My sincere thanks to Loren, Lou Radivoyevich and Robert Lovelace for organizing an OL at Taste in Cleveland. Food and service were top-notch. I got there rather later than I’d have liked, but still managed to spend some time with almost everyone there (16 or so people). We had a lot of wine, only a few of which I ended up sampling. I had suggested the theme, where either the winemaker or the winery owner is one of the fairer sex.
2010 Kathryn Hall Napa Cabernet
Bright cherry, bits of coffee and cedar. This is relatively sweet but also relatively pure. Mulberry underneath? More straightforward than I might have thought.
2009 Jean Edwards Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon
Bits of smoky sides, some dill and good berry and plum fruit. Rich, like the vintage, needs a steak. Supercharged plum pudding, cocoa and cherry. Has come along very nicely from my last taste a few years ago.
1991 Corison Cabernet
This is certainly the oldest of hers I’ve had. so this does have an attractive “mustiness” and light soy touch to small dark berries bouquet. This remains very structured and plenty of life, an interesting pomegranate side now. Not excellent, perhaps, but very good and certainly enjoyable for me. Extremely smooth, as a matter of fact. Great to be able to try.
2008 Patricia Green Croft Pinot Noir
Sniffs of forest floor and berry fruit and a very certain freshness about the nose. Dans la bouche, very likeable umami feel and plenty of baking spices to go with bright red berry tastes. Very approachable and nice tang at the front, this is the sort of wine that might make me change my mind about how soon to drink Oregonian wines (I’ve tended to want to leave them at least 8 years).
2012 Liquid Farms White Hill Chardonnay
I brought this as I was pretty sure most of the crowd wanted to try. Arresting floral aromatics jump out at you, along with pear and some citrus. This has fulfilled its promise from back in January—very fine balance, plenty of flavor, edges of pineapple, lots of tangerine and citrus, but all very fresh and clean and solid. Fine, fine stuff.
2009 Taupenot-Merme Morey St. Denis La Riotte
Has the nice cocoa and earth and black cherry combination. This is delicious, I really mean it. Melts in your mouth with chickoree, black raspberry and fabulous dark chocolate. Not heavy one little bit. One of the better 2009s I’ve tried.
2007 Epoch
This is their first vintage, a GSM blend. Nose knocked me back with a big cherry-strawberry hit and meats and spices to go with. Good attack, decent feel, blackberry in the main with maybe some creosote and some spicecake. Perhaps still a little on the rich and heavy side for me.
2012 Veleta Vijirieja
This was my first chance to meet Nola and Juan, and I hope it won’t be the last. This is 90% vijirieja, an indigenous grape to the region they’re in, near Granada, and 10% Chard. Tropical bouquet, kind of puts me in mind of a white port in some ways. And on the tongue, it’s kind of luscious—not in feel, but in flavor. While there’s a sense of minerality backing it, up front its guava and melon and lychee for me.
1997 Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon
This was a very generous double-mag contribution from Robert. Perfume-filled scents, swirling around cocoa and berries. That is yum. Stateliness with still so much to give. Striking berry, plum and christmascake combo, touches of bramble and lovely vibrancy. This might’ve been my favourite tonight.
2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah
Still-heady bouquet with meats, cherry, sweet raspberry. In the mouth, solid, driving, primal still. Not that it’s harsh or hard or rough—just lots of developing yet to do. Different from the 04, I think this has a bigger fruit profile, but still should be left for 5 years or so.
I didn’t take formal notes on the 2009 Veleta Nolados, but I liked it, with dried berries component to the palate and overall good presentation (I think it’s 40% cab, 40% merlot, 20% tempranillo). And although Nola and some others found the 2005 Chateau Coutet swoonful, I felt it was decent, but quite a ways behind the 01, 07 and 09 of theirs—it does still show the lime-infused liveliness, but missing a considerable level of depth and interest compared to those others.
Until next time. I must encourage anyone who is thinking of it to come up here—it is a great bunch of people.
Mike