First wine tasting of 2010 on January 8

This was a special tasting since it was the very first tasting of 2010 and we were cerebrating our personal good fortune of a kind. Present were all core members (uncle-N, Jimmy, Piroca, and Winepath) sans Uncle-E who missed some quite good wines. There was a later guest appearance of Uncle-oz. We tasted 6 good wines.

1. Haran Maiden 1995, Score=4

Color has brown rim indicating age. Nose is very nice with floral and cherry but slight musty basement smell which became more apparent on the second tasting (15 minutes later). No green pepper or herbal nose was detected. Palate has nice upfront black fruit which is well controlled leading to good smooth well-integrated tannin. Good long lingering finish. Our initial reaction was this is an aged Cali cab. We estimated 1994-1997 (we were right then) but, after the second tasting, we thought this could be a Bordeaux, although it is a very good one with nice fruit. We were persuaded by the nose. This turned out to be the very first vintage of "the Maiden" from Harlan Estate! This is made of 100% Cabernet franc.

90 points, Robert Parker, Wine Advocate December 1998
"...an outstanding offering (300 cases made from 100% Cabernet Franc). It possesses a dense, murky ruby/purple color, and an expressive, cedary, leathery, spicy nose with plenty of black fruits. Some minerality comes through, but this complex, evolved yet structured, full-bodied wine is an amazing second wine..."

90 points, Stephen Tanzer May 1999
"...Slightly inky aromas of pungent black raspberry, black plum, minerals and Cuban tobacco. High-pitched yet lush on the palate, with black raspberry, tobacco and mineral flavors. Still, not nearly as dense as the above. Firmly built and persistent..."

We think the age has improved this wine except probably the nose. There are still lots of fruit but well-controlled and balanced. Tannin has mellowed and very silky smooth. If we are usig 100 score system, we will probably give 93 or more. We wonder if RB and ST tasted this now, they will give higher scores.

2. Juslyn Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=3+

Color is dark garnet. Nose has slight funk, minerals with chocolate and coffee. Piroca sensed "gasoline' smell which he said he likes (he must have been sniffing something in his youth). Palate is dark chocolate covered in black cherry (chocolate is very prominent) with caramel ending in very smooth well-integrated tannin and lingering long finish. Very nice wine. Initially, Spanish specifically Priorat was mentioned but everybody settled in for California cab. It was indeed a Cali Cab from Juslyn vineyard.

92 points Robert Parker Wine Advocate December 2007
"The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard Select originates from purchased fruit, primarily Beckstoffer-owned vineyards such as To-Kalon. There are approximately 800 cases of this wine. The 2004 exhibits wonderful elegant, almost Pauillac-like notes of cedar, spice box, black currant, and a hint of underbrush. The wine has soft tannins, medium to full body, ripe fruit, but beautiful balance and overall symmetry. This is an elegant but substantial wine to drink over the next 10-15 years."

About the Vineyard:
"When British ex-patriots Perry and Carolyn Butler moved to California in 1982, they never dreamed they would own 42 acres of prime vineyard land in the heart of Napa Valley. They arrived in California as high-tech pioneers and founded their own computer company in the San Francisco Bay area. After routine 80-hour work weeks, the couple relaxed during weekend trips to Napa Valley, where they were bitten by the wine bug. Dreams of high-tech dominance soon turned to thoughts of returning to the land and grape growing."

"In 1997, their dream became a reality when Perry and Carolyn sold their computer business and founded Juslyn Vineyards on a site overlooking the renowned Spring Mountain Winery. (The name, Juslyn, is derived from the names, Justine-the Butlers' daughter-and Carolyn.) In 1998, they made their first vintage of Juslyn from grapes purchased from Andy Beckstoffer as they waited patiently for their own vines to mature. Their patience paid in 2000, when they were able to harvest their estate for the first time to produce 80 cases of Spring Mountain cabernet sauvignon."

3. Ghost pine Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=3~3+

Color is nice dark purple. Nose has jammy note (grape jam-jelly). Palate has "lilac" (as per Winepath. I nerve tasted lilac-I assume flowers, so I have no idea what kind of taste this is), and berries (black berries and boysenberries) leading to rather mild tannin. This wine definitely has New World and young tastes. Reasonable finish. Malbec blend from Argentina was suggested.

So happened we tasted this before. One of us tasted 07 which was not as good but we will taste it sometime in the near future. To see how consistent we are here is the quote from the previous post:

"Nose is bit closed but it has a pleasant cab nose. Palate is also pleasant with black fruits, usual vanilla and some plum. Nice but not overly assertive tannin with some acidic finish and some chocolate and espresso note. Consensus was Cali Cab and this was Ghost Pine 06.

We tasted 05 vintage Ghost pine Cab before and gave score=3. We said, “Nose is bit closed but no funk and slight red fruits. It was bit warm when tasted. Taste is rather austere at first but after some time, it opened up (as per Winepath and Jbug, the wine tasted better next day) with nice complex tastes of berries, cherries with vanilla and caramel tastes in the finish. Nice solid tannin. To us, this is more subtle than many of the Napa or Australian fruits bombs but it is more sophisticated and complex.”

06 is made from 72% Napa and 28% Sonoma cab. This in one of the expanding Gallo brands and Louis Martini Vineyards (which was bought by Gallo in 2002) is making Ghost pine. 2006 is similar to 05 and a nice good cab for the price (the price has gone up significantly from 05). Reportedly, RP gave 90 but can not confirm it."

4. Bond Vecina 2002, Score=4+

Color is very dark, almost black. Nose is a bit grapey with floral and chocolate notes. Palate is exploding with fruit, mostly black fruit laced with chocolate, vanilla, and caramel leading to big assertive but pleasant tannin. Very long lasting finish. We all liked this wine the best among all nice wines we tasted this evening. We said a high-end Cali Cab. Harlan estate wines (Maiden?), One of the Bond were suggested. This is Bond Vecina 2002!

95 points Robert Parker Wine Advocate Issue 162

"The big, rich, brawny 2002 Vecina Proprietary Red is a primordial, tannic beast with a beef blood-like concentration, a huge, opaque purple color, and notes of scorched earth, blackberries, chocolate, camphor, roasted meats, and cassis. It's as if I took an aged porterhouse steak from Peter Lugar's famed restaurant, put it in a Cuisinart, and aged it in new French oak. Give this amazing wine 5-6 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 20-25 years"

95 points Wine Spectator

"Smooth, rich and polished, with a seductive array of blackberry, currant and black cherry fruit that glides across the palate. This is a complex, deeply concentrated wine with tannins that are ripe and round, even silky for its age. 400 cases made."

About Bond:
"In his ongoing quest to produce world class wine in the tradition of 1st Growth Bordeaux, Bill Harlan - of Harlan Estate fame - started Bond to create single vineyard wines from sources meeting his high growing standards. Winemaker Robert Levy produces 4 vineyard designate wines: Melbury, St. Eden, Vecina and Pluribus, as well as a blend called The Matriarch. Levy's goal is for each wine to take on the unique expression of its vineyard site and Bill Harlan's ultimate plan is to produce wines from a total of 6 unique vineyards. The wines are known for their lush, deeply concentrated flavors, and their elegance and finesse, which Bill and Robert feel define them as the "Grand Crus" of Napa. Fewer than 1,500 cases of the Matriarch, and between 400 and 700 cases of the vineyard designates are produced annually."

5. Anaperenna 2006, Score=3

Color is extremely dark, almost black. Nose has faint burned sugar note. Palate has good black fruit leading to big tannin. This has very interesting mouth feel; almost effervescent which could be a reflection of crisp acidity. Because of the color, Shiraz was first mentioned, although it lacks black pepper, plum, and Jus du viende. Cali Cab was another possibility mentioned. This is Anaperenna 2006 which we had before. Again I quote firm the previous post, again to see our consistency.

"Color is nicely dark. Nose has lot of berries (raspberry and blueberry) and hint of black pepper and faint brunt rubber smell. Again, palate is nice without being fruits bomb. Nice firm tannin and slightly acidic finish. Nice wine. All thought this had to be a Cab; California, Australia or Argentina. This turned out to be "Anaperenna 2006" from Barossa valley. it is made of predominantly Shiraz somewhat similar to Anwilka but again we though this tasted more like Cab than Shiraz. We have tasted the previous vintage (2005) from the wine maker Ben Glaetzer when it was called "Godolphin" on November 24, 08 and gave 2+~3+ score. 2006 is as good as 2005. Godolphin appears to be name of the breed of horse and/or stable and a trademark dispute made him change the name but not the symbol on the label."

94-97 Points - Jay Miller - The Wine Advocate,
"The 2006 Shiraz (75%) - Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) 'Anaperenna' is the wine formerly known as Godolphin, the change resulting from a trademark dispute. It was aged for 15 months in new French and American oak. Opaque purple, it offers a sensational bouquet of pain grille, scorched earth, meat, game, blueberry, and black currants. This is followed by a surprisingly elegant yet powerful, structured wine with gobs of spicy fruit, ripe tannins, and a plush texture. The long, 60-second finish is succulent and sweet. Give this classy wine 4-6 years in the cellar and enjoy it through 2030."

We are not sure we will give this high score but it is a good wine.

6. Clio 2006, Score=3+

Color is dark with purple-garnet. Nose has mineral and coconut. Palate has tones of upfront fruit with chocolate and caramel leading to big chewy but pleasant tannin. Good lingering finish. Nice wine for sure. It is definitely New World in style. Cai cab will be our first choice. It came in a body builder bottle. Judging from the bottle and wine, the only other choice is Spain. Clio was then mentioned. We all settled on Clio as the final choice. We were right!

This one we tasted before. Again, I will quote from our previous post.

"Nice floral nose with vanilla and slight earthiness on the nose. (After cover was lifted, suddenly, Piroca smelled coconuts--- Aah, power of suggestion). Nice fruits forward wine with mixed black and red fruits with nice firm tannin. This is a nice wine. Australian Shiraz, Argentinean Malbec were suggested. Cab+Merlot or Merlot from California was also suggested. As usual, all were wrong. We should have identified this wine since we all tasted it more than once before and we liked this wine. This is 06 Clio."

“The consulting winemaker at Bodegas El Nido is Chris Ringland of Barossa Valley fame. Clio is 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 70% Monastrell (from 63-year-old vines) which received malolactic fermentation in new oak followed by 26 months of aging in new French and American barriques.” “96 pts Robert Parker on the 2005 vintage, 97 pts Robert Paker on the 04 vintatge, 93 pts Robert Parker on the 2003 vintage”

"We agree that 04 is the best but o6 is close behind. The last time we tasted this, we gave 3+~4. Now, we getting bit stingy in giving out the scores."