Wine Tasting on September 18, 2009

Present were our core members; Unlce-N, Jimmy, Winepath and Piroca. We blind tasted 4 wines--all Ok but none outstanding. We are definitely getting jaded. Since we all had rather difficult week, this tasting was wonderful to divert from what we had to do for the whole week.

1. Laird Family Estate Sweetwater Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, score=3+

Color is nice dark garnet. Nose is very pleasant with cherry and caramel, no funk whatsoever. Palate is loaded with nice fruit upfront. Nice oak related flavors (but not overly oaked) leading to firm but well-integrated tannin. Initially, some felt it had a acidic kick. We noticed, however, when we came back to this wine after tasting all the other wines that apparently the acidity dissipated after some aeration time. Most of us thought it has a nice lingering finish with chocolate after taste. Although everybody's frist reaction was Cab...they got cautious. Winepath said "trying to be California cab but it is not", Piroca initially thought this could be Rhone meritage and then changed to Bordeaux blends but refrained from saying from where. Especially after coming back to this wine after tastig all the other wines, our tasters liked this wine. This is a very small production single vineyard cab from the Laird family winery. Only 360 cases were made and the wine maker is Paul Hobbs.

"Laird Family Estate owns more than 2000 acres in Napa Valley making Laird one of the largest family owned vineyard companies. Their state of the art winery is located in the Oak Knoll District...Internationally acclaimed winemaker, Paul Hobbs has been making Laird Wines since first Vintage in 1999."

"The Laird family only occasionally gets Cabernet Sauvignon from their Sweetwater Ranch in Napa Valley– most goes to winemaker Alison Doran for Levendi Vineyard wines. Sweetwater Ranch is located in Napa’s Oak Knoll District; a prime vineyard on the site of Laird family homes, at the end of Big Ranch Road."

2. Burgess Cellars Napa Valley Syrah 2005, score=2~2+

This one came in a sloped shoulder bottle which limited the choices. Color is nicely dark and as soon as it was poured we all said "syrah".  Nose has mineral and plum but not much Jus du viande or black pepper. Palate has upfront black fruit with plum. Prioca thought midpalate is bit thin with rather tannic finish. Nice sustaining finish. Some did not like this one but some did. Our tasters thought that this is too light to be an Aussie Shiraz. North American syrah as well as possibly French syrah such from Rhone or Languedoc were mentioned.
This is from our old favarite Burgess. We liked their cab very much.

Wine Enthusiast – 92 Rating!

"The ripeness of the grapes is wonderfully demonstrated in the richness of the fruit. The aromas of spice and varietal character are quite pronounced and complimented by oak tones. The extended vintage is reflected in the layered complexity and beautiful aromas. This style of wine is a great accompaniment to most foods as it exhibits the flavors of a Mediterranean-style wine which over the years has been developed to go with modern cuisine."

3. Blue Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Baby Blue California Wine 2006, score=2

Color is garnet and bit thinner than the previous two. Nose is somewhat closed but smells a bit hot or alcoholic and "lacquer"-like  and slight "funk". Palate is austere with muted black fruit upfront with rather thin mid-palate leading to firm tannin and bit of acidic finish. Piroc said (initially) Zin from Paso Robles 2006 (of course he was shooting from the hip). Uncle-N thought European orgin such as from Italy (?Burunello) or Spanish (?Temperanillo). All were wrong. This is from Blue Rock. Earlier in our wine tasting, Prica brought their Cab (do not know the vintage) since he liked the label. We liked it although it was bit on the tannic side. Later, Uncle-N brought Blue Rock Cab but we like it then. This one is not as good as these. Too austere for our tastes.

"2006 Blue Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Baby Blue - The 2006 Blue Rock Cabernet Baby Blue The excellent 2006 vintage gave us a lot of great wine to work with and 55% of our Cabernet production went into the making of our second wine, Baby Blue. This Cabernet is 100% Estate fruit and is produced with the same precision as the more expensive Blue Rock. The wine spends 20 months in 100% French oak and has been bottled unfiltered. As a result, Baby Blue is delicious on release and is intended for mid-term cellaring.Baby Blue is very much in the spirit of Blue Rock with similar texture and flavors only with less depth and structure for longer aging. It is a great value. This is a California Wine."

4. Celler Vall Llach Priorat Vall Llach  2003, Score=3

Color is nicely dark. Nose has some chemical or turpentine character and cedar. Palate has austere fruit upfront but nice complex mid-palate ending is good firm tannin with lingering finish. All thought this is old world. Italian Brunello or super Tuscan were mentioned especially with its cedary character. But we are again wrong and this is from piorat, Spain. I could not find the exact grape composition but if I remember Piraca telling us, it is made of carignan, cabernet and something else.

94 Points Wine Spectator

"Cocoa, licorice, blueberry, mineral and floral notes mingle in this powerful and complex red. It has plenty of tannins, wood and alcohol, but all in balance. Dense and brooding now, it promises to sing with time. Best after 2007. 75 cases imported."

93 Points, Stephen Tanzer, IWC

"Bright ruby-red. Perfumed aromas of dark berries, violet and pepper. Suave, seamless and impressively deep; this has a voluptuous texture and great finesse. Dark berry and bitter chocolate flavors offer compelling ripeness without coming off as heavy or overly sweet. Very long and ripe on the finish."