WTN: Bordeaux, Napa Cab, Rhones, Ascent Syrah

Weekend wine bachanal:

2005 Belle Vue Haut Medoc. Meh. I disagree with my friends in that I think this does taste like Bordeaux-bell pepper, earth, cassis fruit, but I just found it lacking in excitement. No acidity, no structure. I know there is a lot of Merlot here (about half) but there should be some tannic structure, shouldn't there? 83.

2003 Freemark Abbey "Bootleg Blend" This is a Napa Cab blended from a variety of Napa Valley vineyard sites and marketed as being a "favorite blend" of the cellar crew. Hokey marketing aside , I've really enjoyed this blend. There is lovely cherry/cassis/berry fruit, of course. Good juicy acidity-mouthwatering. But, what stands out is the earthy and savory and DUSTY big time DUSTY character of the wine. Without googling all of the vineyard locations, I can't confirm that these are all Rutherford, like the Freemark Abbey vineyard designate cabs, but if they are, this is textbook "Rutherford Dust." 91 points. Delicious at $30. A QPR winner, frankly. And...cheaper than the Haut Medoc. My regional patriotism is stoked!

2005 Alain Jaume Chateauneuf du Pape. Drank with dry rub spice blend ribs. Very juicy, licoric-y, spicy, savory, earthy Rhone blend. Delicious with the food. Alcohol does show, but not in a too obnoxious way. ....Not cheap, but not outrageous, either ($34). Thanks to Dan of Back Room Wines for steering me so well here! 90 points.

2001 Terre Rouges "Ascent" Sierra Foothills. To be honest, the disappointment of the weekend. Stored perfectly, so not a bad cellaring problem. And, the nose was nice, with an almost Northern Rhone character of red plum and white pepper. On the palate, the wine starts out nice and Rhonish, with plenty of juicy plum and berry fruit. However, there was a very obtrustive, annoying core of too sweet BROWN SUGAR that messed up the balance of the wine. A disappointment. 82 points.

2004 Yann Chaves Crozes-Hermitage. Basic, perfectly fine Northern Rhone Syrah, with what I look for, at least. Not exciting, but the black pepper and juicy plum, and earth are all there, with lower alcohol and no brown sugar spike. Less expensive, too. Would have been better with food, to be honest, not as an after dinner sipping wine. 86 points.

2004 Yaves Chan Crozes-Hermitage. Basic, perfectly fine Northern Rhone Syrah, with what I look for, at least. Not exciting, but the black pepper and juicy plum, and earth are all there, with lower alcohol and no brown sugar spike. Less expensive, too. Would have been better with food, to be honest, not as an after dinner sipping wine. 86 points.

Sure that's not Yann Chave, Brian? Sure sounds like him from the WTN

Mark Lipton

2004 Yaves Chan Crozes-Hermitage. Basic, perfectly fine Northern Rhone Syrah, with what I look for, at least. Not exciting, but the black pepper and juicy plum, and earth are all there, with lower alcohol and no brown sugar spike. Less expensive, too. Would have been better with food, to be honest, not as an after dinner sipping wine. 86 points.

Sure that's not Yann Chave, Brian? Sure sounds like him from the WTN

Mark Lipton

LOL. Oops. How did I make THIS mistake?

[David M. Bueker]

A 2005 Bordeaux without structure? I have no idea how they pulled that off. I actually think that in certain corners of the internet there will be a massive backlash against the 2005s. Some time around 2015 or so (likely earlier actually - many people like their wines young) various folks will discover that the 2005s are no fun to drink, and look to remain that way for a long time before they ultimately blossom. This will result in a massive reassessment of the vintage by people who only understand low acid, low tannin Bordeaux.

I would start buying inventory in pitchforks and torches. You'll be able to sell them at a massive markup in about 5 years.

A 2005 Bordeaux without structure? I have no idea how they pulled that off. I actually think that in certain corners of the internet there will be a massive backlash against the 2005s. Some time around 2015 or so (likely earlier actually - many people like their wines young) various folks will discover that the 2005s are no fun to drink, and look to remain that way for a long time before they ultimately blossom. This will result in a massive reassessment of the vintage by people who only understand low acid, low tannin Bordeaux.

I would start buying inventory in pitchforks and torches. You'll be able to sell them at a massive markup in about 5 years.

That's what surprises me about this wine, David. This is the third time I've tried it...and my wine geek friends are in agreement with me about it, too...so not just my opinion. I don't see this as being one of the wines that will blossom. There can be blah wine in great vintage Bordeaux, too.

Semi-off topic, but I honestly wonder how people can so eagerly drink CALIFORNIA 2005 Cabernets. I find them so structured and hard right now that if there is any Cabernet character at all, I say wait five years. (Of course, spoof juice can be drunk straight from the barrels )

BTW, Brian, I'm sorry to hear about the Terre Rouge Ascent, but I can't say that I'm all that surprised. Bill Easton uses a lot more oak in that wine (100% new oak, actually) than he does in the Sentinel Oak (33%) which is usually much more to my taste.

Mark Lipton

BTW, Brian, I'm sorry to hear about the Terre Rouge Ascent, but I can't say that I'm all that surprised. Bill Easton uses a lot more oak in that wine (100% new oak, actually) than he does in the Sentinel Oak (33%) which is usually much more to my taste.

Mark Lipton

The sad thing is that the Ascent was very pricey. I could have picked up almost three bottles of the Crozes Hermitage for that price! And, as unexciting as it was, we preferred it! I am contaminating my friends by serving up European wines. We still drink California, but the QPR from Southern France is hard to beat!

The sad thing is that the Ascent was very pricey. I could have picked up almost three bottles of the Crozes Hermitage for that price! And, as unexciting as it was, we preferred it! I am contaminating my friends by serving up European wines. We still drink California, but the QPR from Southern France is hard to beat!

Ah, the lonely road of the US Europhile. And you've got it better than most of us, what with the pricing and availability of CA wines in CA. For instance, the nearest ESJ to me involves an hour drive. Oh, the horror!

Mark Lipton