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Tasting Notes Printer-Friendly Version
- December, 2006 |
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006 WT122006-01. 05 COTES DU RHONE BLANC, DOMAINE STE. ANNE - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Full, vinous, attractive. Fresh and tangy yellow berries, with lightly stated airs of flowers, tropical and stone fruits. Tonic and penetrating, with stone and mineral base./ Fresh, crisp, tonic. Green apple flavor. Great race and acidity. Very handsome. Superb and rangy food wine. 15.9. WT122006-02. 03 ANDELUNA RESERVE MENDOZA CHARDONNAY - (ARGENTINA) Fat, oaky, lemony, minerally. Whiskey, honey, and lemon–good cure for a cough./ Oak vanillin and butterscotch. Full texture of oak and fruit extracts and fruit sweetness. Very big, smoky, thick, and creamy. Yes, the palate is sweetly attractive. 15.3. WT122006-03. 04 J. LOHR LOS OSOS PASO ROBLES MERLOT - (U.S.) Very bright and ripe Paso Robles and 04 fruit bowl. Luscious black cherries. Good, soft oak extras: wood toast, wood smoke, and sweet spices. Bolder and richer than the good 03./ Full, powerful. Sweet and ripe. Chewy and mouth-coating. One big merlot boasting charm as well as dimension. 16.2+. WT122006-04. 03 ANDELUNA RESERVE MENDOZA CABERNET SAUVIGNON - (ARGENTINA) Very dense, smoky fruit and oak. Black and ripe and deep. Red stuff too: red currant and sweet cherry./ Full. Tannin grip smoothed over with ripe fruit. Big oakiness, handsome black fruits, good depth. A rewarding experience. 16.2. WT122006-05. 05 CHATEAU CHARRON, 1ERES COTES DE BLAYE - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Wonderful black cherry merlot as usual here. Blueberry, plum, and raspberry highlights. Sweet vanilla frosting too. Very accomplished already, and very harmonious in its presentation./ Great acidity; racy, ample. Fine-grained tannin has a nice feel, grip. Fine depth too. Nothing youthfully awkward about it at all. Composed and confident, with a nice, dense core of potential. Great future. A fine vintage here. 16.3+. WT122006-06. 05 CHATEAU MAINE GAZIN, 1ERES COTES DE BLAYE - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Ripe, full, and dense. Lots of peel extract, sinew. Slow to open, but when it does there are enticing blueberry and cassis notes./ Yes, more gripping and slower to yield than the Charron. Dense, chewy, well extracted. Good strength. Improved in the glass for three days! I’m confident of its future! 15.8++. WT122006-07. 05 CHATEAU PEYRAUD, COTES DE BOURG - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Deep cherry-berry liqueur nose. Intense. Plenty of muscle./ Big grip. Lots of material. Fulfills Bourg’s reputation for superior size. Chewy extract and tannin. Big-time future. 16.4+. WT122006-08. 04 CHATEAU TANAIS OLIVIER, CRU BOURGEOIS, HAUT MEDOC - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Sleek and graceful 04 styling. Cabernet currant, herb, tobacco, and earth-mushroom aromas. Cabernet sturdiness./ Yes, a sturdy cabernet constitution presented in a medium-bodied classic claret like manner. The tannins are ripe and classy. This is the kind of claret and vintage the Brits favor. Reminds me of 1966, really. 15.9+. WT122006-09. 05 COTES DU RHONE, DOMAINE DU GRAND PRIEUR - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Snappy, bright, fresh, spicy, vigorous. Black and red currants, garrigue herbs. Savory cigar-box overtones. With more air, colorful, perfumed, floral, exotic, sexy, charming. Very full./ Firm structured, with a soft fruit center featuring black raspberry. Warm, burnished, meaty, woodsy. Already one of the most complex in the series. Look for continued progress throughout 2007. 16.1+. WT122006-10. 05 COTES DU RHONE, DOMAINE STE. ANNE - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Brilliant. Fresh, pure, cool, sleek Gard black fruit. Very pure, ripe, sweet raspberry aroma. Glints of green olives marinated in herbes de Provence. Perfect composure, lots of polish./ Framboise beauties: raspberry, spirit, concentration. Very fine texture and tannin, and depth too. Just the right proportions. A very comfortable, harmonious wine. Plenty of charm, subtlety, and sophistication. Good vintage for Ste. Anne, for sure. Will last. 16.3. WT122006-11. 04 JADE MOUNTAIN SNOWS LAKE VINEYARD RED HILLS SYRAH - (U.S.) Sweet and very zesty nose. Oak toast, caramel, vanilla, coconut, and brown spices. Ripe, creamy black fruits./ Yes, a bountiful syrah, explosive even. Mocha, chocolate, black fruits, and lavender, as well as the full barrel compote. Exotic, elegant, rambunctious. Creamy textured. This really talks. Garrulous, generous wine. 16.4+. Wednesday, December 6, 2006 WT120606-01. 05 MUSCADET SEVRE ET MAINE SUR LIE, DOMAINE BEAUREGARD - (FRANCE LOIRE) Oh! Big and full. Nettley, tingly, vinous, appley. The usual Muscadet aromas of low-growing plants, green flowers. Plump, juicy, ripe yellow berries, tangerine, passion fruit. Sur-lie grip and chalkiness./ Yes, rich and full for Muscadet. Chewy, succulent. Bright, piquant, expressive. Long, crisp, flinty, minerally finish. Mouthfilling.
Tingly acidity. 16.1. Someone asked me if Muscadets were getting fuller lately. I think so. Used to be I taught my classes that Muscadet had the lowest maximum alcohol of any French appellation: 11%. This bottle reads 12%. Something’s changed–at least for the export market. This is all OK, but one of my measuring rods for Muscadet remains the Metaireau 10.5. That’s got fullness without extra strength. WT120606-02. 05 SANNIO FALANGHINA, FEUDI DI SAN GREGORIO - (ITALY) Golden delicious apple, honeydew, mango, papaya. Refined, spicy, floral overtones. Full and strong and penetrating aromas. Powerful too. Tonic background and mineral base. Falanghina to the max./ Smooth, luscious, charming apple and melon flavors. Very full-scented and full textured, showing glycerol and fresh, racy, piquant acidity too. Tremendous depth.
Floral essences and cleansing crushed-stone grip. Falanghina to the max. 16.3. WT120606-03. 05 PINOT BLANC CUVEE BALTHAZAR, LUCIEN ALBRECHT - (FRANCE ALSACE) Wow! One dramatic pinot blanc! Intense yellow fruits, red currant, and gummy-candy red fruits. Dried pear, honeydew, and pepino melon. Unique for pinot blanc./ Big, solid, spicy, nervy, minerally. Enticing, open, pear-like fruitiness, with some sweet cake frosting spread over. Soft and mellow middle. Firms up nicely on the finish. 16.0. WT120606-04. 05 SAINT VERAN LES DEUX MOULINS, LOUIS LATOUR - (FRANC E BURGUNDY) Good, light oak touch and nice combo of Saint Veran fullness and crispness of chardonnay expression. Sweet, ripe fruit: apple, pear, white peach, loquat. Authoritative, full, generous, even powerful. Sturdy calcaire foundation./ Sweet peach-apricot fruit with lightly nutty-oaky overtones. Deep, engaging, graceful, cohesive. Certainly a generous,
mouthfilling experience in Saint Veran. 16.3. WT120606-05. 06 ROBERTSON VINEYARDS SPECIAL LATE HARVEST ROBERTSON GEWURZTRAMINER - (SOUTH AFRICA) Very scented, rangy, and exotic. Bergamot, barber shop, tonic. Also lychee, orange, kumquat, cold cream, and rose, but more of the former, bitter perfumes which nicely foil the sweetness of the presentation./ Perfumed in the mouth too. Certainly late harvest sweet but nicely balanced with zippy acidity and gewurz’s inherent
bitterness. Plenty of expression and authority. 16.4. Nice to have a successor to the 05, which showed well at the 05 trade show and continued to distinguish itself at the 06 show; but it’s time for the new vintage, really. I’ll continue to tout this as a significant value in the wide world of gewurztraminers. WT120606-06. 04 BOURGOGNE CUVEE MARGOT, OLIVIER LEFLAIVE - (FRANCE BURGUNDY) Very, very crisp, black fruit pinot of 04. Reminds me of 01. Pure, and pointed, and pungent cherry, flowers, herbals, and spices./ Crisp and flaired. Great acidity. Light tannin. Very nice texture, feel. Well balanced and delicious with food now. Very racy. This is really made for the table. Forget high alcohol and ripeness. This is classic
northern Euro rouge. 16.2. WT120606-07. 05 RIVER’S EDGE UMQUA VALLEY PINOT NOIR - (U.S.) Quiet, aromatically. Full, round, strong. Brooding, smoky, deep black fruits. Lots of pinot peel and grip as usual here. With airing, sweet raspberry tones emerge. Some vanilla oak./ Good oak in combo with well extracted, chewy fruit pulp and peel elements. Good acidity, good depth. Young. There’s a sense that this is will age well, and it certainly needs
some time. In keeping with the style of this brand, which somewhat belies its southern Oregon origins. 15.8+. WT120606-08. 00 SCHWEIGER SPRING MOUNTAIN MERLOT - (U.S.) Full and sweet, thick fruit. Showing maturity. Blackberry, cigar box, mushrooms./ Yes, there’s plenty of fruit sweetness yet. And a little tannin to shed. But aromatically, it’s reached its peak. Serve over winter. 15.8. WT120606-09. 05 SANTA JULIA MENDOZA MALBEC - (ARGENTINA) Sweet, smoky, jammy fruit. Doesn’t speak malbec. Sweet and modern red wine. Formulaic./ Sweet, jammy, spicy. New Wave. Easy. 15.3. WT120606-10. 05 MONTES APALTA VINEYARD COLCHAGUA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON-CARMENERE - (CHILE) 70/30. The Montes formula: sexy oak spices and alluring, ripe black fruits. Currant, herbals, flowers, and aromatic barks. Sleek, supple, finely etched, penetrating./ Very flavorful. Bold, chewy, well extracted fruit essences. Heaps of oak brown spices and berries and plums. In balance. Good acidity, fine tannin. Harmonious
and well crafted. Fine modern winemaking. 16.2. WT120606-11. 04 MARTIN RAY ANGELINE SONOMA CABERNET SAUVIGNON - (U.S.) Clean, noble black fruit and graphite. Sweet and reliable./ Smooth textured. Nice woodsy touch. 15.2. WT120606-12. 05 CHATEAU DE PAVILLON, BORDEAUX - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) 80% merlot, 20% cabernet sauvignon. 35 year old vines here. Nice ripe 05 fruit quality. Merlot sundae aromas (cherry, nuts) and cabernet black currant. Crisp and lively. Compact, solid, concentrated. Good peel extract. Delivers, really./ Smooth textured for a young wine, with fine tannin that is lightly chewy. Nice compact core of potential. Yes, this
delivers. New Wave winemaking makes claret tasty sooner, and the new French law allowing oak chips will benefit the cotes and regional Bordeaux estates more than any other winegrowers in France. 15.8+. WT120606-13. 03 CHATEAU HAUT BEYZAC, HAUT MEDOC - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) 75% merlot, 25% cabernet sauvignon. Weird for an Haut Medoc encepagement, but then this is at Vertheuil, which is a backwater commune behind St. Estephe and Pauillac, where there’s lots of clay that is cold soil and calls for merlot’s early ripening qualities. Look at the owner list! Raguenot, Lazzez, Miller. Miller? The back label expounds. It’s Daren
Miller, from Pennsylvania. A relative of Eric and Lee Miller of Chaddsford Winery? Commanding black fruits, cabernet-like, and firm graphite scents. Full, deep, dark, unctuous 03 fruit ripeness, with vanilla and mocha extras./ Wood toast and nutty, herbal merlot aspects. Well built, burly 03 with tannic core surrounded by plush, ripe fruit. Will improve. 15.8+. WT120606-14. 03 CHATEAU D’ARCINS, CRU BOURGEOIS, HAUT MEDOC - (FRANCE BORDEAUX) Gold Medal - Brussels. Big, sturdy black fruits with nice oak backdrop. Rich and ripe, and laden with cabernet cassis and currant aromas. Nice floral lilt. Tar, tobacco, and oak char. Very characteristic of this estate’s wines./ Ripe merlot has more presence on the palate than on the cabernet-dominant nose. It adds softness, richness, ripeness.
Charming and classy, supple and graceful. Fine oak. Generous tannin still. Demands respect and will reward aging. A fabulous claret 3-4 years down the road. 16.7+. WT120606-15. 03 COTES DU VENTOUX LES TERRASSES, CHATEAU PESQUIE - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Good heft. Broad aromatic range: garrigue, nettle, bitter and sweet barbershop aromas, smoked herbs, candied black currant and blackberry. Wow! That’s entertainment!/ Again, the full flavor range. Plus licorice. Plenty of fruit ripeness, size, and power of the vintage. And fine tannin. But not overly roasted or heady. Lively as
well as sweet. A nicely presented 03. This is certainly one of the top Ventoux estates. 16.4+. Well liked by the group. WT120606-16. 04 COTES DU RHONE, DOMAINE LA MONTAGNETTE - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Sweet fruit for 04, but with lots of 04 blackness. Black raspberry, black olive. Lots of pepper and other spices too. Huge nose, really./ Sweet and spicy. Big, bold, unrestrained, showing dark berries, fruit cake, toffee, and chocolate. Very expansive. Garrigue laden too. Fine tannin. Delicious. 16.0. WT120606-17. 04 VISAN - COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES, DOMAINE LA FLORANE half liter - (FRANCE MEDITERRANEAN) Smoky, jammy, ripe, cooked-down, rancio, port-like./ Sweet and rancio. Mild but adequate acidity. Floral elements add complexity. Seems midway between a table wine and a vin doux naturel. Intriguing. 15.0+? WT120606-18. 03 VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO, AVIGNONESI half bottle - (ITALY) Big, handsome, creamy black fruits and fine oak highlights. Tarry concentration of 03 without being overripe. Really highly extracted, essential prunolo gentile–but not so genteel this vintage. Cherry, plum, oak, char, spices, nuts, tobacco./ 03 sweetness and power. So much power it burns my chapped lips. Fruit somewhat 03 jammy. Adequate
acidity. Statuesque form, full tannins. A daunting young Vino Nobile to be reckoned with 3-4 years down the road. 17.0+. |
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