1978 Preston Zinfandel

12/12/13- The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a mouth filling, extremely intense zin with a long finish.  The wine having lost its peppery past was guessed to be a cabernet by many.  The wine however did not fool Raj and Laura Laskowski.

1970 Ch. Talbot Bordeaux

12/11/13- The brown bag wine sampled at the Knitters at the Keith and Helen Faust home was an outstanding aged Bordeaux, greatly enjoyed by everyone.

1984 Acacia Cabernet

12/5/13-Very fruity and enjoyable.  Fooled most everyone.

1995 Simi Reserve Cabernet

11/31/13-Anniversary wine for Carl and Kathy Hennige, celebrating 18 wonderful years.

 

1979 R&J Cook Petite Sirah

11/21/13-Roger and JoAnn Cook.  Roger grew up in Courtland and was an acquaintance of Clarksburg resident Gary Rose.  This was a well aged, fruity and enjoyable Petite Sirah.  Amazing wine!

 

1976 Inglenook Zinfandel

11/13/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Knitters at the Tim and Jane Curtis home was an enjoyable 1976 Zinfandel.  The Zin paired well with the chili dogs.  Tim Curtis batting two for two guessed it.

1976 Ch. Citran

11/7/2013-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an enjoyable, well made Bordeaux.  Tim Curtis could not be fooled.

85 Christian Brothers Cabernet

10/24/2013-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an enjoyable and well made older cabernet.  The Faust's are gettin too good; Keith was the only one to guess it to be a cabernet.

Koenig Ice Wine (Idaho)

10/10/2013- The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a delicious Ice Wine.  Again, Helen Faust was not fooled and nailed it as an Ice Wine.

81 Edna Valley Pinot Noir

10/3/2013- The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a well preserved pinot noir.  I poured the contents into a thinner bottle to disguise the wine; however, I didn't fool Helen Faust who seemed to know that I couldn't be trusted.

1978 Freemark Abbey Cabernet

9/26/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an enjoyable aged cabernet.  Fruity but with a short finish.  Most thought it to be a Syrah.

1983 Leoville Las Cases and 2003 Gruaud Larose Bordeaux

9/21/13-Dave and Ann Vik visited the Hennige’s at South Lake Tahoe and we enjoyed two delicious Bordeaux at the Tamaleen cabin and the Riva Grille.

1979 Pichon Lalande

9/19/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an outstanding example of a well made and well aged Bordeaux.  The bottle emptied quickly and most wished we had a dinner to go with it.  Many thought it to be a much younger wine.

1979 Cache’ Cellars Pinot Noir

8/29/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a surprisingly fruity and healthy pinot noir.   Most participants guessed it to be an older Petite Sirah, except for Helen and Keith Faust who nailed it as a pinot.

1980 Lytton Springs Zinfandel

8/8/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a well made zinfandel that was still quite healthy.  Raj, Tim Curtis and Gary Rose all guessed it as an older Ridge zinfandel and Gary nailed it as a 1980 Lytton Springs (has he been reading my mail?).

78 William Hill Cabernet

7/11/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an outstanding example of a well made cabernet designed for long term ageing.  The wine was guessed to be a much younger wine and was absolutely delicious.

1986 Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Spatlese

6/6/13- The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an elegant German Riesling from the famous Doctor vineyard.  The Bernkasteler Doctor is only 8.1 acres in size but its place in the wine world is legendarily grand.  In the 13th century, the Archbishop of Trier was in this area of the Mosel Valley when he became deathly ill.  After countless cures didn’t work, he was poured Riesling from a humble flask from this vineyard and was cured.  From then on, it became known as “The Doctor”.  Today, it is the most expensive agricultural land in all of Germany.

1977 Mansion Cellars Cabernet-Bottled by Caymus

5/30/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a youthful cabernet bottled by Caymus for the Mansion Cellars, a wine store of years past in Davis, Ca.  This was the wine store where Marcus Graziano of Capital Cellars learned his trade.

1982 Lynch Bages

5/27/13-Tim and Jane Curtis provided a delicious dinner of smoked brisket that went well with the incredible 1982 Lynch Bages.  Robert Parkers review in 2009: “One of the most drinkable, complex, and tasty 1982s of the northern Medoc, this wine is beginning to reach its plateau of full maturity. Still a dense ruby/purple color with some lightening at the edge, it offers up classic aromas of cedar wood, fruitcake, tobacco leaf, and creme de cassis. This full-bodied, opulent, fleshy, sexy Pauillac can be drunk now with great pleasure and complexity, or cellared for another 10-15 years.”

1979 Lynch Bages

5/23/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an amazing older Lynch Bages Bordeaux wine.  The wine showed little browning and was guessed to be a much younger wine.  This was truly an enjoyable, elegant wine.  The wine had little sediment consistent with Robert Parkers comments:  “Made in a period when Lynch-Bages was flirting with a lighter, more precocious, supple style, this wine is attractive, but atypical for what fans of Lynch-Bages expect.”

100 Point Wine Tasting and Dinner

5/9/13-Keith and Helen hosted a 100 point wine tasting and dinner.  Helen concocted an absolutely delicious Caq a Vin chicken entre using a recipe from Julia Child.  The awesome dinner followed a tasting of a 1982 and 2009 Mouton Rothschild (100 and 99+ points respectively) and a 2007 Abreu Thorevilos cabernet(100 points).  The ratings from the group were unanimous in the above order.  Parker referred to the 1982 as one of the legends of Bordeaux and the 2009 vintage as the greatest vintage he has tasted since 1982.  The 1982 bordeaux nose and taste were truly awesome.  The 2009 and 2007 wines were incredible fruit bombs and most participants had difficulty giving them less than first place.

1979 Leoville Las Cases Bordeaux

5/8/13-The Knitters enjoyed an excellent Taco Bar at Tim and Jane Curtis’s home.  The brown bag wine for the evening was a well preserved 1979 Leoville Las Cases Bordeaux (I forgot to take a picture of the wine).  Tim Curtis nailed it this time, guessing it to be an early 1980 Bordeaux.  You are getting too good, Tim.  I’m going to have to resort to some trickery in the future.

Three Older Wines

3/28 to 5/2/ 2013-The brown bag wines sampled at the Thursday wine tastings at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store included a 82 Jekel Pinot Blanc, a well made/enjoyable 76 Robert Mondavi Reserve cabernet, and a fun 1983 Pat Paulsen Muscat Canelli (you older wine drinkers may recall Pat Paulsen running for President years ago).

1985 Guigal Gigondas

4/11/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store proved to be a beautiful wine made for ageing.  The wine was tasted along with a 2007 and demonstrated the complexity that develops with ageing.

1984 Meekers Zinfandel

4/10/13-The Wednesday Knitters was hosted by Gary Rose and Laura Laskowski who provided a delicious dinner consisting of an extensive Taco Bar.  The brown bag wine was undoubtedly one of the very best aged wines we have sampled. Most everyone remarked as to its fruitiness.  The 1984 was the very first wine released from the Meekers winery.

1973 Inglenook Cask C-8 Cabernet and Les Forts De Latour Bordeaux

4/4/13-The two brown bag wines for the night at the Thursday Lakeforest wine tasting were in celebration of Raj’s 40^th birthday.  Both wines had aged graciously and exhibited good softened berry fruit.  The Latour second label Bordeaux was particularly enjoyable.  

2003 Abreu Cabernet

3/31/13-Easter dinner was hosted by Helen and Keith Faust, who served a delicious ham dinner.  A 2003 Abreu cabernet and 2009 Figgins cabernet were paired with the outstanding dinner.

1982 Chalone Pinot Noir

3/28/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was an enjoyable Chalone Pinot Noir.  Much like the previously consumed 1980 Clos du Val Pinot which had held up quite well, the Chalone was still an enjoyable wine.  The participants’ guesses however were all over the map, including Grenache, Rhone, Petite Sirah and others.

01,04,07,09,10 Clos du Caillou Quartz Ch.du Pape Vertical Tasting

3/23/14-Members of the Wine Group enjoyed a vertical tasting of five Quartz Rhone wines paired with a steak dinner.  The clear winner of the tasting was the 2009 Quartz, receiving 6 out of 9 first place votes, followed by the 2007, 2010, 2004 and 2001. The results suggest that most of the participants enjoy younger wines.

1983 Boeger Merlot

3/21/13-The brown bag wine sampled at the Thursday wine tasting at the Folsom Lakeforest wine store was a 1983 Boeger merlot.  Raj Sachdeva, the wine store owner, nailed it this time, guessing it to be a mid 80’s merlot.  The wine was very pleasant with softened sweet cherry fruit, and has met the 3^rd decade in reasonably good shape.

1986 Bogle Petite Sirah

3/14/13-The Thursday wine tasting at Folsom Lakeforest Wines featured a brown bag Petite Sirah that confused all participants except Teri Price, who nailed it.  The wine was still very fruity and enjoyable.

1973 Cades Sao Toao, Vinto Tinto Reserve

3/13/13-Dave and Ann Vik hosted the Wednesday knitters and served ricotta/spinach ravioli with browned butter sage sauce, salad on the side, and cake for dessert.  The brown bag wine for the night was a 1973 red wine from Portugal, and was well past its prime.

1979 Lytton Springs Zinfandel and 73 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard cabernet

3/7/13-First off, an update on the previous Post: I failed to mention the Heitz cabernet; Gary Rose nailed it, having detected eucalyptus, which is a typical flavor in Martha’s wines (some people suspect she tossed a few berries in the grape truck as it left the vineyard).  In addition, Ann Vik correctly noted that the picture of the 1984 Ch. Montelena was actually a 1982 wine (I failed to take a picture of the 1984-sorry about that!).

The 79 Zinfandel was the brown bag wine for the night, and was amazingly youthful and fruity.  As with most older zinfandels, most guessed it to be a merlot or cabernet.  The wine won a multitude of blind tastings when originally released.

Lake Forest Wine Tastings

2/28/13-The Folsom Wine Group meets at the Folsom Lake Forest Wine Store for Thursday wine tastings, and have recently enjoyed a brown bag tasting of older wines.  The 1983 Caymus cabernet was quite youthful and some thought it to be a Bordeaux.  The 79 Pichon Lalande was also very youthful and enjoyable.  The 1984 Ch. Montelena chardonnay was the most enjoyed and many returned for seconds. 

1976 Sausal Zinfandel

2/13/13-The Wednesday Knitters was hosted by Keith and Helen Faust.  Dinner featured baked spaghetti, tossed salad, garlic bread and ricotta cheese cake for dessert.  The brown bag wine of the night was a 1976 Sausal Zinfandel that was incredibly youthful and fruity.

Black and White Champagne Tasting

1/12/13-Gary Rose and Laura Laskowski hosted their annual Champagne blind tasting.  The edibles provided by the hosts and participants provided a feast fit for a King (or Queen).  The desserts included a really dark chocolate cake with black food coloring.... Anyone who ate it had black tongues, teeth & lips.

Here is the Champagne results with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place votes:
1. De Margerie Brut                              5 2 2 1
2. Louis Roederer Brut                          3 2 0 5
3. Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut                   3 2 1 3
4. Bollinger Brut                                    1 2 0 5
5. Pommery Brut                                   1 0 3 1
6. Franck Bonville "Avize" Brut           0 5 0 1
7. Robert Moncuit Brut                          0 1 2 0
8. Kirkland Brut                                     0 1 2 0

 

 

1978 Santa Cruz Mountain Duriff

1/9/13-Carl and Kathy hosted the Wednesday Knitters and provided a dinner of Sheppard Pie and Knitters salad.  The brown bag wine of the night was a very healthy and fruity 1978 Durif.  The grape is known as Petite Sirah in North and South America.  In the rest of the World it is generally known as Durif, named after its discoverer, Dr. Francois Durif.  The high tannins and acidity present in Petite Sirah make it an excellent candidate for ageing.

Ch. Domaine du Caillou Quartz Rhone wines

1/1/13-The Hennige’s celebrated the Stanford win at the Rose Bowl with the Faust and Curtis couples, and indulged in a small vertical of Ch. Domaine du Caillou Quartz Rhone wines.  The Stanford win over Wisconsin was celebrated with a 2008 Ridge cabernet bottled for the Stanford alumni.  The 2000 and 2004 wines were essentially tied for first place and all participants had the 2001 in third place (Parkers favorite of the three).  The 2000 exhibited red currants and coffee, and was smoother and softer than the younger 2004, which had intense berry fruit.  All wines had a very long finish.