Every year in the Fall the wine distributors in Connecticut have their holiday wine tastings. These tastings are to help wine store buyers make their purchasing decisions for the holiday season, typically the busiest time of the year in the wine industry. It also allows people like me to taste a lot of wine! The following notes are from the first Fall tasting of the year, typically my favorite one to go to of the year. I don’t have time to take extensive notes but I try to at least give our readers and customers a glimpse of the wine with a simple numeric rating based on the 100 point scale. Here are my notes from the show.
Palmaz Vineyards
I was impressed with these wines but was unable to taste the 2006 Cabernet because the rep was unable to multitask while talking to other customers. Eventually I just had to move on. To many wines to taste!
2009 Chardonnay Napa 92 points
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Cedar Knoll – 91 points – this was very nice for the money compared to the more expensive siblings.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 92 points
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 94 points – the most expressive one I tasted with plenty of big fruit.
Pine Ridge Vineyards
2010 Dijon Clones Chardonnay Napa – 89 points
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 91 points
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Stag’s Leap District – 93 points – Mature and drinking very well.
2009 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee Pinot Noir – 92 points – consistent with the vintage
2011 Chamisal Stainless Steel Chardonnay Edna Valley – 89 points
Domaine de Beaurenard – Had 3 very impressive wines from this estate. 2009 proves to be a great vintage in the Rhone.
2009 Chateauenuf du Pape Rhone – 92 points
2009 Boisrenard Chateauenuf du Pape Rhone – 95 points – Fabulous wines with a great range of flavor!
2009 Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau Rhone – 90 points
NV Gosset Brut Excellence Champagne – 92 points
NV Gosset Grand Reserve Brut Champagne – 94 points
2009 SA Prum Blue Slate Kabinett Mosel – 90 points – Both SA Prum’s great for the money!
2009 SA Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Mosel – 92 points
2010 Domaine Henri Darnat Bourgogne Blanc les Jumalie Burgundy 90 points
2010 Domaine Henri Darnat Meursault Clos du Domaine Burgundy 90 points
2010 Trimbach Riesling Alsace – 90 points – consistent with past vintages
2005 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Fred Emile Alsace – 92 points – very impressive. Dry with great minerality.
2009 Domaine Antonin Guyon Chambolle Musigney Les Cras Burgundy – 91 points
2009 Domaine Antonin Gevrey Chambertin La Justice Burgundy – 92 points
2009 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 92 points – nice wine but a step below the great 2006 and 2008
2009 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge Rhone – 93 points
NV Barons de Rothschild Brut Champagne – 91 points – made from purchased grapes. Who knew Lafite was in Champange?
NV Barons de Rothschild Blanc de Blancs Champagne – 92 points
NV Barons de Rothschild Rose Champagne – 92 points
Ferreira Quinta do Porto 20 yr Tawny – 92 points
Naia Verdejo Rias Biaxis – 90 points – fantastic range of flavor for the price. We have this in stock now after tasting it!
Bergstrom
Was pretty excited to see this table but I must admit I was underwelmed by the wines. Only the two higher end wines lived up to the hype. Could be the vintage as well as 2010 was suppose to have mixed quality.
2010 Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir – 89 points
2010 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir – 88 points
2010 Gregory Ranch Pinot Noir – 89 points
2010 de Lancellotti Vineyard – 91 points
2010 Bergstrom Vineyard – 93 points – head and shoulders above the rest of the wines but as I stated above, the most expensive.
Heitz
I have had some mixed experiences with Heitz. The Martha’s Vineyard is always good. It is the other wines that I find mixed. This time out though I found them very nice. One of the best kept secrets is their Ink Grade Port, which I find to be the best Port I have had outside of Portugal.
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 91 points
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa – 90 points
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Napa – 90 points
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard Napa – 95 points – best Martha’s I have had. Super fruit forward though and did not get a lot of the eucalyptus you typically find.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard Napa – 93 points
2007 Pio Cesare Barbaresco Piemonte – 92 points
Cune
These wines were decent values but the 1999 was the star by far.
2010 Monopole Blanco Rioja Alta – 88 points
2009 Blanco Rioja Alta – 87 points
2009 Crianza Rioja Alta – 88 points
2004 Imperial Reserve Rioja Alta – 90 points
1999 Real de Asua Rioja Alta – 93 points
2011 Fox Run Riesling – 88 points
2011 Red Newt Cellars Circle Riesling – 91 points
2011 Wagner Vineyards Dry Riesling – 87 points
Dr. Konstantin Frank
Typically one of the best producers from the Finger Lakes, their wines don’t disappoint!
2011 Dry Riesling – 91 points
2010 Rkatsiteli – 88 points – one of the few producers of this interesting grape in the US.
2010 Gewurztraminer – 90 points – my favorite producer in the Finger Lakes for this grape.
2011 Semi Dry Riesling – 91 points
Joseph Phelps
Year in and year out, Phelps wines are pretty consistent. The better years, their peaks for their top tier wines can be among the best in the world.
2009 Sauvignon Blanc – 91 points – Phelps makes one of the most underrated Sauvignon Blancs in California.
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – 91 points
2008 Insignia – 94 points
2009 Insignia – 93 points
2009 Freestone Chardonnay Sonoma Coast – 89 points
2009 Freestone Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast – 92 points
2010 Fog Dog Chardonnay Sonoma Coast – 90 points
2008 Cigliuti Vigna Erte Barbaresco – 91 points – Very tannic
2004 La Spinetta Barolo Campe – 95 points – Excellent and drinking well now.
Honig
Always one of my favorite producers from Napa Valley that makes affordable wines.
2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – 90 points – year in and year out one of the best Napa cabs for the money.
2011 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley – 90 points
2011 Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford – 92 points – There Rutherford bottling is always a step above and worth the extra splurg.
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Bartolucci Napa – 94 points
Paul Hobbs
Never get to taste the high end bottlings at these shows but the entry level stuff is a nice introduction to the style.
2011 Crossbarn Chardonnay – 88 points
2009 Chardonnay Russian River Valley – 88 points
2009 Crossbarn Pinot Noir – 90 points
2010 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – 92 points
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – 91 points
Venge
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Silencieux Napa – 92 points
2009 Chardonnay Maldonado Vineyard – 90 points
2009 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – 93 points – surprised by the quality here. Usually known for there cabs.
2010 Spettro White Napa – 90 points
Anderson Conn Valley
Another favorite of mine. Always top notch Cabs and red blends. 2009 another good vintage for them.
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Prologue – 91 points
2009 Chardonnay Prologue – 88 points
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate – 94 points
2008 Eloge Red Blend – 95 points
2008 Chardonnay Napa – 90 points
2006 Il Palazzone Brunello di Montalcino Toscana – 93 points
2007 Massolino Barolo – 93 points
2009 Mirafiore Barbera d’Alba Superiore – 90 points
2009 Domaine Droughin Pinot Noir – 93 points
2009 Joseph Droughin Chorey Les Beaune – 90 points
2010 Joseph Droughin Saint Veran – 88 points
2011 Dr. Loosen Estate Riesling Blue Slate Kabinett – 92 points
2010 Dr. Loosen Red Slate Riesling – 91 points