'97 Mayacamas Cab $25 from 375ml. Found a split of this and decided I HAD to try. Wow, this is a wine I will certainly remember. Decanted for 2 hours before first taste, will probably decant for a week before I finish. Barely medium ruby. Black cherry, black olive, mineral, molasses, and later some vanilla on the complex, somewhat reminiscent of an over the hill Cal cab nose (it's the huge acidity in the nose that shows this trait). The wine is firmly, firmly acidic (just plain sours the tip of your tongue), medium bodied and just the most hugely tannic pail of nails I've ever tasted. Somewhere in there are red fruits, it does tone down some with food. This is beyond no doubt, the most acidic, tannic wine I've ever had, but somehow amidst all the acid and tannin you get a sense of elegance. It's kinda crazy cause a sip of this wine right now just beats you to a pulp, but it's elegance is undeniably there. If you decide to go here you might want to wait till her 18th birthday to avoid jailtime! Only question is will the seemingly modest fruit last that long? For me absolutely unrateable, but definately raises my curiosity one step more about this little winery.
'98 Hells Canyon Idaho Reserve, Hells Canyon Cellers, Richland, Wa. Made from Idaho fruit, 400 cases, 13% alcohol. Transluscent light ruby in color. Red cherry, vanilla, cedar and a tart citrus on the nose. Cherry on the somewhat thin palate with firm acidity and a fair amount of tannin as well on the medium finish. The tannin lingers quite a while on the aftertaste, long after the fruit has disappeared. 80 points. One more bottle will hold till '08 to see if it ever comes together, there will probably not be any fruit left. Price unknown, but probably less than $20.
'00 Chateau Thieuley, Bordeaux. $8. Medium ruby in color. Strong nose of dried tobacco, French oak, black pepper and not quite sweet cassis. Slightly elevated acidity compared to the other AOC Superiors I've had, but not out of balance. Cherry and tobacco continue onto the generous palate and finishes with deep dark fruit flavors and moderate tannins. Very nice with a steak, another very solid QPR '00 Bordeaux. If your drinking Vendage and you can enjoy French wine you're CRAZY! I cannot wait to get into the classifieds, cause these AOC's are VERY, VERY nice for the money. 86 points.
'00 Karly Warrior Fires Zinfandel. $20, 14.8% alcohol. Just past medium ruby in color. Nose of mild wild berry, cherry, toasty oak. Decent fruit on the palate, reasonable medium finish. Just a shadow of the '99 version but still quite pleasant. 87 points.
'87 Grahams Malvedos Vintage Port, $40. Nice typical porto nose, reasonably mature and very easy drinking. It's the beginning of the harvest season here and a trip to Apple Hill in the Sierra Foothills today brought back along with some monster pumpkins, some beautiful various chocolate truffels that we enjoyed with this nicely maturing port. 89 points for me and I take it a few others as well as by the time I got to this guy it was 4/5 gone. Will definately inquire, as recommended by others here, into the '88.
Various wines at Madrona.
Tasted all whites and reds vintage '00, very, very weak. Really disappointing. No off flavors or excessive minerals, just very soft in the fruit department. Too bad the nose doesn't make it thorugh the palate. Only exception was the '00 New World Port ($20/500ml, too much I know) which is a blend of old world varietals, someone please explain that to me. While it sports a somewhat chunky, odd nose, it has nice flavors and is refreshingly full bodied for a California port. Madrona IMHO has always excelled in their ports. They will be releasing a '01 Zinfandel port in the spring, I will make sure I get back up there to try it.
[ 09-29-2002, 03:36 AM: Message edited by: stealthman_1 ]
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