Various Wines -

Notes and impressions from a tasting of some seldom-seen wines - Thursday, June 7, 2001, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Eighteen wines were poured.

Overall impressions: an interesting group of wines - never heard of most of them. It turns out the Silver Rose label is made for a B&B by the same name. The Favero was a major surprise. I've come to like the many styles I find in Merlots, and this one is very drinkable. My other favorites were the Scott Paul Chardonnay, the delicious Goldeneye Pinot Noir, and the Aida Zinfandel - pricey as it was.

1999 Silver Rose Cellars Chardonnay - Napa Valley. $25. Light gold color. Apricot and floral-scented, with a touch of stemmy earthiness. Butter and slightly oaky, but all around tasty with a nice long finish that shows just a bit of heat.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B

1999 Papapietro Perry Chardonnay - Russian River Valley. $29. Medium-yellow color. Largely floral in aroma, with a bit of petrol and stem background notes. Tasty fruit, slightly felshy mouthfeel, and medium-long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Robert Young Estate Chardonnay - Alexander Valley. $35. Medium-yellow color. Nose of delicate floral and fruit scents, with a hint of citron and proscuitto. Full mouthfeel, very nice balance, chewy and meaty flavors, long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1999 Porter Creek Chardonnay George's Hill - Russian River Valley. $18. Medium-gold color. slightly restrained nose of spicy floral and leafy fruit. Medium-full mouthfeel, agreeable fruit and taste, but also seems to convey a plastic or vinyl taste.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Scott Paul Chardonnay - Kent Ritchie Vnyd, Sonoma Coast. $45. Medium-yellow color. Very floral nose, with additional aromas of peach and apple. Thick mouthfeel, but also quite crisp on the palate, with a long clean smoky finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Goldeneye Pinot Noir - Anderson Valley. $60. Brandied-ruby color. Meaty aromas seem to predominate, with notes of asiago cheese, smoke and sweat socks. Tasty, slightly burnished mouthfeelwith a spicy black cherry/strawberry flavor, and long finish. Very nice job. Bet this gets mistaken for a Burg in blind tastings.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1999 Copain Pinot Noir - Dennison Vnyd, Anderson Valley. $40. Medium garnet ruby color. Stemmy and complex nose, with slightly burnished strawberry and toasty cinnamon aromas. Initially light in mouthfeel and taste, the fruit seems to kick in at mid-palate and lasts through medium-long off-sweet finish that shows just a bit of heat. Nice enough wine, but seems a bit underextracted
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1997 Heron Lake Pinot Noir Reserve - Wild Horse Valley. $17.99. Medium garnet ruby color. Nose of green bean, singed black cherry and orange soda. Kind of flat, and only slightly fruity across the palate.
Aroma score: B- Taste score: B- Overall score: B-

1998 Aida Zinfandel - Napa Valley. $45.Medium dark garnet ruby color. Nose of ham, bacon, and fleshy fruit, with a mature Zin-like spiciness. Tasty and mature mouthfeel, with burnished, buttery and floral flavors, and a smooth long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Michael Pozzan Syrah Special Reserve - Napa Valley. $25. Dark ruby garnet color. Burnished, cheesy and dank in the nose, with an overriding musty oak quality. Decent flavors, but a little too oaky and thin on the palate.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Porter Creek Syrah Timbervine Ranch - Russian River Valley. $36. Very dark ruby purple color. Sweet blackberry nose, with a stemmy background note. Big mouthfeel with some nice fruit and meat flavors, but gets quite astringent and oaky through finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 Michael Pozzan Syrah Merlot Winemaker's Selection - Napa Valley. $20. Dark ruby color. Oak, black cherry, and more oak in the nose. Tasty, off-sweet, slightly stemmy fruit, with a long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Favero Merlot - Parks Vnyd, Sonoma Valley. $28. Very dark ruby purple color. Meaty and very Cab-like in the nose. Rich and buttery mouthfeel, slightly sweet and smooth on the palate, with a nice dose of oak and a lightly tannic grip through nice long finish. Seems to have a high degree of Cab in the blend, which helps offset some of its candied aspects.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

1998 Darioush Merlot - Napa Valley. $44. Dark ruby color. Medium concentratioof fruit in the nose, with some stemmy and oaky notes. Nice flavors, but somewhat coarse mouthfeel, long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 Silver Rose Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $30. Dark ruby color. Fruity and stemmy nose, with a slight grapey/blackberry quality in the background.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $37. Dark ruby color. Decent nose of cassis, oak and floral aromas. Slightly astringent and coarse in mouthfeel initially, but also has very nice cassis and toast flavors through the long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Robinson Family Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $22.99. Fruity, but oak predominates in the nose. Slightly tart off-sweet mouthfeel, hint of bitterness on the long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1999 Jacob Franklin Petite Sirah - Chavez-Leeds Vnyd, Napa Valley. $37.99. Big smoky blackberry nose. Full meaty mouthfeel, good flavors, very long chewy finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+