Finished Chardonnay Flights. One no oak. One oaked.

Wilson Vineyards of Sonoma's - Sonoma - Syrah - 2007 - Wins Double Gold, Best of Class, AND Best of Show Awards, the Sweepstakes Winner of the Competition!!!  Cheers Guys.  And "they" say no one is drinking Syrah anymore...

Wines Tasted - January 24, 2010

 

J.L.Chave - St. Joseph - Offerus - 2007 - $30 - (Classic, Food Wine, Ager) - A dramatic young Norther Rhone Syrah, filled with aromas of roasted game, wood smoke, licorice, blackberries and black & white peppercorns.  On the palette it's layered but closed despite decanting.  It is classically Rhone in every way, but just so youthful it's a shame to open it in 2010 at all.  Full bodied, with moderate+ alcohol and tannin, acid was moderate to +, length was long but the finish dhed all its fruit but Earthyness lingered.

I recommend cellaring for 2 to 10 years additionally(not unlike all my 2007 Rhone Experiences thus far).

2007-Domaine la Monardiere-Vacqueyras-Les 2 Monardes - Medium ruby, just clear. Aromas of grilled pork, light caramel, dried herbs, brush, and blackberries as well as fresh ripe strawberries and red plum mix. In the mouth it's very youthful. Acid is still fresh, tannins are firm and ripe, and the fruit is hidden under a layer of black pepper corns, fresh blue flower petals and anise. The alcohol was mod+, but balanced thru a long finish. I recommend cellaring for 6 months or more is recommended or up to 10 years.

August 29, 2008 Wines Tasted

For dinner this night, I cooked up some venison loin steaks, hen of the woods mushrooms, roasted squash and eggplant and finished it with a veal stock based pan sauce with concasse of tomato. I allowed Joe to pick the wine from my collection to pair with dinner. He selected the Foxen to taste head-to-head with his White Cottage. Three out of Four picked the White Cottage. I was the odd man out.
When asking, "What wine is better?", one must ask one's self, "Better alone, better example of the grape, better with food, etc...?
I felt the Foxen was the better wine overall, but the White Cottage was lower in alcohol and easier and more fun to drink. So, you tell me. What makes one wine "better" than another.

Foxen Vineyards - Tempusquet Vineyard - Syrah - Santa Maria - 2005 - $45 - (Modern, Ager) - Black plum, meat, baked beans, cedar, coconut, sawdust, candied red apple, and a close to the Earth note in the bouquet. The palette exposes: high alcohol(15.2%) typical of the region, raspberry, plum, black mission fig, cedar plank, high acidity and high tannin, block-o-chocolate, red apple skin, and Luden's Cough Drops. A big brash syrah that isn't for summer sippin...
Best from 2010 to 2013.

White Cottage - Syrah - Contra Costa - 2005 - $30 - (Modern, Food Wine, Easy Drinker) - Opens with caramel, light cafe latte, red cherry, currant, red plum, red raspberry, perfumy and floral which includes both white and red flowers. In the mouth it shows a light tartness of early picked bluberries, raspberries, cool red plums, menthol, red apple, moderatly low tannin but moderatly high acid. With light to neutral oak this wine comes off as quaffable(13.8%) and easy to like. Drink it now.