I took a trip earlier this month. Here is what I posted:
From a wine tasting trip to Amador County with some friends on Saturday -
Sobon Estate (some of the vintages might be off as I wasn't taking good notes and they don't list them on their tasting sheet) -
'05 Viognier - decent
'05 Roussanne - better
'04 Cougar Hill Zin - peppery, okay
'04 Rocky Top Zin - floral, berries, juicy - my favorite from here
'05 Fiddletown Zin - bigger and jammier, nice
'05 Old Vines Zin - didn't do anything for me
'04 Syrah - not much here either
Karmere - a newer winery, nice tasting room
'05 La Petite Hannah Roussane - thick and unctuous, I liked it, DnVsMom did not
NV Raspberry Sparkling Wine - way too sweet, blech
'05 La Petite Morgan Nebbiolo-Syrah - wierd
'04 La Petite Drew Syrah - decent, fruity
'04 La Petite Rachel Syrah - decent, spicier
'05 Empress Julie Ann Barbera - nice
'05 Empress Hayley Zin - a little light
Deaver - way too crowded and cluttered
Tasted a few including one bottle that was so badly corked it messed up my senses for awhile.
The only thing that I felt slightly good about were their "Port-style" wines....
Amador Foothill Winery - Small, didn't seem real excited to be pouring, and seemed to have a lot of past vintage stock based on what they were pouring
'02 Semillon - eh
'04 Sauvignon Blanc - quite nice
'06 Rosato of Sangiovese - eh
'02 Ferrero Vineyard Zin - eh
'04 Esola Vineyard Zin - DnVsMom liked it - me not as much
'03 Estate Sangiovese - nope
'01 Sangiovese Grand Reserve - mouth full of toothpicks
'02 Syrah - eh
'04 Katie's Cote - I really like this blend
Amador Cellars - another newer winery
'03 Chard
'04 Chard - still have yet to find a chard from the foothills that I would consider purchasing
'02 Barbera - I liked it. Nice food wine.
'03 Rapscallion - Didn't like it, but then he opened another bottle and it was better. I would concerned if it fell apart that fast during the day
'03 Syrah - eh
'02 Zinfandel - decent
'04 Zinfandel - better, but...
'04 Syrah - a big bruiser, lots of dark fruit, smoke, meat. Very nice....
Domaine de la Terre Rouge/Easton - this used to be one of my favorite wineries in the valley. Loved some of their syrahs and zins. Absolutely nothing did it for me this time around. Another place that seems to have a lot of older stock. Disappointing.
'02 Viognier - tired
'02 Roussanne - I think they have been pouring both of these for about three years now
'01 Easton Barbera - tired
'05 Easton Zin - decent, but not up to past vintages
'03 Tete a Tete - proudly displaying a tasting note from RMP that gave it a three year drink time. It was definitely on the backside of that window.
'00 Sierra Foothills Syrah - tired
'02 High Slopes Syrah - better, but still didn't do anything for me
Vino Noceto - our last stop of the day, and our favorite stop. Coincidence? Or just showing that much better than Terre Rouge?
'06 Frivolo - a spritzy moscato bianco - slightly sweet, great summer by the pool wine
'06 Sangiovese Rostato - crisp, bright and dry enough for me. nice
'04 Linsteadt Barbera - very, very nice
'04 Sangiovese - one of my perennial grilled chicken and sausage favorites, and pizza for that matter. Bright cherry and berry flavors.
'04 Sangiovese Riserva - jammier, bigger fruit than the regular, a little more oak as well. solid.
'04 Sangiovese Reward Ranch - a new wine for Noceto. Another solid bottle, although a little oaky.
'04 Sangiovese Noce Knoll - wow. bigger than I can remember any Noceto wine. Should hold for a few years, but the fruit is good right now that I don't know that it will last that long.
'04 Sangiovese Marmellata - jammier than the others
'04 Sangiovese Dos Oakies - probably benefit the most from some bottle time.
Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity....
