Oregon Bliss

Had a great dinner this evening with some great friends... had a Riesling from the Willamette tonight (not sure of the producer) that rocked... petroly with apricots and ripe green apple. A little bit of stony mineral and hints of ginger. Really killer stuff... could drink it every night... the 2005 King Estate Pinot Gris was pretty with notes of banana, ripe white peach, apricots and orange blossom and a hint of white pepper. One of the better King Estate PGs I've had in a while... the 2004 Owen Row Cabernet Franc was pretty and ripe with notes of black peppercorn, black currant, sweet cherries and chocolate. Long and elegant finish... the 200? Willakenzie Estate Pinot Noir was good, but not a personal favorite. Was in screwcap and showed a slight sulphur note for about 15 minutes - then finally blew off. After that - earth and ripe cherry. The 2004 Sokol Blosser Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ... big and powerful with loads of black cherries, strawberries and rhubarb. Really, really good. Nice... but the wine of the night was the 2003 (or was it 04?) Archery Summit Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir and it never disappoints...Probably going on 20_+ times I've had this was classic - ripe, rich fruit with moderate + alcohol and hints of charred earth. Nice stuff with a long, silky finish and lots of spice.

Freaky Friday

the NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine, New Mexico is good, dry and has a lovely nose of candied cherries. Not spectacular, but I'm always happy to try something from the great sparkling wine estate. The 2004 Cakebread Merlot was... I know many people love Cakebread... I am usually a fan of their Merlot (in my mind, the best wine they make), and that's about it. I'm not a fan of the 04. It just came off as completely unbalanced with way too much alcohol and little fruit (a mostly stemmy-cocoa powder nose). Not my favorite at all... wouldn't order it, don't recommend it.

Sorry

Can't believe I haven't written in a week... Pretty good stuff this week for tasting... the 2004 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon is much, much lighter than the previous vintages and as such is not a wine that I'd jump up and down to buy (despite its reputation). Also tasted the 2002 Vineyard 29 "Aida" Red Blend - big and jammy, juicy with sweet fruit and lots of oak. A really good wine... The 2003 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon rocks... a great wine with loads of black currants, black cherries and plums and a hefty dose of new French Oak. This will be a fabulous addition to the list. The 1999 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Beze is a tightly-wound baby. Though already 8 years old, this wine still needs another 10 years to come out of its shell. Lots of clove still present with dusty dried cranberries, cherries and strawberries. Don't think it will ever be incredible, but a very nice wine (and very classically - Clos de Beze). The 1999 Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque was ok... not my favorite for this vintage. Very light in style (as usual), but compared to Cristal, it's lacking any sort of punch and finesse. The NV Mumm"Cramant" is a 100% Grand Cru bottling from the village of the same name in the Cote des Blancs, and is 100% Chardonnay. Elegant and classy. Very dry. Awesome stuff. Tasted quite a few more Champagnes this week, but none of them noteworthy.

Premier Cru

The 1989 Remoissenet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Cazetieres" is a beauty... still taking a good hour to open up in the bottle (20 minutes in the glass), this wine is pure earth and power... black truffles, cedar, dried leaves, red cherry.

The 1998 Francois Jobard Meursault 1er Cru "En la Barre" is a beauty... nutty and rich with notes of honeysuckle, Granny Smith Apples and tons of wet stones... nicely mature, but still has a few years to go.

The Good, The Not So Good, and the Really Good

Went to a great tasting today... 1999 Cristal from 3L (really good), 1996 Cuvee William Deutz (really good) from 3L, 1999 Cristal Rose (really good), 2000 Cristal (good), 1998 Cuvee William Deutz (good), 1971 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer "Cuvee Anne" (good), 1985 Schlumberger Gewurztraminer "Cuvee Anne" (not so good), 1990 Pio Cesare Barolo (really good), 1991 Meerlust Rubicon (really good), 2003 Dominus (good), 2004 Dominus (good), 2003 Chateau Cos d'Estournel (good), 1970 Ramos Pinto Porto (good), 1983 Ramos Pinto Porto (good), 2001 Pio Cesare Ornato Barolo (really good), 1994 Baron de L Pouilly-Fume (really good), 2000 Baron de L Pouilly-Fume (not so good), and lastly, my wine of the day - the 2001 Pio Cesare "Il Bricco" Barbaresco... really stunning fruit quality here with tremendous length. Awesome stuff... Not the complete list, but most of the highlites.

Tasty...

The 1990 Chateau Gruaud-Larose continues to impress... what a powerful, youthful wine. Tons of cedar, smoke and fennel seed and a long, long finish. This wine still has decades of life. The 2004 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon rocks... really stunning stuff. Glad I've still got some... Awesome! The wine of the night, however, was the 1996 Gaja Sperss. Powerful and closed upon opening, this wine really blossomed over the next 3 hours. Rose petals, dried cranberries, cherries and plums with saddle leather, tar and dried leaves coming out with truffles on the finish... The texture on this wine is amazing - so silky and soft, yet powerful and tannic at the same time. Only Gaja can make Nebbiolo like this (not that there aren't outstanding Barolo & Barbaresco producers that make better wine...). Best Italian wine so far this year...

Good stuff

The 1997 Laurent-Perrier "Cuvee Alexandra" Brut Rose was toasty and yeasty and was suprisingly advanced for a young Champagne... nice, long finish. The 2001 Morey Meursault (it was premier cru, but I can't remember vineyard) was stunning... lots of new oak with fat minerals and a long, long stony finish. Great stuff.. the 2005 Vieux Telegraphe "La Crau" Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is awesome. Perhaps one of the great white CDPs I've had (though the Beaucastel VV Roussanne is by far the best)... baked stony apples. Apples, apples, apples. The 1955 Chateau Lafite Rothschild was bad (really, really bad). The 2001 Archery Summit Arcus Estate Pinot Noir was amazing. Really beautiful wine (my wine of the night) with loads of black and red fruits, a hint of earth, and incredible nose... very complex and silky with just a hint of power. Nice... The 1997 Andrew Will Merlot was really good... shows some great cedar and black fruit notes with cocoa and spice. The 1998 Chateau de Sales (Pomerol) showed the beauty of the vintage. Very earthy (dried leaves and mushrooms), with plenty of fruit. A really great bottle.

Yesterday was the 2003 Dagueneau "Pur Sang" Pouilly-Fume. Rich and creamy (creamy grapefruit as one of my collegues noted). Perfect for seafood. Really glad I had this...

The Masters

My favorite week of sports in the entire year... It is without question the greatest sporting location in the world. The carpet-like grass, the cheap food, the smells, the sounds - the roars. Augusta National is a dream... Cheers.

Vina

The 2004 Almaviva rocks... though not as powerful and rich as the 2001, 2003, or 1997, this is a fabulous wine that ranks among the greatest wines from Chile. A colaboration (ala Opus One) between Baron Eric Rothschild (think Mouton) and Concha y Toro, the wine comes from a tiny subregion of the Maipo Valley - Puente Alto. mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a good bit Carmenere (usually the wine has a good % of Cabernet Franc). A few days ago tasted the 1997 Almaviva (had the 01 and 1996 last year), and this wine is amazing... drinks like a Pauillac (suprised???), and has a long, long life ahead of it. Stunning stuff... if you can find some, it's a great value at around $60-70 retail.

Whoops...

had two whoops... first, I broke my bottle of 2004 Chateau "Y" Bordeaux Blanc... pretty upset about it too... just slipped out of my hands... second... can't believe I forgot about the 1970 Chateau Latour during my marathon lunch last week!!! Awesome stuff, but paled in comparison to the 61...