SteveTimko
Steve Timko
2005 Benanti Etna Rosso di Verzella - Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC (10/12/2010)
I had this wine about a year ago and hated it. I'm thinking now it may not have been properly stored. I was assured by someone with more knowledge about the wines than me that Benanti is a great producer, so I bought this bottle from K&L Wines, a reputable wine store. It was quite different. This wine is still high acid and needs food.
The nose is subtle. Nice spices and maybe black fruits on the nose. The palate is more sour cherries and maybe rhubarb. It's a little brambly, too, like some Southern Rhones. Good finish.
The acidity was a good match for the rich sauce of my veal scaloppine with porcini mushrooms as it cut through the sauce nicely. Definitely worth exploring. A Wine Warehouse import.
1994 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Cte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru (10/12/2010)
We were warned by Andy and Lana to drink this quickly because it dropped off a cliff after about 15 minutes, but it was fine. The nose was the strong point. A 96-point Burgundy nose. Earthy, mushroomy and meaty. Plus nice minerality. The smell that fills your nostrils. On the palate, it's obvioiusly showing it's age. Smooth and balanced but probably on the downhill slope. Darker fruits but still good acid. No noticeable oak. Good finish. A Robert Kacher Selection.
1995 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romane 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Cte de Nuits, Vosne-Romane 1er Cru (10/12/2010)
My reaction to this is like my reaction to my first Vosne-Romanee. I wonder if it's varietally correct. There's so much power here it's hard to imagine it shares a pedigree with say Volnay. Drinking this I think of the cracks Peter Cargassachi makes about people saying he puts syrah in his pinot noir. There's an argument that Burgundy is using the old Bordeaux trick of using Hermitage to add backbone to the wine. This wine is still in pretty good shape with several years to go. Good on the attack and mid palate and a long finish. Floral nose. Violets? Nah, I'm thinking too much about syrah. Darker red fruits and spice on the palate. Balanced. This is the kind of stuff that makes you chase good Burgundy. A Kobrand import.
2006 Barnett Vineyards Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/12/2010)
Definitely a New World pinot. On the bigger side of the spectrum of California pinots, but still balanced. More bright red fruit than I normally get with Russian River pinot and not as much spice. Good finish. I liked this.
2007 Miraflores Syrah Mthode Ancienne - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County (10/12/2010)
Interesting. Black fruit on the nose and palate. No olives or bacon fat but it seemed more cool climate than warmer climate syrah. Nice finish. Maybe a little bit of steaminess. Not overly tannic but I'd like to try this wine again in a couple of years.
2008 Castello D'Alba Douro - Portugal, Douro (10/12/2010)
This was a nice wine, although the subject of some controversy. Glenn thought it was slightly corked. Andy and Lana detected nothing. As far as being corked, it's tough to give me a vote because my ability to detect TCA is x as x approaches zero. But usually what I can detect is muted fruit and nothing seemed muted. It's a little meaty on the nose with some dark fruit on the palate and maybe a streak of spice. Not real complicated but tasty. This is a suitcase import by Bill from Portugal.
1999 Hiedler Weissburgunder Maximum - Austria, Niedersterreich, Kamptal (10/12/2010)
Almost a nice wine. It's out of balance with the sweetness. Glenn described it as off dry and I immediately defended it, saying it was from the fruitiness. Then Catherine, a non-week geek, chimed in it was sweet and I had to concede it was from RS. Glenn also detected the boytritis. I was initially ascribing that to the creaminess from being oaked. There's some fainter citrus flavors and maybe a streak of smokiness in the mid palate, but they seem to be fading and are overwhelmed by the sweetness. The mouthfeel is great. I'm not sure what this will pair with. Maybe mildly spicy sausage. A Terry Thiese import.
2005 Josef Rosch Leiwener Klostergarten Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (10/21/2010)
This is the Cuvee Bacchus bottling of this wine, which may be different. More spatlese than kabinett, especially on opening. Syrupy and fairly sweet initially, but that changes over the next hour. This has a red fruit profile but it's also quite spicy. Maybe some brown sugar, too.Very good finish. I liked this wine and I would have loved it if it had been a little more zippy and lithe. I bought this and about three other rieslings from Dee Vine Wines. I believe they said this was intended for a wine shop or restaurant but the buyer balked at delivery. I don't know if it was built to age but another five years in bottle might sharpen its focus and improve it.
I had this wine about a year ago and hated it. I'm thinking now it may not have been properly stored. I was assured by someone with more knowledge about the wines than me that Benanti is a great producer, so I bought this bottle from K&L Wines, a reputable wine store. It was quite different. This wine is still high acid and needs food.
The nose is subtle. Nice spices and maybe black fruits on the nose. The palate is more sour cherries and maybe rhubarb. It's a little brambly, too, like some Southern Rhones. Good finish.
The acidity was a good match for the rich sauce of my veal scaloppine with porcini mushrooms as it cut through the sauce nicely. Definitely worth exploring. A Wine Warehouse import.
1994 Domaine Robert Jayer-Gilles Echezeaux - France, Burgundy, Cte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru (10/12/2010)
We were warned by Andy and Lana to drink this quickly because it dropped off a cliff after about 15 minutes, but it was fine. The nose was the strong point. A 96-point Burgundy nose. Earthy, mushroomy and meaty. Plus nice minerality. The smell that fills your nostrils. On the palate, it's obvioiusly showing it's age. Smooth and balanced but probably on the downhill slope. Darker fruits but still good acid. No noticeable oak. Good finish. A Robert Kacher Selection.
1995 Louis Jadot Vosne-Romane 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Cte de Nuits, Vosne-Romane 1er Cru (10/12/2010)
My reaction to this is like my reaction to my first Vosne-Romanee. I wonder if it's varietally correct. There's so much power here it's hard to imagine it shares a pedigree with say Volnay. Drinking this I think of the cracks Peter Cargassachi makes about people saying he puts syrah in his pinot noir. There's an argument that Burgundy is using the old Bordeaux trick of using Hermitage to add backbone to the wine. This wine is still in pretty good shape with several years to go. Good on the attack and mid palate and a long finish. Floral nose. Violets? Nah, I'm thinking too much about syrah. Darker red fruits and spice on the palate. Balanced. This is the kind of stuff that makes you chase good Burgundy. A Kobrand import.
2006 Barnett Vineyards Pinot Noir Tina Marie Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/12/2010)
Definitely a New World pinot. On the bigger side of the spectrum of California pinots, but still balanced. More bright red fruit than I normally get with Russian River pinot and not as much spice. Good finish. I liked this.
2007 Miraflores Syrah Mthode Ancienne - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, El Dorado County (10/12/2010)
Interesting. Black fruit on the nose and palate. No olives or bacon fat but it seemed more cool climate than warmer climate syrah. Nice finish. Maybe a little bit of steaminess. Not overly tannic but I'd like to try this wine again in a couple of years.
2008 Castello D'Alba Douro - Portugal, Douro (10/12/2010)
This was a nice wine, although the subject of some controversy. Glenn thought it was slightly corked. Andy and Lana detected nothing. As far as being corked, it's tough to give me a vote because my ability to detect TCA is x as x approaches zero. But usually what I can detect is muted fruit and nothing seemed muted. It's a little meaty on the nose with some dark fruit on the palate and maybe a streak of spice. Not real complicated but tasty. This is a suitcase import by Bill from Portugal.
1999 Hiedler Weissburgunder Maximum - Austria, Niedersterreich, Kamptal (10/12/2010)
Almost a nice wine. It's out of balance with the sweetness. Glenn described it as off dry and I immediately defended it, saying it was from the fruitiness. Then Catherine, a non-week geek, chimed in it was sweet and I had to concede it was from RS. Glenn also detected the boytritis. I was initially ascribing that to the creaminess from being oaked. There's some fainter citrus flavors and maybe a streak of smokiness in the mid palate, but they seem to be fading and are overwhelmed by the sweetness. The mouthfeel is great. I'm not sure what this will pair with. Maybe mildly spicy sausage. A Terry Thiese import.
2005 Josef Rosch Leiwener Klostergarten Riesling Kabinett - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (10/21/2010)
This is the Cuvee Bacchus bottling of this wine, which may be different. More spatlese than kabinett, especially on opening. Syrupy and fairly sweet initially, but that changes over the next hour. This has a red fruit profile but it's also quite spicy. Maybe some brown sugar, too.Very good finish. I liked this wine and I would have loved it if it had been a little more zippy and lithe. I bought this and about three other rieslings from Dee Vine Wines. I believe they said this was intended for a wine shop or restaurant but the buyer balked at delivery. I don't know if it was built to age but another five years in bottle might sharpen its focus and improve it.
