One Day, Two Tastings

Last Monday played host to two seperate tastings (that I knew of). One was a total book tasting, from Oregon to California to the Old World. The other was focused 2005 french, champagne to bordeaux.

Let's start with the total book tasting from Galaxy Distributing! some highlights

- Abacela Vineyards

I've mentioned this winery before, based out of southern oregon in Roseburg. One of the owners, wife Hilda (I believe) was there pouring, which was pretty cool. They were pouring mostly everything they make. Highlights were Vintners Blend #9 which has a darker profile with a nice core of dark fruit. On sale at Safeways for ~$15/btl. The nose is really nice. I always like their tempranillos but they were also had their 2006 port. It smells like silk berries! It's very young but I'm a sucker for young vintage ports. Great frutiness and a hint of something extra.

A-Z Wineworks' new pinot gris 2007 was on show, along with their other wines. It's something like $11 or less and I was pleasently surprised. It had good mouthfeel and a nice nose. Good fruit there, too. Solid value worth trying. I wasn't as crazy about the pinot noir 2007. It was alright but a bit on the light/lean side. Still, not a bad value I suppose.

Elk Cove pinot gris 2007 was available, too. Melons and peachiness that follow through in the mouth with a bit of richness. .5% residual sugar backed up with good acid. Check it out.

And now a quick note from 2005 France. Duval-Leroy 1996 Vintage Brut impressed with hints of caramel and coffee, which I love in champagnes. The finish is there and it has this lemon/lime thing going on too. A good splurge and more fun than a lot of the big name mass produced champagnes that I've tried (Cristal and Dom Perignon included). Now while bordeaux is the 2005 star I had tasted a lot of wines by the time I passed the champagnes. I'm thinking 40 wines at this point, which is a whole lot of spitting. So I focused my efforts, stopped taking good notes and headed to southern France. Domaine Lucien Barrot Chateauneuf de Pape 2005 is made in the traditional style, no new oak. Real rich nose, lots of cherries, some strawberries. Medium tannins on the finish, a standout. Domaine Bonnefond Cote Rotie Cote Rozier 2005 had a real nice nose and was more rustic in style. Strong berries and a hint of tar. The midpalate was rockin' and the finish was right there, too. Yummy yummy.

That's it for now!