Dined with a few wine buddies in the OC this week and Mr Seiber raided his cellar of stuff I can neither pronounce nor have drank before. To make it worse, he bagged everything! AGH! Stumped this chump, fo sho. Of the 7 wines we had, I didn’t like 2, I was good on 3 more, and then 2 remaining were really good, especially the Tenuta. All together, I learned a lot and appreciated the walk down ‘where the hell are we’ lane. Thanks for reading.
2000 J. Hofstätter Lagrein Alto Adige - Südtirol Steinraffler- Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol (2/27/2014#
Power nose, got over-ripe for me, some cigar leaf, too. Dark colored, black cherry. Lots of mid-palate, tight finish with iron.
2001 Chateau Musar Blanc- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley #2/27/2014#
Hints of an oxidative style, in both the color that was bronzy and the aromatic, showing a nutty quality. I liked the palate, unique with a bitter papaya and a lemon curd note.
2004 Château Montus Madiran- France, Southwest France, Madiran #2/27/2014#
I enjoyed this wine alot. Never tried it or the region previously and was poured blind. Poured dark in color. Nose of mint and faint hint of tobacco leaf. Chewey, with iron, dark cherry fruit, rocky and bitter chocolate. Reminded me of a leaner styled petite sirah. Excellent.
2007 Grgic Vina Plavac Mali Vrhunsko Vino Dinga- Croatia, Coastal Croatia, Srednja i južna Dalmacija, Pelješac #2/27/2014#
Didn’t care for this wine at all. Poured blind. Reminds me of some of the early and mid-decade 2000 wines from CA, showing lots of spicy, hot, aggressive, boozy markers in both the aromatic and palate, then what seemed to be some intrusive wood.
2010 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Guardiola- Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC #2/27/2014#
This was really good, hit me just right. Tasted blind. Lighter ruby colored. Aromatics of florals, potpourri, fresh berry. Raspberry, dried flower, watermelon jolly rancher, strawberry–just a lot of fresh red fruits that come across in a balanced way. Dusty finish. Terrific.
2012 Clos Saron Out of the Blue- USA, California #2/27/2014)
Indian spice aromatic when first tried, seemed to fade off a bit with air. The palate and fruit, the texture, it all came off syrupy to me. Muddled blue and red fruits, sweet. Didn’t care for this.
Knowing that we have similar preferences for certain wines, I’m not surprised that you liked the Terre Nere Guardiola so much. Check out a few of their single vineyards (Guardiola and/or some others) side by side and you’ll really be impressed. I love those wines.
All but the Musar were served blind and the objective was to get off the beaten path and try some of the wines made from local varieties in non tradition wine regions. Fantastic idea which required the host to spend some time thinking about it. We’ve been fortunate to travel and in most areas there’s a wine history and culture. Maybe not all regions are as famous as burgundy and Bordeaux but the local communities are equally proud and passionate. This is the spirit we embrace.
Job well done and the food was very good, found a new place to hang my hat.
2001 Chateau Musar Blanc- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
Thought it was rosé until the label was displayed, ah! This is on my bucket list of wines because of the uniqueness. Push the light peach color on the spectrum driven by the oxidation, it is a white wine. I really struggled to decode the aromas, I was stumped. Palate has a very strong salinity, most forward I’ve tasted, right from the attack. There is unripe nectarine and lemon flavors. Finish showed a hint of anise. Really cool experience.
2000 J. Hofstätter Lagrein Alto Adige - Südtirol Steinraffler- Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol
Fairly dark, nearly opaque. Nose starts off with a very mild saddle, leaf tobacco, and heat. Palate is tart initially and then black fruit finishes it. Medium short finish.
2007 Grgić Vina Plavac Mali Vrhunsko Vino Dingač- Croatia, Coastal Croatia, Srednja i južna Dalmacija, Pelješac
Blind. Stewed red fruit nose and a whiff of heat. Can see the resembles to zin in the fruit profile. Rough and tumble with oak and tannins battling it out. Tongue feels coarse at the finish and the texture is coarse.
2004 Château Montus Madiran- France, Southwest France, Madiran
Blind. Dark purple color. Still plenty of structure after a afternoon decant. Tannins are firm and the wine is very angular. There’s a dried leaf quality and a touch of black licorice. Very good, I poured more than my share to pair with the grilled beef. Really nice match.
2010 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Guardiola- Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC
Blind. This sat out all day and was still very wrapped up. Color reminded me of a Pinot noir and the fruit was red. The wine is very coarse and significant complexity. Very interesting and I enjoyed it. Medium plus finish with the oak showing as light coffee. Advice, if drinking now then open the night before. No fear of this wine falling apart.
2012 Clos Saron Out of the Blue- USA, California
Blind. Dark wine. Fruit forward dark plum and mixed spices. Sweet cherry, ash, and some limestone notes. Mild flabby finish.