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and then to celebrate one of the old guys BD, we had a
few Sauternes:
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Chateau Climens '88: Med.gold color; lovely complex apricotty/ripe/figgy/
ripe fruit light botrytis elegant/racy nose; tart lean elegant/racey spicy
figgy/ripe fruit/apricotty light botrytis flavor; very long lingering elegant
figgy/ripe fruit slight earthy/dusty light oak finish; a beautiful/ racy/very
elegant almost delicate style of Sauterrnes. Killer stuff.
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Chateau Rieussec '83: Deep golden color; beautiful complex intense
botrytis/ caramel/butterscotchy/creme brulee some aged Sauternes/complex
nose; soft rich big lush butterscotchy/apricotty/botrytis some pungent/aged/caramel
flavor; very long soft complex/aged strong caramel/creme brulee/butter-
scotchy earthy finish; showing lots of aged Sauternes/complex character;
wonderful near-mature Sauternes.
Bloody Bully Pulpit:
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Greg Grahm Viogniers: I have been very impressed w/ this guy's Viogniers;
some of the best produced in Calif. At Raisin'Rhones'98, I thought his
two Viogniers there were nearly the best Calif ones shown. The Napa Valley
ones seem to be a bit more on the ripe/overripe side. Sometimes I prefer
the Napa ones, sometimes the Knights Vlly ones. Impressive Viognier at
a fair price.
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Vernay Condrieu: There just ain't no denying it.... when it comes to Viognier
Condrieu is the absolute benchmark. This was my first Chaillees de l'Enfer
and I was highly impressed w/ it; as good a Condrieu as I've had this year.
Classic beautiful very intense Condrieu. This is about my 5'th or 6'th
bottle of Coteau de Vernon and again I was not impressed. I've always liked
his regular Condrieu to the CdV. A bit more complex from the oak aging
but just not the intensity I like in great Condrieu. Supposedly, the CdV
is a Condrieu that needs age, but I've had one at 4 yrs of age & it
still did not impress me.
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I had tasted the Syrah from barrel some time ago & was not particularly
overwhelmed by it. Then tasted it in Sept when Donn Riesen brought a bottle
to NewMexico & liked it a lot then. This bottle was even better. Not
a classic Calif Syrah to me; it speaks more of the Ridge style than Calif
Syrah, but I really loved this wine. A lot of fragrant fruit in the Lytton
Springs style but a very big wine, like a MonteBello Cabernet almost. A
terrific first effort at Syrah by Paul Draper. Hope he continues w/ this
wine. Too bad so little was made of it.
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Edmunds St. John: Two more very successful releases from Steve Edmunds.
The Viognier is probably his first white that has really impressed me;
a big huge Viognier that has a lot of HermitageBlanc character in the mouth.
The Durell Syrah struck me as the most Calif and least Rhonish in style
that he's yet made from those grapes; not the bigness & structure to
age as long as the previous few. But it ain't a gonna die very soon either.
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Andrew Murray: And yet two more very good releases from Andrew. Every time
I taste a new wine from Andrew, I always feel that he's made another notch
up in quality. The Esperance '97 is his best Rhone-blend yet, but still
a very big wine that needs age. The Hillside Reserve is also his best Syrah
yet. When I had Andrew's first Syrah, I was quite struck by the intensity
of fruit (especially for young vines) and the fierce tannins and the intense
toasty French oak; huge extracted outta-joint kind of wine that had many
yrs afore it. He seems to be toning down the oak and managing the tannins
better, but still keeps great fruit in the wines and still has the structure
for aging. Note quite first tier Calif Syrah but getting awfully close.
Keep your eyes on this guy, they're soon going to be great Calif Rhones.
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Kongsgaard: John Kongsgaard used to be winemaker at Newton Vnyds, where
he made some stunning Chards. He now has his own wnry where he's making
wines w/ Mike Moone (Luna label) and Fritz Hatton (Arietta Merlot) and
his own label (Chard & Syrah). This Syrah, his Chards, and the Merlot
have NOT YET been reviewed by Robert Parker. They WILL BE getting numbers
in the mid-90's when he reviews them. If you missed out on the Arajuo,
the Colgin, the Screaming Eagle, the Bryant Family, the Marcassin, the....
mailing lists; then RUN, do NOT dwaddle to get on John's mailing list.
These are destined to be the next unattainable cult wines.... guaranteed!!.
John Konsgaard Wines; P.O.Box 349; Oakville, CA 94562 Fax:
707/963-4512. Do it TODAY!
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Lou Hudson's Carneros Vnyd: There a 3 Syrahs made from these grapes; the
JadeMtn Carneros, the Neyers Syrah, and now the Kongsgaard Syrah made from
the premium block of the Syrah plot. They all seem to me to have a bit
of that slightly clunky/earthy/dusty/funky character that I get a lot in
the Carneros Pinots. They don't seem to have the same high-toned blackberry/
Sarah character you find in, say, Durell Syrah. Of the three, I prefer
the JadeMtn as the more balanced & rounder and more fruity. The Neyers
is a bigger, more tannic & structured Syrah & may eventually be
the best of the three. This Kongsgaard had plenty of new oak but seemed
rather soft & fat and not the tannic structure for aging long. But
could be wrong... it's happened before.... I'm still waiting for my '76
Sutter Home White Zin to evolve into something great!!
TomHill
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