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TN: Kongsgaard, Aubert, Futo, Continuum, Lafond, Kracher, Joelle, Dark Side

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TN:  Kongsgaard, Aubert, Futo, Continuum, Lafond, Kracher, Joelle, Dark Side Empty TN: Kongsgaard, Aubert, Futo, Continuum, Lafond, Kracher, Joelle, Dark Side

Post  Loren Sonkin Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:14 pm

Last night my wife and I got together with two other couples for dinner and conversation. All wines were consumed non-blind over the course of the evening. I did not take notes, so these are me recollections.

With cheeses before we got to the restaurant:
2005 Joelle Pinot Noir Santa Maria
Cherry red in color, slightly light (which I like). The nose has cherries and a slight earthy texture. Medium bodied. On the palate, this is a feminine wine. It was mono-dimensional out of the bottle but did add some complexity with air. Cherries and slight tea leaf notes. Nice finish. I liked this wine but not as much as the 06 Kanzler Vyd tasted last week. 50+4+12+16+6=88

2006 Dark Side of the Vine Eclipse Syrah White Hawk Vineyard
Purple/Ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has some oak to it, blueberries and craisins. Also some alcohol. Full bodied. On the palate, this is very ripe fruit, perhaps more ripe than I prefer, but others would love this style. Lots of oak showing. With an hour of air, it smoothed out a bit. Kind of like a syramarone. Can I trademark that term? Others would definitely score this a few points higher that like this style. 50+4+11+16+5=86

At the Restaurant:
2003 Kongsgaard Chardonnay The Judge
Green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is reticent at first. With some air it shows more green apples, pears and a touch of minerals. Full bodied. On the palate, this is crisp and clean. Minerals and red apples. A touch of lemons especially on the finish. Just a fantastic wine. Along with Rhys, my two favorite Cal Chards. 50+4+13+19+8=94

2004 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren
Golden in color, somewhat cloudy. The nose has lots of sulfur, gunpowder, etc. Also plenty of oak and butterscotch. Also a good amount of citrus fruit. I liked it. On the palate, this seems more disjointed to me. Pieces parts with lots of oak. Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice wine, but not a style I like and nothing compared to the Judge IMO. Others, of course, felt different. 50+2+14+17+7=90

1990 Comtes Lafon Volnay Santenots du Milieu
The most controversial wine of the night. Pale ruby/purple in the glass, clear and bright. The nose, out of the bottle had a lovely funk to it. Of course, others hated it, some even refusing to put the glass to her lips. To me, it was, not barnyard but what I love in older Burgundy: slightly gamey, funky, etc. In any event, it blew off in an hour or so. Also had some cherries, and forest floor notes. Full bodied. On the palate, this doesn’t show its age and probably has some more maturing to do. Some layering go on. Nice acidity. All in all a lovely wine. 50+4+13+18+7=92

2005 Continuum Red Wine
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose has Chinese plum sauce, spice, cassis, and cedar. Full bodied. It was decanted for half an hour, but still took some more time to open. Very much like the older Mondavi wines in the French Californian way. Cassis and spice with nice layers. Seems like this will improve and gain with some cellaring. I liked this wine. 50+4+13+18+8=93

2005 Futo Red Wine
I had been looking forward to trying this. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, black raspberries, cedar, fresh cut oak, coffee and a couple of green elements. I suspect there is some Cab Franc in the mix. Bell peppers and tarragon. I did not find that objectionable. On the palate, this showed a ton of oak at first. With air it started to integrate a bit. Never really got over the hump. Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice wine, but at $200, I don’t think I would buy again. Perhaps with age it gets better. 50+4+13+17+7=91

1997 Chave Hermitage
Actually this never made it to the restaurant. I opened it earlier in the day to give it some air and it was corked.

We finished with:
2001 Alois Kracher Grand Cuvee Number 6 TBA
Golden in color, clear and bright. Lovely nose of apricots and honey. Full bodied. On the palate, this is delicious. If I am nit picking, it could have used a bit more acidity. Of course, by this time, I was pretty sloshed myself and my palate was tired. Still, I thought this outstanding. 50+4+13+18+8=93
Loren Sonkin
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Post  Zachary L A N G Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:14 pm

Loren , thanks for the great notes...I have a Judge sitting just waiting to be opened. That was a very promising note to read!
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Post  Todd F r e n c h Mon Jan 26, 2009 4:38 pm

Nice notes, Loren! It seems that the Futo comments are similar to what I've seen elsewhere, and so sucky that the Chave was corked!!

This makes me clearly realize that my friends suck - we'd never drink like this. It would be beer and Red Bull with vodka.
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Post  Loren Sonkin Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:33 pm

I am happy to say, the store I bought it from (Miles Market, a local store) took back the 97 Chave. They had no more, but scrounged their temp controlled cellars in the back for a bottle of 98 to exchange it with me. That worked fine with me.
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Post  Todd F r e n c h Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:40 pm

Loren Sonkin wrote:I am happy to say, the store I bought it from (Miles Market, a local store) took back the 97 Chave. They had no more, but scrounged their temp controlled cellars in the back for a bottle of 98 to exchange it with me. That worked fine with me.
I sure wish that wasn't illegal in CA
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