the balance for my taste). A solid 89 points now. $33.
TN: 1997 Beringer Cabernet, Knights Valley Vineyard. Browning just a hair around the edges. Blackberry/cassis nose and palate. At first, not much fruit here and rather simple. Slightly drying finish. After an hour, it opened up a bit and a tad more fruit emerged, but it never gained any sense of complexity. Why does Bordeaux give us so much more at this price point? $20. 84 points.
TN: 1996 Lagrange, St. Julien. Somewhat reticent nose. With plenty of mouth-drying tannin (on both first and second nights), this bottle needs time for sure. For me, blackberry is dominant, with leather, spice, plum, eucalyptus, and maybe some roasted meats (?). A very pure Bordeaux that is light on its feet, in a deceptive way, as there is a lot a raw material hiding beneath the surface. Both parker and Tanzer have upgraded this in the last few years. They may be right, but this bottle definitely needs to go back to bed. 90+ $37.
TN: 2000 Catena Alta Chardonnay, Arianna Vineyard, Argentina. A brassy gold color. Somewhat muted nose. On the palate, loads of ripe, very distinct pineapple. Really a remarkable amount - does Dole make this stuff? An enjoyable chard that is powerful but not over the top. Should last another five years or so. 91 points (especially if you like pineapple!). $25.
TN: 1996 Domus Aurea, Cabernet Sauvignon, Macul, Maipo Vly, Chile. This is one weird wine. I’ve never tasted or smelled a wine with more euclyptus than this one. It is remarkable, at least, for that alone. There is mature cassis-ladden cab underneath, but the euclyptus is so dominant that it is off-putting. I actually liked this more the first time I had it five months ago (because I drank it with a steak), but this is clearly out of balance. 87 points.
TN: 2001 Seasmoke Botella Pinot Noir. Black cherry nose with a touch of clove. Palate of black cherry with a mossy element, turning short on the finish. Perhaps this still needs time. Improved only slightly the next day. 88+ points. $26.
TN: 2000 Tour de Boyrin, Graves. A very pleasing petite chateau to drink now with food, proving that Bordeaux can produce delicious, early drinking wines (especially in great vintages, of course) at that level. If they all tasted like this, Bordeaux truly would be a value area. This is a light to medium bodied Graves with a nose and palate dominated by tobacco with green olive. A 2000 that is ready to drink right now, I would consume these over the next year. (60/40 cab/merlot). 86 points. $9.
2003 Leitz Dragonstone. A dreadful sugary mess. Loved the 2001 and 2002, but the 2003 shows the very bad side of the 2003 vintage. 75 points.
1996 Duval Leroy, Blanc de Chardonnay Champagne. Not for those who love only a dry Champagne, but delightful and toasty. I don’t think it will be extremely long-lived, but a bargain vintage Champagne to serve when guests pop over. 89 points.
1999 Joseph Phelps Syrah, Napa Valley. OAK with your wine? A vanilla raspberry/blueberry wood milkshake. Low acid. Tasted like I was drinking it out of a wood goblet. To me, undrinkable. 74 points.
2001 Mer et Soleil Chardonnay Barrel Fermented. More OAK with your wine, sir? Some liked this, but I could not manage more than a glass. Lots of oaky, buttery Cali Chardonnay with big, ripe, affected tropical fruits. 83 points.
1999 Castano Hecula, Yecla. Blackberry dominated mouvedre. Quite nice, but I noticed the oak more than usual in this wine, though it is not out of balance. Must have been that the over-oaked wines that proceeded it made me sensitive to it. Good, but not the best bottle of this I’ve had. 88 points.