Wine tasting of July 25, 2008

This was the first wine tasting after Uncle-N’s return. No more sideway label pictures. We blind tasted 5 wines. Present were Uncle-N, Piroca, Winepath, Jimmy, and a guest appearance of Uncle Ozi (his family temporarily abandoned him, so he is free to attend wine tasting).

1. Château Destieux Saint Emilion 2005, score=3

Nose is nice with black fruits, cedar and slight dirty sock/sweaty feet smell. Palate is a bit austere with restrained but good fruits. Tannin is rather strong with a bit bitter finish but the finish is long. Overall, it is a very good one. Consensus was Bordeaux or Bordeaux-style California red. For Bordeaux, the funky nose is rather slight. This turned out to be 05 Ch Destieux from St. Emilion.
Quoting from WA (RP); After Destieux’s brilliant 2003, I thought proprietor Christian Dauriac may have hit the highest peak possible at this old vineyard (average age 45 years). However, the blockbuster 2005 may well eclipse the 2003. Consultant Michel Rolland’s final blend consists of 66% Merlot, and equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. A flamboyant, muscular, seriously concentrated wine of great intensity, it possesses a dense black/purple color as well as a gorgeous nose of smoke, truffles, blackberries, earth, new saddle leather, and grilled meat juices. The wine is amazingly dense, rich, and powerful yet also elegant and fresh. The 14.5% alcohol is the highest this estate has achieved. Blame the 2005 drought for that characteristic. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025+. Score range: 92-94 points. Score: 94. —Robert Parker, April 2006.

2. Orin Swift “Papillon” Red blend 2005, score=3

Nice nose with lots of black fruits and “sardine” action. Palate is similar to the previous one but more fruits forward with predominant back fruits and firm and big tannin. Again finish is bit bitter with plenty of tannin. Style is very similar to the previous #1 wine. We thought this to be Bordeaux-style Cali blend. Some thought this to be South American Malbec. This turned out to be one of Prioca’s favarites “Orin Swift”, 2005 Papillon which is their first release of a true Bordeaux style blend consisting of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec and 2% Petite Verdot. Some liked Ch Destineux better and some liked Papillon better.

3. Astrale E Terra “Arcturus” 2002, score=2+

Nose is bit closed as compared to the previous two but nice black fruits and cedar coming through without any funk. Palate is nice with forward fruits and nice tannin, which is much smoother than the former two. French Rhone, Spanish, Italian were mentioned. This is also Bordeaux blend from California. Astrale E Terra (Heaven and Earth) is located in the Atlas Mountain in Napa touting “mountain” fruits. 2002 vintage is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. Fruits were harvested in October 31 – November 3, 2002. 
Appellation: Napa Valley /Atlas Peak 
Production: 
Cooperage: 100% Small French Oak (25% New) 
Aging: Barrel Aged for 30 Months, Bottle Aged for 12 Months 
Release Date: Spring 2006. WE 93.
Among these three Bordeaux and Bordeaux blends from California, it is interesting to know which one we liked best. Although all three are solid wines, options were between Ch Destieux and Papillon followed by Arcturus.

4. Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Merlot 2005, score=2

Nose has septic tank, arm pits and dirt mixed with cherry. The funk has dissipated some what after a while. Palate is better than the nose with nice mixed red and black fruits, plum and good firm tannin. Because of the funky nose, European red blend with possible syrah component (south of France?) was suggested. This happened to be Merlot from Chile. Winepath has brought this before but obviously we could not identify it as usual. According to the their webpage, the grapes are 85% Merlot and 15% Carmenere. Cold skin contact maceration for 5 days at 28-30C followed by a two week post-fermentation maceration. All the wine was aged in French oak Bordeaux barrels for 11 months (40% new oak and 60% second and third fill barrels). Bottled in July 2005. WE 86.

5. D&N Primitivo del Salento 2007, score=1+~2

This is a special contribution from Uncle Ozi. Nose is bit grapey with floral and perfumed but not much of oak-derived nose. No earthiness or funk. Palate is like popular California reds, bit of sweet fruits with mild tannin. Not much oak-derived flavors. We are surprised to learn this is Italian. Primitivo is related to Zinfnadel and that may explain the floral nose. Not bad for the price especially as compared to similar price point among the California reds but in the same time we are astounded that Italian make this type of wine (probably for export to meet the American tastes). This is quite good especially for barbeque or pizza. The label is made in a very low budget and the fonts show obvious jagged edges (did not even use edge smoothed scalable fonts, what kind of PC are they using? 8088 running DOS??).