My apologies, as these notes are close to a month old. But, I think I might be getting caught up at last... These are from a montly group get-together focusing on Syrah.
2002 Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carriere. It was a pleasure to have another opportunity to try this wine after being really wowed by it at an off-line dinner earlier in the year. The nose on this bottle is all about liquid minerality, lemon oil, sea shell salinity, ferns, tropical fruits and crisp pear. It offers a very generous mouthful of flavor, expanding nicely through the mid-palate, with caramel, brown butter and spice notes sitting atop delicious apple and tropical fruits. There is good and precise acidity that grows through to the long, spicy, toasty-oak-tinged finish. On the whole, it feels a bit further advanced than the bottle tasted earlier this year, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is a fantastic expression of Chardonnay that I would eagerly drink any day.
2004 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block Santa Cruz Mountains. I was really excited to try this wine for the first time after hearing a fair amount about it. The nose is soft and lacy, yet tightly honed in on its profile of lemon, ripe melon, peachy notes, muted orange blossom and cream. In the mouth, it has a viscous, oily feel balanced off by just enough acid twang underneath. Leesy tropical fruits abound throughout, and there is a serious kiss of soft oak that is especially apparent on the long, spicy finish. Overall, it is a bit thicker through the middle than the Peter Michael and not quite as classy on the whole, but offers oodles of pleasure. A great start to the evening.
Then, it was on to the Syrah. All wines were served blind.
1998 Domaine du Trapadis Cotes du RhoneVillage Rasteau Cuvee Harys. For those not hip enough (like me) to catch on, “Harys” is Syrah spelled backwards. In this first flight, this was the wine that was hardest to get a solid read on, especially aromatically. However, with some air, it begins to show savory notes of leather, earth and some vegetative elements before the fresh blueberry fruit starts to blossom and grow. At the same time, though, some alcohol notes also emerge. It is a bit sweeter on the palate than the nose would seem to suggest, with mixed berry fruit and dark chocolate flavors. It is medium- to full-bodied, but not nearly as extracted or dense as its flight-mates. Rough-edged tannins are a bit drying on the dark-toasted finish. I was guessing Rhone all the way.
2000 Shafer Relentless Napa Valley. The sweet, unctuous nose jumps right out of the glass and grabs you by the lapels. It is initially all about sweet cherry fruit, chocolate and coffee, but with just a bit of air, on comes a complex mix of eucalyptus, incense, briery mixed berry compote and holiday fruit cake. In the mouth, it is full-bodied, rich, creamy and plushly textured, with spiced plum fruit. It has a seamless texture draped over a big-boned frame and offers a significant mouthful of flavor. It is clearly young, with big, chalky tannins flirting around the edges. Upon revealing, I was not really surprised, as I sensed a lot of similarity to a bottle of the 1999 consumed last year. Another thing this wine shared with the ’99 is that it did not really stand up too well to a night or two in the refrigerator—turning a bit cloying. My advice is to drink it at one sitting (if you can!). By the way, I stood alone as having this as one of my Wines of the Night. I guess it is just not everybody’s cup of tea.
1998 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz E&E Black Pepper Barossa Valley. Initially, the nose on this wine is extremely minty (like Altoid dust left at the bottom of the tin when all the mints are gone), with a big overpowering note of funky crème de cassis that almost seems reductive. Over time, though, it all settles down a bit and adds in nice notes of flower bouquet greens and boysenberry. In the mouth, this wine is very sappy and red-fruited, offering a very pleasant, open-knit mouthfeel that is plushly textured. However, this does not seem quite as amped up as the wine preceding it. The sweet, plump red fruits are quite pleasant-tasting, and there are not too many tannins here to contend with—providing a soft, generous finish that goes down nice and easy.
2004 Kilikanoon Shiraz Testament Barossa Valley. There are strong notes of rubber on the nose, along with fainter notes of bacon fat, white pepper, brambles, blueberry muffin and fresh mint leaf. The attack is a touch sweet and soft and it is a bit plump in the mid-palate. However, it does not feel as extracted as the two previous offerings, with flavors of cocoa powder, red currants, raspberries and smoke. Tannins only really come in toward the back, where they are chalky and a bit bitter. Overall, this is a fine wine, but perhaps in need of more time to come together.
2003 Ridge Syrah Lytton West Dry Creek Valley. 91% Syrah, 9% Viognier. This wine has an appealingly complex bouquet of wild blueberries, white pepper, forest greenery and fruity yogurt. What is quite nice about it is that it offers complexity without a sense of showiness or over-extraction, and I think many in the group could really appreciate that. One minor distraction for me, though, is a recurring note of rubber band that pops up every few sniffs. In the mouth, it is very pleasant texturally, with a layered, elegant feel to it despite the obvious full-bodied profile. It has excellent juiciness, a solid backbone and a fine sense of balance. Moreover, the finish is tangy and fresh, providing a fine foil for the food on the table. Group Wine of the Night.
2001 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Saint-Joseph Les Serines. The nose here is quite different—showing more of a profile of iron minerality, leather, horsehide, cracked black pepper and beef stock. In the mouth, this is again very beefy-flavored, and is made in a much earthier style, with lots of crisp minerality and a certain stony angularity that dominates the mixed berry fruit at this time. Ultimately, it feels a bit simple right now, though it certainly is pleasant enough.
2000 Domaine August Clape Cornas. The nose here sports dark earth, blackberries, dark raspberries, dry pine needles and powdery baking chocolate. The wine on the palate is medium-bodied, very juicy and tangy-fruited, with an open, softly-textured profile. There are chalky tannins evident all the way through from the attack to the finish, but it is nonetheless a smooth offering. It has a decently long finish, but one is nonetheless left with a sense that this is either a bit of an early-drinking, open-knit wine or one that is just too young to be showing what it has. Based on this tasting, it seems more likely that it is the former, but once this was revealed as the Clape, one has to at least acknowledge the possibility of the latter, given the track record. For this reason, judgement has to be deferred.
2004 Finca Sandoval Manchuela. Not surprisingly, this was the lone Spanish Syrah in the tasting. 83% Syrah, 9% Mourvedre, 8% Bobal. It opens with a lovely nose of rhubarb, Asian spices, soft chalk, and fresh red currants galore. Later, it folds in notes of ferns, graphite and darker fruits. Overall, the bouquet has excellent depth and shows a lot of class. It has fine delineation in the mouth, and plenty of lift. It feels fresh and crunchy with vibrant, lively fruit and solid acidity. Very plush, richly-textured tannins bode well for further development in the cellar. The texture is similarly plush, supporting flavors of chocolate-covered cherries, blackcurrant, spiced plum and smoky earth. I like it plenty now, but give it some time.
After dinner, Gerry treated us to a bottle of Sauternes
2001 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes. I believe this had been open several hours—at least since we had arrived, so probably about 5 hours or so. There is a lot of sweet botrytis on the nose, along with burnt sugar, apricot marmalade, mango chutney, crème brulee and a sort of copper kettle note. The depth of the aromatics is fabulous and it keeps pulling the nose back for more. It is ultra-rich with lots of glycerin in the mouth, yet one can clearly sense the elegance underneath. There are no holes at all in the palate, just coating the palate with its combination of tangy acidity and unctuous sweetness. In all ways, it is the complete opposite of harsh. The finish lasts a mile. Great stuff, with a huge future.
-Michael