Turley Dusi Zin 2005
Dark in the glass. Sweet stewed fruit nose. Palate is big and fruity, also sweet. Missing the bracing acidity I like in Turley so much. Certainly drinkable with steak but not my favorite bottle of Turley.
Ducati Desmo Rosso Venetto 2006
13.5%
My buddy is a model for Ducati motorcycles and now they are pushing this wine. They have very high expectations for it. Currently the wholesale price is apparently about $35. My buddy says that it will retail for $70? Good luck.
Nice dark color. Fruity nose with dark berries, a little sweat and some flowers. Medium bodied with bright berries on the palate, mostly raspberries. Some sweet chocolate. Lots of acid and some drying tannins. Not by any means a bad wine, I certainly enjoyed it and generally Im not a big fan of italian wines. That being said, Im not sure that the fruit will outlive the tannins and if my buddy has the price points right, its a bit ridiculous. I would buy this for $20 maybe.
Rosenblum Heritage Clones PS '04
Color is a bit lighter than last year. Down to one bottle of this. Still the best bottle under $15 I ever had. Some of the brither fruit has faded from the nose but it remains fruity and dark. The palate is sweet with plums and dark berries. Not much complexity but a lot of power. The tannins are all but gone. Still love this wine.
Lafaurie-Peyraguey 03
Nice Golden Color
Big on the nose as well as body. Citrus, stone fruits and honey…the palate follows through with similar flavors and a blast of acid. Very clean finish.
Realm Tempest 2005
Very dark in the glass.
Sweet nose of coffee and dark fruits. Medium body with coffee and chocolate, cassis and dark fruit compote. Warmed by the alcohol, which is noticeable. Figs lead the way into drying tannins. The body filled out with air. Great stuff.
Modus Operandi 2004
This is the third bottle of this I have…the first two were not memorable. This one kept getting comments about how sexy it was. Go figure.
Sweet chocolate and camphor on the nose. Full bodied, with chocolate, coffee, cassis and blackberries. Every once in a while Id get a very fleeting green taste. Long, smooth finish. Much better than I remember.
CSJ Cinq Cepages 2002
Very faint bricking at the edge. Brutally drying out of the bottle but much improved with 2 hours of air. Grapey nose with some camphor. Strong dark fruit attack some baking spices. A little gritty. Air did this wonders turning it sweeter and softening up the tannins very fast. Good drink!
Ghost Block 2005
Dark. Nose gives nothing at first. After two hours of air some charcoal and dark berries. The palate fills up with air and throws some raspberries and chocolate at you. Very nice smooth finish. High levels of acidity. This I think will be much better in several years. Felt tight.
Coutet 2003
Nose doesnt show much. Light yellow in color. The palate is a huge ball of peaches in syrup. After about 5 seconds of the first sip I thought this would stay cloying, like cheap mead. Then the acidity cuts through, literally surprised me, didnt think there was a chance. I kept sipping it for a while to see if it was my imagination. Very heavy in the middle but the acid saves the day. Interesting.
Seasmoke Southing 2006
Lighter than the three 05’s in the glass.
Ive had two bottles before, both of them mediocre at best. One might have been corked, the other was either bottle shocked or travel shocked if you believe in that. This had a huge nose of bright berries and baking spices. A bit of sweat, some cranberry that made one of my friends think it was a bordeaux. The palate is medium weight with more berries and a little caramel. Bracing acidity with a nice long finish that ends a little hot.
This is no '05 but a much better bottle than the last two I had.
Mollydooker Boxer 2006
Bunch of people showed up from a party nearby late in the night. MD is usually improved by being cold from the cellar so I pulled this. I was drunk and this was still too alcoholic. A mess. This is the first time I turn my nose at a MD.
A couple of thoughts on the night:
Not as much oak as I would have expected in this lineup. The Seasmoke was the only wine where I thought oak. The majority of the wines were single blind to me, so I had a few surprises.
As much as I enjoyed a sip or two of dessert wines, Ill never be a huge fanatic.
Ill always be a California fan.