2003 Robert Young Alexander Valley Chardonnay

What can I say – a perfect Chardonnay.

The aromas are creamy butter, with an emphasis on the cream and there is also a touch of pear or peach.

In the mouth, it is quite elegant. The creaminess continues with some light fruit and a nice touch of minerals.

A very long finish turns to a bit of spice, with a little touch of cinnamon.

Very nice indeed.

2001 Whitehall Lane Napa Merlot

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.

2000 Chateau Ronan Red Bordeaux

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

2002 Mission St Vincent White Bordeaux

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.

2003 Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay

http://www.rombauer.com/

This one has a lovely mellow gold color and it is very clear. I smell nice tropical fruit, somewhere between mango and papaya. There is also a rich butter aroma. The flavor starts with intense butter with a touch of minerals and finishes with a touch of heat. The intense butter flavor lingers on long after swallowing. This is quite nice

2002 Toasted Head Chardonnay

Toasted Head’s web site is http://toastedhead.com/ (but turn off your pop-up blocker if you want to get to information about the wine).

This one is a nice, clear, pale yellow with a clear ring around the outside of the glass.

There is a big vanilla-butterscotch aroma with just a hint of pear. In the mouth, this one is very creamy or buttery. The toasted oak is not over powering. The fruit flavors are there, but I’m having trouble deciding which ones…Perhaps a touch of papaya or mango?

The finish is very nice and has and almost has a hint of orange flavor in it.

My impression when I first opened this was that this was nothing special and I vacuvin’d it and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Now it is very nice. The oak is not over-bearing like most California Chardonnays. It is well-balanced and has an interesting taste curve. It starts out mild, but then builds intensely in the middle and mellows back out with a nice long finish. After the middle builds, there is a touch of pepper, but not too much.

I don’t remember what I paid for this one, but I’d buy it again if it is not too expensive.