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Brenton/Cole’s 1999
Neudorf Nelson Sauvignon Blanc (13 % alc.): Pale straw, pretty nose,
slightly floral with some lime and a wee bit of honeysuckle; the usual
grassy grapefruit thing going on; very clean, correct; flavors echo the
bouquet on a medium bodied frame; very nice.
1998
Thunder Mountain Chardonnay DeRose Vineyard (13.4 % alc.): Another
from Gary and Georgine; cloudy pale gold, only fined once;
very yeasty nose with oaked overtones and allspice, according to Kim;
not exactly low acid, but not exactly crisp either.
Could use a little more heft on the mid-palate for my tastes. Typically idiosyncratic, like many of Milan Maximovich’s
Chards.
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1998
Domaine de l’Arjolle Equinoxe Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue (60 %
Viognier, 30 % Sauvignon Blanc, 10 % Muscat, 12. 5 % alc.): The
same bottle tasted the night before with Gary
(right) and Georgine (their house white) ; medium straw, pretty
honeysuckle over pear with a kiss of oak on the nose, as well as a nice
mineral note in the flavors; really opened up over night.
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David
Hyndman, winner of a half bottle of pineapple |
1995
Blanc de Lynch-Bages (12.5 % alc.): Medium
straw, with kind of a smoky petrol/toasty oak on the nose; weird.
Kim says burnt rubber, adding, “It’s terrible.”
Flavors echo very dryly; I find it interesting but probably
wouldn’t buy it.
1997 Thunder
Mountain Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon Bates Ranch (14.5 % alc.,
Unfiltered, unfined): Dark garnet with
a big lusty nose of Cabernet cassis/sweet black cherry and a little
smoke; big and brawny with plenty of acidity, good extraction and
beautiful integrated oak. Some
cigar box notes come out with air; deep, dark and absolutely delicious;
yum! Milan’s reds drink
well when they’re young, yet have everything they need to age well.
1995 Dehlinger
Russian River Valley Estate Syrah Goldridge Vineyard (14.5 % alc.): Dark
garnet with huge plum/bramble/briar/chocolate on the nose; rich
concentration with well integrated oak.
Very smooth and surprisingly soft, with the obligatory olive note
on the palate; there are some tannins and good acidity here to take it
further down the road. Terrific
stuff!
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|
Eric
Craymer, with his second place cork prize of 6000 Lira donated by |
1997 Nostos Greek
Red Table Wine (From Crete, Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and 10 %
Roussanne, 12 % alc.): Dark garnet with an overripe nose that has a sulfur-like element to it;
Gary said, “It isn’t singing like it usually does.” Intense, with nice plum flavors in an Old World style and
mostly resolved tannins; pretty good with a bratwurst.
1996 Rosenblum
Sonoma Valley Zinfandel Cullinane Vineyard 20th Anniversary
Special Bottling (13.8 % alc.):
Dark garnet with a big jammy, spicy candied raspberry flavors and
aromas; a nice Zin in the Rosenblum style that could be a little bigger
for my tastes. Some tannins
yet to resolve and good acidity.
1997 Flowers
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir Camp Meeting Ridge (13.8 % alc.): Cloudy
dark garnet, with that typically yeasty Flowers nose that features more
black cherry than plum and smoky, toasty oak.
Good tannins and acidity, but not so much that you can’t enjoy
it now with an hour in a decanter.
This didn’t last long, and deservedly so.
1977 Diamond Creek
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill (12.5 % alc.): I
had to scramble to get the last little bit of this, sediment and all.
Still a dark garnet with some rust and more primary
Cabernet/cassis fruit than tertiary cedar/cigar nuances; some initial
mustiness blows off revealing a very interesting, tasty 23 year old
California Cab.
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|
Linda and Terry Hagan |
1988 Lytton
Springs Winery Sonoma County Zinfandel Private Reserve (14.4 % alc.):
Slightly cloudy, slightly rusty dark
garnet; huge extracted black raspberry/sea air nose; almost candied with
a hint of secondary cedar. Absolutely
beautiful fruit with big extracted blackberry/black raspberry and a long
finish. Did these people do
Zinfandel better than Ridge? Maybe…
1988 Opus One Napa
Valley Red Wine 12.5 % alc.): Rusty
dark garnet; Gary says he remembers this being a lot more dense,
chocolate-y and concentrated. A little funk on the nose, over licorice/cassis; this has
lost something since we had it at the winery two years ago.
1997
Martinelli Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Martinelli Vineyard (14.7 %
alc.): Smoky ruby garnet with a
bright smoky black cherry/plum nose; nice rich RRV Pinot with a long
finish and good concentration. It
ain’t Rochioli, but it ain’t bad!
1997 Ojai Talley
Vineyard Chardonnay (13 % alc.): The Overbergs showed a little late, so they missed most of what had been
opened to that point, but brought reinforcements like this.
Big bright toasty oak/pineapple/pear character with nice
intensity and concentration and enough acidity to keep it lively.
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|
THE WINNER |
1997 Cline Small
Berry Vineyard Mourvedre (14 % alc.): Dark
garnet, big and intense; it’s lost some of the formidable tannins that
it had last year. Big rich
dark multi-berry, with a certain smoky nuance, and quite simply,
delicious.
1998 Fox Creek
McLaren Vale Shiraz Reserve (14.5 % alc.): Inky
garnet with huge extracted chocolate/plum/dark berry flavors and aromas;
Has a candied aspect to it, but I wondered if it wasn’t missing just a
little something on the mid-palate and finish.
This has received a lot of rave reviews, so I may be wrong;
perhaps it will evolve into a more “sleek” style of Shiraz.
Needless
to say, everyone has a marvelous time, and one expects no less from a
Brenton/Cole Production. The
only thing missing was the presence of the Canadian Wine
Wankers, who
shall be teased mercilessly for their lack of decorum in not making
arrangements to attend.
};^)>
