Saturday, May 22, 2021

Impromptu Young Cabs

Since we decided we were moving, I've been thinking the more wine we drink, the less wine we have to move. In this vein, I tried to get together an in person tasting over the weekend, weeks ahead of my official post vaccination tastings. I knew some of our friends were out of town, but I hoped I would be able to get a few to join us. Luckily Jose and Lili, and Paul and Jennifer were able to join us to taste some young cabs.

I decanted the wines 2 hours before we started, to give them a chance to overcome their youth.

We sat down in the backyard to enjoy the wines. It was nice to see people again. Lili and Jose brought Sue a lovely birthday gift and rum cake to share. We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results




A - 2017 Brander Reserve, Los Olivos District came in first place with an average of 3.58. It cost $50 from the winery. There was a mix up on a Sauvignon Blanc I ordered from them for a tasting I was putting together on Dr. Pat Farrell Master of Wine's recommendation. The winery sent it to me as a gift.

D - 2018 Soquel Partner's RESERVE, Atlas Peak, Napa Valley came in second place with an average of 3.33. It cost $125 from the winery. We bought it as a future for half price as club members.

C - 2018 Lail, Blueprint, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.21. It cost $80 from the winery. The 2017 vintage was Wine Enthusiast's #1 wine of 2020, but was only available in half bottles, so I picked up a couple of these to try.

B - 2018 LightPost Reserve, Paso Robles came in last place with an average of 3.17. It cost $59 from the winery. It won Sweepstake Award (Best Cabernet Sauvignon) in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. I had ordered their Best of Class Pinot, but they sent me this on accident. I agreed to buy the bottles from them after a good sales job.

Afterwards, I opened a 2014 Vine Cliff, Private Stock, 16 Rows which is usually an incredible bottle of wine, but I was disappointed. I then opened a 2017 Plumpjack Reserve which was excellent.

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Albariño Tasting

As you might have guessed, I went a little crazy planning tastings when the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition results came out. Why? I can't say. It might have been the weight of the pandemic, or perhaps I needed a distraction from my job, but in the end, I lined up an unprecedented number of tastings. In this effort I tried to pick some varietals that I was less familiar with. To that avail, I added an Albariño tasting. Only a subset of my friends are interested in a white tasting, but thankfully enough. Truth be told, I would do it without interest, but wine is always better with friends.

To find my wines, I started with the Albariño: 2021 Awards. I could not find the Double Gold winning, Idaho Albariño from Williamson Orchards and Vineyards. I contacted them because the wine was not listed on their web site. They told me they had limited sales to club members after winning the award. Apparently, it was flying off the shelves. The idea of trying an Idaho wine intrigued me, but not enough to join another wine club. Fortunately, I was able to find 3 choices I was happy with.

The wines were in my hands and I planned to distribute them with the birthday Sangiovese wines. Coincidentally I received an email from Wine Enthusiast titled "Fall in Love with Albariño from Rías Baixas." I took this as a sign that I should add an Albariño from the region to the tasting, so I ordered one. I then waited two weeks for them to ship it to me. So much for distributing them at the same time. The good news was we had a representative from the home of Albariño!

We met on a Saturday, a little earlier than usual given a Michael Franti virtual concert we planned to attend. We had a great time tasting with everyone.


Results





B - 2019 Berryessa Gap, Yolo County, came in first place with an average of 4.01. It cost $23 from the winery. It won Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

A - 2019 Pierce, San Antonio Valley, came in second place with an average of 3.88. It cost $25 from the winery. It won Best of Class in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

D - 2019 Harney Lane, Lodi, came in third place with an average of 3.43. It cost $20 from the winery. It won Double Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

C - 2019 Paco & Lolo, Rias Baixas, came in last place with an average of 3.16. It cost $21.

Everyone agreed all the wine was very enjoyable and glad to have given it a try.