NV HENRI GIRAUD ESPRIT
ROSE- this is my 2nd sampling of this wine, the first being at the Champagne house in Ay over a year ago; I liked it so much then, the tasting room manager gave me a bottle to take back to our hotel; Giraud is known for his robust, vibrant Champagnes as this is one that fits the bill; copper in color, it is a bowl of fresh red fruit in the nose and on the palate it is very giving of spicy, strawberry, raspberry, red cherry and cranberry with a touch of clove, cinnamon and spice all which goes on and on; I love its creamy rich mousse and the different style this offers; made of 70% Pinot Noir, 30% chardonnay; disgorged 4/30/10.
2005 MUMM NAPA DVX BRUT ROSE- Ive had a lot of this over the past couple of years and love it every time for its fresh fruit forwardness, in this case strawberries; and there
s more happening here as well; after the first bottle, I added it to my house bubbly stash and will continue to do so, its that enjoyable; besides, it comes with a cute little gold wine bottle suspended on a string around the neck and my wife love these little trinkets; she has a bunch of them, but don
t ask me what she will do with them.
2005 AR LENOBLE BRUT ROSE- another fine bubbly I`ve had a few of lately and love each and every visit; nothing subtle here; this is quite a toasty biscuity delight which is full of fresh strawberry/ raspberry fruit, a little salt and pepper; complex; medium to full body with great length; in time, I expect this to be extremely joyful as it evolves, matures and integrates; I place this on an upper scale of quality rose.
2009 SIDURI CARGASACCHI VINEYARD SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- occasionally, after I write out some tasting notes on a particular wine, I check what others are saying and compare mine to those; it does not change my notes, but alerts me to nuances that I may have missed or something I pick up that someone else missed or some things that may have changed over time or due to storage or shipping; in this case, I`ve read other tasting notes and find mine to be way different; regardless, I like this wine; it has a nose of slightly burnt toast, smoke and vanilla along with all spice and cinnamon, all of which continues on into the mid palate joining and blending in with ripe blue and black berries and sweet tannins at the end; 14.1% ETOH.
2010 SIDURI SEBASTIANO VINEYARDS SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR- out of habit, I was almost fooled by the screw cap with an opener in hand; this interesting Pinot is loaded with a nose of ripe dark fruit, some cola, spice and a touch of pepper all of which carries on into the mid palate with pleasant black cherry/ berry notes and soft tannins; I detect a common thread with 2 other recent Siduri Pinots although I`m not sure what it is and where it comes from- any help here is appreciated.
2003 WILLIAMS SELYEM CENTRAL COAST PINOT NOIR- while doing a little cellar cleaning, I picked this out and was surprised to discover its more special than I had given it credit to be; being the lowest priced Pinot of their entire line [$29] and not a specific vineyard designate, I underestimated it; the nose is of cinnamon and spice which stay on to join in with the strawberry, raspberry and red cherry flavors with a touch of cola added in; it
s smooth and pleasant and could vie as a candidate for my house Pinot in future offerings.
2005 CLARK CLAUDON ESTATE CABERNET- Ive been purchasing these wines since their first release of the 1993 and even had the 1992 which was made before they were bonded and not sold; after decanting for a couple of hours, this 05
was very good showing nice minty, Eucalyptus chocolate and coffee notes with a base of black cherry and carried through the palate in a full body; nice balance and complexity; really good now and promises to evolve for years to come; definitely decant; it throws some sediment, a good thing.
Cheers