BernieRoth was in town Sunday, so we got together for dinner. There was wine involved:
1. Qupe Roussanne BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (EB; 13.5%) 2000: Med.dark gold color; light floral/honeysuckle/honeyed some oxidized/toasted hazelnuts/old Rhone complex nose; soft rather nutty/toasted hazelnuts/waxy light honeyed/Roussanne/oxidized complex flavor; long soft/gentle light honeyed/floral/Roussanne toasted hazelnuts/nutty light oxidized finish; a very nice example of an older Calif Roussanne; still some Roussanne fruit there but a quiet/gentle/elegant old lady.
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2. Uvaggio Vermentino Lodi (12%; www.Uvaggio.com) 2008: Pale yellow color w/ noticible dissolved CO2; light fruity/spicy/grapey/pineapply slightly stoney pleasant/simple nose; off-dry (?) soft pineapply/mango/fruity light stoney rather soft/lush flavor; med.long soft fruity/pineapply/mango/grapey finish; only a hint of that stoney Vermentino character; pleasant/simple/fruity wine but just that. $11.00
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3. Ramsay Calif Syrah (13%) 1990: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; some blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak light licorice/pungent/tarry spicy some old Cab/pencilly fairly complex/interesting nose; soft light pungent/tarry/licorice pencilly/toasty/oak light blackberry/Syrah fairly smooth/elegant some complex flavor;med.long bit toasty/pencilly/oak/smokey/pungent light blackberry/Syrah/licorice smooth finish; no signs of drying out or going over the hill; still very much alive and rather attractive but not really evolved into anything special.
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4. LinneCalodo JamesBerryVnyd/PasoRobles (90% Syrah/5% Grenache/5% Mourvedre; 14.6%) Smith&Trevisan Families 1998: Dark color w/ little bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/plummy some PR/jammy rather toasty/charred/oak nose w/ not much evolution; soft bit hot/alcoholic ripe/plummy/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cough syrup/Syrah some toasty/charred/oak rather ripe/PR/jammy flavor w/ light tannins; med.long ripe/jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight hot/alcoholic finish w/ modest tannins; still very much alive and not showing much development or evolution; just a good/tasty Paso Syrah but just that. $30.00
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5. Thumbs Up WhiteRiesling SBC (12.0%; SaH: 44 Brix) Clendenen/Lindquist/Adelman 1994: Rather cludy/murky very dark brown color like an old PX; very intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy/canned fruit cocktail/creme brulee/caramel likht smokey/tobaccoy/oak very complex old Riesling TBA nose; quite sweet tobaccoy/smokey/sucking on an old pipe very intense botrytis/apricotty/peachy/creme brulee quite complex flavor; very long/lingering intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty/creme brulee tobaccoy/pencilly quite complex finish; no signs of oxidation other than the color; very complex old TBA that will go another 10 yrs.
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6. ColdHeaven Viognier LateHrvst Sanford&BenedictVnyd/StaRitaHills (13.5%; SaH: 39 Brix; RS: 12%) 2005: Med.gold color; strong grapey/ripe/slight botrytis/apricotty no Viognier slight herbal/hay mow nose w/ little evolution; fairly tart quite sweet ripe peaches/grapey slight botrytis/apricotty somewhat simple flavor; quite long grapey/ripe peaches very sweet finish; nice grapey dessert wine but just that; no Viognier character and not much evolution showing; may get more interesting with age.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The LinneCalodo was, I believe, Justin & Matt's first wine. Musta been, given the price. It seems to be stuck in a time-warp. Pretty much like it was at the start, but not the tannins it had back then. I was struck by how little evolution it shows for 13 yrs. A good/tasty Paso Syrah but just that.
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2. ThumbsUp: This was a botrytis Riesling made by the Qupe/ABC gang. It was the last crop off a block of Riesling that the Millers decided to pull. It was barrel-frmtd/barrel-aged. In its youth, it was a dead-ringer for a young Sauternes. I've long contended that high botrytis obliterates varietal character and this wine, in its youth, was a primo example of that. I've not had this wine in some 10 yrs and brought out my last hlf in Bernie's honor. There were still traces of the heavy oak, but it'd pretty much subsided. It was now very much like an old botrytis Riesling TBA. Wonderful stuff and will probably go another 10 yrs or more.
Tom