Thursday, August 30, 2007

TNs From "Rhone In America"


Mystery White: Grassy nose. Lots going on. Melon, tropical fruit (pineapple) and of course cat pee. Dietz surely knew this was sauvignon blanc. He was pretty much right. 2005 Vision White Wine (80% SB from Napa, 20% Pinot Gris from SLH). A decent wine. Nice acidity and a fair amount of complexity. (2 third place votes = 2 points)

2006 Alban Vineyards Viognier Central Coast: I was looking forward to this … sadly it did not deliver. You got to love Viognier aromatics but the palate was a fat flabby mess. Way too heavy and seemingly showing a lot of wood. I think the room was united that this was not good. I took it home…maybe a new environment … maybe a little more time … yep … it got worse. (NO VOTES)

2001 Ridge Syrah/Grenache (50/50): Opinions went back and forth on this one. At first the nose seemed oxidized. The palate seemed nice but simple. Complexity never seemed to increase but with the food this started to shine. I took this wine home. By the evening this wine became more flabby and oaky. Not sure what happened. I don’t think I would wait any longer on this one. (1 first place vote, 3 second place votes, 1 third place vote = 15 points … SECOND PLACE)

2003 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel: Not one of the favorites. Hard to figure out. Interesting aromatics but the palate was very sweet. Sweet and sour to be more accurate. No one was looking to take this home. I think it was out shined by its companions. (NO VOTES)

2004 Alcina Syrah Gabrielli (Mendocino County): Aromatics showing very ripe. Much heavier texture than the previous two wines. For me it was very tasty but just a little over ripe. The plums were close to prunes. Showed a more dark and unique character compared to the up coming RRV syrahs. Like so many of my 04 Cali wines … not sure I should hold or drink up. (1 first place vote, 1 second place vote = 8 points…THIRD PLACE)

2004 Radio-Coteau Syrah Timbervine (RRV): I thought this wine would clean up in this tasting. After loving the 03 I was waiting on this one. At first the nose was showing something (so2 or co2 any of the 02s) … sorry don’t know the correct descriptor … but it was there. That blew off quickly and the wine should nicely … but it was just unsure whether it should be a big bruiser or a kindly gentleman. With air time I thought the wine started to shut down. Nice structure but just not sure if it has the stuffing and acid to go the long haul. But a nice wine. I brought this one home and the wood seemed to become more prominent. (1 second place vote, 1 third place vote = 4 points)

2004 Kosta Browne Syrah Amber Ridge (RRV): I haven’t noticed this wine getting much attention. I loved it when I tried it last year when M. Browne came to FMIII’s house and made sure to get some. This is my first taste of it post release. It showed bigger and fuller than I remember it but it did not disappoint. Consistent from the aromatics to the palate. Broad and heavy but not overly dark. I wrote down “smooth sweet candy”. This is a sweet syrah with what seems to be a lot of oak but there is also big fruit. With the finish I would have liked some more acid to keep it going. As it was the mocha elements dominated. I really wanted to see Dietz use a “Red Vine” as a straw and take a few sips…but he was scared. Nice one to have in the mix. (3 first place votes, 1 third place vote = 18 points…FIRST PLACE)