Wines You Have A Story About

 at Belmont Brewing Co.

The Wines 

 

82 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour cab sauv

85 Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard cab sauv

92 Volker Eisele Napa cab sauv
94 Gary Farrell Collins Vineyard zinfandel

94 Rosemount shiraz

96 Grgic Plavac Mali primitivo

97 Rochioli pinot noir

98 Villa Mt. Eden syrah

N/V Pahrump Valley Vineyard merlot

 

 

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By vote for top three:

97 Rochioli - By unanimous 1st place vote

94 Rosemount

94 Gary Farrell

 

Should Mention:  Pahrump merlot not despicable; not stellar, but not despicable.  BV Georges de Latour was old; damn old; we're talking 126 dog years old.

Roll Call:  Brad, Cathy, Eric, Steve, Ruthie, Judi, Jim, A. David

 

My Tasting Rating (0-10):  7
Duck pasta and Rochioli pinot noir!  Mmmmm.  Most wines very good and another open theme delivered some interesting wines.  No killer stories though.  Didn't really expect any.

 

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Notes:  

General comment:  The first full day of Summer.  First day on the job for Cara; a bright lass with that delightful Irish accent.  Lisa got more lessons on wine.  Memorable quote when we gave her a pour of the BV:  "That's nasty!" 

The Rochioli pinot noir was absolutely beautiful.  Black cherry and raspberry flavors framed in oak with supple tannins and balanced acid.  The BBC Duck Pasta went perfectly with this wine.

The Rosemount shiraz for the price is clearly the bargain of this group.  Delicious cherry and raspberry flavors in American oak.  Not a keeper.  Drink within 5 yrs.  But for the price...

Gary Farrell makes great wine.  This '94 zin was a little different than others I have had recently.  This one is aging nicely.  Some of the fruit has dropped off, but this was such a fruit bomb when it came out that it doesn't matter.  Ready now.  Probably good for another 3 yrs.

The Volker Eisele cab and Villa Mt. Eden syrah were very good, but they were in the company of giants.  In any other wine tasting, these would have been just fine.  The cab did not taste 8 yrs old.

The Joseph Phelps was on the old side, but it aged much more gracefully than the BV.  It is still very good with eucalyptus and mint flavors in a nicely aged wine.  This one was found in a Utah State-controlled liquor store in 1990, standing up, ignored by anti-alcohol Mormons, for $18.  In SoCal, this would have lasted about 30 seconds.

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(Click on thumbnail for full-sized image)

     Happy 10th Anniversary!

Hi Cara (1st day on the job)  Hi Lisa

"That's nasty!"