Post Bday notes

[brappy]

We got together for another tasting here at the house. So my notes are just quick thoughts on the wines and not really tasting notes.

1. Chardonnay, "The Le Bas" '03 Woodside Valley Estate, Western Australia, Margaret River. This wine is very burgundian-like. Great fruit with minerality, some malo and some oak. Very well balanced. If anyone opens a bottle of this, give it plenty of air time. Maybe even decant.

2. Chardonnay, Vineyard 7 & 8, Vineyard 8, '02, Spring Mountain, Napa. Great balance, well made, a touch of honeysuckle on the back end; easy drinker

3. Chardonnay, Chalone Vineyard, '97 Amazing how youthful the fruit is on this one. The wood has not taken over the fruit in the least. You can tell there is some age on this one, but the balance is still there. Really a great wine.

4. Pinot Noir, Soter, North Valley, Oregon, '05. Good concentrated Pinot fruit.Definate earthy tones in the background. Not quite old style and not quite new style Pinot.

5. Zinfandel, Rabbit Ridge reserve, '97. Yep a '97 zin from Rabbit Ridge. This was probably the biggest surprise of the evening. No loss of color; no bricking at all. Wow, great fruit. Interesting thing is the fruit does not at all remind me of a Zin. If I tasted this blind, I would have said an early 90s cab. No stewed fruit, and no dark fruits. Nice wine.

6. Cabernet Sauvignon, Mayacamus, '95. Nose of fruit and dirt; palate is dominating with unripe red cherries. Drink this up if you have it because the acid has taken this out of balance. Don't get me wrong here, the wine is certainly drinkable and even enjoyable but it won't hold any longer.

7. Cabernet Sauvignon, Dominus, '95. Red fruit and earth in perfect harmony on the nose; some toast as well. Palate has much of the same. The tannins still need a couple of years to fully flesh out, but this baby is drinking beautifully right now. This year is quickly becoming my favorite Dominus. Glad I still have one left.

8. Cabernet Sauvignon, Freemark Abbey, "Bosche" '97. Interesting wine. Certainly youthful with great balanced fruit; great concentration, this wine could go on for another 10 years. However there is a flavor both on the nose and palate I can't place. Annoying little flavor. Oily slate, petrol, something like that.

9. Champagne, Veuve Cliquot Yellow NV. Yeast and wood on the nose with green apple mixed in. Same on the palate but the fruit is very much the primary flavor. We wanted to do this to give our palates a quick break. Very enjoyable.

10. Cab, Syrah, Merlot blend, CMS, Columbia Valley, Washington, '04. Great nose, creamy fruit; red and darker fruits. The palate is extremely full, great fruit. I was just told the price of this young wine. $12!!!! This is without a doubt the best QPR I've had this year. Pick this up if you can.

11. Cabernet Sauvignon, Vineyards 7 & 8, Vineyard 7, '02, Spring Mountain. Great nose... almost a sweet nose of red fruit. Not quite as concentrated on the palate as the nose would have me believe. But a beauty still. This was opened 8 hours ago, probably too long, but still has the flavors to beg for more.

12. Cabernet Sauvignon, Regusci, Napa, '02. Sad. The bottle is completely flat. We're sending this one back. Have drank many of these bottles and they've all been beautiful. Oh well......

13. Tempranillo?? Lan Edision Limitada '03. I'm guessing 100% Tempranillo. Touch of dried fruits and smoke, but otherwise red fruits on the nose. Palate is full of red fruits. Great wine; great acidity. I've never seen this designation from this producer, but I'm glad I was able to taste it.

14. Quiterelli Guiseppe, '97, Italy. Don't know the grapes here. My only note on this wine was "Wow, what a great palate". I believe I was starting to fade out here. I'll have to open another bottle sometime soon.

15. Oliver Hill Shiraz '05, McClaren Vale, Australia. Great stuff was all i wrote for this one as well.

All in all, this was a great tasting/quaffing. My birthday tastings are getting better and better. So getting older is a pleasure.

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