2001 Whitehall Lane Napa Merlot $26
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
There was a touch of acetate in the nose, but it wasn’t objectionable. The taste was nice and the finish had nice smoke and tobacco. If I have to drink a Merlot, this one would be one of my top choices.
2001 Provenance Rutherford Napa Cabernet Sauvignon $25
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
The one note that I have for this one says there is a lot of alcohol in this one. I liked it a lot, and it scored high on my sheet.
2000 Chateau Ronan Red Bordeaux $15
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Someone said “barnyard” and we immediately said “Bordeaux.” This wine tied my highest score for the night. I would buy this one.
2002 Blackjack Ranch Double Down Syrah $9
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Okay, our table totally blew guessing what this one was, and we really hated it. Most of the room liked this one, and one person told me that they thought this was “quite interesting.” So that being said, this wine got my worst score for the evening. I smelled chlorine, wet dog, cardboard and mustiness. (I don’t think it was corked.) I thought the taste was fair, and the finish horrible. I think that it would be fair for me to try this one again as I thought there was something wrong with it.
2003 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel $13
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
I was embarrassed that I missed this one, as I have some in my cooler, and recently visited the Seghesio winery. The appearance was fantastic, the aroma includes nice dark cherry and a hint of chocolate. The taste and texture are perfect. I would have liked to have some spice in the finish. This is very nice and among my top scorers for the evening.
2002 Casanova di Neri Rosso di Montalcino $20
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
A bit of brown in the color, but the aroma had very nice tobacco and black cherries. I really liked this one. This was one of my favorites of the evening.
2002 Greg Norman Limestone Coast Shiraz $12
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
There was a touch of brown in this one, which may have been a sign of age. Nice aroma with a touch of cherries and leather. There is nice spice in the finish.
2004 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $15
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Very clear, someone at the table said that they smelled pine. The flavors included apricot and finished with green apple. My guess was that this was Bonny Doon’s Ca del Sol Big House White. That was a decent guess, as I had never tasted this one before.
1999 Tavigny les Beaune White Burgandy $20
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Nice color, very clear. Honeydew aroma, don’t care for the taste. It has a strong lemon taste in the finish. I was tempted to say that this wine was flawed. After finding out what it was, I decided that this was the style of the wine.
2003 Chateau Souverain Sonoma County Chardonnay $11
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Very clear golden color. Pear was the main aroma, with a touch of toasted oak. In the mouth, I noticed a lot of acid and little fruit. Decent.
2002 Mission St Vincent White Bordeaux $11
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Beautiful appearance, earthy or mineral aromas, a touch of grapefruit in the taste and a touch of lime in the aftertaste. I wrote in my notes that I didn’t care for it.
2002 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Kabinett Riesling $7
Blind tasting notes – no knowledge of varietal, appellation or vintage.
Nice appearance, very clean aroma sweet taste and a nice aftertaste. For the price this is a nice Riesling.