A little blind tasting exercise and evening of fine conversation with a fellow employee and spouses
2002 Albert Boxler Tokay Pinot Gris Grand Cru Brand-My wine, so not blind to me; very ripe and botrytis on the nose, loads of honey and candied apricots, but age has taken lots of the RS sensation off the palate, bringing more zesty lime citrus and a sense of drying minerality that eliminates most sweet sensations. Had this when we first brought this in around 2005 and the RS was much more prominent. I love the evolution of top flight Alsatians like this; my last bottle is going down for another 2-3 years to be pulled out with some top flight Thai food.
2004 Pride Syrah Sonoma County-tasted blind; super ripe nose called Syrah, most likely New World. First instinct was Aussie because of the intense blue fruit, possibly even some Viognier added in a la d’Arenberg Laughing Magpie. After a minute or so, the nose became more beefy and gamey, and I thought perhaps Washington State, or if California then possibly Anderson Valley, perhaps a Pax Obsidion, but definitely not SoCal/Paso Robles. Makes sense because of the high altitude Quartz Hill vineyard. Very polished and well integrated, definitely unfiltered texture even before I got to the spooge at the bottom, the whole wine hinting at high extraction but not overwhelming in any way shape or form. Would have been great with some beef, but a tasty holiday treat with friends.