(WT070710-01) 09 RIAS BAIXAS ALBARINO, LA CANA  $16.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (SPAIN) Fresh, attractively scented. Juicy peach and lucuma. Perfect posture. Very fine spritz./ Full and buxom. Big, expressive fruit. Mineral backbone and satisfying, zesty piquance. Flavorful, juicy, dry, balanced. 09 ease, confidence. Quaffable. Invites food. 16.3+.

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(WT070710-02) 09 WHITEHAVEN MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC  $19.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (NEW ZEALAND) Decidedly tropical. Mango. Also peach. 09 ease, immediacy. But not without edgy aspects like cat, grass, capsicum, and minerals./ Passion fruit, grass, citrus peel, capsicum. Soft and easy. Juicy acidity as foil. Gives cut, edge. Very culling and brittle. Tropics flavors, good and generous. Very intense, very expressive. Good power and length too. All the yin and yang that is fine Marlborough sauvignon blanc. 16.4.

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(WT070710-03) 09 THE CROSSINGS AWATERE VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC  $13.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (NEW ZEALAND) Crisp and clear and very classy. Lots of minerals. The aromatic properties are not fully developed yet. / Well, this has the feel if not the flavor formation.. Acid, juice, texture, dryness. Edgy, penetrating,. Sancerre like. Acts like it was just shipped. Give it a couple of weeks for aroma and flavor recovery. 16.4+.

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(WT070710-04) 08 NIEDEROSTERREICH GRUNER VELTLINER SINGING, LAURENZ V & SOPHIE  $13.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (AUSTRIA) Very good 08 body, texture, extract. And that's just on the nose./ Full, and fulfilled at this age. Apple and snap pea. Juicy. Very satisfying. Well liked by the group. 16.4.

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(WT070710-05) 09 COTES DU RHONE BLANC, DOMAINE MIREILLE & VINCENT  $11.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Really quite full for M&V. Pulpy yellow fruit, especially melon. And good green fruit qualities of a Med dry white. Floral overtones and hint of allspice./ Quite powerful. Dried fruits, exotic floral accents, and dash of spice. Lovin' these 09 Med whites! 16.0.

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(WT070710-06) 09 BORDEAUX CLAIRET, CHATEAU DE FONTENILLE  $10.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Tart, dry, and astringent model of clairet, a style between rose and red. Red raspberry, strawberry, cranberry sauce. Lots of cabernet franc peels extracts./ Compact, solidly built, distinct cabernet franc fruit. Lots of peels strengths. Intriguingly red-wine like. Needs time. Will prove better in fall than in summer...with food. Liked by the group. 15.6+.

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(WT070710-07) 09 RIOJA ROSE, BODEGAS MUGA  $11.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (SPAIN) Ooh! Fresh, crisp, dry, penetrating. Juicy red plum, cherry, and berries. White peach too./ Flavorful, cool, yet powerful like many a Spanish rose. Sleek, classy, charming, even seductive. Dry, juicy, long. Full bodied food rose. Very popular with the group. 16.7.

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(WT070710-08) 08 MEDGIDIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON DRY, MURFATLAR  $7.49
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (ROMANIA) Dry, fruity, astute. Genuine sweet currant cabernet fruit./ Snappy, spicy, flavorful. Dry, with good acidity. Lovely. Good now with food. Best Romanian cabernet I've tasted. The group agreed, in part because it was the FIRST Romanian cabernet many had tasted. 15.9.

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(WT070710-09) 08 PELEE ISLAND ONTARIO CABERNET FRANC  $9.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (CANADA) Clear and cool-climate and vinous. 08 close and compact, but not mean. Ripe and right. Subtle northern cabernet franc highlights./ Whoa! Dense, strapping, deep. Big red raspberry flavor. Not too black or tart. Has ease and harmony about it. Sincere, and sincerely good. As in previous vintages. This is always well crafted and price-worthy. Admired by the group. 16.2.

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(WT070710-10) 08 MONTSANT, CELLER CAN BLAU  $14.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (SPAIN) Mazuelo (carignan), syrah, and garnacha. Dark and deep and purple fruited. Good take on 08 carignan. This has a nice edge. Though 08 dark, it's not sullen. You get the high altitude elegance of Montsant./ Broad-beamed, lush black fruits plus smoke, char, black olive. Brisk, brash, bright, savory, juicy, tart. Great form and balance. Young. Rightly poised. 16.1+.

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(WT070710-11) 09 VAUCLUSE CUVEE DE LA DAME VIEILLE, DOMAINE DU VIEUX CHENE  $9.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) 09 openness. Peels and peppercorn. Zesty, penetrating, youthful. Dark, brooding fruit core. With aeration come black cherry, violets, and woodsy tones./ Ripe, rich, dense, full. Great acidity.. Good edge. Tight and right. Needs air and age to show its pedigree. Popular with the group, several liking it right now. 15.9+.

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(WT070710-12) 07 ANGOVE'S RED BELL BLACK SOUTH AUSTRALIA SHIRAZ  $12.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (AUSTRALIA) Deep, dark, charry, sweet, powerful. Deep fruited. Scented red and black berries, cedar, tobacco, menthol. American oak./ Strong American oak. Plenty of power and punch. Lots of sandalwood and tobacco. A sturdy BBQ choice. 15.6.

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(WT070710-13) 07 BONNY DOON LE POUSSEUR CENTRAL COAST SYRAH  $16.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (CALIFORNIA) Lift, fruit, flowers. Raspberry. Some peppercorn. Genuine cool climate syrah properties. Some oak vanillin. Persistent./ Cherry and spice flavors. Forceful, tannic, acidic, dry..The palate really needs time to settle in. The group appreciated its Euro syrah qualities. 15.8+.

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(WT070710-14) PROSECCO DI VENETO SPAGO NERO, RIONDO  $13.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (SPARKLING) Apple and red peels. Pinot noir strawberry. Also raspberry and seeds, brambly zestiness./ Flavorful. Mild acidity. Easy to assimilate. Pretty warm and flat when I got to it. Still nice though. Likely even better when cold and first opened. The best this has tasted, even under the circumstances of a hot, muggy day.. 16.3.

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(WT070710-15) PROSECCO ITALIA EXTRA DRY, GANCIA  $9.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (SPARKLING) Sweet and fruity enough. A rightful extra dry. Apple and spice./ Yes, good zest, apple, melon, tea, ginger. Extra dry level of sweetness is just right. Good value. 16.0.

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(WT070710-16) MOSCATO D'ASTI, GANCIA  $9.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (ITALY) Thin and dull. Earthy./ The problem with non-vintage bottlings–you don't know the age. This one is clearly too old. Sweet, golden, tawny, watery. No thanks. 14.2-.

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(WT070710-17) 07 COTNARI GRASA DE COTNARI, LEGACY  $9.99
07/07/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes
- (ROMANIA) Verbena, wildflowers, chamomile. Warm, fermenting grass. Sweetish./ Sweet enough for Cotnari, but drier than most. Kabinett level sweetness. Tea, chamomile, flowers, orange, and apricot. Tangy acidity. 15.3.

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