SteveTimko
Steve Timko
I bought the Flannery rib cap and Bennett, a Wine Disorder lurker, supplied the wine.
2009 Clos Pepe Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (10/29/2011)
Light, bright. Some watermelon. It shows it's made from pinot noir. The acidity makes it a good match for food. I liked this.
2005 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Chileno Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (10/28/2011)
Lots of pinot funk on the nose. The palate doesn't match. Mostly dark fruits. It doesn't come together as well. The finish is okay. I don't think age is going to iron out the problems. Still nice though, especially for a second label.
2010 Hans Wirsching Rosé Trocken - Germany, Franken (10/28/2011)
This wine didn't show much character. There was lots of acidity but no other flavors really stood out. It tasted too generic. Purchased by the glass at Delius. A Rudi Wiest import.
1979 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine - France, Provence, Bandol (10/27/2011)
Just wonderful wine. Bennett, who was generous enough to share it, describes it as being like old Bordeaux, but this is worlds better than any Bordeaux I've ever tried. There was a little bit of a cardboard mustiness in the nose and it needed a good 20 minutes to a half hour to blow off after Bennett pulled the cork. Then a nice earthy, mushroom nose came through. On the palate, there were dark red fruits, some plums and some tobacco. Perfectly aged. Sleek and smooth. Wonderful finish. Elegant. This had more acid than the 1982 Verset Cornas that followed. This wine was clearly built to age and it showed well. I'm guessing it will make another decade standing up. A Kermit Lynch import.
1982 Noël Verset Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (10/27/2011)
Just tremendous syrah. The 1983 Verset Bennett was generous enough to open a year earlier was much more rustic. This was fairly polished and elegant. Bennett said he got meatiness, but I didn't get that. Definitely no bacon fat. Definitely olives and dark plum.maybe a little bit of licorice. Very balanced and smooth. Long finish. Quite a bit bigger than the 1979 Tempier La Tourtine. An excellent wine. I'd say this still has at least five years to go before it goes into decline. A Kermit Lynch import.
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Isa - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (10/27/2011)
This showed quite well. The first hint it's not an ordinary wine is the pinkish copper color. Although it's skin fermented it did not really turn out to be an orange wine. There are also some tannins, but not much. The texture really stands out.I don't like oily, because it's not like say Hermitage. But it's viscous. No grapefruit common in other sauvignon blanc. More of tropical fruit flavors. Good finish. Built for food. No one seemed to like more than Linda, who sought it out among the three white wines open the next day.
2005 Domaine Georges Brunet Vouvray Demi-Sec - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/26/2011)
Lots of chenin blanc goodness, but the lack of a core of acidity to offset the sweetness is a flaw in this wine. Nice marzipan, honey and pear flavors. Good finish. Just needs acid to offset the sweetness.
2009 Ryme Ribolla Gialla Vare Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (10/26/2011)
Smooth tannins. A different texture.. It seemed to have more heft than most other white wines. The flavors were not really fruity. More like herbs or flavors you get with herbal teas. Good balance. Some acid. Different, but I liked it.
2007 Domaine La Suffrene Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (10/19/2011)
Nice dark cherry flavors and sandalwood. No major oak, although it does seem more modern style. Balanced and lots of structure. Decent acidity to pair with food. This is begging to be aged for another decade, although it drinks well now.
My problem with it is that I couldn't really detect any mourvedre. No saddle leather, horse hair, bret, any of the fun stuff. Seems almost too sterile.Tasted like a Cotes Du Rhone more than a Bandol. But it may not taste that way in a decade. A T. Edwards Ltd. import.
2009 Chateau de Montfort Vouvray - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/19/2011)
Quite nice and food friendly. There's a nice, tart core of acidity around which there's some white fruit flavors. Also maybe a slight hint of brown sugar, although this is a dry wine.Nice minerality. Good finish, but not great. Balanced. I liked this quite a bit, although it may be because I don't drink chenin blanc as much as I should. A nice selection by the glass at Beaujolais Bistro.
2009 Clos Pepe Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (10/29/2011)
Light, bright. Some watermelon. It shows it's made from pinot noir. The acidity makes it a good match for food. I liked this.
2005 Rhys Alesia Pinot Noir Chileno Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (10/28/2011)
Lots of pinot funk on the nose. The palate doesn't match. Mostly dark fruits. It doesn't come together as well. The finish is okay. I don't think age is going to iron out the problems. Still nice though, especially for a second label.
2010 Hans Wirsching Rosé Trocken - Germany, Franken (10/28/2011)
This wine didn't show much character. There was lots of acidity but no other flavors really stood out. It tasted too generic. Purchased by the glass at Delius. A Rudi Wiest import.
1979 Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine - France, Provence, Bandol (10/27/2011)
Just wonderful wine. Bennett, who was generous enough to share it, describes it as being like old Bordeaux, but this is worlds better than any Bordeaux I've ever tried. There was a little bit of a cardboard mustiness in the nose and it needed a good 20 minutes to a half hour to blow off after Bennett pulled the cork. Then a nice earthy, mushroom nose came through. On the palate, there were dark red fruits, some plums and some tobacco. Perfectly aged. Sleek and smooth. Wonderful finish. Elegant. This had more acid than the 1982 Verset Cornas that followed. This wine was clearly built to age and it showed well. I'm guessing it will make another decade standing up. A Kermit Lynch import.
1982 Noël Verset Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (10/27/2011)
Just tremendous syrah. The 1983 Verset Bennett was generous enough to open a year earlier was much more rustic. This was fairly polished and elegant. Bennett said he got meatiness, but I didn't get that. Definitely no bacon fat. Definitely olives and dark plum.maybe a little bit of licorice. Very balanced and smooth. Long finish. Quite a bit bigger than the 1979 Tempier La Tourtine. An excellent wine. I'd say this still has at least five years to go before it goes into decline. A Kermit Lynch import.
2010 Cowan Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Isa - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County (10/27/2011)
This showed quite well. The first hint it's not an ordinary wine is the pinkish copper color. Although it's skin fermented it did not really turn out to be an orange wine. There are also some tannins, but not much. The texture really stands out.I don't like oily, because it's not like say Hermitage. But it's viscous. No grapefruit common in other sauvignon blanc. More of tropical fruit flavors. Good finish. Built for food. No one seemed to like more than Linda, who sought it out among the three white wines open the next day.
2005 Domaine Georges Brunet Vouvray Demi-Sec - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/26/2011)
Lots of chenin blanc goodness, but the lack of a core of acidity to offset the sweetness is a flaw in this wine. Nice marzipan, honey and pear flavors. Good finish. Just needs acid to offset the sweetness.
2009 Ryme Ribolla Gialla Vare Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (10/26/2011)
Smooth tannins. A different texture.. It seemed to have more heft than most other white wines. The flavors were not really fruity. More like herbs or flavors you get with herbal teas. Good balance. Some acid. Different, but I liked it.
2007 Domaine La Suffrene Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol (10/19/2011)
Nice dark cherry flavors and sandalwood. No major oak, although it does seem more modern style. Balanced and lots of structure. Decent acidity to pair with food. This is begging to be aged for another decade, although it drinks well now.
My problem with it is that I couldn't really detect any mourvedre. No saddle leather, horse hair, bret, any of the fun stuff. Seems almost too sterile.Tasted like a Cotes Du Rhone more than a Bandol. But it may not taste that way in a decade. A T. Edwards Ltd. import.
2009 Chateau de Montfort Vouvray - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (10/19/2011)
Quite nice and food friendly. There's a nice, tart core of acidity around which there's some white fruit flavors. Also maybe a slight hint of brown sugar, although this is a dry wine.Nice minerality. Good finish, but not great. Balanced. I liked this quite a bit, although it may be because I don't drink chenin blanc as much as I should. A nice selection by the glass at Beaujolais Bistro.
