Tasting notes

Last Thursday we finally held our much-awaited California wine tasting. This wine tasting was a few months in the making as our first attempt was crudely thwarted when the airline company didn’t approve of our just-wrap-it-in-a-sweater packaging, forcing us to give away all our precious bottles of wine to the very surprised taxi cab drivers and bus drivers of the Los Angeles airport. But, as they say, many things are better the second time around, and so it was with the second set of wine we imported. We had two primary aims with this wine tasting: that the wines be really good wines and that as a set, they give a satisfyingly accurate picture of what California wines are like. That meant including a couple of whites and lesser-known varieties like the Zinfandel in addition to California’s fantastic full-bodied reds. The wine tasting turned out great, all the wines were exceptional and everyone found something they liked, but in the beginning, I had my doubts…

We started off with a Simi Sauvignon Blanc, 2007; fresh, fruity with a hint of apple and lime in the aroma. Its bouquet is pleasantly subtle both on the palate and in the nose. Some found this subtlety disappointing saying that the taste did not live up to the aroma. This sentiment was reiterated when we opened up the Bannus Reserve Chardonnay, 2006. It had a great nose, though a little oak heavy, but not that much of a kick in the taste. Those that did like the wine especially appreciated its mineral notes, an exceptionally nice feature of California wines. Knowing what a gem their terroir is, the winemakers work tirelessly to bring this out in their wine. Next in line was the much awaited 2006 Pinot Noir from Cambria. We had a winner! Any inital fears I had that Hungarians just didn’t like Californian wine began to disappear. As the wine emptied into the glass, the color was the first to impress. It was bright, cranberry-red, Schiller-like in color. Almost everyone’s first comment was how true the aromas were to its variety. There was no mistaking this was a Pinot! There were warm, complex aromas of cherries, earth, pepper, and cola. Incidently, Wine Enthusiast gave this wine 93 points saying it was the best Pinot for its price ($25). A great, easy wine with a nice bite and medium-long finish. Following was the St. Francis Zinfandel, 2006. And oh, what a wine! I was really excited by this wine because it’s a delightful variety that, I think, can be made very well in California. On our most recent trip to California’s wine country, one of the most notable wines we drank was Rubicon Estate’s Zinfandel, 2005. So needless to say, I had very high expectations of this variety and this wine didn’t disppoint. Just what I love about Zins, its intense, fruity and ripe berry flavors shined through. The concentrated taste made obvious its low yield, which was two tons per acre. Another interesting fact about this wine is that it was harvested from vines 50-100 years old and prepared using technologies not any younger. It’s fruitness prevents you from calling this a serios wine, but the quality with which it was made leaves the impression that this wine wants to be more serious than it is. Great tannins, beautifully incorporated barrel notes, this is a great food wine. Next came the Wildehirst Merlot, 2004. This was our most northern wine of the evening coming from Lake County, 100 miles north of Santa Rosa. Deep, dark red in color, at first buttery caramel then toasty oak notes hit the nose followed by fruity, cherry and sage aromas. In taste, it was true to its varietal character, though a bit average tasting, with an interesting cool twist in the end leading to a fresh-feeling finish. Robert Mondavi’s 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon was the next to follow. This wine is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, 1% Petit Syrah, and 1% Syrah. Almost half the grapes in this wine come from the winery original territory in Oakville. Dark ruby red color, this wine still needs a bit more time to mature. Warm, fruity, and spicy in the nose, great flavor and perfect balance in the mouth. Beautiful structure, medium-long finish. This wine was worth every cent, but perhaps not much more than its $28 value. Following the Merlot was a 2005 Syrah from Zaca Mesa winery. The darkest color wine yet, almost opaque. Very fruity in the nose, you can almost bite into the rich berry flavors. These fruity aromas are accompanied by the smell of cool green herbs and kiwi fruit. Very interesting, many even detected violet in the nose. Great barrel notes, this wine screams for a plate of rosemary garlic lamb to go with it. Our final wine of the evening was a Beringer Alluvium Red, 2005. What a way to finish the night! This was almost everyone’s favorite across the board. Very fruity, very complex, very exciting. Rich berry and earthy notes, and a bittersweet taste much like orange juice. Toasty notes throughout. A typical bordeux blend of 74% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, the winemaker notes that the Merlot gives this wine its cherry flavored silky palate, the Cabernet its structure, the Malbec its floral notes, the Petit Verdot its spiciness and the Cabernet Franc its finish.
All in all we were very happy with the wine tasting and let me note here how wonderful the venue was! At Pecs’ Replay restaurant everyone truly outdid themselves. The cheese plate was absolutely exquisite and I could not picture a more perfect place for a winetasting and look forward to many more there. So the evening, despite my initial doubts, turned out to be a huge successs. In order of popularity, our favorite wines were as follows: Beringer’s Alluvium Red, Robert Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Wildehirst’s Merlot, St. Francis’ Zinfandel, Zaca Mesa’s Syrah, Cambria’s Pinot Noir, and the Sauvignon Bland and Chardonnay tied in the end.