Wine tasting on May 21, 2010

We had an attendance of all the usual suspects and then some. Present were Uncles E and N, Piroca, Jimmy, and Winepath with a special guest appearance of Uncle-OZ. We blind tasted 6 wines; all of them were rather decent. One was presented without a cover and was simply enjoyed as a celebration of sorts. Again some of us complained about the venue. In their opinion, the furniture in the room exudes bad oak miasmas which make all the wines taste too oaky. I am not sold on this rather particular theory.

1. Abelis Carthago "Lui Selection" Castilla Leon Red 2005, Score=2+

This one came in a tall skinny and dark bottle. Color is dark garnet. Nose shows perfume, black cherry and smells like cab (by Winepath). The tasters also felt it was highly alcoholic by the nose. Palate has well-controlled black fruit featuring plum and black cherry with a hint of sweetness leading to well integrated tannin and citrus acidity to finish. Some felt that some bitterness remained on the palate. Some thought that this had a Malbec or Grenache component. Spanish with Garnacha, Cali Cab were suggested. This turned out to be 100% Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo) from Castilla Leon, Spain.

90 points by By Jay Miller of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate # 183 (Jun 2009):
 "The 2005 Lui Selection spent nine months in French oak. It offers up a nose of mineral, spice box, coffee, incense, and blackberry. Full-bodied and plush on the palate, it has plenty of ripe, savory black fruit, licorice, and Asian spice notes. Nicely balanced, this lengthy effort will evolve for 2-3 years and drink well from 2011 to 2020. Abelis Carthago is a tiny estate in Toro producing around 2000 cases annually from estate grown Tinta de Toro vines, most of which are ungrafted and over 100 years of age. Importer: Jane Delaney, The Ravensvale Group, Naples, FL; tel. (800) 580-0052"

By ravensvale.com
"The family who produces the Lui and William wines have been growing grapes in Toro for generations. They are a small family owned artisan winery located in the prestigious "pago" of Cascajera in the heart of Toro. The production of these handcrafted wines is very small with less then 2,000 cases produced annually. All fruit is estate grown on their 40 acres which is divided into small plots in Toro. The family owned vineyards are planted on the banks of the River Duero in gravel and limestone soils. The vines are ungrafted, many of which are more than 100 years old. The vines are taken care of by the family in the same way their ancestors did, without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. All organic matter is reused and the soil is plowed without machines. The vines are hand pruned and all grapes are handpicked.
The wines from Toro are brimming with tradition. Their origins date back to before the settlements of the Romans. The main grape of Toro is called Tinta de Toro, a synonym of Tempranillo, which produces some of Spain’s finest red wines. Old Tinta de Toro vineyards, planted with only about 1,000 vines per hectare (ha) account for 65% of the region’s vines. The rest is high quality old vine Garnacha and the white grapes, Malvasía and Verdejo. Most of Toro’s vineyards are planted at 600 to 750 meters above sea level. The climate is sunny and dry, the region gets only about half the annual rainfall of Bordeaux, but the vineyards are dry farmed, not irrigated. The soils around Toro are well-drained and often sandy, an environment not hospitable to the phylloxera bug and as a result, most vines are not grafted onto American rootstock."

2. Slipstream Shiraz/ Grenache McLaren Vale 2005, Score=3~3+

This one came in a sloped shoulder bottle but because of several recent "decoy" bottle incidents, our tasters were careful not to be influenced by the bottle's shape. Color is very dark. Nose has some mineral note, plum and cherry laced with vanilla and spiced toasted oak/cedar. Nice nose. Palate is front loaded with fruit; plum black cherry with a jus de viande note leading to rather mild tannin. Uncle-E was firm that this was Aussie Shiraz. Others thought this could be Cali Cab in a decoy bottle. This turned out to be Slipstream Shiraz. May I offer an ancient saying I just made up; "A suspicious mind clouds good judgement".

90 Points - Robert Parker (Wine Advocate):

"Sexy and flamboyant, the 2005 Shiraz/Grenache (72% and 28% respectively)was created by three winemakers - Ben Riggs, Reid Bosward, and Stephen Pannell. A Fabulous value, it offers gorgeous notes of raspberries, licorice, garrigue, and sweet cherries. This elegant, medium-bodied wine exhibits loads of fruit, character, and personality. It should drink well for 5-6 years."

Reportedly, ST gave 91 (can't confirm).

3. Musella Amarone 2003, Sore=2+

The color is dark with some brown hue. Nose has a slight sewer note with a "brown sugar coated" candle wax (how did our tasters came up with this?). Palate has some black fruit with raisin and port-like sweetness leading to well-integrated tannin and slight bitter after taste. Despite some sewer smell, we judged this not to be Bordeaux. Raisin and port-like character led us to discuss the possibility of Amarone but in the end, we strayed to the thought that this could be a Cab maybe from Argentina or Chile. This was indeed Amarone which we tasted before.

93 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Members of the Pasqua family bought this historic property (with an adorable bed & breakfast) and founded a new wine estate in 1995. Since then, Musella has emerged as one of the best Amarone producers outside the Classico zone. This wine delivers incredible intensity and purity of aromas: Distinct notes of coffee, cherry and roasted nut comprise a compact and clean presentation. It’s chewy, sweet with a velvety, soft texture in the mouth."

4. BV Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2006, Score=2+

Color is dark garnet. Nose is pleasant with some minerals. Palate has nice upfront fruit, mostly black fruit with some vanilla note ending in nice well-integrated tannin. Pleasant enough wine. We thought this was a classic Cali Cab.

Wine Spectator 88 Points
"There's plenty of up-front earthy currant, sage, anise and blackberry fruit in this full-bodied red, which shows touches of spice, black olive and sage, ending with integrated tannins that give this a tapered finish. Drink now through 2015. 30,750 cases made.–JL"

5. Valsacro Dioro Rioja 2001, Score=2

Color is dark brown/garnet. Nose has some sweaty feet notes but this is not too strong initially. Palate is bit austere but with some black fruit with coffee (espresso) component and chocolate leading to firm tannin and crisp acidity in the back end. After some air time, the nose became a bit strong to me but others did not mind it as much as I did. This turned out to be Rioja. I thought the label looks familiar. We tasted this before. At that time, we did not like this wine at all and gave a score of 1. This is what we said then;

"The nose is most unpleasant with sulfa, "fecal", rubber and some herbal note (cut grass), in another word, smell of dog poop in your cluttered backyard with old tires piled up in the corner after mowing. Austere palate with tastes of tannin and acid. Not much fruits. The nose turned off many of us. This wine is made from 50% tempranillo, 40% grenacha (grenache or garnacha ---- so many different spelling), and 10% from mazuela (carignan)."

Did our taste change or the previous bottle was stored in Uncle E's bath room. (He said this one was stored in his garage cellar).

We all enjoyed "The maiden 2005" which is a cerebration of sort for Piroca.