First, the scoring system. I work with words, so numbers and stars don't really speak to me. Instead, as I taste a wine I try to think to myself, "who would I want to share this with?" So here is my system:
"Box neighbors." The well-intentioned but loud neighbors. You know the ones. Their kids are a bit too loud and stay out a bit too late. Their dog barks too early and too much. Whenever there's a neighborhood barbecue they bring a box of wine and expect you to tell them how wonderful it is.
"Gift friends." You know them, too. The know you collect wine, so on their way to your house they stop at the grocery and buy the second- or third-cheapest bottle on the shelf. They are very nice people and are really trying hard. I save these bottles with the name of the person that gave it to me, so I don't share with or regift back the same bottle.
"Weekday family." This is just for the every day something-to-quaff-with-dinner-when-dinner-is-something-whipped-up-to-feed-the-kids wine.
"The acolyte." You know him, too. Heck you WERE him once, and so was I. This is the guy who is just starting to get into wine. These bottles are not wonderful, but they are very good standard examples of what a wine should be. You can say "do you taste the white pepper? That's a Zinfandel."
"The afficianado." We're getting to the good stuff now. This is the wine you taste and want another wine-drinking friend to taste too. You want to say "hey, try this," and know somebody else will appreciate it just as much as you do.
"Just me." We're all a little selfish. Once in a while you find something that you just can't share with anybody. You buy it and save it for the time the wife and kids are visiting her sister. Then you make yourself a steak, or some lamb, or something else wonderful, and spend the evening drinking it.
"Dad's death bed." I have not met this wine yet. If anybody has a bottle that qualifies send me an email and I will give you my shipping address. This is the bottle you open at your father's death bed, giving him a glass, or a sip, or just a drop on his lips, so he can enjoy a finish that truly lasts eternity. Then you sit with his body and drink the rest, sharing it with his departing soul.
Okay, now a few random notes, really just to see how the system works.
1997 Château Haut-Marbuzet (France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe)
Rating- the afficianado. I would love to share this with somebody else who would enjoy it.
This was terrific. At first, I thought it was past its prime, a bit dark, pungent and pruny. Give it a couple of hours, though, and the florals really take over. The nose was a floral hot-house with cumin and cocoa to accompany lilac, lavender, and evn some soft rose. The palate was just as floral, with dark fruit, toast, and enough woodiness and earth to remind you where it came from. The finish, well, on the second day I had a taste to see if it lasted, then had to go somewhere, and it was still with me as I drove out of the neighborhood. I know where there are two more bottles on the clearance table, and I'm going back tomorrow.
2004 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Oaks (USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles)
Rating- gift friends. This is grocery store Cabernet. You can just taste the floating wood chips.
Vanilla, brown sugar nose. Cherries and blueberries, vanilla, and a lot of brown sugar on toast. Very sweet and toasty. To me, this tasted like a mass-market in-your-face cabernet. This bottle was a gift.
2005 Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir (USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros)
Rating- the acolyte. Nothing great here, but if you want to show somebody generic California pinot, this is it.
Raspberries and bramble nose. Flat cherry cola and black tea with black pepper. This is a good, but PERFECTLY typical, California pinot.
2004 Scarlatta Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Italy, Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo)
Rating- Box neighbors.
Pale dull red. Sweet candy caramel and peppermint nose. Blackberries, sour cherries, leather and vanilla palate, rather sweet. Finish was dried cherries, tar and tobacco. Not great, or even very good, but more than adequate, and an amazing bargain for the price. I keep this in the cellar for when the neighbors come over, because we always go through 3 or 4 bottles, and by then they can't tell the difference.
Once again, if anybody has an extra bottle of something that might qualify as "Dad's death bed" let me know. I'll even split the shipping costs.
