Last night wine+art called me and asked if we had any dinner plans. We decided to brave the fairly steady rains here for a nice evening out. We had dinner at Tucker's. Good food. We all "just grabbed" some bottles from our cellars. Really weird how it worked out because we ended up with 5 wines on the table from 5 different countries. Pretty cool in the end, a tasting trip quite literally around the world.

Here are the brief notes:

• 1990 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (2/24/2006)
  WIML90,WA89,WS92
  
  Tasted February 24, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a restaurant provided Riedel Cabernet Sauvignon wine glass. Tasted over a two hour period. Big leathery nose with some barnyard actioin happening. Mostly a leathery component on the palate with a mix of black fruits, cassis and such. Good wine, just not exceptional. Ready to go so drink up without decanting if you have any. (90 pts.)
  
• 2000 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (2/24/2006)
  WIML90,WA90,WS90
  
  Tasted February 24, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a restaurant provided Riedel Cabernet Sauvignon wine glass. Tasted over a two hour period. Nose of crushed plums, crushed black cherries and such, all of which carries through to the palate. Soft and supple on the palate. Solid effort for the vintage. Ready to go but no rush, should hold into the 5-10 year range fairly easily. (90 pts.)
  
• 2001 Quinta de Roriz Douro Reserva - Portugal, Douro (2/24/2006)
  WIML90,NOWA,WS91
  
  Tasted February 24, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a restaurant provided Riedel Cabernet Sauvignon wine glass. Tasted over a two hour period. This was an interesting wine. When it was first opened I didn’t get much on the nose or palate to excite me. But the longer I waited and revisited this wine kept getting better. Nose of roasted coffee and dark fruits. Flavors of rich, dark fruits, chocholate and coffee. This is one to keep and eye on. Would like to revisit in about 6 months to a year with a little decant time. (90 pts.)
  
• 2005 Villa Maria Chardonnay Private Bin - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay (2/24/2006)
  WIML86,NOWA,NOWS
  
  Tasted February 24, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a restaurant provided Riedel white wine glass. Tasted over a 45 minute period. Nose started off almost like a NZ Sauvignon Blanc with notes of grapefruit and fresh cut grass. Eventually started displaying some aromas of pineapple, lemon and tropical fruits. Pretty simple and straightforward flavors of yellow apple and mineral. Decent little quaffer if purchased at the right price.
  
  NOTE: this wine also had the word "unoaked" on the label. (86 pts.)
  
• 1997 Silvano Ed Elena Boroli Barolo Casina La Brunella - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo (2/24/2006)
  Tasted February 24, 2006 at an offline. Opened and served immediately in a restaurant provided Riedel Cabernet Sauvignon wine glass. Wine was corked. No rating given.
  

Posted from CellarTracker