7 more wines after Shafer

Call us crazy but we sat down for a great meal at Vino and soaked up some great grenache plus a few!

•2002 Marquis Philips Shiraz 9 - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (6/28/2010)
Chocolate and cherries. A pleasure. Smooth and yummy. (94 pts.)

•2005 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja Veraton - Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja (6/28/2010)
Blueberry and cherry. Some cocoa. Big wine that delivered ripe cherry. Great smooth tannins. Some mint at back end. Loved it. (94 pts.)

•2006 Booker Vineyard Grenache The Ripper - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (6/28/2010)
Candied cherries and sweet rasberries. Light bright fruit that was seamlessly delicious. A bit of cinnamon and nutmeg spice rounded out the whole package. (92 pts.)

•2006 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Antaeus - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/28/2010)
Spicy fruit with some pepper. Cherries. Soft round tannins. A little light on the finish. (87 pts.)

•2007 J.L. Chave Sélection Côtes du Rhône Mon Coeur - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (6/28/2010)
Kirsch nose. Served too warm and the heat was prevalent. Ripe red fruit but a bit pruny. Smooth tannins, legs dripped down the side of the glass. Over-extracted fruit. May want to revisit at a cooler serving temp. (86 pts.)

•2007 R Wines Grenache Chateau Chateau David And Goliath Mclaren Flat - Australia, South Australia, McLaren Vale / Barossa (6/28/2010)
Thin, uninteresting. Sweet and floral nose with rose pedals was the redeeming factor. Could have guessed Boujelais Noveau in a blind test. (84 pts.)

•2006 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero AAlto - Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero (6/28/2010)
I asm not going to rate this wine from palate fatigue. Delicious with the right recipe. ust wrong course for the night after all of the grenqache. An inviting wine that I must re-visit.

Tasting Notes from the Shafer Event

This producer was hit or miss for me tonight. The chard was a major surprise.


2005 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District (6/28/2010)
WOTN: Dah??? Lilac and floral nose. Lots of fineesse. A thoroughbred race horse. You want to stick your whole face in the glass. Cassis, plums, black cherries. It has it all. Hedonsitic. (96 pts.)

2006 Shafer Relentless - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/28/2010)
NIce funky nose out of the bottle. Like being ont he family farm. Blew off quickly in glass. Meaty and bloody red fruit, plums cherries. Vibrant wine with a nice vanilla underbelly. (93 pts.)

2008 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/28/2010)
NIce citrus perfume nose. yellow/greenish hue, some buttery tones but not too much, wet stones and minerals, lemon peel. This was a crisp, medium bodies chard with bright acidity, not over oaked, well balanced, ripe intense fruit with a long finish (92 pts.)

2006 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District (6/28/2010)
Smooth sweet tannins, cherries, currants, a bit young and tight but solid fruit. (90 pts.)

2007 Shafer Merlot - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/28/2010)
I didn't get this wine. Muted nose, cherries with tart tannins. somewhat disjointed and a bit hot at the back end. Linear red fruit. (86 pts.)

Happy Hour Wine Tasting

The Copain and Papa were both375s A great way to start happy hour with a few people and a mini tasting

2005 Copain Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (6/25/2010)
Brilliant, chewy wine with grteat red fruit. Lots of cherry and an awesome barnayd funk that worked great with the fruit. Served a little cold at first which made the wine very refreshing. Loved it. (94 pts.)

2007 Sean Minor Cabernet Sauvignon Four Bears - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/25/2010)
Plum, cherry, blackberry. Thick and chewy tannins. Alcohol gets in the way a little. Some oak and vanilla at the back end. Very good QPR. (90 pts.)

2004 Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir Peters Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/25/2010)
Candied cherries and rasberries. One of the best splits that I have had of this bunch. No appranet heat and a nice mossiness that integrates great the fruit.

Not gonna finish that full bottle

With the right cellar conditions, you can pop a new wine and immediately transfer half of the wine with a funnel to a clean half bottle. Pour enough wine close to the top of the neck to jam a cork in so that there is no air between the wine and the cork, it works like a charm.

TNs: 2000 Bordeaux vs. Cali Cab plus a few

Gotta tell you, that the Bordeaux held its own and beat many of these top notch cabs.

•2007 Robert Foley Claret - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District (6/22/2010)
WOTN. Even though really young, this wine was very complex. Blueberry, cherry, blackberry and bitter sweet chocolate. A fruit bomb, cocoa, baking spice, needs time to open up. Could have guessed QC blind. A few years and this will be rocking. (95 pts.)
•2002 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon John C. Sullenger Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (6/22/2010)
Plum, balckberry, candied cherries. Thin finish. (87 pts.)
•2000 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/22/2010)
Eucaluptus, mint, cherry, full mouth feel, bright acidity but it faded really quickly in glass. (87 pts.)
•2000 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/22/2010)
Oak and plum. Hollow mid palate, burnt orange skin on finish. At peak, somewhat dissapointing. Not complex, not a lot of body. (86 pts.)
•2000 Château Angélus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (6/22/2010)
Cedar and cherries, chewy, a tannic monster that died too young. good stuffing fo rthe next ten years. Some tasr, leather, precise and sweet tannins. (94 pts.)
•2000 Château Troplong Mondot - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (6/22/2010)
Cherries and chocolate, beautiful balance, very accessible. (94 pts.)
•2000 Château Monbousquet - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (6/22/2010)
Nice nose of cedar and plum, smooth at back end, long finish, tight at first but opened up. (91 pts.)
•2006 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/22/2010)
Light yellow color, lemon curd, burgundian, some nutty and otasty overtones, great acidity with a little butter. Really nice wine but not worth the upcharge/price. (92 pts.)
•2000 Croix de Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (6/22/2010)
This wine held up nicely with its more expensive brethren. A bit musty upon opening. Nice cherry compote nice smooth sweet tannins, somewhat thinner mouthfeel kept it from a higher rating. (91 pts.)
Posted from

Saxum rocks!

2005 Saxum Broken Stones - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (6/19/2010)
Brambly blueberries and blackberries with some hint of cocoa. A bit of mintiness and some charcoal. Even though I would put this in the fruit bomb category, the four hour decant smoothed out some of the rough and tumble character that I remember from this wine. A nice viscosity but more heat than others that I have had within the last year. This wine is more sexy than the last tasting but not as much of the wow factor. Maybe a dumb phase for total excellence. Then again, it is all relative. (94 pts.)

Friends and Mailing Lists

How many friends are on the same wine mailing lists? Why are we getting together and group allocation orders to save shipping/choices? Additionallly, many of the wiens that I think I need to have from mailing lists are available from certain distributors here. We should all cross-reference our lists. There is a ton of money to be saved.

Don't forget about those '02 Turleys

•2002 Turley Zinfandel Duarte Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County (6/17/2010)

This wine was still in great shape. Rose pedals intermixed with mature cherries and ripe plums. White pepper in the mid palate. A bit of a dry finish. Toward end of the bottle, the alcohol started to bubble up. Prior to that it was well integrated into smooth, sweet tannins. (91 pts.)

Tasting Notes from ALS Charity Event with Truchard

•2006 Jonata Winery Todos - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (6/16/2010)
Love this young wine. I call it the kitchen sink with a bunch of different varietals thrown into the pot. Smooth as silk. delecate rose pedals, cherry and other red fruitt mixed with some blackberry and blueberry. It has a flavor profile for everyone. I caught a bit of olive at the back end. I will drink these up as they are so much fun to drink right now. Great food wine too. (93 pts.)

•2004 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/16/2010)
Served from a mag. Chocolate and cherries with some dirt sprinkled in. Nice backbone, solid finiah. Still very young. (91 pts.)

•2006 Truchard Roussanne Botrytis - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/16/2010)
This is the only wine that showed well in their line up for me. Nice acidity, not overly cloying, nice apricot notes. Very solid. (89 pts.)

•2007 Truchard Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/16/2010)
Nice citrus nose with some lemon peel. A bit sour in mid palate. No noticeable oak, generic. (85 pts.)

•2008 Truchard Roussanne - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/16/2010)
Very light, would have guessed sauv blanc.A bit green and tart with a decent citrus nose. No finish. (85 pts.)

•2006 Truchard Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/16/2010)
A decent blueberry and chocolate nose that did not deliver in the mouth. Greenish tones, astringent. Not my style at all. (84 pts.)

•2007 Truchard Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (6/16/2010)
Vegetal overtones on nose and palate. Stewed fruit. Puckering tannins, tight, hot finish. Not enjoyable. (82 pts.)

2002 Turley Zinfandel Mead Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley, Atlas Peak (6/14/2010)
Color beginning to brick with a light red center. Nose is a bit muted. Some bramble weed, white pepper,coffee, plum and stewed cherry. Usually I get floral notes on the nose, but this wine is showing some rose pedals at the mid palate. Tannins are soft, maybe a little too soft as the wine is a bit past peak but very enjoyable. Fruit is far from dead and has a nice finish. Don't discount old Turleys!

Up and Running

You can now track what I am buying, drinking and writing notes on. It will be a bit wine snobbish but that is the way it will fly here.