A last minute impromptu dinner was put together and 5 of us enjoyed some fellowship and good wines at a new local Greek restaurant:
NV PHILIPPE PRIE BRUT TRADITION- consistently refreshing and delightful, this nicely acidic bubbly has lots of citrus notes accentuated by lemon-lime and grapefruit notes along creamy mousse; made of 80% Pinot, 20% Chardonnay.
2009 LADVENTURE ROSE ESTATE – I found this to be very interesting with its flavor profile and then when seeing what it is comprised of, it became even more intriguing; made of 38% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache and 17% Cabernet at 14.8% alc; there
s some likeable cinnamon, spice, wild ripe red fruitiness; fun.
1998 MONGEARD-MUGNERET ECHEZEAUX- the nose welcomed with significant strawberry spice which moved on into more raspberry and red cherry in a medium body; not real complex or serious, but certainly pleasant; I`m wondering if this was better at some point or just in a little down side and not at its best now although decent now.
2003 PISONI PISONI VINEYARD PINOT NOIR- Ive had a few bottles of this wine and each time I get it is still in a youthful state with a lot of time to go before full maturity; this is a huge extracted Pinot, serious, intense and complex with gobs of black spicy fruit lightly sprinkled with a touch of white pepper; needs time to integrate and evolve; I
m betting this is a solid winner in 8-10 years and perhaps beyond.
2003 PAUL HOBBS RRV PINOT NOIR- ready and willing now, it showed beautifully; there`s some not too sweet good ripe red and black fruit topped off with a hint of cinnamon spice enhanced by its soft and silky texture; loved it!
2003 WHITCRAFT MELVILLE PINOT NOIR- Im suspecting this was a batch bottle variation from other positive experiences I
ve had with this wine, it had VA at its boldest expression on top of some fruit which reminded me of jujubes which was a positive in this case; I`ll revisit another bottle to determine what is what; it was decanted for a few hours.
2000 KENDALL JACKSON ESTATE CABERNET- a first exposure for me, I found this to be very enjoyable; nice minty black currant and blackberry with a touch of talc; it`s smooth, balanced and has good length.
2004 SCHWAZ W PINOT NOIR- [Austrian] talking about first exposures, heres another; I have no idea how this was made and why it gave what it did as it was atypical for all Pinots I
ve ever tasted over many years; this certainly had a different profile as it was loaded with coffee, chocolate, mocha, smoke black pepper and an assortment of black and blue fruit notes all delivered in multiple layers; it was big and robust and yet it had some finesse that was surprisingly unexpected; extremely interesting wine to say the least.
1999 KRACHER #5 ZDS SCHEUREBE TBA- 750 ml; maximum botrytis; dark copper colored, thick oily creamy substance transporting delightful minty, Eucalyptus, caramel, butterscotch, candied apples, apricots and peaches; magnificent.
Cheers