TN: Raymond Baudana Mt Eden Craggy Range Brewer-Clifton + R

Notes from a blind tasting:

2012 Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese – some colour, a rich ripe nose and balanced so that it didn’t seem overly sweet. Liked this one a lot.

1997 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Goldridge – colour now getting pale, low fruit and a bit acidic. Either getting old or an off bottle? Could have been cellar conditions at some point.

1985 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve – from my cellar, and a wine not sold in the usual places, only available at the winery. The nose was initially a tad veggie but that abated a bit and some thyme appeared and some mint a bit later on. Still fairly dark, but a bit low on fruit and underwhelming. Will open the other bottle I have soon to see if it matches.

2004 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana – a step up here. Also fairly dark in colour and showing a typical Nebbiolo nose, good stuffing and clean acidic finish. Showing well now but I expect it is just coming into prime drinking territory.

2012 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir – all red fruit and light colour, fresh fruit and finished with a hint of sweetness and decent length. Pleasant.

2017 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Machado – tea and some blood/iron in the nose, segueing to cherry currant with time, and light on palate and tasty, with some unusual heat at the end – this was 15% alcohol, the highest I can recall, certainly in a Pinot.

2009 Craggy Range Sophia – this was a New Zealand Bordeaux blend. Dark, rich, ripe, well made, in absolutely no danger of being mistaken for a claret, but in this case it failed to impress me.

2019 The Prisoner – this was an extra wine that came about due to a discussion earlier and a member who happened to have one he had been given. Dark wine, with an almost metallic nose. Obviously young but without much structure, powerful but a bit flabby at the end. Sadly, this is the sort of wine that seems to impress popular wine critics, with its intensity if nothing else (it sure isn’t with it’s finesse, which is totally lacking). As you may guess, not my style of wine.

2006 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese – I had pulled this one because I knew that the previous wine would be in attendance and felt that a lower alcohol cheese wine would be in order. Apricot colour and with a sweet fresh nose of honey and floral notes along with the obligatory petrol underlay and it developed a bit of apricot in the nose with time. In the mouth it was only mildly sweet and it was well balanced by the acidity. It still seems fresh and delicious and finishes cleanly with excellent acidity. Ready to go but no rush. Wish I had more!

[David M. Bueker]

Well the last time The Wine Advocate even rated The Prisoner (the 2014) it received the dreaded 89. It was less of a caricature back then, but still a big wine.

[Jenise]

Notes from a blind tasting:

2012 Max Ferd. Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese – some colour, a rich ripe nose and balanced so that it didn’t seem overly sweet. Liked this one a lot.

1997 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Goldridge – colour now getting pale, low fruit and a bit acidic. Either getting old or an off bottle? Could have been cellar conditions at some point.

1985 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve – from my cellar, and a wine not sold in the usual places, only available at the winery. The nose was initially a tad veggie but that abated a bit and some thyme appeared and some mint a bit later on. Still fairly dark, but a bit low on fruit and underwhelming. Will open the other bottle I have soon to see if it matches.

2004 Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana – a step up here. Also fairly dark in colour and showing a typical Nebbiolo nose, good stuffing and clean acidic finish. Showing well now but I expect it is just coming into prime drinking territory.

2012 Mount Eden Vineyards Pinot Noir – all red fruit and light colour, fresh fruit and finished with a hint of sweetness and decent length. Pleasant.

2017 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Machado – tea and some blood/iron in the nose, segueing to cherry currant with time, and light on palate and tasty, with some unusual heat at the end – this was 15% alcohol, the highest I can recall, certainly in a Pinot.

2009 Craggy Range Sophia – this was a New Zealand Bordeaux blend. Dark, rich, ripe, well made, in absolutely no danger of being mistaken for a claret, but in this case it failed to impress me.

2019 The Prisoner – this was an extra wine that came about due to a discussion earlier and a member who happened to have one he had been given. Dark wine, with an almost metallic nose. Obviously young but without much structure, powerful but a bit flabby at the end. Sadly, this is the sort of wine that seems to impress popular wine critics, with its intensity if nothing else (it sure isn’t with it’s finesse, which is totally lacking). As you may guess, not my style of wine.

2006 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese – I had pulled this one because I knew that the previous wine would be in attendance and felt that a lower alcohol cheese wine would be in order. Apricot colour and with a sweet fresh nose of honey and floral notes along with the obligatory petrol underlay and it developed a bit of apricot in the nose with time. In the mouth it was only mildly sweet and it was well balanced by the acidity. It still seems fresh and delicious and finishes cleanly with excellent acidity. Ready to go but no rush. Wish I had more!

Loved both of the spatleses. The Dehlinger was mine and smelled of rotting cooked fruit though not everyone had a problem with that. I did, so immediately pulled my back-up bottle, the Mount Eden, which did not disappoint. The light color you refer to is typical of Mount Eden pinots, btw. Your Raymond was full of forest flavors; odd, but this isn't the first time I've noted that in some older California cabernets. Not what you hope for, though. Dave's Baudana was good, and I didn't care for the Brewer-Clifton at all. There was a bit of fish sauce on the nose which I found even more off-putting than the roasted fruit and alcohol on the finish. Either way, a real Beauty and the Beast situation when compared to the Mount Eden. I like John's Craggy Range though it was more what I'd call an international style and lacked a sense of place. The Prisoner was awful--with that ripe bug spray thing that made it taste like a relative of the poor Dehlinger.

Overall, not one of our best tastings. Loved your lentil soup, though.

Yes, I think the lentil soup was the best thing we had that day. Was it a root day?!?

Well, both the Richter spatlese were very good, but the first two reds, the Dehlinger and Raymond, were both tired and past their prime for me. The Baudana Barolo was a nice drop in a good place right now. The Mount Eden was also my favourite of the two pinots, but neither really spoke to me. I agree that the Craggy Range Sophia was a very modern, international style that could have been from anywhere; there was nothing wrong with it, but nothing really right with it either. The Prisoner was a Frankenstein wine, in that it felt like it has multiple components that never really fit together: an even more modern, ripe wine that tasted like it came from a lab. Not our best tasting...

FWIW I finally got around to cleaning up the field of battle today, three days later and found some of the 2012 Spatlese in the bottle. It may have suffered very slightly in terms of nose but is otherwise still excellent - interesting after all that time uncorked and open.