Last Thursday, the Usual Suspects were called to duty once again to taste possible selections for Jojo's wine bar. This time it was more serious, with all the bottles tasted blind. Again, really short notes.
Whites:
#1 Very acidic. Sauvignon Blanc? No good. Abymes vin de Savoie 2008.
#2 Sweet nose but dry and watery in the mouth. No good. Ollieux Romanis Corbieres 2008.
#3 Oaky. Orange. Not bad but a bit woody and over-oaked. Chateau Ollieux Romanis Cuvee Prestige Corbieres 2007.
#4 Zero flavor, then a very slight sweetness in the finish. Blah. Pierre Gaillard Domaine Madeloc Cuvee Tremadoc Collioure 2008.
Rose:
#1 Light salmon-pink. Bitter and light. No good. Domaine de Figueirasse Gris de Gris 2008. VdP Sable et Golf du Lion.
Reds:
#1 Attractive dried leaves on the nose. Quite dry but good flavor and finish. Nice. Domaine des Moulines Merlot 2007 VdP Herault.
#2 Deep color. Good sweet nose. A little oaky. Good fruit. Spicy. Nice. Ollieux Romanis Corbieres 2007. A GSM blend.
#3 Very deep color. A little hot on the nose. Not much flavor. Not recommended. Atal Sia 2007. I forgot to note the AOC or VdP of this one.
#4 Good color. A bit of barnyard. Good cherry and dried fruit. Very good. Chateau Ollieux Romanis Cuvee Classique Corbieres 2007.
#5 Good nose. Tannic. Somewhat hollow. Not convincing. Chateau Ollieux Romanis Cuvee Prestige Corbieres 2006.
#6 Stinky barnyard. A bit of chocolate. Acidic and tannic. Not a lot of fruit. No good. Chateau Gigault Cotes de Blaye 2006
#7 Nice nose. Coffee, spicy, round, well-balanced. Very good. Pierre Gaillard Domaine Madeloc Serral Collioure 2007.
#8 Good nose and flavor. Easy, spicy, very good. Ollieux Romanis Cuvee Alice 2007
#9 Good nose, dusty, sweet, easy, coffee. A bit flabby but not bad. Martinelle Cotes du Ventoux 2007
#10 Good nose. Tobacco, sweet spice. Earth. Sweet fruit. Good structure and balance. More acidity than tannin for structure but very good. Ferraton Cote Rotie L'Eglantine 2006.
By far my favorites were #7 (Gaillard Madeloc Serral Collioure 2007) and #10 (Ferraton Cote Rotie L'Eglantine 2006).
And the usual surprise bottle for helping out. This was also served blind:
Chateau Leoville-Barton 1996 - Quite dar. This had an unusual smoke and rubber on the nose. If I didn't know any better I would have guessed this as South African from the nose alone. Of course, knowing Jojo, this had to be French. Later on, a bit earthy and some barnyard. Good fruit but still tight and a little tannic. Dry finish. Should be very good but best to leave alone a few more years.