Wine tasting on 4-9-10

We had a full attendance and blind tasted 7 wines. Present were Uncle-E, Uncle-N, Jimmy, Piroca and Winepath. Piroca took extra steps and used decoy bottles and made fancy cover-ups to make double disguises which, of course, took us up a wrong path. With few exceptions (namely the last two), the wines we tasted were good.

1. RayLen Cabernet Sauvignon (North Carolina) 2007, Score=2+

Color is dark garnet. Nose has green pepper, slight funk with soapy note but, on balance, it is not unpleasant. Palate has nice upfront mixed black and red fruit with a hint of grapey and sweet tastes leading to rather rough hewed tannin with crisp acidity. Everybody thought this is quite a drinkable wine. Spanish, may be tempranillo, was mentioned. After Uncle-N's comment that this was a very unusual wine, some were convinced this is Cab Frank from Barboursville, Virginia. It was not from Virginia but another near-by state.--North Carolina. This wine is remarkably good. Only rare red wines from Maryland and Virginia we tasted get our passing mark but this one certainly did.

From RayLen vineyard webpage:
"Aged for nine months in a blend of new and seasoned oak, give the Cabernet Sauvignon its rich flavor and body. Luscious tones of leather, tobacco, dark chocolate and brown spices make this wine a must-have. Pairs well with your favorite leather chair, a roaring fire, and a fine cigar."


2.  Poggio Il Castellare Sant Antimo Cervio Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Score=3

Color is nicely dark with nose of vanilla, toasted oak, and mint. Palate is fruit forward laced with vanilla, caramel and a hint of coffee ending in nicely integrated smooth tannin. Some felt this wine is over oaked. But the rest of us felt this is quite OK. California Cabernet was the consensus with possibly Tempranillo thrown in at the last moment. I know people will say this is Cali cab. I wonder if Tenuta Poggio Il Castellare (which is a fine maker of Brunello) made this wine for American taste just for export. In any case we liked this wine but did not suspect this is from Italy.

Wine Spectator 93 Points
"Wonderful aromas of crushed berries, with fresh herbs and mineral, follow through to a full body, with soft, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very fine. Best after 2011. –JS"


3. Babcock Cabernet Sauvignon "Nucleus" 2005, Score=3+

This was a special submission from Doug S. from Santa Barbara. Thank you, Doug.

Color is dark garnet with slight brown tinge indicating some age. Nose has cherry, herbs, tar, burned rubber and smoke (which some liked). Palate is loaded with well-controlled black fruit with layers of flavours leading to big assertive tannin and lingering long finish. We all liked this wine. Definitely New World. North American Rhone blend, California Cab ("Ridge" was mentioned). This is Babcock's "Terroir Exclusive series"

"Like its Terroir Exclusives sibling The Loin, Nucleus comes from Estelle Vineyard. Whereas The Loin is the filet mignon being 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from an idyllic little rock covered hillside, Nucleus is a little bigger and represents more of the middle ranch. Having a little more space allows one to plant a smidgen of the other noble varietals, Merlot and Petit Verdot, and to try multiple clones of Cabernet Sauvignon as well.

At the Estelle Vineyard, Nucleus will be the future crux of the issue when it comes time to formulate a world-class blend. While the first Nucleus is legally a Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), in the future you just might see the label NUCLEUS, and noth'n else. Finally, there is one thing that Nucleus and The Loin have in common, those ubiquitous, beautiful rocks."

4. Erna Schein Fat Boy 2006, Score=3+
The bottle was clad with paper even on the neck of the bottle. The bottle shape is odd with a short neck,  stubby and heavy. Color is nice dark ruby. Nose is the best among the wines tasted tonight with exotic tropical fruits, specifically starfruit and jammy note. Palate is fruit forward with predominately black fruit with herbs, caramel, and vanilla with minty overtone leading to good firm tannin and a long nice finish. We all liked this one. Cali cab and cab blend were what we thought this is. When this was uncovered, we noticed a characteristic shape of the top of the bottle. Indeed this was submitted in a decoy bottle of 2002 Insignia but we could not believe this is Insignia. It turns out this is a right bank blend from Erna Schein with an unusually large amount of P. Verdot.


















WINE SPECTATOR REVIEW: 92 POINTS 
"Sleek and stylish, yet complex, offering red currant, clove and spice notes, with rich, layered black cherry, mocha and espresso flavors that take on momentum toward ripe but deep tannins. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2014. 375 cases made". - TF (Jul 31, 2009)

90 POINTS from WINE ADVOCATE:
"The outstanding 2006 Fat Boy (a 375-case blend of 56% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) exhibits espresso, coffee, black cherry jam, charcoal, and pain grille characteristics. As its name suggests, this is a fat, succulent wine with loads of fruit, glycerin, purity, and length. Enjoy it over the next 5-7 years."

WINEMAKER NOTES:
"Fat Boy is back, with an updated look and all of the power and richness of its predecessors. This wine exhibits a deep, dark ruby color with an intriguing nose of cocoa powder, clove, tobacco and cedar. Great structure and unctuous texture are complemented by the mouth-filling flavors of chocolate cherry cordial and espresso, all leading to an earthy finish of vanilla, leather and violets. 56% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc. 375 cases produced."

5. Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, score=3+~(4)

The bottle was  very strange. It was made of a heavy, big thick glass but Uncle-E detected that it had a sloped shoulder which was disguised by paper. So, from the bottle, it has to be something like syrah or shiraz. Color is very dark with a hint of purple tinge. Nose has some burnt coffee but rather pleasant. No black pepper. No meat juice. Palate is nice with upfront loaded fruit mostly black fruit, plum laced with nice oak-derived flavors leading to big firm tannin and nice lasting finish. Some felt an acidic kick at the end. Acidity was more pronounced after aerating for some time. The bottle threw us off. Although we felt that from the bottle shape, it has to be Aussie Shiraz, it does not have a characteristic black pepper and jus de viande. When it was unveiled, we all said this could not be a sine qua non.  The bottle was sine qua non "Just for the love of it". Again this was Piroca's double disguise trick. Although the tasters like this wine, Uncle-E was not impressed with it.



96 points by Robert Paker, The Wine Advocate:
"The blockbuster 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is more primary, but it does display enormous fruit concentration, massive body, and wonderful purity, balance, and elegance. It is an extraordinarily promising 2007 with awesome fruit, depth and richness as well as a long finish. This offering will be even better with 5-7 years of bottle age, and should keep for 20+ years. Buccella, under the guidance of well-known winemaking consultant Celia Masyczek has fashioned brilliant Cabernet Sauvignons in both 2006 and 2007. The 2007s are slightly more powerful, backward wines (alcohol levels range from the upper 14% to low 15%), but they have enough structure as well as sensational concentration and depth to support the tannins"

6. Famiglia Bianchi Cabernet sauvignon 2006, score=1+

Color is dark brown/garnet. Nose is unpleasant with chemical and dusty tones. Palate is rather thin, flat, one dimensional and rather tannic at the end. This is the least favorite among the 7 wines tasted. We guessed Hungarian or Romanian wine but it was from Argentina. It certainly competes with Eastern European reds but not with "the best from around the world".

Wine markers note:

"A classic Cabernet Sauvignon that can compete with the best from around the world, this wine has an intense red/purple color and an enjoyable, complex nose that is reminiscent of berries, spice, cedar, chocolate and much more. The nose carries through to the palate, delivering rich, full texture and berry-spicy-cedar flavors. It is a well-balanced wine with a lingering, pleasing finish."

88 points from Wine Enthusiast

"Solid, sweet-styled Cab, this starts out with dark, piercing berry and asphalt aromas, which are followed by an appealing blast of dark-fruit flavors. Turns more aggressive and rugged as it opens, but stays the course."—Michael Schachner, May 01, 2008.

87 points from Wine Spectator

"A ripe, polished, modern style, with lush raspberry and blackberry fruit layered with a suave cocoa note. Sweet, fleshy finish.

Score: 87." —James Molesworth, 2009.

7. Lamborghini (La Fiorita) Campoleone Umbria 2000, Score=2
Color is dark brown indicating age. Nose is similar to Bianchi above--unpleasant, smelling of chemicals and dust. Palate is very austere ending in very large tannin. Definitely an old world wine. Bordeaux was mentioned but no "basement" smell. Jimmy thought it was Tuscan and he was right. This wine may be better with food such as steak as the wine maker's note states.

Lamborghini
"Deep purple in color with intense aromas of wild berries. Explodes on the palate with loads of fruit and big structure. Lots of fine tannins insure aging potential yet the wine exhibits the signature soft touch of Riccardo Cotarella. Recommended with hearty dishes like roasted meats and game."

91 points from Wine Enthusiast
"A 50% Merlot-50% Sangiovese blend that has aromas of vanilla and new leather. The flavors of currants and cedar combine with big tannins in this powerful wine. Give this one some time. Drink 2004–2010." - February 01, 2003.