AJ McClellan
1979 Chateau Margaux - Fall and Autumn on the nose with barnyard and fresh forest floor after a rain. Loads of spice with cherry cobbler red delicious Washington apple on the palate and a little bit of walnut and spicy vanilla bean. Coffee grounds and espresso with dry fall leaves on the finish. Great balance and a long lasting finish.
AJ McClellan
Jack Bittner From Cliff Lede
We had Jack Bittner of Cliff Lede come in and taste us on his lineup; I was very impressed with these wines.
2008 Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc – Pineapple and grapefruit with tropical fruits and wild white flowers on the nose. A classis Sauvignon Blanc with great minerality and crisp acidity. The palate was complex with green apple peel, peach fuzz, concrete, and crushed flowers.
2006 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon – Cocoa bean and dried leather on the nose with dried cracked cigar leaf and clove. The palate was very nice with cinnamon, wood spice and a medley of dark fruits. Well balanced and plush with a long lasting finish.
2006 Poetry –
Black pepper and fruit on the nose.
With tobacco and earth on the back.
Jammy strawberry, silk that flows.
Balance and complexity: this is no hack.
Wow, this wine is great.
Elegance, feminine charm and beauty.
The next sip just cannot wait.
This wine is nothing less than poetry.
AJ McClellan
We had Arthur Spencer from Temple Family Vineyards come in and taste us on his wines today – good times.
Arthur Spencer From Temple Family Vineyards
2006 Temple Cabernet Sauvignon – Black raspberries and plums with a nose of dried cranberries, dried leather, and dark chocolate. The palate was exciting with sweet currant, compost, and dried tobacco, with a slight twinge of vanilla and a touch of residual sugar. The wine was all together in balance and easy drinking.
2005 Temple Cabernet Sauvignon – Big tobacco with crushed rock and sweet candied plum. Ultra ripe strawberries and black currant with lavender and black pepper on the palate. Again with a nice balance and elegant finish.
AJ McClellan
One of the great benefits of being a member at Graileys is having the opportunity to taste a slew of great wines when the Reps come into town. Today was one such day, a tasting of their newest and greatest wines.
The members had gotten a head start with two great bottles already popped and poured around the table.
2004 Floridene – Great little white Bordeaux with a nose of tropical fruits and gravely soil. The palate had hints of pineapple and Washington red apple, with crumbled white rock and a finish of peach pith.
2006 Favia Cerro Sur – Always a favorite with the majority of this wine being Cabernet Franc, it is unique and a delight to drink. Big plum and black currant up front with a lavender and clove backing. Tobacco and milk chocolate on the palate with purple flowers and wet soil minerality. Very soft, like melted chocolate coating the mouth.
Then our reps came in and laid out a feast of fun wines for us to try.
2007 Betts & Scholl The O.G. – This is a terrific Grenache from Australia with a bright fruit forward nose of red cherries and red currant with a light tint of red roses. The palate was a little hot but this is to be expected from Australia, and after some time in the glass the heat gradually dissipated. On the other hand there was a unusually exciting acidity that evened out the wine nicely and brought it back into balance. This wine reminds me of the song “Strawberry Fields” from the Beatles.
NV Gloria Ferrer Va de Vi Sparkling Wine – Creamy pear with white flowers and a little yeast. Slightly one dimensional but good for what it is. Finish of a nice stony minerality.
2005 Chateau Preuillac – Dried red fruit and overripe plum with a slight minerality of dried dirt and crumbled boulder.
2007 Finca N Malbec – Big tannic monster with blueberries, black cherries, and ripe plums. Despite the heavy tannins the finish was soft and pleasant, working out to have a nice balance.
2005 Chateau Taillefer – Classic Bordeaux with dirt and graphite and a dusty plum. The wine had great balance and finished with a long and smooth cherry mocha.
2005 Rayas Pignan CDP – Sour cherry and tart blueberries with a light rocky minerality and a back of tobacco, tar, and leather. A light smoke on the palate with cedar and pine needles finishing with a gamey quail and black peppercorn.
AJ McClellan
Above, from left: D’lynn Proctor, Bo Barrett, Dave Stearns (partner/owner Graileys), and Simon Roberts (partner/owner Graileys),
Another day and another superstar winemaker for Graileys: today’s superstar is legendary winemaker Bo Barrett. Portrayed by Chris Pine in the movie Bottle Shock, Chateau Montelena put California on the map in the wine world winning the best in show for their 1973 Chardonnay in 1976.
Chateau Montelena was founded in 1882 at the base of Mount Saint Helena by Alfred Tubbs. After building his Chateau he named it after the location Mount-Helena. James Barrett took over and produced his first wine in 1972. A year later we went to win in the Judgment of Paris and the rest is history.
2007 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay – Papaya, pear, and tropical melons on the nose with a slight butter and white peaches on the palate. There was a nice schist minerality on the palate and a crisp acidity that reminded me of a nice Meursault.
2006 Chateau Montelena Estate Zinfandel – Big black pepper with wisps of smoke and big black fruit. There was a slight green stemmy quality and a hard finish.
2006 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon – Tobacco on the nose with leather and cigar box; again there was a slight green stem quality but it added to complexity rather than sticking out like a sore thumb. There was some wood spice, as well as a touch of clove and cinnamon. Great little everyday drinker.
2006 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Ripe black berry and big black tobacco with a backing of damp earth and cobblestone road after a heavy rain. Big hard tannins that need another couple of years of bottle age, and a finish of tar and tobacco. All in all a great little wine but it needs some age on it.
2005 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Massive tannins again, but with the benefit of an additional year of bottle age the tannins have softened and smoothed out, making for a more pleasant mouth feel. Jammy black fruit and boysenberry on the nose with a cinnamon / clove spice on the back end. The palate was excellent with a nice dusty minerality and a back of cedar and tobacco.
2001 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – This was my favorite wine of the night. Jammy raspberries on the nose with a hint of red liquorish and fennel. The palate was stunning with soft silk tannins, and ballerina-like finesse finishing with black currant and cocoa butter.
2000 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Big tobacco, tar, and leather on the nose with a slight astringency on the back. There was a pleasant fruit bouquet on the palate with plums, cherries, blueberries, and black currants. Wine finishes with liquorish and damp earth.
1999 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Jammy red fruit up front with stone cherry and sweet plum, big spice and tobacco on the back with red flowers and dirt and tar. Soft well developed tannins we red currants, cassis, and anise on the finish.
After the tasting, the after party begins. The usual members gather around the table, all pulling wine out of their lockers, and the battle to see who can bring the best wine to the table starts!
1966 Haut Brion – Forest floor and burnt toast with stewed raspberries and a slight cranberry that reminds me of the Ocean cranberry drink. Subtle beef jerky and wood spice with clove and cinnamon on the back. Long finish and lush tannins, with great balance and layers of complexity.
1988 Giacosa Falletto Barolo – Dried cranberries and barnyard with cooking spice on the nose. The palate had velvety tannins with a soft mouth feel. Green tea and ripe red fruit on the palate with a finish of crushed rock and almonds. After some time in the glass the wine evolved to show green cocoa and brambleberry with a hint of guava.
1990 Cos d’Estournel – This wine was a tiger in the glass with ferocious berry blend of red cherries, black cherries, raspberries, currant, plum, and fig. The nose had big forest floor with red roses and violets. The palate was a chameleon, changing every time I went back to the wine. Bold and toasty with a spicy pepper, dry tobacco, cooked cloves, and burnt cigar. Super smooth and easy drinking.
1990 Camille Giroud Echezeaux Grand Cru – Sour cherry and spicy red fruit set on top of chili flakes and lavender. Up front was the earth of schist and limestone, then came a secondary component of fruit included roasted blueberries stuffed with vanilla beans and muddled with mint and white spring flowers.
2003 Pape Clement – Fun little wine with bright cherry popsicle and unripe plum. The back reminded me of a sour watermelon Warhead with sweet and sour, making me pucker and smile. It finished with milk chocolate, red liquorish, and chewy tannins.
2000 Bouchard Batard-Montrachet – We opened this up with great expectations but unfortunately it was cooked…
We got some to-go food from York Street
2000 Bouchard Montrachet – Honey and caramel with freshly bloomed honeysuckles and a fruitiness of orange peal, apricot, quince, and Asian pear. Very complex on the palate, with limestone, crystallized thick honey, maple and a slight oxidization, finishing with walnuts.
2000 Guigal La Moulin – Smoke and bacon with black pepper and chewy cherries. Quail stuffed with plum and cooking spices. This was a great wine but it was a little disappointing when stacked up against the Guigal’s we have had recently. I went back to this wine the next day and it had opened up considerable; apparently it just needed another 12 hours of decanting.
AJ McClellan
2006 Boncristiani Cream Label Cabernet Sauvignon – Ripe black berry and plum with overripe boysenberry and dry tobacco. There was a subtle hint of green coco on the finish as well as massive tannins; this is a real teeth stainer. Great for a big bold in your face Cab.
2007 Simonnet Febvre Saint-Bris Sauvignon Blanc – This is the only region in Burgundy that is allowed to grow Sauvignon Blanc and they do it very well. Pineapple and grapefruit up front with great acidity and a pleasant crushed white rock minerality; this is a great everyday sipper.
NV Simonnet Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne – Sparkling wine from Burgundy, how fun! Light stone peach and pear skin with a slight yeastiness and zingy acidity. Perfect for enjoying on the porch on a beautiful summer day.
NV Simonnet Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Rose – light cherry and subtle roses on the nose, the palate is pure strawberries and cream backed by a bold minerality and great acidity. Great easy drinking sparkler that goes down a little too easy.
2008 Simonnet Febvre Chablis – Lemongrass and stone fruit with a tropical backing mixed with summer flowers and a crisp limestone minerality. Another easy drinking wine – poolside lemonade.
2008 Simonnet Febvre Vaillons 1er Chablis – very crisp with a lemon / lime zest and pineapple on the back. The minerality was there, and while the wine had plenty of acidity it was lacking the razor like crispness that I love in a great Chablis.
2007 Simonnet Febvre Les Clos GC Chablis – Surprisingly one of the first things I got off this wine was Roasted vanilla bean from the French oak aging that this wine received, while a few Chablis producers use oak the majority does not. White flowers and lemon peel with a slight green apple twang on the back. The oak aging rounded out the wine and added some white pepper and hints of cooking spice.
2007 Louis Latour Vignes Franches 1er Beaune – I always enjoy red wines from the Beaune, when done right they can express finesse and elegance like few other wines can. Spicy cherry cobbler and ripe watermelon with a light red currant and gripping minerality on the nose. The palate was complex with layers of spider silk intertwined so expertly that at first glance one would think that it was all one thread until you take the time to dissect it and discover the wonders that are hidden in the mix.
2008 Louis Latour Sous le Puits 1er Puligny Montrachet – Pear pith and green apple with limestone and toasted vanilla beans. Slight spice and quince with a hint of wild flowers in the background.
2008 Louis Latour Cailleret 1er Chassign Montrachet – Much more of a clean style with white peach and pink roses on the nose. The palate had a nice acidity but not huge, the finish consisted of a floral display and hints of slatey minerality.
2008 Louis Latour Corton Charlamagne GC – Now this is a wine, almonds and walnuts with blooming honeysuckles and toasty popcorn on the nose. The palate was robust with slate and limestone minerality as well as apricot and juicy peaches playing on the back. The finish was long and reminded me of spring.
2008 Louis Latour Batard Montrachet GC – Oh how I love Montrachet, with lemongrass and summer flowers up front and a lightness of body that allowed the wine to float on the palate this was my favorite wine of the flight. Green apple, lemon pith, and butterscotch on the back end and a lemon / lime finish of crisp acidity.
AJ McClellan
Above, from left: Simon Roberts (partner/owner Graileys), Ann Colgin and husband Joe Wender of Colgin Cellars, and Dave Stearns (partner/owner Graileys).
Superstar wine maker, Ann Colgin, came in today to taste us on her 2006 vintage of IX Syrah and Proprietary Red. Ann is a Texas girl who views winemaking as a form of art and I could not agree with her more. Her love for wine and the subtle brushstrokes that make a painting into a masterpiece show through in her winemaking.
In addition to producing cult California wines, Ann and her husband, Joe Wender, also have a love affair with Burgundy as they are part of a consortium that bought the famous negociant house – Camille Giroud.
2006 Colgin IX Syrah – With vines from Cote Rotie and Hermitage it is no wonder that this wine has a distinctive Rhone touch while still being unmistakably Californian. We decanted this wine two hours before service, and after tasting it I believe that it needed an additional four. Massive on the nose with heavy brush strokes of baked blueberries, candied plums, and forest floor, it had a lighter touch on the back, adding detail and depth with burnt cloves, cinnamon, crushed rock, and black pepper all falling into place to make a beautiful masterpiece. The palate was superb with smoked cedar, bramble, red roses, vegetable matter, and green bell peppers. With huge chewy tannins that were in no way hard but very soft this wine has great aging potential and I would love to see what it will be doing in another 15 years. Parker gave this wine a 93 but I must disagree; this wine was without a doubt the best Californian Syrah I have ever had.
2006 Colgin IX Proprietary Red – A perfect 100 point score from Parker, and after tasting the wine I can see why he liked it. This Bordeaux style blend showed off huge fruit up front with blackberry jam and massive overripe strawberries. The oak aging was also very prevalent with roasted vanilla bean, sage, and a cabinet full of cooking spices. A colossal palate consisting of ripe bing cherry, freshly picked wildberries, and a minerality of tall redwood trees and concrete. I am happy to report that the wine was fully dry with no residual sugar left in the wine.
1997 Colgin Herb Lamb Vineyard – A special treat from one of our members, a bottle made by Colgin from Mr. Herb Lamb’s vineyard. Blueberries and light blackberries on the nose with a touch of forest floor and cherry cobbler. The palate was spicy with cinnamon, allspice, dill, and peppercorns. There was also a subtle minutiae of coconut husk, clove, white pepper, and black tea. With great balance and symmetry this wine was a perfect example of what the former two could be in another ten years.
AJ McClellan
As usual, after the “official” tasting, our members were inspired by the wines they’d just had and dove into their cellars to see if they could produce a bottle to match up against the formidable Colgin wines.
1978 Taurino Notarpanaro Rosso Del Salento – First out the gate with loads of funk, earth, mold, and old dried out tobacco up front but with a secondary fruitiness that surprised me – dried prunes, sour cherries, and raspberries were still making a stand against the tide of earthiness that threatened to overwhelm the wine. The wine was drinking nicely right after it was opened but after some time in the glass the wine started to fall off, becoming disconjointed; all the aspects were there but they were not coming together properly. The wine had an interesting finish of gingerbread.
1970 La Conseillante – A fantastically traditional Bordeaux with baked raspberries, compost, forest floor, graphite, blood, iron, and cobblestone intermingling to create a fantastic example of what a mature wine should be. The wine retained a crisp acidity that surprised me and the tannins were soft and smooth but still holding ground. After some time in the glass the wine evolved to show beaten cherries, dry earth, and a touch of fennel.
Jeff Bradley from the Ritz giving us his impression of the wine
2006 Domaine de Montille Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru – Fantastic Burgundy with a minerality of chalk, slate, and limestone. The fruit was that of tart raspberries and red currant. Then the secondary characteristics of allspice, cinnamon, and baking spices showed up to finish the balancing act that the wine walked with perfection. An excellent example of an elegant, sophisticated wine with a exceptional balance of fruit, earth, minerality, acidity, and tannins.
2007 Patrick Javillier Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru – Buttery popcorn smothered in caramel and put in the oven till it developed a slight char, then seasoned with vanilla extract and cooking spices and served over green coconut leaves and garnished with pear skins, orange blossoms, and wild white flowers… then smashed with a gigantic limestone brick. Another great Burgundy with the perfect balance of a tightrope walker and an unforgettable, long-lasting finish.
1975 Meyney – Burnt raspberries and black cherries with barnyard on the nose. The palate was full of sour cherry and cassis with a metallic finish. Great little wine with a surprising amount of life to it; when I first opened the wine I thought that it was done but after some time in the glass the wine opened up to divulge an elegance that I did not expect out of this vintage wine.
AJ McClellan
Saturday is a funny day; when you think it is going to be busy no one comes in. When you think it is going to be slow something always happens. This Saturday felt like a slow day to me.
2006 Champy Signature Bourgogne Blanc – We started with a nice light Burgundy to get things going. Champy is always a great wine to relax and enjoy and, with light yellow pear, lemon zest, and limestone minerality, the wine is a fantastic easy drinking Chardonnay.
1961 Chateau Chasse Spleen – When a member comes in with a 1961 Bordeaux you know things are going to go sideways quickly. The Chasse Spleen was an excellent specimen of old Bordeaux with faded fruit of soggy cherries and red raspberries. The main draw of the wine was the soft forest floor and secondary characteristics that had evolved over the wine’s 50 year life span. Big wood spice with lots of cinnamon and white pepper on the nose, the palate had a soft texture and showed an elegant spearmint and evergreen flavor with a back of cooked cloves, pine needles, and chocolate covered raisins.
2001 Bouchard Montrachet – After the legendary vintage of 1961 our member decided to try a legendary vineyard, that of Montrachet. The 2001 Bouchard was magnificent with buttered popcorn, caramel, and toast spilling out of the bottle. The palate had hundreds of subtle nuances to show off including thick crystallized honey comb, molasses, quince, apricot, honeysuckle, white summer flowers, and a brilliant limestone minerality.
2005 Pavie 375 ml – If I were to give you a hundred guesses as to what would of come next I bet you would not have guessed 05 Pavie, and in half bottle no less. Here it was before us, an inky, deep purple, extremely young, 100 point Parker wine. Simon declared that it reminded him of a young Harlan and I must say that I could not disagree. Big ultra ripe plum and blueberry on the nose with a ton of vanilla and crushed rock on the back. The palate had a distinctive unripe green stem quality that I attributed to the youth of the wine, along with massive tannins and a big black berry jam finish. Through all this I felt that the wine retained a great balance and was well deserving of its perfect Parker score. In another 20 or 30 years this wine will be a contender!
1987 Beringer Private Reserve – After our Old World extravaganza our members challenged Simon to find a New World wine that could stand up to the quality of the wines we had been drinking. The 87 Beringer was very impressive and showed what a well-constructed California wine could do with a little bit of bottle age. Ripe black currant and burnt grass on the nose with a slight funkiness on the palate paired with bark stew and cherry cobbler. The Beringer had plenty of fruit left but it was not overbearing and the wine had superb balance. The finish was one of wood spice and cigar box.
 | Do Bianchi on Monday Tasting Part I |
| Do Bianchi on Dave is in Town! |
 | Dave on Dave is in Town! |
 | A on Dave is in Town! |
