Blind tasting, six attendees. An introductory white was available for early arrivals:
2015 Long Shadows Wineries Chardonnay Dance Horse Heaven Hills
Notes of apple with stone fruit, richly flavored but not tropical. Plush, silky mouthfeel. Very good.
Then the reds started.
2010 Domaine le Galantin Bandol Mourvedre Blend, Mourvedre
Tim's. Soft and ready. Good but didn't exhibit the bloody, feral thing that usually differentiates Bandol wines.
1995 Lindeman's Pyrus Coonawarra Red Bordeaux Blend
My wine. The 'Pyrus' was Lindeman's flagship bordeaux blend from Coonawarra and not widely distributed in the U.S. Initial funk blows off revealing mint, eucalyptus and olives on sweet cherry and black currant fruit. Deceptively youthful for it's age and type. PnP'd, the wine gained weight with air and the leftovers were stellar about five hours later. Bill Spohn recently hosted a tasting of 'Aussies 1997 and Prior' (I didn't own this then or would have taken it), this might have taken the field.
2008 Goretti Montefalco Rosso Le Mura Saracene Sangiovese Blend
Doran's. Vitamin B nose with blueberries, black cherry, coffee, and huge tannins. Spectacular future but not close to ready.
2008 Montes: Napa Angel Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Tim's. Apparently Montes had plans back in the day to make wine in the Napa Valley. Didn't last long. Good balance and varietal typicity. Resembles Montes' Chilean endeavors more than it does other high-end Napa wines, but still quite good and killer for the $10 on close-out savvy opportunists paid.
2009 San Fereolo Dogliani Dolcetto
Vic's. I loved this. Deep and tasty red fruit, a little animal in the background: more body and complexity than I knew this grape could deliver. Fantastic.
2013 No Girls Tempranillo Walla Walla Valley
Doran's. Pervasive sulfur/rotten egg nose, can smell nothing else until a penny thrown in the glass tames it and even then it can't go far enough. Not mentioned in other notes on CT.
****Can we talk? Once upon a time the sulfur/rotten egg thing was somewhat prevalent, hence I knew the penny trick, but I haven't run into it in a long, long time. So, first question: It's a form of bacteria, right, but a different one than what causes the typical moldy TCA? Second question: where did it go? Have cleaner winemaking practices eradicated it for the most part? Third question: is it odd that this bottle was so affected and other CTers don't seem to note it? I mean, it had no other aroma so how could they miss it? This bottle was opened around 3:00, and our tasting started around 8:00. It had plenty of time to blow off if it was going to of it's own accord.*****
2013 Cayuse Syrah Armada Vineyard Walla Walla Valley
Doran's. Absolutely gorgeous. Lighter bodied than I would have predicted, drinks more like a Burgundy than an American syrah (all to the good IMO). All red fruit, plum and strawberry, glides across the palate into a bright and precise finish. My WOTN.
2011 Force Majeure Collaboration Series I Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Red Mountain Red Bordeaux Blend
Mine. Initial testing pour was fine but later, when the bottle was passed, I picked up TCA. DAMN!
2003 Tenuta di Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva La Forra Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend
Tim's. No stranger to oak with murky death-spiral black fruit, earth, chocolate bar and cocoa dust. Not what I want Chianti to taste like, but to be fair others liked it.
2012 Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Corvina Blend, Corvina
Bart's. Good substance and body. Pleasantly not porty or hot for 15.5% alcohol.
2011 Long Shadows Wineries Chester-Kidder Columbia Valley Cab-Syr Blend
Doran's. Big big fruit, black cherry notes, low acid, very ripe and alcoholic. To call 2011 a cool vintage is an understatement, more like frigid. Yet this drinks like an '09 (very ripe vintage in WA). 15.1% abv--how'd they do that? Not a fan.
2000 Behrens & Hitchcock Petite Sirah Spring Mountain District
Mine. Not one to give points, but must in this case to underscore the injustice done this wine by previous reviewers who apparently had badly stored bottles or drank the wines too soon. Boisterous red and black fruit with slight dill, sweet canned tomato puree and bay leaf. Showed like a wine 5-8 years younger and was suspected of being French or Italian by knowledgable tasters. WOTN for several. Should easily make it to 2025, if not 2035.
2013 Wapato Point Cellars Syrah Reserve Cougar Ridge Vineyard Lake Chelan
Vic's. From a winery located on Lake Chelan's cooler north-facing slopes. Dialed-back cherry with mild vanilla, not overly syrah-ish until you detect the tar on the finish. Very balanced and pleasing. Best wine I've had from this appellation.