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Tasting Notes
March/April, 2007

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. 

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

Australia (except dessert/sparkling)
2001 Shiraz "Baroota" (Hazyblur)

2005 Shiraz "The Boxer" (Mollydooker)
Black in color and highly extracted, this wine made me think back to the last time I had a wine that seemed so flamboyant and eccentric. Oh, yeah. That would be another Mollydooker, or maybe an Integrity. It opens so sweet on the finish that I was wondering if there was some residual sugar. A lot of that moderated with air, but what was left was not necessarily more appealing at that point. It remains on the candied side, laden with kirsch notes, tasting like raspberry liqueur. It smooths out a bit with air, but there is always a somewhat odd, and occasionally harsh note.  It is hard to know what to make of this wine. It simply seems over-the-top in most respects. 87 points.

2001 "Integrity" (Marquis Philips)
This wine was  a success in a sense, i.e, at last I had an Integrity that I might actually be willing to drink.  It opened with blueberries and lavish oak notes, a mid-weight mid-palate that expanded in the glass with air, and reasonably good balance between fruit and structure. It had a little focus. It was restrained, with hints of those raspberries and kirsch elements that tend to mark this wine, but not to the extent of making it overly flamboyant. A little more air changed the picture, though. Apparently, the wine was a bit closed on opening. The longer it sat, the more dramatic it became, and the alcohol became noticeable. Still, this was a decent performance. It didn't win the wine ardent admirers, but at least it didn't make people recoil in horror, as this wine tends to do. 91  points.

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Bordeaux (except dessert/sparkling)
2004 Villa Bel Air Blanc (Graves)
Very pleasing, this white Graves from this Cazes-owned estate is refreshing and lively, with a gentle but persistent finish. It is light but not exactly delicate, and holds well.  A probable street price is around $20 or so, and it makes a charming wine with impeccable balance, a good value for the money. It will be early maturing and can be drunk now. 88 points.

2004 Cordeillan-Bages
This suave, gentle wine opens tinged with oaky notes, smooth around the edges. The oak recedes fairly quickly, and the fruit pops up, laced with cassis notes. There's structure, too, about which I wasn't so sure from the initial tastes. It becomes livelier and charming, a racier wine with air. It will never be a truly distinguished bottle, but it is a pleasure to drink. There is just a whiff of green in the background. This estate, owned by the Cazes family, used to be used to add juice to Lynch Bages and Haut Bages Averous. It has a small production (1,000 cases) now of its own. Suggested retail is $54.00.  88 points.

2000 Chateau Cos d'Estournel
This Cos is surprisingly supple in this vintage. It shows good concentration and some focus, while the sweet fruit is already showing some mature nuances around the edges. There are some tannins in the back, which finally pop up with air, but this wine seems to be coming along rather quickly. It is a good, but not an exceptional Cos. It does provide classic Bordeaux notes and impeccable balance in a medium bodied presentation. 92 points.

1995 Chateau Saint Mambert QPR Winner 
This Chateau sits right near Chateau Latour, yet is generally ignored. Served blind, it showed very well, besting the 2000 Cos (above) for most of the evening. It shows mature notes around the edges, but the wine is intense, vibrant and gripping. There seems to be an almost oily character to it, as it does a fine job of coating the palate. Its finish is superb, driven home by some brightness on the wine. The mid-palate is medium bodied, and with air, this is its one weakness, as the wine starts to shed depth and fruit a bit. Still, this unheralded wine performed very well, especially for the first 90 minutes. 90 points.

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Burgundy (except dessert/sparkling)
1992 Meursault "Les Genevrières" (Jobard)
This lovely white Burg is holding beautifully at age 15. It is lively and fresh, although with air it becomes rather more gentle. It sports a lovely, lingering finish, subtle, but not ephemeral. It is not, at this age, the most persistent or pointed wine, but it drinks well, and displays a friendly, sunny demeanor. It is quite charming. 92 points.

1996 Bourgogne Rouge (Coche-Dury)
This is light in color and body, a red Meursault (the cork is also so branded) that is holding on, but just barely. It is redeemed by some lively acidity that makes the strawberry fruit seem initially more interesting than it is. The fruit has dried out, though, and there is not a lot of interest left. 84 points.

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California/USA (except dessert/sparkling)
2003 Petite Sirah "Peterson Vineyard" (Switchback)
As tends to be the case, this wine is big and powerful, with some licorice and oak on the end. It is also, however, focused, with grip on the finish, and shows the ability to evolve in the glass. It is nowhere near ready to drink, and I think it should show better around 2010-2012.  With air, some pleasing red berry notes poked through the oak and the tannins and the wine started to show how much more it had. It's a baby in an awkward stage. 92 points.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon (Seavey)
It was a difficult vintage for many, but Seavey's Cab has come around beautifully. Rather stern in its youth, this wine now shows fine balance, the tannins have moderated and the fruit having come somewhat to the fore. It is a leaner, more classic styled wine, more and more reminiscent of Bordeaux as it airs out. It opens with nice bursts of flavor, though, and is hardly austere. It evolves well in the glass, too. Now and the next three to five years is probably going to be a great time to drink this. 90 points.

2004 Pinot Noir "Donnelly Creek" (Elke)
Rich, somewhat overripe and fragrant, this is soft on the edges. As it airs out, the cherry notes turn to strawberries, and the ripe fruit seems a touch flabby, the wine a bit too easy for its young age, although there are occasional hints of liveliness. This has some good points, but I can't say I wanted to drink a second glass. 87 points.

2002 Pinot Noir "Cerise Vineyard" (Copain)
Intense, focused and showing good depth, this is well structured and persistent. The alcohol perhaps shows here and there and there is a touch of candy on the finish. I liked the fragrant nose more than the palate, which sometimes seemed a bit clumsy. 88 points.

2002 Merican (Chaddsford Winery)
This red Bordeaux-blend from Pennsylvania does some things right. For one thing, it has some typicity. It seems like a legit Bordeaux blend.  It is rather lean and somewhat austere, though, and just a couple of years past release date it seems a bit older than its vintage date. There are some nuances of dried cherries that I liked at times, but not necessarily after the wine had aired out a lot. Retail on this is around $40. 83 points.

2002 Merlot "Behler Reserve" (St. Francis)
This is lacking a bit in depth and intensity, and at the young age of five, is already drinking rather well. That said, there is a lot here to recommend this wine, starting with its general demeanor. There is a big whiff of oak to start off with, but that dissolves into the wine very quickly. What is left is a beautifully balanced wine with a French feel to it. This not your flabby, Napa Merlot. There is some brightness around the edges, and as it airs out it shows more Bordeaux-like.  A little more depth, a little more intensity, and this could've been a big winner. As it is, it is a well conceived wine with some considerable class. There is an occasional whiff of olives. 89 points.

2003 "Papa" (Sine Qua Non)
Lush and lavishly scented, thanks to the heavy oak overlay,  this wine, mostly Syrah,  is surprisingly elegant in the mid-palate but overbearing in its oak treatment. There is sweet fruit, but it is always hard to tell if it is the oak or the fruit. There is some liveliness on occasion, but not much, and the wine seems a bit lifeless at times. It could use more intensity, and its structure is modest. I held one-quarter bottle (nine people didn't bother to finish it) until the next day. It held well, but the dominant impression remained the heavy oak overlay of vanilla and the oak-derived softness and lushness. This wine has its good points, but it is ultimately a bit too one-dimensional, and it seems to me to be far off the 2002 and farther off the 2001. 91 points.

2005 Pinot Noir (Kutch)
Hard edged, and harsh on the finish, this just-released wines shows disjointed and unbalanced. It was open for ninety minutes before tasting, but not decanted. Perhaps that would have helped, but it was retasted at the end of the evening, a couple of hours later as well. It never went through a stage that I thought was particularly interesting. The alcohol was noticeable at times, and when the harshness finally faded, the wine flattened out and seemed to have little of distinction about it, becoming a bit simple. This is the first release from this winery, and growing pains are to be expected. The winemaker has told me that he has a different approach in mind for the next vintage, and would like to reduce the alcohol levels, so let's call this step one in the winery's evolution. One caveat is that the wine had just been released and recently shipped. Perhaps some calm will make a difference. 88 points.

1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Mondavi)
This opened beautifully, showing suave, smooth, fully open, with just hints of tertiary nuances, reasonable depth and good structure. I was wondering how this was doing, and the answer was that it was doing very well. But the best, actually, was yet to come. This really needed thirty to forty minutes of air to come around, at which time it expanded dramatically in the glass, showed more power and grip, and a better finish, going from good to excellent. Its classic flavors were a pleasure all night long, its structure gave it intensity and life, and its modest tertiary nuances gave it complexity. This is drinking beautifully now, but will certainly hold another five years easily without issues. After that, we'll see.  95 points.

1999 "Profile" (Merryvale)
This charming wine shows an elegant mid-palate, and then a burst of bright, cabernet red berry notes. It picks up some weight with air, and the fruit opens beautifully. Penetrating and lively, it feels sunny and charming. Its graceful mid-palate combined with the sweet, succulent fruit, makes it a pleasure to drink. 92 points.

1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (Seavey)
This has always been relatively disappointing to me for Seavey, and the nose was troubling on opening. It seemed a bit pruney, and I wondered if the wine had maderized a bit, and was about to fall apart. I was pleasantly surprised to see it recover, take on some classic Cabernet Sauvignon notes for more mature wines, some earthy red berries. It is relatively light and soft, with modest intensity, but it wound up tasting rather good. 89 points.

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (Forman)
This opened with lavish oaky notes surrounding the wine. The good news, though, was that it integrated remarkably quickly. It left a wine with a piercing finish and elegant mid-palate, tightly wound, but evolving nicely. It is nicely structured, and the flavors gradually emerge. It was a bit closed initially. 92 points.

1997 "Cinq Cepages" (Chateau St. Jean)
My last bottle of this was flat, and weedy, and further along. This one is far better, and its persistence surprised me. It has an oaky overlay, a bit of rich vanilla on the edges. The mid-palate has a smooth feel. With air the wine shows some succulence, it delivers some bursts of ripe tannins, and the fruit becomes more flavorful, lingering just enough on the finish and eventually showing even more grip. With a little more air, it might be fair to say that there is a touch of harshness on the finish that does not bode well for the future. Still, compared to prior examples, and for the next couple of years, this is fine shape, focused and persistent. I was a bit turned off by the intrusive oak treatment, whose flavors permeated the wine for much of the first hour, but you can't ignore, either, that the wine expands in the glass and shows better structure all the while, too. 90 points.

2004 Zinfandel "Alexander Valley" (Scherrer)
Briars and brambles lead this off, and it shows some intensity and sharpness. Although it smooths out a bit, what is left is a fairly simple wine, with just adequate depth and finish, correct, but unexceptional. 86 points.

2004 Zinfandel "Dry Creek" (Rafanelli)
Mouthfilling on first attack, this nonetheless resolves into elegance, showing some brightness and pleasing red berry fruit. It expands in the glass and smooths out nicely. This is a charming and pleasing Zin with fine balance, best drunk on the young side. 90 points.

2001 Zinfandel "Nervo" (Ridge Vineyards)
Elegant in the mid-palate, dry and slightly austere, this has some grip on the finish, precision and focus. There is some sweet fruit on the end, finally, and it becomes harmonious with air. This is a different style than some of the more flamboyant Zins, but I appreciated it and it grew on me. I've been liking what Ridge has been producing from this vineyard. 90 points.

1997 Zinfandel "Moore Vineyard - Earthquake" (Turley)
Intense and powerful, this has some rich caramel overtones, but the immediate impression is simply alcohol. I thought this was harsh and hard to take at first. It did come into some balance with more air, and matching it with rich foods helped cover the bursts of harshness. It seems to me this should be drunk in the near term. 90 points.

2003 Zinfandel "Hayne Vineyard" (Turley)
Rich and intense on opening, this has some cream around the edges, and an excellent finish. It expands with air and becomes more intense still. Big and full bodied, it shows fine fruit flavor. The alcohol is a bit noticeable. 92 points.

2001 Zinfandel "Howell Mountain" (Outpost)
This opened with an intense burst of its components, and I was prepared for another big zin with occasionally harsh aftertones. It evolved beautifully, going through several stages. There were moments when it seemed austere, its mid-palate elegant and very focused. Still more time showed a wine that evolved into something somewhat sweeter and more open with air. Its balance is impeccable and it handles its alcohol beautifully. If it is not quite as overtly fruity as the 1999 that I loved, it is structurally superior and quite attractive. 91 points.

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Dessert/Sparkling
2002 Riesling Eiswein (Schloss Wallhausen)
Sweet and sugary on the end, this primary young Eiswein is succulent and delectable. It is persistent, too, however, showing lots of acid and hints of red fruit underneath. It opens rich, its flavors and acid making you drool a bit, and holds well. It is a lot of fun to drink now. 94 points.

1990 Brut (Egly Ouriet)
This is in a beautiful place, having unwound from its youthful power and tightness, while still showing a certain richness and focus. There is toast and yeasty notes, and the wine has fine acidity, together with a mid-palate that fills the mouth. It is a pleasure to drink at the moment. 94 points.

1989 Scheurebe Eiswein "Durkheimer Fronhof" (Darting)
This is not exactly my favorite varietal, but in 1989 Darting made some at various pradikat levels that I rather liked (like the Auslese). This is rather thick for its age and still very sugary. The sugar covers up those grassy, cat pee notes this varietal sometimes produces, or at least moderates them. With air, you can start to smell them again. There is a delicious finish, tinged with apricots and sunniness as the grass takes over. This is pretty tasty. 92 points.

2001 Sauternes-Barsac (Chateau Coutet)
Vanilla-nuanced, this wine shows good integration with its oak as it airs out. It is a little on the light and delicate side, and already seems to be drinking well. It is very pleasing, but not particularly deep, intense or complex. It may be  in a bit of an awkward phase, but it was not quite as impressive as I would have hoped. 89 points.

2004 Reccioto della Valpolicella Classico (Tommaso Bussola)
Aged in barriques, this has a creamy texture, a velvety feel that is a pleasure. It is simply delicious, too, rich, ripe and sweet, bursting with flavor, and so delectable that I almost asked for more. It has some focus, too, but let's say structure is not the big issue here. Taste the wine. You won't care. 93-95 points.

1994 Scheurebe Beerenauslese (Kracher)
Dried out, with a touch of oxidation, this has little sweetness left, and seems simple and past peak. There was little I liked about it at this stage of its life. 83 points.

1999 Riesling Late Harvest (Rasmussen)
Since my last note on this, about five years back, this has evolved nicely. As before, it has an off-dry finish, but is laced with pears, showing less as a real dessert wine, and more as an aperitif despite the 15% R.S. listed on the label. It is bright and elegant, with a bit of crispness, and has held very well since my initial review near its release. Charming and gracious, it is a pleasure to drink. 89 points.

NV St. John Commandaria (Keo)  QPR Winner 
This is a red, sweet dessert wine from Cyprus. It is one of the oldest wine names in the world. It is not particularly heavy--in fact seems light and gracious--nor particularly powerful. Alcohol is only 14% as listed. It is elegant and fragrant. It is off dry, with a bright, succulent, delectable finish, nothing syrupy or heavy. It has a bit of rose petal on the bouquet, and after a couple of days, it had a slight nuance of baked apple on the palate, and a touch of nuts. It goes best with lighter desserts, or by itself as an aperitif. This has loads of charm, and is the epitome of elegance. It held well for days.  I liked it more with every sip. It cost only $15. 90 points.

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Germany (except dessert/sparkling)
1989 Riesling Spatlese "Ebernburger Stephansberg" (Rapp)
This shows rather old, with drying fruit, and a certain dull quality. There is still considerable acidity less, but the fruit nonetheless does not seem so fresh, and the sweetness needed to moderate the acid is missing. It wasn't a wine I quite wanted to just throw out, but it seemed clearly past prime. At least from this bottle, it did not show nearly as well as the Auslese in this vintage. 84 points.

2005 Riesling Kabinett "Herrenberg" (Maximin Grunhaus- von Schubert)
A bit off dry, this dances lightly across the palate, seeming sunny, primary and very friendly. There is not much in the way of piercing acidity. It seems fresh and lively, though, and with a couple of years of age, it will certainly show drier. Very nice. 89 points.

2005 Riesling Auslese "Forstmeister Geltz" (Zilliken)
Rich on the finish, but elegantly crafted on the mid-palate, this primary, young wine shows sweet, but rather balanced. I liked its lushness and flavor, but I'm not sure I saw much that I would call distinguished, intense or complex. 89 points.

1991 Riesling Auslese "Graacher Dompropst" (Willi Schaefer)
This seems weighty, intense and focused (and says Dompropst on the label...). It is drier than the '92 below, a bit more powerful, but not nearly as charming or lush. Both this and its 1992 counterpart, below, have held very well and are distinguished by their balance and complexity. 91 points.

1992 Riesling Auslese "Graacher Domprobst" (Willi Schaefer)
Surprisingly lush, yet impeccably balanced, this has touches of apricots, lots of peach, and simply beautiful meld of fresh fruit and acidity. It seems rich, yet it is rather light. It seems sweet, but it is quite bright and lively. This is a wine that has hints of maturity, but is quite fresh, too. It is in a perfect place to drink at the moment, and simply delicious. I don't know that I would hold this a lot longer (note that this was served from a 375ml), as what I love about it I wouldn't want to see disappear with maturity. Its balance is perfect now. 93 points.

These following wines from Mosella are unavailable at the moment in the United States, although that may change soon. The upper level wines were generally quite good, although noting that some of them carry two and three star designations, their price points may be higher than one might hope for what is in the bottle. As a group, they often seemed to lack focus and intensity, but there was class and breeding apparent as the pradikat levels climbed, and I would be happy to own some of these. There was a lot here to like, the question being what price they become available at.

2004 Riesling Kabinett "Piesporter Goldtropfchen" (Mosella)
I was not enthralled with either of the Mosella Kabinetts, but they both had some good points. The 2004 had a far darker color, and some speculated that there was a touch of botrytis. it seems a bit older than its vintage date would suggest, and although it improves with air, there is little intensity or focus. That said, I still liked its flavor and the up front fruit. There is some acid apparent in the back. 85 points.

2005 Riesling Kabinett "Piesporter Goldtropfchen" (Mosella)
The 2005 version of this Kabinett is a radically different wine. It is clear and light in color, and clean, fresh and youthful. There are off-dry notes, but the sugar is light enough so that it will continuously fade as the wine ages. There may be a bit of petrol on the finish, but that will likely blow off. This is not quite as big or intense as the 2004 (which was not terribly intense itself) and it does seem a bit simple and delicate. However, it is friendly and sunny, and tastes great. 85 points.

2004 Riesling Spatlese "Bernkasteler Lay" (Mosella)
This has a little more fullness than the Kabinetts, but it still seems to be a simple and pleasant wine, little more. There is little intensity or precision, and little to take its place either. It is friendly, a touch off dry and pleasant enough. It seems ready to drink now. It is not impressive as a Spatlese. 86 points.

2005 Riesling Spatlese "Graacher Himmelreich" (Mosella)
This wine, a little off dry, has lovely flavors and beautiful balance. Like most of the lower level wines here, it has little intensity, but there is some liveliness here. It is a bit delicate, but its balance and lovely flavors, laced with some stones and minerals, make it more interesting than the Bernkasteler Lay. The sweetness should dry out fast as this wine ages. 88 points.

2004 Riesling Spatlese *** "Wehlener Sonnenuhr"(Mosella)
Sweet and lively, this has some richness and expands in the glass. As it airs out, the sweetness integrates and stony nuances come to the fore. This kept improving with air, expanding and showing some breeding.  The *** designation is a little troubling, though, as I suspect there will be a price to pay for that, and I'm not sure the wine impresses that much. The finish here is lovely, lingering and flavorful. 92 points.

2005 Riesling Spatlese "Wehlener Sonnenuhr"(Mosella)
Sweet, with some focus and roundness, this wine shows some precision and focus. It is laced with slate and minerally notes, which emerge as the wine airs out and becomes a little more intense. The sugar should integrate perfectly, and this should show impeccable balance. 90 points.

2003 Riesling Spatlese ** "Graacher Himmelreich" (Mosella)
This was the odd bird of the group, but I liked it. It had a lot of funk up front, a bit of petrol. At first, I wondered if this was corked. However, that was just a minerally note, as evidenced by the fact it moderated rather than got worse after an hour. It has a great finish, and a bright demeanor, a bit delicate, but flavorful and succulent, and able to improve in the glass. It is a bit quirky, and I predict this won't be the favorite of everyone, but ultimately I rather liked it. 91 points.

2003 Riesling Auslese *** "Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr" (Mosella)
The star of the group to my mind is this three star BJS. Off dry, it is very precise, full and focused. It is penetrating and lingering on the finish, and expands in the glass. It is beautifully balanced. 94 points.

2004 Riesling Spatlese "Koberner Weisenberg" (von Schleinitz) QPR Winner
This is a lovely and well priced wine ($15 in my region).  It opens friendly and primary, but the acidity burbles up with some air and warmth, showing a wine with structure and a beautiful balance between acid and sugar. It is a delight to drink now, but should cellar well for mid-term drinking as well. 90 points.

2005 Riesling Kabinett "Berncasteler Doctor" (H. Thanisch)
This is a big time Kabinett, off dry, moderately intense, powerful and persistent. It seems so substantial rolling it around in your mouth, it can hardly be a legal Kabinett. Tasted two days after opening, it seemed young, pristine and primary, as if it had just been opened. It is a bit pricey for a Kabinett--one street price I saw at a good store had it at $30--but it is worth the dollars. 91 points.

1969 Riesling Spatlese "Kreuznacher Narrenkappe" (Paul Anheuser)
The fruit here is too dried out, and this wine has seen better days. With air, it struggles mightily to assert itself, and actually improves just a little, for a little while, but the dried apricot notes, of fading fruit, are mostly what is left here. There is a certain, odd bitter note on the finish, too. I wouldn't say this is quite worthless, but it is reaching a point--if it has not already passed it--where it needs to be drunk while it has some value left. 80 points.

2003 Riesling Spatlese "Graacher Domprobst" A.P. #09 04 (Willi Schaefer)
This is rather closed at the moment, but closed or not, I don't know that it would've reminded me of a 2003 if served blind. This hardly seems fat or plump, quite the contrary in fact. It seems lean, relatively light and focused. Nor does it seem particularly easy. As it sits and airs out, the underlying acidity makes it more stern. There is little sweetness apparent with all the other issues that are more prominent. We finished this wine too fast, as I had the sense that decanting it or holding it for a few more hours would have helped open it up. 90+ points.

1992 Riesling Auslese "Erdener Treppchen" (J.J. Christoffel)
Elegant and a bit delicate, as the Erd Trepps can often be, this wine surprises with its pristine purity at the age of 15 from a vintage that was not highly regarded. It is a triumph in that context. It is still sweet, along the lines of a ripe, youthful Kabinett, perhaps. It seems young, showing hardly a trace of age. Its youthful demeanor is startling. For all of the wine's elegance, it has a certain subtle richness to the texture, almost an oily feel at first. It is quite lovely. 90 points.
 

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Italy (except dessert/sparkling)
2005 Arneis Roero (Valdinera)
This is a big, ripe Arneis, throwing off waves of flavorful fruit, this has some acid in the back and dances just enough to be lively, too.  There's a touch of toast, and a lingering finish. It drinks very nicely right now, and is good to go. 88 points.

2003 Barbera d'Alba "Vigneto Gallina" (La Spinetta)
This big, intense Barbera pulls out all the stops. It is powerful, focused and somewhat tannic. I loved its structure, not only because there was some, but because it was perfectly balanced with the ripe fruit. The finish was penetrating, marked by more acid as the wine aired out and its parts integrated. It was mouthwateringly succulent, with fabulous flavors as well as grip. This is a Barbera that should repay more cellaring, but it is certainly drinkable now, too, even though it was noticeably better an hour or so after opening. 94 points.

2003 Barbera d'Asti "Costamiole" (Prunotto)
Focused and penetrating, this has a certain dark, smokey feel to it. As it airs out the darker fruit flavors come to the fore and it expands, becoming rounder while retaining some intensity. This is a fairly big, precise and intense Barbera that I liked a lot. 91 points.

2003 Freisa "Bricca Boschis" (Cavalotto)
This relatively rare varietal showed beautifully here. Elegant in the mid-palate and sweet on the end, it nonetheless showed structure, some grip on the finish, and the ability to improve in the glass. It was tasty as well as interesting, showing darker fruit notes. It did, perhaps, fade over the course of the evening a bit, but there's a lot to like here. 89 points.

2001 Barolo "Vigna Giachini" (Corino)
This opens with a smooth, suave attack and some grip on the end. It seems a bit simple and uninspiring. That doesn't last long. With air, the big nose becomes ever more pungent, the finish more gripping, and the mid-palate shows sappy, sweet fruit. The fruit is supported by an increasingly obvious backbone, along with some acidity on the finish, cutting through the initial lushness. The more this was open, the more I loved it. 93 points.

2000 Barolo "Brunate" (Marcarini)
Focused and precise, this evolves slowly, but eventually shows good fruit, and a pleasing finish. It is moderately intense, and the mid-palate is elegantly crafted. I think this can be drunk relatively early, although it certainly showed some tannic support as it aired out. 89 points.

1990 Barolo Reserva (Borgogno)
This shows, at least from this bottle, overly mature, weedy, with substantial oxidative notes. There's a lot of acid on the end, as well as some tannins still, but the fruit seems to have dried out considerably. There's a lot of structure on display, including a gripping finish, but not much fresh fruit. 87 points.

1997 Amarone Classico (Allegrini)
I thought it was time to check in here and see how this was doing. It has long since lost its baby fat and the sweet, expansive fruit. It shut down awhile back, and to my mind it is still tight and a bit closed, needing a couple of years more to come around, soften and open. There is a lot of fine material here, though, bright fruit, good concentration and fine structure.  It is on the drier side compared to many Amarones. Give it a few more years for best results. I think this will blossom around 2010 or so. 95 points.

2004 Barbera d'Asti "Suma" (Braida)
Intense and powerful, this is big, modern Barbera, yet it still has a very bright demeanor with a lot of acid on the finish. There is a dried cherry note, and the finish is persistent and lingering. The pungent bouquet may well be the best feature of this wine, though. It was a pleasure just to smell. 90-92 points.

2003 Barbera d'Asti "La Crena" (Vietti)
Lovely cherry notes lead this off, but that is just the beginning. This wine has everything. Round, powerful, dense and yes, bright, it fills your mouth, coats the palate, and is a lot more than most Barberas can be. This is ripe and succulent, yet the acidity cuts it perfectly. 93-95 points.

2004 Barbera d'Asti "Pomorosso" (Coppo)
Simply lovely, this graceful Barbera shows fine flavors, and has a certain silky demeanor, despite seeing some oak. The persistent finish is bright, but flavorful and delicious. It seems pristine and pure, a pleasure to drink, youthful and primary. For all of its youth, it is quite approachable, at least for the moment. 92-94 points.

1995 Amarone Classico (Zenato)
Silky and elegant, this is suffused with dried cherry notes. It shows excellent balance and some graceful qualities. It is not particularly intense, sweet or powerful, and this is a particularly good time to start drinking it. 89-91 points.

2001 Amarone Classico (Zenato)
This is relatively restrained at first, without the lush sweetness that the riservas from Zenato can have. It still shows very persistent flavors, which continue to expand and a big, powerful finish. Not particularly sweet, the flavors nonetheless linger. This has a nice future ahead. 91-93 points.

2001 Amarone della Valpolicella "Vigna di Monte Lodoletta" (Romano Dal Forno)
Of the Amarones in this group, this was by far my favorite. It opened with an expressive, pungent nose, and it was a pleasure to smell. It is a big, intense wine with piercing and persistent flavors, fine texture, and a powerful tannic hit on the end. It is beautifully structured and balanced, with intense, luscious flavors lingering on the palate. Surprisingly approachable now, it should nonetheless age exceptionally well due to its fine structure and balance. 95-97 points.

2001 Amarone Classico (Allegrini)
Focused, and just a little off-dry, this expands well in the glass and shows nice balance and precision. It is tight and not ready to drink, of course. Give this some time to blossom. 91-93 points.

2002 "Turriga" (Argiolas)
This is usually not my favorite from Argiolas, and so, too, here. It seems a bit flat, showing relatively little flavor, mute and not terribly interesting. It's there, but other than a certain, smooth gentle atttack, it had little to remark upon. 86-88 points.

2003 Contea di Sclafani Rosso del Conte  (Tasca d'Almerita)
Mostly Nero d'Avola, this is pointed and elegant, with surprising tannins popping up on the finish. The graceful mid-palate is silky and charming. 88-90 points.

2004 Montevetrano IGT
I am often in a quandary about this wine. It is powerfully structured, shows good concentration, coats the mouth and has finely wrought tannins. It is in many respects just what I want. Too often, it shows green to my mind, and I find the nuances to that effect offputting in general, and so, too, here. It detracts from my ability to enjoy this finely built wine. 89-91 points.

2003 Sassicaia (Tenuta San Guido)
Frequently considered overpriced for what it is, this is still a pretty good wine in most years. I liked it a lot in this vintage. It has an elegant mid-palate, as this wine tends to do. Often, I think it needs some more mid-palate concentration. In this big vintage, it seems fine. There are lots of tannins, and it is built for the long haul. It is not showing much flavor quite yet, but it promises to do so, given its fine fruit. This needs a few years of cellaring, at which time it should make a tasty, but well structured and balanced wine. 92-94 points.

2001 Barolo Runcot (Elio Grasso)
Powerful and acidic, this has a light-ish mid-palate combined with a very bright finish. Its power means that it is a wine that needs some time to air out and expand in the glass, as well as a lot of time in the cellar. There were times when I thought the acidity was rather high here, and it was hard to get much fruit on the wine. It needs to evolve well in the cellar, and has a chance to do so. 88-90 points.

2003 "La Massa IGT" (Giorgio)
This was a kind of surprising performance. It is a big wine with great texture and big flavor, but there was a heavy gamey overlay that not everyone will appreciate. I personally didn't mind, and I loved the way this grabbed the palate and coated it. It is pretty tasty. 91-93 points.

2001 Barolo "Cerretta" (Ettore Germano)
Full and round, this starts out smooth, and then the big tannins kick in. The more air it got, the tighter and more closed it seemed. The finish is long and gripping, in part, to be sure, because of the powerful tannins. There is a lot of structure here, but also fine depth of fruit to support. 90-92 points.

2001 Barbaresco "Rabaja Riserva" (Giacosa)
What a big powerhouse...! This has fabulous fruit, beautiful flavors, superb depth and concentration and structure to match. The tannins kick in, some acidity rears its end, and you wind up with a wine that seems to have most everything. The tannins lurk here, but air brings them out, and they are significant. 96-98 points.

2005 Benuara (Cusumano)
Fruity, with rather prominent acidity, this has an elegant mid-palate, a creamy texture, and that laser of acidity cutting through all of it. There were times when I thought the acidity was the dominant element in the wine, and was winning a battle or two too many. 88-90 points.

2001 Brunello di Montalcino "Tenuta Greppo" (Biondi-Santi)
There is good grip on the finish here, but I can't say the rest of the performance was really impressive. You can call the mid-palate elegant--perhaps also a bit on the lighter side. The wine has a certain weedy note, from the light-ish mid-palate combined with the acidity. There were moments when I thought it was older than it was. It did not seem to have much in the way of primary fruit for such a young wine. The tannins provide bite on the end. This does have some good points, but I admit it left me a little unenthused. 89-91 points.

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Rhone/South/Southwest France
1988 Hermitage "La Chapelle" (Paul Jaboulet Ainé)
This has never been the biggest or most impressive La Chap, but it has become one of the more charming. In its youth, it was a tight, tannic wine that seemed austere and forbidding. Today, it is lively and bright, with a suave, cool feel to it. The bacon fat aromas and nuances are prominent, but not overwhelming. The brightness of the wine is a notable point, as the finish is almost mouthwatering at times. The succulent, sweet fruit mingles nicely with the acidity, though, preventing the wine from being tart or shrill. Very nice, if not quite awesome. 93 points.

1994 Coteaux du Languedoc "Clos Syrah Léone" (Peyre Rose)
This is a beautiful Peyre Rose, a wine that evolved constantly and changed for the better through the evening. It opened with classic Syrah notes and a bit of barnyard, and seemed cool, bright, balanced and refreshing. It seemed mature, but in a perfect place to drink, not oxidized or showing its age much. I was startled an hour or so later to see this wine begin to explode in the glass. It seemed to almost double in weight, became richer, more powerful and sweeter. It was a remarkable change, and it became a very fine wine. The big problem here is that I can't seem to find this wine in the marketplace any more. 94 points.

2003 Saint-Joseph "Lautaret" (Eric et Joel Durand)
This is a beauty. It is a bit too young at the moment, showing some tightness on the finish. It is, however, impeccably balanced, with succulent, delicious fruit, and nice structure. Give this a couple of years in the cellar to settle down, and around 2010 it should be beautiful, and starting to blossom. It is approachable now, but you'll be missing a lot of what this wine has if you open it now. It's just a little closed. 93 points.

2003 Minervois "Estibals" (L'Ostal Cazes) QPR Winner
This rather typical Languedoc blend is a nice deal at a suggested retail price of $15.99. It is the Cazes family's (Lynch-Bages, Ormes de Pez) venture into the Languedoc. Focused and persistent when it initially attacks, it shows delectable red fruit notes, and nice velvety texture that is very appealing. It is mid-weight, and has enough stuffing to show a little more power with air, but ultimately is gentle and rather laid back, a nice, warm wine at a good every day price. 88 points.

2003 Minervois "La Livinière" (L'Ostal Cazes)
This is the upper level entry from the Cazes family's (Lynch-Bages, Ormes de Pez) venture into the Languedoc. Suggested retail price: $38.00. At first, I was very much more impressed with this wine over the "Estibals," above. It is more focused, more powerful, better structured, more concentrated.  In future vintages, it should be the easy pick over the Estibals. However, in 2003, a very hot year in a very hot region, this also showed occasional balance issues. My initial rating was 90. By the end of the evening, I couldn't quite justify an "A," as the wine was showing its alcohol a bit too much. It has a certain flamboyance to it as well, a hint of kirsch on the nose. 89 points.

1997 Cote Rotie "La Landonne" (Gerin)
How much brett can a wine have? Well, the sky's the limit. This wine, purchased on release and professionally stored, reeked. The rather elegant mid-palate did not have the concentration or fruit flavor to combat the bretty notes, and there was little else discernible on the wine but brett, bacon fat, barnyard and game. The wine did have some focus, a certain smooth, silky note, but little intensity. It seemed pretty much ready to drink, and perhaps a bit older than the vintage date would suggest. It had thrown a heavy sediment. 87 points. 

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Spain (except dessert/sparkling)
2002 Pintia
This started a bit dumb, but came on through the evening. I resampled it many times, paying the price in inebriation. ;) It opens intense, but shows little else, but as it airs out, it comes into balance, shows fine fruit on the finish, and a bright cherry note. The mid-palate picks up some weight, too. In the vintage, this is an excellent performance, and a flavorful, gripping wine. I liked it more and more as time went on. 92 points.

2001 Dioro Seleccion (Bodegas Valsacro)
It opens rather too oaky, but most of that integrates nicely, more than I thought that it would. It shows a certain liveliness, a brightness on the finish, to go with some intensity and grip. There's a touch of bitterness, perhaps, as well after considerable aeration. Still, this shows very well, focused, with some punch. 90 points.

1996 "Cuvée El Campanario" (Abadia Retuerta)
This pure Tempranillo opens with a touch of funk, but I liked the way it showed as it aired out. The funky note blew off. The acid on the finish integrated nicely into the wine, giving the finish a certain mouthwatering and succulent quality. The mid-palate is mid-weight. All that said, there seemed to be little here of true distinction, and the wine faded a bit by the end of the evening as well. Very nice, but not quite special. 89 points.

1996 "Cuvée El Palomar" (Abadia Retuerta)
This blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon opens with intensity and lovely red berry notes in the middle. I liked its depth and concentration, and the round fruit held up well as it aired out, until, at least more air brought out some green notes that I didn't particularly like. The Campanario, above, is bit more reticent and not as deep, but its fruit was fine. 89 points.

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