Over the holidays, DaveYates/Jaffurs & family were in town. We had them over for apps and some wines:
1. AlbanVnyds Roussanne AlbanEstateVnyd/EdnaVlly (16.1%) 2005: Med.dark gold color; strong toasted/charred/oak light floral/honeysuckle/Rouss bit fumey/alcoholic fairly perfumed/fragrant bit mineral/metallic nose; fairly tart strong charred/toasty/oak rather hot/fumey/alcoholic light floral/honeyed/honeysuckle/Rouss flavor; med.short fumey/hot/hard/bitey light floral/Rouss rather charred/toasty/oak finish; no nutty/toasted hazelnutty or oxidized character obvious; lots of charred oak and pretty fumey; don't see this evolving in a positive direction at all; somewhat interesting but just that; not a profound wine. $43
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2. SQN ThePetition Calif WW (15.8%; 48% Chard/28% Viog/24% Roussanne; 66% AlbanVnyd/33% ElevenConfessionsVnyd/StaRitaHills) 2005: Med.dark slightly cloudy color; very ripe/overripe/rotted apples rather toasty/oak bit spicy/cinammon/nutmeg/apple pie/orange marmalade slight floral/peach nose; soft/lush very ripe/overripe rather hot/alcoholic/fumey light floral/peach rather toasty/smokey/oak flavor; med.long bit tangy very ripe/overripe some hot/fumey light floral/peachy/apple pie/nutmeg/orange marmalade some smokey/toasty/oak finish; a rather interesting/exotic white and about the best a Chard could hope to aspire; a bit bizarre but some may like for the exotica. $63.00
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3. Prager GrunerVeltliner Auslese Achleiten Weissenkirchen (Trocken; 14%; Gutsabfullung) Wachau 2000: Med.dark gold color; very intense honeyed/botrytis very fragrant/perfumed some spicy/floral very Auslese/ripe complex/aromatic some old German Auslese beautiful nose; soft off-dry (0.8% rs) very rich/lush peachy/botrytis/floral/spicy/honeyed very Auslese-like some complex flavor; very long/lingering peachy/botrytis/lush/rich/spicy complex finish; a beautiful/lush Auslese w/ minimal GV character; should go another 10-15 yrs; Dave's contribution. $32.00
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4. AlbanVnyd Syrah Lorraine AlbanEstateVnyd/EdnaVlly (15.9%) 2002: Med.dark color w/ no bricking; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent perfumed rather charred/toasty/oak some graphite/ozone/pungent/tapenade some fumey/alcoholic lovely nose; fairly tart/lean/hard/tannic slight herbal strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some charred/burnt/oak rather hot/fumey/alcoholic/burning flavor; med.long rather hot/fumey/burning very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe/licorice/tapenade slight herbal strong charred/burnt/oak quite hard/tannic finish; not maturing very well and don't see the fruit will outlive the fierce tannins; very attractive nose but rather hurty on the palate.
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5. AlbanVnyd Syrah Seymour'sVnyd/EdnaVlly (16.2%) 2002: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; slight cedary/pencilly/mature Calif red wine some licorice/boysenberry/Syrah somewhat hot/fumey/alcoholic very ripe/lush slight toasty/oak nose; softer fairly hot/alcoholic/fumey/burning bit cedary/mature slightly tired rather licorice/pungent/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe slight herbal some toasty/oak flavor; med.long hot/fumey/burning light licorice/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe some toasty/oak quite hard/tannic bit dried out/mature/cedary finish; seems more mature/further along than the Lorraine; nice/interesting nose but pretty hard on the palate and alcohol sticks out.
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And a wee BP:
1. Twas a bit disappointed in the SQN/Alban trio; given their lofty prices. For some reason, the alcohol levels, though only 15%+, seemed to be particularly troublesome. Tried them all again the next morning w/ similar impressions. They just didn't seem a dramatic statement for the varieties, the winemaking, nor the provenance. Not bad wines, and rather interesting, but they just left me shaking my head in puzzlement at why I didn't get these utterly profound/great wines. Beats heck outta me. I am such a doofus.
Tom