Friday, September 25, 2009

1979 La Mission Haut Brion.


Labor Day weekend brought Joe and Syl down for an early dinner. The main draw was the 79 La Mission. We cooked grilled veal chops and grilled vegetables for the main course, crab cakes as an appetizer. Roederer sparkling went very well with the crab. The La Mission was very good. Lots of dark red fruit were still n the nose, along with a hint of earthiness. The tannins had definitely tamed from 30 years of captivity. The acid was still evident, though the balance of fruit and acid was waning. This wine might even have been better a couple years ago. It is drinking well now and should not be aged any further. 1979 was a good year in Bordeaux, not stellar.
The wine went very well with the veal chop. The acids were sufficient to cut through the fat of the chop. The fruit and tannin just kept the wine layers moving. A very memorable pairing.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

1961 Mouton Rothschild


Cedar again on the nose, darkish fruits on the nose. Still very vibrant and showing decent fruit. Wow.

1982 Mouton Rothschild


Dark fruit and oak on the nose, Stil strong tannin and fruit with a long lingering finish. Really nice

1959 Petrus


Cocoa and cedar on the nose. Still some fruit left, amazingly smooth

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Beringer Alluvium, Knights Valley, 2006


Nose of dark fruit, cinnamon and leather, Full bodied balenced palate with smooth tannin. Dark fruit and oak come thru on the long finsh.

Good

Saturday, April 18, 2009

1989 Chateau Beycheville


Clear deep garnet color. Pronounced developing licorice and black pepper nose. Medium Acid, Medium+ alcohol, medium + body and medium + tannin. Black fruit, cinnamon, clove and licorice on the long palate. Very good. Tannins were very silky smooth, making a veal option as well as filet possible.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

2007 Zaca Mesa Chardonnay


Tropical fruits on the nose. Full bodied with medium acid and tropical fruits on the medium finish.

Good

2006 Zaca Mesa Viognier


Peach and stones on the light nose. Full bodied, medium plus acid with peach and minerals on the long finish. Very fresh tasting and refreshing. A good deck wine to impress. Great with grilled veggies and sausage.

Good

2005 Zaca Mesa Roussanne


G from Lauber brought the samples of Zaca Mesa today, and they were worth the wait. The Roussanne had pear, white pepper and flowers on the nose. Full bodied with high acid showing spicy stone fruit on the palate. The finish was long and lingering. Went back for more. Good with veal and chicken. Good

2005 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet


Green pepper and dark fruit on the nose. High acid, full bodied with big integrated tannis. Lush dark fruit continues on the long complex finish. A real bargin. Tasted next to the RM reserve, and the Oakville blew it away. Very good.

2006 Peter Michael Ma Belle Fille


Clear pale gold with pronounced vanilla, peach and rocks on the nose. Full bodied with a medium acid and mineral finish. Very good. On the list at 130

Sunday, April 5, 2009

2008 Sauvignon Republic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc



From Martin Scott, so you know it is going to be good. Lots of grapefruit and citrus on the nose with minerals close behind. High acid, full bodied with citrus fruits rolling down the palate. Long finish makes this a perfect grilled fish on the deck wine.


Good

2006 Ecard Savigny Les Beune, Serpentiers


Light Bodied pinot with cherry under rocks on the nose. Smooth tannins with light fruit and minerality on the palate. Nice light wine for receptions and fish. Good

If you can find for$20 dollars, pick one up

Friday, March 27, 2009

Wines of the month at the club for April

1996 Cuvée Frédéric Émile Riesling, Honey and citrus on the nose. Medium to light bodied with citrus and minerals on the palate. Great with oysters. $45/btl-10/gl

2006 Pine Ridge Dijon Clones Chardonnay, Peach and vanilla on the nose. Medium to full bodied with citrus and creamy oak on the palate. Perfect for grilled swordfish $50/btl-12gl

2006 Domaine Maurice Ecard Sauvigny les Beaune les Serpentieres. Light bodied pinot noir with cherry and earth on the nose. Smooth tannins with a fruit and mineral finish. Enjoy with salmon and chicken. $50/btl – 12/gl

2005 Chimney Rock Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, Full bodied Napa cabernet with cedar and dark fruit on the nose. Currants, cedar and vanilla on the complex and layered palate. $89/btl – 20/gl

Friday, February 20, 2009

M by Michael Mondavi, Cabernet, 2005, Atlas Peak


Michael Mondavi came in with Jordan from Empire to taste the other Mondavi line. What an honor to be tasting with an icon in the wine industry. That being said, the M by Michael Mondavi kicked ass. Deep inky in color with an earty and dark fruit nose. The taste was amazing. High acid and tannin make this a candidate for the list to compete with Shafer and Groth. This is a meat lover wine that will have you going back for more and more. The finish lasted for more than a few minutes and really personified Michael's statement that they were looking for an iron fist under a silk glove. Good value considering the price of current cult cali reds. BTW, grapes came from one of the vineyards that previously supplied Opus One.

Very Good

Oberon Sauvignon Blanc, Napa, 2006


Tropical fruit nose without too much grassiness. Clear pale straw color. Melon and cream come across the palate. Light to medium bodied with meium acid and finish. Nice reception wine, and great value for napa fruit.
Good

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chateau d'Issan (Margaux) 1999


Deep ruby color with a clean earthy and dark fruit nose.

Dry, medium bodied with high acidity and smooth tannins. Cinnamon and chocolate come faintly across the palate and have a medium finish.

Good wine.

This wine had a really healthy dose of acidity which will lend it well to many foods, partricularly steak au poivre

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Chateau Lagrange, 1986


Hazy brownish garnet color, pronounced earthy nose. Medium bodied with smooth tannins and crisp acidity. Cocoa powder and more earth on the palate, with a medium to long finish.

Paired with lamb chops with good results.

Nice wine at 23 years of age. i love my job

Saturday, February 14, 2009

2007 Wakefield Estate Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay


Really fun wine. Very developed tropical fruit nose, particularly starfruit. Triggered my memory of Matua Chardonnay from New Zealand. Medium to full bodied with fruit and acid very well balenced, Good food wine with grilled scallops and will make a great deck wine.

This is a very good value wine.

Wakefield Estate Chardonnay, 2005, St Andrews Vinyard


Justin Taylor was in town to taste his family's wine. He brought a lot to taste, but I'll start on the chards because...

We tasted the 2005 St. Andrews Chardonnay and the 2007 Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay. The two wines were the exact opposite of each other. The unwooded was loaded with tropical fruits and a little grass that reminded me of a favorite NZ Chard from Matua.

The St. Andrews, on the other hand brought me to Burgundy. The St A's was full bodied with a developed butter, vanilla and nut nose(no Malo). Wow, super long finish and layers of complexity that keep on going and going. The St Andrews would go head to head with most one hundred dollar plus white burgundies.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Grgich Hills, Napa 2005


Clear golden straw color with a developed buttery mineral and floral nose. Full bodied with earty oak on the palate. Mid to high acidity with a long finish. Very good.

This wine is on our list and it was nice to revisit. Tasting notes will now follow WSET tasting guidelines and looking back makes sense. I really like this wine, will pair very well with Grilled firm fish and fowl.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

03 and 04 Hewitt




We ran a special at the club and poured Hewitt 04. We also had an 03 open, so I took it upon myself to taste both side by side.


03 was showing much more fruit on the nose and palate than the 04. The 04 had a deeper earthier nose that followed on the palate as well. Both had longish finishes, with the 04 slightly longer and more pronounced.


Still love them both, but would go Tenderloin or grilled Veal with the 03, and Ribeye for the 04.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Poonawatta Montes Block Shiraz, Eden Valley, 2006


I hadn't heard of Eden Valley in Australia till today. I probably saw the name from time in a book, but today I tasted a wonderful wine from the region.
Montes Block Shiraz is made up of grapes that do not make it into Poonawatta's top shiraz "The 1800".
Tasted with a new rep who introduced himself with a little tasting.
The Monte Block was very dark and spicy on the nose. I got black pepper and dark, dark fruit on the nose. The shiraz was pretty good. The first taste illustrated to me what a bouquet of pink peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamon and dried cherries would taste like. Just layers and layers of complexity. The finish lasted for a good minute. There was a healthy amount of acidity that make this a real food wine. Montes block was not an over ripe fruit bomb with that jammy taste you find with Aussie Shiraz.
Very Good