Monterey, California
14.7 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-28
Clear medium garnet red. Aromas of puréed wild berries (blackberries, blueberries, black and red currants) accompanied by some smoked ham. Pleasant! On the palate the wild berries are enriched by a touch of Provençal spices (rosemary?) and black pepper. Medium-long finish.
The wine is absolutely on the top and wil hold this quality for another two years. It is the perfect bottle for the winter time. Pair it with a not-too heartily prepared venison dish.
Sunday, December 28. 2014
2007 Hahn Estates Pinot Noir (86/100)
2006 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay (85/100)
Santa Barbara County, California
13.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-27
Golden yellow colour, little bit of oily consistence. Aromas of honeydew honey, resin and a touch of banana in the background. On the palate at the beginning the honey dominates. After some seconds the banana comes to the foreground and remains present during the long finish.
This bottle is already a little bit over the time and confirms my past experience with this wine. A little bit disappointing compared to other Chardonnays from the same area with same age I drunk in the past. I believe Au Bon Climat can do it better. However this is moaning on high level because the wine still is a lot of fun. Especially when the right pairing food is chosen. A very interesting combination is the wine served to Turkish Spinach Pide (Ispanakli Pide). Here the spinach and white cheese bring forward some citrus notes - a very interesting combination!
Drink it now. Don't wait.
13.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-27
2006 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay
Golden yellow colour, little bit of oily consistence. Aromas of honeydew honey, resin and a touch of banana in the background. On the palate at the beginning the honey dominates. After some seconds the banana comes to the foreground and remains present during the long finish.
This bottle is already a little bit over the time and confirms my past experience with this wine. A little bit disappointing compared to other Chardonnays from the same area with same age I drunk in the past. I believe Au Bon Climat can do it better. However this is moaning on high level because the wine still is a lot of fun. Especially when the right pairing food is chosen. A very interesting combination is the wine served to Turkish Spinach Pide (Ispanakli Pide). Here the spinach and white cheese bring forward some citrus notes - a very interesting combination!
Drink it now. Don't wait.
Saturday, December 27. 2014
2007 Cuvaison Syrah (88/100)
Caneros, Napa Valley, California
14.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-26
Deep, dark cherry red with some light rims. Intensive aromas of dark chocolate paired with blackberries. A hint of bacon and also some leather tones in the background. The blackberry aromas are also present on the palate with a little bit bitter, astringent finish. But this is gone after a certain while. Then the fruit tones dominate.
This lighter Syrah is a classical partner for lamb. Usually. We opened the bottle the day after Christmas as a partner for a classical German “Brotzeit“ with North Hessian cervelatwurst, camembert and brown bread. Especially with the cervelatwurst the wine was extremely good. The spicy tones of this North Hessian speciality were wonderfully punctuated. The wine itself changed its style suddenly to a smoother, more engaging direction. Incredibly good crossover cuisine.
The wine is on the top now. Don't wait any longer.
14.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-26
Great stuff for German-US crossover cuisine: The 2007 Cuvaison Syrah
Deep, dark cherry red with some light rims. Intensive aromas of dark chocolate paired with blackberries. A hint of bacon and also some leather tones in the background. The blackberry aromas are also present on the palate with a little bit bitter, astringent finish. But this is gone after a certain while. Then the fruit tones dominate.
This lighter Syrah is a classical partner for lamb. Usually. We opened the bottle the day after Christmas as a partner for a classical German “Brotzeit“ with North Hessian cervelatwurst, camembert and brown bread. Especially with the cervelatwurst the wine was extremely good. The spicy tones of this North Hessian speciality were wonderfully punctuated. The wine itself changed its style suddenly to a smoother, more engaging direction. Incredibly good crossover cuisine.
The wine is on the top now. Don't wait any longer.
Sunday, December 7. 2014
2006 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (93/100)
Napa Valley, California
14.8 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-07
Deep, dark cherry red. Wild mix of blueberries and dark cherries paired with dark chocolate, a little bit of cowberries and pomegranate. In the mouth perfectly balanced. The fruits and the chocolate are confirmed; nice sweetness followed by a long and full-bodied finish. The incarnation of a cab to be paired with a Ribeye.
The wine is absolutely on the top and will hold this outstanding quality for another three years minimum. But also in 10 years the wine will offer a lot of pleasure.
Contradictionary to the recommendation we paired it with a grilled salmon steak served with a gumbo style sauce, sauteed vegetables and rice. Fantastic.
14.8 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-07
Some more great stuff from Caymus: The 2006 Cab
Deep, dark cherry red. Wild mix of blueberries and dark cherries paired with dark chocolate, a little bit of cowberries and pomegranate. In the mouth perfectly balanced. The fruits and the chocolate are confirmed; nice sweetness followed by a long and full-bodied finish. The incarnation of a cab to be paired with a Ribeye.
The wine is absolutely on the top and will hold this outstanding quality for another three years minimum. But also in 10 years the wine will offer a lot of pleasure.
Contradictionary to the recommendation we paired it with a grilled salmon steak served with a gumbo style sauce, sauteed vegetables and rice. Fantastic.
Saturday, December 6. 2014
2008 Chateau La Grande Roche Cabernet Sauvignon (91/100)
Napa Valley, California
14.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-05
The wine from Napa Valley icon Ric Forman offers a wonderful dark cherry red with minimal lightning rims. At the beginning very discreet aromas of black cherries, a little bit licorice and dark chocolate. On the palate very fruity and gently. Alcohol well-balanced. Perfect ripeness. Absolutely wonderful to drink this wine now.
Three years ago this was different. I still know that I opened a bottle and had to wait one day before it was drinkable. Also this time the wine opened up after some hours, minute per minute the fruit aromas were coming more prominently forward. A blossom beauty.
As I said the wine offers lot of pleasure at the moment. But I am quite sure it will hold this quality for another four years.
We paired it with a traditional German goulash which was OK but not perfect. The fragile structure of the Cab was a little bit overstrained by this strong dish. Better would be a for example a not too spicy pie with ground meat and spinach. Yummie!
14.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-12-05
Kudos to Ric Forman. This bargain cab from Chateau La Grande Roche is a hit.
The wine from Napa Valley icon Ric Forman offers a wonderful dark cherry red with minimal lightning rims. At the beginning very discreet aromas of black cherries, a little bit licorice and dark chocolate. On the palate very fruity and gently. Alcohol well-balanced. Perfect ripeness. Absolutely wonderful to drink this wine now.
Three years ago this was different. I still know that I opened a bottle and had to wait one day before it was drinkable. Also this time the wine opened up after some hours, minute per minute the fruit aromas were coming more prominently forward. A blossom beauty.
As I said the wine offers lot of pleasure at the moment. But I am quite sure it will hold this quality for another four years.
We paired it with a traditional German goulash which was OK but not perfect. The fragile structure of the Cab was a little bit overstrained by this strong dish. Better would be a for example a not too spicy pie with ground meat and spinach. Yummie!
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