Saturday, November 14, 2009

Holiday Wine Show Touts 2009’s Best

Walt Churchill’s Market was the scene for the Holiday Wine Show on Thursday, November 12. This special2009_1113wcmandcorks0001 tasting featured wine manager Austin Beeman’s favorite wines for 2009.

This was not your average run of the mill tasting. Wines sampled ranged from a $24 bottle of German Riesling to “Dead Arm” Shiraz, priced at $42 for a half-bottle. The price for the full flight  of 12 top end wines was $45.

I sampled three, which I found to be excellent. I started with the 2003 Paolo Scavino Barolo. I was introduced just recently to Barolo and had a sensational Batasiolo Barolo at a tasting. This Barolo was nice, but the body was much weaker than my previous Barolo experience and the flavors less complex.

The buzz during the tasting was around the 2005 Clio. This is a Spanish proprietary blend from Jumilla. It’s a huge, vibrant wine composed of 70% old-vine Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a palate of raspberries and blueberries and a long finish. It has a price of $57.

I finished up with the 2005 Chateau Fombrauge Saint-Emilon Grand Cru. This is a mostly (77%) Merlot wine with a marvelous aroma and taste of black cherries and coffee. I found this to be my favorite of the evening. While the Clio was a crowd favorite (and a wonderful wine), the Chateau Fombrauge had a smokiness and sophisticated flavor that earned my highest marks of the evening. A bottle goes for $60.

Here’s Austin’s complete Holiday Wine Show roster:

  • Max Ferd Richter 2007 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett.
  • Zind-Humbrecht 2006 Riesling “Herrenweg de Turckheim”
  • Chalk Hill 2006 Chardonnay
  • Phillippe Colin 2006 Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Chenes”
  • Paolo Scavino 2003 Barolo
  • Chateau Fombrauge 2005 Saint-Emilon Grand Cru
  • Saint Luke’s 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Clio 2005
  • Dona Paula 2005 Tannat-Malbec
  • JC Cellars 2004 Syrah “Rockpile”
  • D’Arenberg 2003 Shiraz “The Dead Arm”
  • “Le Tertre du Lys D’Or 2002 Sauterns

Certainly a delightful dozen.

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2 comments:

Austin Beeman said...

Yeah, it was a really fun tasting. Glad you were there.

Dave Nershi, CSW said...

Austin - Very impressive tasting. Looking forward to seeing you at the Wine Affair event at the Hilton Garden Inn at Levis this Friday. I'll be sure to get plenty of photos!