Beau's Blues Monday with Beau, John, and crew.
2007 Lynmar "Jenkins Vineyard" Pinot Noir. This Pinot is not "my style," in that it is big and bold and slightly alcoholic, but it is quite wonderful nonetheless-layered with roasted black fruit flavors, plenty of tannic structure, savory elements. Not jammy, but very brash. Needs a couple of years, but 91 points right now. Thanks, Beau!
2007 Williams Selyem. Missed the vineyard here. Typical Williams-Selyem...noticeably lighter in color than the Lynmar, but lovely sour cherry fruit, eaarth, savory notes. More my style, definitely, but not quite the super classy level of the Lynmar. 89 points.
2003 Bramare (Paul Hobbs) Cabernet Sauvignon. Mendoza, Argentina. This is a black, brash monster wine that probably should have been decanted for four hours! Dark black-ruby in color. Very much black fruit, savory, dark, some sharp notes. Very alcoholic on both the nose and the palate-the nominal 14.5% on the label was a major understatement-I would guess 15.5%. You should have seen the thickness of the legs in the glass! This wine was the THICKEST cabernet I have ever tasted. Very popular, and I like some of the roasted character but it was a bit too much for me. 84 points.
2002 Clape Cornas. Believe it or not, we drank this light (mediocre?) vintage Syrah AFTER the Bramare. Spot on Syrah character-white pepper, red plum, no real green notes. Not too exciting after the monster cab, but nice nonetheless. 87 points.
Pretty amazing guitar playing, blues harmonica, drumming, and singing! This is becoming a Vacaville institution-you never know who will show up!