WineLovers Discussion Group

A neighbor threw an impromptu late-night party Friday (9:30 phone calls are not usual in this part of the woods) to celebrate finally getting off the homeowners association board, and a few bottles got consumed:

NV Bricourt champagne
France
What a marvelous little sparkler for around $15. Dry but with some fruity complexity and tiny bubbles.

2002 Chateau St. Michelle Reserve Syrah
Washington
(Bob and I had just opened this bottle when the phone rang, so we took it along.) Say what you will about big wine corporations, this wine is a stunner. It is, in fact, the best Washington state syrah I've had. Not gobby, not sweet, but rich, ripe, complex and almost-pretty without sacrificing it's masculinity. It's the metrosexual of domestic syrahs.

2001 St. Innocent "Freedom Hill" pinot noir
Willamette, Oregon
The champagne was gone and so was my syrah, but we were still reveling so Party Boy pulled this out of his closet. With almost cab-like structure, this showed the sturdy largesse that Freedom Hill vineyard fruit is known for. Quite drinkable (note: passive storage) with exotic cherry fruit and leafy notes, but it's in a shoulder phase between awake and asleep and needed food to show it's best. Other bottles should be left to rest another three years.

Funny.. a party to celebrate NOT having to do something.. love it..

I've finally been able to get some St. Innocent Pinots, though I have not opened any yet. Have you tried the SI sparker? Very nice.. as is the Pinot Gris which I had yesterday..

Sorry for the thread drift.. nice notes...

Great notes, Jenise. That must be some structured SI to be almost cab-like!

Jim and I have responded to your post. Guess that makes 2 saints: St. James and St. Paul..... guess who's the bubble???????

I love the doughy notes of the Bricourt, Jenise. That is a wonderful price -- the best I've found is around $25.00. Still a lovely sparkler.

Regards, Bob

Jim--yes re the SI sparkler. We've been working our way through a case of the 99's for several years. Every bottle is better than the last.

Paulo--Okay, I'll be the bubble. Which makes me the ditz. Which is almost like being a Dietz--but one off. I resemble that, too.

Bob--wow, did Jim get that great a deal on the Bricourt? He bought it just before Christmas last year to serve at his daughter's wedding, and this is what's leftover. We wanted to buy more of it for our wine group's Christmas dinner, but there wasn't enough for both events. Anyway, that's how I know what it cost. I could taste the value, but didn't realize we'd gotten such an advantageous price on it.

It sounds like the Ch Ste Michelle that you tasted was a real winner. I opened a bottle of 2001 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah on Memorial day that was enjoyable, not quite as good as the Walter Clore to my tastes, but not over the top with fruit or oak in anyway, and it was recognizably syrah, which sometimes is not the case with New World versions. Sometimes these big wineries do surprise with more than decent wines. There always seems to be the wood factor with the WA state wines though. The successful ones seem to use the wood to good advantage, where it compliments rather than dominates.