It was my birthday Monday, and since I am officially Old now, my lovely husband, along with our lovely friend (who didn't hold us giving him lousy wine the other night against us) conspired to have a party, and they got a bunch of heavy hitter wines for everyone to have. Apparently they plundered the blog here for ideas, but also came up with some winners I haven't had before.
Don't hold these notes against me... they are mostly for me to just remember what we had. It was a party, and I was not spitting, and I was more focused on having fun and talking to people and not so much on wine, but I did try to scribble some notes as necessary using a borrowed pen and little scrap of notepaper I was able to grab. This is roughly the order they were in, although I am not 100 percent sure since sometimes I was lagging behind and several bottles were open at once. We also had a lovely rosé sparkling wine but I didn't write down the name!
I was very hungover yesterday... I haven't been drinking a lot and it is obvious! I also had to, um, pump and dump, which is a first for me. (There, got my mommy-blog type reference out there....)
Sean Thackrey Pleiades XVIII You name it, it's all in there. It's no secret that I love this wine. It was, as always, delightful, although I had a sense that it was a little shy for some reason, right then. Maybe that was just how I felt, though. It didn't strike me as overwhelmingly crazy as it normally does, although it had the eucalytpus there at the beginning and the leather there at the end and that means all is well in the world.
2009 Sean Thackrey Andromeda (magnum) Pinot Noir. Had a Thackrey nose with some eucalyptus/woodsy stuff going on. Was overall pretty elegant and dangerously quaffable/poundable. Sour cherry, some mocha/earth, cherry finish, pretty streamlined and placid, but perfectly balanced. Not crazy like the blends, but polished and lovely.
2006 Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner Meritage blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. I got a lot of herb and, well, beef, from this one, along with the usual black currant and vanilla. It's a pretty savory wine.
2008 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 69% Syrah, 12% Grenache Noir, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cinsault, and 2% Viognier. Smoky, meaty nose, plummy, with a leathery finish. Aggressive in a good way.
2007 Holus Bolus Syrah. Rough raspberry velvet, candylike finish (probably because we were having it after/with The Chocolate Block). It was much more floral and creamy/candy/fruity especially on the finish.
1999 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese. This got kind of lost with all the wackadoo fruitastic New World wines we were having, which sucks, since I love Sangiovese. Velvety, yet acidic.
2005 Piedrasassi Syrah. I got some vegetables out of this one... peas, asparagus, artichoke? and it had a somewhat rough finish.
2008 K Vintners The Creator 64% Cabernet Sauvignon (43% Stoneridge & 21% Cailloux), 36% Syrah (Morrison Lane). Righteous. Now that I've looked up the blend and see that some of the CS comes from Cayuse and that the Syrah is Morrison Lane, well, I know why I loved it so much. This was nuts, in your face, take no prisoners wine, and it was awesome.
2008 Clos Figueras Serras del Priorat 60% Grenache, 20% Carignane, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Monastrell. Black leather and herbs, tarry smoke. I am not sure why (except that this was the last bottle we had, which might explain a lot) but I wrote "pussycat" repeatedly in reference to it. I think that was my weird way of saying I liked it.
Don't hold these notes against me... they are mostly for me to just remember what we had. It was a party, and I was not spitting, and I was more focused on having fun and talking to people and not so much on wine, but I did try to scribble some notes as necessary using a borrowed pen and little scrap of notepaper I was able to grab. This is roughly the order they were in, although I am not 100 percent sure since sometimes I was lagging behind and several bottles were open at once. We also had a lovely rosé sparkling wine but I didn't write down the name!
I was very hungover yesterday... I haven't been drinking a lot and it is obvious! I also had to, um, pump and dump, which is a first for me. (There, got my mommy-blog type reference out there....)
Sean Thackrey Pleiades XVIII You name it, it's all in there. It's no secret that I love this wine. It was, as always, delightful, although I had a sense that it was a little shy for some reason, right then. Maybe that was just how I felt, though. It didn't strike me as overwhelmingly crazy as it normally does, although it had the eucalytpus there at the beginning and the leather there at the end and that means all is well in the world.
2009 Sean Thackrey Andromeda (magnum) Pinot Noir. Had a Thackrey nose with some eucalyptus/woodsy stuff going on. Was overall pretty elegant and dangerously quaffable/poundable. Sour cherry, some mocha/earth, cherry finish, pretty streamlined and placid, but perfectly balanced. Not crazy like the blends, but polished and lovely.
2006 Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner Meritage blend: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. I got a lot of herb and, well, beef, from this one, along with the usual black currant and vanilla. It's a pretty savory wine.
2008 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 69% Syrah, 12% Grenache Noir, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cinsault, and 2% Viognier. Smoky, meaty nose, plummy, with a leathery finish. Aggressive in a good way.
2007 Holus Bolus Syrah. Rough raspberry velvet, candylike finish (probably because we were having it after/with The Chocolate Block). It was much more floral and creamy/candy/fruity especially on the finish.
1999 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese. This got kind of lost with all the wackadoo fruitastic New World wines we were having, which sucks, since I love Sangiovese. Velvety, yet acidic.
2005 Piedrasassi Syrah. I got some vegetables out of this one... peas, asparagus, artichoke? and it had a somewhat rough finish.
2008 K Vintners The Creator 64% Cabernet Sauvignon (43% Stoneridge & 21% Cailloux), 36% Syrah (Morrison Lane). Righteous. Now that I've looked up the blend and see that some of the CS comes from Cayuse and that the Syrah is Morrison Lane, well, I know why I loved it so much. This was nuts, in your face, take no prisoners wine, and it was awesome.
2008 Clos Figueras Serras del Priorat 60% Grenache, 20% Carignane, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Monastrell. Black leather and herbs, tarry smoke. I am not sure why (except that this was the last bottle we had, which might explain a lot) but I wrote "pussycat" repeatedly in reference to it. I think that was my weird way of saying I liked it.
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