Zach had some of the guys over one evening to play some poker down in his man cave. We pulled together a good line-up of wines, but sadly no cable television, so we had to use our imaginations to follow the various important sporting events going on that night. I think the “issue” has been resolved since then, thank goodness!
2006 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape. For some reason, Peter opened this straight away and we all sipped on it upstairs in the kitchen as we waited for the masses to assemble. It offers up aromas of red currants, white pepper, dried shrubbery, dusty earth and a tiny bit of mocha in a package that is not especially deep but is starting to give a glimpse of excellent future complexity. In the mouth, it is drinking surprisingly well right now, with lots of juicy red currant and creamy cherry fruit flavors supported by interesting bits of green leafiness and garrigue all the way through. It is lively, tangy and red fruit-oriented in a sort of surprisingly forward style, but one that works really well for current enjoyment. Still, something tells me this isn’t going anywhere, so drink or hold.
2003 Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Cuvee Theo. Once safely down in the bastion of manly cavedness, we started with some white wine (or at least I did). This one smells big and floral—full of lychee, rose petal, orange blossom, musk melon, peach pit, pineapple and mineral aromas. In the mouth, there is sweet pineapple and lychee fruit right up front, but a much drier mid-palate and definitely a dry finish full of brown spice notes. At times, it comes across as juicy and giving and other times as a bit awkward and angular. It almost seems to vary sip by sip, though it is consistently smooth and fairly creamy-textured. So, while it is a bit uneven, it is never boring and on balance, I find it at least interesting to taste and enjoyable most of the time.
1997 Travaglini Gattinara. I find the nose of this wine to be rather pretty and interestingly aged in nature—featuring gentle and elegant aromas of dried red flowers, soft suede, dried cherries, tobacco leaf and soft downy earth. It also from time to time offers up a glimpse of the past, with a little whiff of deeply sweet red berry fruit that percolates up from the depths. All in all, I would call it rather inviting. On the palate, though, it is not nearly so soft or elegant--instead showing an acidic, hard-core tanginess to the sour cherry and cranberry fruit. Thankfully, it does soften with time in the glass, turning creamier and more rounded but never losing that juicy, tangy, tart, red-fruited core—especially on the mildly squinched finish. Still, I enjoyed the wine, as it is just so nice to sniff and does eventually ease up a bit on the tart palate. I would just advise to drink up.
2005 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir Henry’s Block Schultze Family Vineyard. This wine is a bit hazy and cloudy in appearance and offers up an extremely odiferous bouquet chock full of crushed raspberry, blueberry, brown spice, oak and forest aromas that get right up into your face from the get-go. In the mouth, it is very creamy and polished and shows a ton of soft oak influence in its cocoa dust, mixed blue and purple berry, mint, birch beer and woody spice flavor profile. It comes across as very youthful and eager, maybe even a bit over-exuberant at times. It has massive amounts of fruit to offer and just needs some time to more fully integrate the wood in my opinion.
1975 Chateau Giscours Margaux. I’ve been lucky enough to have this wine on three occasions over the past three years and I would have to say that this is the best bottle yet. It is a healthy-looking color and the nose is immediate and full--greeting the taster with fine aromas of cassis, menthol, worn bridle leather, white pepper and forest floor in a gentle and graceful package. In the mouth, it displays a core of red currant fruit that fills out the mid-palate quite nicely, despite the dry-edged acidity that accompanies the palate journey throughout. Interesting notes of tobacco leaf and soft earth add to the complexity and the whole thing feels surprisingly more and more creamy-textured and fleshy as the night goes on. The crunchy acid backbone never wavers and there aren’t any real tannins to contend with here, but the fleshy red fruit and complex earth notes manage to carry the day with this excellent bottle.
1975 Chateau Lascombes Margaux. This wine possesses a fantastic and full-blown bouquet that definitely comes across as more masculine than the Giscours—displaying expansive aromas of sweet creamed cherries, mocha paste, tobacco, green pepper and black earth that I find delightful and captivating. In the mouth, it is a substantial Cabernet—with copious amounts of black currant, black cherry and dark earth flavors leading the way. It feels luxuriant and creamy, but also refined and poised, as the cool acidity carries it along to a very lasting finish that highlights more of the tobacco and green pepper notes found in the wine. Overall, it is very well-balanced, refined, long, well-structured and full of cool dark flavors. It feels like it can’t get any better, so I wouldn’t hesitate to drink this right now.
2002 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta. This might have been a tough placement in the line-up for this wine, but the bouquet to me comes across as rather thick and inky, with notes of iodine, black licorice, melted tar, blackberry, dark chocolate, black olives and graphite. In the mouth, flavors of blackberry, mocha paste and minerals come across as fairly modern-styled and creamy, with lots of extract. The tannins are present but nicely-polished and the whole thing flows along very smoothly with a thick glycerol feel to it. It is cool and refined for the most part, but also has a fair bit of sweet oak yet to integrate into the taste profile. I think I would revisit this in another 3 years or so.
2007 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley. This wine has a nose to it that seems pretty classically California Cabernet to me—with aromas of plum skins, black currants, cool earth, menthol and fruitcake that are still fairly tight yet manage to seem exuberant. In the mouth, a lot of cool, licorice-tinged black fruit is evident in a slinky package that also shows plenty of fine-grained oak and abundant vanilla bean flavors. It is fairly forward right now and is openly oaked, but there is a fresh and fleshy juiciness to it that is hard not to like right now.
2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. I find this wine to have a rather overt nose of black cherry compote, iodine, leather, fur and forest floor to go along with a little nick of sweetness that I find appealing. It is ripe and rich in the mouth, with a luxuriant creaminess to it. Flavors of coffee grounds, licorice, crème de cassis, vanilla cream and mixed black and red fruits are supported by puffy tannins and a faint tingle of acidity that keeps everything moving along to a juicy, vanilla-tinged finish. This is young and will feel more integrated once the vanilla blends in a bit more, but I think it is bound to be a winner.
2007 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. At the end of the night, there was one tiny pour left of this and so while I did get to taste it, I certainly had no opportunity to assess its merits. Maybe next time?
-Michael