Apolloni, Pinot Noir, 2005
The nose is pretty strongly vanilla. Yeah, there was a fair amount of oak in this bottle. However, it wasn't so much so that I didn't like it, yet it was strong nonetheless. I guess I didn't mind it because it wasn't that overly sweet smelling vanilla. Beyond that vanilla was raspberry and strawberry.
The taste was also strawberry and raspberry mix. And yep, the vanilla/oak was here too. And in the taste there was a flash of that vanilla sweetness -- luckily, it came and went very quickly. The body was medium; a bit heavier than the average Pinot.
The finish is where this got interesting. The berry flavors dissipated into pepper. Then the pepper into a subtle nectarine (sort of citrus/acidic), and then quickly into some sort of vegetable flavor. I had a hard time deciphering what that vegetable was. It wasn't overly bitter; in fact it was really mild. Potato? Hmmm ... not quite. Herb thought perhaps it was squash. That's probably pretty close. Something mysteriously veggie whatever the case.
Cost:
Rating:
8.0
Posted by Jason on November 20, 2008 5:15:51 PM PST
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Chateau Pesquie, Terrasses (Ventoux), 2006
Robert Parker (or at least his Wine Advocate) loves this wine. They gave this vintage a 90; and the one before that, they gave a 92. So it's got to be great, right? Not terrible, but we didn't find it to be great, exactly. Here's what we found ...
The nose was vanilla, stems, red cherry, saw dust, and rose. There was also that barnyard smell -- hay and manure -- but it was very subtle. The taste was a combo of red cherry and raspberry -- not exactly sweet, or sour. The finish starts with the cherry and raspberry, flashes with pepper, and then dissolves into raspberry.
Most striking is how fruity this wine is -- I won't have guessed from the taste that this was an old world wine. Though the aromas were very interesting, the taste was fairly simple (fruit). In some ways it reminded me of some 2005 Oregon Pinots we've had recently -- a bit sweet at the start, and sort of overly acidic (perhaps this 06 was just a tad young?). It was, of course, more peppery than a Pinot, yet the body was similar: a light to medium body. Denise found it: "not that interesting".
Cost:
Rating:
7.0(70% Grenache, 30% Syrah)
Emerson Vineyards, Chardonnay, 2006
Here's the last installment of our round-up of this years wines from Emerson Vineyard. If you don't know this vineyard, or didn't get a chance to read the other reviews, I'd encourage you to read those too -- these guys make very nice, affordable wine. So, on to the Chardonnay ...
White wines don't always smell like much, and often Chardonnay's can be especially lacking in strong aromas, making our job harder. So understand that what we smell can be -- especially in this case -- very much muted. So with that caveat, this wine smelled like tangerine. For me the smell reminded me of flat 7up -- that sort of light citrus smell. Denise said she smelled parsley too -- "no wait" she said, "it's narcissus flower!". She has a better nose than I.
The most predominant taste is tangerine and lemon -- it flashes tangerine, and then mutates into a soft (non-acidic) lemon. But, and there was much perplexing about this, there was something "green" in there. We agreed on that, even if we couldn't exactly agree on what that green thing was. Denise said it was grass. Hmmm. Not exactly that for me. But then, I couldn't quite get my head wrapped about what that was. Maybe peapods? Perhaps. And as a wine blogger, it seems silly to say this, but this tasted very much like the inside of a green seedless grape. But it really did -- that sort of light citrus taste.
The finish was also lemon, but also mineral. Denise said the finish was "rock"; sort of that gravel, basalt taste (and yes, we mean this in a good way).
But before you say this sounds Burgundian, this wine was also very heavy in body. The weight was really more like a heavier Chardonnay from California and from those from Burgundy; however, it completely lacked all that thick butter indicative of those wines from the south. So somewhat thick, but not buttery (which we liked).
Cost:
Rating:
8.0
Guest Critics: Madeleine and Andrew
Madeleine: Madeleine is a part-time therapist and yoga instructor. She speaks fluent French and Spanish. When not working, Madeleine enjoys knitting, "date nights" with her husband, and playing with their three-year old daughter.
Andrew: Andrew works for a large corporation and frequently travels around the world on business. Ironically, unlike his wife, Andrew does not speak other languages. But to his credit, Andrew graduated with a Masters from Stanford University. When at home, Andrew enjoys time with his wife, and playing with their three-year old daughter.
Dinner:
- red leaf lettuce and sliced onions with blue cheese vinaigrette
- creamy carrot soup topped with crostini and parmesan cheese
- beets and orange wedges with cilantro and goat cheese
- homemade pasta with marinara and parmesan cheese
- pear and date crisp with vanilla gelato
- grapes
- Novella, Paso Robles, Petite Syrah, 2004
- Dracula's Blood, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006
- Emerson Vineyards, Lodi Syrah, 2006
Posted by Jason on November 16, 2008 10:33:24 PM PST
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