2002 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)

This is great stuff. It isn't as good as the Bize I had the night before, but this performed extremely well with a piece of Copper River Sockeye Salmon and accoutrements. Cherries, bark, mushroom, and Asian spices. Good finish. This is not even at the drinking plateau yet. Has years left in reserve. Some of the most impressive domestic Pinot Noir I've ever tasted.

2008 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Home Block (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

Opened the Home Block a few days after the Bee Block. Better wine IMO. Finesse, elegance, fruit, freshness, balance, sweetness, tartness...everything is in perfect balance. Maybe my favorite Chardonnay in the Varner line-up. Great wine.

2008 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Bee Block (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

This is the biggest, baddest, and most CA Chard like Chardonnay in the Varner line-up. The tell-tale lemon custard flavors that the Bee Block throws off are in full force, and the wine has significant body to it. Still shows nice minerality and slatey characteristics, but it lacks a little of the nuance and finesse that the Home and Amphitheatre wines show.

2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

Opened this with traditionally American Christmas Dinner of ham, potatoes, and vegetables. Like the Fleur de Gay the day before, this was a pleasure to drink. Although not as intellectual a wine as the Fleur de Gay the day prior, this was an enjoyable wine that showed restraint for CA Pinot. Deep dark fruit that wasn't too tannic at all and some tree bark and earthiness. Flavorful enough to stand up to the food. Fine choice for this dinner.

2008 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Amphitheater Block (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

This just recently arrived at my doorstep and it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Very chablis-like CA Chardonnay. Minerals, citrus, and fresh spring water come to mind. But this doesn't lack length either. Pretty finish and in my opinion one of the best renditions of CA Chardonnay. Highly recommended

Dinner Chez Shannon and David

Last Sunday, we were invited to dinner at our friends Shannon and David's home. After some sparkler to start that I really enjoyed but took no notes on, we graduated to reds with dinner:

• 2003 Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Cuvée du Papet - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Had this with dinner at friends' house. A definitely bretty wine. I think for some at the table the brett was simply too much. I on the other hand loved it. Typical CdP in the sense that kirsch and garrigue were present, but the texture was not liqueur-like at all. texturally, this reminded more of Burgundy with a silky mouthfeel and strong finish. Again...to me the brett gave it an extra dimension I liked, but folks sensitive to brett would have hated this bottle. I am happily looking forward to drinking my second bottle.
• 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  Generously opened by our hosts to go with grilled tri-tip. And what a great wine this is. Fantastic nose of cherries, tree bark and dark chocolate. These aromas all carry through to the palate where the wine was velvety and loaded with cheery and blackberry fruit. Maybe a hint of leather. Despite the ample fruit, this came across as balanced and complex and is nothing like many of today's Napa fruit bombs I dislike so much. Awesome wine that disappeared quickly from the decanter. Thanks Shannon and David for this treat.

Thanks to Shannon and David for your generosity, and next time, it'll be my turn to dazzle with quality food and wine.

2007 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

Great wine. Very classy, very atypical for CA Chardonnay. No butterscotch, not high alcohol, not blowsy. This is a different style altogether. Lovely pale yellow color, and mineral and citrus laden palate that gives you the textural impression of fresh spring water. The fruit is fine and cool, and the length is admirable. It's a more elegant and complex version of the Varner Amphitheater Chards (no disrespect to varner, I love their wines). Brilliant wine, unfortunately, not easy to procure.

2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)

Although I will never like the 2003s from St. I as much as their 2002s, I thought this bottle was beginning to show what I have liked about their wines in the past. The burly fruit of its youth has exited center stage, and a more restrained version has come on. It's soft, velvety, and shows earth, cherry, and strawberry fruit. Very good wine now, and it still can age for many more years. Matter of fact, I would leave this wine alone for another 2-3 years before revisiting. I think the patience will be rewarded.

2002 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon Fifteen-Forty (USA, California, Napa Valley)

Third and last of the Neal Family Cabs with Easter lunch/dinner. My personal favorite among the three wines. The most primal, structured, brooding, muscled wine of the trio. Dark fruit and smoke. Beefy flavors and bramble. A wine that can be aged for many years without going into decline, IMO. Also had a touch of tobacco and earth. One of my favorite "young" CA Cabs in a long time. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain.

2002 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon Chafen (USA, California, Napa Valley)

Second bottle of Neal Family Cab with Easter lunch/dinner. Now we are talking. More structure, darker flavors, more serious, complex, and earthy than the One Lane Bridge. A cut above, I believe. Where the OLB was more red fruited and quaffable, this was serious and required a little more attention. Black berry and black currant fruit with a touch of cherry and dark chocolate. Coarser tannins and muscle. I liked this one a lot. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain.

2002 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon One Lane Bridge (USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder)

First of three Neal Family Cabs to go with Easter Lunch/Dinner. Relatively soft wine with velvety fruit and chocolate cherry flavors and aroma. Very good, but not earth shattering. Has very fine tannins and ripe fruit. A little low on acidity and backbone.

2005 Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena)

Served blind. Clearly recognizable as a California wine. Lots of fruit, but very balanced. Surprisingly soft for a wine this young. Cherry, spice, earth and chocolate. Not overly complex and complicated, but a thoroughly enjoyable wine. Should be able to go for another number of years in the cellar, but I would drink between now and 2015.

2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace Alpine Vineyard (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains)

Much better than the other Rhys I had a few days ago. For California Pinot, this had real refinement, verve, finesse, and elegance. But it certainly also has plenty of fruit, and a stern structure that suggests extended aging ability. It is more red fruited than black fruited and shows some decent earth and minerality. It seems unapologetically Californian with a nod to Burgundy. It does fall slightly short in the complexity department though, for me, and it doesn't blow me away or gives me the idea it is a game changer. I really have to question the QPR value of this wine.

2007 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard (USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County)

Consumed over the course of two nights. Interesting wine that spans the bridge between old world and new world style. The new world part of this is the rather sweet fruit and polished tannins. I wouldn't say that it's cotton candy, but there are definitely shades of brown sugar flavors in the fruit. The old world part of the wine is its ample acidity, stern backbone, and focus of fruit. All in all, a good wine, but I don't think it's great. Probably worth the price on the mailing list, but likely not the price in the secondary market.

Tasting at Regusci Winery on Silverado Trail

We were in Northern California between Christmas and the new year, and on the day after Christmas, we decided to go see a member of my wife's family in Napa. We met her at Regusci upon my suggestion (I was still intrigued by the 1997 Cab I had at Thanksgiving courtesy of my friend Mike). The tasting we did was short (four wines) yet impressive, and the crew that was pouring could not have been nicer. The wines were positively different from much of the wine that I've tasted from Napa, especially in recent years.

• 2006 Regusci Chardonnay Mary's Cuvee - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros
  First wine in the tasting. Very nice rendition of CA Chardonnay. Interpreted leaner, fresher, stonier, and less oak and butterscotch. I liked it, and my wife liked it even better. That said, I think the mid palate was slightly hollow.


• 2007 Regusci Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  An old school Zinfandel. Medium bodied, fresh, with cracked pepper, spices, and leather. This is not over-extracted, hot, and heavy. So much so that I think many tasters couldn't pick this out as a Zinfandel in a blind tasting. I don't usually like Zinfandel, but this was terrific. 18 months in American oak and from old vines, some as old as 100+ years.
  


• 2006 Regusci Merlot - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  Probably my least favorite wine in the lineup. It's definitely good, but it is very straight forward, simple in its fruit, and lacking verve. A more typical Napa Merlot in my opinion, except that it does retain nice freshness and balance and veers more toward a medium to full-bodied texture.
  


• 2006 Regusci Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Estate Bottled Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  My favorite wine in the tasting. Lovely cherry and black currant fruit with leather and dusty earth. Has good structure, great verve, and lovely balance. It's very young right now, but I purchased two bottles for the remainder of our trip and we polished both off with family in no time. This is a delicious wine that will please for many years. Unapologetically Napa, yet in the vain of Napa Cabs of the 80s and early 90s.
  

The Zinfandel and Cab are the stars in the lineup in my opinion, and if both can be had at decent prices, they are buys.

Year-End Wine Salon (December 2009)

Our last Wine Salon of 2009. The MO was to have each participant taste three flights of wines with 4 wines per flight together with 3 other tasters. Impressions were recorded on the fly and presentations given from each team on each flight. Food was outstanding, and so were the wines. Kudos and props to Michael Villim of Mirabelle and Brian Owens for organizing and picking the majority of the wines out of his cellar. On to the wines.

Flight #1: Cabernet Franc

• 1989 Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon
  Pretty nose, leafy, very tannic, sour cherry, tobacco, earth, floral, and rustic. This was a good bottle of a very good wine. My favorite wine of the flight, although it started out very rough and angry. With air, it mellowed and the fruit plushed up.
  


• 1998 Le Petit Cheval - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
  Very oaky on the nose. Good blackberry fruit, cracked pepper, road tar, espresso bean, and floral. Was a decent drink with the food, but seemed a little odd when tasted on its own. Very technical wine.
  


• 1992 La Jota Cabernet Franc - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
  Truly a wow kind of wine. Beautiful, soaring nose, tobacco leaf and black cherry. Shows more alcohol than the previous two wines, but that's to be expected. Spectacular wine and only a smidge behind the Raffault for me.
  


• 2001 Le Macchiole Paleo Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
  Oak, turpentine, primary fruit, classic Italian wine funk, briary underbrush and rosemary stem. Violets, charred earth and oak. Certainly not terrible, but too oaky and cloying for me to find it exciting.
  

Flight #2: 2002 Mosel Riesling Spaetlese

• 2002 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Flower petals, honey, green apple and early ripeness peach. Still slightly spritzy, but flat out delicious. My kind of Spaetlese.
  


• 2002 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  I immediately disliked this wine. Very flat, boring, cloying, one-dimensional, oddly off-putting nose. Lacks definition, and was marred by very sweet, muddled fruit. Like drinking a wine cooler. I wonder if something was wrong with this bottle.
  


• 2002 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  A much better wine than the preceding Selbach-Oster. Had that youthful spritz, definition, focus, orchard fruit, and lively acidity that the preceding bottle so desperately lacked. Lovely wine.
  


• 2002 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
  Orange zest, petrol, ripe app;e and cheese rind in a long-haul package that will reward ageing. My favorite and most complete wine of the flight.
  

Flight #3: Four vintages of Montelena Estate

• 1976 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Velvety texture. Slightly raisiny flavors, low acid, leather, a tad vintage port-like. Still tannic. Smoke and meat juices, dark cherry, and a smidge of Brett. The wine was fun to drink, but it's definitely on the downslope.
  


• 1992 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Not very good. Spice, cherry, cedar, hollow on the mid-palate and an almost Gluehwein-like flavor on the palate. To me, this was not just unexciting, but disappointing.
  


• 1996 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Savory spice, cherry, blackberry, leather, tobacco and licorice. This wine had it going on and showed great balance.
  


• 2001 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  My favorite of the Montelenas. Cherry and blackberry with licorice, and all that tobacco and leather goodness that I found in all the Montelenas in varying amounts. Lovely wine and there's no way that this could have possibly warranted 69 points from Wine Spectator, even if I did taste some Brett like I did in most of the prior vintages.
  

20 Years of Dominus - Part 6 - The Early 2000s

This last flight was both the venue for a mind-blowing wine (the 2001), a somewhat perturbing stylistic change (2002 and 2003), and a really nice surprise (the 2002).

• 2000 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  I rather liked this wine a lot. Like the 1998, from a weak Napa vintage, but Moueix did great in 2000. Iodine, blackberry, a distinct iron metallic/fresh blood smell and flavor. Tobacco and licorice and good acidity. Shockingly good follow up to the 1998.
  
  


• 2001 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  The star of the flight. Dark, perfectly balanced, with great freshness and fruit, layered, complex, and amazing stuffing. Spice and fruitcake. Great promise and the best Dominus since 1994 in my opinion.
  


• 2002 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  A big stylistic shift from the 2001 vintage to the 2002 vintage. Raspberry jam, very primary, black fruit, some tree bark, but some odd acidic twinge that seemed slightly forced. Might turn out to be a great wine, but it's definitely different from it predecessors.
  


• 2003 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Very similar to the 2002, except this was not anywhere a balanced and the fruit was very simple, four-square and monolithic. And that raspberry jam made a re-appearance. Not up to the same standard as previous vintages.
  

Many thanks to all who made this tasting possible (Brian Owens and Mark Paul), to Brian Owens who gave thought to having me attend to be a scribe, and to all those who volunteered their time to help host this event (the staff at Wink and Devon Broglie). An unforgettable event that won't soon be recreated.

20 Years of Dominus - Part 5 - The Mid and Late 1990s

This flight seemed like a stylistic throwback to the 1980s as it seemed closer aligned to those vintages than the vintages of 1989-1992. I particularly enjoyed the 1995 and 1996 and had bad luck (yet again) with the 1997, which should have been a mind-altering experience if I had gotten a pour from a non-flawed bottle.

• 1995 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
  I rather liked this vintage. Red and black fruit, menthol, licorice, spice, pine cone aromas and some alluring funk and complexity. This was what I thought the 80s wines might have been like at a comparable spot in their evolution.
  
  


• 1996 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Another winner. Clean and focused fruit. Some yeasty flavors. Ripe cherry and blackberry fruit and loads of spice, most notably cinnamon. This and the 1995 were the two top wines in the flight.
  
  


• 1997 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Unfortunately, this was very bretty, and, I believe corked. Best not to comment on what was in the glass for that reason. This was poured from 2 bottles and I did not have a chance to taste a good pour from the 1997, but I have no doubt that a regulation bottle would have been mind-blowingly good.
  


• 1998 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Honestly, this was just not exciting at all. weak on the palate, flat on the nose, lacks freshness, focus and poise. Would be a good sipper with simple food, but I'd rather buy any of the previous vintages before I go for the 1998. Dominus did the best it could in a very weak year in Napa in 1998.
  

Part 6 will showcase the 2000-2003 vintages and will be the last post on this mega tasting. I hope you've enjoyed the posts thus far.

20 Years of Dominus - Part 4 - The Early 1990s

This was another interesting flight. From 1989 to 1990, there seems to have been a stylistic shift with the wines showing more sediment, bigger fruit, higher alcohol, and certainly more new oak. That said, although the 1990 and 1991 did not wow me, the 1992 was a rockstar of a wine.

• 1989 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Black fruit, grilled herbs (rosemary), pure and focused fruit. Reserved and shy with sweet fruit and a hint of a green streak that I rather liked.
  


• 1990 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Velvety texture and slightly chalky fruit. Menthol/eucalyptus on the nose and a pretty good hit of vanilla. Slightly drying finish that shows some overt oak influence.
  


• 1991 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Toasted nuts, Brett, extremely dark blackberry fruit and again, noticeable vanilla from the new oak on the wine. I expected to like this much more than I did.
  
  


• 1992 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
  My favorite wine of the flight. Meaty, floral with plumeria and orchids. Flannel on the palate and explosive on the entry and finish. Yet, it remains restrained, elegant and layered. Come to find out, the blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 22% Cabernet Franc. A unique blend for Dominus, but one that seems to have churned out a wine that I preferred to its peers with much higher Cabernet Sauvignon content.
  

In Part 5, we will look at the mid to late 1990s vintages. To be posted in another 2 days.

20 Years of Dominus - Part 3 - The 1980s

This was my favorite flight of the night. If I think of Dominus, these are the wines I am thinking about. They all had a common theme. Elegance, finesse, age-worthiness, french-ness, and real complexity. If I should only be so lucky to get to re-taste all these wines again at some point in the future.

• 1984 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Earthy, autumnal, treebark, black cherry with an iodine/salt note on the finish. A thoroughly impressive wine with real grip left on the finish.
  


• 1985 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  By all means a tremendous wine, but the weakest wine of this flight (although that is no shame). The most full bodied wine in the flight, it showed coffee, roasted notes, caramel and torrefaction. Pure velvet texture and luxurious mouthfeel. Lower acid though and lacking a little excitement.
  


• 1986 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  My favorite wine of the flight. Medium bodied, yet massive and explosive flavors. Pure and laser focused red fruit and meat juices. Incredible balance. What a lovely wine.
  


• 1987 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
  We tasted two bottles. First one was slightly oxidized/madeirized. Second bottle was perfect. Sweet, briary, very perfumed with rose petals, pretty cherry, and flower blossoms. Will be the longest lived of the wines in this flight.
  

The next post will explore the early 1990s. Stay tuned and check back in a few days.