something lately I've just been jonesing for is California syrah. This past friday I had a few friends over for some sonoma county syrah as we wanted to take a bit more of a look into the cooler climate syrahs and also take a look into different producer styles and terroir of sonoma

here's a link to the TNs that I corraled into an TN event on Cellar Tracker:

http://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=5799

it really did show off the different styles and for my taste, I preferred the Culler Griffen, but all of them were excellent syrahs and nowhere near as hot as some of the alban's that I've tried before(and all of these wines were all between 14.7-15.2 alcohol, so they were able to tame teh heat better then many of the young alban's that I've had)


I should have notes up this week at some point as I'm going to a 2006 Cali Pinot Tasting tonight. I'll also have a montelena vertical up at some point this week as my store is having one tommorrow night, so I should be able to taste what's being poured(they will all be young montelenas as its 98-04)

KDawg:

Regarding blind taste tests. What we did at the parties was only semi-organized and a lot of fun. That said some of the party goers were really "into" wine, going on taste tours at wineries and taking wine appreciation classes or whatever. But in the blind tastes tests (essentially we covered the bottles with a paper bag and numbered them and rated what we like by number) even the more expert tasters often liked the cheaper wine (including the under two dollar no label wine from Bevmo).

Have there ever been more serious blind taste tests of similar wines (with varying price points, let's say five dollars to fifty dollars) and the results published?

My guess is if the results came out similar to those at the parties I've attended I suspect the wine industry wouldn't want the outcome widely known.

~ Rick

rick, there certainly has. On the ERobert Parker forum, there is a european group of tasters called the Grand Jury Europe'en(GJE for short). They have routinely done blind tastings of various bordeaux estates shortly after release(as in maybe two or three years) and the results have been mixed.

Some of the highly prestigous estates have done great, others not so much(cheval blanc being in particular, but I can say from experience, that is a wine that generally needs a good 20 years post vintage in a great vintage to really come around, and 15 in very good vintages).

Same goes for some of the estates from satellite communes that don't charge as much per bottle. Notably Reignac has done very well in these tastings and the 05 is the most expensive Reignac ever at 29.99 per bottle.

The washington DC members of Ebob have done a fair amount of tastings similar to teh GJE, but with more varietals then just bordeaux


I will say that within the next 6-8 weeks, I'll be having a small tasting of under $20 wines at my place. I may slip in a higher priced wine or two into the lineup since it'll be blind and there isn't really much of a restriction on what is being brought other then it be red and it work well with a bordeaux glass(so, no pinot and no barbera). The results will be interesting, and hopefully enlightening

Not alot to add here in terms of detailed content as there is no way I could really describe a wine. I do drink a pretty good amount, pretty much all reds except for very dry chardonnay and sauvignon blanc during the summer. I am not a big fan of merlot b/c the cheap ones I buy tend to have an overwhelming tanic acidity.

Lately I have been trying to buy good Australian, Chilean, and Argentinian wines as they are a much better bang for the buck. Wish I could remember the specific Malbec I had the other night as it was very good.

First of all: I mostly mentioned Burgundies because I felt that I needed to recommend a red, and Red Burgundies are, IMO, easily the best red match for sushi.

Now, with that said, I think it really depends on what kind of sushi you're having. If you're just having a couple of rolls and that's it, I think you have to pass on the Burg all together. But once the dishes start getting a little more substantial, think fatty tuna, miso sabelfish, cooked scallops, etc. that is where your Burg shines... (yes, softer = better)

But, in the end, if I had to choose one wine to drink with sushi... give me Grand/1er Cru Cote de Nuits (white) all day....

OR Champagne.

Brag time:

Just got my hands on a private cellar that I'm selling. Some great gem including a mini-vertical (1993 - 2004) of Masseto Ornellaia. I think I'm going to pick up a couple bottles as I'll get them for approx. 1/5th of their retail value.

Have you ever tasted Masseto before KDawg?

I haven't, and I'm looking forward to the day when I have a mature masseto. They aren't cheap, but man, I want some at some point

I say give it a go the next time you have a wine. Just jot down what you get from the wine on both the nose and what you taste. There's no real right or wrong answer, and I can certainly say that it'd be fun to see some more tasting notes in this thread



so, with canuck bringing up red burgundy and sushi, I experimented with this on friday night. I was just didn't have a good week, and wanted to kick back with some burgs(both white and red). These notes are without the burgs, and I will make comments on how they worked with the sushi afterwards(along with two different cheddars(a wisconsin mild and some black diamond))

• 2000 Marc Colin et Fils Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (10/3/2008)
  nose: great and aromatic oil based nose with cashews, pears, and loads of tree fruits. It constantly evolves and starts to present red delicious apple tones
  
  taste: wonderful medium/full feel with loads of various oil tones, red apples, large amounts of mixed nuts, and white peach tones
  
  overall: this is very young, but is showing great right now. Didn't detect any real big oak tones, and this is still light in color. Acidity is still well pronounced, but not overpowering. Great oil based attack with a long white peach finish (93 pts.)
• 1996 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (10/3/2008)
  nose: soft nose at first, that picks up more weight with all sorts of various spices, dense purple floral tones, lots of earthen tones, and dark cherries. Very lifting aromatics that just meld together very well after more air
  
  taste: Light and silky that gains more weight with purple floral tones, dark cherries, and spice tones
  
  overall: a beautiful wine that needed more air to full show what it had. As it opened up, it peeled back its thin stature and blossomed and added weight(and even some acidity). Once open, this really showed off the vosne elegance with a silky purple floral attack and spice based finish (92 pts.)
• 2001 Domaine du Château de Chorey (Germain) Beaune 1er Cru Les Cras Vieilles Vignes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru (10/3/2008)
  nose: beautiful and wafting nose that gently drifts out of the glass that give off earth tones, dark cherries, brown spices, and sour dark red fruit tones working well in balance. Very pretty and filling aromatics that just beg to keep on being smelled, almost to where you don't want to drink the wine
  
  taste: a gorgeous and silky feel that just puts it all in the right places with dark cherries, earth, sour raspberries, spice tones, and some floral tones that creep in underneath
  
  overall: this may still need some time as the acidity is still kicking a bit, but the aromatics on this are a thing of beauty. The feel is very beautiful too and it shows that the 01 vintage is starting to be a excellent vintage as time goes on. This is showing off the great aromatics of the vintage with classic flavors and purity of the terroir. Its aromatics like this is why one drinks burgundy, and I'll be sure to stock up on a few bottles of this so that I can fully enjoy when the palate catches up to the aromatics (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker



I'll comment on teh sushi first(it was tilapia, and was actually in sashimi style cuttings):

The 01 beaune worked the least with it. It didn't really compliment the wine all that much, and the wine didn't fully compliment the sushi. It was good enough, but it certainly wasn't anything close to a magic combination. I think the 01 beaune would've been really good with some hare, veal, or some duck

the 00 Corton Charlemagne was a beautiful match with the Tilapia. This was a case where the acidity worked great with the fish and the oil flavors of the Corton Charlie really brought out the flavors of the fish. I did think though that the Corton Charlie would've been absolutely perfect with some fat finned tuna or some halibut

the 96 Vosne Romanee worked really well with the tilapia. In fact, the tilapia brought out more acidity in the wine, and it was interesting as after having some of the tilapia and then drinking some of the Vosne, I felt a bunch of acidity on the back end of my tounge, and for me, that wine finally felt like a 96. It also really brought out the flavor in the fish, and the fish brought out more of the flavor of the vosne.


Onto the cheese. I had both a wisconsin mild cheddar and a small brick of black diamond

the 01 beaune worked great with the black dimaond. the more sharp flavors of the black diamond made it so that the earthen flavors came out more in the wine, and there was a more smoothed out tone to it. The sharp flavors of the black diamond also tamed a bit of the acid. The mild cheddar worked fairly well too, but it was in a way kind of non-descript. It was nice and the brown spices were more pronounced, but it wasn't a magic pairing by any means

the 00 corton charlie went okay with both of the cheeses. The black diamond worked much better as it gave a more rounded feel. the mild cheddar was okay at best. Didn't really seem like much, but there wasn't a sharp contrast in the wine and cheese

the 96 Vosne went great with both cheeses, but this was where the mild cheddar worked best. It didn't neccessarily bring out more flavors, but it added to the vosne elegance. the black diamond was also a great match as it brought out more of the spice tones that one associates with vosne romanee and the dark cherries


its fun experimenting with wine/cheese/food pairings. While there are magic pairings, every wine will present variances with cheeses and foods based on where it is in it's life, how one prepares the food, and well, what mood you are in.


what are some other people's experiences with pairing wines/food/and cheeses? I propose that for the next month, just do some experimenting and try to go with generalized pairings, but also try new pairings and see how they work. it just takes a little extra attention to what is going on with the wine before you eat and after you eat, but hey, wine is supposed to go with food

Well, tonight I'm drinking a wine that was one of my first multiple bottle purchases as I got into collecting about two years ago, and its giving me a lot of joy on several fronts. On one end, I'm loving how this wine has evolved, and its interesting as my palate has evolved in a way along with it. Its turned into a different wine(I'll post my notes from 10 months ago(which was my 4th time having the wine, but my first offical note of it) and obviously from tonight). Its also fun to be able to track how its developed along the way and shows how wine evolves.

ALso so far this month, this will be the second Oregon Pinot that I'll have had with relative age on it(with burgundy this would still be young, but a lot of new world wines are picked at lower acidity and tannins levels then their old world counterparts, so they generally develop at a mroe rapid pace). They are certainly more interesting then they were in their (relative) youth, and it shows the benefit of aging.

• 2003 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (10/16/2008)
  nose: beautifully pungent nose that is very different from my last bottle. Filled with smoke tones, mineral rich earthen tones, black cherries, raspberries, with some perfume tones and slight bits of dark florals. Much more exprssive nose then the last bottle I had 10 months ago
  
  taste: tannins are still firm, but nice and expressive filled with dark cherry tones, raspberries, bits of smoke, perfumes, and some dark florals. Nice acidity still. More fruit on the palate then on the nose, but its far from a fruit bomb, but instead there is a richness to it that is very satisfying
  
  overall: This was originally the first Oregon pinot that really woke me up and was a beacon that shone brightly in the fog of when I really starting to delve into wine more seriously three years ago. Its a much different wine from what I remember, but like an old friend, it has changed with me and is very rewarding for me right now. There is a beautiful balance to it even with the hot vintage, and the fruit is nice and rich, while still having nuance to it. I look forward to seeing where my other three bottles will be in the future as the wine evolves even more. There's no need to rush on this, but its also in a beautiful place right now (92 pts.)
• 2003 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (1/12/2008)
  decanted for about an hour and a half
  
  nose: nose is slightly muted, but getting some tart cherry, plum, and chocolate. also getting hints of earth on the nose too
  
  taste: nice firm mouth. Cherry, plum, and earth with some smokey tones too.
  
  overall: this is aging well, and is working into it's next phase, thankfully I have 3 more bottles of this. it provides a real nice finish and has an interesting acidity component to it too (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker


of course, my note taking has also grown a lot in the past ten months too, and has grown leaps and bounds since I started writing down tasting notes in early 2007. Before that I would maybe jot down quick notes, but really I was more focused on just getting the nose and taste in the wine and then drinking it.

Here is the other note of an "aged" oregon pinot that I've had this month:

• 2000 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Laurène - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (10/5/2008)
  nose: nice deep nose filled with loads of smoke right off the bat that airs out into earth and mineral tones with floral tones, dark cherry and cranberry tones
  
  taste: smoke, all sorts of minerals and earth with tart candied cherry tones lying underneath with floral bits. Silky and elegant this is very pretty
  
  overall: A really wonderful pinot noir. Great depth on both the nose and palate with well evolved tones while still staying oregon in style. WOnderful polish to the wine with a plush smoke based attack and a earthen and mineral based finish (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker


SOmething that I'll ask is how many people have tried oregon pinot noirs, and what have they thought about them? They are generally different from california pinots and both are different from burgundy. If you haven't tried an oregon pinot, why haven't you?

You can still get a lot of 06 Oregon pinots, and while I don't find them to be all that representative of oregon, its a good start in branching out a bit

Okay, so this seems like the best place to ask this:

Does anyone know what kind of wine to drink with Bangladeshi food? I have no idea what Bangladeshi food consists of, but a bunch of people are going out to eat at this guy's restaurant and he's just cooking up everything and we're allowed to bring our own beer/wine.

if the food has anything remotely close to the spices that indian food does, an austrian or german riesling would work great. If you're willing to spend between $15-25 you can get some really good rieslings

hey kdawg, how does one learn about pairing wine and food/cheese beyond plain ole experimentation? are there guidelines anywhere?

I've generally just done good ole experimentation. There are books out there for food pairings. For cheese, my supermarket near me has possible wine pairings listed on some of the cheeses which definitely helps. Something that is also a good guide is that wine spectator recently did a wine and cheese pairing issue which can be a good starting point to give a general guide on cheese pairings

Most Bangladeshi food is relatively similar to South Indian: Fish, dhal, rice, coconut milk.

As KDawg said, Rielsing and Gruner would be best. Most Alsatian wines would be good as well.

The WS issues is a great starting point. Good call.

Kdawg:

Recommend me some solid, reasonably priced Burgundy producers year in and year out. Producers of both white and reds. Producer doesn't have to be widespread/popular.

In any other region I would say, "cheap" instead of "reasonable", but this is Burgundy.

Yeah, it worked well, thanks.

However, I must say that beer (light and crisp IPA) with Bangladeshi >>>>> wine. ty ED.

I know that this is going to sound ridiculous, but Louis Jadot is actually very good for both white and reds. Once you get past their bottom of the end bottlings, they are easily the best negociant, and they make some very profound wines. I haven't had their Le Montrachet, Batard-Montrachet, Chambertin, Musigny, or a Bonnes Mares yet, but I've had a handful of their grand crus along with all sorts of their 1ers and village wines, and they are actually very consistent


now, onto more percieved serious producers, with beaune reds, Ch. Chorey-Les-Beaune is a great producer. They mostly make Beaune 1ers and I've really liked what they bring for the money. If you haven't had that many Beaune 1ers, they are definitely worth a go.

D'angerville is great for volnay and JM Boillot makes great pommards. I also like Nicholas Rossingol for Pommards too

another controversial producer that I enjoy is Dominique Laurent. I haven't gotten all of the woody problems that other burg drinkers get from them, but granted, I haven't tasted that many young laurents, so the oak does seem to integrate with time.

I haven't had enough of their grand crus to makes that much of an opinion, but I can say that I was able to get their 02 Clos De La Roche(CdR in acronymn terms) for a great price(sadly they sold really fast) and baby killed it, and it was pretty damn awesome. I've had a lot of their Premier crus and have enjoyed them a lot

if you want pure terroir and femine styled Chambolles, then look to Ghislane Barthod. She makes some great wine, and I've noticed that her wines are fairly reasonable for a excellent producer. She makes more burg drinkers wines, so that may be why the prices on her wines aren't too bad(in relative burg terms of course)

one of my personal favorites is Jean Grivot. That is a great house and I've had a lot of really good grivots and am currently sitting on some 99 VR Beaux Monts since I only have three of them, so I'm gonna wait another 3 or 4 years before popping the first one.

I've noticed that not a lot of people have tried Frederic Magnien, and I've certainly enjoyed his wines. I'm assuming he is a cousin, son, nephew, or whatever that broke off from teh Magnien family and started making his own wines because I can't find anything of his before 99 or 98 I think. I like them because they are terroir driven. Maybe I've just been lucky that some of the places in chicago have had them, but I've certainly been glad that they have

for whites, Its a work in progress. I have tasted a woeful amount of chablis, and that really needs to change, especially since there is a sick amount of value from chablis(well, outside of Raveneau)

most of the whites that I've had are from higher end producers like Sauzet, Colin-Deleger, Bonneau Du Martray, etc. I haven't truly delved into white burgs as much as I'd like, which is also to say that I'll never fully delve into white burgs as much as I'd like as there just isn't enough time in the day/year/lifetime for me to drink as much white burgundy as I'd like. I really want to drink a hell of a lot more white burgs in the upcoming year because that bug has hit me harder then the red burg bug

this page is invaluable for getting into aged white burgs, especially with the premox problems that have plagued them since 95/96. I've added in on it myself

Burgundies are all about the weather. Research on the internet for a good year and then buy accordingly.

FYP. a excellent producer will consistently make good wine, and in great years will make transcendant wine. Great years will obviously help in getting your hands on lesser producers, but Ghislane Barthod will almost always make really good wine

No. I stand by my original statement. For Burgundies choose year then vineyard classification then producer.

For California Pinot's the producer is most important since the weather here is so consistent.

just going by the year in burgundy prevents you from truly getting the essence of burgundy which is the terroir. Its a producer and terroir driven area more then anywhere else. relying on producers that you enjoy will allow you to buy with confidence in almost any vintage


edit: I'll use the wine I'm drinking now as a case in point. Groffier is a great producer that consistently makes beautiful and perfumed chambolles regardless of vintage. Both Stephen Tanzer and Allen Meadows have given this vineyard very good scores over the past 13 vintages including the 04 vintage(the 03 vintage was the only vintage that didn't get a good score).

• 1998 Domaine Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Hauts-Doix - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru (10/28/2008)
  nose: violets strike you right off teh bat and then as it opens, mixed red berries emerge accompanied by earthen tones, and bits of other florals add into the mix and some potting soil. A beautifully layered and delicate nose that welcomes you in with its delicate and nurting nature
  
  taste: the acidity is really coming into a nice place right now as it binds the wine together with soft earthen tones, lots of red berries, and a lot of different floral tones with a mineral tinge that glides across the palate
  
  overall: a beautiful and perfumed wine that just works on all levels. This has great chambolle femininity and touch that is delicate and refined. Light and silky layers form the base of this wine and work in gorgeous harmony that gives off a subtle red berry attack and a sweet floral finish that lasts (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

now, if we just relied on vintage, I wouldn't be drinking any 98s as it was an inconsistent vintage. If I was doing that, then I would've missed out on this wine and missed out on some other really good 98s that I've had and some very nice 97s, 00s, 95s, and 01s and would be wondering wtf is up with burgundy since the 96s still aren't fully drinking while the 98s, 97s, and 95s are in great places right now

kdawg - I had a great burg at dinner a couple of weeks ago, any thoughts on other producers/years/etc to look for that might be similar? i don't know much about it other than it was delicious.

Grands-Echézeaux Grand Cru - Gros Frère & Soeur 1990

thanks!

ed, gros frere is a really good producer and that was from a great year, that's generally a good combo


IMO right now is a burgundy golden age. one can find a lot of wine from 99-07 that will fit their palates in one way or another(save for alot of 04s that are just too green). its a good time to experiment with burgs if you're comfortable spending in the 50-100 range at retail. IMO a lot of burgs in that price range compete with cali pinots for quality ratio, and it just comes down to a matter of preference at that point

Post a review of a wine you didn't like. I wanna see what contributes to a negative review. Whenever I have a red wine I'm never like "man this sucks." I pretty much always like it.

this won't be a problem at all. I'll try to post a funny one or two and some of my more straight forward notes:

• 2007 Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils Beaujolais Nouveau - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Beaujolais Nouveau (11/17/2007)
  nose: kind of vile. some bananas and badly generic vicks cherry cough syrup. It's like watching a train wreck, you can't stop smelling because you can't believe it's this bad
  
  taste: okay, yea, this is putrid. rotten bananas and rotted oak on the mouth. seriously, how do people drink this swill?
  
  overall: awful, putridly awful. I wouldn't wish this stuff on my worst enemy (57 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2005 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa, Breede River Valley, Robertson (2/11/2008)
  nose: awful nose of burnt wood and sweaty feet. this is just a repulsive nose
  
  taste: ugh, charred wood and other burnt aspects with some tar in there too. not making you wretch revolting, but certainly not pleasant in the slightest
  
  overall: blech. this is just an awful wine (62 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2005 Taltarni Riesling Lalla Gully - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (12/21/2007)
  nose: some greeen apple, and a ton of petrol. almost overwhelming on the petrol
  
  taste: bleh, tons of petrol with slight hints of salt and rotten apple
  
  overall: like drinking gasoline. this is pretty awful (68 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2006 Di Majo Norante Sangiovese Terre degli Osci IGT - Italy, Molise, Terre degli Osci IGT (8/15/2008)
  tasting italiano: nose: honestly, the first smell I get is diaper ****. I'm normally a guy who likes funky wines, but this was straight up ****. Some charred meats, charred wood, and chalk tones were in there too after I got past the diaper **** smells. I was pretty replused by the nose on this
  
  taste: bleh, mostly charred tones of charred wood and charred meats with a bit of chalk
  
  overall: pretty awful. A bad nose with bad flavors=not a good mix and far from a good wine (73 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2006 Chimney Rock Sauvignon Blanc Elevage Blanc - USA, California, Napa Valley (9/23/2008)
  Fall Fest 2008: nose: very bitter nose with some oak and bright citrus tones to go with the bitter fruits. An odd nose that doesn't really do much for me
  
  taste: very simple and thin with lots of oak and a lot of bitter fruits
  
  overall: average at best. This is a wine that does little for me, and brings as much to the table as the most bland person you can imagine. (79 pts.)
• 2005 Fairview (Charles Back) Bored Doe - South Africa, Western Cape (10/19/2007)
  WL Chicago Blind Bordeaux night (my house): real light ruby color
  
  Nose: butter popcorn, candied cherry, and Jelly beans? WTF!!! Extremely awkward nose, and I'm not sure that I even want to know how one creates a nose for a red like this. Very over extracted nose
  
  Taste: Very fake and extracted. Almost like someone poured fruit punch into the barells when this was fermenting. Very flabby and no backbone at all. Maybe getting some licorice and candy cherry, but I'm not liking this in the slightest
  
  overall: odd, very odd. not sure about this one at all, and quite frankly, it's crap. whatever was paid for it was too much(unless it was at two buck chuck levels). I wouldn't want to eve catch a buzz from this (79 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker


these are more the solid wines that don't have much to them, but aren't crap:

• 2005 Ambra Carmignano Santa Cristina in Pilli - Italy, Tuscany, Carmignano (8/15/2008)
  tasting italiano: nose: cherry and twizzlers predominetly with very little depth. Simple and fairly one dimensional
  
  taste: more weight then I would've thought upon smelling it, but still simple with more twizzlers and simple cherry tones
  
  overall: this is a decent wine and is made well, but is simple and doesn't have much depth. There is also a bit of heat on the mid palate. I'm not sure what to make of this as my experience with this is very contrary to what galloni wrote and what the other note is. c'est la vie (82 pts.)
• 2005 Poesia Pasodoble - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo (3/2/2008)
  nose: sweet nose of berries with raspberries, cherries, and mulberries. A bit fake on the nose but also getting a slight bit of pepper, but at the same time, some acetone notes. I'm not really digging this nose all that much, it just seems a bit too fake and almost smells sauternes like
  
  taste: smooth attack on the palate with lots of mixed berry notes of raspberries and dark cherries. Over ripe and very sweet. Almost seems like there is some residual sugar put into this
  
  overall: this is a decent made wine, but there is a lot of fake ness with it. It just doesn't do it for me at all. Just too over ripe and little finish on it (82 pts.)
• 2005 Demetria Chardonnay - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (1/26/2008)
  Binny's winter warm up (Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL): nose: nice solid nose. citrus notes with lemon mostly along with some vanilla and oak. a bit basic of a nose
  
  taste: hrm, almost no flavor to speak of. A bit of slate, lemon, and oak, but the flavors are very faint. All I'm really getting is the body of the wine
  
  overall: this is okay, it is far from being very good and has no finish to speak of. rather dissapointing (82 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

• 2003 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet (10/3/2008)
  nose: a bit over oaked on the nose with a good amount of grapefruit and some pear tones. Not much real depth
  
  taste: a bit flabby and not really together with a lot of grapefruit tones, pear, oak and vanilla
  
  overall: thin and semi-flabby with little acidity. This is a bit depressing from sauzet, and it just doesn't give off all that much that shows off the terroir or the domaine. Its a good puligny, but its just on the dissapointing side, though I probably shouldn't have expected a lot from an 03 white burg (83 pts.)
• 2005 Podere il Palazzino Chianti Classico Argenina - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico (8/3/2008)
  nose: simple cherries with hints of oak, some mixed berries, and bits of perfumes. very forward and simple with little depth on the nose. basically the exact opposite of the 04
  
  taste: surface flavors of herbs, cherries, and some mixed berries. Very light and thin
  
  overall: very dissapointing considering how good the 04 was. Light and thin with nothing but surface flavors that are forward, but not even all that appealing. This is a good wine, but nothing more then that. Its very simple, though as its sat in the air, its gained some extra weight and depth, but it kind of tastes like cheap chianti as opposed to a really good chianti which I know this should be (83 pts.)
• 2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley (5/23/2008)
  Northern Rhones and other syrahs (Gurnee IL, Jordan's house): nose: almost pure heat with some blackberry, ripe cherry, and anise tones behind it. This wine had been opened for hours when I got to it and it was still very hot
  
  taste: insanely hot with some anise, cranberry, and black berry on the attack
  
  overall: this isn't even buckle in for the ride type of full throttle, it's just hot. If I had one of these, I'd have to lay it down for a few years to hope the heat dies down. I just can't wrap my head around how different the 04 and 05 were from the 01 that I had back in Feb. Is it the age? is it a move to being more ripe then before and thus having more alcohol? I just don't know, but I do know that I wasn't a fan of this in the slightest (83 pts.)
• 2005 Bodega Benegas Cabernet Sauvignon Luna Benegas Libertad Vineyard - Argentina, Mendoza (1/26/2008)
  Binny's winter warm up (Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL): nose: a bit tight with some candied cherry poking through
  
  taste: a bit light on the palate. mostly candied cherry with a slight bit of milk chocolate.
  
  overall: rather blase wine. It's easy to drink, but it's a bit thin and hollow on the palate. It's a decent enough wine, but leaves me unimpressed (83 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker


there's obviously more. working in the business I get tasted out and go to tastings where there's a lot of pedestrian wine. I'd generally rather steer people to the good wines as opposed to posting about the blase and uninteresting wines. I have nearly 1400 Tasting notes put into cellar tracker and will easily get to over 1500 by the end of the year, so needless to say I taste a lot of wine and over the course of that, I'm gonna taste a healthy dose of regular wine