More Collectible Wines For Christmas Gifts

Reviewing high end wines is a very fun, because 90% of the time the wines are quite enjoyable.  The question for the panel usually comes down to two factors.  How good is the wine? and does it cost more than $50?  With that in mind, our tasting panel reviewed 12 wines.  There were 5 Pinot Noirs and 7 other High End Reds.  The panel recommended all 5 Pinots and 5 of the other red wines.  The panel felt that each of these wines would make a fine gift for the wine lover on your holiday shopping list.

So let's start with the Pinots.  Our winner was a new wine for me and the panel.  It was the 2006 Bouchaine “Estate” Pinot Noir  $45.  This Pinot from Carneros, CA was exceptionally balanced, smooth as silk, and has delicious black cherry flavors.  This wine scored 90.8 points from the panel.  They felt this wine would pair perfectly with prime rib.

Our second place wine was our comeback wine. The 2005 Donum “Estate” Pinot Noir $65from Carneros was very well received.  This wine was still a little tight when we first reviewed it in the spring.  It is showing quite well now and the panel gave it the nod and scored it Very Good + or 90.16 points.  This medium bodied wine was very well balanced and satiny.  It won over the panel with its very tasty black cherry flavors with notes of dark chocolate and pepper.

In third place, was the Hartford Court 2005 “Far Coast Vineyard” Pinot Noir for $65.  This Sonoma Coast Pinot is a light bodied wine that is smooth and soft.  It shows mild red cherry and raspberry flavors which make it very food friendly.  As a result they thought it would go quite nicely with a tuna steak or halibut.  The panel scored this wine 90 points.

The other 2 Pinot Noir recommendations from this tasting were as follows:

#4 Carabella 2006 “Inchinnan” Pinot Noir(Chehalem Mountain, OR) $51 (89.16)
#5 Merry Edwards 2006 “Olivet Lane Méthode L'Ancienne” Pinot Noir (Russian River, CA) $60 (89.16)

In part 2 of the tasting most of the wines were red blends with 2 exceptions.  As I mentioned earlier we recommended 5 out of 7 of these wines.  Our winning wine in this tasting grabbed the highest score of the evening with a Very Good + rating and 91 points.  This wine was the 2003 Pietra Santa “Vache” for $45.  There are only 457 cases of this gem that is showing quite nicely right now.  This wine is made from 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 5% Cabernet Franc.  Once the blend was discussed, then came the biggest question of the evening.  Where in heck is Cienega Valley, CA?  A quick Google search revealed that it was about 25 miles east of Monterey Bay and that the San Andreas Fault runs through the middle of the valley.  Now that that mystery is solved, back to the wine.  The panel found it to be medium bodied, velvety, and elegant.  It displayed black cherry flavors with notes of pepper and raspberry.  It was very well received.

Our second place finisher in this tasting was the 2004 Mastroberardino “Radici” $60from Taurasi, Italy.  This wine is made from 100% Aglianico.  Many members of the panel were unfamiliar with Aglianico which is pronounced “ah-LYAH-nee-koe“.  It is a black grape grown in the Campania and Basilicata regions of Italy.  We discussed how Aglianico tends to be full with very firm tannins and has high acidity especially in its youth.  However, these characteristics allow for the wine to have excellent aging potential.  This particular certainly spoiled the first time tasters of this grape. It was smooth and very well balanced right out of the bottle.  It did have a dry mouthfeel to go along with its rich and complex flavors.  Those flavors ranged from licorice, black current, molasses, and toasted oak.  The panel scored this wine Very Good + and awarded it 90.5 points.  This would certainly be a great holiday gift for an experienced wine lover.

 The other 3 red wines recommendations from this tasting were as follows:

#3 St. Supery 2004 “Elu”(Napa Valley, CA) $70 (90.1)
#4 Eponymous 2004 “Red Wine”(Sonoma Valley, CA) $45 (89.5)
#5 Masi 2005 “Costasera Amarone Classico”(Valpolicella, Italy) $65 (89.5)

Well that wraps up the official high end red tastings for the year.  We did have some Shiraz’s that will be posted with the Shiraz and Syrah results in January.  For a complete list of all our Collectible and Gift wines you need to visit the Ken's Collectible Wines section of the website.  This is where all the recommended wines with a price tag of $50 or greater reside.  I hope you have fun shopping for these gems and don't forget to pick up an extra bottle for yourself.  You deserve it!  Cheers.   Ken