Two outta three ain't bad. Tried over the weekend:
1. Ramsay NapaVlly Abouriou "Early Burgundy" (13%) 1995: Very dark color w/ slight
browning; strong dusty/earthy somewhat grapey/plummy slight horsecollar/brett
some pungent/leathery rather Italian/old Dolcetto interesting nose; tart bit
licorice/grapey dusty/earthy bit tannic/bitey some old Dolcetto bit dried out/
tannic flavor; long rather tannic/dried out old Dolcetto rather dusty/earthy some
complex finish; interesting wine much like an old Dolcetto.
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2. Ramsay NapaVlly Syrah Reserve (13%) 1994: Dark some browning color; rather dusty/
earthy little fruit slight floral/perfumed/licorice bit tired nose; tart dried out/
astringent slight licorice/pungent astringent/dried out flavor; med.long astringent/
dried out slight pungent/licorice little fruit finish; pretty dried ou & tired;
disappointing for a Syrah.
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3. Ramsay NorthCoast Nebbiolo (13%) 1992: Very dark color w/ little browning; classic
Nebb light floral/violets some pungent/tarry/licorice rather ethereal/perfumed
complex nose; tart fairly smooth light tarry/licorice/pungent slight earthy some
floral/plummy/black cherry/violets flavor; med.long tart bit tannic/bitey light
floral/violets some licorice/tarry/pungent light plummy/black cherry finish;
starting to dry out a bit & starting downhill but a classic older Nebb and quite
interesting to drink.
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1. Abouriou: This is an obscure/minor grape grown in the Bergerac os SW France. Known
in Calif as Early Burgundy. It is NOT related to the Gamay, as some suggest. If
I were a Calif grapegrower, I'd be in no rush to plant this grape.
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2. Ramsay: This label is named after Cecelia Ramsey, Kent Rasmussen's wife. It's the
label Kent uses for wines he makes from purchased grapes. Over the yrs, he's
produced some very interesting wines under this label; including Calif's first
Dolcetto and Refosco (Mondeuse). They're usually pretty good and resonably
priced. Fortunately, Kent is not a cult winemaker and flys under everybody's
radar. RobertParker has no clue about Kent. I have followed him from the very start.
Tom