2003 Castle Vineyards Pinot Noir 'Durell Vineyards'

The other night I had a friend over to watch some "NCAA March Madness" action. So since I did not have any beer, I opened a bottle of '2003 Castle Vineyards Pinot Noir Los Carneros' the grapes for this wine are from the Durell Vineyards. On the nose it was sweet berries and black peppers. As you take your first taste of the wine you have all the berries flavors upfront, strawberry and cherry particularly strong. As you start to drink it, the taste changes to dark chocolate and spices. The tannins are soft but clearly present and they are offsetting the acidity of the wine. Nice finish.

I bought this wine as part of a wine.woot offering for $14 .



marius rating: 91

Talk about a Wine Calendar

Somebody went to the trouble in making the ultimate Wine Google Map.
Check it out http://www.winesandtimes.com/ covers the entire USA.

Calendar ...

After Marius found that SF wine event pretty late in the game, I thought it might be helpful to have a public calendar for this group where we could list wine related events. I created a google calendar (sorry Jim - we can switch to Yahoo! calendars if it ever gets any better) and everyone should be able to see it here
Vino Club Calendar

You have to have a gmail account and google calendars in order to be able to make changes in it. If you are interested in doing that send me your gmail address so I can give you access - mine is dawnmg .

Marius - in the settings area there is a way to feed the calendar right into a page so maybe you can just get it published onto the side of the blog or something?

I've posted a few things to get us started. K&L wines seems to have lots of great tasting events. There is one right near mine & Michelle's work - fun! There is one in Redwood City too for Marius & Shannon.

Their March Newsletter has a nice section on Bordeaux. I'll probably buy one of these for our next meeting: K&L Wine Merchants March Newsletter (PDF file)

NachtGold Eiswein 2005

jezt gehts los!
alright people...
finally, i am in munich sipping the loveliest 2005 qualitatswein mit predikat.
silky, sweet, dried apricot, honey, nice tecture, neither too thick nor too thin.
this is bottled for export, so i am thinking it could be found stateside.
i am believing all the things i have heard of 2005...
and this is definitely the start of something good.
most of me is really fighting the urge to murder this bottle tonight so i can do it
again to another tomorrow!
i would say, this is on par with tears of dew, only not so thick.
very yummy.
8 euros.

But where did it come from? Bordeaux Map

Here are a couple of maps to give you a better idea where the different Bordeaux regions are. For more info on the regions and what type of wines and grapes they produce, please checkout the Wine Doctor again.

Crus this, Crus that. What is all about.

I found a site that is a great resource to learn about French wines. The Wine Doctor has allot of information on Bordeaux wines and all the individual wine estates. I will steal a couple of his articles and post them on our Blog, for educational purposes.

Médoc 1855 Classification

This Bordeaux classification, together with the classification of Sauternes, predates all others still in use today by more than a century. It was originally drawn up by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce for the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, at the request of Emperor Napoleon III. The Bordeaux négociants already had firmly established league tables, based largely on price (and therefore quality), and this knowledge formed the basis for this particular Bordeaux classification.

Since 1855 there has been only one change in this Bordeaux classification, that being the elevation of Mouton-Rothschild from second to first growth in 1973. This inflexibility is the main flaw of the 1855 classification, as many of the Bordeaux chateaux merit promotion or demotion based on their current performances.

Premiers Crus

• Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
• Chateau Latour (Pauillac)
• Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)
• Chateau Margaux (Margaux)
• Chateau Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan - the only non-Médoc chateau)

Deuxièmes Crus

• Chateau Pichon Baron (Pauillac)
• Chateau Pichon Lalande (Pauillac)
• Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou (St Julien)
• Chateau Gruaud Larose (St Julien)
• Chateau Léoville-Las Cases (St Julien)
• Chateau Léoville-Barton (St Julien)
• Chateau Léoville-Poyferré (St Julien)
• Chateau Cos d'Estournel (St Estephe)
• Chateau Montrose (St Estephe)
• Chateau Brane Cantenac (Margaux)
• Chateau Durfort Vivens (Margaux)
• Chateau Lascombes (Margaux)
• Chateau Rauzan-Ségla (Margaux)
• Chateau Rauzan-Gassies (Margaux)

Troisièmes Crus

• Chateau Lagrange (St Julien)
• Chateau Langoa-Barton (St Julien)
• Chateau Boyd-Cantenac (Margaux)
• Chateau Cantenac-Brown (Margaux)
• Chateau Desmirail (Margaux)
• Chateau Ferrière (Margaux)
• Chateau Giscours (Margaux)
• Chateau d'Issan (Margaux)
• Chateau Kirwan (Margaux)
• Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry (Margaux)
• Chateau Marquis d'Alesme-Becker (Margaux)
• Chateau Palmer (Margaux)
• Chateau Calon-Ségur (St Estephe)
• Chateau La Lagune (Haut-Medoc)

Quatrièmes Crus

• Chateau Duhart Milon (Pauillac)
• Chateau Marquis-de-Terme (Margaux)
• Chateau Pouget (Margaux)
• Chateau Prieuré-Lichine (Margaux)
• Chateau Beychevelle (St Julien)
• Chateau Branaire-Ducru (St Julien)
• Chateau St Pierre (St Julien)
• Chateau Talbot (St Julien)
• Chateau Lafon Rochet (St Estephe)
• Chateau La Tour-Carnet (Haut-Medoc)

Cinquièmes Crus

• Chateau d'Armailhac (Pauillac)
• Chateau Batailley (Pauillac)
• Chateau Clerc-Milon (Pauillac)
• Chateau Croizet-Bages (Pauillac)
• Chateau Grand-Puy-Ducasse (Pauillac)
• Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac)
• Chateau Haut-Bages-Libéral (Pauillac)
• Chateau Haut-Batailley (Pauillac)
• Chateau Lynch-Bages (Pauillac)
• Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac)
• Chateau Pédesclaux (Pauillac)
• Chateau Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)
• Chateau Dauzac (Margaux)
• Chateau du Tertre (Margaux)
• Chateau Cos-Labory (St Estephe)
• Chateau Belgrave (Haut-Médoc)
• Chateau Camensac (Haut-Médoc)
• Chateau Cantemerle (Haut-Médoc)

Unclassified

• Chateau Gloria
  (comprising small plots of land purchased from Cru Classé properties)

Bordeaux under $25!

Jim and I just got the latest Food & Wine magazine and low and behold there is a little blurb that recommends 5 bordeaux under $25. I thought I would share them in case anyone needs a little help with their selection for our next meeting - I know I sure do!

Chateau Bonnet Rouge ($12)
Chateau Greysac ($16)
Chateau Cap de Faugeres ($17)
Chateau Charmail ($20)
Chateau Gigault Cuvee Viva ($23

Castle Syrah 2002

this wine needs decanting. it doesnt not drink well out of the bottle. enjoyable, hints of cherry, berries, full bodied and smoothe. Many reviewers are finding this syrah off or hot, i think they should have let it sit a little longer. i wasnt expecting much and would definitely drink again, would definitely buy again, i was pleasantly surprised by this wine. -shannon

2004 Torbreck The Bothie Muscat Blanc Barossa Valley

Torbeck Vintners is one of the top Australian wineries.
Here is what Robert Parker had to say about the wine maker Dave Powell.

'Dave Powell, unquestionably one of the world's finest wine producers, has an uncanny ability to discover old vine Barossa vineyards, and then secure long term contracts for their fruit.'

The Wine Advocate Issue #161 (October 2005) Robert Parker

The Bothie Muscat Blanc

Pale gold. Crisp scents of peach, ripe pear and dried apricot. Plump and juicy on the palate, with a clean, brisk peach flavor that is in no way cloying. Impressive for its svelte, focused character (too much sweet muscat comes off as flabby!). Finishes with focus and pretty floral notes. This would be great with salty or blue cheeses.

Winefront Monthly Reviews - February 2006

EOS 2005 "TEARS OF DEW" LATE HARVEST MOSCATO

Winemaker Comments

Consistently recognized for its outstanding quality, the previous 2004
vintage offering of this wine was awarded a Best of Class of Region Gold
Medal at the 2006 California State Fair Wine Competition, and Wine
Enthusiast Magazine commented eloquently on our 2003 vintage of
this wine as follows: “It’s time to admit this wine into the elite of California
dessert sippers. It’s always dependably rewarding in apricot, wild honey and vanilla flavors, unctuously sweet, and well-balanced in acids.”
And later, “Paso Robles is making a play for the most congenial home for
sweet Muscat...” more

March Wine Club! Sweets!!!

Our second meeting came and went.
The theme was sweet wines, as it was Shannons birthday and Shannon loves her sweets...
We tasted a great variety and over all enjoyed the experience.
Here is the lineup start to finish:
Torbreck Bothie 2004.
EOS Tears of Dew 2005
Royal Tokaji 5 puttonyos 2005
R.L. Buller & Sons Fine Victoria Muscat NV
Blandys Madeira 5 year Malmsy

april brings us dawns choice, bordeaux!!!
and Shannon will be joining via satellite.
(i warn you, marius has been researching for next meet...)