Baltimore Offline II

[brappy]

Well, we had a great time at Samos once again. The food here is outstanding. After trying several of the restaurants in Greektown here in Baltimore, my conclusion is Samos does what they do the best. The place is unassuming; the service spotty , but pleasant. But what really makes this place stand out is the corkage policy. They really don't have one. Usually, the corkage is $2/person. This time it was a flat rate $2...... for the whole table.

Now for the wines:

Quilceda Creek Red '99
This wine is a blend with Cabernet the predominate grape. The nose is dominated by red fruit (cherries and others) with a touch of earth. A touch of green is there as well but only enough to give the wine some complexity. The palate showed the same without the green component. This was the first wine poured before any food hit the table. The wine showed wonderfully at that time, but didn't match well with the food. The food almost neutralized the flavors in the wine. The finish completely dropped off.

Robert Biale "Black Chicken" Zinfandel, '03
What a great wine this was. The nose had a mixture of black and red fruits along with a minute touch of mint. Very little stewed fruit which is so common for a Zin's nose. The palate had much of the same with a great heavy midpalate. The finish was long and full of sweet tannins. All this and the alcohol (16%) was not even evidenced.

The Colonial Estate "Etranger" Cabernet Sauvignon, '04, Barossa
The nose had plenty of red fruits along with super ripe plums. The palate has much of the same. However starting at the midpalate, eucalyptus was evident. It came on strong and sweet. This wine was extremely juicy, ripe, and just outrageous. The finish would not finish. Great juice. Was my WOtN.

Lynmar Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, "Quail Hill Vineyard", '04
At fist the nose of the wine had too much smoke from the char of the barrel. The red fruits were definately there, but the smoke was just invasive. However, this blew off somewhat, and the smoke went into the background. The palate had more red fruit; dried red cherries and there was a touch of tabacco resin. This pinot noir was full bodied. Great long finish. This was much better than the last bottle I opened about 6 months ago. Just got better and better with time.

Gunderlock Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese, '02 Rheinhessen, Germany
Minerals, or more specifically, wet stones along with citrus and honeysuckle on the nose. The palate has the same but the minerals have slid into the background almost to the point of not even being there. the acid balanced out the sweetness of this wine beautifully. This bottle didn't last and went great with the desert. Jane might be able to say what the desert was, because other than honey , pastry and some sort of custard-like substance, I don't remember the name. I do know I couldn't stop eating it or drinking the desert wine.

As always, it was great to see Jane. Some friends of mine joined us at the last minute which made for a more festive time. Can't wait for the next one. Maybe we'll have even more people.

Thanks again Jane (Wonders)

mark