N.V. Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve

2006 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits

2010 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir “The Three”

2005 Mas des Dames Coteaux du Languedoc

2007 Jean Edwards Cellars Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard Mendocino County

1998 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois

1988 Schloss Schönborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese

1994 Prager Winery and Port Works Petite Sirah Royal Escort Vintage Port Paladini Vineyard

 

 

We had a small dinner party at the house with a couple friends in late November.  The friends, food and conversation were the stars of the evening, but we also had to open a few…OK, several bottles of wine.

 

Here are my thoughts and/or brief notes on the wines.  Since the wine was consumed over food and conversation, I was not able to take detailed tasting notes.  I will also just give the wines a letter score rather than the usual number since in most cases the wine was not the center of my attention.

 

 

 

Here is the lineup of wines the four of us enjoyed over a long evening:

 

 

 

N.V. Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve

This bottle was a gift from a friend so it made sense to share it with friends.  I’m normally not a big sparkling wine/Champagne drinker, but this was wonderful and set a nice opening theme for the evening.

 

This had 12.0% alcohol and had a disgorged date of April 2012.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a pale golden straw color with tiny, persistent bubbles.  The very alluring nose had apples, yeasty bread, lemon zest, minerals, and a slight toasted nut element.  The wine is light and crisp with nice effervescence.  On the palate tart apples, yeast and lemon zest grabs hold and slowly allows chalky minerals, some melon, and a nice herbal note to slip into the picture.  The finish has nice length with lemon zest, minerals, and a yeasty note leaving a crisp and clean closing impression.  (A-)

 

 

2006 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granits – $25.17

I bought a couple bottles of this wine at a close out price a couple years ago.  We had a bottle not long after the purchase, but I wanted to save my remaining bottle for an event so we could share the bottle.  Tonight was a perfect occasion since my friend likes white Rhone wines even more than I do, and I like them a lot.

 

This had 13.5% alcohol and was sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine was a light, golden straw color.  The nose had nice apples, pear, white flowers, spices, orange zest and minerals.  On the palate the wine had a nice rich texture but was quickly followed with some citrusy acidity that kept it from getting plodding or heavy.  The finish was very long and fully of stony minerals, spice, orchard fruit and citrus zest.  (A)

 

 

2010 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir “The Three” – $33.00

This was a special “limited” bottling from Brian Loring.  If my memory is not failing me, he only produced about a dozen cases of this wine.

 

The wine has 14.9% alcohol and was sealed with a twist off cap.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine was a deep ruby red color.  The nose had black cherries, blackberries, baking spices, white pepper, underbrush, and vanilla.  This had medium to full body with fairly solid but ripe and silky tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate this was big, rich, and spicy with loads of dark fruit and baking spices.  There was very nice length on the finish with the spicy fruit lingering for a long time.  Not a wine for everyone, and not an everyday wine, but tonight I absolutely loved it.  (A)

 

 

2005 Mas des Dames Coteaux du Languedoc – $15.86

This bottle was from a Garagiste Wine purchase a few years ago.  I had a bottle not too long after the wine was delivered and knew this was a great purchase for a touch over $15.

 

This wine has 13.5% alcohol.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a nice ruby red color. The nose had black cherries, red raspberries, plums, crushed stone minerality, smoke, roasted herbs, meat juices, warm baking spices, and a touch of earthiness. This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very good acidity. The palate has some nice up front fruit followed by roasted herbs, minerals, grilled meat, and a touch of dark chocolate. The finish has nice length and leans more on the savory elements with the fruit adding a touch of sweetness.  (A-)

 

 

2007 Jean Edwards Cellars Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard Mendocino County – $30.00

This winery is quickly becoming a personal favorite.  I love sharing their wines with friends so they can also become fans.

 

The wine has 14.2% alcohol and was sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine was a deep, dark ruby color, almost purple.  The very nice nose has blackberries, charred meat, smoke, roasted herbs, licorice, black pepper, minerals, brined olives, wild flowers, and a touch of mint.  This has medium to full body with fairly solid tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has a nice blend between the juicy, crushed berries, and the savory elements of black pepper, roasted herbs, and charred meat.  The finish is long and layered with nice juicy berries adding sweetness to the savory elements.  (A)

 

 

1998 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois

This bottle was brought by our dinner guests and fit in perfectly with the other wines we were opening.

 

This had 14.0% alcohol and was sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine needed a quick decant to wake up from its slumber in my friend’s cellar.  The wine was a nice ruby red with just a touch of brick at the edge.  After waking up the nose was stunning with crushed raspberries, black peppercorns, dried herbs, stony minerals, licorice, and a floral note.  On the palate the wine was rich and opulent but not overly heavy.  The finish seemed to go on forever.  I’d have loved to spend an evening with this wine to sample it as it progresses.  (A+)

 

 

1988 Schloss Schönborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Spätlese

This was a last second addition to the evening’s festivities.  My friend said his wife had never really had a good, older Riesling.  That’s about all the prodding I needed to pull something from the wine cellar.  It’s not every day you can share a 25 year old German Riesling with fellow wine lovers.

 

The wine has 9.5% alcohol and was sealed with a very fragile natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine was a deep, golden yellow color.  The nose had apples, white peaches, honey, minerals, citrus zest, lime, petrol and some white pepper.  This had light to medium body with good acidity and nice sweetness.  Very rich and smooth on the palate with most of the overt sugar having been incorporated into the magical elixir.  The wine had a long, lingering finish full of peach, apples, honey, minerals, and lime.  My friends loved the wine, but since I’ve had a few bottles of this wine over the last year, I knew this wasn’t a perfect bottle.  I think the fragile cork had caused a few slight issues to crop up.  It was real good but it just seemed to lack the oomph I was expecting.  (A-)

 

 

1994 Prager Winery and Port Works Petite Sirah Royal Escort Vintage Port Paladini Vineyard – $34.50

This bottle is from a winery in the Napa Valley we always visited.  When I saw this bottle pop up on Wine Bid last year, I had to stick in a low ball bid to see what happened.  I was lucky enough to win the bottle at what I felt was an incredible price for a bottle of 18 year old “Port” wine.

 

The wine had 18.3% alcohol and was “sealed” with the remnants of a natural cork.  I quickly saw that a normal cork screw would not work, so I pulled out the old Ah-So opener.  It easily slid between the cork and bottle but just a very slight twist caused the cork to disintegrate into the bottle.  No problem, the wine was simply served through a small strainer I use for occasions like this.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine was a deep, inky purple color.  The nose was full of peppery crushed berries, spice, cocoa powder and dark roasted coffee.  The years had tamed the wine so that it wasn’t big, brash and in your face.  It was sweet, but not overly syrupy.  It was still bold but the tannins were now reasonable and silky.  The finish was a touch short (or my palate was wearing out) but still very enjoyable and easy to sip at the end of a very enjoyable evening.  (B+)

 

 

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You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

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Cheers!

 

 

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

 

Cheers!