Harlan Estate, The Maiden 2004 - 5 points

Dark, exuberant ruby color with a slight hint of purple.  The nose is just heavenly (reminded me of Grace Kelly's) and shows a perfect integration of earth-, flower-, fruit- and oak-derived scents.  The palate (front, mid and back) of this well structured wine would probably make the "so called" premier Bordeaux vineyards and winemakers purple with envy, since they are unable to produce anything that remotely resembles this baby.  My guess is that the Harlan Estate people pay extreme attention to detail and quality control, something that their french counterparts seem to be not willing to do.  I tasted the Maiden approximately three days after it was delivered and its perfection only proved to me that the dogma of shipping-induced wine shock is just that, a dogma.  The finish lasts for well over 50 seconds.

Tasting on March 28, 2008

Present are Uncle-E, Jimmy, Piroca, Uncle-N, and Winepath. As usual, we tasted blindly and the wines appear as we tasted them. We tasted reasonable number of 6 wines. At the very beginning, clumsy Winepath spilled his wine while opening it and had to use “wine stain remover” which had a strong citrus smell. As a result, every wine we taste today had a strong citrus smell but we discounted it.

1. Joseph Drouhin Volnay 2005, Score=2

Everybody got this right in terms of Pinot Noir. Light transparent ruby color with floral and mineral nose. Light palate with lemony acidity and mild tannin. Burgundy vs. North American was more difficult to determine and because of no “funky” nose, most of us favored this to be North American Pinot. This is from J Drouhin, Volnay near Cote de Beaune.
This is “the best value” of the Wall Street Journal 2005 Burgundy tasting. To quote them “smooth and lovely, with great fruit and very attractive blueberry-blackberry tastes. Rich, yet light on its feet. Quite romantic and nicely complex”. The vintage 2005 in Burgundy was said to be a very good year and we just wanted to taste.

Piroca wanted their job. How wine can be described as “romantic”? We are not sure but some of us will not love Pinot especially Burgundy no matter what. Uncle-E thought this is quite pleasant.

2. Finca Sandoval Proprietary Blend 2004, score=3

Many of us are quite correct saying this is “Syrah”. The nose has protein or meat juice note with black pepper and plum. Later when the wine opened up more assertive nose of caramel and chocolate are evident. Some thought faint vegetal nose as well. The palate is nice with smooth almost viscous mouth feel with black fruits, cassis, plum and peppery finish. Most of us thought of this as Australian or California Syrah.
This is from Spain and the blend is 83% Syrah, 9% Monastrell, and 8% Bobal. Several tastings ago, Uncle-E brought the same wine from 2005 vintage. We tend to like 04 more than 05. I think this has a good PQR.

3. Rotllan Torra Tirant 2003, score=2+ ~ 3

This was a difficult wine to figure out. The nose has slight “funk” with cherry, caramel and slight peppery note. The palate is nice with black fruits especially black cherry with good structured tannin with decent finish. Some of us thought of Bordeaux-style blend such as Cab-Merlot but did not think this is Bordeaux.
This is again from Priorat, Spain. It is a blend of 30% Garnacha (old vines), 30% Carignan (old vines), 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, and 5% Merlot which went through alcoholic fermentation in foudre and malolactic in barrel, 12 months aging in Tronçais Oak (specific type of French oak).

4. Shafer one point five 2005 score=4

By far the best in the tasting. The nose is nice with tons of black cherry, caramel and vanilla. The palate is also really nice with back fruits with caramel and vanilla. Long finish with nice structured tannin. Everything pointed to the high-end Cali Cab but we are afraid to commit ourselves since Piroca fooled us so many times with new world Spanish wines (some are 100% Garnacha) but the wine was definitely good Cali-Cab style.
This is One Point Five from Shafer. Piroca brought 2004 last year as well. As compared to “hillside select” this one focuses just on Stags Leap District. The predominant fruit sources are the Hillside Estate vineyards and Shafer vineyard called Borderline located about two miles south of the winery, also within Stags Leap District. Hillside Select ages three years in new French oak and is 100% Cabernet, while One Point Five ages 20 months in 65 percent new oak, half of which is French and half is American, and includes 2% Petite Verdot.

5. Luigi Bosca Malbec 2004, score=3

The nose was described as "dusty roses and cherry with underbrush and acacia flower” by Piroca to compete with other BS-ing wine critiques. The palate has lots of cherry and “asphalt” but not unpleasant. Good but soft tannin and relatively nice and long finish. Uncle-E and Piroca thought this was Malbec from Argentina and they were right! (for change) and triumphant. We think this is well made Malbec with a high PQR.





6. Mas Doix Salanques 2004, Score=3

The nose is best in the tasting with lots of cherry and perfume and cedar. The palate is also cherry and other black fruits with some caramel and vanilla but much more subdued as compared to typical California cab and cab blends. More “old world” than “new world”. We thought of Bordeaux blend (but not Bordeaux) but had difficult time to place the exact grape(s) or origin of country.
This is the second label of Mas Doix, Priorat, Spain. We have tasted their first label “Costers de Vinyes Velles”(50% Carinena, 48% Garnacha, and 2% Merlot) and gave it a “4” which was definitely a “New World” wine but this one is somewhere in-between. It is 65% Garnacha, 20% Carinena, and equal parts Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon aged 14 months in French oak.

Folow-up for Buccella 2005 Merlot

Some of us had further tasting of 2005 Buccella Merlot. Uncle-N and Carol tasted this at home. Actually sitting outside, waiting for lamb to grill on Weber. The nose is beautiful with chocolate covered black cherry with cedar, caramel and vanilla. We detected no off smell like Uncle-E has detected (spoiled milk or meat etc). The palate is not as fruits forward but fine with vanilla and caramel. Piroca also tasted this (for the 3rd time) and to quote him from the comment he posted " ..intense color and bouquets and palates that are fantastic, at least in my humble opinion. They are, however, not as fruit foward as I expected and most of the aromas and flavors appear to be oak rather than fruit derived...".

In any case, some of us think 05 Buccello Merlot is a fine wine with enough complexity but concede that it tastes more like Cab. We will consider to give it a score of "4". Please feel free to comment.

Tasting on 3-22-08 Good Friday

This was again turned out to be a big tasting. We tasted 8 wines (not blindly). The main wines were Bucellas; we received allocation of 05 Cab and Merlot (new this year) and we were excited to taste these two. Since everybody knew we were tasting Bucellas, we gave up "blinds". Present were Uncle-N, Winepath, Piroca, Jimmy, Uncle-E and a guest appearance of Grasshopper. As always the wines appear as we tasted them.

1. Liparita Cabernet Sauvgnon 2001, Score=2+

Bit of "sweaty foot" and minerals on the nose but it does not smell as bad as this description may imply. Somewhat muted fruits with well-balanced acid and tannin. Well made wine in the style of Bordeaux. This is a quite good wine.

Liparita Winery was supposedly bankrupted in 2003 but it appears that it resurrected themselves. Liparita means "little Lipari" in Italian, and the original vineyard was so named because its red soils reminded early Sicilian immigrants of the soils on the Lipari Islands off the coast of Sicily.

2. Conn Valley Vineyards "Eloge" 2004, Score=2+

This was only one actually blind tasted. Somewhat similar to the Liparita. There are minerals on the nose but rather closed. Muted fruits, mostly back fruits, with hint of chocolate and nice firm tannin. Again not fruits bomb but very well made. Super-Tuscan and Napa Cab and Cab blend were mentioned and this turned out to be Conn Valley Eloge 2004.

We have tasted in the past Conn Valley Cab 2004 (may have been different year) and liked it but Eloge is also a fine wine (although I am not sure why this is named "Eloge"...isn't that something to do with eulogy at the funeral or may be it means something different, please enlighten me". The blend is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot and aged in 22 months in French oak 225 liter cooperage - 90% new French oak.

3. Ojay Santa Rita Hills Syrah 2004, score=2+ ~3

Such a classic nose of Syrah; very intense nice nose with plum, black fruits, some bacon fat and black pepper. Nice smooth mouth feel with lots of black fruits and plum, mocha and caramel. Nice structured tannin but some felt too much oak. Finish is relatively short. But overall, this is a fine North American Syrah....we like this better than fake "fruits" laden low-price Australian Shiraz for sure.



4. Buccella Melrot 2005, score=2+~3+
5. Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, score=2+~3+

This is the main event for this tasting with much expectation. We have to start with aesthetics first; the image from the Buccella Web page was used on the left since pictures I took do not convey the subtle difference in color of the medallions and the labels between Merlot (left) and Cabernet (right). To be honest we had very high expectations based on o4 Cab. 2005 is not as exciting as 2004; we do not know it is because we are bit more jaded or indeed these 05s are not as great as 04s.

The Merlot; the nose is more assertive than the Cab with spice box particularly cinnamon with some other smell...spoiled milk or meat....which is very faint and appears to dissipate a bit after sometime..not bad enough to detract from enjoying the wine for the most of us (uncle-E was most sensitive). This is very intense Merlot which tastes much like Cab (again, one can ague why do you make Merlot which tastes like Cabernet). Lots of oak-derived tastes such as vanilla, caramel, and more vanilla. Very smooth mouth feel with nice tannin and relatively long finish.

The Cabernet; the nose is more muted than the Merlot but no off smell with nice black fruits predominate. Fruits are not as prominent as 04. Nice smooth mouth feel with rather controlled fruits with vanilla and caramel and hint of mocha. Nice structured tannin with long finish but besides the nose, the diffidences between the Merlot and Cabernet are rather subtle.

No question both are wonderful wines but scores range quite widely among the tasters. This is like Wall street, despite a better earning, the expectations are so high that the stock price goes down. We have to do vertical tasting some time in the future to settle.

6. Vina Caneiro Ribeira Sacra 2006, score=1

We were supposedly to stop with two Buccellas but they were bit of downers and we kept on.

What a nose; pure smell of sewer with strong sulfa. This one rivals a wine that Winepath brought back from Romania some years ago. This nose alone will totally detract from enjoying the wine. The palate is better than nose which does not say much; rather flat and thin with acid and tannin. Uncle-E is going to complain about this to the guy at the wine store who recommended this to him. But to his credit, this got 91 from ST. To quote him: "Dark red. Intensely aromatic nose offers pungent red berries, minerals and dried flowers." I think "intense" and "pungent" are euphemism for "red berries in sewer water".

7. Etude Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=3~3+

Piroca decided that we can not finish the tasting with "sewer" smell in our nose and run to his office and got back with "Etude" 2004. We were definitely out of control. Nice wine. The nose has minty herbal note with slightest "funk" and spices. Nice smooth mouth feel with well integrated acid and tannin with black fruits. Nice long finish. But I have to admit, we are having bit of "taste" fatigue.
In any case, there is no doubt this is well crafted wine.

8. Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=2+ ~ 3

Uncle-E also decided that he has to compensate for the "Sewer" and also run to his office to grab "Bressler 04" he just received.

The nose is rather closed but with some berries. The palate is good but bit thin. Good tannin and relatively long finish.

The Bressler is a small producer in St . Helena and has been producing good wines. We may not have given enough attention to this wine because we are tasting so many wines today (especially those who do not spit).

Any way, this is the end of our extravagant tasting. Anybody will be quite happy to have any of the wines we tasted today (sans the "sewer" wine).

MEETING WITH NEAL FAMILY WINEMAKER AND OWNER, MONDAY,MARCH 17

Just a quick note: Winepath and Junebug had a delightful dinner with Gov Celio(the winemaker)and Mark Neal (the owner), from the Neal Family Vineyards. The event was organized by Norm Herring's wine tasters group at the Brasserie Beck. We had some lovely Neal wines, including the excellent 2006 Zinfandel the 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Gov and his wife Elizabeth would like to return to join us on our regular Friday night tastings!

Tasting of March 14 2008

Present were Uncle-N, Piroca, Winepath, and Jimmy. As usual we tasted 5 wines blindly and they appear as we tasted them. As always, we are pretty bad in identifying wines and there is some saying we should give up on the "blind" part of the tasting. But some day, we all may develop the palate of RP and alike. So we keep on.

1.Mas Doix Priorat Costers de Vinyes Velles 2005, Score=3+~4

Piroca did it again (fourth time). Everybody thought this is a high-end Cali cab or Cab blend. The Color is awesome with deep red/purple with beautiful nose of black cherry, vanilla and caramel with hint of mocha; all the indication of highly oaked and highly extracted Cali cab. But the wine is (again) from Spain (Priorat, Cariñena to be exact) and made of a blend of 50% Carinena (carignan or mazuelo), 48% Garnacha, and 2% Merlot and is aged for 16 months in new French oak. The palate is also very intense with lots of black fruits with big chewy tannin with long finish. Again we are struck by the fact that Spain keeps producing wonderful new world wines from grapes we do not expect. Carinena or Carignan is not the grape you are supposedly making this kind of new world wine. It should be a minor part of blends or, I hear, they grow it in Central Valley of California in large quantity and ends up in many jug wines. Hat off to the wine maker and Piroca who brought this to fool us again.

2. Behrens & Hitchcock Tenth Anniversary Cuvee 2003, Score=3

This is very interesting wine. The color has slight brown tinge at the rim. The nose has very slight funk (smoky), and some minerals (almost soapy). The palate has some red fruits (raspberry) but subdued fruits with raisin and nice long finish with bitter note. We thought of possible Amarone but we are wrong again. This is another one of B&H. This cuvee is made of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. B&H keeps making interesting wines of different styles but this one, even after knowing the identity of the wine, reminded us of Amarone. It is interesting that a real Amarone followed this.

3. Brunelli Amarone Campo Titari 2001, score=2+

Piroca guessed it right because this was brought by Uncle-N (bringing Italian lately), shape of the bottle and helped little bit by the actual taste. The color has some brown tinge. It has somewhat medicinal or creosote-like nose with spices and "milk products" (by Winepath). The palate shows nuts, raisin, with sweet note and long finish with slight bitter taste. We are expecting bit more than this. Despite it was kept in the temperature controlled environment and was laid flat, there was slight wine seepage and cork was very fragile. We are not sure this bottle may have been oxidized too much before this tasting.
This is a definitely "pass".

4. Four Vines "Maverick" Zinfandel" Amador County 2005, Score=2+

The color is light resembling Pinot (but darker than most Pinot). Nice pleasant nose with red fruits especially strawberry, raspberry and blue berry, almost floral note. The taste is also pleasant with nice firm tannin and reasonably long finish. We thought of South of France grapes such as Granache or even Pinot but did not think it is from France or Europe. We did not think of Zin because it has so much red fruits and almost floral nose but this is an example of well-made Zin. We (I) think this has a good PQR.




5. Excelsior Paddock Shiraz South Africa 2005, Score=2

This one was easy for everybody; Shiraz! Everything was there; the nose and taste. The nose has plum and black pepper (not significant meat juice smell, though). New World Shiraz with plum black fruits and peppery finish. Very reasonable wine but not particularly special or complex. We all thought of Australia as an origin and we also discussed South Africa including Pinotage etc. This is indeed from South Africa. We like Excelsior Cab as a reasonable everyday table wine and this one also falls into that category.

Present were: Uncle N (for a short time only), Uncle E, Jimmy, Uncle Piroca, Uncle Winepath with a brief cameo visit from Uncle Grasshopper. We tasted 5 wines, blindly (ALL LABELS WERE COVERED UP). The order in which wines were tasted: see the last one first.
Another Behrens and Hitchcock. Great wine: Kenefick Ranch Cuvee, 2003. A great CABERNET fom Napa, with 15.2% alcohol, these people make enviable wines. It is deeper than the Picasso, but uncle Piroca prefers the former-must be the pussycat label.
Uncle winepath could use this as his table wine. Another 2+ to 3.

Totally unknown, this must be a transplanted vine that came with the Greeks colonizing Sicilly in the antiquity. Some thought this to be a Rhone Valley or "below", Tenuta -Terre Nerre- a grape growing happily in the volcanic ash of Etna. The nose is mineral, the color is like a dark pinot noir. It opened up giving dark espresso chocolate and oatmeal flavors. A2+ or a 2--depending whom you ask. Interesting, but weird wine. This was Grasshoper's favorite.

This was a classic screwtop, making it an Australian; unmistakeably, a shiraz; MacLaren Valley, according to some. Peppery, quite rich, definitely drinkable. Turns out to be a shiraz, but from Barossa. RB: 92 points, not bad considering its modest price tag of $15.99. CAT AMONGST THE PIGEONS appeals to uncle Piroca, who has a weakness for felines. A possible 3, though should have been chilled, before serving. Could like it, on a dark and rainy night, sitting on a three-legged stool in an isolated and haunted forest log-cabbin,

ODE TO PICASSO, by Behrens and Hitchcock-Forward fruit "American Oak" "dirty dishwater" nose ; great mouthfill, smooth with something "green" at the end (don't ask me, it was uncle E who figured this one); could be a high-end south american. Most thought this to be a blend of cab, with cab franc or petit verdot. Well, as usual, not even close. It is Behrens and Hitchcock melange of I don't know what 2004 grapes producing a suprising 15.5% alcohol-containing very drinkable wine, in memory of the famous Pcasso pussycat. A 3, for sure, probably the best tonight.

This wine comes to us from Spain. Clos de L'Obac, Priorat, thought to be an Italian Super Toscan, or even a Californian Cab. Good nose of plum, vanilla cherry; acidic on the mid-palate. A 2 to 2+.

Veraison Synchrony 2002

Winepath and Uncle-N are in Denver attending a meeting. Finally, we (actually winepath) found a nice wine bar in Denver. This is the wine we tasted tonight.

The nose is beautiful with lots of black cherry laced with caramel, vanilla and chocolate. The mouth feel is like silk...smooth. Good fruits of cherry, blue berry, plum with caramel and mocha. Nice silky but firm tannin supports the good amount of fruits and long finish, Very nice wine. The wine bar is called "CRU". A high ceiling with one wall lined with library like shelves stocked with wines and are fitted with a sliding ladder in front. We had a flight of Italian cheeses and California cabs before Veraison. With Veraison, we had seared Ahi tuna and "lollipop" of lambs. Perfect! Before tonight, we tasted Jordan cab 03, Duckhorn Merlot 04, Molly Dooker "Two left feet", Chat de Pez 2002 among others; all of them are respectable but Verasion takes a cake.

Wine tasting on February 29, 08 (leap year)

Today is 29th of February and something strange can happen. As a result we tasted whooping 8 wines and none of them are California Cab! Present were Uncle-N, Piroca, Uncle-E, Jimmy and Winepath. Grasshopper made a very brief apprance and tasted only one.

1. Cuvee Bargeton Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004, score=2+

The color has slight bown tinge at the rim. The nose is very interesting beside cherry, there is meaty nose (liver pate?) and minerals (almost smells like iron). Rather austere palate with black fruits and caramel finish. Rather firm nice tannin. Some thought this Pinot Noir or Grenache. As the origin, Italian, Washington State were mentioned. This one is 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault, and 5% Syrah blend aged two-thirds in small barrels and one-third in foudre.

2. Aquilon Garnacha 2005, Score=3+ to 4

Piroca did it again. everybody was sure that this is one of the high-end CaliCab. The color is dark almost black. The nose is characteristic new world with tons of vanilla, caramel, hint of coconuts and predominant black cherry. Smooth mouth feel with lots of vanilla and caramel in addition to fruits. Nice structured tannin and long finish keep re-tasting caramel and vanilla.

This is the high end of the Alto Moncayo that we tasted in the last tasting. Again, we are astounded how they makes this type of new world wine from 100% Garnacha. Although this is very nice wine, some (like Uncle-E) will object saying "Grape soda pop, too much wood derived tastes". Nevertheless, this is definitely the best of the tasting.

3. Chateau Haut-Brisson St. Emillion 2004, Score=2

The nose has some cedar note (moth ball by Winepath) but no funk. The palate is austere with nice tannin and sour cherry. Short finish. Non-Australian syrah (North American but not French) was mentioned. Some thought of European in origin.

We are disappointed with this one especially in terms of finding non 2005 vintage and reasonably-priced Bordeaux.


4. Pasodoble 2005, Score=1+

The nose is not particularly pleasant; "salted plum"(if you are familiar with this item called "Umeboshi") and sardine juice. Very one dimensional taste with sour cherry and weak tannin. Hollow mid palate and short finish. What a disappointment! Some suggested that this is a bad bottle.

This is a red-blend from Argentina with a blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Malbec, and 33% Syrah sourced from a 20 year old vineyard and aged for 12 months in French oak. It is hard to believe this one got 90 from WA (Jay Miller). I quote from three wine experts (Are they talking about the same wine???):

"it exhibits an expressive perfume of cedar, spice box, pepper, black currants, black cherry, and blueberry. Smooth-textured, elegant, and tasty, this nicely balanced Bordeaux look-alike...Bodegas Poesia is owned by Bordeaux proprietors Helene Garcin and Patrice Leveque, with Leveque doubling as winemaker with consultation from Dr. Alain Raynaud." - Jay Miller (WA)

"Huge Flavors and the kind of wine I would want people to buy 3 cases of."- Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine library)

"An equal part blend of Malbec, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, totally tank fermented and aged, this is a deliciously dark-fruited wine (blackberries and currants), has silky tannin, medium body, and plenty of personality." - Robert Parker.

5. Vina Cobos Cocodrilo Cab Sauv 2006, Score=3

Nose is unusual and rather closed. Some described as "wet wool" and sweet note. The palate is nice with black fruits, caramel and vanilla and smooth soft tannin. Most thought this to be North American (California) Cab. This is from Mendosa, Argentina but is made by Paul Hobbs. Not bad and it tastes similar to Cali Cab but with a much better value.






6. Edmond et David Duclaux Cote Rotie 2000, Score=2

The nose is not pleasant with "burnt" hair, rubber tire and a hint of anise. Very austere palate with short finish and one dimensional. We thought European, most likely French (not Bordeaux).






7. Valsacro Dioro Rioja 2001, score=1

I forgot to take a picture of the label (Freudian slip!). I think the vintage was 2001 but Uncle-E, please let me know if I am wrong.

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).

8. CARO Amancaya Mendosa Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=2+

The nose is nice as compared to the previous one particularly, with cherry and some grapiness. The palate is rather simple with some black fruits and grapy and cherry flavors. Rather short finish. Malbec blend from South America and North American Cab were mentioned. Winepath said that he and Junebug have tasted this very recently but he could not identify this wine (although many of us are spitting wines, just whatever left in the mouth makes you feel like you have drunken quite a bit and 8th wine may not have the attention this one should warrant. The 2006 Amancaya is composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Malbec aged for 12 months in French oak, 25% new. It got 91 from RP.