SteveTimko
Steve Timko
1982 Ridge Zinfandel Howell Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (9/2/2012)
This was okay. It is still holding on and has a few years to go. It didn't show the depth of some other aged zins. Chocolate on the nose and palate. Darker fruits. Thankfully no Draper perfume. Finish was just okay. I was hoping for more.
1992 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Arroyo Grande Valley - USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley (9/2/2012)
Over the hill and in decline, but still drinkable. This is from before Talley had single vineyard offerings. Some darker fruits. Maybe a little coffee. The fruits were mostly tired and stripped away, but there was some acid remaining. Wish I could have tried it three or four years ago. I picked it up for $15 from K&L Wines.
2008 Domaine Nebout Saint Pourçain Tressallier - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Saint Pourçain (9/2/2012)
This was hyped to me at North Berkeley Imports, the importer, and William Cross Wine Merchant, a great San Francisco wine store, but it was fairly one dimensional. There was a core of acidity and some stony fruit and maybe some honey, but it didn't show much. Maybe I should have drank it a year earlier. The grape is tressallier, which is supposed to be rare. It's called sacy in Burgundy.
1996 Parusso Barolo Mariondino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (9/25/2012)
This was quite nice. The CellarTracker! drinking window indicates it's time to drink up but I'd say this wine is just hitting its stride. Licorice and dark fruits on the nose. Maybe a touch of vanilla. None of the tell-tale roses and tar, though. Nice balance. It seems to be more of the modern style Barolo. Darker fruits on the palate and maybe a touch of chocolate (to complement the vanilla?). Good finish. Silky smooth as the tannins seemed to have resolved. This would be a nice wine to revisit in a year or two. A Marc De Grazia selection. Imported by Vin Divino Ltd.
2010 Montoya Vineyards Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey (9/25/2012)
A nice QPR. Bill said he paid about $15 for it at Total Wine before the coupon. Definitely tasted like pinot noir. Balanced. Not a lot on the nose and red fruits on the palate, like sweet red cherry. Short finish.
NV Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Brut Cuvée 2004-2005 - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (9/25/2012)
Jeez. what a disappointment. This wine was dominated by the oak toast. Not only did it not taste like Foreau, it didn't even taste French. After the initial disappointment I let it sit most of the night in the flute and the oak toast never went away. It was so severe this might have been a flawed bottle. I hope so. A Neal Rosenthal Import.
2003 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Exceptionnelle - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape (9/25/2012)
This was an excellent surprise. As Lana noted, this has a wonderfully floral nose. Roses and violets and some licorice. Elegant along the lines of Charvin. The body was good but doesn't quite match the nose. First off, it's a tad soft. Plus it is ripe enough you can tell it's a 2003. Still, the wine overall was quite good. Darker fruits like plum on the palate. Balanced, except for being a tad soft, as I noted, and a nice finish. This was a steal for $20 off Wine Berserkers Commerce Corner. A Wine Warehouse import.
2009 Pescatore Winery Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Placer County (9/15/2012)
This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, especially after the Pescatore barbera showed poorly. It was dark fruits and blueberry and a little bit of smokiness. Varietally correct and balanced. Not a profound wine, but you could point to the $12.50 price tag and say it's a good value.
This is a wine made from grapes from the Newcastle area of Placer County. Newcastle is one freeway stop west of Auburn on Interstate 80 and the only reason I go there is for the great Newcastle Produce store. That's where I bought the Pescatore wine. The winery's web site says they press all their grapes with a basket press.
2010 Pescatore Winery Barbera - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Placer County (9/15/2012)
Thin and acidic. Farily generic tasting. I didn't like it.
2004 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Aisling - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/15/2012)
This fits the worst stereotype of Paso Robles wine. Big and fruity like there's residual sugar left in the wine. More like shiraz than syrah. An odd nose, as others have noted, and then a massive blob of sweet fruit on the attack. No mid palate and a mercifully short finish. This might not improve with age but it would be tough to get any worse as the fruit dissipates. Parker rated it 92 points and gave a drinking window through 2016. I'd like to try that bottle.
2004 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Luascáin - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/15/2012)
AFter the poor showing by the Garreston Aisling I was happy this one was not over the top. Glenn tasted it and called it jammy. I got black fruits. I see others calling the wine pruney but I didn't get that. Nothing about this wine screamed syrah, though. Sadly, I've got another bottle left.
2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/15/2012)
Still young as the nose didn't yeild much. The wine has great balance, though. On the palate there's pleasant white fruits and maybe some grapefruit and a small streak of honey. Unlike the 2000 Simon this was fantastic from the attack through the long finish. This is drinking good now but I'll bet people will be loving this wine around 2018 or 2020. Textbook spatlese.
2006 C.G. di Arie The Galley Collection, Padre e Figlio Estate Grown - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, California Shenandoah Valley (9/15/2012)
This is showing nicely. It could have used a tad more acidity to balance out the fruit, but it's not a major flaw. This is a blend of syrah and petite sirah. The tannins have mellowed and there's a nice structure to the wine. I got more darker fruits on the nose and palate. It will probably improve for another year or two.
2000 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/15/2012)
Surprisingly developed color. It's a deep golden color, much more so than my 1989 Bollig Lehnert Piesporter. No petrol on the nose. The flavors are citrus and cinnamon but what stands out is the disjointed, spiky acidity. It's not out of balance but the acidity seems to vary as it goes from attack through midpalate to the short finish. Imported by Rudi Wiest.
This was okay. It is still holding on and has a few years to go. It didn't show the depth of some other aged zins. Chocolate on the nose and palate. Darker fruits. Thankfully no Draper perfume. Finish was just okay. I was hoping for more.
1992 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate Arroyo Grande Valley - USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley (9/2/2012)
Over the hill and in decline, but still drinkable. This is from before Talley had single vineyard offerings. Some darker fruits. Maybe a little coffee. The fruits were mostly tired and stripped away, but there was some acid remaining. Wish I could have tried it three or four years ago. I picked it up for $15 from K&L Wines.
2008 Domaine Nebout Saint Pourçain Tressallier - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Saint Pourçain (9/2/2012)
This was hyped to me at North Berkeley Imports, the importer, and William Cross Wine Merchant, a great San Francisco wine store, but it was fairly one dimensional. There was a core of acidity and some stony fruit and maybe some honey, but it didn't show much. Maybe I should have drank it a year earlier. The grape is tressallier, which is supposed to be rare. It's called sacy in Burgundy.
1996 Parusso Barolo Mariondino - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (9/25/2012)
This was quite nice. The CellarTracker! drinking window indicates it's time to drink up but I'd say this wine is just hitting its stride. Licorice and dark fruits on the nose. Maybe a touch of vanilla. None of the tell-tale roses and tar, though. Nice balance. It seems to be more of the modern style Barolo. Darker fruits on the palate and maybe a touch of chocolate (to complement the vanilla?). Good finish. Silky smooth as the tannins seemed to have resolved. This would be a nice wine to revisit in a year or two. A Marc De Grazia selection. Imported by Vin Divino Ltd.
2010 Montoya Vineyards Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Monterey (9/25/2012)
A nice QPR. Bill said he paid about $15 for it at Total Wine before the coupon. Definitely tasted like pinot noir. Balanced. Not a lot on the nose and red fruits on the palate, like sweet red cherry. Short finish.
NV Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Brut Cuvée 2004-2005 - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (9/25/2012)
Jeez. what a disappointment. This wine was dominated by the oak toast. Not only did it not taste like Foreau, it didn't even taste French. After the initial disappointment I let it sit most of the night in the flute and the oak toast never went away. It was so severe this might have been a flawed bottle. I hope so. A Neal Rosenthal Import.
2003 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Exceptionnelle - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape (9/25/2012)
This was an excellent surprise. As Lana noted, this has a wonderfully floral nose. Roses and violets and some licorice. Elegant along the lines of Charvin. The body was good but doesn't quite match the nose. First off, it's a tad soft. Plus it is ripe enough you can tell it's a 2003. Still, the wine overall was quite good. Darker fruits like plum on the palate. Balanced, except for being a tad soft, as I noted, and a nice finish. This was a steal for $20 off Wine Berserkers Commerce Corner. A Wine Warehouse import.
2009 Pescatore Winery Petite Sirah - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Placer County (9/15/2012)
This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, especially after the Pescatore barbera showed poorly. It was dark fruits and blueberry and a little bit of smokiness. Varietally correct and balanced. Not a profound wine, but you could point to the $12.50 price tag and say it's a good value.
This is a wine made from grapes from the Newcastle area of Placer County. Newcastle is one freeway stop west of Auburn on Interstate 80 and the only reason I go there is for the great Newcastle Produce store. That's where I bought the Pescatore wine. The winery's web site says they press all their grapes with a basket press.
2010 Pescatore Winery Barbera - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Placer County (9/15/2012)
Thin and acidic. Farily generic tasting. I didn't like it.
2004 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Aisling - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/15/2012)
This fits the worst stereotype of Paso Robles wine. Big and fruity like there's residual sugar left in the wine. More like shiraz than syrah. An odd nose, as others have noted, and then a massive blob of sweet fruit on the attack. No mid palate and a mercifully short finish. This might not improve with age but it would be tough to get any worse as the fruit dissipates. Parker rated it 92 points and gave a drinking window through 2016. I'd like to try that bottle.
2004 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Luascáin - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/15/2012)
AFter the poor showing by the Garreston Aisling I was happy this one was not over the top. Glenn tasted it and called it jammy. I got black fruits. I see others calling the wine pruney but I didn't get that. Nothing about this wine screamed syrah, though. Sadly, I've got another bottle left.
2004 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/15/2012)
Still young as the nose didn't yeild much. The wine has great balance, though. On the palate there's pleasant white fruits and maybe some grapefruit and a small streak of honey. Unlike the 2000 Simon this was fantastic from the attack through the long finish. This is drinking good now but I'll bet people will be loving this wine around 2018 or 2020. Textbook spatlese.
2006 C.G. di Arie The Galley Collection, Padre e Figlio Estate Grown - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, California Shenandoah Valley (9/15/2012)
This is showing nicely. It could have used a tad more acidity to balance out the fruit, but it's not a major flaw. This is a blend of syrah and petite sirah. The tannins have mellowed and there's a nice structure to the wine. I got more darker fruits on the nose and palate. It will probably improve for another year or two.
2000 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (9/15/2012)
Surprisingly developed color. It's a deep golden color, much more so than my 1989 Bollig Lehnert Piesporter. No petrol on the nose. The flavors are citrus and cinnamon but what stands out is the disjointed, spiky acidity. It's not out of balance but the acidity seems to vary as it goes from attack through midpalate to the short finish. Imported by Rudi Wiest.