TM


Tasting Notes
September/October, 2008

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. 

 Bordeaux Burgundy California Dessert/Sparkling  Germany  Italy  Rhone/South/SW France

Bordeaux (except dessert/sparkling)

1998 Chateau Peby-Faugeres
Elegant, fresh, young and pristine, this is a lovely wine, graceful, pure and full of flavor. Softly textured, it has a sensual feel and a modest mid-palate, a bit on the ethereal side, for better or worse. It seems in the prime of life, with very ripe, modest tannins. As young as the fruit seems, it has come around fast. It won't be a long term ager, but should be fine for the reasonable future. 91 points.

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Burgundy (except dessert/sparkling)
2006 Gevrey-Chambertin "Lavaux St. Jacques" (R. Leclerc)
A touch of strawberries mingled with earth and underbrush open up this wine here, which is bright and increasingly intense with air. It becomes particularly sharp as it airs out, the acidity dominating the fruit, although it does have decent intensity of flavor. The mid-palate is on the elegant side. Pleasing but not quite inspiring, this is a Burg that should hold well in the cellar, even if it doesn't become anything profound. 89 points.

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California/USA (except dessert/sparkling)
2001 Cabernet Sauvignon "Nuns Canyon Reserve" (St. Francis)
This is pretty nice--and better than the first taste indicates. On opening, it is subsumed by oak, too rich, a little too sweet and showing neither fruit nor character. An hour of air improves it dramatically, as the oak integrates, some structure pops out and the wine shows that it actually has fruit, and pretty nice fruit at that. It is not terribly complex or truly distinguished, but it's quite nice and drinking well. It should hold gracefully for several more years as well. 89 points.

1992 "Cask 23" (Stag's Leap)
I've always been a bit underwhelmed by this wine in this vintage, but it should exceptionally well from this bottle. Maybe the other bottles were off; maybe it has just hit stride. In any event, it is singing now, showing earthy, very Bordeaux-like characteristics. It is in beautiful balance, brightness, intensity of flavor, a little grip still on the finish, and some focused complexity.  It is a perfect time to drink this, and while it should continue to hold for some time, I wouldn't expect it to actually improve further. 93 points.

1999 Cabernet Sauvignon "Peterson Vineyard" (Switchback)
This always seemed flamboyant in its youth, an immensely pleasing charmer showing sweet fruit and chocolatey notes. I wasn't as convinced it would age well. It seems to be coming along fine. The mid-palate has thinned considerably, which some might view as a good thing. It is no longer jammy or thick. The wine still has that slightly decadent sweet fruit, not exactly classic Cabernet, but awfully hard to resist. Fresh, tasty and ripe, it with a tinge of licorice here and there, it is a wine that you just have to take on its own terms. 90 points.

2003 Cain Five

Rich, sweet and oaky on the edges, this drinks very nicely, but doesn't show enough character or complexity for a Bordeaux blend. Some character did show up with air, but I think this is always going to be a wine that is a little foursquare, as much fun as it is. 89 points.

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Dessert/Sparkling
NV Port "LB Finest Reserve" (Quinta do Noval)
This inexpensive Porto (around $15) is a basic entry from Noval, light and modest in both flavor and structure, with the alcohol showing at times. It is pleasant enough, but straightforward and middle of the road. To be fair, at its price level, you wouldn't expect upper level wines. It did have enough wherewithal to improve with about 30 minutes of air. 84 points.

2004 Roussanne "Alban Vineyard" (Turley)
This is the first one of these I've seen, and I can only say I want to see more. It seems sweet and inoffensive on first pour, but that doesn't last long. In front of your eyes, it seems to flesh out and pick up an unctuous texture to the fruit that is very appealing, even as the mid-palate remains on the elegant side. Delicious, tinged with apricots and pears, it is at once graceful and decadent, a pleasure to drink. It is less than 9% alcohol. 94 points.

NV Tawny Port "Fifty Years Museum Reserve" (Yalumba)
For a Tawny supposedly 50 years old, this was shockingly sweet and lush--modest by normal standards, perhaps, but seemingly way too young. I put a half bottle away overnight and it was more along the lines of a Portuguese 40 year old tawny---lots of acid, caramel, the sweetness largely blown off. It showed its alcohol a bit too much at that point, and seemed a tad harsh and unforgiving. Many prefer them younger. 89 points.

NV Tawny Port "Tordiz 40 Year Old" (Burmester)
If the Yalumba, above, became more like a typical 40 year old tawny, this refuted many stereotypes. The nose was right on--powerful, rich, nuts, caramel and molasses. It could be smelled a couple of feet away. But it was the palate that was remarkable, rich and sweet, and still cut by the acidity. The caramel and toffee notes on this made it a "can't keep hands off" find, and the acidity and balance kept it refreshing and delightful. 96 points.

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Germany (except dessert/sparkling)
1997 Riesling Spatlese "Geisenheimer Klauserweg" (Schuman-Nagler)

This opened poorly, seeming flat and old, but it picked  itself off the ground and showed some life eventually. Off dry, there is just a little burst of acidity here and there to enliven the wine. It is mostly harmonious and gentle, fully mature and round. There are, in short, still things here to like, but it does seem to be showing its age more than its vintage date would suggest. 86 points.

2006 Riesling Spatlese "Ockfener Bockstein" (Dr. Wagner)

This young puppy improves dramatically with air, fleshing out, becoming more flavorful and eventually coating the mouth with the clinging, persistent finish. There is a very nice balance between sugar and acidity, the wine being off dry but not cloying. There's a bit of steel on the finish, too. Very nice, and rather tasty. 90 points.

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Italy (except dessert/sparkling)
1990 Tignanello (Antinori)
This seems fully mature to me, and perhaps then some, but I guess it depends on how you like it. It opens with some pleasant cherry notes on the palate, which otherwise projects mostly tertiary nuances. It fleshes out a bit with a little air, wakes up briefly, and then holds on. It has little flesh or flavor, but good focus and some complexity, as well as some brightness on the finish. It is a wine worth drinking, but hardly exceptional at this juncture. 87 points.

2003 Syrah Collezione de Marchi (Isole e Olena)
This has a very new world feel, lush, sweet, with hints of vanilla up front. It is elegant in the mid-palate with tannins on the back end, but they are not significant, and the wine has an easygoing feel. As it airs out, it takes on a bit more character, and shows some of that Syrah earthiness. It is a pleasure to drink, but what it never seems to be is particularly distinguished. It drinks nicely now, should hold gracefully for several years, but it is not likely to become anything much better. 89 points.

1990 Cabernet Sauvignon "Farnito" (Carpineto)
Served next to the Tignanello on this page, it seemed pretty similar--the tertiary aromas and nuances overwhelming the grape variety. It was a bit gamey, bright and rather acidic, but capable of improving with air. There is still some fruit here, as it eventually proved, and a little flavor, but it is a wine that needs drinking despite the tannins and acid. 88 points.

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Rhone/South/SW France (except dessert/sparkling)

1995 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "La Crau" (Vieux Télegraphe)
This has held pretty well, but I do not think it will improve more. It opens with a lot of brett. Yet, it is bright and succulent, with strawberry overtones. It quickly becomes smooth and harmonious, drinking beautifully. At this stage of its life, it lacks intensity but it does have that sunny and charming demeanor. 89 points.

1989 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Beaucastel)
Sleepy on opening, this opens smooth and reticent, and I wondered where the '89 Beau I knew had gotten to. Yet, with a bunch of pretty nice CdPs on the table next to it, this is the one that eventually became the big star, fleshing out, waking up and showing its power. The tannins popped out and provided grip and intensity on the wine. The mid-palate is bursting with flavor, nuanced--I've seen worse in '89 Beau--with a little brett. This seemed to improve in the glass for as long as I had it. 96 points.

2001 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Reservée" (Domaine Pegau)
This Pegau has come around rather quickly for its vintage. It still sports some power, but it is far more harmonious than it was just a few years ago. It is full of flavor, throwing off lots of bacon fat and game. The finish is bright and delivers persistent flavor, although it is no longer as gripping as it was. This is a lovely wine that has begun to drink pretty well. 94 points.

1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Cuvée Barberini" (Domaine de la Solitude)
Very bright, this opens rather harshly, too, with the alcohol seemingly too prominent. It has some intensity still and some power, but I wondered where it was going, as it was rather disjointed. It pulled itself together surprisingly well and surprisingly quickly, becoming full bodied and pointed, but no longer harsh. The brightness is always present. The fruit opens well, but becomes a bit more muted with air. 89 points.

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