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Friday, July 11, 2014

Low Alcohol with Friends

Had a number of low alcohol wines with friends...Some of them were good, some were interesting...some were just ok..

Wynns John Riddoch 1988.  
Smells like a Coonawarra with green bell peppers on the nose...some spices..dark and red fruits...Palate is really nice...Lighter than what I normally associate w/ a Coonawarra Cabernet but still has great fine tannin structure..acidity is showing nicely as well.  Fruit is still there...I think some felt this was on its last legs..probably..but would be interesting to see if this changes a bit more in a few years.  I think this was showing better than the 91 JR awhile back...Either way, drinking very nicely right now... 92 points

Chambers Rosewood Gouais 2004.  
Gouais is apparently the parent grape of Chardonnay.  Nose reminded me a bit of an aged Semillon..but had some Chardonnay characters coming across too...Lemon pith, some honey, some peach....Palate was very Chardonnay like but with some of honey coming across as well...acidity and development of the fruit w/ the acid was very Semillon like..but this reminds me a lot of Chardonnay...Sensing a bit of oak as well...Overall these are quite nice..something different...and apparently these are also only around 15/bottle which makes it a great value.  90 points

Lakes Folly Cabernet Reserve 1994.
I didn't even know they made a reserve but apparently they did in 94 and 95.  The Hunter really comes across on the nose and palate..a bit of funk, leather, earth, sweaty saddle..but not a huge amount...Red fruits, spice, leather and earth on the palate..really very nice.  Great acidity, great texture...I can drink this type of wine all day....92 points

Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese 2006
I'm a fan of Donnhoff..I'm a fan of their Niederhauser Hermannshohle line.  2006 as a vintage is a bit fatter than what I would normally like from Riesling...and last time I had this it was a bit on the simpler side..but for me this was drinking quite nicely.  This really has come into its own with greater complexity, the acidity is showing a bit better as well...Fruit Salad on the nose...lemons, melons, rock dust...Palate has great acidity...star fruit, melon, lemon..nice minerality...Definitely a good amount of residual sugar but it balances so nicely in this wine...92 points

Main Divide Pinot Noir 2001
Some truffle and graphite on the nose...red fruits...Palate has nice acidity...Earth, minerality, red fruits...This is showing quite nicely really..and I think this is a lower tier from Pegasus Bay's normal line...Cellaring has helped this wine a lot...Actually reminds me a bit of Ata Rangi... 90 points




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