SteveTimko
Steve Timko
Some notes from a wines tasting and a few other wines I opened two days later.
2003 Domaine La Millire Chteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/11/2009)
Another good bottle of this wine. This one seemed more purplish than my prior bottle. No tannins to speak off. But more fruit and less rustic than the prior bottle. Some garrigue. Balanced. This one was just pop and pour. Again a steal for $16. Imported by Premier Cru.
2004 Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (1/11/2009)
Tough for me to judge. Decanted but still seems closed. It also lacked the verve of a good Chablis. The color was also dark for a 2004. We concluded it was because of the oak, although it didn't seem overtly oaky to me. In particular I didn't notice the oak on the nose. The nose was the best part, with the seashells, some cirtrus zest and good minerality. The mid palate was more one dimensional. There was a decent finish. By the end of "Slum Dog Millionaire" it had turned creamy. Glenn thinks it has the stuffing to age. I've got one more bottle left that I'll try again in a couple of years. Not a bad bottle of chardonnay for $24 from K&L, especially compared to what you'd pay for a California chardonnay, but I think if I shopped hard enough I could find a better Chablis for a few bucks more. The 2004 red Burgundies are starting to drink well, but obviously the 2004 white crus are not.
1998 Domaine de Marcoux Chteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine et Selection - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/9/2009)
First off, I drank this at least two years oo early. But it was a remarkable Chteauneuf-du-Pape. It was not just Rhonish, it clearly spoke of coming from that one area. I pulled the cork and let it breathe through out the tasting of other wines and served it at the end. The nose was a blend of red fruits and garrigue. A whiff of chocolate, too? The palate was pure and focused. There's a cherry flavor along with some darker fruit flavors, maybe plum. No noticeable oak but there was a woody flavor, maybe sandalwood? Some nice herbs. Best finish of any wine I had that night. To repeat, just a pure and focused wine that's still improving. (93 pts.)
2001 Domaine des Rmizires Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage (1/9/2009)
Really nice stuff. Still young but seems like old school wine. On the nose, bacon fat. On the palate, very meaty and spicy with black olives. Some earthiness. Balanced. Still tannic but I suspect that will smooth out in a couple of years. Nice finish. It was my wine of the night. Initially tied for second best wine of the night but was bounced to third place since the Villa Creek Avenger had so many second place votes.
2004 Domaine de Nizas Coteaux du Languedoc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (1/9/2009)
Seems to have ripeness issues. Also just didn't seem to come together as a wine. A little disjointed. Smokey on the palate but also sweet. Some pepper flavors. Average finish. I think this might smooth out a little with another year or two in the bottle.
2005 kukkula Sisu - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
This and the Villa Creek Willow Creek cuvee tied for my second-favorite wines of the night. This was actually a simpler wine than the Willow Creek cuvee. Redder, sweeter fruit. Maybe too sweet. Good balance and decent acidity. A good finish. Doesn't seem like it's built to age. Definitely a California Rhone. Moderate oak, but it seems New World in style.
2005 Villa Creek Avenger - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
I didn't like this, although it may have benefited from some decanted. It was slightly out of balance with alcohol but just seemed too big and loud, otherwise. Oak obvious on the nose and palate. Darker fruit flavors and some leather. Glenn thought it was acidified, but I couldn't pick up on that. This is another wine that might smooth out in a few years, but with alcohol north of 16 percent it's not really built to age.
2005 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuve - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
This and the kukkula were tied for my second favorite wine of the night. This is a nice restrained GSM blend. I actually got bacon fat on the nose, although I guess the syrah percentage us that high. Also some earth and spice on the nose. On the palate, mostly softer, rounder red fruits with some spices. Good finish. The major flaw was that it was a bit soft. But I'd buy this. Seems restrained for a Paso Robles wine.
2006 Domaine du Vieux Tlgraphe Chteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/9/2009)
Seemed shut down. I got nothing on the nose. Glenn said he got Luden red cough drops on the nose. Tannic, though not a tannic monster. In my tasting notes for this wine I wrote tight and underlined it three times. I was wondering how wine critics can taste a wine this young and predict how great it will be. Imagine my surprise at the end of the tasting when more than half of the 22 people at the tasting raised their hands when it came time to pick the No. 1 wine. A Kermit Lynch import.
2006 La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils) Ctes du Ventoux - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Ctes du Ventoux (1/9/2009)
I see a lot of bad notes on this wine on CellarTracker! but I liked it. Simple, sure. Herbs and violets on the nose. Red fruiton the palate. A bit soft. But a pleasant wine and it would match well with food. I like Rhones and I like this wine.
2003 Domaine La Millire Chteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/11/2009)
Another good bottle of this wine. This one seemed more purplish than my prior bottle. No tannins to speak off. But more fruit and less rustic than the prior bottle. Some garrigue. Balanced. This one was just pop and pour. Again a steal for $16. Imported by Premier Cru.
2004 Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (1/11/2009)
Tough for me to judge. Decanted but still seems closed. It also lacked the verve of a good Chablis. The color was also dark for a 2004. We concluded it was because of the oak, although it didn't seem overtly oaky to me. In particular I didn't notice the oak on the nose. The nose was the best part, with the seashells, some cirtrus zest and good minerality. The mid palate was more one dimensional. There was a decent finish. By the end of "Slum Dog Millionaire" it had turned creamy. Glenn thinks it has the stuffing to age. I've got one more bottle left that I'll try again in a couple of years. Not a bad bottle of chardonnay for $24 from K&L, especially compared to what you'd pay for a California chardonnay, but I think if I shopped hard enough I could find a better Chablis for a few bucks more. The 2004 red Burgundies are starting to drink well, but obviously the 2004 white crus are not.
1998 Domaine de Marcoux Chteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine et Selection - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/9/2009)
First off, I drank this at least two years oo early. But it was a remarkable Chteauneuf-du-Pape. It was not just Rhonish, it clearly spoke of coming from that one area. I pulled the cork and let it breathe through out the tasting of other wines and served it at the end. The nose was a blend of red fruits and garrigue. A whiff of chocolate, too? The palate was pure and focused. There's a cherry flavor along with some darker fruit flavors, maybe plum. No noticeable oak but there was a woody flavor, maybe sandalwood? Some nice herbs. Best finish of any wine I had that night. To repeat, just a pure and focused wine that's still improving. (93 pts.)
2001 Domaine des Rmizires Hermitage - France, Rhne, Northern Rhne, Hermitage (1/9/2009)
Really nice stuff. Still young but seems like old school wine. On the nose, bacon fat. On the palate, very meaty and spicy with black olives. Some earthiness. Balanced. Still tannic but I suspect that will smooth out in a couple of years. Nice finish. It was my wine of the night. Initially tied for second best wine of the night but was bounced to third place since the Villa Creek Avenger had so many second place votes.
2004 Domaine de Nizas Coteaux du Languedoc - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (1/9/2009)
Seems to have ripeness issues. Also just didn't seem to come together as a wine. A little disjointed. Smokey on the palate but also sweet. Some pepper flavors. Average finish. I think this might smooth out a little with another year or two in the bottle.
2005 kukkula Sisu - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
This and the Villa Creek Willow Creek cuvee tied for my second-favorite wines of the night. This was actually a simpler wine than the Willow Creek cuvee. Redder, sweeter fruit. Maybe too sweet. Good balance and decent acidity. A good finish. Doesn't seem like it's built to age. Definitely a California Rhone. Moderate oak, but it seems New World in style.
2005 Villa Creek Avenger - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
I didn't like this, although it may have benefited from some decanted. It was slightly out of balance with alcohol but just seemed too big and loud, otherwise. Oak obvious on the nose and palate. Darker fruit flavors and some leather. Glenn thought it was acidified, but I couldn't pick up on that. This is another wine that might smooth out in a few years, but with alcohol north of 16 percent it's not really built to age.
2005 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuve - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/9/2009)
This and the kukkula were tied for my second favorite wine of the night. This is a nice restrained GSM blend. I actually got bacon fat on the nose, although I guess the syrah percentage us that high. Also some earth and spice on the nose. On the palate, mostly softer, rounder red fruits with some spices. Good finish. The major flaw was that it was a bit soft. But I'd buy this. Seems restrained for a Paso Robles wine.
2006 Domaine du Vieux Tlgraphe Chteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Chteauneuf-du-Pape (1/9/2009)
Seemed shut down. I got nothing on the nose. Glenn said he got Luden red cough drops on the nose. Tannic, though not a tannic monster. In my tasting notes for this wine I wrote tight and underlined it three times. I was wondering how wine critics can taste a wine this young and predict how great it will be. Imagine my surprise at the end of the tasting when more than half of the 22 people at the tasting raised their hands when it came time to pick the No. 1 wine. A Kermit Lynch import.
2006 La Vieille Ferme (Perrin & Fils) Ctes du Ventoux - France, Rhne, Southern Rhne, Ctes du Ventoux (1/9/2009)
I see a lot of bad notes on this wine on CellarTracker! but I liked it. Simple, sure. Herbs and violets on the nose. Red fruiton the palate. A bit soft. But a pleasant wine and it would match well with food. I like Rhones and I like this wine.