(WT072110-01) 09 VINHO VERDE FAMEGA, CAVES DA CERCA $7.49 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (PORTUGAL) Lots of spritz. Fresh and right. Apple, pear, and blossom. And some peach too in this vintage of ideal ripeness and joy. Fabulous./ Juicy peach, apple, pear. Great acidity. Very fine. The best ever Famega. Quite the quaffer. 16.5.
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(WT072110-02) 09 LUGANA, TENUTA ROVEGLIA $16.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (ITALY) An impression of elegance and delicacy as well as solidity. Novel fruit. Unripe pear and apple. Cool and sleek. Fabulous!/ Wow! This is just amazing! As elegant as a wine can be. Supple feel. Shades of berries and stone fruits. Brittle acid edge. Tonic and mineral on the finish. Intriguing. 17.0.
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(WT072110-03) 09 VILLA MARIA PRIVATE BIN MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC $14.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (NEW ZEALAND) Grass, gooseberry, capsicum, lime peel, and pineapple aromas. The usual reliability./ Sweet and sassy. Sweet grapefruit. The usual NZ yin and yang of sweet and tart. Fresh and attractive. 16.1.
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(WT072110-04) 09 MOHUA MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC $14.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (NEW ZEALAND) Grapefruit and gooseberry. Also citrus, pear, and some stone fruit. Fat and rich fruit cut by minerality. Nice./ Oh, yeah! Pungent and full textured. Gooseberry and grass. Full, supple feel, with brisk edge framing round fruits. The palate tells all about NZ sauvignon. 16.3.
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(WT072110-05) 09 KLOOVENBURG SWARTLAND SAUVIGNON BLANC $11.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (SOUTH AFRICA) Well, this is more French like. There's terroir–calcaire to be specific. Doesn't gush fruit like the NZ sauvignons above./ Yes, this shows French discretion, acid, extract. Graves like, really. 16.3.
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(WT072110-06) 09 R. STUART BIG FIRE OREGON PINOT GRIS $15.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (U.S.) Pungent, waxy, creamy, Alsace like. Fine, big. Lots of apple./ Viscous, smooth, large, Wow! One big Oregon pinot gris. Good, nerve, acidity. Quite powerful, really.. Best Big Fire I've tasted. 16.3.
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(WT072110-07) 08 MACON VILLAGES, GEORGES DUBOEUF $12.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE BURGUNDY) Apple, nut, toast. No oak as such; just some aromas that often come with oak aging. Could fool me once again though./ A bit earthy. OK acidity. A little chardonnay musque perhaps. Good. 15.3.
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(WT072110-08) 08 MACON LA ROCHE VINEUSE SOUS LE BOIS, CHATEAU DE LA GREFFIERE $17.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE BURGUNDY) Pungent fruit (apple, quince, guava) and some oak and time in oak graininess. 08 large frame and extract./ Rich in extract, acid, and wood. Vanilla, toast. Ripe chardonnay sappiness. Well tuned richness. Good fruit expression and nice shades of terroir. Fine depth, power, style. Large scaled in all aspects. And will grow larger. 16.8+
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(WT072110-09) 09 COTES DU RHONE BLANC, E. GUIGAL $16.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) 55% viognier, 20% roussanne, 10% marsanne (all northern Rhone white varietals), and only 15% grapes native to the southern Rhone (bourboulenc, clairette). Apple, green fig, peach, white peach, mango, and dried flowers. Cool and large. Distinguished./ Full of southern demeanor, despite the varietal makeup. Southern power and vinosity. Great acidity. Full body and alcohol. No fruit bomb at all, this begs for food companionship. Love it. 16.6.
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(WT072110-10) 08 BOULDER BANK MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR $21.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (NEW ZEALAND) Waxeye Vineyard, Hawkesbury Road. By Nick Goldschmidt. Sweet tea and tart cherry. Classic 08 NZ pinot noir, and I'm lovin' ‘em./ Juicy cherry and tea. Rich and round, with black fruit galore. Oak gives vanilla, smoke, and spice. Great acidity. Plenty of heft, but well proportioned, with bright immediacy. Real persistence. Yes! Well liked by the group. 16.6.
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(WT072110-11) 08 MOHUA CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT NOIR $21.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (NEW ZEALAND) Spicy oak and full fruit complex. Cherry, raspberry, citrus, flowers. Deep, big, broad./ Full framed. Fine oak and fruit complex. Fills the palate. This is rangy, ambitious and powerful (14%). And cohesive. Long finish. Will challenge full-flavored fare. Well liked by the group. 17.0+.
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(WT072110-12) 08 SICILIA NERO D'AVOLA, FEUDO ARANCIO $7.49 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (ITALY) Warm and savory, empyreumatic aromas of the south, plus nero d'avola's wonderful fruit range: currant, black cherry, blueberry. A big boy./ Rich and roasted. Warm and forceful. With good acidity. Mealtime wine. Delightful value. Yes! 16.0.
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(WT072110-13) 08 COSTIERES DE NIMES LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES, MAS CARLOT $14.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) 50% mourvedre, 50% syrah./ Good oak and modern, showy, heady fruit. Pungent, exotic, sweet red cherry, cranberry, dried flowers, and Asian spices, especially clove./ Modern, full. Both wood and fruit make pungent statements. Nothing 08 reserved about it. Warm, strong, big. Will be popular. 16.2+.
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(WT072110-14) 07 TWO TONE FARMS CALIFORNIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON $8.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (U.S.) 07's great fruit. Powerful and sweet, roasted fruit style. Heady, woody, big, bouncy./ Sweet fruited, big, generous. Toast and caramel. A lot of wine for the money. 16.0.
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(WT072110-15) 07 NAPA CELLARS NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON $22.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (U.S.) Dry and powerful. Well managed oak. Cedar cigar box aura. Not as obviously oaky as some past vintages. Or has the great 07 fruit soaked it up? A big, solid, concentrated, well extracted Napa cab. Fabulous./ Sweet and full, with wonderful 07 fruit to match the oak. Best of the series yet. Well liked by the group. 17.1+.
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(WT072110-16) 08 COTES DU RHONE RESERVE GRAND VENEUR, ALAIN JAUME $15.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) 70% grenache, 20% syrah, 10% cinsault. Ripe and powerful. Large Grand Veneur style. Large for 08. Soft oaky patina./ Little 08 constraint, resistance. Many time is loosening them up. Quite forward red fruits and peppercorn zest. Charming, inviting already, though it will be better in 6 months. Full acidity, firm tannic grip. One large 08. 16.1+.
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(WT072110-17) 07 COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES CUVEE DES GALETS, DOMAINE LES APHILLANTHES $19.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) 60% grenache, 20% each syrah and mourvedre. Fine, dense, dark and sweet fruit. Fabulous garrigue, roasted meat, tobacco, and berry bush aromatics. Big range of aromas–as good as Villages gets./ Young, strapping, and full of confidence and bluster. Huge, eau-de-vie-intense concentration. The works. Racy, succulent, exciting. Great balance, polish. Long and flavorful. Will go and grow 3-4+ years. Wow! The group was in awe. 17.4+.
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(WT072110-18) 09 MOSCATO D'ASTI SORI GRAMELA, ELVIO TINTERO $14.99 07/21/10 Wednesday Group Tasting Notes - (ITALY) Yowsa! Red and yellow berries, citrus, stone fruits, ginger ale, powder-puff floweriness./ Light and lively. Lithe. Pure. Engaging. Intense. Gorgeous. Fresh, cleansing acid carriage. So muscat. Well priced too. The real deal. Yes! 16.7.
(WT072110-01) 09 VINHO VERDE FAMEGA, CAVES DA CERCA $7.49