WTN: Wines from lunch - Franciscan Magnificat, Sea Smoke Botella, Gunderloch

Gunderloch Riesling QbA 2004 - I suppose Gunderloch's most basic, generic Riesling. Lots of apple character. Good acidity. Medium-sweet. A good match for the smoked salmon.

Franciscan Oakville Estate Magnificat 2002 - Berries, and a little hot on the nose. Medium to full bodied, soft tannins. New-worldy mocha and chocolate flavors predominate on the palate. A little bacon also makes an appearance. Finishes long. Very harmonious and a real crowd pleaser. Could possibly improve a little more with cellaring but very impressive now. I can't believe Spectator gave this 80 points. I've recommended this to a few people and so far all those who have tried it enjoyed it immensely. Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc.

Sea Smoke Botella Pinot Noir 2004 - Strong strawberry aroma. Quite sweet, juicy, ripe, very forward flavors. Dense for Pinot Noir. 14.7% alcohol but all in balance. Probably not a style that will appeal to all but I enjoyed it. Good for drinking now.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes Jay. I am always happy to see Gunderloch notes. I think they are vastly underrated for their whole range of work, even if the Jean Baptiste Riesling is vastly overrated to my taste.

[Jenise]

Always impressed with the wines that float your way, Jay, like Sea Smoke. Small production, a rare wine even here.

Wine Spectator only gave the Franciscan 80 pts? Odd, that's like damning it straight to hell--nobody remembers that 80 pts is categorically a 'good' wine even if on the lower end of the scale, a score lower than 89 to the those who rely on the Spectator's ratings is purgatory. I hope that the score meant you got a particularly advantageous price.

Always impressed with the wines that float your way, Jay, like Sea Smoke. Small production, a rare wine even here.

Wine Spectator only gave the Franciscan 80 pts? Odd, that's like damning it straight to hell--nobody remembers that 80 pts is categorically a 'good' wine even if on the lower end of the scale, a score lower than 89 to the those who rely on the Spectator's ratings is purgatory. I hope that the score meant you got a particularly advantageous price.

The Sea Smoke was courtesy of a friend of mine who was able to get on the mailing list. You'd be surprised what other cult stuff comes over. I know a couple of people on the Harlan list. I've been able to get some Matriarch from Bond. Even the occasional Screaming Eagle makes an appearance! I know some people who are also interested in bringing Corte Riva wines here. After all, the owners are Filipino.

The Magnificat was my contribution for the lunch. When I told my host it got 80 from WS he said that's a sure sign the wine will be outstanding.

I've been on the Sea Smoke mailing list for several years and I'm quite fond of their wines. I agree that it is really sort of a pinot noir on steroids. I also like French style pinots as well but the Sea Smoke is a good change of pace once in awhile when you really want to feel the fruit but without the heaviness of some bigger reds.

Glenn

even if the Jean Baptiste Riesling is vastly overrated to my taste.

Really David? I think it's a great little wine. It really hits that "Halbtrocken" sweet spot of fruit and cats-claw acid. It has the Rheinhessen trifecta of sappy stone fruit, flower blossom, and gingery dirtiness. Plus it's all Nackenheimer Rothenberg Kabinett fruit. At $15, what's the problem?


Prost!
Bill

I would have rated that wine a bit higher than WS, but I do prefer Franciscan's varietial wines more than the Magnificat. Leslie and I were at the winery in July and we attended a blending seminar where they talked us through the blending process and gave us barrel-samples of Cabernet Savignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot--all varietials that they use to blend their Magnificat, but not always all of them, as with the 2002. Anyway, at the end we got to blend our own wine and then compare it to the 2003 Magnificat. I think we both made better wine IIRC I used 40:40:20 cab sav to merlot to cab franc. I really like Cab Franc though