TN: Lots of Kalin (esp DD), Prevost, Ultramarine, Pol Roger

A nice small group gathered at John’s in Croton for a look at some Kalin, especially the DD PN. We were greeted by cheeses, saucisson sec, mousse, and the 2006 Pol Roger Brut. Full-bodied, crisp, apple and pear over chalky soil tones and toasted bread. Elegant mousse, nice. B+/A-

2001 Kalin “Livermore Valley” Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Never guess SB on nose (there’s actually 20% Semillon, but I though Scott’s Ribolla Gialla comment was spot on- nutty with pear and citrus. Good acids but with an oily taste like a Rhone white. Some others liked more. B-

1997 Kalin “Potter Valley” Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Fresher, serious acids, lemon and pit fruits, touch of oak. This also has 20% Semillon, and could be a good ringer in a white Bordeaux lineup. B+/A-
(I heard this got even better, but I was driving and mostly spitting, and didn’t do any revisiting once we had gone through lineup)

On to the reds
1999 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Damn, TCA.

1996 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Lots of acids, minty, black cherry, earth. Some thought too shrill and preferred ‘94, but lovely to me. A-

1994 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Plummy, red fruited, eucalytpus, quite elegant. . B+/A-

1988 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
A tad volatile, a funky brett meets metal, but with some solid material underneath. Someone said cleaned up, I again didn’t visit. B-/B

1987 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Red fruited (raspberry and cherry) cocoa, herbs, good acids, complete. Beautiful and long, and my WOTN. A-/A

Somewhere in here we had a couple palate cleansers

NV (LC14) Prevost “La Closerie Les Beguines” Extra Brut Champagne
All 2014, I believe Doug said all pinot meunier. Brioche, citrus rind, apple. Fine mousse, long finish. Lovely A-

2012 Ultramarine Blanc de Noirs
I liked the 2012 BdB a lot, but this came across as blowsy and coarse. Certainly the order didn’t help- the sugar stood out after the non-dosage Prevost, but retasting later seemed no better. C+/B-

1986 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Red fruit, coffee, eucalyptus, lots of structure. This actually seemed to need a little time. B+

1982 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Odd, corked in a chloriney kind of way.

1981 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Earth, black fruits (berries and plums), herbs, quite complex. A-

1980 Kalin “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir (Sonoma County)
Sweeter fruit, a little caramel, mushrooms and earth. B/B+

John did a duck breast with a PN/cherry sauce and excellent couscous, by the way.

(Mystery 1988 Napa)
Red fruits, a bit green, some tannic structure but a bit clipped/short. 1988 Forman B-/C+

1986 Kalin “Sonoma” Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Herby (John says dried eucalyptus), currants and black cherry,full, good length. B+

And two dessert wines
1989 Kalin “Cuvee d’Or” Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (375 ml)
A late harvest botrytized wine, orange marmalade and honey, everyone says a good Sauternes ringer but I think there’s a waxy/wooly thing that would do well with dessert Loires with some age. A-/B+

1984 Kalin “Cuvee d’Or” Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc
Mature, honied, an odd spicy note (Scott says caraway seed, but to me it reminds me of the tadka (tempered spices) you add to dhal etc). Interesting and funky but I like the ‘89 a LOT more. B-

Just a great tasting. Kalin continues to impress. We were marvelling (with the ‘99 PN and ‘01 whites being current releases ) at how much must be in warehouse. Great wines, delicious food, great company.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Great lineup, great notes, Dale..The Potter Valley SB a long time fav of mine..Where were you guys able to source so many of what look to be library wines??

[Jenise]

Very impressive line-up. VERY. In a world literally awash in good wine these days, that an iconoclast like Kalin manages to survive and thrive--without duplication--is rather comforting. Every bottle I've ever been lucky enough to own or taste has been a treasure.

I think Terry L. tipped off John when a long time collector put his wine up on consignment with a retailer.
Doug Polaner (east coast distributor) brought a couple as well
And Mark had picked up the botrytis wines in a mixed lot at auction I believe.

thx for the feedback, Dale..Doug Polaner certainly has an eclectic portfolio

[David M. Bueker]

Never had a reaction like that to Ultramarine. It has always seemed quite taut and never oversweet.

A slightly contrarian view. It was a fascinating tasting, with a couple of great wines, but for me, the ones that didn't hit, missed by a fairly large margin. The 1981 was my wine of the night, utterly profound, and very Burgundian. This was closely followed by the 1987 and the 1997 Sauvignon Blanc. There was then quite a gap until we hit the 1994 and then the rest. My problem with the wines was that most of them showed a fair amount of VA, and although interesting, would not have given me as much pleasure as they did to the others.

The other wine I found spectacular and actually picked up a couple of bottles was the Prevost Champagne. It is rare to find a Champagne with that much precision, and despite being so young, was already showing great complexity. I will drink one quickly, and cellar the other to see how it matures.

I agree with Dale on the Ultramarine that followed this; completely outclassed, simple, imprecise and quite sweet.

[David M. Bueker]

Prevost: zero dosage
Ultramarine: 4 g/l - so low, but not zero. Probably lower acidity as well.

I do love the Prevost wines, but they are getting very hard to find.

It wasn't just the amount of sugar, although that was an instant tell for me. It was totally amorphous and had very little flavor. It had no elegance, and what flavor it did have had disappeared after the mid palate, and the finish was sweet and thin.

Yes, difficult to follow Prevost, but this would have had problems following most basic Champagnes.

[David M. Bueker]

Odd. I have had it a couple of times, including next to a Pierre Péters, and it showed very well.

Interesting....Dan at Back Room Wines in Downtown Napa had a Kalin Tasting last night as well. He had the 2001 Sauvignon Blanc which I found interesting and probably was the best of the lineup. Then, two 1995 Chardonnays, one Sonoma Coast and the other Sonoma Valley, if I recall. I really didn't like either one of them. The Cuvee CH Sonoma Coast to me was really oaky (my friends disagreed) and I thought it was just kind of muddy and tired. The second, the Cuvee L, was quite weird. I thought it tasted like pineapple juice.

The Pinot was the 1999 Cuvee DD. I didn't enjoy this one either, to be honest. I found it astringent and lacking in fruit. I could swear it was oxidized?

Anyway...more interesting than enjoyable. I might buy the SB, but not the others.

Brian, life would be boring if we all liked the same things.
David, surprised dosage was that low in the Ultramarine. The BdB on the other hand was very taut.

Brian, life would be boring if we all liked the same things.
David, surprised dosage was that low in the Ultramarine. The BdB on the other hand was very taut.

Yeah....normally I like "old" wine and tart wine and tend to the IPOB side of things.

These just didn't show very well Friday night, though!

Bottle variation or vintage variation?