WTN: Chapoutier, Leonetti, Grahams, Shafer, Fox Creek

Monthly blind tasting notes:

1997 Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon (Hunter Valley) – much better bottle than the last one I had. Some vanilla in the nose, and some coconut and citrus, smooth on palate and quite crisp. Hold or drink.

2002 Chaddsford Chambourcin Seven Valleys Vineyard – absolutely no clues as to the non-vinifera hybrid nature of the grape. Made in Pennsylvania, this wine had the colour of a pinot, the nose of a syrah (bit spicy), and was very presentable if a bit puzzling when tasted blind.

1995 Chapoutier Cornas – a very pleasant surprise. We narrowed down to Cornas pretty quickly. The blood and green olive nose and dark colour along with a slightly rustic feel sent us in that direction. Now fully mature but no rush.

2000 Quinta do Crasto Reserve – it took a little floundering to get to Portugal. I am delighted to have tasted this as I have a case waiting for prime time use. Purple with a sweetish ripe nose, featuring berry scents, smooth on palate and medium long. Very nice and will hold – just hitting prime time.

2004 Quinta do Vallado – also a Douro wine, this was simpler with a fresh youthful nose, and sweeter with spice on palate. At a quite low price it is one to buy by the case.

1984 Shafer Hillside Select – the owner was worried about how this would have held up but there was no problem. Pale edges, lovely mature nose, lots of acidity, and the tannins were still there but well resolved. Fully mature, enjoyable and the acidity not quite high enough to be a problem.

1994 Leonetti Merlot – sweet vanilla and cocoa nose lead the tasters (it was my wine) to merlot pretty quick and the structure headed some toward Washington. Very good flavour intensity, good length, the tannins well resolved and a significantly better showing than the 1993 has been.

1997 Tenuta la Palazza Graf Noir – a new one on all of us from Italy. 55% sangiovese, 15% cab franc, and 30% uva longanesi (never heard of this one). fairly young with tannins and acidity about equal, dry finish, bit of chocolate. Nice but nothing special.

1998 Fox Creek JSM – named after the owners’ kids, the blend is shiraz, cab sauv and cab franc. Still dark, with a nice mint and raspberry nose, lots of concentration and sweet and hot in the finish, which had good length. I keep saying I must find mine in the cellar (I have a case and a half) and now I really MUST find it as this wine is drinking so well right now!

2001 RBJ Vox Populi – an Oz wine made mostly from Grenache, this was showing surprising age in both colour and in the mouth. A couple of people swore it was corked yet failed to detect any hint of TCA. Smoky, oily nose, medium weight, lots of wood.

1991 Grahams Port – this one fooled me – I thought it was showing the maturity to be a 1985 and I swore it wasn’t a Grahams as it lacked the typical sweetness. Dark with a sweet hot nose that didn’t show any particular fruit, and pretty well integrated, especially for this vintage. I find I have a half case of this as well and will make a mental note (sop easily misplaced) to consider it for drinking.

Scholtz Hermanos Malaga ‘Lagrima’ 10 year old – my experience with Malagas has been limited and unfavourable – simple cloying wines made from PX and Moscadelo. This one was definitely fun, though. Can’t recall a wine that was brown with green edges before! he colour and consistency of treacle, it was luscious rather than cloying and had a finish that had sufficient acidity to balance out the no doubt high residual sugar.

[Jenise]

Hey, was gone all weekend and have to go find my notes. But a quick rebuttal to:

1994 Chapoutier Cornas – while I have some of the slightly better 1995 (and I mean that in terms of structure and ageability), this 1994 was a very pleasant surprise. We narrowed down to Cornas pretty quickly. The blood and green olive nose and dark colour along with a slightly rustic feel sent us in that direction. Now fully mature but no rush.

The bottle I brought WAS a 95--I've never owned any 94s.

Hey, was gone all weekend and have to go find my notes. But a quick rebuttal:

The bottle I brought WAS a 95--I've never owned any 94s.

Now you are quoting yourself...? Oh well, am impeccable source, I suppose - and a correct one - I checked with the person that took the bottle and I misread it. It was indeed a 1995 which does not displease me as I have a half case (if only I could find it....)

[Jenise]

Now you are quoting yourself...?

Whatever are you talking about. My post to you was perfect, as are all my posts.

It was indeed a 1995 which does not displease me as I have a half case (if only I could find it....)

Now where have we heard this before?

Now you are quoting yourself...?

Whatever are you talking about. My post to you was perfect, as are all my posts.

It was indeed a 1995 which does not displease me as I have a half case (if only I could find it....)

Now where have we heard this before?

Now this one I should actually be able to find....I should keep a WANT list on the door so when I am down there heaving cases around I'll know to pull out things....

Here is my first note on this wine from 4 years ago:

1995 Chapoutier Cornas - edges still puplish on this wine, the nose recognizably Rhone with cassis and pepper evident, and in the mouth, medium bodied, with good length and excellent acidity. It drinks very well for such a young Cornas, and will continue to improve for several years before hitting plateau.


I like Cornas even though it doesn't have the elegance of other areas - guess I am always up for a bit of rough trade....

Thanks for the notes.

I've been singing the praises of the '04 Crasto Reserva Old Vines since I lucked onto a bottle last spring (and promptly grabbed a bunch more). Drinking well now and reportedly--as supported by your experience with the '00--cellar worthy. I had to bury the rest of mine to keep from pulling the corks.

Not a very encouraging note on the Port, I have a few from the vintage (Graham, Dow, Vesuvio, Warre, Cockburn) but nothing that's grabbed me. I enjoy the '85s, even in the face of some VA problems, much more. '85 Fonseca is special.

I've had bad luck with Cornas, I'm down to some '97s that I hope will come around. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the notes.

Not a very encouraging note on the Port, I have a few from the vintage (Graham, Dow, Vesuvio, Warre, Cockburn) but nothing that's grabbed me. I enjoy the '85s, even in the face of some VA problems, much more. '85 Fonseca is special.

Well the fact that it didn't tip me off with a typical sweetness isn't a mark against it and the fact that the nose just wasn't overflowing with fruit shouldn't be held against anything but this particular bottle. I take this tasting as an indication that it is hitting drinking time a bit earlier than I'd have thought.

Unfortunately my Port is REALLY buried deeply so it may be a few more years before I dig down to it, but I'm sure it will only benefit.

[Jenise]

My notes:

Smells coconutty. Also seaspray, big simple flavor of pina colada. Can't ID the grape. Oh, it's 1997 Tyrells Vat 1 Semillon Impressive in some ways for a 10 year old wine, but I don't feel the love. Only 10.4% alcohol!

This is my wine. It's a 2002 Chaddsford Chambourcin Seven Valleys Vineyard that David Bueker thoughtfully sent me. It's spicey, medium bodied, a little floral, kind of like a merlot-syrah cross. Very pleasant indeed, and everybody likes the wine. But the guys are stumped--they're naming every red vinifera grape known. They give up and work on the geography issue. Once we establish that it's eastern U.S., the possibility of a hybrid finally surfaces and I reveal the grape and state of origin to keep from prolonging the pain. Fun!

This is mine, too, it's the 1995 Chapoutier Cornas. First whiff shows the most green olive nose I've ever smelled, followed by quite a bit of burnt rubber. I'm surprised the first guess isn't Cote Rotie, though that came up soon enough. With a little time the midpalate fruit opens up and there's a good chore of black cherry and pepper with a little espresso bean. Perfectly at peak, and terrific paired with the chanterelles in rich brown sauce on puff pastry course.

This next one's very purple and dense. Dense and concentrated, but not heavy, there's some nice acid here and no RS. Ah, it's Portugese! A 2000 Quinta do Crasto Reserva. Really good, and a producer that's come up before at these lunches. The wines always make me regret that I don't cellar any Portugese table wines.

A juvenile version of the wine before it. That is, another purple/dense wine, noticeably younger with that grapey nose young Portugese wines all seem to have. Quite tasty, though kind of a rustic, peasant style to my tastes. 2004 Quinta Vollado.

Oh my. This wine is spectacular, absolute Cal Cab perfection and textbook Napa. Turns out to be a 1984 Shafer Hilliside Select.

The next one's Bill's. We decide to peek at his wine while he's off filling the meter and then lead him on a merry chase of perplexing guesswork, but we don't get our story straight before he returns, so the joke doesn't quite go as planned. No matter, the wine was nothing to joke about: it's a 1994 Leonetti Merlot. We'd have gotten the merlot part right but it would have taken some time to nail the place and year. Certainly, based on the two 93's I've had of this wine (also Bill's), this '94 is a lot bigger, fresher, younger than just the one year would account for, though relatively speaking the others had about the same time-in-bottle at the point they were drunk so this wine isn't, technically, younger.
Superb.

A new wine arrives. It's deep reddish black, opaque, with a mildly bretty nose plus spice, black pepper, chocolate, and a good acid undercore that suggests Italy even though nothing else about it is even remotely Italian. It's the 1997 Graf Noir, 30/30 sangiovese and cabernet, plus 20/20 cab franc and one of those Italian grapes you've never heard of. Nice but not the wow I'd hoped for--I have another in the cellar, where another 3-5 years can only make a merely nice wine nicer.

Very sweet fruit here, blue-red, big and well balanced, plush and velvetty with hints of American Oak in the warm finish. Someone says Australia and I connect with the 'plush and velvetty' part above and suggest McClaren Vale, then go straight to Fox Creek. Yes, yes, that's what it is, the cab franc-shiraz called JSM, vintage 1998.

The next wine spurred a great deal of discussion because 1) it was just so odd, and 2) me and another who is also typically sensitive to TCA think it's corked but others aren't as sure. What I do know is that it tasted nothing like Grenache nor a wine just six years young--it was dull and sour, with that weedy/musty off taste of TCA. Turns out to be an Aussie 2001 RBJ Vox Populi . May this never cross my path again!

I'm not good at guessing ports, but the 91 Grahams that was served next was drinking surprisingly well for it's youth. Dark and sweet with saturated black cherry fruit and a little plum. Absolutely delicious.

Quite liked this next wine, less for itself than that it was a wine I've read about and never tasted, and never would have sought out considering my general repugnance for PX. Astonishing color of used motor oil--opaque brownish black with a green edge--and a flavor rather like a bual madeira blended with raisin puree, but without the viscosity that or 'PX' suggests--it's a wine, not a syrup. Scholtz Hermanos Malaga ‘Lagrima’ 10 year old. Odd, but eminently interesting. [/list]

This is mine, too, it's the 2005 Chapoutier Cornas.

That would be a tad young, wouldn't it.....

[Jenise]

Ha! Jeez, I was so intent on changing your '4' to a '5', and then I went and blew it myself. Though mine was only a typo--you actually thought you drank a different wine!