USA, California, Central Coast, San Benito County (9/28/2008)
1 hour decant. This wine is in such a wonderful place right now. Dark as a moonless night. Perfect blueberry pie, crushed pebbles. Phenomenal structure. Very consistent with my last 3 times with it. Maybe less showy and more exact and precise if anyhthing. Less perfumey. Some pretty asian spice and cedar. Steamed meat. The tannins are ironing themselves out nicely. Chewy and elegant all at once, this remains one of the best bottles of Syrah I have had recently alongside the Lucia Susans. A toned down Cali Syrah or a Rhone on steroids....you choose. Glad I got 6 more and will still seek more. 3 to 5 yars of great promise here. (93 pts.)
from the website:
This wine was rescued from a vineyard about to be condemned for its unfashionability. The vines were perched precariously on the crest of rolling hills 40 miles inland from Monterey– in the heart of old Almaden country. The perch was precarious because the hill's crest was composed only of sand, from some lost sea-bottom. The vines were meticulously cared for, but struggled in the wind, and in the hopelessly fine drainage of sandy hill-crest. I secured the last harvest; the grapes were trucked to Napa by a local tomato grower. The wine was dark and almost syrupy from the beginning. It lacks the off-putting fierceness of the Scheria, but it would be a gross insult to call it friendly. Instead it is full of intense dark fruit-- reminiscent more of pan forte or christmas cake than jam; and not far from roast goose. It is, like Babylon and Scheria, beyond the paths and borders of our usual neighborhoods, but somewhat more familiar...Abe Schoener.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
1996 Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon (real time)
5:20 Broken cork. Nose has some reduction and sweetness. Some browning on edges. Possibly the smallest amout of VA, but I think it will blow off. Palate has some nice structure and dried fruits, but still a bit cool to tell where this will go. Palate better than nose.
5:40 Color deepening and only the very edges are showing age. The palate is fuller and rounder with some rose petals, cedar box, dried blackberries, dried currant, deep somewhat sour cherries. This reminds me of many of the 50s and 60 era Bordeaux I drank in the 80s. Interesting old cabernet.
8:45 All in all a very nice wine. An hour or so this was really showing nice. Good body, fully resolved sweet tannins. Long finish. This was totally matured and hanging on for dear life. More European in style. My second bottle from a different source. I remember my first being more Cab like. 88/100
5:40 Color deepening and only the very edges are showing age. The palate is fuller and rounder with some rose petals, cedar box, dried blackberries, dried currant, deep somewhat sour cherries. This reminds me of many of the 50s and 60 era Bordeaux I drank in the 80s. Interesting old cabernet.
8:45 All in all a very nice wine. An hour or so this was really showing nice. Good body, fully resolved sweet tannins. Long finish. This was totally matured and hanging on for dear life. More European in style. My second bottle from a different source. I remember my first being more Cab like. 88/100
2004 Rockledge Cabernet Sauvignon The Rocks
USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (9/13/2008)
Nice deep color (Do I always need to tell you that?) A great nose of crushed fresh black cherries with some black currants and red plums. This has a very elegant and precision driven pure core of chewy tannins and a medley of most of the cab fruits I want, with a slightly elevated level of oak that should quiet down nicely (oak is not an enemy of mine). Good vanilla bean and espresso with some freshly scratched wet leather and earth. After some amazing cabs tasted in the last 8 days, this shows amazingly well for its price point. I'm a fan and will be stocking up. (93 pts.)
Nice deep color (Do I always need to tell you that?) A great nose of crushed fresh black cherries with some black currants and red plums. This has a very elegant and precision driven pure core of chewy tannins and a medley of most of the cab fruits I want, with a slightly elevated level of oak that should quiet down nicely (oak is not an enemy of mine). Good vanilla bean and espresso with some freshly scratched wet leather and earth. After some amazing cabs tasted in the last 8 days, this shows amazingly well for its price point. I'm a fan and will be stocking up. (93 pts.)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Some wines from Thomas Rivers Brown
Last night six of us from the CLONYC crowd gathered at Zoë’s Soho to sample some of Thomas Brown’s highly coveted Cabernets. All the wines showed very well, some exceptionally so.
The lineup:
1) 2007 Barrel sample from fellow board members new venture: Congruence.
2) Blind entry- 2004 Schrader Double D
3) 2004 Maybach Materium
4) 2005 Maybach Materium
5) 2004 Schrader Tokalon
6) 2004 Schrader CCS
7) 2004 Schrader RBS
8) 2005 Outpost True Vineyard
9) 2003 Rivers Marie
10) The Zoe field blend of Schraders 3
I'll start here:
2004 Maybach Materium- (double decanted 4.5 hours) Dark and intense. The nose showed a wall of fruit that raged from the glass. Wow. There was black berry, black cherry, dark currant, black plums, some tobacco, some sweet kirsch, Wow. The purity of this multi-fruited profiled wine is both mind blowing and mind-boggling. Elegant and precise, this is a Cab drinkers Cab. I sat with this all night and it kept changing places with its younger brother always fighting for first place. A long finish and wow. Anyone who thinks wow wines do not exist needs to taste this one treated with the correct decant and respect. One more time….. Wow 95/100
2005 Maybach Materium – (double decanted 1.5 hours) The family resemblance is uncanny, just the clothing is different. This had the dark brooding color with the slightly more subdued, but ever present wall of fruit. The red and black fruits created such a fruit medley of love. Slightly bigger in scale than the 04, this had more oak, and more tannic structure, but hey, it’s a year younger. Black cassis wrapped chocolate cherries with pure blackberry and licorice. The balance and purity is staggering. Long and intense, this wine kept vying for pole position with its older brother, taking the lead no less than 3 times. The photo-finish results proved it was nose behind, yet I will give it a 95/100
The lineup:
1) 2007 Barrel sample from fellow board members new venture: Congruence.
2) Blind entry- 2004 Schrader Double D
3) 2004 Maybach Materium
4) 2005 Maybach Materium
5) 2004 Schrader Tokalon
6) 2004 Schrader CCS
7) 2004 Schrader RBS
8) 2005 Outpost True Vineyard
9) 2003 Rivers Marie
10) The Zoe field blend of Schraders 3
I'll start here:
2004 Maybach Materium- (double decanted 4.5 hours) Dark and intense. The nose showed a wall of fruit that raged from the glass. Wow. There was black berry, black cherry, dark currant, black plums, some tobacco, some sweet kirsch, Wow. The purity of this multi-fruited profiled wine is both mind blowing and mind-boggling. Elegant and precise, this is a Cab drinkers Cab. I sat with this all night and it kept changing places with its younger brother always fighting for first place. A long finish and wow. Anyone who thinks wow wines do not exist needs to taste this one treated with the correct decant and respect. One more time….. Wow 95/100
2005 Maybach Materium – (double decanted 1.5 hours) The family resemblance is uncanny, just the clothing is different. This had the dark brooding color with the slightly more subdued, but ever present wall of fruit. The red and black fruits created such a fruit medley of love. Slightly bigger in scale than the 04, this had more oak, and more tannic structure, but hey, it’s a year younger. Black cassis wrapped chocolate cherries with pure blackberry and licorice. The balance and purity is staggering. Long and intense, this wine kept vying for pole position with its older brother, taking the lead no less than 3 times. The photo-finish results proved it was nose behind, yet I will give it a 95/100
Monday, September 8, 2008
Mid 90s CaliCab & Pizza night
Last night I had a few friends over for CaliCabs and pizza.
1986 Inglenook Cask Cabernet – what great old brick color for such a matured wine. Some reductiveness on the nose. The palate has a bit of dried fruits, some middle and a slightly boosted alcohol level. There were some secondary’s of tar, soy and leather. I am not the biggest fan of old wines but I can surely see what would attract some to this. A textbook 80s era Cab.Thanks Michael for bringing.
1994 Shafer Cabernet Napa – If I was missing fruit in the Inglenook, I found it here. This was dark crimson. The nose had some deep stewed dark fruits of black cherry and plums. It was a little disjointed initially with the finish showing some heat, but after an hour this was surely firing on all cylinders. The fruits got a bit glossier and fresher. The heat became a bit tamer as well….Very nice. There was currant, and kirsch now in attendance. I really enjoyed the evolution of this one. A nice bottle. Thanks to Greg and Monica for this one.
1996 Corison Cabernet Napa – Here comes the reductiveness again. The nose had a touch of this particular quality that I am no fan of. This wine has some elegance and some balance, but there was something I could not quite put my finger on. I have never really been a fan of Corisons wines and I guess I may never be one. T had some red and dark fruits with some great mouth feel, but the alcohol was a bit elevated and the finish hot because of it. This is one I wish I had revisited after an hour as Greg said it had come together nicely.
My loose theme was older and mid 90s Cabs but f my theme, I need a manly wine. (I took the 96 Clos Pagase out of the rotation)
2005 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Napa – Here we go: big brooding and tight as a ducks ass in spring. Some decanted time and I was vigorously swirling, and the palate showed some dark plums, sweet cassis, black cherries, and blackberry. Oddly the nose never really screamed Cabernet, but a Cali Syrah: there was white pepper and steamed meat! It didn’t detract, and it surely added interest. This had a pure clean and surety of Cabernet in the mouth though…hmmmm? After about an hour this was starting to show a bit fuller and plusher. I love wines like this but I won’t revisit until 2012 and beyond. I just picked these up two weeks back and will get more.
Here’s where the theme goes totally pear shaped:
Cali Syrah time.
2003 Pride Syrah – Great dark color with the nose being a bit subdued and closed and not as expressive as my last, as this is now my last bottle. Mike has a few so maybe I can experience again soon. Some dried fruits and black pepper, this was a good partner to the pizza hitting the table at the time. It had the nice pure blueberries I enjoy with some soy and pomegranate. It seemed I was a bit busy with the pies and this was GONE in a heartbeat. I so wanted more. I have my suspicions….
2002 Kuleto Cab Napa served blind. The usual crowd pleaser. No notes but easy to find on this blog.
1986 Inglenook Cask Cabernet – what great old brick color for such a matured wine. Some reductiveness on the nose. The palate has a bit of dried fruits, some middle and a slightly boosted alcohol level. There were some secondary’s of tar, soy and leather. I am not the biggest fan of old wines but I can surely see what would attract some to this. A textbook 80s era Cab.Thanks Michael for bringing.
1994 Shafer Cabernet Napa – If I was missing fruit in the Inglenook, I found it here. This was dark crimson. The nose had some deep stewed dark fruits of black cherry and plums. It was a little disjointed initially with the finish showing some heat, but after an hour this was surely firing on all cylinders. The fruits got a bit glossier and fresher. The heat became a bit tamer as well….Very nice. There was currant, and kirsch now in attendance. I really enjoyed the evolution of this one. A nice bottle. Thanks to Greg and Monica for this one.
1996 Corison Cabernet Napa – Here comes the reductiveness again. The nose had a touch of this particular quality that I am no fan of. This wine has some elegance and some balance, but there was something I could not quite put my finger on. I have never really been a fan of Corisons wines and I guess I may never be one. T had some red and dark fruits with some great mouth feel, but the alcohol was a bit elevated and the finish hot because of it. This is one I wish I had revisited after an hour as Greg said it had come together nicely.
My loose theme was older and mid 90s Cabs but f my theme, I need a manly wine. (I took the 96 Clos Pagase out of the rotation)
2005 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Napa – Here we go: big brooding and tight as a ducks ass in spring. Some decanted time and I was vigorously swirling, and the palate showed some dark plums, sweet cassis, black cherries, and blackberry. Oddly the nose never really screamed Cabernet, but a Cali Syrah: there was white pepper and steamed meat! It didn’t detract, and it surely added interest. This had a pure clean and surety of Cabernet in the mouth though…hmmmm? After about an hour this was starting to show a bit fuller and plusher. I love wines like this but I won’t revisit until 2012 and beyond. I just picked these up two weeks back and will get more.
Here’s where the theme goes totally pear shaped:
Cali Syrah time.
2003 Pride Syrah – Great dark color with the nose being a bit subdued and closed and not as expressive as my last, as this is now my last bottle. Mike has a few so maybe I can experience again soon. Some dried fruits and black pepper, this was a good partner to the pizza hitting the table at the time. It had the nice pure blueberries I enjoy with some soy and pomegranate. It seemed I was a bit busy with the pies and this was GONE in a heartbeat. I so wanted more. I have my suspicions….
2002 Kuleto Cab Napa served blind. The usual crowd pleaser. No notes but easy to find on this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
