1981 Leoville-Las Cases

Dark with a brick color around the edges. Expansive nose with red cherry, plums and hints of cigar box. Red cherry, plum and leather on the fruit, good acid, some tannin that was not obvious with the fruit intensity, and a long fruity finish. This is a very elegant, well structured, complex, mature Bordeaux which I found very enjoyable. 1981 is generally thought of as a classic, good vintage, rather than a great vintage. I believe Leoville-Las Cases was considered one of the top wines of 1981. The price sticker that was still on the bottle shows I paid $20 in the early 1980s. My rating 92.

1988 Chateau de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Medium garnet with brownish tinge around the rim. Tight nose of red cherry. Red cherry and strawberry fruit flavors, medium acid, with soft tannins, long finish. This is a very nice, mature wine. It lacked the fruit intensity of the 1986 Devils Hill Petite Sirah, but it still had very good structure and was very enjoyable. My rating 88.

1986 Ridge, Petite Sirah, York Creek, Devils Hill, Napa

Medium garnet and brownish around the rim. Expansive nose of strawberry and raspberry with hints of pepper. Forward raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors, medium acid, soft tannins, and a long fruity finish. This is a marvelous, mature Petite Sirah that still has good fruit and structure. It is very enjoyable. When the bottle was first opened, the fruit seemed a little thin and there was a hint of oxidation on the palette, but after a minute that blew off, and the fruit opened up making this a lovely, very enjoyable wine. My rating 90.

Devils Hill was a Ridge Advance Tasting Program wine, and differs from the regular York Creek Petite Sirah. Ridge made an ATP wine from the old vines in the Devils Hill vineyard through at least 1989. After that the yield was too low and the old vines were replaced with younger vines. The label indicates that 30 barrels were produced.

2002 Ravenswood, Zinfandel, Cooke Vineyard, Sonoma Valley

Dark garnet color. Strawberry and raspberries on the nose. Intense raspberry/strawberry fruit flavors, high acid, high tannins, and long fruity finish with a good dose of tannin and a little heat. This wine needs some time to soften out, but it seems to have loads of fruit. The alcohol is 14.9%. 408 cases produced. Price is $50. My rating 89.

This low yielding vineyard is located in the Mayacamas Mountains

2002 Provenance Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley

Very dark garnet color. Nose has black cherry and chassis. Black cherry fruit flavors with high acid, very high tannins, and a long hard finish. Needs time to soften out the tannins, but I am not sure there is that much fruit there. List price $45. I paid $30. My rating 82.

2001 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Grown, Napa Valley

The nose has red cherry and plums with a hint of mint. The wine is packed with forward fruit of red cherry and plums with hints of spices and mint. It has high acid, and a long finish, with modest tannins that are masked by the fruit. This is very appealing wine for drinking now and will probably last for a number of years. List price is around $40. I paid $30. My rating is 89.

1996 and 2000 Bordeaux Tasting

I went my local wine retail Saturday and discovered they were having a tasting of 1996 and 2000 Bordeaux. For only $30 you could taste 6 1996s and 6 2000s, so of course I took the opportunity to taste these, and a few other wines they had open. This was a stand up tasting and the wines were tasted one at time, so there was no opportunity to really compare them or evaluate how they evolved with time in the glass. Because of the time I arrived, in many cases I got the bottom of the first bottle that had been open for several hours.

1996 Clinet
This wine was a disappointment. It was brownish, tasted and smelled slightly oxidized with some cherry, high acid and long sour finish. I hope this was a bad bottle. Price $90. Not rated.

1996 Rausan Segla
Garnet color. Spicy and weedy nose. Spicy, weedy, cherry fruit. High acid, moderate tannins and long finish. Seems ready to drink. Price $48. Rated 80-85.

1996 Cos d’Estournel
Dark garnet. Nose had cherry and earth. Black cherry and earth fruit flavors, high acid, high tannin and a long astringent finish. Needs time. Price $100. Rated 85-90.

1996 Pichon Lalande
Garnet. Nose had cherry, chassis, and spices. Big black cherry fruit, high acid and high tannins, with a long fruity finish. Drinkable now, but will age for long time. Price $155. Rated 85-90.

1996 Leoville Las Cases
Dark garnet. Nose was closed. Cherry, chassis, high acid, high tannin, long finish. A more elegant style, still needs time. Price $190. Rated 85-90.

1996 Margaux
Medium garnet. Spicey, earthy nose. Cherry, spicy fruit, high acid, moderate tannins, long fruity finish. Very elegant. I thought this wine was drinking beautifully. Some other people thought it needed more time. I think I got the bottom of the first bottle, they may have gotten the top of the second bottle. Price $370. Rated 90-95.

2000 Pensees de Lafleur
Garnet, closed nose. Red cherry and chassis, high acid, moderate tannins, long fruity finish. Drinkable now. Price $80. Rated 80-85.

2000 Calon Segur
Medium garnet. Cherry and plums on the nose and fruit. High acid, moderate tannins, long fruity finish. Drinkable now, and structured to age. Price $80. Rated 85-90.

2000 Ducru Beaucaillou
Medium garnet. Cherry and chassis nose. Red and black cherry, chassis fruit. High acid, high tannin, and long finish. Needs time. Price $115. Rated 85-90.

2000 Trotanoy
Dark garnet. Closed nose. Spicy, cheery fruit. High acid, moderately high tannin, long finish. Needs a little time. Price $150. Rated 85-90.

2000 Hosanna
Medium garnet. Closed nose. Tight cherry and spicy fruit, high acid, high tannin, and long finish. Needs time. Price $156. Rated 85-90.

2000 Pichon Lalande
Dark garnet. Nose chassis and plums. Big black cherry and plum fruit, high acid, high tannins, long fruity finish. Needs time. Price $164. Rated 90-95.

A few other wines I tasted:

2001 Chateau Rieussec
Medium golden. Nose orange and apricots. Very sweet, orange and apricot fruit. Moderate acid, long sweet, fruity finish. Needs time to develop complexity. Price $125. Rated 90-95.

2001 Franciscan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
Very dark. Cherry with hints of barnyard on nose. Very tight, cherry, herbal, spicy fruit, high acid, very high tannins, long hard, tannic finish. I think this wine is flawed, and may have bret. Not rated.

2002 Chapplette Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Dark garnet. Nose black cherry. Big black cherry fruit, high acid, high tannins, long fruity finish with hard tannins. Big California cab that needs time. Price $36. Rated 85-90.

2002 Caymus, Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Selection
Very dark garnet. Nose red cherry. Tight red cherry fruit, high acid, high tannins, long fruity, tannic finish. Very elegant, but needs time. Price $125. Rated 90-95.

2001 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting

I attended a tasting of 5 of the vineyard designated 2001 Nickel and Nickel Cabernet Sauvignons. Nickel & Nickel is a relatively new winery (started in 1997) that was founded by some of the partners in Far Niente. Nickel & Nickel only produce 100% varietal, single-vineyard wines. This was a sit down tasting at a retailer, but the wines had been poured about 30 minutes before the tasting started, so the wines had some time to open up.

2001 John C. Sullenger Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley
Nose of red cherry, plum, chassis and oak. Big red cherry and plum flavors with high acid, moderate tannins, and a long fruity finish that tended towards blacker fruit flavors with hints of chocolate. Very appealing for drinking now, and will age well, at least in the near term. List price is $75. My rating 93. This was my favorite of the tasting.

2001 Nickel & Nickel Tench Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley
Nose was tight with hints of cherry and oak. Flavors had red and black cherry, with high acid and lots of tannins on the long finish. This wine is too tight for drinking now, and needs a few years of aging. List price is $65. My rating 84.

2001 Dragonfly Vineyard, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Open nose of red cherry. Flavors were red cherry and plums with high acid, moderate tannins, and a long fruity finish with the black cherry flavors on the finish. Very appealing for drinking now, and will age well. List Price is $90. My rating 91. My second favorite of this group.

2001 Vogt Vineyard, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
Nose was tight with cherry and plums. Flavors were red cherry with spicy or herbal undertones, high acid, and a long astringent finish. This wine needs some time to open up and is probably too tight for current drinking. List price is $75. My rating 86.

2001 Branding Iron Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley
Nose was red cherry, earthy. Flavors were black cherry and plums, with high acid, high tannins, and a long astringent finish. This wine is too tight for drinking now, but the fruit shows promise of opening up into a very appealing wine in a few years. List price is $65. My rating 90.

Testarossa Vineyards

I visited Testarossa again to pick up my wine club shipment. Of course I took advantage of the tasting room. Some of the wines I tasted were the same as ones I had tasted last month, and they all seemed a little tighter this time. The tasting room was very busy, so the bottles had probably not been open very long, where as last time things were slower in the tasting room. Here are my notes:

2003 Castello Chardonnay, Central Coast
Nice nose of lemon, with touch of oak. Citrus and lemon fruit flavors with high acid, a long fruity finish and a touch of buttery oak. The 2003 was just released and looks to be a very nice Chardonnay for drinking right now. Production was 2234 cases. A good Chardonnay for the price ($26). My rating 85.

2003 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay
The nose seemed closed, with a little bit of citrus. The fruit had strong citrus flavors with hints of minerals, high acid, and a long citrus finish. The wine seemed very tight. When I tried this in January it seemed more open than this time. It has potential but needs another six months or a year to open up. Only 220 cases were produced. A tight Chardonnay which needs a little time ($36). My rating 86.

2002 Palazzio Pinot Noir
Cherry and earth on the nose. Fruit flavors were red cherry, earthy and stemy. It had high acid and long finish with moderate tannins. The most pleasant of the 3 Pinots I tried for drinking right now, but it seemed more open a month ago. 2453 cases produced. A nice California Pinot Noir ($32). My rating 80.

2003 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir – Elder Series
Nose had cherry, plums with earthy overtones. The flavors were tight red cherry with underlying earthiness. It had high acid and a long finish with considerable tannins. This wine also seemed tighter than my previous tasting in January. The Bien Nacido Vineyard is in the Santa Maria Valley near Santa Barbara. The Elder Series designation apparently refers to the vineyard blocks. 428 cases produced. A very nice, if somewhat pricey Pinot Noir that needs a little time to open up ($54). My rating 87.

2002 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
I got Cherry and chocolate with hints of barnyard on the nose. The fruit had black cherry, coffee, and chocolate, with oak. It had high acid, and a long hard, tannic finish. I think this Pinot has a interesting flavors, but it is very tannic for current drinking. 374 cases produced. A Pinot Noir with potential that needs some aging ($54). My rating 90.

2002 Whispering Dove, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Reserve

This wine is dark garnet with a ruby rim. Initially the nose was black cherry and currants. The flavors were black cherry and raspberries, with high acid and a long astringent finish. Out of the bottle the wine seemed very tight, although with enough fruit that is was enjoyable to drink now. I let the wine stand in a glass for more than two hours, and it opened up and became much more complex, with flavors of cherry, currants, tobacco and spices. I think with 5-10 years of aging this will be a very nice Cabernet. List price is probably around $40. I paid $30. My rating is 90.

Whispering Dove is suppose to be made by some small, famous Napa Cabernet producer, but no one is allowed to tell you who the wine maker is or the origin of the grapes. The back label says Whispering Dove “The Alter Eagle”, which leads some people to speculate that this is a second wine of Screaming Eagle. I believe this has been denied, but I suspect the name of the wine is a play on the Screaming Eagle name. While this is a very good Napa Cabernet for the price, it is not in the class with Screaming Eagle.