WineLovers Discussion Group

John Gilman is writing a profile of Kalin Cellars for View from the Cellar, got together a nice crew to taste a bunch. Dan offered to host and cooked a fine meal of steak, potatoes, and green beans (plus supplied Champagne and blind reds), Cathleen brought a nice lineup of charcuterie and cheese, and the rest of us contributed wines.

I’m really looking forward to John’s writeup, as the history and stories from Terry Leighton are fascinating. I didn’t try to note the vineyard sources and stories of each of the wines. A really fascinating evening, with every wine (with the exception of one oxidized and one corked bottle) telling a unique tale. I knew I liked the whites, but the reds were eyeopeners.

Notes are brief, and I probably scored tougher than normal because the overall level was so good. Group differed on favorite wines, but I think all were impressed.

The whites
1996 Kalin Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Full, ripe, but good crispness, a little grass. B+/B

1995 Kalin Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
Fresh, young, grapefruity. B+

1994 Kalin Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Reserve
oxidized/cooked (too bad, one of mine)

1997 Kalin Cellars Semillon
Fuller, riper style, I liked but paled behind 1991 and 1985. B

1996 Kalin Cellars Semillon
This showed heavy, a little hot (13.8, for Kalin that’s high) B-

1991 Kalin Cellars Semillon
Wow, this was my white of the night. Floral, minty, waxy, fresh, long. A-/A

1985 Kalin Cellars Semillon
Petrol, mineral, lanolin, fully mature. B+/A-

1995 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee LV”Chardonnay
Fresh and young, a little fresh scraped vanilla bean, pears. B+/A-

1994 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee LV”Chardonnay
a little volatile at first, calms down, ripe. hazelnut B

1994 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee LD”Chardonnay
corked

1994 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee W” Chardonnay
a little cheesy note at first, but good fruit, nice length. B/B+

1990 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee LD”Chardonnay
Minty, round, malty., could be a mature Burg from a ripe/low acid vintage. B

1987 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee LV” Chardonnay
Quite young, crisp, floral, herb, citrus, apple. A-

(a detour in Champagne- both nature/EB, but neither with any of the austerity I sometimes associate with those)
NV Godme Extra Brut
Crisp, dry but not austere, long, very good. A-/B+

2004 Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut
Very full, deep, brioche, peaches. A-

The reds
1997 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir
Smoky, earth, good acids, not as long as the ‘94. B/B+

1994 Kalin Cellars “Cuvee DD” Pinot Noir
Earthy, fresh fruits, bright, I like. B+

1990 Kalin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Ripe, lush, a little bit of oxidation poking around edges, B/B-

1989 Kalin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Fresh, structured, more black fruited than others, very long. A-

1987 Kalin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
There’s a green/weedy edge, but not OTT, red currants, gets better with air. B+

1986 Kalin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Ful, long, structured, midbodied, mostly resolved tannins. A-

1982 Kalin Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Santa Barbara fruit. Who knew? Great nose- herbal, cocoa, crunchy red fruits. On the palate it’s just a touch shrill . B+ (A nose)

That’s a helluva lot of wines. But not enough for Dan. He appeared with 2 decanters and blinded us:

Blind #1 - Ripe, full, long, with an herbal note than made me guess Figeac, once we were in Pomerol started guessing vintages, most were late 80s/90s I went with 1983, elegant, very nice. 1982 Latour a Pomerol A-

Blind #2 - Smooth, mid to full bodied, good acids (leading me to guess a top 1979, nowhere close), mature but in no hurry, good fruit with cigarbox and pencil lead. 1961 Beychevelle. A-/A

Wow.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a
party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of
objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Very interesting. I've liked some of the Kalin wines I have tried (typical of me, I have hated the SB), but rarely see them in teh area, and just do not feel the urge to go out of my way to source them.