TN's Our Group's Bring Somethng Different or Off Radar Screen Night

1990 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (1/6/2011)
WOTN: rose pedal and violet nose. Dark red/purple in glass. Doesn't show it's age. Fleshy quality in palate. Developed a meaty nose.Black olive notes with ripe cherry. Chewy texture. Delicius. Shrug your shoulders kind of yummy. So easy to drink. Smooth tannins. (95 points)

2006 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (1/6/2011)
Second fave of the night. Big, beautiful black and blue fruit. Spicy, somewhat hot at first but mellowed out. Caught some mint and chocolate on the nose. Somewhat dusty finish. Fruit profile of blackberry, bllack cherry and blueberry. Finished with some nice spices. (94 points)

2004 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (1/6/2011)
This wine showed nicely. Decadent fruit bomb. A bit over the top but really fun to drink. A bit of a sourish thing with great blueberry fruit. I am sorry to admit it but I really enjoyed it. It brought me back to my Aussie phase of drinking. (91 points)

2007 Fantesca Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District (1/6/2011)
Well balanced, lighter style. Nice profile of red cherry. Laid back style worked for me. Very smooth and easy to drink.Somewhat of a flat curve from entry to finish. (91 points)

2007 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (1/6/2011)
Great minerality. Some wet fur, light funk on nose but not on palate. Great sense of purity of deep red fruit. Chewy but not overdone. I like this much better than the group which found it uniteresting. I would call it Cayuse Cailloux lite. (90 points)

2000 Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva - Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto (1/6/2011)
Boredeaux blend on nose. Ripe cherry fruit. Somewhat one dimensional. Decent, not special. Not worth the price of addmission. (87 points)

2007 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Camins del Priorat - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat (1/6/2011)
Light style, tastes like a grenache/syrah blend. easy to drink, red fruit with some bacon fat. NOt overly complex. (85 points)

2005 Imagery Estate Winery Lagrein Artist Collection - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/6/2011)
Tight, tannic, sour finish. Rustic blackberry was covered by the tannins. Didnt work for me but others really liked it. (84 points)

2007 Klee Syrah - USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley (1/6/2011)
Too much pepper! My tongue felt like it was sprayed with mace. (84 points)

2007 Clos Thales Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Clos d'en Coulon - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (1/6/2011)
Port like, slaty, extracted. Yuck! (80 points)