More wine with Friends

Plenty of wine to cover but I'll try to stick w/ the Aussies plus a few others...and for the first time I'll include scores!!

2011 Giaconda Chardonnay - I was a real fan of this when I first tried it..today it seemed a bit out of place...really quite awkward at first...really opening up with some air.  Acidity seemed really flat but it definitely started to show a bit more as it opened up.  Of the four or so times I've had this though, this was my least favorite time....Just seems to have shut down a tad and not showing as nicely....A lot of people actually don't prefer this vintage over other Giacondas but I definitely do... 89 points.

1986 Mount Mary Chardonnay - Didn't strike me as a nearly 30 year old Chardonnay...Good acidity, oak seems to have fully integrated..a bit of peach, lemon pith....An interesting find if you can get it... 90 points

1981 Henschke Hill of Grace - I had really high expectations of this..not sure they were met...Mint and earth on the nose...dark and red fruits...felt like it had more acid than younger HoGs but that is to be expected IMO...Tannins were fully integrated...Not quite the complexity I'm expecting though..something is missing for me...Good wine though.. 90 points

1991 Wynns John Riddoch - Coonawarra on the nose...Green Bell Peppers for days.  Dark fruits, pretty good acidity too which is probably the most surprising and most impressive thing here.  Tannins were there but integrated nicely into the wine.  This is actually drinking quite nicely...I actually had higher expectations for this wine complexity wise..but was pleased with the overall mouthfeel and texture.. 91 points

1996 Seppelts Great Western Shiraz - This is the wine that is now called St. Peters...Showing a lot younger than I would have thought for a 1996 St. Peters...Bright red fruit, herbs, some earthiness....Good acidity...Oak present but not overpowering..tannins there but well integrated.  My understanding is bottle variation on these is quite high but this one was a stunner and could easily go another 10 years... 92 points

1996 Peter Lehmann Stonewell - This was a bit on the ripe side..even seems to have some residual sugar as well..drinking nicely overall with well integrated tannins and oak...acidity is a bit on the low side....87 points

1992 Jim Barry Armagh - These seem to be in very high demand..but really not the style I like.  Big brash shiraz..Big dark fruits, felt rather viscous to me...I'm feeling a bit of heat but that said, overall the wine integrated quite nicely together...hard to believe this is a 92 and this will easily go another 10-15+ years...87 points

1996 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec - I had high expectations of this but had a feeling it would be too young..and it was.  Great texture and mouthfeel..the structure is there..the fruit will integrate nicely later on and the wine should be great..in another 10 years...  I actually enjoyed this because of the texture but definitely felt this was missing something..more so than other younger Wendourees I felt this needed a lot more time..but I think it'll be quite good...91 points

Others:

2003 Armand Rousseau CSJ - I really like Rousseau...I think the wines are fantastically balanced and always have that great power + finesse...This one was..well, not something I expected.  On the very overripe side for a red Burgundy...I would have guessed New World...a lot of graphite...felt really quite overworked.  Some people really love this but I don't.  It could be this will end up being fantastic in 10+ years....Acidity is there but there is something just not right with this....If someone told me it was an Aussie or CA Pinot, I would have believed them..89 points

2010 Foillard Cote du Py 3.14.  This might have been my favorite wine of the night..great mouthfeel and texture...like red fruits.  At first sip I thought this was Beaujolais (it was served blind) then I felt the tannins and thought, maybe Jura?  Once I found out it was Beaujolais I knew it was Morgon but the tannin structure really threw me off...A bit stalky (which I like), good acidity, lighter spicy red fruits...I really like this a lot...Might've been my favorite of the night...92 points

1999 Shafer Hillside Select - Creamy Dark Fruit...Definitely on the fruit bomb side of things...low acidity..big fruit..vanilla oak...It is very much a steak house wine...Was it enjoyable?  Yeah...but could I drink this often?  No...it wasn't a big brash red...but yeah...for me these feel flat but I can see why a lot of people like them..88 points

Tasting in the USA

I've done a number of tastings in the US but this was the first time I actually made sure I went to a number of different ones (normally I don't go to more than one per trip).

Wine Exchange Beaujolais Day.  November 17, 2012.

I've been to a number of tastings at Winex and they generally do a pretty good job.  They have little snacks if you want.  They have plenty of seats, plenty of spit buckets.....You get a few people there to drink wine but you get just as many wine geeks that are there to taste...  The ones I've been to tend to have about 15-20 different things to try.

Most of the Beaujolais they  had for tasting was ok.  Good acid, lowish tannins...Wine Exchange has a good buyer so it was really hard to go wrong.  At the same time, a majority of what they had available was pretty boring as well.

The only shocker was the

Chateau des Jacques Moulin-A-Vent Champ de Cour 2009.  At 30 dollars it is an expensive Beaujolais but I'm not even sure I'd call this a Beaujolais....Big, almost vanilla like oak on the nose, big fruit...dark dark fruit...It was almost like an Australian Pinot...except the use of oak was very good (not overpowering) and the wine was still very medium bodied.  I've heard people refer to Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais as very Burg like and this definitely reminded me of that.  Good acidity, nice dark fruit, more tannic than I'd think a Beaujolais would have...nice depth to the wine...I'd like to try this again in a year or so..is was very good.   


Hi Time Wine Cellars "Super Bad Ass" California tasting November 23, 2012.

The first time I've actually been to Hi Time for a tasting...to be honest, I was pretty disappointed.  You can definitely see, people come here to DRINK not to taste.  They charge a lot for the number of wines you get to taste..and that is probably because they serve you double or more the amount you might have at a tasting.  On the good side, if you want to go somewhere and drink wine...these aren't a bad deal..you'd see tons of people show up with some cheese they bought and just sit there and drink drink drink...I think I was one of only two people that actually spit.

I think there was like 8 California wines and 1 Washington wine....They were all pretty good..well made..nothing wrong w/ them...I wasn't excited about any of them either.  The more expensive wines had more structure..the less expensive ones were more drink now...I'm sure people would be very happy to drink them..I'd happily drink them..but I'm not sure I'd buy any of them.  They were, IMO, typical CA wines...Well made, tasted good, but overpriced for what you get.  Oddly enough, the most interesting wine was a heavily oak CA Chardonnay..and not because I thought it was really interesting..but because I haven't had one of those in quite awhile.

Wine Exchange Burgundy tasting November 24, 2012

Probably one of the most expensive Winex tastings, but it is Burgundy so it was to be expected.

A lot of good stuff...they really do have great buyers here...only disliked one wine, the rest were all very good...so for those that think Burgundy is full of land mines, the great thing w/ the buyers here is they tend to not pick those...

Robert Denogent Macon-Fuisse Les Taches 2010.
I haven't had too many Chards from Macon..and the ones I've had were almost salty....This was a very nice Chardonnay, great acidity, good balance..felt old world but quite fresh.  A good buy at 24 dollars.

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2010.
A bit tight on the nose but getting a bit of citrus...Once I try it, it definitely sings of Burgundy..especially in the mouthfeel...good acidity, good use of oak...wine is a bit tight but oddly enough, the finish was crazy long...I could hardly believe it.  It isn't that I wasn't expecting a long finish from a white Burgundy but it still felt like it needed more air and more time..and yet it delivered a long long long finish...The downside?  90 dollars.....

Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Clos des Myglands "Monopole" 1er Cru  2010.
Nose is a little tight but palate had great acidity, great depth..not overly tannic for a 1er Cru this young...I'm not sure this is built to last..but for 30 dollars it is a great buy..

Domaine Charles Audoin Gevery Chambertin 2010
Very good structure, great acidity..for 43 dollars this was a very good Gevrey Chambertin.

Other notables:
Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2010
Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Clos de L'Arlot 'Monopole' 1er Cru 2010
Domaine Charles Audion Marsannay Les Favieres 2010
Domine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Corton Pougets Grand Cru 2010
Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru 2010