TM


Tasting Notes
January/February, 2011

Tasting Notes Contents Page

QPR Winner   I give this award to wines that demonstrate an excellent Quality to Price Ratio. They are sometimes more expensive than the wines featured in my Best Buys section (which is cut off at $20), so while every Best Buy is also a QPR Winner,  not every QPR winner is an official Best Buy.  QPR winners are simply wines that are great values for a relatively  reasonable price. 

Calif/USA Dessert/Sparkling Germany Italy Rhone/S/SW France Spain

California/USA (except dessert/sparkling)
2004 Chardonnay "Lauren" (Aubert)
With a heavy caramel, oak-laced overlay, this is sweet and tasty, but I was never sure that anything I was tasting was actually fruit. Burly, a bit clumsy and very obvious, at this point in its life--perhaps earlier the fruit was more assertive--this is a wine that can still be pleasant to drink in terms of tasting good, but doesn't exactly remind me of interesting or distinctive chardonnay. 88 points.

2003 Chardonnay "Marcassin Vineyard" (Marcassin)
Ripe, with some acidity bursts welcome at time, this shows a bit of an oak overlay but better purity of fruit as time goes on. A hint of caramel here and there sneaks in, but on the whole, this drinks pretty well. I'm not sure I'd want to hold it a lot longer, though. 90 points.

2006 Syrah "Harrison Clark" (Copain)
This was a bit of a chameleon. There were times when I didn't like it much at all, finding it rather boring with some annoying woody notes and not much character, although I'd always give it credit for the graceful mid-palate; it is on the light side. At various times in the evening, I kept coming back to it, though, finding many different incarnations--not all good!--but rapidly changing. Usually, that's a sign of a good wine, the ability to evolve, mutate and eventually to harmonize. Ultimately, while this did not exactly rock my world, and I never did like the flavor profile much on the wine, I did think it won me over a bit, still showing a bit tight on the end, finishing a bit short, but becoming rather charming. 90 points.

1992 Cabernet Sauvignon (Woodward Canyon)
How you view this might depend on where you came in. The best news is that in some respects it is fairly youthful; there is little decay, not much if any forest floor or weedy notes. It is bright and still rather fresh, with some appealing notes and flavors. It has thinned, obviously, and after being opened awhile, the fruit seemed to dry out a bit, the tannins taking over. All that said--this was a pretty nice performance, well put together and balanced, with nice flavors and a pleasingly mature feel. 90 points.

2004 Syrah "Hope Family Vineyard" (Austin Hope)
It leads off with vanilla and mint, and seems a bit burly, with the alcohol noticeable. It never went anywhere good. Most of what is tasty here is oak-derived, and the wine seemed to crack with some air, showing a hard edge and that alcoholic note. 84 points.

2007 Levitation (Sleight of Hand)
Oak tinged, this is a bright and light syrah. It is tasty and aromatic, although much of that comes from the oak. It opened flat, dull and rather simple, but it did come together a bit and developed a little charm, at which point, and much to my surprise, it actually began to grow on me. Modestly constructed, this is a wine with some limitations, but it became a lot of fun. 87 points.

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon "Nuns Canyon Reserve" (St. Francis)
Inexpensive on release (in my region, it was picked up for around $25), this under-the-radar Cab provides some value and nice drinking. It has evolved nicely. It still opens with an overlay of oak that is a bit annoying and makes it seem simple and one dimensional. It gets to the steel and fruit a bit faster now, though, with the tannins moderated, but still providing some bite. For as long as I had it open, it never quite became anything complex or distinctive, but if it it has no complexity to speak of and only modest depth, it is still going on 10 years now, seems elegant and fun to drink, and is managing to show better than ever. That's worth something. Completely charming, it has something nice to offer and should easily hold in the cellar for several more years without a hint of an issue.  89 points.

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Dessert/Sparkling
2001 Riesling Eiswein "Ockfener Bockstein" (St. Urbans-Hof)
Gorgeous and impeccably balanced, this is one of those wines that has the perfect combination of sugar and acidity, waking up the taste buds and becoming mouthwateringly delicious, while seeming bright and sunny. It has a great, lingering finish. It is youthful and should age a long, long while hereafter. There is not a hint of maturity or decay. 96 points.

NV Zinfandel "Port" (Rombauer)
I've had these in the past without being quite as impressed, but this Port-style Zinfandel is quite nice, showing fine structure, good fruit, a sweet, but not sloppy finish and some character. Its parts hang together nicely. 90 points.

2006 Late Bottled Vintage Port (Quinta de la Rosa)
This LBV has a lot of vintage character and drinks beautifully in that regard. It is rather light and there are bursts of alcohol up front that show a bit too much early on, but seemed to be less of an issue with time and more aeration. It drank better on Day 2. In flavor profile and focus, this is quite lovely, although, of course, it lacks the structure and depth of the big boys. 87 points.

1997 Coteaux du Layon "Selection de Grains Nobles" (Philippe Delesvaux)
This SGN is into the second phase of its life, showing maturity and those dried apricot notes frequently seen on aging sweeties that have primary fruit drying a bit. That said, it is lovely and succulent, the bright acidity making the palate drool as the delectable flavors are pounded home. Lighter now that I've ever seen it, it is quite elegant and a bit restrained. 90 points.
 

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Germany (except dessert/sparkling)

2004 Riesling Auslese "Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr" #6  (Fritz Haag)
This is one of the wines that rather sneaks up on you. With an elegant and ethereal mid-palate, not as seeming as sweet as its designation might imply, it slowly builds, projecting acidity and steel, mingling nicely with the sugar and giving it a nice balance. As it airs out and develops, the acidity creates more tension. As this moves into the next phase of its development--which is not close to happening as it seems young, fresh and fruity--I suspect this will display its acidity even more and sweetness even less. It seems a touch closed at the moment, actually. I don't think this is even close to showing everything it is has, but it is awfully nice. 91 points.

2003 Riesling Auslese "Johannisberger Holle" (Johannishof)

This doesn't have the piercing acidity of some Rieslings, but in terms of sweetness, lusciousness and sex appeal, it leaves little to be desired. It is simply delicious, and in many respects a creature of this vintage, which tended to produce a lot of ripe, fat wines. Rich, gorgeous and irresistible, this Rheingau Auslese lets it all hang out, dribbling sugar over the palate, and seems twice as thick as many German Rieslings. This comes in a 375ml bottle, typical of the producer, and in this case it is fully justified. If some Auslesen seem closer to table wines, this seems closer to a dessert wine. I normally put Auslesen here, rather moving to the dessert wine category, but this one certainly made me think it twice. Whatever it is, it is terrific. Young and fresh, it has miles to go, not even yet hinting at maturity. 94 points.

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Italy (except dessert/sparkling)

2000 "Fabius" (Ciacci Piccolomini)
This was just amazing--not necessarily in a good way. I liked the depth and the approach, but this wine simply seemed to reek of nail polish notes, which I attributed to a volatile acidity issue. It could be smelled a foot away and whatever was going on--it made it really hard to deal with anything else going on here. 79 points.

1997 Brunello di Montalcino (Pertimali)
Coming along gorgeously, this continues to develop into a lovely wine. Still earthy, after opening a bit tight, it impresses with depth as well as complexity, seeming beautifully constructed and impeccably balanced. It does everything well and is quite delicious. 95 points.
 

1997 Brunello di Montalcino "Pian Rosso" (Ciacci Piccolomini)
This is a wonderful CP, sweet and sexy, bright and sunny, coming along brilliantly. Its fine acidity allows it to dribble the sweet fruit over the palate and it is impossible to resist, utterly delicious and succulent. It is in prime time, with a long life ahead of it, but also showing expressively and wide open. If you wonder what it means to describe a wine as a sexy, try this. It should be self-explanatory. 95 points

1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Ciacci Piccolomini)
It was conventional wisdom that the regular Ciacci (see above) was better and more interesting than the Riserva. Well, the regular was quite exciting and hard to resist. It is easy to see how it could make a huge impact and overshadow this fine Riserva. With more time and age, that can be called into question now, though. Certainly, one thing you can still notice on this Riserva is a little more oak. One can only imagine how powerful that nuance was on release, deluging the fruit and standing in sharp contrast to the pure, sweet and gorgeous regular bottling, above. Yet, I think that was probably not the major issue. On release, this was likely stolid, tannic, powerful, shut down tight, not even close to being expressive. Still rather unevolved, with a touch of astringency on the finish, this demonstrated to me by its evolution through an evening that it has fine potential and plenty of room still to improve. If the regular bottling, above, is singing pretty songs at the moment, this is starting to come around. The tortoise may yet catch the hare. In fact, my bet would be that in 2020, this will be the hands down better wine, and it will overtake its sibling, the oak integrating even better and the fruit opening up and becoming more expressive. 95 points.

1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Conti Constanti)
 Here's another unevolved Riserva, showing a hit of oak, but great potential. It  has tons of power and good acidity, fine depth and a brooding, somewhat stolid demeanor. I think this wine, with its good acidity and solid concentration, will evolve beautifully, the succulent finish being a delight, but it still has a ways to go and may yet improve dramatically. It has to unwind. 93 points.

1997 Brunello di Montalcino "Poggio al Vento" Riserva (Tenuta Col d'Orcia)
This is another unevolved Riserva with a lot of upside. Big, deep and powerful, with lurking power that keeps emerging and making the wine more intense and yes, a  little more stolid, this has everything going on. The powerful nose was gorgeous, and as this brooding and very bright wine evolved--glacially--it seemed to have an enormous upside potential. Its rating is based somewhat on potential at the moment, but come back in 5-10 years, and this is going to be dramatically better. 94 points.

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Rhone/South/SW France (except dessert/sparkling)
2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Reservée" (Domaine Pégau)
This is coming around nicely, showing quite well now, elegant and focused, with good acidity and some penentration on the finish. The velvety texture is a plus. All that said, in this great vintage--one of my favorites in Chateauneuf--this wine has always left me feeling that it coulda been a superstar and wasn't. That aside, it is pretty good and doing well. 93 points.

2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Beaucastel)
Slightly tight and intense, rather elegant in the mid-palate, this shows great purity of fruit, nice acidity and a gripping finish. If it opens slowly, it does open and when it does, the juicy and succulent fruit dribbles over the palate. This has really evolved nicely since I last saw it, and while I'm not quite sure it has the upside some see in it, it is a very fine CdP, graceful, balanced and intense. 95 points.

2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Domaine de la Mordorée)
Every time I have tasted this, it has never been anything but stunning. It is still keepin' on.  It opens with a hit of sweet oak, but that doesn't last all that long. There is a lot going on here, including great structure, great depth and mouthcoatingly, velvety texture on the fruit. It is very fine, a superstar of the vintage. 98 points.
 

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Spain (except dessert/sparkling)
2001 Aalto PS
This wine really just...needs...to be put AWAY! Seriously. I seem to have my share of notes on this, but it is not showing a sliver of what it has to offer. Laced with sweet oak up front, it seems simple and one dimensional initially, but this has so much going on, that it unfolds a layer at a time, showing power, intensity, brilliant structure and the capacity to age and integrate that oak somewhat. But it will take longer. For all of its power, you can certainly approach it now because it does have a sweet 'n' sexy component as well, although a lot of that is oak derived. Still, 3-5 more years in the cellar should allow this to acquire some character and balance to go with what it does well.  96 points.

2001 Pagos Viejos (Artadi)
This opened light and dull, laced with a lot of oak, but probably no wine I had on the night improved so much with air as it woke up. Admittedly, it had the longest way to go to justify its price tag--but perhaps it did. This Rioja gradually unfolded, integrated the oak and kept developing with air, showing better structure and balance, the sweet fruit being nicely supported by the increasingly aggressive tannins. There is not a lot of mid-palate concentration here, but it is a sexy charmer that became difficult to resist and should continue to improve in the cellar. 94 points.

2001 Pintia
Nicely structured, elegant and rather graceful, this is bright and harmonious, with a gentle overall feel. It becomes a bit tighter with air, but its sweet, relatively gracious demeanor is never disrupted. 92 points.
 

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 QPR Winner I give this award to wines that are particularly good values, even if well beyond bargain wine pricing. They are not "best buys," which I define as under $20 wines. Every Best Buy is a QPR winner, but the reverse is not true.  Note: wines tasted at trade shows and the like generally will be displayed with ranges, as it is more difficult to get a good read on a wine in those conditions.  Also, many notes on the E-Zine often come from food and wine events, rather than classic, controlled conditions.

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