Wine Tasting on 4-10-09, Good Friday/Passover

Present were diehard core members; Piroca, Winepath, and Uncle-N on Good Friday and Passover. We had small tasting and we tasted 3 wines. We blind tasted 2 wines. In addition, Piroca just received Buccella 06 Cabernet and generously shared this.

1. Domaine Le Murmurium "Opera" Cotes du Ventoux 2003, Score =2+

Color is bit light but nice dark ruby. Nose is pleasant with no funk, cherry and floral notes. Palate has red fruits upfront, bit thin mid palate leading to mild well-integrated tannin. There is sharp acidic finish, which detracts from this otherwise nice wine. We thought Rhone or Rhone blend but could not rule out Pinot (may be from Washington state). Knowing the price this one has a high PQR.

Robert Parker 91-93
"The 2003 Cotes du Ventoux Cuvee Opera (an 85% Grenache/15% Syrah produced from 15 hectoliters per hectare) is an amazing wine of great density, richness, and full-bodied potency. Sadly, there are only 4,000 bottles of this beauty, which tastes like a top-flight Chateauneuf du Pape. Enormously impressive, it admirably demonstrates the potential of this appellation’s clay and limestone soils. It should drink well for 7-8 years. "

2. Louis M. Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Score=3

Surprise find! No complaints for the color, nicely dark. Nose has pleasant earthiness with chocolate and vanilla. Palate is also very pleasant. This is no fruits bomb and taste bit austere but nice black fruits upfront (black cherry) with plum, vanilla, chocolate and espresso ending in nice firm but not too assertive tannin. Nice long finish follows. All of us liked this. This was brought out since we tasted “Sonoma” version of Cab in the last tasting, which Uncle-N confused with this one. We think Napa version is much better. Again a high PQR wine. Ghost pine (tasted on 2-30-09) is also made by Louis Martini in collaboration with Gallo. Ghost pine is a nice everyday wine with more fruits upfront but if you compare, Ghost pine is a much simpler wine. We like this cab better.
Bit about the winery;

“The founder of this stalwart, family-operated winery, Louis M. Martini, weathered Prohibition in the 1930's by producing sacramental wine and selling "home winemaking kits." In 2002, facing tons of crushing, well-funded competition in Napa cab land, the family sold to Gallo Family Vineyards. Now with access to more fruit and resources, they've crafted this gorgeous, well-balanced cabernet with bright cherry, a splash of vanilla, fragrant cedar, supple tannins, figs and bittersweet chocolate. Not a fruit bomb - easily enjoyed with food with well-integrated acidity.”
“The Louis M. Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a deep garnet, color with intense aromas of cedary oak, currents and black cherries. Concentrated flavors of ripe plums, chocolate and tobacco marry perfectly with the oak nuances. A well structured wine that is balanced with firm, velvety tannins that culminate in a long, elegant finish. This wine is ready to enjoy now or can be aged 3-5 years”.

3. Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=3+~(4)

Color is very dark, almost black with purple tinge on the rim. Leg is quite something indicative of high glycerin content. Nose is wonderful with some rubber (inner tube of a bicycle), smoke components with floral note (violet). Palate is also very nice with complex fruits, mostly black fruits, up front with nice smooth mouth feels. Tannin is very big which is a detraction at this point. Decanting and bottle aging will improve this young, highly extracted, highly concentrated and highly oaked wine. One of these days when we retire, hope we can do vertical tasting of Buccella after some years of bottle aging. Wine maker is Chris Justin and for 06, we understand, Celia Masyczek (Scarecrow fame) was a consultant wine maker.