WTN: Cal Chard and CS, VdP red, WA CS with a presurgical friend

A dear friend is having a hip replacement repaired today (she had choice words for the doctors who put it in!), decided to have some friends over last night for a pre-surgery party. Gotta love that kind of spirit, and a group who love her gathered for food (BBQ chicken, assorted salads, deviled eggs with shrimp, etc), conversation, and some liquids- beer, plus some wine:

2002 Saintsbury "Brown Ranch" Chardonnay (Carneros)Though Dana wasn't drinking much night before, I brought this because she's a Chardonnay lover. Butterscotch and toasty oak on nose, rich pear fruit. Not flabby, good acidity for California, a pretty good not-over-the-top example of California Chardonnay. Maybe a little short. Better by itself than with food, but I enjoyed. B/B+

2005 Iche/Ch. d'Oupia "Les Heretiques" (VdP de l'Hérault)
A nice showing by this QPR winner (one of those wines that does well outside!). Mostly warm red berry fruit, not especially big, just a nice welterweight that punches a bit above its class. Raspberry fruit is accented by some earth, herb and meat nuances, this could hold its own with many Rhones at twice the price (or more). B+, but solid A for value ($7.xx)

2004 J. Lohr "Seven Oaks" Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles)
Red and black currants, a little vanillay oak, decent party wine but while weightier than the preceding wine, lacks that wine's definition and verve. This is the journeyman middleweight that ain't never gonna be a contender. B-

2005 Ex-Libris Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley)
Not really sure how a current release wine would be called ex-libris. Sweet cassis, a little blueberry, lots of vanilla. Seems more CA than WA to me. Good concentration, popular around the table, but stylistically too ripe/sweet/lowacid for me. A cocky young cruiserweight which wouldn't last long with a real champ. B/B-

A great spring evening, we all had fun, and enjoyed gathering around one of our own.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

[Jenise]

Dale, I'd wondered about the Ex-Libris too, so I googled it. The explanation isn't much of an explanation, but here's the producer's (Polaner Selections) description of the name and the wine, FWIW:

Ex-Libris

Ex-Libris is a latin term for "from the library," and was the guiding principal for this proprietary project. Through connections with some top wineries in Washington State, we were able to go into their vaults and secure some superlative lots of wine from two of Washington's top vineyards to craft this Cabernet. The goal of the project was to produce a wine that drinks like a $30-$40 Cab, but sells for $20.

The heart and soul of the 2005 Ex-Libris, like previous vintages, is Cabernet Sauvignon (82%) from the Champoux and Millbrandt Vineyards along with juice from nine other top Columbia Valley Cabernet vineyards, blended with some Merlot (8%) Syrah (8%) and a dash of Petite Verdot (2%) for complexity. The wine was aged for 16 months in French oak. On the nose, it is classic WA Cab, with deep cassis fruit and hints of cedar and spice. The palate is full, with broad concentrated fruit, and a Bordelaise structure that is often found in the Northwest's best Cabernets. The pedigree of these great vineyards comes through clearly in this superb value Cabernet.

thanks Jenise. Am I crazy, but does that explanation make no sense (for any meaning of the term library I'm familiar with). What they're saying is "this is bought and blended wine" , correct? Like about a 100 other wines?