Those terrible reviews were amazing. I kinda wish you drank more terrible wine, just so I could read the reviews and laugh more. This was my favorite:

"nose: awful nose of burnt wood and sweaty feet. this is just a repulsive nose"

I'd have no problem doing those kind of reviews as long as its not mostly on my own coin .

If there's a few 2p2ers in the chicago area that want to throw in with me, drop about 150-200 on a bunch of under $12 wines, I'll gladly do them blind and see what happens. I'd grab em from my store so that tax would be negated by my employee discount


this one has one of my favorite descriptors and though I gave it a solid score, it was a massive dissapointment considering that it was from a hard to get california syrah producer and knowing that it generally retails between 90-125:

• 2004 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: massive and ripe nose of black berry, dark cherry, forrest floor, and blueberries with other black fruits. There's also a good amount of heat on the nose too which takes away from the enjoyment of the nose
  
  taste: extremely hot.It almost feels like the mid palate is having a blow torch being taken to it. Good amounts of black berries, pine tones, and dark cherry on the attack, but the heat is just huge
  
  overall: this wine is just way too hot. It had been opened for a good several hours before I got to it too, so it didn't blow off with air. There's a good attack, but the heat just singes the mid palate and finish for me. My experience with the 01 is telling me that this does need more time to let the heat die down, but still, it really takes away from the enjoyment of a young wine when it's this hot (87 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

it may seem like I'm picking on some california wines, but I've had plenty that I've loved. generally though, I don't like wines that are super ramped up on alcohol and over ripe fruit along with too much oak.

I don't write super awful reviews all that often because there aren't as many wines available that are that awful. Even though a wine may not be in a style that I prefer(a lot of cali pinot falls under this), many are still well made and don't deserve to be crapped on. I try to stay objective even if I'm not neccessarily enjoying a wine

i figured I'd put up a tasting that I had this past saturday. What a few friends and I did was throw in a bunch of wines that were between ~12-20 and see what had value and what didn't. My wines were the Artadi Vinas de Gain(this was very interesting as this showing was insanely different then the last two showings for me) and the Cap de Faugeres. All wines were double blind(what that means is that outside of your wines, you didn't know where they were from and what the wines were). Doing blind tastings is always humbling and very informative:

QPR SMACKDOWN - my place (11/8/2008)

A few of us got together at my place and did a blind tasting for wines that we were from ~20 to ~12. The wines couldn't have been purchased on a sale or anything like that, as it was about their normal price for what they were bought for whether it be at retail or on winebid/winecommune. it was a double blind tasting to add to it and keep preconceived notions to a minimum
welcome white

• 2001 Hyde De Villaine Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros
  nose: wonderful and succulent nose filled with lemon custard, brioche, vanilla extract, and oily roasted nut tones in great balance
  
  taste: beautiful medium/full feel of lemon custard, brioche, apricots, creamy vanilla mousse tones, along with baking oils and some roasted nut tones
  
  overall: this grew in the glass and got richer in color as it got more air. In a wonderful place right now with a lot of complexity and the acidity is still in a very nice place to keep this ever evolving. Great smooth and creamy lemon custard attack that flows into a polished and long baking oil+roasted nut finish (92 pts.)

Blind flight
Originally there were going to be several blind flights, but with cancellations and taking our time, we just did this all in one flight

• 2005 Château Cap de Faugères - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Côtes de Castillon
  nose: nice depth on the nose with smoke tones, a good heaping of dark red fruits, black currants, along with some cedar tones. A bit forward on teh nose with a touch of ripeness that almost seems a bit more new world using french oak
  
  taste: sneaking tannins on the back end and mid palate with youthful tones of cranberries, dark red fruits, black currants, and cedary tones
  
  overall: medium acidity with a medium/full feel that doesn't really evoke merlot, but instead felt more like a malbec. A very good wine that needs a couple of years to round out, but right now posseses a really good dark red fruit attack and a cedary finish that does get hidden behind the tannins (88 pts.)
• 2006 Henry's Drive Pillar Box Red - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway
  nose: lush nose filled with red cherries, blackberries, exotic spices, coffee tones, with a core of purple fruits that provides the base
  
  taste: nice medium/light feel that is very smooth across the palate providing tones of purple fruits, plums, red cherries, and bits of spices
  
  overall: A very user friendly wine. Low Tannins and Low acidity make this a very approachable wine for many whohaven't liked red wines before. Very smooth with nice flavors and a bit of depth added in. WHen this was revealed I was pleasantly surprised as the last time I had this was over jammy and hot. The slight bit of time in the bottle has made this a easy wine to buy again and is more consistent with what I'd expect of a Pillar Box Red (89 pts.)
• 2005 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Classico Superiore Caterina Zardini - Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico Superiore
  nose: very cab franc-esque with root vegetables, floral bits, red cherries, potting soil, some meaty tones, and even hints of blueberries. This bottle in the blind tasting just seemed to scream to me that it was cab franc, or a cab franc heavy bordeaux blend.
  
  taste: Sneaking tannins with root vegetables, red cherries, Blueberries, and some potting soil. The tannins aren't very pronounced, so it didn't seem like it would be a chinon, but there is a smooth and polished elegance to this
  
  overall: I was very surprised when this was revealed. Unlike any Corvina I've had before, but that's not a bad thing, it just made the wine very intriguiging and like lots of blind tastings can be humbling. The tannins just seem to sneak up on you as there is a very smooth medium body to the wine with solid acidity along with a tart red cherry attack and a interesting potting soil finish (90 pts.)
• 2005 Château Pesquié Côtes du Ventoux Terrasses - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Ventoux
  nose: at first there were some intriguing notes of earthen tones, red cherries, and bits of dill, but with more time in the glass, it almost turned into a non-descript new worldish nose of various red fruits and some jolly rancher-esque tones. There just wasn't much going on with this that was interesting
  
  taste: simple candied fruit that was more surface then anything else with some red fruits and fake candied jolly rancher type fruits
  
  overall: a good wine, but there were no discernable tannins and little acidity and a semi fake aspect to this. Its put together well and there are nice qualities to it, but there wasn't much that showed off any real region of the world and it was just a good and non-descript win, and led to some dissapointment when revealed as more would've been expected (84 pts.)
• 2002 Château Bonnet Bordeaux Contrôlée Reserve R - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Contrôlée
  nose: lush and beautiful dark cherry nose with earthen tones, purple florals, mixed berries, perfumes, and some green pepper tones start to poke through. A good amount of depth on the nose with a touch of class too
  
  taste: very elegant and regal with dark cherries, purple florals, mixed berries, and some green pepperish tones. Very smooth on the palate and this is screaming merlot to me, and I'm having zero problem with it
  
  overall: A real shocker when the bag was taken off. This didn't have much of the herbal aspect that I've associated with the 02 vintage and this bottle was punching way above its weight. Smooth and lush attack with an amount of depth that belies the area that this is from. A startling revelation and hopefully future bottles of this will be this good, but this could be right in its perfect drinking zone right now (91 pts.)
• 2004 Artadi Rioja Viñas de Gain - Spain, La Rioja, Rioja
  nose: big aussie styled nose of black cherries, blackberries, camphor, and black currant jam. Bold fruit and forward that is a bit of a run away on the nose in its over the top ness
  
  taste: big fruit with firm tannins giving tones of black cherries, blacberries, and black currant jam. Very jammy on the palate and a bit out of whack
  
  overall: yet another surprise. This was miles different from the last bottle I had. Maybe this didn't get enough decant time, but then again, that wouldn't neccessarily get the structure back in the fold. The low acidity seemed like this was an aussie wine, though the tannins were a bit harder then an aussie shiraz. That said, almost everything about this screamed a good solid australian shiraz (86 pts.)
• 2005 Château Féret-Lambert - France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur
  nose: very simple nose that is just surface flavors with some dark raspberry tones and light tones of cherries
  
  taste: very one dimensional with nothing but simple flavors of raspberries
  
  overall: a decent and drinkable wine. One dimensional, but in a way it works, though it doesn't really bring much that gives much excitement (83 pts.)
• 2006 Fabre Montmayou Cabernet Sauvignon - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
  nose: really nice and deep nose of dark raspberries, dark cherries, black currants, smoke, and various red fruit tones. Nose grew in the glass and grew on me
  
  taste: excellent medium feel with velevty tannins providing tones of dark raspberries, dark cherries, black currants, and smokey tones
  
  overall: this wine grew on me a lot as it swirled and drank before it was revealed. It kept on gaining weight and complexity in a short amount of time and went from a very good wine to an excellent/outstanding wine (90 pts.)

A really fun night and the selection of wines was very good on the whole. Double blind tastings are always humbling, and that was certainly the case here. It was an interesting chance to try some cheaper wines then what I normally drink and maybe check out something new. Lots of great cheeses were had along with a ton of fun conversation. Chalk up another fun time to be had
Posted from CellarTracker

stick with beer in this instance. until after you have tasted the food then bring a wine the next time. nothing is worse than a bad wine pairing

the past 6 days have been good to me in some ways. Last saturday I went to pinot days in chicago. For those that haven't checked it out, they really should if they are remotely interested in domestic pinot. Right now there are only events in san francisco and chicago, but steve rigish(the organizer of the event, and one of the co-owners of ketcham) told my friend and I that they were planning on adding events in austin and atlanta. Those that are on the west coast, or have the free time, should really go to the san fran event as they normally have well over 300+ producers and food exhibitors.

This was my second time going to pinot days in chicago, as it debuted last year. It was much bigger this year, and they held it in one of the big exhibition halls at navy pier this year. It was needed as I was told that there were over 1600 people that came through, but you wouldn't have noticed it at all as I didn't have to fight for pours at all and it was never more then 2 people deep at the tables I went to. While I'm not normally the biggest california pinot fan, I like going to this to check out the producers and just expand my palate. For those interested, check out teh site itself, Pinot Days. They are done for the year, but bookmark it for next year, its well worth the $50 ticket it costs as there is a ton of really good domestic pinot along with lots of really good food.

With all of that talking, here are my notes:

CHICAGO PINOT DAYS-2008 - Navy Pier, Chicago IL (11/15/2008)

I was undecided as to whether I was going to attend this year until the last minute. With finals coming up, there's studying that needs to be done, but that's what study breaks are for right
Tantara

• 2006 Tantara Pinot Noir Lindsay's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
  nose: nice pungent nose of bright cherries with sweet spices, anise, and soft red licorice tones
  
  taste: bigger body giving a medium/full pinot feel with bright cherries, spice, and red licorice tones
  
  overall: Really good medium/full bodied pinot. Nice structure with medium acidity though there is a bit of heat with a nice red cherry attack and anise based finish (88 pts.)
• 2006 Tantara Pinot Noir Adobe Bien Nacido Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
  nose: really good dark fruit driven nose filled with dark cherries, earthen tones, and a good amount of dark raspberry
  
  taste: nice medium pinot feel with dark cherries, earthen tones and dark raspberries
  
  overall: excellent depth with some nice tart acidity. Really good aromatics with good weight on the palate providing a nice deep dark cherry attack and dark red fruited finish (89 pts.)
• 2006 Tantara Pinot Noir Le Colline Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
  nose: really good depth on the nose with lots of dark red fruits of dark cherries, dark raspberries, some bluefruits, and nice subtle tones of strawberries creep in. Very well balanced with dark and subtle aromatics that bring you into the wine
  
  taste: excellent medium body with dark cherries, black spices, dark raspberries, and bits of blue fruits. Very smooth and silky that is very well balanced
  
  overall: An outstanding pinot. Really wonderful balance and aromatics to it that continue over to the palate. Not going to overpower you, but instead it works its way in a subtle manner that provides a lot of joy. Great medium acidity binds the wine with a lush dark cherry attack and dark raspberry finish (92 pts.)
• 2006 Tantara Pinot Noir Brosseau Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
  nose: nice dark nose filled with earthen tones, bits of mushrooms, black spices, tart dark cherries and some perfume tones emerge. very expressive that just wafts from the glass with a lot of beauty
  
  taste: Excellent medium pinot feel with a good amount of depth providing tones of dark cherries, some black spices, rasbperries, and bits of earthen tones
  
  overall: This is a wine that will get a lot better as there is a lot of promise. Really smooth medium feel with medium/high acidity that needs a bit of time to calm down. A budding beauty with very expressive aromatics and a lush dark cherry attack with a tart raspberry finish (91 pts.)
• 2006 Tantara Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  nose: a bit of wood to start off that does blow off a bit with dark spices, black cherries, black licorice, and good tart red fruits. Very pungent nose and big nose
  
  taste: excellent medium body with dark spices, black cherries, and tart red fruits with hints of cola
  
  overall: a really good pinot with excellent balance. Nice meidum acidity and medium body that is very smooth and nicely weighted on teh palate with a dark spice attack and a tart red fruited finish (90 pts.)

Small Vines

• 2006 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: very expressive and beautiful nose that is densely layered and filled with dark red fruits, perfumes, purple florals, and bits of spices. Really one of the prettiest california pinot noses that I've come across as its just very expressive and really shows a sense of place
  
  taste: nice bright red fruits of cherries, raspberries, wild strawberries, florals and bits of perfumes. Plush and velvety, this is giving me exactly what I'd want from a pinot noir
  
  overall: I was just very glad that I wasn't getting the over candied RRV fruit that I normally get. Instead, what i got was a very expressive wine that spoke while tasting. Very nice plush medium feel on the palate with very nice medium acidity to allow this to age a bit (92 pts.)
• 2006 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  nose: very well layered nose of black cherries, dark raspberries, black licorice, and nice tones of brown spices. More subtle and nuanced then the RRV, there is a nice class to this that can emerge with more time
  
  taste: very elegant on teh palate with black cherries, black licorice, brown spices, and bits of dark raspberry tones. Very velvety and full of class, this is what new world pinot should taste like
  
  overall: this has that classic cool hollywood female lead quality to it. Great depth and layers on both the nose and palate that exude class and elegance while retaining its new world sensibilities. Good medium body with nice medium acidity to allow this to get a bit of age on it (91 pts.)

Calera

• 2007 Calera Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast
  nose: very light with some red fruits, bits of perfumes, and very faint spice tones
  
  taste: rather pedestrian with some cherry tones and bits of stems
  
  overall: a pedestrian wine that doesn't do much of anything. Rather uninspiring with non-descript aromas and flavors (83 pts.)
• 2006 Calera Pinot Noir Mount Harlan Cuvée - USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan
  nose: nice stonish backdrop with bits of red cherries and wild raspberries
  
  taste: decent flavors of red cherries, some stones, and bits of wild raspberries
  
  overall: a solid wine that is decent and easy drinking, but more surface. Nice and easy to drink, but nothing to really get excited about (87 pts.)
• 2005 Calera Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan
  nose: interesting chalky nose filled with crushed rocks, red cherries, and spice tones. While interesting, there isn't a whole bunch of depth on the nose, but I do like the mineral undercurrants that form the base of the wine
  
  taste: good medium feel with chalk tones, crushed rocks, black raspberries, spice tones, and bits of red cherries
  
  overall: A very nice wine, but it doesn't have that extra level of excitement. Good medium acidity and feel with a smooth black raspberry attack (89 pts.)
• 2005 Calera Pinot Noir Mills Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Mount Harlan
  nose: great nose filled with crushed rocks, dark red cherries, floral tones, and asian and brown spices
  
  taste: very polished and silky feel with smooth and rounded tones of crushed rocks, dark raspberries, dark red cherries, floral tones, and some brown spices
  
  overall: very much a baby as the acidity is still very much kicking. Very good dark red cherry attack that flows well into a brown spiced finish (91 pts.)

Talisman

• 2005 Talisman Pinot Noir Adastra Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros
  nose: tight upfront nose that unwinds a bit into big dark fruited tones of dark candied cherries, raspberries, brown spices, black licorice, and some perfume tones
  
  taste: medium/full bodied with dark candied cherries, raspberries, and black licorice tones
  
  overall: Needs a bit more time to come around. The nose took a slight bit to get going, but the feel on the palate was very good and weighted for those that want a more full bodied pinot. A slight bit hot and extracted with good medium acidity (89 pts.)
• 2005 Talisman Pinot Noir Thorn Ridge Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  nose: very candied and perfumy with red cherries, raspberries, and lots of red currants underneath. Fairly big and candied nose, but there is a balance to it
  
  taste: rich tones of red cherries, wild strawberries, red currants, and raspberries. Medium/Full bodied with good weight
  
  overall: Very rich and sweet in that candied pinot style. A lot of body on the palate, but it still move and transitions fairly well, but there is a slight lack of acidity taking away from it. Good candied cherry attack with a tart raspberry finish (90 pts.)
• 2005 Talisman Pinot Noir Red Dog Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
  nose: fairly tight on the nose with some dark red cherries, raspberries, black licorice, and some perfumes. I wouldn't be surprised if this got decanted for a good two hours that the nose would jump a bit more as it took some serious digging to get what I got off of it
  
  taste: well defined on the palate with some earthen tones, dark red cherries, raspberries, and black licorice. Not as full bodied as the other Talisman's that were being poured, which was a bit of a welcome departure
  
  overall: Good medium body and medium acidity. Smooth and polished on the palate with some good weight too. As with the other talisman's, the palate is more defined then the aromatics (89 pts.)
• 2005 Talisman Pinot Noir Hawk Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: extremely tight on the nose. It's hard to get much, but some raspberries, red cherries, red currants, and some dark red fruits poke their way through
  
  taste: very smooth with good medium body giving off raspberries, red cherries, and dark red fruit tones
  
  overall: Again, better on the palate then on the nose. This was in need of a serious decanting, but it still posseses a nice and smooth raspberry attack and a fat dark red fruited finish (90 pts.)

Dain

• 2007 Dain Wines Pinot Noir Savage Juliet - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  nose: very aromatic, this is just a thing of beauty with layers of black cherries, dark raspberries, dark florals, and just loaded with spices that seem to come from a kitchen spice rack
  
  taste: Very polished and smooth with tasty tones of black cherries, dark raspberries, dark florals, and some bits of spices. Great medium body that flows great across the palate
  
  overall: A beautiful wine that seems to be ready to drink right out of the gate. Great aromatics that are seamless and it follows through for the most part on teh palate(though the mid palate is a bit hollow). Great medium body to it with medium acidity that gives off a tasty black cherry attack and a really good spice based finish (92 pts.)
• 2007 Dain Wines Pinot Noir American Beauty Amber Ridge, Darien Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: well balanced nose with bits of earth, brown spices, dark cherries, and nice wafting perfume tones. very pretty aromatics that are deftly balanced together, just a lot of fun to smell
  
  taste: good medium body with some earthen tones, brown spices, and dark cherries. Great attack, but then it falls off a cliff on the mid palate and finish
  
  overall: hopefully some time will work out that big dropoff on the mid palate and finish, it just made this wine a complete tease. Beautiful and formed aromatics already with a really good medium feel that gives off a nice dark cherry attack, but then the drop off happens, which is too bad (89 pts.)

August West

• 2006 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: nice light and delicate nose of wild strawberries, red berries, raspberries, and some dried fruits. Pretty and feminine with a classy delicate streak
  
  taste: Very finessed on the palate with a light feel providing tones of wild strawberries, raspberries and dried fruits. Very pinot driven on the palate that aims for the varietal and region to speak, and not the winemaking
  
  overall: Nice and soft, but with tart acidity. This is a pinot drinkers pinot noir. Very light in color and wrapped in finesse all the way around. It goes about itself in a delicate and refined nature that is very pleasing for me (89 pts.)
• 2006 August West Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  nose: beautiful and classy nose filled with wild bush fruits, violets, perfumes, some fresh cherries, and some underlying red currants to spruce up the nose. Very well layered and enjoyable to smell
  
  taste: pretty and delicate with wild bush fruits, violet tones, perfumes, some spices, and bits of fresh picked cherries. Light on the palate, but with really good layers to go with them
  
  overall: pretty and refined like a classic hollywood blonde. Very good depth on this, and definitely has more depth then the graham. Light ruby color, this is a pure pinot that strives to be pinot and has a delicate balance to it that just drives the wine in a pleasing way (91 pts.)
• 2007 August West Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
  nose: nice light and lifting nose of wild strawberries, raspberries, perfumes, and a good helping of florals
  
  taste: pretty and lithe with tones of strawberries, cherries, raspberries, and bits of perfumes on the back end
  
  overall: Delicate and feminine with a smooth and light attack of strawberries and perfumy finish. I'm really loving this style from august west, it just scratches me where I itch when I want to drink pinot. Its rather refreshing to see this style come out of california when the Laube-bomb is the more dominant style (91 pts.)
• 2007 August West Pinot Noir Graham Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: beautiful and expressive nose of candied cherries, raspberries, wild berries, and bits of brown spice. There is an underlying intensity to this that is in stark contrast from the other august west noses that I've had
  
  taste: back to the lighter style with candied cherries, raspberries, and wild berry tones. There isn't that intensity here that there was on the palate
  
  overall: a bit weakish on the mid palate right now and not really defined. The subtle intensity on the nose caught me off gaurd a bit, but it provides an interesting wrinkle. Still retains some delicacy, but slightly more robust then previous august west pinots (90 pts.)

Archery Summit

• 2006 Archery Summit Pinot Noir Premier Cuvée - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: a bit tight and soft with red cherries, plums, spice, and bits of perfumes. Nice and easy, but not really strutting like it had for me previously
  
  taste: Good soft attack of red cherries, plums, and perfumes with a bit of earthen tones. Nothing really standing out, and nothing really defining. It just exists as it is
  
  overall: a very solid wine, but not what you'd expect from this winery and this vintage. It didn't have that flashy feel that I got the last time I tasted it and it has a nice red cherry attack (88 pts.)
• 2006 Archery Summit Pinot Noir Arcus Estate - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills
  nose: really good depth with rich plum tones, dark cherries, loads of florals, and some zesty pine tones. Really well balanced on the nose, and not as overbearing as I would expect, and not as candied as other 06s have been for me
  
  taste: Not as heavy as I would've expected with well defined and rich flavors of plums, dark cherries, pine tones, and tart raspberries hiding underneath
  
  overall: Almost what you would expect from a wine of this pedigree, but it leaves a bit lacking. A bit thin on the mid palate and overall. Still it posseses good structure with nice medium acidity (92 pts.)

Le Cadeau

• 2006 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Equinox - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: really good nose filled with plums, mint, pine tones, dark red cherries, and bits of earth creep in underneath. Well layered and nice depth showing off the new vineyard, and I'm liking it a lot as its a bit different then the cote est, diversite, and rocheaux
  
  taste: nicely polished medium/light feel with mint, pine tones, dark red cherries, and bits of earth
  
  overall: very pretty and balanced. Well representative of the terroir, this is very approachable now to where I'm not sure it needs to be layed down. Medium/low acidity gives a bit of a spine, but to me, this is ready to go, or will have a shorter aging curve (92 pts.)
• 2006 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: very pungent with a nice floral backdrop along with tones of red cherries, plums, and some minty tones poking through
  
  taste: very smooth and savvy on the palate with red cherries, plums, mint, and some bits of mixed berries
  
  overall: this will need some time to calm down the acidity. Good medium/high acidity with nice and laid back aromatics along with a smooth red cherry attack and mixed berry finish (90 pts.)
• 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Equinox - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: wide open with beautiful and nuanced aromatics of pine tones, earthen notes, dark plums, and lots of dark red fruits. Very well balanced that just slowly rises from the glass
  
  taste: smooth and lighter bodied with wild berries, pine tones, earth, and a whole lot of dark red fruits. The balance on this is great and moves well across teh palate
  
  overall: A lot of polish and a good amount of acidity. This will certainly need some time to add a bit more weight and calm down the acidity, but this is great and classic oregon pinot noir. Very elegant with a nice dark red fruit attack and a earthen finish (91 pts.)
• 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Rocheux - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: very earth driven nose with violets, dark red cherries, and an assortment of garden herbs
  
  taste: nice light bodied feel with earth driven flavors, violets, a good amount of mixed berries, garden herbs, and nice soft dark red cherries
  
  overall: good medium/high acidity with a lighter feel. Nice soft and balanced aromatics that define the wine in a subtle way (90 pts.)
• 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Côté Est - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: fairly tight nose with some earth, pine, and plum. Relativly simple, but fairly well defined
  
  taste: thin and light with earth, pine, and plum tones. Reserved and uninspiring
  
  overall: This was the first vintage that Cote Est wasn't done by josh bergstrom. Its a rather simple effort that could be due to the vintage, but the other le cadeau 07s are pretty good. Medium/high acidity with a soft earthen attack and light plum finish (87 pts.)
• 2007 Le Cadeau Pinot Noir Diversite - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: a bit tight with light purple and red florals, red cherries, raspberries, and pine tones. Nice soft aromatics emerge with a bit of swirling
  
  taste: Lighter and soft feel with red cherries, raspberries, and pine tones. Fairly young on the palate and the flavors are nice, but just not deep enough at this point in time
  
  overall: a very pretty pinot. Nice aromatics and light feel on the palate, the acidity is lower on this then the other 07s, but its still fairly tart. A good lighter style of pinot that will be very nice in a few years (89 pts.)

Siduri

• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  nose: nice bright nose with a good amount of spices, red cherries, and raspberries. Not over the top and very well balanced, but just a bit reserved
  
  taste: nice medium feel with mixed berries, lots of spice tones, bright red cherries, and some bits of raspberries
  
  overall: Excellent medium acidity on this with nice balanced flavors all around. A bit young and reticent right now, this should blossom with a slight bit of age on it (89 pts.)
• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
  nose: sumptuous and layered nose filled with perfumes, florals, red cherries, various spices, and raspberries. This just draws you in with great balance and the perfumes just permeate in the glass
  
  taste: very plush and smooth with a beautiful perfume backdrop along with red cherries, spice tones, and tart raspberries
  
  overall: great medium feel and medium acidity. Very well balanced and perfumed that is a joy to smell and drink. Basically the opposite of what I've experienced with the big fruit that siduri normally brings, this is very smooth and balanced (91 pts.)
• 2006 Siduri Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills
  nose: big bold and ripe nose of black fruits, rich red cherries, blackberries, and black licorice tones. While ripe and big, this isn't over the top
  
  taste: big and full that is loaded with black fruits, red cherries, blackberries, and black licorice. Fairly weighted on the palte to go along with the fuller feel
  
  overall: this is a full bodied pinot and more along what I'd expect from siduri. Nice aromatics for those that are fans of this style with medium/low acidity that gives off a nice black licorice finish (90 pts.)

Raye's Hill

• 2004 Raye's Hill Pinot Noir Anderson Valley - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  nose: is this a bad amarone or is this supposed to be a pinot? Raisins, dates, prunes, dark cherries, and a bit of barnyard tones
  
  taste: this is a bit better, but the raisins and and pruny tones still exist accompanied by dark raspberries, and some dark cherries
  
  overall: not really sure what happened here. The nose was just completely out of joint with some very odd flavors. The feel was fairly smooth and medium bodied and the tannins are still very strong, but I really doubt that anything special is going to happen when they shed a bit (82 pts.)
• 2005 Raye's Hill Pinot Noir Henneberg Anderson Valley - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
  nose: fairly pungent and fruit forward wine with black cherries, some rich red fruits, red licorice, and some raspberry tones. While there is a fair amount going on, there isn't a whole lot of depth to it
  
  taste: medium/full bodied that is smooth and fruit forward with black cherries, red licorice, and rich red fruits
  
  overall: a very good pinot for the price. Does what it needs to well and is good for those that are fans of this style and want this profile without paying over 30. Nice smooth black cherry attack and a red licorice finish (87 pts.)

Zepaltas

• 2007 Zepaltas Pinot Noir La Cruz Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  nose: nice forward nose of cherries, spice, and red berries. Nice and pungent
  
  taste: Smooth medium feel with cherries, spice, red berries, bush fruits, and bright tones of raspberries
  
  overall: great balance and density on both the nose and palate. An outstanding wine with a smooth red cherry attack and a tart raspberry finish (91 pts.)
• 2006 Zepaltas Pinot Noir W.E. Bottoms - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: decently perfumed nose with cola tones, cherries, and wild strawberries
  
  taste: fairly full bodied with candied cherries, cola, berries, and some strawberry tones
  
  overall: solid, but while big, nothing is really jumping out and instead is just a good amount of candied tones. Decent acidity with a tart candied cherry attack and decent berry finish (87 pts.)

Scherrer

• 2005 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
  nose: nice sweet cherried nose with other candied fruits, and black spices
  
  taste: good medium bodied feel with sweet red cherries, candied fruits, black spices, and some bits of strawberries
  
  overall: a really nicely styled pinot with a good amount of tannins and tart medium/high acidity. Nice sweet red cherry attack and a tasty strawberry finish, this will be a better wine in a year or two, but is very nice right now (89 pts.)
• 2005 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: nice pungent and filling nose with ripe red cherries, various red fruits, and sweet red licorice tones
  
  taste: Really good medium body pinot with red cherries, red licorice, and a lot of various red fruits. Very tasty and well balanced with good fruit that isn't over the top
  
  overall: A very tasty pinot with a good amount of ripe balanced fruit. Great medium body with good medium acidity, this is a really good pinot that is a great buy in the lower 30s (90 pts.)
• 2004 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: very smooth and polished nose of cherries, red currants, raspberries, along with bits of mint and spice tones
  
  taste: great medium feel that flows well across the palate with tart red cherries, red currants, raspberries, some wild strawberries, and some spice and mint tones
  
  overall: Very smooth and wonderful feel and weight on the palate. A very polished wine that has a good fruity core and an interesting mint based finish (91 pts.)
• 2006 Scherrer Winery Pinot Noir 'Big Brother' - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: very deep nose filled with dark cherries, anise, dark raspberries, and a slew of dark red fruits. Very well layered and deep, there is a lot going on with this nose
  
  taste: good medium/full feel with a lot of depth providing tones of dark cherries, anise, and a lot of dark red fruits. Very smooth with good weight
  
  overall: very impressive. There is a boldness to this with good fruit, but its far from overdone. Very smooth attack of dark cherries with a nice dark red fruit finish (92 pts.)
• 2005 Scherrer Winery Vin Gris - USA, California, Sonoma County
  nose: nice nose with some good depth providing tones of honeysuckle, strawberries, raspberries, and watermelon tones
  
  taste: very easy drinking with tasty tones of cherries, strawberries, honeysuckle and raspberries
  
  overall: a really good rose. Good and easy drinking with nice aromas that are very enjoyable (87 pts.)

Dobbes

• 2006 Dobbes Family Estate Pinot Noir Grande Assemblage Cuvée - USA, Oregon
  nose: nice and light with red cherries, plums, and spice. Solid nose that is in place and in the pocket, but nothing really standing out
  
  taste: smooth feel with decent weight bringing solid tones of red cherries and spice
  
  overall: a really nice pinot. Very solid and straightforward that gives a good sense of oregon. Nice and easy drinking with a red cherry attack and spice finish (87 pts.)
• 2005 Dobbes Family Estate Pinot Noir Griffin's Cuvée - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
  nose: really good nose with nice depth providing pine tones, raspberries, cherries, and plum tones. Well balanced and very pungent that lifts well from the glass into the nose
  
  taste: excellent medium feel with red bush fruits, pine tones, raspberries, and nice tart plum tones. Very smooth and nice classic oregon feel
  
  overall: a wine that just screams oregon on both the nose and palate. Great profile with a good smooth medium feel and medium acidity (90 pts.)
• 2006 Dobbes Family Estate Pinot Noir Nuestro Sueno - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
  nose: really bright nose filled with cherries, minerals, raspberries, pine tones, and plums
  
  taste: nice and smooth with a mineral base providing tones of bright cherries, pine tones, and ripe plum tones
  
  overall: Great feel and polish. Has some of the 06 brightness to it, but its not over amplified. Good medium acidity with a smooth attack of bright cherries and a mineral based finish (91 pts.)

a variety of others

• 2007 Ketcham Estate Pinot Noir Ketcham Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: nice sweet nose of tart red fruits, with bits of cola undertones, raspberries, and some zesty spice tones give this a nice backdrop. A bit of swirling opens it up and reveals more depth showing off wine well
  
  taste: great smooth feel that glides across teh palate with dark cherries, sweet red fruits, bits of cola and asian spice tones
  
  overall: Very approachable and enjoyable. This is a barrel sample as its due to be bottled soon, but there is a lot to like with a pretty dark cherry attack and a tasty asian spice finish (91 pts.)
• 2006 picket fence Pinot Noir - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
  nose: nice sweet candied RRV driven nose with red currants, cola tones, lots of spices, some tart red cherries, and bits of earth. Very nice nose, but doesn't have a lot of depth to it
  
  taste: good medium body to it with cola, spices, and candied red cherries
  
  overall: A really good cali pinot for under 30. Very nice with medium body and medium acidity. This is a great pinot to introduce people into california pinot and show them that next level of pinot that exists above the 20-25 range (88 pts.)
• 2007 Landmark Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
  nose: bright red cherry tones with some candied and creamed fruits, raspberries, and some tart tones of wild berries
  
  taste: nice medium body, but a bit of heat detracts with creamed red fruits, red cherries, and candy tones
  
  overall: A bit hollow on the mid palate too, to go along with the bit of heat. Good medium acidity, this needs a bit of time to flesh out, but has the kanzler trademark candied fruit that will work with fans of this style (89 pts.)

I'm really glad I went. A lot of really good wine was being poured, and its always nice to talk to the winemakers or reps. There was a much bigger crowd then last year, but there was also more room this year as it was moved into one of the bigger convention halls. While there were a lot of people, it didn't seem that way and it was never a problem getting a pour. A well run event and hopefully I'll be able to go next year
Posted from CellarTracker


now, something to keep in mind is my own palate. I'm a burg guy, so over ripe and fruit bomby pinots don't do much for me. I generally look for balance, acidity, smoothness, and being true to the area(terroir). So, those that I felt were more successful in those areas I generally score higher. I don't want cali pinot to taste like burgundy, I'd just go straight to teh source, I just want to get a sense of place when I drink the wines.

as always, please ask me any questions that anyone may have. While I have no problems responding to PMs, I think for everyone's benefit, its best to have the questions in this thread so that others may answer too so that a range of opinions can happen. IMO everyone's opinion is valid as everyone has a different palate

Like a lot of other people I really enjoy drinking wine but it is a pretty daunting task to really try and 'learn' wine given the breadth and depth of wine offerings. Most of my wine selection is done by what I refer to as my "pin the tail on the donkey" approach. When I go to dinner w my gf I look at the wine menu generally in context with the menu (italian rest, italian wine, french and french and so on) and usually just choose a wine that is in the middle-upper price range of the list (and for some reason I have an inherent anti-American bias when I choose and usually go foreign) and it has been working pretty well I think. But I really don't know much more than that at all.

Would you recommend trying to learn a particular region or varietal? or try and learn Cabernet's then Merlots etc? Or should I try and spend 20 minutes researching wine (pairings) before ordering food or choosing a restaurant or something?

Start with what you like (specific region and/or varietal). Then learn what vintages are good. Go from there. Don't try and learn everything at once.

For example, I started with Oregon Pinot. Very specific. 02 was a great year, I love 04. 05 was very good and 06 is drinking well young (very approachable for casual drinkers at almost every price point). 03 is hot and not very good and 07 so far not so good.

Then I tried wines from many places and settled on a few go-to favorites (Domaine Serene, Sineann, Ken Wright, Penner Ashe) and learned which ones I tended to dislike, especially of the higher profile places (Archery Summit, Domaine Droughin, Bergstrom).

From there I moved on to Napa cabs and am continuing to learn there. I've learned "just enough" about Bordeaux and Brunello to get around most high end lists.

But, start narrow with something you like. Go from there.

any advice on finding good values at auction? references to look at?

clark gave some really good advice, and I'll echo that for the most part. What is something good to do is just to try as many different wines from as many different areas as possible. Use Localwineevents.com to see where some tastings are in your area. Check them out, and be sure to take the time to smell the wine and try to pay attention to whatever flavors come to you. You may not get much at first, and I would say at first don't worry about writing down notes, just more pay attention to what you smell and taste and then work from there

something that may not be a bad idea is to focus in on a region for 4-6 weeks. Gets some friends together a couple times and have tastings focusing in on that region or varietal. Say you want to get into cabs and merlots(or blends of the two grapes). Get some friends together and each person brings a cab, merlot, or blend from all over the world to get a sense of the grape(s) and the differences between the regions. Make a price floor per bottle so that you don't bring something good and some jackass decides to bring a castle rock cab or something like that.

a different solution is to just try something different each week. Buy a bottle or two at your local wine store each week and try it. Since you are just getting into wine, I would suggest not to have any biases towards a region or another, just let it all be. I know that it isn't neccessarily a scientific approach, but everyone has their own journies in the wine world.

I would also say to start off with lower priced wines so that you can get a sense of what a varietal can bring. That is not to say always spend under 15, but I believe when starting out in wine, you need to get yourself a base to start with. No one really starts off at 1K NL or 100/200 LHE, they all need a base if they want to be successful, the same works for wine. Would you really appreciate an amazing aged bordeaux without tasting a bunch of young bordeaux from lower price points? probably not. It's also why solid chianti is a good starting point to get people into brunellos, it gives you a basis for what the varital can bring so that you can understand the greatness of a varietal in just the right areas

hopefully that gives you a bit of a starting point

ed, I'd say to save your money right now and to just wait until may or june to see the real values at auction.

There has been a major wine bubble that existed that has started to pop and you'll see a lot of speculators dump a lot of wine onto auction and consignment retail over the next 18 months.

There are some great auction houses in new york, but their buyer's comission is very high(I know that acker runs at 21% when it used to be 17). Those Vigs will come down too as the reserve prices start to decrease

thanks. how do sites like winebid generally compare to live auctions?

I love winebid, and as far as online-only sites, to me its the only one that is reputable. while you can get some great deals on winecommune, you are buying directly from the seller, and I have had some friends get screwed

what I like about winebid is that you can buy by single bottle lots and there's lots of deals to be had as I've picked up some great wines for a fraction of what they would cost at retail(one of the biggest deals I got was getting an 85 Guigal Hermitage for $50+buyers prem and tax). You can't retract bids, so you really need to watch how much you bid on, because serious wallet pain can happen if you don't pay close attention

Found a local wine store with 2003 Pavie Macquin for $78 after 10% mixed case discount. Bought all 8 bottles. Currently retailing for about $160+ everywhere else in the free world. Ship it.

Great wine, big cab like fruit up front but very measured on the back end. Super interesting wine that has both new and old world characteristics.

can somebody recommend a wine that pairs well with smoking? (I'm not talking camels or marlboros)

look for norcal syrahs and french syrahs like st joseph. granted it all depends on what kind of meat you're smoking as cabs or ribera del dueros would probably do the trick too

my apologies if this is a bit off topic but does anyone know of a good wine course in nyc? i'm thinking of enrolling my dad in one as a christmas gift, currently considering the class at the FCI (my old culinary school) and international wine center per egullet search.

LOL at thinking I was talking about smoking meat. I guess I'm just on a different level than the standard wine drinker.

I find that you want something lightish with good acidity if you're blazing and drinking. Think German Rieslings, Champagne (or Sparkling wine).

looks like I'll be drinking a bottle of german Riesling tonight, thank you for the response. Any suggestions for a reasonably priced bottle for a wine noob.

Viognier works also. just look for bottles in your price range and experiment.

check out localwineevents.com. There's probably something in there that you can give your dad. I have no doubt that there's some wine courses through either columbia or NYU. Also look and see if chambers, garnett, or astor have any beginers courses or something like that(Acker has some very high end ones that are very expensive, so that's way out of what you are going for)

lol, that went over my head


there's lot of good riesling out there right now. Just be willing to spend about 15-25 and you'll be fine. NZ sauvignon blancs generally did a good job for me when baked out. lots of acidity and bright flavors



what are people planning on drinking on either christmas eve or christmas? Or if celebrating Hanukkah are you keeping kosher or drinking non-kosher?

I'm probably going to be popping an 05 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne. I'm always a sucker for grand cru white burgs no matter how young or mature they are

saw this thread on the Ebob forum and thought of your posts on the topic. A bunch of DC Ebob members did one of their GJE style tastings based on this topic(well, sorta as its at wine geek price levels) and very interesting results:

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/...d.php?t=189298

I second this recommendation.

So I opened a bottle of white wine three nights ago and forgot to refrigerate it. Is it still drinkable?

did you recork it or just leave it open?

It was one of those new, non-pretentious ones with a screw-on cap. Anyway, I drank it and have not gone blind yet.