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Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
 | | 09/21/2004 7:48 AM |
| MY TRIP TO NAPA, PART 3: TASTING AT OUTPOST AND DINNER AT TERRA - Napa Valley, California, USA (7/30/2004)
After an earlier tasting at Pride Mountain the rest of the day was nice but suffered by comparison.
TASTING AT OUTPOST
After we left Pride Mountain, we tailed Greg down the incredibly windy roads on Spring Mountain, briefly across the valley and then up Howell Mountain. A few minutes later we arrived at Outpost for a tasting of some recent offerings and some barrel samples with Thomas Rivers Brown, the winemaker.
NOTE: I'm typing in old notes from paper nearly two months later, and only some of the wines have scores. Not sure why I didn't score them all.
- 2002 Outpost Zinfandel - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
The nose shows spicy zinberry, blueberry and some heat (16% alcohol). The palate is very spicy and peppery with nice acid and juicy red fruit. This is rather long with nice balance. In the 87-88 point range. (87 pts.)
- 2003 Outpost Zinfandel - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
From barrel. A juicy, slightly vegetal and brambly nose. The palate is spicy and tannic with massive structure, brawny and powerful. I liked this a fair amount. (90 pts.)
- 2003 Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon See Clone - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
A nose of olive and cassis. Lots of barrel spice from the 100% new oak treatment, moving to black currant. Nothing too moving here.
- 2002 Outpost Petite Sirah The Other - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
Made from Hayne clones. Wow, this has a knockout nose of blueberry. On the palate this has dusky fruit with amazing structure.
- 2003 Outpost Petite Sirah The Other - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
From barrel. Wow, this is showing a lot of fresh barrel char, but it has a huge in-your-face nose of stunning fruit. On the palate this is classic iron fist and velvet glove stuff, crushing and powerful yet surprisingly lush. Awesome, 93+. (93 pts.)
- 1998 Outpost Zinfandel - Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, California, USA
An initially strong note of VA blows off to show a spicy, balanced palate featuring red fruit. Nice Zin, somewhat understated.
DINNER AT 'TERRA'
After Outpost we were all feeling our energy wane, so we dragged ourselves to Taylor's Refresher for a burger to tide us over before a late dinner. A little nap helped to restore my spirits, and then we were back in action and headed out to dinner at Terra. The food was nice but not quite to the level I was hoping for after hearing folks talk about it. A salad with lots of little crispy, fried shrimp was a nice way to start with a tasty German Riesling. Veal with a pair of somewhat disappointing Cabs was less inspired, but perhaps I was still feeling the burger from several hours earlier?!?
- 2002 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - Middle Mosel, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany
AP# 2577 050 7 03. This shows some surprising notes of petrol already. Very soft on entry with light notes of talc, white peach and red currant. With time the acid woke up a LOT, and the acid went from soft to zingy in a matter of minutes. (89 pts.)
- 1995 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch - Napa Valley, California, USA
My bottle. When we first opened this it screamed of mint, cola, and sasparilla, an amazingly cool nose! On the palate this had seething intensity and was very complex and layered. And then, within a matter of 10 minutes, this shut down HARD! The lavish and complex wine turned into a brooding, structured monster, massive on the palate, barely giving up some cranberry fruit. From this point we chased the memory of what we had tasted at first, and right as we neared the end of the meal the wine started to relent. Beware though, this one clearly needs some more time. (94 pts.)
- 1976 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Georges De Latour Private Reserve - Napa Valley, California, USA
When first opened this was a bit foul smelling with some medicinal aromas. This blew off and showed a bit of mushroom, forest floor, iron, cranberry, mineral and even some lead pencil (although Jason thought it was more like matchstick). This has very nice mouthfeel, almost Pinot like, pure, clean, fairly lively with nice balance. This was a charming older bottle. (88 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker! | | | |
| Tim
Barrel Filler
Posts:1465
| | 09/29/2004 5:00 AM |
| | What a disappointment in the '76 BV Latour. Joneswine#1 turned us onto it and bottles bought from BV's cellar released through K&L have been just spectacular. Fortunately I have 2 left and am fully confident to at least 10 more years of good drinking. | | | |
| Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
| | 09/29/2004 5:05 AM |
| | The bottle we had was nice but not great. It might have suffered from the travel shock of driving from San Fran to Napa a couple of days earlier? | | | |
| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 09/29/2004 1:45 PM |
| | I still have one bottle of this left which I've had in my cellar since release. The last time I had it, maybe 5 years ago, it was outstanding and showing no signs of deterioration. I had hoped to have the last one on its thirtieth birthday. | | | |
| DJ Hombre
Napa Valley, California
Barrel Filler
Posts:1360
| | 10/21/2004 7:12 AM |
| i had the `76 BV GdL in January, I believe. I apparently like it a lot better than Eric did. I thought that it still has life in it, from what I remember the it had a dried cherry / graphite type palate. Silky smooth on the palate... really freakin good. Don't recall any medicinal notes.
I think it will last till it's 30th birthday, no problem. It's only 2 years from now. | | | |
| Eric LeVine
Grape Sorter
Posts:384
| | 10/21/2004 7:16 AM |
| | With a bottle this age, it is not about the wine. Rather it is about the specific bottle and the condition it is in. The one my friend opened was pretty tired. It is good to hear that there are still better ones out there. | | | |
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