Wine Thread

[Dr. Mario 0]

Carlo Rossi Burgundy..Boom /thread

[KDawgCometh 2]

:stickingmytoungeoutatsteveface:. So, now I have found a really good value from cali. It's the Kunin Pape Star. It's a southern rhone blend and is 19.99 and it's from the central coast. I'm a big fan of cali syrah and the rhone blends that are happening. There is a ton more value from them then there is from cabs and the winemakers that make the rhone blends and varietals(syrah, grenache, mourvedere, viognier, etc) are excellent and do it more from the heart. If people like pinot noir, they may like grenache as it's called the warm weather pinot noir. In some ways, i think its flavors can be even more subtle and alluring as the fruit that it brings is so nice and soft, but yet it can be very powerful at the same time. I just love the flavor profiles that Southern rhone blends bring. I'll also be checking out the 05 Tablas Creek Cotes De Tablas tonight too(they work with the great cheateau de beaucastel and it'll be interesting to see the wines that they make in 20 years as the vines get older)Here are my notes on the Kunin:

• 2005 Kunin Pape Star - USA, California, Central Coast (1/18/2008)nice solid red color. can see my fingers a bit through the glassnose: very nice soft and sumptuous nose. Floral notes, pepper, blueberry, and a bit of cherry. very silky nose that does a very good job of eliciting rhone flavorstaste: very nice smooth mouth. has that creamyness that CdPs can bring. Some pepper and blueberry on the mouthoverall: this is very nice stuff. Nice quality fruit and structure. Leaves a very good finish. This is excellent stuff and is extremely enjoyable. this is well worth checking out. I don't think that it would fully pass off as a CdP in a blind test, but, this is pretty darn close, and I really like what it brings (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTrackeredit: this was very interesting tonight. The tablas creek is much more new world while the Kunin was more rooted in the old world. still, both were good wines and well worth checking out if you want to try something new that gives different flavor profiles then you are used to. Here are my notes for the tablas creek:

• 2005 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/18/2008)decanted for 1 1/2 hoursnose: big cherry nose. some blueberry, spice, and smoke behind it on the secondary flavors. very new world on the nose, but slowly edging old world as it opens up even more in the glass. still very new world thoughtaste: nice solid mouth. lots of cherry and blueberry. medium body on the palate, but quick on teh mid and back palateoverall: nice wine. I like this, and it's good. It's pretty new world, but it works and is pretty expressive. I definitely want to try out the esprit as I like this one. It's very good and juicy. Nice version of what california has to offer (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Huskers20 0]

I will look for those in about 3-4 months after I pay off my last binge.Last night at a friends, he opened a 2002 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet, it had one of the best noses I have had. Wine was very good but didn't quite live up to how outstanding the nose was.We then opened up one of the 2003 Cyrus' I had bought, nose no where near as nice but the wine was very good, I might have liked a little better than the Beringer.Then to finish off we had a Cosentino Cabernet Franc, wow for being a third bottle this stood out, PEPPERY, wow, the pepper that was there was amazing, was very happy with it.Sorry nothing fancy like KDawg's but just a few notes.And I get the value not being there with California, these 3 did a good job of showing that as we went from $80, to $45, to $25. The Beringer $80 was good, but no where near that much better than the other 2.

[KDawgCometh 2]

well, I just finished up putting up my notes from a Chateaunuf Du Pape tasting I was at last night. Tons of good stuff and you can really get some great bottles for under 50(and that's what most of these were). So, not all of french wine is uber high priced. Here are my notes from the tasting:CHATEAUNUF-DU-PAPE TASTING - Chicago IL, Cotes du Rhone Bistro (1/20/2008)the WL chicago crew put together a CDP tasting and figured that where better to have it then at a place called Cotes du Rhone. The Off lines are always fun and it's always great sharing good wine with this group of peopleThere was no discernable flight as these were just done in whatever order we felt like at the dinner. Lots of good showings here

• 1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-PapeNose: nice amount of leather, cracked pepper, truffle powder, and some floral notestaste: nice smooth mouth. Very well integrated and shows its class with some leather, earth, pepper, and dark berriesoverall: very elegant. THis is really coming into its own and shows its pedigree. Nice to see how this is considering that 94 wasn't the greatest vintage. Great structure and a really pretty finish (93 pts.)
• 1998 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Gardiole Vieille Vigne de Roussanne - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenice dark gold colornose: a really nice boquet. a good amount of petrol hits right off the bat, but then works into apricot, stonish minerals, and a whole bunch of different nutty flavorstaste: nice and elegant. A bit of Petrol, but more truffles, apricot, and hazelnutoverall: excellent wine. Very long and lingering finish, just doesn't want to quit. I really enjoy the nuttiness on this. This is really wonderful (92 pts.)
• 2003 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Alexis Establet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: huge jammy nose. Red currant, peppercorns, spices, along with bits of dark cherry and leathertaste: huge and explosive attack on the palate. This is just a big thud of leather, red currant, and peppercorns, and boy is it funoverall: a really massive wine. Very hedonistic and atypical of the rhone in some ways, but this one is fun. Extremely long and polished finish, this is really some beautiful stuff. It probably needs another 3 years, but this one is a real winner. Almost new world like, but still very rooted in the old world. (93 pts.)
• 2003 Clos du Mont Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: nice feminine nose. blueberry cream pie, floral notes, and white peppertaste: very young. Tannins are almost a bit much right now, but there is some good stuff behind them. Blueberry, leather, and pepper being the predominant notestaste: nice, but almost painfully young. Has a lot of structure and a really nice finish. Will be nice to revisit in a few years (91 pts.)
• 2000 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée des Cadettes - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: a ton going on with this nose. Some cedar, bacon fat, cassis, and spice box mostlytaste: amazing on the mouth. cedar, black currant, spice, smoked meat, and a slight bit of cherry. just really explodes on the mid and back palateoverall: this is excellent. Insanely polished and has a great and long lingering finish (94 pts.)
• 2000 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: nice soft nose. A bit of cherry and blueberry pie. very creamy nosetaste: plush, soft, and creamy nose of cherry and blueberry. Very grenache heavy on the noseoverall: very nice and creamy with a lot of balance. this is drinking perfectly right now (90 pts.)
• 2004 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape A la Gloire de Mon Grand Pere - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: real grenache heavy nose. blueberry, spices, and tart cherry on the nosetaste: nice smooth mouth. a lot of blueberry and cherry with bits of ground spicesoverall: very nice and elegant wine. Smooth on the attack and leaves a nice lingering finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: very silky and dense nose. This is like smelling satin(if satin can be smelled). very nice amount of pepper, cherry, and blueberrytaste: very nice mouth filled with pepper and cherry notesoverall: Very nice wine. Wonderful and elegant with a great lasting finish (92 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: a lot of white truffles, smoke notes, black pepper, and fresh cut grass. really interesting nose that keeps on getting me to smell ittaste: extremely young and tannic. A slight bit disjointed. A bit of barnyard hay on the mouth with some black pepper too. overall: decent now. A bit disjointed right now and needs time to come together (86 pts.)
• 2003 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: a while lot of barnyard. Down on the farm type barnyard. Leather, tellicherry pepper, black truffle, and earth mostly with some floral and blueberry notes poking through. Extremely deep nosetaste: big tannins, but they are integrated a bit already and are more chewy but not brooding. Mouth is just huge and explosive with a lot of leather, tellicherry pepper, earth, and dark fruit. overall: this is amazing stuff. Tons of structure and young, but truly special. The finish just doesn't want to quit and the wine fully works its way on the entire palate (94 pts.)
• 2005 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: very nice nose that is full of berries but then leans into white pepper, smoke, arugula, and bacon fat notes. much more plush nose that has been typical of the 05s that I've drank as opposed to the explosive 03staste: big beautiful mouthful of berries, smoked meat, and pepper cornsoverall: big bold wine. Really nice and rounded with a long and fat finish on the palate (93 pts.)
• 1999 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Rasteaunose: very raisiny and pruny. a lot of medicinal notes on the nose and a ton of heat. Not a pleasant nose at all. I do like ports, but this is not working in trying to toe that linetaste: a ton of prunes and raisins. It's more like that yuck flavor though. not a fan in the slightestoverall: tremendously medicinal. Not my style at all and just way over the top (76 pts.)

a really great tasting. Almost all of the wines showed really well with two really special wines in the 00 La Nerthe and 03 Charvin. were some of them too young, yes, but it was more a matter of people being able to source the wines in, so baby killing was in order. I'm glad everyone had as good of a time as I didPosted from CellarTracker

[leftygolfer 7]

well, I just finished up putting up my notes from a Chateaunuf Du Pape tasting I was at last night. Tons of good stuff and you can really get some great bottles for under 50(and that's what most of these were). So, not all of french wine is uber high priced. Here are my notes from the tasting:a really great tasting. Almost all of the wines showed really well with two really special wines in the 00 La Nerthe and 03 Charvin. were some of them too young, yes, but it was more a matter of people being able to source the wines in, so baby killing was in order. I'm glad everyone had as good of a time as I didPosted from CellarTracker

Keith...just a suggestion...can you make a note if a wine you are reviewing is available at Binnys? I for one appreciate the tasting info, and would go buy it if I know it is available.Great reviews. Never have come close to trying these, so this is a nice intro.Thx.

[KDawgCometh 2]

Keith...just a suggestion...can you make a note if a wine you are reviewing is available at Binnys? I for one appreciate the tasting info, and would go buy it if I know it is available.Great reviews. Never have come close to trying these, so this is a nice intro.Thx.

sure. I always just upload these notes from cellar tracker, so I'll just preface the tasting note by saying that I either bought it at binnys or not. I'll actually go through the past couple of pages and check on the notes that I bought it at binnys or if I know that it's available at my store. I know from the tasting I just posted that both of the charvins are available at my store and the 05 bosquet is available at my store. I got the tinel alexis at knightsbridge, I don't know where everyone else got their wines or if they pulled them from their collectionedit: went through the past pages of when I started posting notes. Everything on this page (aside from teh big tasting) is available at binnys somewhere. I got them at my store, but not every store has exactly the same stock. Of the past pages here are the wines that are currently available at binnys(some where available, but I snapped up the last bottle of a couple of them and we can't get them anymore from the distro):05 clos st jean VV03 chateau fombrauge95 angelus05 van duzer04 folie zin amador05 folie cab05 seidelberg viognier04 beaurenard cotes du rhone rasteau01 Gaja Rennina

[KDawgCometh 2]

got this one at binny's today. It's on sale for 12.99 and is a really nice chard. Well worth checking out. I highly doubt that you can find many cali chards that bring this structure and flavor profile at this price point(and good white burgundy just doesn't exist at this price point too). Looks like I'm gonna have to start checking out more Aussie chards:

• 2006 Evans & Tate Chardonnay Margaret River - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River (1/23/2008)nose: nice pleasant nose. Mostly lime, vanilla, and citrus fruit. a small bit of oak on the nose tootaste: nice mouth that is heavy on teh citrus, with lemon and lime mostly coming through. also getting a bit of vanilla toooverall: this is a very well balanced and nice chardonnay. Crisp and focused this has a nice amount of body and structure. Finish is a bit quick and the overall flavors are a bit simple, but this is a very nice wine (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[AceJackOffS 0]

Kdawg I am going out to some Italian restuarant tomorrow night so I checked out their wine list. It is not that special and very small but therse are their choices for Cabs (which is what I usually drink) the only one on this list that I have had is Caymus which I like. Which of these would you suggest. There are no prices listed but I will not be paying and money is not an issue.B.V. Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal, California ***** Sterling 'Vintner's Collection', California ***** Robert Mondavi, Napa ***** Beringer, Knights Valley ***** Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ' Artemis' , Napa ***** Caymus Vineyards, Napa ***** J. Lohr Seven Oaks, Paso Robles ***** Merryvale Starmont, Napa ***** Provenance Vineyards, Rutherford ***** Chateau St. Jean, California ****

[El Guapo 8]

Kdawg I am going out to some Italian restuarant tomorrow night so I checked out their wine list. It is not that special and very small but therse are their choices for Cabs (which is what I usually drink) the only one on this list that I have had is Caymus which I like. Which of these would you suggest. There are no prices listed but I will not be paying and money is not an issue.B.V. Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal, California ***** Sterling 'Vintner's Collection', California ***** Robert Mondavi, Napa ***** Beringer, Knights Valley ***** Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ' Artemis' , Napa ***** Caymus Vineyards, Napa ***** J. Lohr Seven Oaks, Paso Robles ***** Merryvale Starmont, Napa ***** Provenance Vineyards, Rutherford ***** Chateau St. Jean, California ****

1. Caymus2. Stags Leap3. J. LohrBut I really only would choose the Caymus if $$ is not an option.

[KDawgCometh 2]

Kdawg I am going out to some Italian restuarant tomorrow night so I checked out their wine list. It is not that special and very small but therse are their choices for Cabs (which is what I usually drink) the only one on this list that I have had is Caymus which I like. Which of these would you suggest. There are no prices listed but I will not be paying and money is not an issue.B.V. Beaulieu Vineyard Coastal, California ***** Sterling 'Vintner's Collection', California ***** Robert Mondavi, Napa ***** Beringer, Knights Valley ***** Stag's Leap Wine Cellars ' Artemis' , Napa ***** Caymus Vineyards, Napa ***** J. Lohr Seven Oaks, Paso Robles ***** Merryvale Starmont, Napa ***** Provenance Vineyards, Rutherford ***** Chateau St. Jean, California ****

a whole lot of meh IMO. since you've had the caymus go with either the prvenance or the stag's leap. How can an italian resturaunt not have a good italian selection

[El Guapo 8]

a whole lot of meh IMO. since you've had the caymus go with either the prvenance or the stag's leap. How can an italian resturaunt not have a good italian selection

Typical out her in CA

[KDawgCometh 2]

my store had a tasting today and my ass was able to taste 30something wines after I got off of work. There are a ton of notes that I took, so this one is kinda long, but there is some real interesting stuff in here and all of the wines are under 45. Here is the event:BINNY'S WINTER WARM UP - Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL (1/26/2008)my store had a tasting today and gave us a nice wide variety of wines to taste. I tasted all of these in the backroom after the tasting was done and I was off the clock.table 1

• 2005 Demetria Chardonnay - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara Countynose: nice solid nose. citrus notes with lemon mostly along with some vanilla and oak. a bit basic of a nosetaste: hrm, almost no flavor to speak of. A bit of slate, lemon, and oak, but the flavors are very faint. All I'm really getting is the body of the wineoverall: this is okay, it is far from being very good and has no finish to speak of. rather dissapointing (82 pts.)
• 2005 Walter Hansel Winery Chardonnay The North Slope - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valleynose: all oak and nothing else. Not even getting butter or anything like that, just oaktaste: sweet and tangy, but also tons more oak. overall: very dissapointing. this one was one I was really looking forward to, and it just failed. Good weight on the palate, but oak just dominates this. It has good structure and a long finish, but the finish is all oak. The reason that this doesn't get rated a lot lower is that there seems to be something there, so maybe this just needs a bit of time to show off better. (84 pts.)
• 2005 Clayhouse Adobe Red - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Roblesnose: all candied cherrytaste: mostly cherry with a slight bit of dark fruitoverall: decent. very one dimensional, but it works I guess (83 pts.)
• 2005 Elyse Couzins - USA, California, Napa Valleynose: nice bold nose with a big dark fruit core. taste: good upfront dark cherry aspect and leans into other dark fruit notesoverall: really nice. good bold wine that provides a really nice and lasting finish (90 pts.)
• 2005 Elyse Petite Sirah St. Helena - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helenanose: tight. a bit dusty with some decent dark fruittaste: nice amounts of dark cherry, sour cranberry, and earth tonesoverall: nice structure and body with good texture on the palate. could use a bit of a longer finish, but this is a nice wine (87 pts.)

table 2

• 2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valleynose: nice citrsusy nose. lemon, lime, and slate notes with some vanilla bean hints. Nice and bright and a lot of fun to smelltaste: good full bodied chard. really big on the palate with lemon, passion fruit, and good minerality. also getting a bit of vanilla paste on the back palateoverall: this is beautiful. Good weight and body and really covers the palate. The finish is also very long and zesty. a high quality wine (91 pts.)
• 2004 Concha y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Don Melchor Puente Alto - Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley, Puente Altonose: big and broad earth driven nose. Cranberry, dark cherry, earth, pencil shavings, and some saddle leather working in heretaste: great earth driven bordeaux style mouth. Pencil shavings, earth, dark cherry, cranberry, and some saddle leather and tobbaccooverall: this is great and still needs time to mature. Gorgeous earth driven cabernet with big broad flavors and leaves a very long and excellent finish (93 pts.)
• 2004 L'Aventure Optimus - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Roblesnose: nice big and full nose with toasted oak, mocha, and dark cherry. also getting some pine forrest notes and black currantstaste: real good structure. Toasted oak, mocha, vanilla, and lots of dark fruitoverall: really good wine. Nice body and well balanced. The finish is a bit quick, but this has some very good tannin structure for aging (90 pts.)
• 2005 Bodega Benegas Cabernet Sauvignon Luna Benegas Libertad Vineyard - Argentina, Mendozanose: a bit tight with some candied cherry poking throughtaste: a bit light on the palate. mostly candied cherry with a slight bit of milk chocolate. overall: rather blase wine. It's easy to drink, but it's a bit thin and hollow on the palate. It's a decent enough wine, but leaves me unimpressed (83 pts.)
• 2004 Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyonose: very fruit forward nose. Predominately candied cherry along with some cranberry and blueberry pietaste: nice mouthfeel with a whole lot of cherry and a slight bit of chocolateoverall: decent body and finish. Nice and pleasant, it doesn't seem to do more then it does. Little finish but is easy drinking and a solid showing of the fruit forward style of malbec (86 pts.)
• 2004 Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah - USA, California, Napa Valleywow, is this wine dark. Like a black hole dark. I love how dark Petite Sirah's can benose: big dark and bold nose. A lot of dark flavors going on with black currant, dark cherry, sour cranberry, along with anise and briar notestaste: huge grip on the mouth. Big and bold with loads of black currant and lots of various dark fruit along with some anise. overall: this is excellent stuff. Big and bold, this is a bit hedonistic and just has tons of grip. I'm a big fan of this and it also leaves a real nice and lasting finish of black licorice. (92 pts.)

table 3

• 2006 Owen Roe Cabernet Franc Rosa Mystica Block - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valleynose: very vegetal nose that one would expect from a cab franc. earth, rhubarb, and some cranberry and floral notestaste: very earth driven with cherry and root notes. a bit simple and hot on the mouthoverall: heat is a bit of a problem with this one. Less alcohol and this could possible shine. It may need time to cool down a bit. Good structure and a nice finish (88 pts.)
• 2005 Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses - Spain, Catalunya, Prioratnose: nice earthy nose filled with dark cherry, black licorice, and cranberrytaste: extremely polished mouth with chocolate, dark cherry, and black licoriceoverall: great wine. Super polished and elegant with a georgeous finish of cherry and black licorice (92 pts.)
• 2006 Luca Malbec - Argentina, Mendozanose: very nice and rustic nose. Dark cherry, anise, earth notes, and some roots tootaste: smooth attack with anise, dark cherry, and cranberryoverall: very nice and polished. nice attack on the palate and good structure and a quality finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Apogee Pepper Bridge Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valleynose: nice nose with blueberry, roots, dark cherry and hints of floral notes and spicestaste: very nice mouth. Blueberry, floral aspects, cranberry, and dark cherry. nice smooth and structured mouthoverall: real nice structure and body. real nice and long finish (91 pts.)

table 4

• 2005 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakvillenose: big jammy nose with lots of candied cherry, cranberry, mocha, and mixed berriestaste: big mouth. Good grip with dark cherry, chocolate, mocha, and mixed berriesoverall: real nice medium bodied cabernet. Not as balanced as the 04, but still very good and gives in to the more hedonistic side (91 pts.)
• 2005 Steltzner Vineyards Claret - USA, California, Napa Valleynose: good tart nose of cranberry, cherry, and dark chocolatetaste: very nice and smooth. cranberry, cherry, and chocolateoverall: very good wine. nice body and balance with a good quality finish (89 pts.)
• 2006 Ridge Three Valleys - USA, California, Sonoma Countynose: a ton of bright fruit on the nose with cherry and cranberry mostlytaste: nice easy mouth. Some spice, cherry, and cranberryoverall: good wine. nice and easy drinking wine. not a lot of depth, but that isn't really to be expected from this level of ridge zin. a good quality zin (86 pts.)
• 2005 Ridge Zinfandel Paso Robles - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Roblesnose: bold. getting some very odd notes for a zin, almost sauternes like to be honest. Getting apricot and honey aspects along with spices, cherry, and anisetaste: this is really confusing me. If this was blind, I'd be very confused as it doesn't have the viscosity of sauternes, but has a lot of the flavors with apricots, honey, and caramel along with some cherry and spicesoverall: odd, but I dig it. Just very surprising to see this kind of zin. Very different from what I expected (87 pts.)

table 5

• 2006 Trevor Jones Chardonnay Virgin - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valleynose: nice bright citrus nose with mango, lemon, lime, and vanillataste: very nice and easy mouth filled with lime and bits of lemonoverall: really nice and easy drinking. a good quality chard (87 pts.)
• 2006 Telmo Rodríguez Toro Dehesa Gago 'G' - Spain, Castilla y León, Toronose: very fruit forward with cherry, red licorice, and blackberrytaste: very filling mouth with a lot of cherry and chocolate upfront with red licorice on the back endoverall: real nice. Very smooth and elegant. a very good wine (88 pts.)
• 2003 Casa de la Ermita Jumilla Crianza - Spain, Murcia, Jumillanose: really nice nose with cherry, anise, and mixed berriestaste: really good grip that leans into cherry and mixed berry notesoverall: very nice wine. Good grip and a nice finish. (87 pts.)
• 2005 Yalumba Shiraz & Viognier Barossa - Australia, South Australia, Barossanose: very nice. smoke notes, cherry, blueberry, and hints of tobbaccotaste: good smooth attack that is nice and fruit forward. Blueberry, cherry, and tobbaccooverall: real nice and smooth. Good palate coater that provides a good intro into the shiraz/viognier style (88 pts.)

table 6

• 2004 Fattoria di Felsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classiconose: rich cherry nose with earth tones, chocolate, and some floral notestaste: very nice. filled with cherries and chocolate with a bit of earth and floral notes toooverall: a really wonderful chianti. Nice and polished with a good lasting finish (91 pts.)
• 2005 Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha Calatayud Viñas Viejas - Spain, Aragón, Calatayudnose: nice and light with blueberry and some nice spice box aspectstaste: very soft and easy drinking. lots of spice box and some thistles too on the mouthoverall: a bit thin, but very easy drinking. mid palate is a bit hollow and the finish doesn't last as long as I'd like, still though, this is a nice wine (87 pts.)
• 2004 Vina Maquis Lien - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valleynose: getting some dustyness on the nose with cranberry and blackberrytaste: nice structure. mostly cranberry with some cherry and black licoriceoverall: very good wine. nice body and texture on the palate and a very nice craberry finish (89 pts.)
• 2004 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Colline Novaresi Agamium - Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresinose: a bit disjointed. getting a ton of earth with some cherry and rose petals behind the earthtaste: very supple mouth with nice cherry and floral aspects. Lots of finesse that you would expect from nebbiolooverall: very nice wine. It's the mouth that really makes this one as the nose doesn't really work for me. Nice polished finish (87 pts.)
• 2005 Ricardo Santos Malbec El Malbec La Madras - Argentina, Mendoza, Maipúnose: nice dark fruit heavy nose. Also getting a pine forrest aspect to thistaste: really nice structure with a good helping of dark cherry and chocolate flake workingoverall: this is really good. Great mouthfeel, good medium body to the wine and gives off a good 20 second finish (89 pts.)
• 2005 Apaltagua Carmenère - Chile, Central Valley, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valleynose: nice dark and dusty nose. getting a lot of blackberry and black currant with some sour cherry tootaste: dusty on the mouth with a good amount of black currant and some sour cherryoverall: well structured, but almost no finish. It has good body and texture too (88 pts.)
• 2005 Lavradores de Feitoria Douro - Portugal, Douronose: very bright and fruit forward nose. A lot of cherry and berry aspectstaste: a lot of cherry with hints of chocolate and some blackberry on the back endoverall: very nice and easy drinking. Good body on the palate and more full then one would think on a wine of this price. Worth checking out (87 pts.)

Lots of good stuff. I wasn't able to taste everything as the some of the wines were kicked before I got to them, and I had to economize towards the end so that there wouldn't be a ton of palate fatiguePosted from CellarTrackerpersonally, I wish we had put in more italian wines and a few more aussie wines as opposed to all of the cali wines. What can I say, I'm a guy who likes diversity in his drinking because its fun to check out different styles of different wines across teh world. I also wish there had been a few more whites, including some white burgs for chards. It always seems to me that there is always a serious lacking of white wine at tastingsof course I say all of this as I am drinking a really nice burgundy right now. man, seriously, if anyone here pretends to like pinot, burgundy is a must:

• 1999 Domaine Michel Gros Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru (1/26/2008)real nice color concentration that gets very dark towards the middlenose: real sumptuous nose. Sour Cherry, earth, smoke notes, wild game, and a bit of sweat sock aspect to it too. real classic NSG styletaste: very elegant. a good amount of smoked game on the mouth along with sour cherry and earth. overall: a lot of class right here. Nice and supple, this wine provides some very good enjoyment and is drinking perfectly right now. The finish on this just doesn't quit and is very classy in my mouth (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[Huskers20 0]

For a bump and a couple I have had.Last night had the Markham Petite Sirah again, actually I didn't have much, but others confirmed its greatness. This was an excellent rec. from KD.Tonight having Sineann Old Vine Zinfandel 2005, very impressive, and not cali, but from WA. Didn't realize the price til I looked it up, I must have got it for 1/2 off.COME on others post your stuff:) Being that this is OT, obviously not your stuff, but your wine:)Huskers20

[Kaveros 0]

Houghton is good stuff. 2005 vintage baby! YEAH!For cheap drunk try Bimbadgen.For $6 you can drink wine with woodchips in it!Wolfblass is alright, and fairly cheap, as is Jacob's Creek.

[Huskers20 0]

Good to see new blood here, lol.I also forgot to say on the Sineann Zin.....had the coolest Glass Cork. Had never seen anything like it. Almost like a bottle stopper.

[Suited_Up 2]

I just heard about this tasting that was going on, and the person I heard it from thought it hadn't happened yet, but I guess it did already, I was gonna let you know Keith, cause it sounded right up your alley. While quite expensive, might be worth it. But it was on Feb 1st.http://www.localwineevents.com/Chicago-Win...ent-159388.html

[KDawgCometh 2]

Good to see new blood here, lol.I also forgot to say on the Sineann Zin.....had the coolest Glass Cork. Had never seen anything like it. Almost like a bottle stopper.

sineann does that for all of their wines, all of their 06 Pinots have the glass stopper, I personally love it as it eliminates cork taint for wines and can allow for longer aging then a screw top

I just heard about this tasting that was going on, and the person I heard it from thought it hadn't happened yet, but I guess it did already, I was gonna let you know Keith, cause it sounded right up your alley. While quite expensive, might be worth it. But it was on Feb 1st.http://www.localwineevents.com/Chicago-Win...ent-159388.html

thanks kurt, I was there and it was an utter blast. In fact here are all of my notes:HDH 95/96 COMPARATIVE TASTING - Newberry Library, Chicago IL (2/1/2008)I made it down to the Newberry Library for Hart Davis Hart's annual comparative Bordeaux tasting. it wasn't as filled as I thought it would be, most likely due to the awful weather that had been going on at the time. What this did though was allow me to hit up almost everything that was there and get some very nice pours, which made me a very happy campertable 1

• 1995 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margauxnose: nice nose that has some good depth to it. Filled with cedar, black currants, dark fruit, and a good amount of tobbaccotaste: very nice and silky. Quitnessential Chateau Margaux. Nice helping of black currant, tobbacco, cranberry, and some cedar overall: this is excellent. wonderful structure and balance on this wine. THe finish doesn't last as long as I'd like, but this is why this wine is a first growth (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Margaux - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margauxnose: wow, what a deep nose and massive. Black currant, earth, tobbaco, kirsch, and cranberry. Very sumptuous nosetaste: can a wine be explosive and silky at the same time, I would've said no until this one. It's an amazing feeling on the palate. Cedar, tobbacco, earth, cranberry, and smoke notesoverall: this finish just doesn't want to quit. This is powerful and full of finesse at the same time. A tremendous wine (96 pts.)
• 1995 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margauxnose: very nice and elegant nose. Chalk, red currant, red fruit, and spice notes permeate taste: nice feel on the palate, red fruit, tobbacco, and cranberry just glide across the palateoverall: this is a very elegant wine. Very subtle and understated, nothing is out of place and it holds itself together very well and leans into a nice polished finish (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margauxnose: very nice rich nose of anise, red and black currants, smoke, and some game notes tootaste: like a finely tuned engine and it fills the palate with smoked game, red and black currants along with hints of aniseoverall: I have to say, Palmer's are always so nice and elegant, this one is no different. Just a real pleasure to drink (92 pts.)
• 1995 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphenose: huge and explosive nose. spices, cedar, anise, and smoke notes just hit you and don't want to let you gotaste: Big gamey feel on the mouth. Black currant, anise, cedar, and some mushrooms too. almost tastes like the bordeaux version of a aged Nuits St Georgesoverall: huge wine, just massive. Tons of dark aspects to it and it all explodes together like a celebration (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Cos d'Estournel - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphenose: real nice bordeaux nose that is filled with dark fruit, leather, cassis, and mochataste: real big grip on the palate. Tobbacco, dark fruit, cassis, and coffee notes just grip you like a tight gloveoverall: real good stuff. Big and bold, a bit backwards and it's now starting to come around and strut it's stuff. It's like a tamed bully in a way, but it still wants to bully you around when it gets the chance (93 pts.)

table 2

• 1995 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: very sweet and ripe nose with a bit of brett to it. Mushrooms, saddle leather, red currants, along with rose petals. nose isn't for everyone, but I do enjoy a slightly bretty nose taste: very sweet, ripe, and elegant. Rose petals and red currant mostly with a bit of saddle leather on the back end just to remind you that this is las casesoverall: still a young wine and is fairly tannic. That said, it has a certain elegance to it that I enjoy a lot and leans into a nice lasting finish. It still needs more time to fully develop (93 pts.)
• 1996 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: wow, this nose just comes up and punches you in both the face and gut at the same time. This wine is not messing around at all and lets you know where you stand. Tobbacco, dark fruit, black licorice all want for you attention and are working together. This is a massive nosetaste: extremely big and concentrated. Very young on the mouth, this one is wants to break out of it's shell and scream and it's just starting to poke out. Minerals, earth, dark fruit, and anise just jump on the palateoverall: this is a big time Heavyweight boxer of a wine. It just nails all parts of the palate and has an insanely long finish. It's still a baby though as the tannin structure is still very big. This has some serious stuffing to it and hasn't yet come out of its shell. If it's this good now, I can only imagine how it'll be when it breaks out fully (95 pts.)
• 1995 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: very interesting nose, a bit vegetal along with vanilla beans, red fruit, floral notes, and bits of spice thrown intaste: nice mouth feel with vanilla beans, red fruit, and some spiceoverall: real nice palate coating tannins that also provides a nice lasting finish (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Léoville Barton - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: big and muscular on the nose(this is really a theme of the 96s). Has some nice sweetness to it with toasted oak, spice box, earth, along with red and black currantstaste: big and tannic. This is filled with dark fruit, black currant, anise, and spicesoverall: this is a big boy. It wants to slap you in the face with what it has and it's a slap that you sit there and enjoy. It still has some baby fat to shed too (92 pts.)
• 1995 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: nice classic and soft nose of cedar, red currant, and spicestaste: interesting, very interesting. getting tobbacco and red currants up front, and a interesting green tea flavor on the back palateoverall: very interesting wine. May need some time to fully wake up as it still is a young wine. It has a sweetness to it to (90 pts.)
• 1996 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: real dark and earthen nose that is also big and jammy. black fruit, smoke, cedar just permeate in teh nostrilstaste: real nice fruit. Black fruit, smoke, and cedar all just jump togetheroverall: extremely nice wine. I really like the jammyness of this. It's not that ripe type of jammy, but just big and bold (92 pts.)
• 1995 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: big deep and dense nose. Cedar, tobbacco, earth, minerals, and black currant just work togethertaste: huge mouth with tons of grip. Tons of dark fruit, black currant, tobbacco, and cedar. This one wants to take you on a rideoverall: this is a massive wine. big broad structure on this, but also very balanced, this one doesn't mess around (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Juliennose: big and full nose. earth, minerals, licorice, chocolate, and mocha aboundtaste: beautiful and balanced. This one is top notch. Dark fruit, plum, earth, minerals, and black licorice coate your palateoverall: this wine has amazing balance for being such a big wine. It's pretty amazing really and along with that we get a really nice and lasting finish (95 pts.)

table 3

• 1995 Château Latour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: real nice nose filled with black licorice, vanilla, and cassis while also giving floral notes and bits of woody notestaste: real nice and sweet with red fruit, vanilla, and cassis dancing on the palateoverall: a bit dissapointing as it dies a bit on the palate. It has everything that needs to be there for a great wine, but then gives up on you. it's still an excellent wine and few wines could still pull off being of high quality with some of the flaws it has. hopefully this one will come around with more time (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Latour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: a bit tight but then leads into a nice pleasant sweet and effusive nose. Red currants, spice, and earth work awaytaste: really nice mouth feel. Nice and supple with cassis, dark fruit, and red currantsoverall: very nice and elegant wine. It's still young and needs more time to show what it really has to offer (94 pts.)
• 1995 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: nice soft and feminine nose that is stereo typical of Lalande. It's filled with floral notes, red licorice, and cedar plankstaste: georgeous mouth. nice and soft with floral notes and some tobbaccooverall: very elegant wine that one would expect of this estate. Lots of polish and the finish is nice and lasting (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: big and luscious nose that is filled with blueberry, leather, cassis, toasted oak, and earth. it then also gives off some truffle and spice box notes too. extremely deep nosetaste: beautiful amounts of blueberry, black berry, leather, cassis, spicebox, and trufflesoverall: just gorgeous, extremely gorgeous. Pure finesse and it leaves you with a beautiful and long finish of bluberry and cassis (96 pts.)
• 1995 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: big jammy nose of toast, smoke, red fruit(cherry being the primary fruit), and mochataste: Rich and big, very weighted on the palate. Cranberry, smoke, red fruit, cassis, and a bit of woodyness on the back palateoverall: suprisingly new world in a way. THere are bits that reminds you that you are drinking a bordeaux, but this almost has a aged california cabernet feel to it. It's just so massive, powerful, and weighted and gives off a very long finish (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: big heavy and brooding nose that has a ton of power behind it. It's on that verge of being too much, but it's right there in the pocket and filled with tobbacco, cedar, cassis, leather, and a nice jammy red licorice componenttaste: big and broad with mocha, cocoa, leather, and earthoverall: there is some serious power behind this and yet, it's firmly balanced. This one still needs time to really come around, but it will be a fun ride when it does (95 pts.)

table 4

• 1995 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: elegant yet backwards nose of smoke, minerals, red licorice, and black curranttaste: very smooth and very polished feel with red licorice, minerals, cassis, and a purity of the red fruit that is coming throughoverall: extremely elegant and firmly weighted. This is a very beautiful wine that doesn't want to end in your mouth (96 pts.)
• 1996 Château Lafite Rothschild - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: extremely deep nose with massive aromatics. Pencil Shavings, Floral notes, Black currant, cedar, spices, and hints of cigar box. This is everything it should be, this nose is just so immensely deep that it's mind bogglingtaste: wow, just wow. The flavors are extremely pure and focused with tons of red fruit, pencil shavings, black currant, cigar box, spices, earth, and some floral notes. This is almost overwhelming that's how good this isoverall: this is as close to perfection that I have ever tasted. I have no doubt that this will be a true 100 pt wine once it really comes around in another 15 years. The finish is just amazing, utterly amazing and so complex. Words really can't do this wine justice (99 pts.)
• 1995 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: nice rich nose of dark fruit, tobbacco, black currant, and hints of barnyardtaste: nice balanced nose with dark fruit, black currant, and tobbaccooverall: nice and elegant wine. This is what I expect of lynch-bages and it is very polished at the same time (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillacnose: nice rich and ripe red fruit nose with tobbacco and cedartaste: good weight on the palate with some red fruit and tobbaccooverall: nice and polished wine. very classic and enjoyable (92 pts.)

table 5

• 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognannose: nice earthy and vegetal nose. pepper, spice, leather, and smoke permeates on the nose. Very nice and rustic nosetaste: spicy feel on the palate with some smoke and mushrooms along with hints of pepperoverall: this is a very nuanced wine that probably still needs time to come out of it's shell. It wants to show you everything it has but is a bit afraid. It has a elegance to it that is very enjoyable (93 pts.)
• 1996 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognannose: interesting nose that has a bit of bretty to it with some kirsch, dark plum, and cranberrytaste: there is a good amount of brett on the palate with mushrooms and a lot of barnyardoverall: a very nice wine, but there is some structure that is lacking on this one. Elegant, but just doesn't bring it all to the party (89 pts.)
• 1995 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognannose: real nice thick and layered nose of smoke, black fruit, spice box, and vanilla beantaste: real nice long and elegant feel on the palate with chocolate, mocha, dark fruit, and vanillaoverall: just a beautiful wine. Very long and balanced this just takes you to another place and give you a smile from ear to ear (96 pts.)
• 1996 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognannose: very floral and nuanced nose with mostly red fruit and whisps of smoketaste: well balanced on the mouth with a lot of floral notes, red fruit, and smokeoverall: a very nice wine but is very atypical from many 96s that I've had. This doesn't have the backwardsness or power behind it that they(the 96s) have had. Nice and polished this is a elegant wine (91 pts.)

table 6

• 1995 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Crunose: beautiful aromatics filled with floral notes, mocha, woodhouse smoke, and rose petalstaste: just gorgeous on the mouth. This is like a field of flowers and is accompanied by some cassis and mochaoverall: a beautiful wine that really shows its pedigree. Such an enjoyable and layered wine (94 pts.)
• 1996 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Crunose: interesting dark nose with dark plum, black fruit, smoke, black currant, and hints of cedar. I can definitely tell that more cab franc has been used in the blend on this vintagetaste: full and lush with black currant, floral notes, tobbacco, and cedaroverall: very nice wine that is long and elegant. Very interesting wine but doesn't excite as much as the 95 (92 pts.)

table 7

• 1995 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: very nice amounts of floral notes with some saddle leather and cherrytaste: real nice silky feel with tobbacco, leather, cranberry, and floral notesoverall: a very nice and well made wine. Good and silky this has some real nice class to it (90 pts.)
• 1996 Vieux Château Certan - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: very ripe nose with cranberry, spice, and dark cherrytaste: good solid flavors of cherry, spice, and earthoverall: still pretty tannic and it probably needs to shed some of that baby fat before it really shows us what it has. Still has that good smooth feeling on the palate, but the flavors are a bit simple and nothing really sticking out to open your eyes (88 pts.)
• 1995 Château Trotanoy - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: big and dense with cherry, cranberry, and spicestaste: very nice silky and smooth feel on the palate with cherry, cranberry, spices, and some smoke aspectsoverall: a very nice wine. A lot of what I enjoy from Pomerols. Finish is a bit quick though (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Trotanoy - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: interesting dusty nose with some blueberry, red fruit, and mineralstaste: nice flavors of tobbacco, spices, blueberry, and a bit of leather. flavors are a bit muted thoughoverall: It's a nice solid wine, but nothing really stands out and it. The flavors are a bit muted on the palate and the nose isn't all that deep (88 pts.)
• 1995 Château Gazin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: nice ripe nose of red fruit, spice, and red currantstaste: nice and smokey with red fruit, red currant, and spice notesoverall: very nice and elegant. All of the fruit and flavors are working well together (91 pts.)
• 1996 Château Gazin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerolnose: pure nose of dark fruit, licorice, toasted oak, and hints of mochataste: really silky and smooth with dark fruit, black currants, and toasted oak notesoverall: very nice. Good weight on the palate and is enjoyable (90 pts.)

This was a night that I'll always remember. The 96 Lafite is just a thing of pure beauty and this was easily one of the most fun tastings I've ever been to. As always with HDH the service was top notch and they always put together a great tasting. I can't wait to see what the comparative tasting will be next yearPosted from CellarTrackeryea it was an awesome time. I was hoping to see LeftyJeff there but he didn't make it. There weren't as many people there due to the weather, so it allowed me to get in a ton of tasting, and I could've gotten to every wine if I had truly wanted toalso, here are my notes from teh superbowl where I met up with my friend shane at his friend mike's place. It's fun having some CdP with a bit of age on it and the tablas creek was wonderful. I'm gonna have to buy a couple of their espirit de beaucastel's for some proper aging. The reserve I had was still young and may not have reached it's peak yet. It should be noted that the highest priced wine for this was shane's shea pinot at 45:WINE AND THE SUPERBOWL - Mike's house, Chicago IL (2/3/2008)I headed over to mike's place to enjoy the superbowl and have some CdP fun with a pinot and a rhone ranger thrown into the mix. This provided a nice look at wines of various ages for some good drinkingthere was really no exact flight as it was just a matter of which bottles we got to first and that had the proper air time

• 2005 Shea Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Estate Shea Vineyard - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valleynose: very gorgeous nose of cherry, plum, chocolate flakes, and spices. Nice and deeptaste: nice and effusive with cherry, cranberry, and some spices on the back endoverall: the aromatics of this wine are much better then the last time I had this. Unfortunetly the mouth feel hasn't caught up with the great aromatics just yet, but it will with a bit more age. The wine actually became more structured and had more firm tannins as it opened up in the glass. It will be very interesting to see where this is in a couple of years. It's nice and perfumey now, and should get better (92 pts.)
• 2000 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: really nice and developed CDP nose of peppercorns, white truffles, leather, and some hints of blueberry and tart cherrytaste: real nice feel and density on the palate. Peppercorn strikes you with some truffle, wood smoke, leather, and earth tones to give some back upoverall: a very beautiful and sumptuous wine. This is what I love about Vieux Telegraphe and the depth it brings. It's so much fun to drink and this one provides a wonderful finish and is really just an excellent wine (93 pts.)
• 1995 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Bernardine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: extremely interesting. At first it had a bit of a dead feeling to it but opened up as time went on. It had a ton of white pepper with mushrooms, and bretty barnyard notes to it too along with some smoked meat. It certainly has some brett on it, but the good brett and not a brett bombtaste: very nice and smooth mouth feel with some very firm tannins that can still shed themselves a bit with a few more years of age. Good amount of white pepper, smoked meat, and mushrooms on the palate. Very old school type of CdPoverall: this is what aged CdP's are about. You can tell it has some age on it, and it drinks just great right now. Nice structure and density to the wine and has a very earthy and meaty quality to it. very enjoyable for the old world fans (91 pts.)
• 1999 Tablas Creek Reserve Cuvée - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Roblesnose: nice amounts of Kirsch, tart cherry, tobacco, pepper, and bits of blueberrytaste: really nice feel on the palate with Peppercorns, kirsch, tart cherry, and blueberryoverall: this is a tremendous wine and will be even mroe interesting as it ages. Really wonderful flavor profile that can make this a dead ringer for a quality CdP. Very well structured and made for some serious aging. A high quality wine that is not to be missed (93 pts.)
• 2003 Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Tradition - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Papenose: very big nose that almost smells like pot at first. It then moves into some tart cherry, white pepper, and blueberry. BIg and powerful that reflects the hot vintagetaste: big structure on teh wine with peppercorn, cherry, truffles, and some barnyard aspects to it toooverall: big flavor and structure. This still needs time but is very nice right now, though the tannins can be a bit overwhelming at times (90 pts.)

a really fun night as is the usual standard when I hang out with shane and mike. a bunch of great wine, a great finish to the superbowl, and great people. Never a bad night when that mix happensPosted from CellarTrackerI'm gonna be doing a under 30 spanish tasting next week so I'll definitely post up notes from that so for any ideas for buying. On those notes, don't neccessarily look at the score, but look at the actual notes, well, always look at the actual notes as score is very subjective to teh taster

[Suited_Up 2]

Sweet, glad you got to that one. Where is this under 30 spanish tasting at? We saw a spanish tasting at cafe BabaReba last week when we went in for dinner, but I couldn't talk brigette into sticking around for it. Was like $35 for $25 wines and a lil tapas. Would've been interesting though since that's what I've drank more of than anything. Mostly because they're the cheapest, lol.

[KDawgCometh 2]

the under 30 spanish tasting is an off line for my wine forum

[Suited_Up 2]

the under 30 spanish tasting is an off line for my wine forum

Ooh, multiple forums. I don't think I could handle that. Not being active at least. I got 3 tabs of this place to deal with.

[barrec 0]

Wow, long time no post.In my short foray into wine, I've found the Baer Ursa to be my favorite. It's a wine for a special-er occasion based on price, but well worth it. It's very unfortunate that the maker passed away in his late 30's...the wine has been discontinued. I've only tasted 2004, but I imagine all years are quality. Anyone else tried it?

[leftygolfer 7]

COME on others post your stuff:) Being that this is OT, obviously not your stuff, but your wine:)Huskers20

All of mine is packed up for the move at the end of the month. May just have to drink yours!Acutally, I am looking for some 05 Pinot Noir for the reception. Heard that Napa Pinot Noir is VG.

Good to see new blood here, lol.I also forgot to say on the Sineann Zin.....had the coolest Glass Cork. Had never seen anything like it. Almost like a bottle stopper.

Steve...save me a cork if you can. May look cool in a trivet.

I made it down to the Newberry Library for Hart Davis Hart's annual comparative Bordeaux tasting. it wasn't as filled as I thought it would be, most likely due to the awful weather that had been going on at the time. What this did though was allow me to hit up almost everything that was there and get some very nice pours, which made me a very happy camperyea it was an awesome time. I was hoping to see LeftyJeff there but he didn't make it. There weren't as many people there due to the weather, so it allowed me to get in a ton of tasting, and I could've gotten to every wine if I had truly wanted to

Ben F had invited me to the tasting, just couldn't get down to it. Keith - awesome work on the tasting notes. I own many of those and am looking forward to cracking open some of them. The '95's were my first French buy and was hooked.

[Ouch-8s 4]

i like whoresi'm not sure why i've never mentioned it before but dammit it deserves to be said.

[KDawgCometh 2]

Ben F had invited me to the tasting, just couldn't get down to it. Keith - awesome work on the tasting notes. I own many of those and am looking forward to cracking open some of them. The '95's were my first French buy and was hooked.

I would've loved to see you there, it was a great time. A lot of the 95s showed well, but IMO 96 looks to be the much better vintage and still has a long way to go before many of them truly reached their peak. Obviously there are some better wines from 95, like the la mission and haut-brion, but the 96s were just so awesome. I do wish though that they had busted out montrose, pichon-baron, and angelus, well, I wish they had busted out more right bankers period, but c'est la vie. whenever you feel like popping some of the 95s or 96s that you have just give me a holler and I'll be sure to bring something too(hopefully a few of my 03s will have come around by that point), especially if you have the 96 lafite, I'll do anything to taste that again

[Suited_Up 2]

I believe I read that Sams Wine is doing a Bordeaux night in the next week or so... I forget the day, maybe 14th or 16th or something.