Merus 2005 with diner

Finally we had a chance to taste Merus 05. After the rave review by Piroca, it was overdue but we needed a right food with it. First, when we pulled the cork, there are lots of "wine sludge" which after drying became wine stones/crystals. Because of this, we decanted for several hours before tasting. Although we can not describe this wine as eloquently as Piroca did, it is a wonderful wine. The fruits are plentiful but not over-the-top and went very well with mild blue cheese to begin. The entre was a very simple steak: Medium rare fillet mignon with sauce made of port wine and balsamic vinegar reduction infused with shiitake mushroom stem, shallots, and rosemary. This was accompanied by a side of oven fried French fries, Shiitake mushroom, jumbo asparagus and carrot. Classic "turf" and the wine went extremely well. This highly extracted wine brimmed with black fruits, well integrated tannin, even this young, enhanced and complimented the food so nicely.

Tastin of 4-18-08

Present were Winepath, Uncle-N, Piroca, Jimmy and Grassopper. As usual, we tasted 6 wines blindly and also tasted Jimmy’s cooked Larkmead to see how heat affected the wine.


1. Pahlmeyer Sonoma Pinot Noir 2005, score=2+~3

Lighter color than our usual wine but much darker than regular Pinot or Burgundy. The nose is slightly sweet red fruits (raspberry and blueberry) with floral note (Lilly of the valley). The palate reflects the nose in that red fruits taste predominates. There is some spice component. It has mild well-modulated tannin and reasonably long finish. We thought Pinot and Grenache. We did not think this is Burgundy since no earthiness or funk is detected. It turned out Pahlmeyer Pinot from Sonoma. The wine maker’s note read, “The whole, de-stemmed berries were then fermented in short, open-topped stainless steel tanks and cold-soaked using native yeasts. The wine was aged for 15 months in French oak barrels and then bottled without fining or filtration”. RP gave 91-93 in 2006. We all like this one as far as Pinot goes but PQR is not good.

2. Sonador Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Score=2+

This looks and smells like classic Cali Cab. Dark color with black cherry nose with vanilla. It is not a fruits bomb but lots of black fruits with some vanilla and caramel with nice tannin but short finish. We all thought this is Cali Cab. Actually, We tasted Sonador cab in the barrel tasting last Friday. Wineath and Piroca liked this but Uncle-N thought the nose was very unpleasant. This is a blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 9% petite verdot, and 6% merlot.




3. Chateau de Langagnac Bordeaux Superieur 2005, score=2

The nose has cedar, citrus, and coffee component without any hint of funk. The palate is rather austere with thin mid-palate and mild tannin and short finish. Nobody thought this is Bordeaux. Some thought this is Garnacha from Spain. This is the 2005 inexpensive Bordeaux that Wall Street Journal selected as the best tasting. To quote their description “(Bordeaux Supérieur) Good/Delicious Best of tasting. The nose immediately says, "Fine stuff," with earth, tobacco and juicy fruit. Well balanced and nicely complex. Even better after an hour. Remarkably complete for such a young, inexpensive wine.” Interesting side note is that only about 2,000 cases of the wine were exported to the U.S. and it is very difficult to find this wine. Especially after this article appeared in WSJ, the price of this wine has gone up quite a bit. Uncle-N found this being sold in one of the New York Wine merchants and had to wait for 3 months to get them but it is not worth the effort. The idea is that 2005 is such a great year and even very small-unknown Bordeaux producers made a good one.

4. Martin Ray Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Score=3 (4)

The nose has slight funk; by Piroca it smells like “rabbit stew cooking in the peasant kitchen with its floor just washed” and also charcoal with nice black fruits. The palate is also nice with well-intergraded black fruits and firm tannin and good long finish. Most of us thought this is the best in the tasting. Some suggested that this is Larkmead cab.
Wine and Spirits gave 94 with this note: "Bryan Davison of Martin Ray purchased the fruit for this wine from the Van der Kamp Vineyard, 1,400 feet up Sonoma Mountain on a northwest-facing slope. (He also blended in a small amount of fruit from Eaglepoint Ranch in Mendocino.) The soils range from red volcanic loam at the top of the vineyard to clay farther down, producing a remarkably delicate cabernet with mineral complexity. Dark flavors of woodland berries weave into the ferrous tannin, feeling strong without any overt muscularity. It's beautiful from the moment the aroma hits, and the fruit impression lasts. It's alive.”

5. North by North West Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, score=2+

The nose has pungent chemical smell with sweaty foot. Rather controlled black fruits with god tannin and reasonable finish. Bit Bordeaux-like but we thought this is Cali Cab but turned out to be Washington State Cab. The label is interesting showing all the information of making of this wine including vineyards from where grapes came from. The blend is 90% cab and10% Merlot. I included a larger label picture for you to read the entire wine making specs.


6. Chateau Hartmann Grand Vin Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=2+

Although this was disguised in Caymus bottle with paper covering, as soon as it was poured Piroca and Uncle-N detected this is Ch Hartmann because of light ad turbid color. The nose has floral note with sweet red fruits mild tannin and good finish. Although it does not quite taste like 100% cab it is quite drinkable. The turbidity does not affect the taste but it does not look right. We are sure Winepath will refine his techniques in the future to produce excellent wines. Look forward to tasting 2007 vintage.
WINEMAKER'S NOTE:
The Chateau Hartmann 2006 is made of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, both imported from Lodi, CA to Baltimore, where it was transpoted to the "Chateau". Maceration lasted 8 days, Brix 25 and 24 for the C.S and Merlot respectively; fermentation was done in separate casks with Red Pasteur yeast. The cap was broken manually 3 times a day. We used cheese cloth to strain the skins and the runoff. The wine was placed into carboys at this point and racked three times; then it was put into a new french oak barrel (CS) and a used Moravian oak barrel (Merlot), for 6 months. The wine was then blended 80:20 (CS:Merlot), bottled and stored for 11 months in the Chateau's caves.

0. Jimmy’s heat stressed Larkmead cab 2005

Definitely we can detect heat stress. The nose has strange toasted smell and lost some of the fruits characters on the palate but still quite drinkable.

Merus Cabernet Sauvignon, Vintage 2005, Score=5

Mark Herold's most recent release is a deep red/purple, opaque and intense fruit-loaded Cabernet Sauvignon blend (94% Cabernet Sauvignon with 6% of Petit verdot and Malbec) that can be considered a mamouth of a wine.  It resembles, in my opinion, not the previous vintages from this successful "garagiste" winemaker, but some of the other wines he has helped create, more specifically the Buccella vintages of 2003 and 2004.  There is a wonderful nose of mixed blackberry, black raspberry and boysenberry jam, licorice, smoke and caramelized toasted oak.  This intense, yet balanced wine enters the palate assertively and explodes like a true Napa Valley fruit bomb.  The flavors are as intense and mirror what its aromas reveal.  The finish is extra long, with the intoxicating flavors remaining in the palate for minutes, not seconds.  I shall certainly try to get at least a couple of more bottles of this impressive wine.  Robert Parker gave the Merus 2005 a score of 96 points, but considered the wine to be somewhat young and in need of additional cellaring time before consumption.  I don't think I agree with RP entirely.  I think the Merus Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is ready now as it will be for years to come.

Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 - Score=5

Maybe because of the dull and "oak jam"-laced wine tasting experience I had Friday, and in spite of already having a date with many wine glasses on Saturday night,  I decided to pop the cork of this Napa Valley legendary wine yesterday afternoon.  I had the opportunity to taste different vintages of the Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon blend (1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003) and although I neglected to take tasting notes in any of those occasions, I still remember vividly that the wines from this historically important vineyard impressed me with their equilibrium and extreme finess. Uncle Winepath and I both thought that a premier French Bordeaux wine should taste like the Araujo Eisele when we tried a bottle of the 2001 vintage for the first time.  This masterpiece would even please the finicky Bordeaux wine fans that are so fast to use the cliche that Napa Valley Bordeaux-type blends are so fruit-foward that they compete rather than complement food.  The 2003 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet, exudes aromas of flowers, red currant, minerals and earth and inundates the palate with similar flavors.  The finish lasts for well over a minute.  This is an expensive wine.  However, we only get one chance on this Earth and therefore, I think it is money well spent.  Things likes this are not going to be available in either Heaven or Hell.  Robert Parker gave this 88% cabernet sauvignon, 9% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot blend an almost perfect score of 98 points.

Tasting on April 11, 2008

Present were Piroca, Jimmy, Uncle-N, Winepath, and Uncle-E. Afterwards Grasshopper made a guest appearance. Except for Shafer, all other wines were blindly tasted and they appear in the order we tasted.

0. Shafer one point five 2005, Heat-stressed?

This was Jimmy’s secret stash but the room he was storing got very hot (140F) due to equipment failure and the 1/3 cork was pushed out breaking the foil and some wine leakage. This was then kept in the 56F (in wine refrigerator) for several days. We just wanted to taste if in deed we can tell the difference.
The nose is just fine and the taste is mostly fine. If there are any differences, these are very subtle. Piroca and Jimmy felt that unctuousness was lost but the rest of us could not tell the differences.

1. Jordan cabernet Sauvignon 2004, score=2~3

The nose has some earthiness (another word “funk”) with wet leaves and mushroom in addition to black cherry. Sweet potato, cedar and green pepper were also mentioned by the tasters. The palate is better with good black fruits, caramel and decent but "could be longer" finish and firm but well-moderated tannin but taste more like old world without fruits too much forward. We just tasted this again since we recently tasted this in a restaurant when Uncle-N and Winepath were in Denver and we may not have given adequate attention to it. Most of the tasters felt this is European, may be Bordeaux or Italian (Tuscan?) but uncle-E decisively stated this is a Cali Cab based on “green pepper” nose.

2. Loan Shiraz Barossa valley 2003, Score=2 ~ 3

Dark almost black color and Piroca announced “Shiraz” from Australia without sniffing or tasting. Nice plumy nose with cedar, smoked meat and saddle leather (we cam up with this without knowing the RP note). Piroca felt there is too much oak nose and described as "oak-jam"). The palate is also nice with viscous buttery mouth feel with plum and black fruits with some smoky taste. No black pepper finish was noted. Definitely a new world wine. Finish could be longer. Most of us though this is Australian Shiraz, possibly one of the M-D and liked this and gave a 3 but this is not Uncle-E’s cap of tea (or wine). RP gave a 94 to this one and the below are his note.

"The 2003 Shiraz spent 25 months in new American oak hogsheads. It offers up an alluring bouquet of cedar, saddle leather, violets, smoked meat, and blueberry compote. Full-bodied, opulent, and intensely flavored, this super rich Shiraz has a long, pure finish. There is enough structure to support 6-8 years in the cellar and it should drink well through 2025. Loan was the second farm planted in the history of the Barossa. Today the Loan property is the only certified organic vineyard in the Barossa."
-Wine Advocate

3. Coppola Diamond Collection Claret 2006, Score=2+

The nose has candied fruits and wood-derived smells including caramel. The palate is also "oak"-derived with good tannin. We could not place this wine but thought of Spanish or Malbec. It was like an old world wine. Here is the description from the Winery.

"Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Black Label Claret, as its British-derived name implies, is Cabernet Sauvignon-based and made in the same style as Bordeaux's finest wines. A blend of the classic Bordeaux varietals — Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc."

4. Juslyn cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Score=3

The nose is very intense with sulfa or chemical smell and some minerality. Cruciferous (cabbage) vegetable nose was also noted. Some of us thought the nose is not pleasant. The taste is better than nose but again, heavy in oak with black cherry. It is rather Bordeaux-like. Nice tannin and long finish. This is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. RP gave it a 93.







5. Callaghan (Arizona) Back lot cuvee 2004, Score=2+

The color is lighter than usual wines we taste which immediately made us think of Pinot (especially this was brought by Uncle-E). The nose is very fragrant almost perfumy. The palate has more floral tastes (rose petal etc) with red fruits and sweet note. Very mild tannin and short finish. We thought this could be Rhone blend, may be Grenache, may be Pinotage (since this was screw top, Australia, Spanish, and South Africa were considered). But this was a very unusual wine from Arizona, blend of 82% mourvedre and 38% syrah.

Bond St. Eden, Vintage 2002, Score=5

There is nothing like treating yourself with a great wine after an intense workout session, and that is exactly what I did.  I have tasted this Bill Harlan/Bob Levy/Michel Rolland product before and recollect as being very good, although not as good as I thought it was yesterday. The wine is deep red/purple, seems to be impenetrable to light and has legs that are long, sinuous and sensuous.  After swirling the glass several times, this creature gave my nose an unforgettably pleasurable experience.  There were sweet black currant and star fruit compote aromas, spicy oak, a touch of vanilla, and asphalt/rubber tire highlights that made this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon very exquisite. Its myriad of tastes is capable of taking a person directly to Mount Olympus, to enjoy the company of Gods or Goddesses, whichever you prefer.  There is a perfect balance of the four major wine components. This viscous elixir coats the palate evenly as it releases sweet notes of black currant and other black berries, caramel, vanilla and fragrant oak. Uncle RP gave this beauty 96 points and he is right again.  The finish goes for over one minute.

TASTINGS ON APRIL 4, FRIDAY STARTING AT 17:05 HOURS.

Present were:uncles Jimmy, Piroca, E, winepath and a new guest taster, uncle Ozi. Except the Pine Ridge, the wines were tasted blind, in the order shown below. This first bottle has fooled us all-we could not guess that this was an Amarone. Color of garnet and roses. A wonderful nose of quince jam, sweet rosehips, mandarin. Sweet taste (should have given this wine away), reminded uncle Piroca of Christmas. Winepath thought it had a long finish of violets, but it turned out that he had never eaten violets, so how did he know. This wine was, according to some, the best of four tasted. The scores varied somewhat: uncle Jimmy:3-; Piroca:3-; E: 3; uncle winepath: 4.

We tasted this wine next. A suprising malbec from Argentina. Some people could guess what it was, Very elegant wine. Purple color, with cab nose, jus de viande-you know the story...also: licorice, with some funk in there. Sophisticated palate of plums (more like prunes), with sour cherry and citrus finish. Also, burned rubber, asphalt were mentioned by uncles E and Piroca. This wine really evolved as the evening progressed, revealing hidden layers of aroma. Generally, the consensus was a 3, except Uncle E, who gave it a 2+.

Uncle winepath, who immediately declared this to be an Australian shiraz, was wrong, again. This is El Felino, a nice malbec from Argentina, imported by Paul Hobbs. Purple color, with a pleasing caramel and black cherry flavor. All agreed on 3 points, except Uncle Ozi, our new guest taster, who declared this to be a 4. He explained that this was because in his youth he drank lots of cheap wines, being a student and so this to him tasted very good.

This Napa special, supplied by Uncle E, was not a disappointment (he has had 3 previous bottles of this, possibly spoiled): well aged (11 years), smoky, mature Bordeaux-style cab, made in California. Nice funk nose (not fungus-like), pine resin. Good, long finish, with layers of charcoal, velvety bitter chocolate. Unanimous verdict: a 3