WTN: Extremely short notes on lots of US wines

A new wine retailer is setting up shop in Manila and it will be focusing on US and Bordeaux. Today, I was invited to try some of their US wines at Red Restaurant at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

The tasting started at noon but I was only able to arrive at 2 PM. I hadn't had lunch yet so I was pleased to see that there was a steak and potatoes buffet laid out for the guests. I have to confess I was more intersted in the food as I was absolutely famished when I arrived hence I just have comments like very good, excellent etc. and the occasional short description when something stands out.

Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2002 - Excellent balance. Excellent.

Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir 2004 - Very good. Never had DRC so I don't know if all those ads in WS claiming they beat DRC are true.

Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - Too oaky for me. Heavy. Good.

Patz and Hall Sonoma Pinot Noir 2005 - Marginally better than the Serene. Very good.

McManis Petite Sirah 2005 - Very good value for money. Very good. Would have been excellent but the finish has this confected character I didn't like.

Worthy's Axios Sophia Cuvee Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - Very good but rather soft. Is this a wine that will keep?

Miner Oracle Napa 2003 - A Bordeaux blend. Slightly hot but I thought excellent anyway.

Paraduxx 2003 - Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc. I liked earlier vintages of this but this edition leaves me cold. Weak finish. Didn't like this.

Havens Bourriquot Napa 2002 - Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Excellent. Occurs to me this is a Cheval Blanc blend.

Havens Merlot 2002 - Spicy, still very young character. Very good.

Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2004 - Bordeaux blend. Rather Old World, French in style. Elegant, lighter than nearly all the other wines. Would suffer in a tasting but great with food.

Caymus Conundrum - Forgot to note the vintage. Smells like Sauvignon Blanc. I heard people talk of passion fruit a lot when tasting this. Medium-sweet. Very good. I wa nted to try this after the reds but a friend of mine insisted I try it immediately when he poured me a glass.

Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - Very young, tannic. Seems like it will have a long life ahead of it. Very good.

Ridge Lytton Springs 2004 - Lots of acid and rather pale. I usually enjoy Ridge but this didn't impress.

Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel 2005 - A little light. Good.

Swanson Merlot 2003 - Lacks flavor. Watery, dilute. No good.

Summerland Syrah 2003 - Lacks body. Short finish. I didn't like this.

HdV Merlot Cabernet 2003 - Very good

Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 - Very good.

Beaux Freres Pinot Noir 2004 - Beautiful raspberry and strawberry fruit and aromas. Excellent. This wasn't supposed to be part of the tasting as it was reserved for a dinner that night but somebody made a mistake and opened it. Lucky for us!

There were a few other whites and a red which I skipped. Favorites were the Silver Oak, McManis Petite Sirah for value, Havens Bourriquot, Miner Oracle, Beaux Freres and Conundrum. Pass on the Summerland Syrah, Swanson Merlot, Ridge Lytton Springs and Paraduxx.

[Jenise]

Jay, just a bit of info for contextual purposes on the Serene. The wine they brag about is one of top bottlings, the Evanstadt and Grace Reserves, not the Yamhill Cuvee you drank. It's a decent pinot to be sure, but nowhere near the class of the other two.

Re the Havens, they're wines I like quite a bit too. You're absolutely right about the Cheval Blanc blend, and I was told by the guy who first poured me the wine that this was the winemaker's intent. Not that he thinks he's duplicating Cheval Blanc, but such is his admiration for the wine that he makes the blend.

Another vote for Havens here!

I'm surprised you found the Silver Oak less oaky. It's an interesting wine with lots of dark fruit. I liked it better at the winery than the subsequent bottle, which was very "vanilla-y" Still beautiful fruit.

Jenise, thanks for the additional info. I've had the Evanstadt and agree with you it's quite excellent. I think I'm gonna get me some Bourriquot in addition to Conundrum.

Brian, thanks for your observations. I know Silver Oak has a reputation for being oaky but the two times I tried it - this one and a 99, I was quite surprised that I didn't find it as oaky as its reputation suggests.

What do you mean by, "confected character?"

Brian, thanks for your observations. I know Silver Oak has a reputation for being oaky but the two times I tried it - this one and a 99, I was quite surprised that I didn't find it as oaky as its reputation suggests.

Ah...I understand where you are coming from. At the Winery itself, I found the 2001 Napa quite nice, with lavish, smooth dark fruit. At dinner a couple of weeks later, this same luscious dark fruit was buried under a blanket of vanilla. Still rich and smooth-just "muffled." Is this a winery with BIG bottle variation? For $100, they better get this under control.

Is this a winery with BIG bottle variation? For $100, they better get this under control.

The variation can be how long the bottle was open or whether it was decanted or even the types of glass you taste it in. Correct me if I am wrong, but oakiness is a volatile ester aroma that can be easily driven off in the presence of oxygen. Similar to sweetness tasting, what we taste can be influenced by what we have eaten in the two hours prior to tasting. If you eat ice cream before you taste wine then your wines will taste more acidic…in essence one is desensitized to sweetness. In the same way if you taste wines with a lot of volatile oakiness or similar fragrance (like a Syrah) then the wine one tastes following will taste less oaky. IMHO.

What do you mean by, "confected character?"

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant it had a candy-like quality to it. Something like sour jelly or sour hard candy.

Is this a winery with BIG bottle variation? For $100, they better get this under control.

The variation can be how long the bottle was open or whether it was decanted or even the types of glass you taste it in. Correct me if I am wrong, but oakiness is a volatile ester aroma that can be easily driven off in the presence of oxygen. Similar to sweetness tasting, what we taste can be influenced by what we have eaten in the two hours prior to tasting. If you eat ice cream before you taste wine then your wines will taste more acidic…in essence one is desensitized to sweetness. In the same way if you taste wines with a lot of volatile oakiness or similar fragrance (like a Syrah) then the wine one tastes following will taste less oaky. IMHO.

Thanks, Rod. You're making more sense than I did.

As I stated on the earlier thread, I do think S.O. has beautiful fruit. I should try it again at some point