(WT063010-01) 09 COTES DE GASCOGNE COLOMBARD-UGNI BLANC, DOMAINE DE MILLET  $8.49
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Gold Medal - Paris. Oh, boy, a big burst of fresh peach, followed by papaya, lemon, and spring grass./ Whoa! Fresh peach and peel in command. Colombard speaks, loud. Succulent. 09 interplay of plump and tart. Yes! Very popular with the group. 16.7.

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(WT063010-02) 09 ALLAN SCOTT MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC  $14.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (NEW ZEALAND) Pear, apple, lemon, gooseberry. Restrained and elegant. / Oh, but in the mouth it's plenty juicy. This really swells up on the palate. Succulent, crisp, juicy, bright. Liked by the group. 16.4.

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(WT063010-03) 09 HAUT POITOU SAUVIGNON LE BOIS DE LA TOUR, CAVE DU HAUT POITOU  $9.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE LOIRE) Crisp, cool, minerally, and clear. 09 adds richness to the usual Haut Poitou raciness. Lots of aromatic flair here, especially gooseberry. Also quince, lemon and zest, grass./ Crisp gooseberry crunchiness. Great acidity, race. Nice value. Does what $10 sauvignon should do. Good to have this source back. It's been a long while. Liked by the group. 16.4.

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(WT063010-04) 09 TOURAINE SAUVIGNON LE GRAND ST. VINCENT, VIGNERONS DE COTEAUX ROMANAIS  $9.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE LOIRE) At St. Romain sur Cher. Whoa! Big time cut. Grapefruit and gooseberry. Really sings./ Full burst of sauvignon flavors. Juicy acidity. Vigorous, stimulating, textural. And very flavorful. Liked by the group. 16.6.

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(WT063010-05) 09 BERGERAC BLANC, CHATEAU BELINGARD  $8.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Sauvignon blanc, semillon, muscadelle. A bit soft after the Loire sauvignons. 09, Bergerac, and the semillon component contribute to its relative mellowness. Good sauvignon citrus and muscadelle green fruit aromas./ Again, soft and gentle after the Loires. A matter of context. Apple, quince, white peach. I liked an earlier sample better (16/20) thanks to a different tasting order. 15.8+.

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(WT063010-06) 09 COTES DU RHONE BLANC, DOMAINE SAINTE ANNE  $11.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Fresh, cool green fruits and botanicals typical of the southern Rhone encepagement. Aromatically, one of the best in the series./ Lively and floral. Ripe stone fruits. Delicious vinosity. Botanicals astringency. Citrus and other peels. Good acidity. Lots to offer–this summer and fall! 16.1.

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(WT063010-07) 08 ALLAN SCOTT MARLBOROUGH RIESLING  $14.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (NEW ZEALAND) At a good stage. Some of that Aussie riesling lime character, but just the juice, none of the peel oiliness, heaviness. Some bottle bouquet formed. It's flattering./ Again, the lime and the maturing riesling evergreen aspects. Good NZ lift, acidity. Zesty, minerally, vibrant, exotic, engaging. Amazing, really. Truly dry. And long. Begs for food. Wow! Popular with the group. 16.3.

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(WT063010-08) 09 MONTOYA MONTEREY PINOT NOIR  $12.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (U.S.) Bright, crisp, tea like, cool Monterey pinot style. Up to snuff./ Cherry juice and tea. Very juicy and fine. Some wood toast too, and vanilla, cream, cookie dough. Makes for good complexity. The right acidity. Commendable once again in 09. More like the 07 than the 08 in style. Popular with the group. 16.4.

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(WT063010-09) 08 ALLAN SCOTT MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR  $21.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (NEW ZEALAND) Reductive, but clearly large. Dusky cherry, tea, tar. Spicy oak patina./ Sweeter and softer than the nose suggests. Generous, in fact. Cherry, red raspberry, cassis. Real pinot character, vital and classy. With further aeration, the nose should come around too. Liked by the group. 16.3+.

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(WT063010-10) 08 TOSCANA ROSSO, FIORE  $8.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (ITALY) Cellar at San Gimignano. 70% sangiovese, 30% cabernet. Good, zesty, red berry-cherry aroma. Lots of textural play–tingles and fulls the nostrils, smelling-salts wine–really grabs your attention. Vigorous. Dark and compact fruit core of 08./ Oh! Big, juicy, spicy, fruity. Very flavorful. Ripe, round, and sweet-fruited for 08, especially the cabernet component. Lasts and lasts. 16.3.

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(WT063010-11) 08 BERGERAC, CHATEAU BELINGARD  $8.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec. 08 dark, firm, mean upon opening. The next day, more fulfilled, gratifying./ 08 solidity, extract, material, tannin. Shows plenty of presence and substance but needs time for aromatic development. When I tasted this wine a couple of weeks back, it had benefitted from several days' aeration and was much more revealing. Good sign. And good take on the powers of aeration. 15.9+.

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(WT063010-12) 07 COTES DE BERGERAC BLANCHE DE BOSREDON, CHATEAU BELINGARD  $14.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Silver Medal - Paris. Half each cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Eleve en futs de chene (barrel aged). Good oak toast, wood spices, cedar, sandalwood. Fine black fruit and berry ripeness. 07 claret elegance./ Yes, both fruit and oak are refined. Complementary too. A delicious combo, really. 16.4+.

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(WT063010-13) 08 OC LE CLOT, DOMAINE DE BLANES  $9.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Upon opening, reduced. Dark and sullen 08. Some spicy overtones. The next day, rich, succulent. Raspberry, cassis. Fruit creme aspects. In some port-like aromas./ As so often happens with these 08s, the palate is more revealing from the get-go. Raspberry and cassis, very precise and pure. Fine, cool, racy, spicy, delicious. Give plenty of aeration to open up the nose. Or more bottle age. 16.2+.

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(WT063010-14) 07 COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES NOTRE DAME DES CELLETTES, DOMAINE SAINTE ANNE  $17.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Young and closed in. Aeration coaxes forth deep, sweet berry and plum aromas and a hint of garrigue, peppercorn, and nutmeg./ Full, powerful, rich, loaded. Ripe, black-fruited, spicy, licorice-laced. Good acidity. Tannic, compact core. A brawny lad. Will improve 5+ years. 16.5++.

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(WT063010-15) 08 FABRE MONTMAYOU GRAN RESERVA MENDOZA MALBEC  $17.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (ARGENTINA) From 50 year old vines. Well, this is not 08 easy and revealing like the Reserva last week. Dense, compact. A black hole of a nose. Down deep inside, there's a concentrated core of berries and cherries./ Loaded, powerful. But still contrite, compact. Doesn't show the oak or time in oak suggested by its title. In need of more bottle age, for sure. 16.4++.

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(WT063010-16) 08 JAM NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON  $19.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (U.S.) 08 black and resistant. Hard oak and fruit. Severe, really./ Oh, but once again, the palate is more facile, much easier to assimilate. And positively sweet. Dr. Jekel-Mr. Hyde. Ripe but not really jammy fruit. Just finished with a lot of sweetness. Doesn't say much about Napa Valley cabernet. Naturally, the Europhiles in the group were not amused. 15.2+.

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(WT063010-17) 08 MONTOYA OLD VINE LODI ZINFANDEL  $12.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (U.S.) Sweet Lodi fruit with legit old vines concentration. An OK level of jelly and jam, without getting into the jug thing. Red fruits, vanilla, toffee./ Sweet raspberry jam flavor. Good warmth and power. Very attractive. Real Lodi zin. And really great acidity! Lots of flavor and length. Well above the average Lodi zin. 16.1.

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(WT063010-18) 08 EASTON AMADOR ZINFANDEL  $14.99
06/30/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (U.S.) 08 surly. Deep, dark, powerful, forceful. Liqueur like ripeness and concentration./ Oh, boy! Raspberry candy, raspberry liqueur. Very concentrated. Succulent. Some attractive oak seasonings. Give the nose time to rise. 16.5+.

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