North Yuba? North Yuba, you say? 1996 Renaissance Proprietary Red Sierra Foothills 61% Cab, 25% Merlot, etc. A similar cepage to Cain Concept, another mountain wine I enjoyed recently. At 2,000 feet in an appellation I have never heard of
But, this wine was a major discovery. Dagon, one of the partners at Terroir SF, said it was one of the first California cabernet blends in a while that has made him go "wow." Definitely showing aged character (more so than the Mayacamas or the GdlT last weekend) with a lot of layers of secondary and tertiary flavors. Lip-smacking acidity. Good dried currant and cherry flavors. Leather, tobacco, dried herbs, very savory, etc-all the goodness. At only 12.6% abv, this wine does not show any heat. I would say drink this now, though-it is fully mature and may be on the edge. 93+ points. Fantastic value, too, at $45 from the winery. 2006 Michel Sarrazin Givry "Sous la Roche" At Backroom Wines in Napa. My tasting partner Scott was not sure about this one, but I quite enjoyed the somewhat bizarre melange of earthy, savory, unique flavors. Not sure it was brett, though. There is some good pinot fruit here, with a lightish mouth feel. Yum. 88 points.
2007 Chermette "Vielles Vignes" Beaujolais. From vineyards in three communes, hence the simple "Beaujolais" designation. This is a killer Beaujolais, with outstandingly fresh black and redberry fruit, good acidity, etc. BUT, the earth and minerals provide a wonderful floor of interesting other flavors for the wine. Not a simple quaffer, imo. Widely available in good wine shops, this is a killer wine for $17.
2002 Hopper Creek Merlot Yountville, Napa Valley. Perhaps, just perhaps, too much oak, and it may even be American oak????...but, we still definitely enjoyed this wine nonetheless. Why? Because it was just so fresh, even at 6 years old! There was bracing acidity, good bright cherry fruit, some herbal elements that somehow worked with this combination of dilly-oak. Bravo. 87 points.
2005 La Source de Rualt Saumur-Champigny. Extremely soft wine at first-absolutely no tannins. Very light in color, as well. At first, showed quite soft and almost simple-a perfect spring day slurper (which is what it was being used for). However, I enjoyed the last glass the most-nice herbs and pepper began showing to add more complexity. 84 points
2001 Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico. I think A.G. Ferrari, a local Bay Area chain of Italian delis, can make quite good selections. They probably don't have more than 50 bottles to choose from, but... This was a fantastic Chianti with tomato and sausage pasta. Classic flavors of cherry fruit with that captivating acidic tang. A simple Chianti Classico, so showed quite nice age, with good leather and tobacco notes. What I keep going back to is that delicious tang. I doubt I paid more than $20 for this! 92, given the QPR and the classic typicite.
He says there are members of the group wandering around the grounds-either meditating, or in a daze.