Wine Tasting on January 18.2008

Good wine tasting. All 5 wines are very drinkable and enjoyable. Present are Uncle-N, Uncle-E, Winepath, Piroca, Jimmy and repeat appearance of Grasshopper. We tasted 5 wines blindly in the order appears below.

1. Larkmead Cab Sauv 2001, Score=3+

Everybody agreed this is a classic California Cab Sauv., although nobody could identify this to be 2001 Larkmead. This wine was one of our old favorites. We especially liked 2001 vintage. Classic Cali Cab nose of Black cherry with vanilla and caramel. Fruits froward palate, nice structured tannin but not too strong and long finish. We must be getting jaded. Although we thought this is a good Cali Cab, we did not go "WOW" like we did few years ago.


2. Charles Creek "La Sonrisa del Tecolote" Cab Sauv 2002, Score=3+

Many guessed this wrong. Australian Syrah, Italian or Spanish were mentioned but no mention of Cali Cab. The nose is rather intense and interesting with cedar, oak and something very unique but can't quite describe it. The palate is also good with lots of black fruits, chocolate. Nice well structured tannin and long finish. Some of us considered this best in the tasting.

The name "La Sonrisa del Tecolote" (The smile of the Owl) is said to come from the family's grand mother who was nick named "Tecolote". If she has tasted this wine, she would have smiled.


3. Château Les Tours de Peyrat 'Vieilles Vignes' (Premières Côtes de Blaye) 2005, score=2+

Because of distinctive cave or wet basement smell, European especially Bordeaux origin was suggested. The palate is actually very nice with good fruits, relatively mild but nice tannin and pleasant finish. Nothing wrong with this wine. Actually, this was featured in WSJ as "Value wines in prized (i.e. expensive) vintage of 2005". Their description goes " Good fruit, lots of minerals and earth. Blackberries. A touch of licorice, especially at the end, and maybe a little bit bitter on the finish, but classy and more austere than most. Could age a bit." We did not feel this was more "austere" than any Bordeaux we have tasted. Some thought this could not be Bordeaux because of rather forward fruits. We agree this is a good value for 2005 Bordeaux.


4. Joseph Phelps Cab Sauv 2005, Score=3+

Again all agreed this is a good Cali Cab. Complex nose of cherry, cassis, chocolate, caramel, and minerals. Nice palate; smooth mouth feel with complex black fruits with chocolate, mocha and vanilla. Nice strong tannin and oak is not overwhelming because of these complex tastes. Jo knows how to make a good red wine.




5. Domain des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays 2001, Not scored

This is Uncle-E's contribution; after some hesitation of serving up this wine, he decided to taste blindly. He insisted to rinse glasses, wash mouth and cleanse our mind, before tasting. From the pale color and nose of raspberry and earthy minerals, we immediately thought Burgundy. The palate is rather nice with some fresh fruits, mineral and surprisingly tight tannin. Knowing how we feel about Burgundy and Pinot, it is not fair to score this otherwise wonderful wine. As far as Burgundy goes, it is a very nice one.

Wine Tasting on January 11

We had a special guest, Grasshopper. Present were Uncle-N, Winepath, Piroca and Grasshopper. We tasted Carodorum (this was not blinded) and the following three wines blindly.

1. Carodorum seleccion especial 2004, score=3 0r 3+

Grapes were all from 100+-year-old Tinta de Toro vines and spent 18 months aging in French oak. Nice fragrant nose with hint of cedar. Plenty of black fruits and plum with smoky note. Very structured tannin and long finish. This is a serious wine. The tannin is rather strong but because of other complex tastes, it is well balanced. With some food, this will be great and we suspect it will age well (but again in our group this is not a good option). Everybody liked this except Grasshopper who thought it tasted "metallic". We continue to like wines from Spain (it even rhymes).
2. Leviathan California Red 2005, Score=3 or 3+

Everybody thought this is California Cab or Cab blend. We have tasted this before but as usual nobody could identify it exactly. A blend a 55% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Nice candy, caramel, vanilla nose. Fruits forward with mostly black fruits vanilla and caramel. Good but mild tannin. This does not really taste like predominantly Syrah. This is what we expect from good California reds.

3. Stanton vineyard Delectus Merlot 2001, score not given, oxidized.

The color has dark brown tinge indicating "age" but for 2001 vintage, this may mean poor storage. The nose is challenged with faint "sweaty" smell. The palate is rather flat with only acid and taninn and tasts oxidized. Our conclusion is that this bottle is cooked.

4. Ramey Claret 2004, Score=2

Bit of disappointment. 2001, 2002, and 2003 Ramey Claret are our old favorites. This vintage appears not to have things we liked about previous 3 vintages. The nose is very nice; Perfumey with vanilla and black cherry. The palate is weak with hollowness in the mid-palate and rather short finish. Muted black fruits. The tannin is very soft. We do not know if our palates have changed but certainly this is not our favorite any longer.

The first tasting for 08 and farewell to Grasshopper

This is the first tasting of 2008 and also farewell tasting for Grasshopper. Grasshopper will remain as a member and hope he can stop by often. We tasted 5 interesting wines blindly. Present were Uncle-N and -E, Piroca, Winepath, Grasshopper and Jimmy. None of the wines are extraordinary but all quite drinkable in different ways. The below are in the order of as we tasted them.

1. Selvapiana Bucerchiale Chianti Rufina Riserva 2003, Score=2 or 2+

A surprise winner. Nose is very nice with floral scent without any "funk". Complex back fruits on the palate and mouth drying tannin. Long finish with sweet spices. Among Tuscan wines we tasted in the past tasting, this is one of the better one. We really liked the nose. As usual, tannin is rather strong and drys your mouth but with some food (good cheese, bread with olive oil etc), this will be just fine. It could also benefit from bottle aging. Uncle-N has couple more bottles but "aging" is usually not a good option for this group. The tasters thought this to be Italian, Cali Cab, Rioja in the blind stage. Some thought to give this score of 3.

2. Thorn-Clarke Terra Barossa Shiraz 2006, Score=2

What a contrast to the Chianti. Everybody thought this is Australian Shiraz immediately. The nose is characteristic with plum and black pepper with meat juice. The palate is heavy on black fruits and plum but tasted bit "sugarfied" or"fake". Black pepper on the finish. Classic young Australian over-the-top Shiraz. This style became so pervasive in popular Shiraz from Australia. It is better than many wines in the similar price range from California, though.


3. Cruz Alta Malbec Reserve 2005, Score=2

The nose , we thought, was similar to the previous wine and assumed that this is also Shiraz but we were wrong. This is 100% Malbec. No obvious "purple" fringe in the color.The taste is plum, black fruits and bit "grapey" and finishes with some spices. Fruits are more controlled and do not taste "fake" or "sugarfied". This wine lacks in complicity but good everyday wine.





4. Trapiche Malbec Vina Victorio Coletto 2004, Score=2+

We tasted this several times before and some of us really liked this one but we could not identify it (as usual). Mint, black cherry and hint of chemical (rubber tire) on the nose. Smooth mouth feel with lots of black fruits. Really taste like a new world wine such as high-end Cab Sauv from California (but we, or at least one of us, were wrong, again). Nice structure tannin with decent lasting finish. Some may give this 3 but consensus was 2 or 2+. Among the two Malbecs, we preferred Trapiche.

5. Chateau Charmail Haut-Medoc 2000, Score=2

Everybody thought this is Bordeaux or possibly California Bordeaux-blends but the unmistakable wet-basement smell gave it away. Perfectly decent Bordeaux with 50% Melrot, 30% Cab Sauv and 20% Cab Frank. Behind the wet basemen smell, there are black cherry and some vegetal notes. The taste is classic as well with rather austere but complex tastes with black fruits and good nice balanced tannin and acid. Some of us would have given 2+ or 3. At least, the nose is not overwhelming to detract from enjoying the taste of the wine.