1. Behrens and Hitchcock 2003 Petite Sirah, score=3Dark almost black color with nice plumy nose. Uncle-N immediately thought of syrah. The palate reflects the nose; plum, plum, plum with blueberry laced with caramel and vanilla but no black pepper. Good tannin with bit bitter finish. Uncle-E declared this is petit sirah and he was right. There is lots of controversy around syrah and petite sirah; about the origins of both grape varietals as well as their tastes especially when it comes to California Syrah and petite sirah. Some claim California petit sirah tastes more like syrah from other places such as Rhone and Australia. It is beyond me, how uncle-E could figure this out without a hint of doubt. Only thing missing from classic syrah is black pepper finish. In any case, those who are interested in the academic discussion of all this please see an article by Gerald Boyd (please click for the article).
2. Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain 2001, score=2+Nose has some spice almost reminded some of us of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Some thought there was slight funk which dissipated after some time. The palate is bit reserved but some black fruits coming through with good firm tannin. Some of us thought this could be Italian specifically Brunello or super Tuscan. But we were wrong. This is a Cali Cab from Barnett. We tasted the barrel sample some time ago and some liked wines from this vineyard. Overall, good wine but not spectacular and at least to me, it is in a more old world style.
3. Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2004, score=3 ~ 3+The bottle is tall and extremely heavy. You need to hold it with two hands. Nice nose with lots of black cherry with caramel and vanilla suggesting this must be a highly oaked fruit bomb from California. The palate is more reserved than we expected. Certainly it is not a fruit bomb. More Bordeaux-like with restrained black fruits with big firm tannic finish with acidic kick. Some complained of short finish. The testers thought of Cali cab, Spanish, Argentina etc. This is Hewitt Cab. They started making their estate wine few years ago (before that the grapes from this estate was sought after) and 2004 is 4th year for them. It is interesting to see if this winery will make it to a boutique status in near future.
4. Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, score=3Cedar nose with some sulfur (fecal) note with black cherry. But the sulfur nose goes away rather quickly. The palate is nice with black fruits and customary vanilla and caramel. Some thought this is Bordeaux-like but some felt this is definitely a new world wine and that it is a Cali cab or cab blend. Actually, Uncle-N had this wine at the restaurant 2 weeks ago with a nice dinner and liked it as a classic Cali Cab but, of course, he could not identify it as such. It is interesting that Barnett and Pride are both in the Spring Mountain across from each other and we tasted them together by chance. We all felt Pride is better in this competition.
5. Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, score=2+The nose is similar to Pride in that cedar nose with some sulfur. The palate is somewhat subdued with black fruits and acidic finish and bitter tannin. Malbec and Syrah were mentioned but no body thought of Cali Cab. Again, this is a vineyard that we tasted barrel sample some time ago and Piroca and Winepath were impressed with the barrel sample. So, it was bit disappointing.
6. El Puntido by Viñedos de Páganos, Rioja 2003, score=2+The nose is nice with mocha and coffee. Nice black fruits on the palate with nice but not too assertive tannin. The tasters felt this is Spanish or Rhone. This happened to be El Puntido from Rioja and we assume that this is 100% tempranillo. 96 points and the #1 wine in "The Enthusiast 100" from Wine Enthusiast (which we feel is over rated), 91 W&S and 90 ST (which we agree).
All wines we tasted this evening are quite good.
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