Wine Tasting on Februry 23, 2008

We tasted 6 wines, all blind. Present were Uncle-N, Jimmy, Piroca, Winepath, and Uncle-E. They appear as we tasted them. Again we are struck by the fact we are pretty bad in identifying wines either varietals and origins (for the most part) but this fact should not deter us further trying. (I forgot to take my notes with me so the below are all from my memory...I will update later- Now I got my notes, I updated.)

1. Melville Estate Pinot Noir 2006, score=2+

Piroca's attempt at fooling us but we immediately recognized that this is California (Lompoc, coastal side near Santa Barbara) Pinot. The color is transparent garnet. The nose is very nice with red fruits (strawberry and raspberry) and floral scent (and very slight funk). The taste is pinot with red fruits and (for Pinot) nice structured tannin but the mid palate is bit thin and short finish. We tasted some Pinots which try to be more like Cab with darker color and more tannin but this is not one of these (which is probably good). I do not see the point of making Pinot like Cab.


2. Alto Moncayo Garnacha 2005, score=2+ or 3

Well, we all thought this is a high-end Cali Cab or Australian Syrah but we were wrong. This is the same wine maker who made Clio. This hot new (started in 2002) Campo de Borja project includes Bodegas Borsao, importer Jorge Ordonez, Grateful Palate owner Dan Philips and Australian winemaker Chris Ringland. The color is dark, almost black. This wine has lots of vanilla, butter (buttered popcorn by Piroca) and immediately can sense oaky nose with lots of black fruits especially black cherry. The palate is also nice with lots of black fruits with strong oak (buttery, vanilla, chocolate and caramel). Good chewy tannin and long finish. All liked this wine but was surprised to learn that this is 100% Garnacha. How can they make this dark in color and this big? Definitely new world wine. There is some difference in opinion regarding the tastes derived from wood. Some of us think this is too much wood but others thought it was just fine. Certainly such a contrast from other 100% Granacha (Vinos sin Ley G-series) from Spain that we tasted last Friday.

3. Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre 2004, Score=2

The tasters did not have a good sense of what kind of wine this was . Languedoc and Spanish were mentioned. This is a rippaso style Veronese wine from Allegrini (famed for Amarone) and made of 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, and 5% Sangiovese. They believes that traditional rippaso method leads to oxidized wines. Instead Allegrini dries a portion of the grapes (around 30%) and ferments them separately in the same style as an Amarone, then adds that wine to the larger portion of the wine, which is fermented in the conventional manner. The nose has some earthy smell with plum, ceder, and smoke. The palate is plum, raisin, and some black fruits. Good tannin and the finish has some bitter note.

4. Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=2

Again, most of us thought this is European because of the funk (earthy and sweet) on the nose with plum and rather austere palate. It has some similarity to Allgerini above. But this was from Napa. The wine is made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. The nose has some black fruits with earthy tone ("septic tank" by Prioca). The palate is rather austere with firm tannin. Very drinkable but nothing extraordinary.

5. Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=2

Again, this one smells and tastes like the Merryvale and most of us thought of European including the possibility of Bordeaux. The nose has definite funk and black fruits. The taste is rather austere with good tannin but one dimensional. No fruits bomb. We thought of European but added Bordeaux blend from California could be the possibility.

6. Domaine de Nizas Coteaux du Languedoc 2003 , score=2 or 2+

This was added at the end to confirm how a real French wine will taste like. Most of us thought that this is Syrah possibly from Australia or California. This is made of 60% Syrah, 35% Mourvédre, 5% Grenache Noir. The nose has some earthiness with plum and black fruits. The palate is rather austere but mixed red and black fruits, plum and nice structured tannin. Not much of vanilla or caramel here. Although some may not like our saying this but "a perfect food wine". Some of us think it is a good buy for the price (about $20), although it may be the upper side of the price range for Languedoc.