2006 Sanguis Novillero - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (3/26/2009)
Okay, so this will be an odd note for me. I read it and it sounds fairly awful but I did actually enjoy the wine. My wife enjoyed it even more which was a surprise to me because of how sweet it was. The smell climbs out of the glass. Could be any number of ultra ripe syrah based wines. I don't drink a lot of them so they all smell like Molly Dookers to me. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But I would probably not have guessed Cali here. One thing I did enjoy on the aromatics was that it seemed like it had an iron bar stuck into it. This mineral side made it more interesting. In the mouth this is big, sweet, tart, syrupy and smooth. Lots of fruit but one dimensional. The texture is way too heavy which kills the finish. This wine is certainly over ripe but for what it is, it can bring enjoyment. The price is the killer here. At $20 this could be an occasional drinker but I think this is above $60. Sick. $$ aside, we enjoyed it ....maybe that's just the 15.6% talking. As always, I am curious as to how this will evolve. BTW this was open for 2 days. (89 pts.)
2000 Joseph Swan Vineyards Zinfandel Lone Redwood - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (3/21/2009)
When Swan blew this out $13 a bottle, I grabbed loads. I have drank the wine numerous times this year but have only kept spotty notes. This is my general impression after multiple bottles, which have been amazingly consistent. This is a great smelling wine. From plums to cedar to lots of other elements, its there. The smell of alcohol is present too which would be my only knock. The wine has lots of flavor and medium acids to keep it together. It is starting to transition from fresh fruit to more aged qualities. Two things for me when it comes to this wine is that it needs food and it needs to be on the cooler side. At room temperature it does show hot to me although others I have shared it with were not bothered by it. Showing no signs of fading. (89 pts.)
2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (3/14/2009)
Someone brought this wine to an event about a year ago (might have been a pre-release) and I really loved it. So tasty and concentrated. Now that some of the baby fat is gone it seemed slightly less interesting. We’ll see where a few more years leads it. Very big and dark aromatics. The wine is ripe as I would expect but it went to the slightly pruny side. Not something I associate with KB pinot. There is a small amount of heat but nothing that gets in the way. The alcohol was easily in check. At this stage the wine is showing lots of big sweet fruit but not much else. Our guests whom have never had a KB commented on how it was a sweet and creamy wine which was not something they associated with Pinot. This was a good thing as they loved it. Although I didn’t enjoy the wine as much as the first time I tried it and this is not my favorite region or vineyard, I still liked the wine. But when considering the price, I realize I should have stuck to my guns and skipped the Garys’. Maybe with vine age this vineyard will become more interesting to me. (88 pts.)
2005 Château Faizeau Vieilles Vignes - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Montagne-St. Émilion (3/12/2009)
This has some wow type aromatics. Nice ripeness showing good complexity. Earthy leathery elements and a bit of herbaceousnees. Spice comes through which seems to be from the oak. A bigger wine with nice balance. I think a little time will help and maybe even a lot of time but it is certainly drinking well now. (89 pts.)
2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (3/11/2009)
What a great value. I enjoyed each aspect of this wine. Earth, flowers and dried fruit on the nose. Also some toasty oak. I really loved the light pretty fruits, med/high acid and solid tannins. I am not sure what the oak treatment is but it is noticeable. I want to let my other bottles rest but I might not be able to.
As a P.S., it was confirmed that this only sees only large neutral barrels so what I thought was oak is another character of the wine. (91 pts.)
Cheers,
Jason