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10-03-2001
WHITES:
QPR
2000 Allan Yangarra
Park, Southeast Australia, Chardonnay
Light yellow straw in color, simple nose is a bit leesy showing
some mild citrus, melon, apple and buttery oak, palate shows moderate
to light intensity revealing flavors of pear, apple, lemon citrus
and pineapple, there is also a hint of some off flavor that reminded
one person of cheese, medium body with slightly tart acidity, just
a hint of heat on the relatively short finish. A decent quaffer
that does not possess much complexity but seems relatively correct.
 +
Average Value
1999 Pepi, Two-Heart
Canopy, California, Sauvignon Blanc
Light yellow gold in color, nose shows the classic "cat
pee", boxwood, citrus and grass, also showing a touch of citron
and petrol, palate is fairly grassy with some stemminess along with
apple, grapefruit and oak, light to medium body with fairly crisp
tart acidity, some astringency on the finish, a bit under ripe with
some unpleasant metallic aspects.
-
Poor Value
2000 Pepi, Willamette
Valley, Oregon, Pinot Grigio
Light straw in color, nose showed a rich buttery pear with hints
of lemony lime, apple and a slight floral component, palate shows
pear, apple, lemon peel and light custard, light to medium body,
moderately tart acidity, medium balance, a bit lacking in definition,
the flavors are a bit flat.
PV
2000 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Coastal, California, Chardonnay
Light yellow gold in color, nose is the classic CA buttery Chardonnay
nose with pear, apple and custard, palate is a little stemmy with
your standard pear, custard, buttery oak and vanilla, light to medium
body, slightly low acidity - not much structure to speak of.
PV
REDS:
QPR
2000 Yangarra Park,
Southeast Australia, Shiraz
Bright ruby red, light aromas of sweet black and red berries,
cassis, chocolate, pepper and some green stemmy, seedy character
as well, palate is fuller than the nose suggests and shows simple
bright cherry with dark cocoa and some green, stemmy under ripe
flavors. The nose hints at ripeness but the palate did not deliver
that. This is a nice enough inexpensive quaffer. Medium body, moderate
to low acidity and slightly full tannins.
+
AV
2000 Yangarra Park,
Southeast Australia, Merlot
Garnet red, very mild aromas show black raspberry, cassis, currant,
hint of shoe polish, earth, oak and a bit of leafy stemminess, palate
reveals bright cherry, leather, tobacco, cocoa and oak, medium body,
slightly low acid and moderate tannins. Simple, forward, nice enough
quaffer.
+
AV
2000 Yangarra Park,
Southeast Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark purplish red, nose shows bright berries and oak with a
hint of leafy stemmy green character, palate shows a candied ripe
attack of bright cherry and cranberry that leads into more cherry
and a hint of citrus, a bit of a Jekel and Hyde in that there are
aspects of being over ripe and under ripe in this wine, it is also
a bit astringent on the finish, medium to slightly full bodied,
crisp acidity and full tannins, this wine is not as easy to drink
as the other two Yangarra reds.
-
PV
2000 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Coastal, California, Pinot Noir
Light red in color, nose shows black raspberry and strawberry fruit
with a hint of mushrooms, earth and toast, palate shows dark charry
oak, cherry, raspberry and cocoa, medium light body, slightly tart
acidity with mild to moderate tannins, decent length, simple and
correct.
+
AV
2000 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Coastal, California, Merlot
Dark garnet in color, aromas of bright berries, cassis and vanilla
oak with some green character, palate reveals candied cherries,
cassis, toast and cocoa, medium to slightly full body, moderate
acidity and slightly full mouth coating tannins, decent balance,
starting to show a hint at complexity. Nice drinking wine!
AV
1998 Pepi, Colline
Di Sassi, Napa Valley, California
Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Red brick, aromas of plums, black cherries, chocolate, leather,
vanilla, oak, spice and nuts, seems a little oxidized, palate shows
cherries, raisins, tobacco, cocoa, good length, medium body, moderate
acidity and moderate tannins, decent balance, fairly simple but
enjoyable.
-
AV
1998 Pepi, Two Hand
Canopy, California, Sangiovese
Brickish red, throwing some sediment, nose shows dried cherries,
strawberry, cocoa, tea, earth and mushrooms, a bit lean the palate
shows red cherry, strawberry, tobacco and leather, slightly forward
- the palate falls off quickly, light to medium body, somewhat tart
acidity and moderately full tannins, needs food.
AV
1998 Podere Il Palazzino,
Chianti Classico, Tuscan Italy, Sangiovese
Flawed, Intense mold.
REDS:
PREMIUM
1998 Juslyn, Vineyard
Select, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark reddish purple, nose started off closed down a bit but
really opened up with time, aromas of black cherry, cassis, cocoa
and charry oak, the oak blew off after a few hours, palate showed
black cherry, cassis, coffee, tealeaf, tobacco, chocolate and abundant
oak. The oak in this wine upon opening was very strong, it needed
decanting. I sipped on this wine over the next couple days and it
just got better and better, excellent balance, full body, medium
acidity and full fine grained tannins, good length on the finish,
not a terribly complex wine but it reminded me of the Karl Lawrence
a bit after time. Time is the key word here, it needs some. Not
cheap at $75 but this is an excellent CA cab. I believe the final
rating would have gone up if everyone had the chance to taste this
over time as I did.
-
AV
1999 Austin Robaire,
Columbia Valley, Washington, Cabernet Sauvignon
dark purplish red, somewhat strange aromas on the nose with
minty eucalyptus, exotic spices, malt, dark berry, currant, raisins,
cocoa and pie crust, palate shows very ripe jammy raisiny cherry,
cassis, oak, moderately full bodied with moderately slightly tart
acidity and fairly full tannins, this wine was very forward initially
so it appeared at first to be a bit out of balance. This improved
with time, once again this is a wine that needs a lot of time. It
has a lot of interesting complexities, though it is a bit short
in length. The final rating would likely have gone up if it had
been given more time to air. It improved over the course of a couple
of days.
-
AV
1998 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Georges De Latour
Badly Corked, darn!!!! Major bummer!
1998 Santa Barbara
Winery, Reserve
Santa Ynez Valley, California, Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark purple, the nose shows sweet rich aromas of black cherry,
shoe polish, leather, chocolate and anise, palate shows sweet ripe
black cherry, tobacco, cocoa, anise, leather, vanilla, full body,
medium acidity and full fine grained tannins, complex, smooth and
nicely balanced, this was a terrific wine and a bit of a surprise
to all of us. This wine did not improve with air. It became just
a tad disjointed with an almost over ripe soy like character. What
does that tell you? When you open it, drink it! It's delicious and
a great value to boot at $30!
GV
1998 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Tapestry, Napa Valley, California, Cabernet Blend
Dark purple, complex aromas of black cherry, cassis, tealeaf,
tobacco, oak, cocoa and herbs, the oak is a little strong, palate
shows black cherry, cassis, leather, chocolate and oak, full bodied,
low acid, full coarse tannins, seems a little flabby and round due
to lack of acidity, still has decent complexity throughout, very
smooth with good length. Overall a very nice wine.
-
GV
1995 David Bruce,
Santa Cruz Mountains, California, Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark red, aroma is off putting with a strong over ripe asparagus
quality that over rides sweet black cherry, berry, chocolate, herbs
and black olive aromas, palate is very smooth and very ripe, over
ripe, with candied black cherry, chocolate, black olive, full bodied,
slightly tart acidity and moderately full tannins, boy - this wine
sure seems to have changed a lot. It always seemed better balanced
when I have opened them before, this one is pretty over blown and
ultra ripe with a huge veggie streak running through it from beginning
to end. Only cost about $18 on release. I'm guessing that you might
as well drink up if you have any left. Sad but true!
-
AV
1999 Beaulieu Vineyard,
Reserve, Carneros, California, Pinot Noir
Medium dark purplish red, aromas of slightly ripe plummy black cherry,
cola, earth, mushrooms and oak with just a touch of stemminess,
palate shows lots of dark character with black cherry, cassis, earth,
tealeaf, cola, cocoa and some slightly heavy oak, full bodied and
slightly low acid for a PN, moderate to full tannins. Nice wine
but not very Pinot Noir like. It did continue to improve with time
over the next day or so. It got marked down a bit for it's lack
of correctness.
+
AV
1999 Hawley, Anderson
Valley, California, Pinot Noir
Medium dark red, slightly mild aromas of sweet red berries, cola,
earth, mushrooms, vanilla and a hint of oak, palate shows bright
cherry, cranberry, creamy oak, balanced across the palate, good
length, medium bodied, slightly tart acidity and moderate tannins.
Not terribly complex but well balanced and clean. Good value at
about $26. Food wine.
-
GV
1998 Villa Toscano,
Sierra Foothills, California, Syrah
Dark reddish purple, nose shows smoky meat, funky barnyard, with
plummy blackberry fruit and some volatile acidity, palate shows
plummy cranberry and espresso, medium full body, very tart and puckery,
seems like added acidity, medium full tannins, fairly simple, not
a lot of depth, fruit acid seemed out of balance, there was both
a sense of ripeness and under ripeness. Around $18.
+
PV
1999 Dobra Zemlja,
Estate, Amador, Syrah
Brickish red purple, interesting aromas of red and black berry,
chocolate, cardamom, clove, cinnamon and oak, palate shows black
plums and berries, mixed brown spices, espresso and fairly generous
oak, full body, fairly tart crisp acidity with full coarse grained
tannins. Very generous almost over the top style, acidity seems
out of place and possibly added yet somehow the whole package comes
off pretty nice being fairly balanced and smooth on the palate.
Good value at about $20.
- GV
1998 Santa Barbara
Winery, Reserve, Santa Ynez Valley, California, Syrah
Dark inky purple, fairly aromatic and pleasing nose with smooth
balanced aromas of blackberry, dark plum, espresso, bacon, chocolate,
brown sugar and oak, palate follows with ripe blackberry, cherry,
espresso and mild oak, full bodied, moderate to crisp acidity and
moderate to full fine grained tannins. Good length, smooth, very
nicely balance, drank well for a couple of days after the tasting.
Great value at $20.
+
GV
1998 Lafond, Lafond
Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, California, Syrah
Dark inky purple, complex nose with aromas of sweet blackberry,
cherry, bacon, mint, oak, brown spice and band aides, palate shows
blackberry, espresso, bacon, chocolate, spice and oak, full body,
moderate acidity with moderate to full tannins, slightly astringent
due to the elevated oak levels. The oak did blow off by the next
day leading me to believe that this wine needed some time to integrate
a bit more. Lafond is owned by the same folks that own Santa Barbara
Winery. This wine is very similar to the Reserve Syrah above. Not
quite as good a value at $30 but this wine did improve in the bottle.
It was not as balanced or smooth on the palate as the Reserve above
was.
AV
Tasting held at:
Wine Street, a local wine shop
in Carlsbad, California
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