We tried these up at Breckinridge over the ChristmasWeek:
1. LimerickLane Furmint RRV/SonomaCnty (30% Harslevelu; EG; 11.8%; www.LimerickLaneWines.com) Healdsburg 2014: Med.gold color; some mineral/chalky/stony/almost flinty some valve oil/smokey strong fruit/appley/carnations/perfumed talc lovely fragrant nose; fairly tart bit metallic stony/flinty/valve oil quite fruity/appley/carnations/perfumed talc flavor; very long/lingering quite appley/floral/carnations/perfumed talc some stony/mineral/flinty/slight earthy finish; this wine has put on a lot of weight & fruit, though still w/ a strong stony/mineral component, since its release; absolutely delicuous stuff. "Barney is pleased".
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2. Solminer Linus Rose SantaYnezVlly deLandaVnyd (Syrah; 88 cs; 12.2%) 2014: Med.light copper/salmon color; very spicy slight Syrah some juicy/cranberry/watermelon quite pretty nose; fairly tart/lean bright/cranberry/watermelon/spicy/bit Syrah flavor w/ light tannins; med.long spicy/Syrah/cranberry slight earthy very pretty finish; lots of spicy/juicy character and quite pretty; doesn't seem to be a saignee rose; not the ideal wine when it's freezing outside and the snow is falling, though.
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3. Siduri PinotNoir Hawk'sViewVnyd/WilametteVlly/OR (14.1%) 2009: Med.color w/ slight bricking; light cherry/PN bit herbal/leafy rather earthy/smokey bit Burgundian some smokey/oak bit tired nose; bit tart/tangy/metallic rather earthy/loamy slight black cherry rather tired/metallic flavor w/ light drying tannins; hardly any fruit left as seems pretty tired, though not totally shot.
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4. Siduri PinotNoir ClosPepe/SantaRitaHills (14.5%) 2013: Dark color; very strong cherry/black cherry/PN/very spicy bit boysenberry some Siduri/pencilly/oak/smokey quite plush/attractive nose; slightly tart rather rich/lush/structured strong black cherry/cherry/PN/spicy some Siduri/pencilly/oak/smokey flavor w/ light fairly smooth tannins; very long strong black cherry/cherry/PN rather Siduri/pencilly/oak finish w/ modest tannins; a lovely rich classic Siduri Pinot w/ the structure to go out 5-10 yrs.
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5. Elyse PetiteSirah Rutherford/NapaVlly (15.2%) 2003: Very dark color w/ no bricking; rather earthy/dusty/OV some boysenberry/peppery/PS/licorice rather toasty/Am.oak/vanilla bit complex nose; soft/fat bit tired/tangy/metallic quite earthy/loamy/dusty/OV strong Am.oak/vanilla/smokey strong blackberry/licorice/PS/bit peppery rather rough/coarse/rustic flavor w/ some rough/coarse tannins; long soft/metallic/tangy/bit tired some licorice/peppery/PS slightly wet dog fur/oxidized finish w/ modest drying tannins; seems to be on a downward trajectory and not going to get any better.
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6. AllisRanchWnry Syrah Reserve Colorado (24 mo. in oak; 14.7%; AllisRanchWine.com) Sedalia 2010: Dark color; rather earthy/dusty/smokey/loamy bit roasted/Rhonish strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah very attractive nose some like a SantaRitaHills Syrah; bit tart quite earthy/loamy/dusty strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit roasted/Rhonish some toasty/oak/smokey bit rustic/coarse flavor w/ modest rough/coarse tannins; very long quite earthy/dusty/rustic strong blackberry/Syrah bit roasted/Rhonish finish w/ some rough/rustic tannins; quite an interesting Syrah; this is how they'd make CO Syrah in Cornas if they could.
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7. Jamet AC: Cote-Rotie (13%) Jean-Paul & Jean-Luc Jamet/Ampuis 1998: Med.dark color w/ some bricking; very strong wet wool/roasted/smokey/pungent/smoked meats/bacony slight blackberry/Syrah beautiful/complex nose; bit tart/tangy/metallic very smokey/bacon fat/roasted/smoked meats slightly tired/tannic/dried out little fruit flavor w/ light astringent tannins; very long tangy/metallic strong smoked meats/bacony/roasted/smokey finish w/ some tired/drying tannins; a spectacular/complex Rhonish nose but getting a bit long of tooth on the palate.
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8. LimerickLane HailMary RRV/SonomaCnty (92% Syrah/8% Grenache; 14.3%) 2011: Very dark/black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe/spicy some toasty/oak huge nose; soft huge fruit/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/chocolaty bit toasty/oak structured flavor w/ rather hard tannins; very long/lingering very intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry bit spicy/peppery light toasty/charred/oak finish w/ ample hard/blocky tannins; huge Syrah fruit but well-structured and should age 10-15 yrs; very much like a Carlisle in style.
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9. Polymath Riesling BohanVnyd/FtRoss-Seaview (12.8%) SavannaWright/Failla 2014: Light gold color; very strong stony/chalky/flinty some pungent/valve oil light floral/R/mango very spicy Alsatian-like slight metallic/steely beautiful nose; rather tart/tangy/chalky/stony/mineral light mango/floral/R/pineapple slight petrol/valve oil beautiful/juicy R flavor; very long/lingering juicy/R/mango/floral some stony/mineral/chalky light pungent/petrol finish; has really developed into a beautiful R in the last few months; very atypical of Calif R and more like Alsatian or, better yet, AltoAdige R. "Barney agrees".
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10. Carlisle Zin PaperaRanch/RRV/SonomaCnty (15.3%; Plntd: 1934; 800 cs) 2013: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/RRV Zin/very spicy/peppery quite dusty/OV bit milk of magnesia/framboise/chocolaty light toasty/oak beautiful intense nose; lightly tart/tangy very intense huge fruit/blackberry/boysenberry/RRV Zin/some black pepper very spicy quite dusty/OV very structured beautiful flavor w/ ample soft/ripe/round tannins; very long/lingering very intense blackberry/boysenberry/very spicy/Zin/peppery light toasty/oak finish w/ ample soft/smooth tannins; a huge fruit Zin but has the structure to go out 10-15 yrs; another beautiful Papera.
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11. Radio-Coteau Zin Robert'sBlock/SonomaCoast (EG; 232 cs; 13.8%; U/U) 2012: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Zin/very spicy/very peppery cold-climate quite dusty/OV some earthy/saline/mineral some pencilly/toasty/oak quite complex nose; very tart/tangy/grapefruity very strong spicy/blackberry/Zin peppery/cold-climate Zin some toasty/oak flavor w/ ample tough/hard/underripe tannins; very long/lingering very tart/tangy/grapefruity very strong blackberry/very spicy Zin quite cold-climate/peppery/Zin bit toasty/oak finish w/ ample hard tannins; loads of acidity and should go out 15-20 yrs; a terrific example of cold-climate Zin...of which there are far too few examples.
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12. AlbanVnyds Pandora Seymour'sVnyd/EdnaVlly RW (Syrah/Grenache; 15.9%) 2001: Very dark color w/ no bricking; very strong reductive/stinky/sewer gas nose that clears to classic Alban/charred/burnt/Fr.oak very intense boysenberry/blackberry/chocolaty/Syrah very youthful/primary nose; very tart/tangy very intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/bit peppery very strong charred/burnt/oak/toasty very rich/lush/mouthfilling bit hot/alcoholic flavor w/ ample hard/gritty tannins; very long/lingering very strong burnt/charred/oak/classic Alban intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah bit peppery/cold-climate finish w/ ample hard/gritty tannins; a huge/extracted Syrah that progressing at a glacial pace.
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13. AlbanVnyds Syrah Seymour'sVnyd/EdnaVlly (15.8%) 2001: Black color w/ no bricking; bit reduced/stinky/sewer gas very intense framboise/blackberry/boysenberry/tarry/chocolaty rather cold-climate/black pepper strong burnt/charred/oak/smokey bit complex very primary/youthful nose; fairly tart intense blackberry/Syrah/framboise/licorice slight hot/alcoholic chocolaty/peppery/cold-climate very strong charred/burnt/Fr.oak quite youthful flavor w/ light/smooth/gentle tannins; very long/lingering very intense blackberry/Syrah/framboise/tarry/licorice/peppery strong charred/burnt/oak/smokey very youthful finish w/ some smooth/ripe tannins; tannins have come into balance but aging at a glacial pace and not showing much complexity; a wine you have to stand back and be in awe of the level of extraction; will go on for yrs but may never evolve into anything really interesting like a Qupe or Ojai.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Susan & I were invited to her friend's Christmas get-together where she rents a condo in Breckinridge and treats her family to a ski-weekend. There are kids galore and it's sort of bedlam for 5 days or so, but it's great not to have to hang w/ old-folks all the time...I luv it.
Her son-in-law, BarneyMalin loves good wines and so I always rummage around in my house for interesting wines to take up there to show Barney....the "BarneyBox". It's one of the highlights of my wine-drinking year to assemble & share these wines. This was this yr's version.
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2. Alban: These two Albans were from my orphan stash, stored in the garage for 15+ yrs, standing upright, under totally uncontrolled temps. They held up well...no surprise there.
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3. PolyMath: This is a wine made by SavannaWright, asst winemaker at Failla w/ EhrenJordan. If you look in the recent WineSpec, you can see her picture there w/ Ehren. She has made a '13 PetiteSirah that is much lighter & elegant than most PS wines. And this '14 Riesling. She follows the beat of her own drummer and strives to make wines outside-the-box. This Riesling has really put on weight and gotten more interesting in the last 6 months since I first tasted it. Keep your eye on this lady. I have, of course, followed Savanna from the very start.
Tom