Had dinner with some friends, including a couple from Oregon who grow Pinot for Stangeland.
Donna and Laura cooked this amazing dish of homemade spinach gnocci, veal shank, wild mushrooms from Oregon, and an amazing white cheese. Unbelievable!
Monchiero Carbone Regret Nebbiolo (Langhe) 2004. I am going to be a plagiarist, because HurrahSyrah from Cellar Tracker nailed it 110% for my experience with this wine, which was definitely the wine for this night:
Decanted for 1 hr. This wine exhibited a dark ruby color throughout. On the nose, aromas of black cherries, leather, and earth were prominent with floral hints lingering in the background. On the palate, flavors of black cherries, plums and violets lead to a earthy finish. Tannins softened quite a bit once allowed to aerate and this wine became more delicate in structure then upon first pour. Great food wine. HS90 (
This wine, though fiercely tannic when I opened the bottle, just blossomed and really went well with the food. At less than $20, this is definitely a re-purchase. 18/20, especially given the quality to price ratio!
2004 Blue Rock Syrah (Alexander Valley) A very meaty, earthy nose. Somewhat transluscent color. Nice blackberry fruit on the palate, with hints of earth and spice. Somewhat fierce tannins, and there was a pretty heavy layer of oak underneath the structure. The oak was underneath, though, not blanketing the fruit as with the Merlot below. This wine was probably opened five years early-it might knit together better. 15/20
2002 Venge Merlot. I liked this at the winery. I did not like this tonight. It actualyl had a lovely nose, with plenty of spicy fruit and even some earthy notes. Fiercely tannic, though. Tannins I can take, but this wine just seemed smothered in oak, with a very pronounced vanilla character. 12/20?