WTN: 1996 Taittinger Comtes & 2005 Dain American Beauty

1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne (Blanc de Blanc)
At first pour the bubbles and acidity attacked my mouth. After moment the wine became more clean. Very tart and tangy. Animalistic nose. This is way too young. After a few sips it does show its depth. Such a bright bubbly but there is also a richness on the finish. Really great stuff.

2005 Dain Pinot Noir American Beauty (Amber Ridge)
This was a nice surprise. My father pulled it out, opened it… and I started drinking. I thought it was the 04 and I was going on and about how it was developing. My father was impressed that I had been drinking the 05 for almost a year. Doh. Then I noticed the bottle. Nice. I definitely prefer this to the 04. Certainly a big pinot but not without finesse and flowers. With a little time I think the huge amounts of dark cherry and spice will integrate better. Right now I would keep a slight chill on in and serve as a pre meal or appetizer wine.

Cheers,
Jason

Funny.. I wonder if thinking it was an '04 colored your experience, i.e., you thought it was more developed b/c of that???

I had one of the A.P Vin Pinots last week, and I thought it was outstanding right out of the bottle.... crisp, refreshing, good fruit, sharp but focused acidity.

[Jenise]

Oh those 96 bubblies. I've loved every one I've had.

Where is the Dain from, Jason? California I would guess, but within the state where? This is a new name to me.

Funny.. I wonder if thinking it was an '04 colored your experience, i.e., you thought it was more developed b/c of that???

Could be. I did like the 04 but many (mom and dad included) were crazy for it. I haven't had one lately. I am sure I would have liked to 05 even if I thought it was a KB Kanzler. Good stuff.

I had one of the A.P Vin Pinots last week, and I thought it was outstanding right out of the bottle.... crisp, refreshing, good fruit, sharp but focused acidity.

I am holding off on my 05s since we will be tasting just about every 05 I own in a few weeks at FMIIIs.

Jason

Oh those 96 bubblies. I've loved every one I've had.

Agreed. The 96 are amazing and they will be amazing for a long time.

Where is the Dain from, Jason? California I would guess, but within the state where? This is a new name to me.

David Dain is from the Ozark Mountains but he makes wine from Cali fruit at Crushpad. 05 is his second vintage. If you are interested, here is an interview I did with him http://thescrutiny.blogspot.com/2006/07/dain-wines-interview-with-david-dain.html

and

http://thescrutiny.blogspot.com/2005/09/dain-wines-interview-with-david-dain.html

Jason

Jenise, the Dain wines, mostly Pinots, but one, I think, Syrah, come from a number of appellations: RRV, Chalone, Santa Maria Valley, Chalone and Caneros (the Syrah). Good stuff... refined.. not over-the-top... balanced.

[Jenise]

Good stuff... refined.. not over-the-top... balanced.

Doesn't that go without saying if Jason is speaking well of it?

Say, have either of you had any of Ken Volk's eponymous wines made on the old Byron estate? They seem to be floating around at rather advantageous prices, a fate not usual for wines well reviewed by Parker as appears to be the case with these.

Jeez.. Jason's not THAT good....

Don't know Volk.. I'm sure Mr. Hagen does though!! I did just check the website and anyone who makes Pinot and Viognier is good in my book.. I'll have to check them out..

Jeez.. Jason's not THAT good....

Ahhh come on Personally I would put the Dain wines in the pushing the envelope catagory. More like a Loring than a Arcadian. But rumors are that many of the 05s (across the board) will have better balance...partly due to weather etc. and partly due to the wine-makers coming to their senses. Jim and I will be tasting about 60 of them in a few weeks.

Don't know Volk.. I'm sure Mr. Hagen does though!! I did just check the website and anyone who makes Pinot and Viognier is good in my book.. I'll have to check them out..

Never had one. Let us know if you try some. No more new pinots for me for a while.

Jason

[David M. Bueker]

While I have only ever had 2 Dain wines, I would call them slightly more restrained than a Loring. They remind me a lot of Andrew Vignello's A.P. Vin wines. The Speculator does not go ga-ga over Dain, which is a good thing to me.

[Jenise]

Jason, I just got some. They're resting from the journey (as are the Pey-Marins received the same day). I'll report soon.

Do either of you have any thoughts on Robert Talbott wines? The label's familiar but I have no memory of the wine at all, just an impression that they've been around forever. I grabbed two bottles of the Case-Sleepy Hollow blend, either 01 or 02, at the how-can-you-go-wrong-for-Sleepy-Hollow price of $16 ea. I was surprised to find zero TN's on Cellar Tracker.

Do either of you have any thoughts on Robert Talbott wines? The label's familiar but I have no memory of the wine at all, just an impression that they've been around forever. I grabbed two bottles of the Case-Sleepy Hollow blend, either 01 or 02, at the how-can-you-go-wrong-for-Sleepy-Hollow price of $16 ea. I was surprised to find zero TN's on Cellar Tracker.

This is from memory and may be wrong but I believe Robert Talbott owns the Sleepy Holow Vineyard. I really liked the 03 wines that were on the lesser lables. The Kali Hart Pinot was amazing ($ 8 ). There is also a Logan label. At a trade tasting I went through all the 04s, Kali Hart, Logan and Talbott and was underwhelmed. These would have all been very young so who knows what state they were in. I haven't seen the 04s at Winex so I am wondering if they passed on them. That would not be a good sign.

Well, pop one open and let us know.

Jason

[Jenise]

The ones I bought are either 02 or 01 (most likely the former), so 04 problems wouldn't affect me. Oh, he owns Sleepy Hollow? Didn't know that. All I know about him in fact is that he made his money selling ties that his wife sewed. Strange that I would remember that and absolutely zero about any of his wines that I may have had. Anyway, for now I'm just encouraged that you didn't say that they're ridiculously over-oaked rotgut.