David Corey was passing through town this week and contacted me to see if we could get a dinner going – well heck, I’m always up for that! So this past Wednesday 12 of us congregated at Mudd’s Restaurant in San Ramon for a terrific offline. It was great seeing Dave again as well as everyone who came out midweek with great wines to make this a great time! Here are my notes:

2004 Core b.core
An outstanding blend of nearly equal parts Rousanne and Marsanne, this wine would definitely hold it’s on in a line up of CdP Blanc. The nose shows classic Rhone aromas that I always find hard to describe, quite minerally, but that doesn’t quite capture it completely. On the palate this is an exciting wine, with attractive spice, great fruit, and terrific balance. Quite young, this wine will benefit from several years of age.

2004 Core 613
I really loved this blend, which is drinking just beautifully young. Very well balanced, with an intriguing spiciness that Dave indicates is from the Hungarian oak used to raise the wine. Full and rich on the palate, but with excellent acidity keeping the wine lively and refreshing. I would hesitate to lay this down to long, but why would you? It’s great drinking young!

2004 Linne Calodo Contrarian
A sexy, upfront wine with wonderful floral aromas and a rich texture that is carried well by plenty of fresh acidity. There is plenty to like about this wine, with tropical fruit, orange, and white flowers, really delish!

2004 Domaine de Senechaux CdP Blanc
Drank way, way to young, I found this wine fairly unforgiving and closed.

2001 Dom. Auguste Clape CdR Blanc
I quite enjoyed this wine, very attractive and easy to drink, uncomplicated, and refreshing.

2004 Edmunds St. John Pinot Grigio
Very tasty, this wine shows great acidity, a nice minerally aspect, and a citrus fruit profile. Very refreshing, this would make an excellent summer drink.

2001 Siduri Pinot Noir Cargasacchi
My favorite of the three Pinots on the table, I felt the Siduri showed classic (to me, anyway) Cargasachhi fruit, with excellent balance and depth, plenty of ripe red fruit, and a side note of chocolate that I often pick up with this vineyard.

2003 Loring Pinot Noir Cargasacchi
Also delicious, I found the Loring to be creamier and broader on the palate than the Siduri, with lower acid but packed with sweet fruit and a touch of vanilla.

2003 Babcock Pinot Noir Cargasacchi
The Babcock sort of fit somewhere between the Loring and the Siduri to my taste. It seemed to show a very similar flavor profile to the Siduri, if maybe just ratcheted down a notch. A terrific wine, if not quite as much going on as the Siduri.

2000 Pignan CdP
I think I was actually one of the few to enjoy this wine. While not great, I did find it somewhat interesting. Yes, it was stinky, and I heard comments of VA often, but I thought it a serviceable wine.

2003 Core Coreferment
I still maintain this wine needs time, while it is mighty tasty I think it really needs bottle age for the tannins to integrate a bit and let the fruit shine through. The flavor profile is of ripe red fruits (raspberries come to mind), but with a sort of dusty aspect I tend to associate with Grenache. The wine is delicious, but it just seems that there is so much more waiting to come out.

2004 Turchi Syrah Santa Barbara County
This is sort of a 2nd label for Core (or alternate label?) done for relative IIRC. I really enjoyed the delightful nose on this wine, which didn’t quite carry through on the palate. Nonetheless this was plenty tasty, and would make a great everyday wine (which is what was intended, and at the full list price of $14 I think it makes a fine bargain).

2003 Elyse Le Corbeaux Hudson Vineyard
An excellent, full-bodied blend with mostly dark fruits, a great mouthfeel, and ripe firm tannins. Very good.

2000 Qupe Los Olivios Cuvee
I know I tasted this wine, but sadly I don’t recall it well enough to comment.

2003 Villa Creek Garnacha
Love the screwcap! This is “classic” Villa Creek (if there can be such a thing, with so few vintages) – big, rich, high alcohol which is notable on the nose and the palate, but not overly intrusive. Plenty of bright ripe red fruit, and a sturdy backbone, with fine tannins mostly obscured by the wealth of fruit. YUM!

2000 Sine Qua Non In Flagrante
The last time I had this wine was about 1 ½ years ago, when a friend and I sat down and enjoyed the bottle over several hours – just the two of us. At that time I found it to be absolutely amazing. Tonight it was somewhat less so, but still outstanding, showing the same profile of bacon, hung meat, black fruits, and smoke. Tannins on this wine are substantial, and it’s really still just a baby – I won’t touch my remaining bottle for at least two years, likely more.

2003 Candy Core
I just love this stuff! Something like 90% Grenache, the wine is quite sweet, but with substantial tannins and excellent acidity. A serious dessert wine, despite the whimsical name, I still have no idea how to predict it’s ageability, but my sense is that it might just age quite well indeed – though keeping my hands off in order for that to happen will be extremely difficult, as it offers so much pleasure now!