29/05/09 Golden Vineyards

1/06/09 Robert Mondavi & Opus One

03/06/09 Bonny Doon

Tasting at the Golden Vineyards a selection of the most interesting wines (there were a lot of good wines, despite being 2007 and 2008 vintages and being young they’re promising).
I liked Eric´s wine because of the incredible juiciness and powerful attitude (hard match to any other food then a huge steak), to taste wild yeast (native) is always exciting and looking forward to taste more wine from Mendocino, it’s electrifying.
29/05/09 Tasted at the Golden Estate, Mendocino County

Syrah Mendocino Wine, Golden 2007
Deep ruby colour with very young skills on the nose. Floral, anis, mint, eucalyptus and a blossom like character. Lovely acidity, red fruit, plum and very deep, despite so young it’s dense. Fairly high pH 4,3 and TA around 6,9.

Mendo Farm Syrah 2007
Deep ruby colour, dense nose with a lot of vibrant black fruit. Great density, mulberry and bramble fruit. Good acidity, superb and good vibration on the palate too. Fruit plenty and very juicy, ripe. Plenty of wood yet good balance. “Barrel exchanges oxygen and enhances fruit and purity”.

Bernstein –native- Syrah 2007
Extended fermentation. Spice and floral on the nose, cinnamon, clove. Lots of tannin, very ripe yet also powerful, sweet fruit on the palate. Blackberry, mulberry, currant fruit very chunky and hefty.

Casme 220 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 native
Full Biodynamic approach. Round and herbal notes with black currant notes. Good density, yet very pretty indeed. Dense and fantastic silky but nevertheless powerful too, hint of wood helps nicely.

Shoe Shine Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Liquorice, full of black fruit. It’s an explosion of fruit, rich and dense, candy. Fiery, peppery, black fruit and incredible ripe, high drive, full side, massive wine, 25 brix.

Shoe Shine Petit Sirah 2007
Red fruit on the nose, very delicate with a subtle note of cherry and light spice. Ripe fruit, good tannins, sweet spice and ripe, some black fruit, pretty and friendly wine despite it has certain weight.

Smith Anderson Mendo Wine Company 2007
Charming weight with a green pepper, black fruit combination, light herbeceousness yet ripe. Good vibration to it.

Golden Mendo Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Chunky red fruit with spice and some sweetness on the nose. Ripe fruit, no doubt it has weight and authority. Divine. Full yet a bit high on the alcohol, full tannin for sure, powerful wine, complex fruit yet dominant Cabernet.

Mendo Lot A Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Black fruit and very bold wine, complex, blueberry, bramble fruit, whiff of minty leaf. Round and relaxed wine with good balance, yet very powerful and ripe black fruit very juicy. Dark chocolate and tobacco notes, the 100% new oak sticking out heavy on the finish, bitter-sweet combo.

Golden 2008 Mendo Cabernet Sauvignon (different picking time)
Blueberry and forest air coming thru the wine. Gorgeous nose, bright with a great black fruit base. Full tannins, ripe but a bit hard and plenty of it a moment, will settle with time, jam packed.

Golden Petite Sirah Mondo 2008
Black fruit with a tick of spice, juicy and tannins round and dense. Spicy and herbal finish, cinnamon, nutmeg, mulberry and a whiff of savoury notes. Very good indeed.

Tasting notes Robert Mondavi (Napa)
Mondavi 2005 Chardonnay Reserve
Reserve meaning best fruit, south End – Carneros vineyard.
Style: intense without being too big or a fruit bomb.
Clean, light golden colour, lees 4-5 month’s batonnage. 40% new oak, very bright, pronounced good level of tropical fruit, stone fruit combination. Choosing the ‚right‘barrel and blending makes a difference. Dry, good wood use, balance and finesse with intensity, not too big, ripe fruit, fine finish.

Fumé Blanc 2006 Reserve
The Fumé Blanc supposes to be the OAKY bros of Sauvignon Blanc. No wonder I was „afraid“ when we came to this wine, it must be an oak monster, this Sauvignon Blanc. But Mark said this must not always be the case and I should try it. He was right.
Bright colour, fresh crisp despite there is some oak, but is not over powering rather inside the playing field, good game. Gooseberry, tropical notes mix, hint of mint and grassiness, ripe nevertheless. Dry, crisp, yet comes with a full texture, especially on the middle. Good acidity, wine with weight yet balance and structure, ripe fruit.

Pinot Noir Reserve 2007
Fairly deep garnet colour, juicy mint with an herbal ripeness to it. Cherry, bold yet elegant.
Good tannins, fine red fruit with liquorice, juicy cherry fruit going down with a peppery herbal character, good finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon 1993 Reserve
Garnet colour, great nose. Mature with complexity, leafy, char coal, BBQ, roasted meat and an herbal peppery, capsicum note, dense fruit and weight. Great complex nose, indeed, clove hint of cigar box. Alive, great acidity, soft smooth tannins, ripe black fruit with a leafy character, very long and dense finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 Reserve
Cool vintage- aromatic and complex
Brighter to the rim, hint of purple, shows aging potential. Herbal character, bold chunky fruit on the nose, black berry, cinnamon, eucalyptus and menthol. Soft smooth on the palate with plenty of black fruit, cassis, blackberry, gentle yet good concentration and a very good finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 Reserve
„Dumb teenager“ there is a period where the wine closes down. Bit tight and closed on the nose, indeed at the moment. Yet there is good weight on the palate with concentration, gentle tannins and a mix of red and black fruit. Some Asian spice too, very full.

Stags Leap 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Southern area, deep ruby colour, cherry bramble fruit. Ripe, soft tannins, good acidity yet full of black fruit and dense. Plum, black fruit, cassis rather full and good weight. Great balance tannins and fruit. Lots of berry fruit.

Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005
Black fruit, thymine, spice, herbs with cassis. Bright and full, gorges density on the nose.
Big tannins, but very ripe, a young wine but with great potential. Dense black fruit, bramble, raspberry, peppermint and nutmeg, full side. Long finish, dense wine with character. Well done.
94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. Good finish.

Opus One 2005
88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec
Deep ruby colour, deep velvety nose, plenty of black fruit, leather, some herbal chunky black fruit. Yet very elegant, refined in style indeed full side and juicy. Ripe black fruit, bramble, complex, soft silky tannins and a lively acidity, certainly long. Some chocolate notes, cranberry, bramble fruit, ripe and good base, solid. Well done…needs time.

Bonny Doon Winery
Ca´del Solo 2008 Treix Adura
80%Albarino  20% Larello
Clean pale straw yellow colour, green apple with a ripe nose. Very pleasant and crisp from the beginning. Dry, fresh, great acidity, good minerality, a real pleaser, green apple, light tart finish, good zip, great length.

Muscat 2008 Ca´del Solo
Giollo varietal of the Muscat
Pale straw yellow colour, lovely nose, floral yet there is some pineapple, mango and tropicalness present. Dry, medium acidity, pretty floral on the palate with a hint of pineapple too, good touch and finish.

Syrah Le Pousseur MMV 2005
Whole cluster fermentation
Ruby colour, spicy chunky red fruit on the nose. Fine acidity, soft grained tannins, good fruit base mint jammy and a red spice on the palate. Good

Le Cigare Volant 2005
50% Grenache 24% Mourvedre and the rest made up by: Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault.
The story goes back into the 50´s when in Chateauneuf-de-Pape it was forbidden for UFOs to land. The slang for UFO must be the flying cigar in French, Le Cigar Volant. Randal found this so funny he had to use it on his Rhone blend, and call it the Flying Cigar…
Bit tight on the nose at the start. Good acidity, fruit and chunkiness with a hint of spice and light meaty character. Needs time to breath (under screw cap).
25/06/09
Retasted this wine back in Germany, soft spice fruit with a great chunky red fruit character on the palate. The nose opens up slightly more but still probably better to decant as it´s still sort of tight. Soft meaty and spice with a red fruit finish on the palate. Nice one.

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