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Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10803
 | | 03/04/2007 11:08 PM |
| I realized while writing up these notes that I'm totally puny when it comes to notes. I have a few more to add but they are a bit illegible. Maybe Eric can add. 
VINOCELLAR.COM 4TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - Willi's Wine Bar, Santa Rosa, CA (2/16/2007)
A large group of about 25 winos descended on Willi's Wine Bar in Santa Rosa to eat, drink and be merry. The environment was challenging as there were two long tables and tasting all of the wines was difficult to impossible. Below are my notes on a few of the wines. The food was good although it was difficult to pass the plates in a group that large.
The complete list of wines:
1998 Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg Vendange Tardives MAGNUM; 2001 Martinelli Chardonnay; Three Sisters Sea Ridge Meadows; 2003 J. Rochioli Chardonnay, Rachael’s Vineyard; 2004 Gary Farrell Chardonnay; Rochioli East Side; 2003 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay, Barcaglia Lane; 2004 Rudd Chardonnay, Bacigalupi Vineyard; 2004 Domaine des Mondes Viognier (Santa Barbara, Clendenen/Yves Cuilleron); 2004 Peay Rousanne/Marsanne; 2005 Loring Chardonnay, Clos Pepe Vineyard; 2002 Williams-Selyem Chardonnay, Hawk Hill Vineyard; 2005 Inman Family Pinot Gris; 2004 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir, Cole Ranch; 2003 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, 4-Barrel; 2004 Shea Wine Co. Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir; 2004 Moshin Pinot Noir, Family Vineyard; 2005 Moshin Pinot Noir, Lot 4; 2001 Tantarra Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard; 2005 Tantarra Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard; 2004 Pisoni Pinot Noir, Pisoni Estate; 2002 Russian Rivers Vineyard Pinot Noir, RRV; 1998 Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvee Reservee; 2000 Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cuvee Reservee; 2002 Whitehall Lane Cabernet, Napa Valley; 2001 Bond Matriarch; 2003 Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon; 1995 Joseph Phelps Delice 375ML (x3)
Dinner
- 2002 Martinelli Chardonnay Three Sisters - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Interesting citrus flavors and aromas but a huge amount of oak. Some acidity to balance it out. (88 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine Weinbach Gewürztraminer Altenbourg Vendanges Tardives - France, Alsace, Kientzheim & Sigolsheim, Alsace AOC
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. From magnum (an amazingly tall bottle) Edging towards the sweet edge of the scale this wine had almond and peach aromas and flavors along with spices. Not quite as overt as I was expecting out of a Gewurtz. It needed a little more acidity to take it to the next level. Nice. (90 pts.)
- 2003 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Barcaglia Lane - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Notes from memory: well-balanced chard with some stone fruit flavors but quite a bit of oak. (89 pts.)
- 1998 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. This was one of the bretty Pegaus. The horsey smell was the first aroma out of the decanter. Those adverse to horsey aromas stopped at that point while the others pressed on. While it had some complexity this was an off showing for this wine. [Decanted at the table; not much improvement in the decanter] (88 pts.)
- 2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Firing on all cylinders. Layers of aromas and flavors and excellent structure. Terrific CDP which should continue to improve. [Popped and poured; might benefit from a decant; starting to drink well now but clearly could go for years] (93 pts.)
- 2002 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Hmm, what happened with this wine? Very cloudy and extremely sour on the finish. Maraschino cherry juice or Pinot? Hopefully this wine was not representative of all bottles. Blech but some people liked it. (86 pts.)
- 2004 Pisoni Pinot Noir - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Notes from memory: Dark purple in color; An absolute bruiser of a Pinot but with good complexity. Not really my preferred style any more but interesting. (91 pts.)
- 2004 Vision Cellars Pinot Noir Cole Ranch Esterlina Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Notes from memory: Clear ruby red in color; Really pretty tasty Pinot with bright red fruit, balsam and spice flavors. Nice. (89 pts.)
- 2003 Bressler Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. A sneek peak and unreleased. My main impression of this was that all of the right components were there for a good Bressler cab but the integration was not. On the primary side and seemed a little lighter in weight than previous vintages. No score yet but my guess is at about 92 once it comes together.
- 2001 Bond Matriarch - USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Pretty tasty cab. It seemed a bit angular with some pronounced coffee flavors. Good. (91 pts.)
- 2002 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Tasted at Willi's Wine Bar as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Notes from memory: Balanced cab with pronounced coffee flavors. Very medium weight. (88 pts.)
Lots of good wine and great company. Thanks to CP for making this happen.
Posted from CellarTracker | | | |
| David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15756
| | 03/04/2007 11:49 PM |
| There were 21 people. That number I know.
And by my count of your list there were 26 wines.
The wines were 98% gone at the end of the evening. We did share the occasional glass with our servers and a glass or two with Eric Hall from Russian River Vineyards
Maybe that's why we were so pleasant when we returned to our hotel with no electricity.
My WOTN right up there on top for WOTW was the 1998 Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg Vendange Tardives MAGNUM brought by who else but Eric White. He loves those long, tall bottles.
I didn't enjoy the Bond that much. It was indeed angular and I am not the greatest lover of coffee flavors. After having a taste I decided right then and there that most of my collection of Bond would hit the auction block.
I did love the Moshin Pinot Lot 4 which was my best Pinot of the night. | | | |
| Winetex
Austin, Texas
Master of Wine
Posts:10803
| | 03/05/2007 1:42 AM |
| My notes on the Moshin were the MOST illegible. It's bad when you can't read your own writing. Davetex was the designated driver so he didn't taste most of the wines and couldn't help with the notes. | | | |
| cmsyrah
Grape Picker
Posts:0
| | 03/05/2007 3:39 AM |
| Ok.
DavidN: I thought I understood most descriptors, but what the heck does 'angular' mean?
I was treated to the '04 Pisoni recently. Loved it. Reminded me of a walk in a berry patch hand in hand with whispers of my youth and green gardens with a big hint of mulch in the background.
Winetex, wonderful and fun notes. | | | |
| Renegade16
Sacramento
Grape Sorter
Posts:228
| | 03/05/2007 11:56 PM |
| | this is odd, i have a piece of art by pamela findleton entitled "willi's wine bar".... | |
Owner/Winemaker m2 Wines | |
| kpak
Alaska
Wine Thief
Posts:2970
| | 03/06/2007 2:26 AM |
| | there's one in Paris... | |
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits...
ps - friends don't let friends eat farmed salmon. | |
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