Wine tasting on March 19, 2010

Initially present were Winepath, Uncle-N, Jimmy and Piroca. We blind tasted 5 wines. After we uncovered these five, Uncle-E wandered in. So, we tasted his wine without a cover. All 6 wines are good wines but we are a bit jaded and even Maiden did not move us in the way it used to.

1. Ottimino Biglieri Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2006, Score=2+

Color is dark ruby/garnet but slightly lighter than our usual cab color. Nose is very nice with floral notes. Palate has nice upfront mixed fruit with more red fruit such as raspberry leading to moderate tannin. Mid-palate is a bit thin and finish is rather short. Cab-Merlot blend was suggested but in the second tasting, the consensus was California Cabernet. This is California Zinfandel.

Information gleaned from the Internet about Ottimino Biglieri Vineyard 2006 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is shown below:

"Ottimino consciously set out to produce Zinfandels from cooler regions, thereby allowing more time on the vine to concentrate flavors and at the same time keep alcohols to more reasonable levels. To that end, all the releases to date have been from the Russian River Valley—and, even more specifically, to the Green Valley sub-appellation in the west part of Sonoma County. All the while, however, we have experimented with Zinfandel from other regions where cooler weather prevails. This Biglieri Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is our first release from an appellation other than Russian River."

TASTING NOTES:
"Aromas of blackberry syrup and pomegranate interlace with black cherry and spicy French oak. The entry on the palate is juicy, adding flavors of boysenberry and ripe raspberry. The tannins are smooth and round and the expansive mid-palate leads to a firm and persistent finish. The balance of this quintessential Zinfandel allows great versatility with food, and its deceptive heartiness will reward experiments with exotic pairings."

TECHNICAL NOTES
Production Details
Blend: 100% Zinfandel
Vineyard: Biglieri (48 year old vines)
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley
Cooperage: Francois Freres, Roberts (custom-built)
Aging: Nineteen months
Barrel Age: 50% new & 50% 1- & 2-year-old
Production: 150 cases produced


[ADD ON ON 4-19-10]

95 Points - Connoisseurs Guide to Wine

"Mixing evident ripeness with a big dollop of blackberryish fruitiness in its balanced, slightly briary, woodsy aromas, this well-assembled effort makes good use of its green berry acidity and light tannins to provide a firm underbelly to its otherwise open flavors. It has a few years of aging potential but will serve perfectly well now alongside grilled pork chops, pastas in red sauces and chile verde. With balance, precision and depth, this one is a winner."

2. Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, score=3+

Color is dark garnet. Nose has some green pepper, milk protein and coffee. Palate has nice black fruit upfront laced with vanilla and coffee (espresso) ending in nice firm but smooth tannin and lingering finish. Espresso note became very prominent after some aeration. In the first go-around, syrah, syrah-blend, or maybe from Spain etc. But in the second tasting, the consensus was CaliCab. Many liked this wine the best among the 6 wines.

This is 2007 Jo Phelps which was just released.

91 points by RP 

"may be the finest regular cuvée produced here in nearly two decades. Its dense ruby/purple hue is followed by an opulent bouquet of cassis, blue fruits, crushed rocks, and floral undertones. Pure, juicy, deep, medium to full-bodied and loaded, this 2007 should drink beautifully young, yet keep for 15–20+ years.  In case you think the aging curves I have described are unrealistically long, I have the Joseph Phelps regular Cabernets from the mid-seventies as well as the Insignias in my cellar, and those wines are still drinking beautifully at 30 years of age. Todayʼs wines are better made."

3. Yacochuya Malbec by Michelle Rolland 2000, score=2+

Color is very dark almost black with slightest brown tinge but no purple/blue color. Nose is musty with rubber tire, tar, and asphalt. Palate has well-controlled black fruit upfront with spice box especially cardamon leading to big firm somewhat bitter tannin. Cab or cab blend possibly from Argentina or Australia were suggested. Winepath stated this is at least 5-6 years old. Despite the musty nose, everybody thought this wine was more of the New World style. Surprise! This was Argentinian Malbec by M. Rolland. We would not give 92-95 like RP below but it is a very decent wine.

"The world's most talented oenologist has just released his premium Argentine red. Called Yacochuya (pronounced yak-co-chew-ya), this 100% old vine (60 years) Malbec comes from a mountainside vineyard situated at 2,470 meters! The 2000 Yacochuya, is... concentrated, viscous and complete. I rated it (92-95) immediately prior to being bottled without filtration." -Robert Parker Jr. Production is 1,650 cases, very limited availability.

4. Paloma Merlot 2005, Score=2+

Color is dark with slight purple hue. Nose has some soy sauce and herbal/medicinal quality such as rosemary and thyme. Plate is a bit muted with mixed fruit and noticeable oak component but somewhat thin mid-palate leading to moderate tannin. Cali Cab and Cali Zim were suggested. This turned out to be Paloma Merlot. We tasted this exact wine in June 2008. We gave an identical score of 2+ and  this is what we said then;

"Nose has fruits, chocolate, vanilla and caramel but whether it has “funk” depended on the taster. Uncle-E felt that this is definite funk but the rest of us could not perceive it. The palate is nice with good fruits laced with vanilla, chocolate and caramel (definitely new world) with some sweetness in the finish. Nice wine. After some discussion and help from Uncle-E, Piroca uttered “Merlot” and even guessed Paloma (this is due to the shape and color of the bottle and the fact Uncle-E previously brought Paloma Merlot 2004). Although I could not get exact percentage but this one contains small amount (12-18%) of cabernet sauvignon as well."

5.  Harlan Estate, The Maiden Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, score=3+

Color is nice dark garnet. Nose has citrus, caramel and jam notes with minerals (pencil shaving). Palate has nice upfront back fruit with vanilla and chocolate leading to big chewy tannin and long finish. Tannin tasted a bit too big and may require some aging. Our consensus was Cali cab.This was a just released maiden 2006.

Although we all liked this big Cali Cab, we were not as impressed as we have been with prior vintages. Piroca claims that our venue of tasting makes any wine more oak pronounced..maybe due to miasma exuding from the furniture. He thought it tasted much better when he had it at home last night. We do not doubt it.

We think we should keep this wine for some years before tasting it again.

6. David Arthur Elevation 1147 2004, score=3

This wine was tasted uncovered since we had already uncovered the last 5 wines when Uncle-E appeared with this bottle. Color is nice dark garnet. Nose is muted. Palate has nice black fruit with nice well-integrated tannin. It tasted a bit thin. This is one of the coveted Napa cult wines but, this night, we were not too impressed.

91 points Wine Spectator:
"Pushes ripe fruit to the edge of jam, with blackberry and wild berry flavors that are more supple and balanced on the palate than the aromas suggest. Impressive for its balance, grace and finesse. Best from 2008 through 2014. 245 cases made. (6/15/07)"