WTN: Pride, Beyerskloof, Katnook, Grahams.....

Blind tasting lunch notes

2005 Pascal Cotet Sancerre Les Monts Damnes – very pale colour, excellent nose with fruit going in and on palate, a definite hit of white pepper at the end. Never recall that before on a Sancerre. Good body.

2001 Pride Sonoma Viognier – waxy Semillon sort of nose, smooth and full on palate. Nice.

1997 Couly-Dutheil Chinon Clos de l’Echo – corked – what a shame!

1999 Behrens & Hitchcock Petit Sirah Barcini Vd. – this one had us dancing all over theplace looking for the right varietal. Purple edges, sweet fruit nose, hint of green, good length. Big but friendly.

2000 La Frenz Merlot – made by an Australian winemaker in BC, I picked this out on release as having a lot of potential and slipped it into this tasting to see what people thought of it with some age. Fairly dark, toasty vanilla and fruit, pretty well integrated, spicy fruit on palate and at a nice point in development. One of the top ten BC reds I have tasted.

2003 Quinta das Bageiras Garafeirra- made from the Baga grape this showed a dusty nose with good underlying fruit, lots or rustic tannins in the middle and a dry finish that narrowed down a bit. The nose became more elegant with air, which as ironic as the last descriptor you’d choose for this pricy Portuguese wine would be elegant!

1998 Les Cailloux CN du P – now at a lovely stage in development, this middleweight Rhone showed orange peel in the hot jammy nose, lightening colour and sweet on palate.

2002 Beyerskloof Synergy – a Cape blend of cab sauv, merlot and pinotage, this showed little of the coarseness I always associate with pinotage. Dark intense wine sweet mid palate with some pepper (had us looking for syrah) and a fair bit of acidity.

1984 Phelps Bacchus Cabernet – a huge dust and mint nose sent your thoughts to Oz or California. Still has some tannin, but the fruit is a bit low, and I think it would have been better a few years ago.

2001 Katnook Estate Odyssey – this cabernet had an excellent toasty fruit nose with initial cocoa that later became floral. Good body and good balance.

2003 Villa Toscana Jakes Vineyard Zinfandel Shenandoah Valley – picked up by a friend on his travels, this hot number showed stewed fruit and tea in the nose, sweet and simple in the mouth and seemed far older than it was. At 16.5% hot to boot. You start wondering when the best authority they can find to quote on the back label, speaking to the quality of the wine is ….Jake himself….. 9 thumbs down.

1985 Grahams Port – I thought this was not only very good but also very drinkable. Not quite as sweet as Grahams so often is, it had a nice maturing Port nose and slid down very smoothly. If you have this, you may want to put the case out front of the 1983, for drinking while you wait for the latter vintage.

[Jenise]

My notes:

With a warm seafood appetizer of catfish, grilled scallops and shrimp:

2005 Pascal Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnes – Very tight, very hard to guess--gruner veltliner was someone's first guess and even unoaked cool climate chardonnay got tossed in the hat before we ever thought of Sancerre--no asparagus notes in this wine at all. Thinking back to the Thomas Labaille LMD I had a few months ago from the same vintage, which suffered the same problem, this wine didn't even begin to open up or hint at all it will be in the time it was in front of us.

2001 Pride Sonoma Viognier – my bottle. Since the last and only other bottle of this I had, the color has deepened to orange-y gold and the primary fruit flavors have ceded ground to delicious, minerally secondary stuff and terrific balance. The crew immediately guessed that it had some age on it, but found both the grape and origins hard to pin down--it was initially guessed to be European. A really fine showing, and superb with the seafood course.

With whole roasted quail, brown sauce, and wild rice compote:

1999 Behrens & Hitchcock Petit Sirah, Barcini Vineyard, Napa Also my bottle. Can't improve on your comments, Bill.

2000 La Frenz Merlot – your wine. Very interesting mineral nose that immediately suggested a blend like cab/merlot or cab/syrah simply because it lacked any identifier that would tie it to any one grape. What a surprise when it turned out to be 100% merlot: there were absolutely none of the sweet scents that usually accompany that grape. Very, very good.

2003 Quinta das Bageiras Garafeirra- Perfumey wine with firm, rough tannins, more polished on the front end (filtered?) than the usual Portugese but as you say, not elegant. Per it's bearer, Bageiras, whose total production is only about 1600 cases, is considered to be the best producer of baga in Portugal.

1998 Les Cailloux CN du P – Can't improve on your comments, but will add that this, and the viognier, were my WOTL.

2002 Beyerskloof Synergy – Exuberant new world fruit on a traditional frame led easily to South Africa. Robust black cherry fruit with a little burnt rubber, bandaid and rocks. I liked this a lot.

With individual beef wellingtons, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables:

1984 Phelps Bacchus Cabernet – Lots of dust and mint, and once we got confirmation that it was California Cabernet I went right to Phelps whose wines have a unique character that always speaks to me. I think I thought it was in slightly better shape than you did, though you're probably right that it's on the downhill end of things.

2001 Katnook Estate Odyssey – Instantly identifiable as new world cabernet, though which part of the new world was in question. When Napa failed to get a yes, Australia's Margaret River had to be eliminated before we zeroed in correctly on Coonawarra. Amazing how interchangeable these wines can be. I have to admit disliking Katnook wines in the past based on their overripe 98's, but this was wonderful, and it has a good future.

With a cheese and fruit plate:

2003 Villa Toscana Jakes Vineyard Zinfandel Shenandoah Valley – Stewed strawberries and black raspberries here with a sweet, porty midpalate and hot finish. Absolute dreck. In addition to its inherent disabilities, like 16.5% alcohol, the wine might have gotten cooked somewhere along the way, too, as it showed as much older than it was. Hated it.

1985 Grahams Port – again, no need for me to add to your comments.

2003 Villa Toscana Jakes Vineyard Zinfandel Shenandoah Valley – Absolute dreck. Hated it.

Don't you hate it when someone won't come right out and say what she thought about a wine......

I am sure we will remember to remind the purveyor of this wine that he is in the enviable position of having nowhere to go but upwards in future tastings....

[Jenise]

Hey, no one else liked it either.

Useless data point: About five years ago, the one and only time I toured the Amador/Eldorado region, Villa Toscana was the only winery with the temerity to charge for their tastings, and where literally everyone else tastes of their barn or some other modest little building, VT has built a tourist-ready Italian villa. There's more there not to like than meets the eye.

And a question: did you think the petite sirah made a case for bottling this grape as a single variety? The Ridge York Creeks I've had did, but not this one--though it was certainly good enough to drink.

Interesting question. I'd have to say I am an advocate of PS wines. I can't say this one jumped out at me as a PS though.

My cellar list discloses only a single 89 Hop Kiln (which I hope I drank and forgot to note) and some late 90s Turleys that probably won't be ready this decade, so Iwon't be able to pull anything to prove my thesis. I still think that the old Californian PS was interesting wine, though. Thanks for bringing that one!

And no, I didn't like the Villa Crapola and better than you did - I was applauding your forthrightness.

[Jenise]

I still think that the old Californian PS was interesting wine, though.

I thought so, too. I just wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be, as I know I can be with PS. But then, come to think of it, I've never been impressed with any Behrens and Hitchcock wine. I noted that it had a slightly confected nose, and I've disliked that on their pinots too. Seems to be a winery style. Parker loves thes guys, but I don't get it.

And no, I didn't like the Villa Crapola and better than you did - I was applauding your forthrightness.

Oh, I know that, I didn't take offense. I was just happy to give you more reasons to think ill of them.

2005 Pascal Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnes – Very tight, very hard to guess-... Thinking back to the Thomas Labaille LMD I had a few months ago from the same vintage, which suffered the same problem, this wine didn't even begin to open up or hint at all it will be in the time it was in front of us.

Is the problem you mention about the Cotat and the Labaille that they were closed, or something else?

Did you guys notice any sense of residual sugar in the Cotat LMD?

I am a fan of the Cotat wines I've tried, they seem very age-able for Sancerre. A 2001 was drinking very well a few months ago. Maybe they need time to show their strength.

[Jenise]

Is the problem you mention about the Cotat and the Labaille that they were closed, or something else? ./quote]

Closed. Sorry that wasn't more clear.

Did you guys notice any sense of residual sugar in the Cotat LMD?

None! I guessed it to be an 04, didn't seem ripe enough to be 05.