WTN: Thackrey, Mas Daumas, Ornellaia, Caymus

2000 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Blanc de Blancs - Galilee, Golan Heights
This sparkler was obviously not champers, but figuring out what it was took some work. I had a hard time with the nose, which had indeterminate fruit and a bit of years, but developed some decent apple notes with time. Picked up character as it warmed.

Gosset Champagne Brut Grande Reserve – lemon and yeast nose, quite nice, elegant and floral, rounder in the mouth and very tasty.

2000 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes – lots of colour in this deep amber wine made me think it might be older than it turned out to be. Waxy fruit nose that was showing significant botrytis, balanced in the mouth but with a fair bit of RS. Unusual wine.

2003 Sean Thackrey Pinot Noir Andromeda Devil's Gulch Ranch - Marin County medium red, blood and plums in the nose, but more cherry on palate, good balance, pleasant.

1997 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series (Western Australia) - dark wine, good fruit nose with additions of herbs and coffee, medium to heavy weight in the mouth, and soft tannins. Cab, merlot, malbes, and petit verdot.

2001 Mas de Daumas Gassac (Herault) - warm herbal plum nose, not really jumping out of the glass at you, warm and soft and fully resolved on palate, and although pleasant, lacked acidity. I was amazed that the wine was this young – I’ve had many older vintages with far less development.

1997 Caymus Zinfandel (Napa) – dark, with lots of sweet vanilla in the nose, dry tannin, good length, warmish finish. No obvious zin clues. I thought it might have been a Spanish wine.

1991 Ornellaia (Tuscany) – medium colour with garnet edge, nice cabernet nose high toned, all flavours on palate melded well, fully mature and possibly would have been better a few years ago, but still classy.

2001 Sant'Antonio Valpolicella Superiore La Bandina – Dark red, a blackberry nose, ripe in the mouth, but not hot, and excellent concentration. Except for the lack of heat, you’d swear it was a ripasso.

2002 McCrea Sirocco (Yakima) – another dark, fairly ripe wine with good acidity and moderate tannins. Grenache, syrah, Mourvedre, cunoise (didn’t know many were growing the last one in Washington stat!).

[Jenise]

[quote="Bill Spohn"]2000 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Blanc de Blancs - I agree this picked up character, but I don't think it picked up very much character. I was overall quite disappointed (since t was my wine). My notes: vinyl hint wears off, daikon radish, sour apple, green plums. Austerity I get, enjoy even, but this was ultra lean and not showing any chardonnay character at all.

Gosset Champagne Brut Grande Reserve – What you said.

2000 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes – Dark golden yellow color, honey nose, bit of maple. Very sweet but not a VT, great acidity. Bizarre but wonderful.

2003 Sean Thackrey Pinot Noir Andromeda Devil's Gulch Ranch, Marin County - Blood and iron, a note of eucalyptus, plum, baylef, black cherry, good balance. Middle aged but maturing. 15.1% alcohol doesn't show. Very good.

1997 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series (Western Australia) - Complex Bordeauxish nose, coffee, jam, herbs, mature, slightly parchy finish but that's its only flaw. At peak, delicious.

2001 Mas de Daumas Gassac (Herault) - What you said.

1997 Caymus Zinfandel (Napa) – American oak, pine and dill, weak fruit and finish. Should have been drunk years ago.

1991 Ornellaia (Tuscany) – WOTN! Plums, cherries, ash, dried fruit and all those things about a perfectly aged wine that just makes me weak in the knees...crazy good.

2001 Sant'Antonio Valpolicella Superiore La Bandina Big, heavy, and gritty on the finish. Surprising that it was merely a Valpo--never had one quite like this before. Interesting, but.

2002 McCrea Sirocco (Yakima) – So out comes Alvie's backup wine with dessert! Sweet, red fruit, concentrated, hot and sweet again...must be an Amarone, I thought. Others agreed, and then we ran out of guesses. Couldn't have been more shocked to find a Washington wine in there, although it confirms what I've thought about McCrea's--always too sweet, though with fruit and a cheese course, it worked.