March 16 results. This tasting featured wines that Steph picked up -- or at least got turned on to -- during various trips to California wineries. There's a story behind each of the wines, and Steph has promised to summarize briefly in a future post (once she finishes unpacking from a recent move). Thanks to Chip and Charles for hosting and for the fine, Cali-inflected food.
     1) "Under Pressure." 2000 Bella Big River Ranch Zinfandel, Anderson Valley. $32 at winery. Average 14.4; range 14-15. Consistently high scores for this wine, which reminded us of sweet spices, menthol, pine sap, even flank steak. We described the texture thusly: creamy, chewy and (according to Charles) "sticks to your teeth." "If I was dating this wine," Chip concluded, "I'd ask, 'What part of yes don't you understand?'"
     2) "Will*." 2001 Justin Deborah’s Delight Orange Muscat. $30 at winery. Average 13.8; range 10-15. The unveiling was a nice surprise for those of us who don't get the appeal of Justin wines. Peach, apricot and, as Steph put it, "honey, honey, honey." Pam thought it tasted like a mead. Cynthia, who doesn’t particularly like dessert wines in general, was the only naysayer here.
     3) "Slick." 2000 Eagle Castle Merlot, Paso Robles. $16 at winery. Average 13.6; range 12-15. An odd, intriguing and mildly controversial Merlot. My own notes read like this: "NOSE: cranberry/blackberry; petroleum; tiny bit of Play-Doh; bell pepper; pepperoni. TASTE: fine." Pam, Becky and Wayne found it exceptionally balanced. Steph thought it nonescript but comforting. At the same time, Cynthia says she would work hard to get this wine's attention and then wish she hadn't. "It's not its fault I overestimated it," she says. Kate said the wine is "the aloof philosophy major with dreadlocks. You go out with him a few times, but the relationship fizzles because he's too passive." Note to the winemakers: The worst thing about this wine was its ugly-ass label. Really, people, it's not hard to make the bottle look nice.
     4) "Note." 2001 Cakebread Rubaiyat, Napa Valley; 72% Pinot Noir, 28% Syrah. $24 at winery. Average 13; range 12-15. Big nose with pleasant aromas of cherry cough drops, candy apples, tobacco, leather, coffee, chocolate. But it didn't open up much on anyone's tongue. Most of us thought it ought to have more fruit -- or more something -- to live up to the nose.
     For what it's worth, several of us have tried and loved previous Rubaiyats, but Steph and I both have had mixed experiences with the '01. (Delia and John, neither of whom attended tonight, may feel the same ambivalence.) The samples we tried at the winery were good but not fabulous; the first bottle we opened back in New Orleans had everything we loved from past years' editions; this bottle seemed less impressive. Cakebread's varietally labeled Pinot Noir and Syrah are both great. But somehow the mixture doesn't always work.
     5) "Coup." 2002 Acacia Chardonnay Carneros. $18, widely available. Average 12.9; range 11-15. Steph picked this up at the store, but she, John and I tried this, among other things, when we visited the winery last fall. Smells like lemons, caramel, honey, confectioner's sugar and, according to Steph, rose petals. It reminded Becky of a crême brulée. Pleasantly flowery and citric taste. Pam thought it was borderline syrupy. This wine was only the second contestant of the evening, and that might have hurt its score. Then again, I'm biased, because Acacia wines are my true love.
     6) "Kelly." 2000 Lane Tanner Melville Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Ynez Valley. $25 at winery. Average 12.8; range 9-14. Not your typical Pinot Noir. Clean nose with notes of gingerbread, bell peppers and black cherry. Charles found it pleasantly mossy. But a number of people observed that it didn't do much or go anywhere in their mouths. Kate said it had a pretty color but found it unacceptably sour.
     7) "Land." 2001 Rochioli Russian River Valley Estate Sauvignon Blanc. $27 at winery. Average 11.8; range 10-14. Those who liked it commented on the floral, grapefruity, grassy nose and thought it was clean and inoffensive going down. But Charles and Wayne thought it smelled like chemicals -- maybe acetone. And a number of people thought the finish was fairly harsh.
     Cynthia was the first to recognize that the fake names all refer to types of grace.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 6:40 PM
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ZAP!: Cheaper than the Madonna tour, ZAP is coming to Houston on Thursday, April 29 for a 6pm tasting. The website for the Association of Zinfandel Advocates and Producers lists many familiar names among the 50 producers represented at the event. Tickets are $34 online ($45 at the door). Let me know if anyone is interested. www.zinfandel.org
 :: posted by John Biers at 11:10 AM
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