hooked up with some folks ITB this weekend: Armando Ceja (Ceja Vineyards), Nick Wittman (Santa Rosa FIne Wine) and John Painter (Las Madres Vineyard). nick organized the wines into seven flights over a long meal:
grand cru whites: -------------------------
2001 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne – lean and flat at first, then some lemon zest & soap skin. took a while to open up after an hour with some brioche, more lemon and some hazlenut.
2004 Lucien le Moine Montrachet – gold-medal color. big attack on the nose of grapefruit and motor oil. tangerine, honeycomb and creamy pasilla pepper in the mouth with a structure that dominated every corner. elegance in the finish with the diesel returning and sustaining an amazing balance. after a while, i forgot this was wine. WoTF
Ceja Pinot Noir vertical ---------------------------
1992 Ceja Pinot Noir (sangiacomo vineyard) – cherry-chloraseptic spray and candied red and pink fruit on the nose. menthol, fennel, peppermint and a molasses-coated cherry in the mid-palate. light acid toward the finish brought out leather, horsey notes of hair and sweat. WoTF
1998 Ceja Pinot Noir (estate) – more oaky & vanilla with the standard cherry and chocolate notes. some mint on the finish gives away it’s age. almost no acid.
1999 Ceja Pinot Noir (estate) – more structure and balance than the 98. riper with raspberries plus cherries. a bit of saline in the mid palate with some bright acid that kept the finish alive briefly, but not long enough.
Burgundy ------------------------------------------
1969 Chanson Pere & Fils Beaune 1er Cru – an immediate tic-tac shell nose with mint, tobacco and cola behind it. a bright minty-fruitcake bouquet. in the mouth the mint morphed to menthol with bigger red fruits, rhubarb, celery, pomegranate and even some white wine notes of lime, walnut and citrus. spectacular finish of raspberry mojito. unbelievable. WoTF
2003 Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares – dark cherry, cola, red and blue fruits. big body and structure. opened up over an hour with more secondary notes and balance. this was best with food (armando’s mole) as the 69 1er was best by itself.
2006 Faiveley Mazis-Chambertin – strange nose of saline and new notebook. young and tannic, this “newer-world” wine had an obtuse beet flavor that was off-putting to me. came back to it a few times to find more beets covered with chalky dust. this covered up the fruit, so unfortunately i could not grok this wine.
Cabot Syrah flights -----------------------
2006 Cabot Syrah Humboldt County – my first time with cabot, this AVA was tannic and sorta boring to me after the burgundy flight.
2006 Cabot Syrah Aria’s Vineyard Humboldt County – a bit more complexity with pine needles, smoke and a bit more fruit than the AVA.
2006 Cabot Syrah Kimberly’s Vineyard – some blue fruits and more focus than the previous two cabots, but still forgettable.
2006 Cabot Syrah Kimberly’s Vineyard “One Barrel” – almost indistinguishable from the non-One Barrel with a bit more oak and more heat. better finish
2004 Cabot Syrah Kimberly’s Vineyard – much better. some interest on the nose and more complexity in the mouth. softer tannins with blue and black fruits. made me hope the 06s would evolve into this profile. WoTF
Las Madres Vineyard flights --------------
2003 Nicholson Ranch Syrah Carneros – inky purple and dark blueberry nose. white pepper with thick unctuous coating for a great texture and finish. could go another year or two, but not much more…? WoTF
2005 Quivet Cellars Syrah Las Madres Vineyard – (5% cabernet) more tannic with mint, menthol & less fruit than the nicholson. some black olives mixed with just a bit blackberries. thelma and louise finish
2004 Nicholson Ranch Syrah Las Madres Vineyard Cosentido – wonderful dark fruit and perfume-counter notes, this 04 beat the 03 in my mouth with some pleasant licorice twizzler thing at the end.
2007 Myriad Syrah Las Madres Vineyard – black and thick texture with tar notes and tannic bite. black olives again with a tapenade flair, some sourness affected the blue fruit notes. very dry, very young
2005 Vie Syrah Las Madres Vineyard – sensual aromatics draw you in. a compelling wine of great structure. this producer seemed to elevate the fruit into a northern rhone profile of earth, flowers, acid and gorgeous blue fruit. WoTF
Sticky ---------------------------------------------
2008 Ceja Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc – fun red peaches and mandarin oranges combine with honey and orange peel. still some acid hanging around (RS?)