2008 Vintage Blind Yasting- 10 year old Brown Bag Wine tasting at WWWB

"If all be true that I do think, There are five reasons we should drink: Good wine a friend or being dry Or lest we should be by and by Or any other reason why."
- Henry Aldrich

We can only give you two reasons to come out and drink with us next week and we are already almost SOLD OUT for the Grand Cru Monopole Burgundy tasting next Thursday night, starring the 1969 DRC La Tache. 

Tonight, the theme is 20-year-old wines as every year we study wines that are at 10 and 20 years of age to see how they are progressing. 

Next Friday night the theme is 10-year-olds.  The 2008 vintage was not considered great for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon tasting but it was excellent for Champagne, very good for red Burgundy and Oregon Pinot Noir but that’s just what the critics said upon release.  We need to find out how these wines are drinking right now!  That’s why we do these tastings- scientific wine research!!

Join us as we experience wines that are 10 years old from around the world along with the new cuisine of the Wine Watch Wine Bar.  This tasting is limited to 14 tasters and the fee for this event is $150 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

For those of you that can’t make the tasting next week we have included all of the 2008 vintage wines on this e-mail so you can conduct your own study.

2008 Vintage Around the World of Wine
 Ten Year Old’s at the Wine Watch Wine Bar
Friday, June 8th
7:30pm

2008 Agusti Torello Mata Cava Brut Nature Gran Reserva BAYANUSWhite (375ml)
Price: $25.00   Sale $22.00     Quantity in Stock: 8

(90 Points) The 2008 Bayanis Brut Natural (bottled only in 375 ml) is a crisp, focused, intense offering with mineral,biscuit, and white fruit aromas and flavors that tickle the nose and coat the palate. Agusti Torello Mata has a reputation as one of Spain's foremost Cava producers and my visit in January 2011 did nothing to disprove it. The stated goal is to make Cava with soul working with only the traditional grapes. All of the fruit utilized is at least 30 years of age. Approximately 20% of the production is exported to a total of 31 countries. Wine Advocate #194, May 2011

2008 Jean Claude Boisset Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
Price: $129.00    Your Price: $113.52 Quantity in Stock: 30

A very dense aromatic wine on the nose black truffle black cherry and a nice hand of exotic spices, dried floral notes and smoky toasty oak. A big and chewy wine on the tongue with lots of earth, dark spices, tar and a long finish, some dry tannins coming in at the end, a bit austere on the first day but opens up nicely on the second day. Finish 50+ Excellent +

2008 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Price: $159.00    Your Price: $139.92 Quantity in Stock: 19

(92 points) The estate’s 2008 Clos de Vougeot is a pretty, layered and open wine laced with dark red fruit, flowers and black pepper. It is a soft, supple 2008, and while undoubtedly very well-made, it lacks the visceral thrill of the very finest wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. I tasted the following wines with Charles Van Canneyt, Alain Hudelot’s grandson. Van Canneyt showed me a few 2008s before moving into the 2009s. The estate did some chaptalization in 2008. Based on the selection of wines I tasted, that may have robbed some of the 2008s of their vintage character. Vintage 2009 seems to have played more to the estate’s strengths. The estate used 50% new oak for the Grand Crus and 30% for the 1ers. (AG) (5/2011) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2008 Bodega Contador Benjamin Romeo Predicador Rioja
Price: $34.00    Your Price: $29.92     Quantity in Stock: 5

Predicador 2009 was made with bunches from our youngest vines, between 20 and 30 years old. Nevertheless, to guarantee the quality which we demand for Predicador, only one bunch was left per cane during pre-harvest bunch control. This way the remaining grapes reached the required concentration and balance in the last stages of maturation. Getting great results this vintage, this Predicador is undoubtedly the most similar to their older brothers.

Winery Tasting Notes:  Predicador 2009 exhibits a cherry red high intensity and very bright color. The nose shows red and black fruits, rich woods, scrubland memories, spices and minerals notes, showing great complexity. The palate is nice and fresh, with high-volume, full of fruity sensations. The well balanced between acidity and sweet tannin gives power and persistence. The wine is very fine and delicate.

2008 Quintarelli Valpolicella
Price: $103.50    Your Price: $91.08   Quantity in Stock: 22

The wine of Valpolicella is made in various styles.  The most common is the light-bodied, dry, fruity red.  This wine is most appealing when drunk young and cool.  Some producers make a more serious style of Valpolicella using a method known as ripasso.  This word is derived from the Italian verb ripassare, meaning "to pass over" or "to do something again."  In the late winter or spring, occasionally later, the new Valpolicella is refermented on the grape pomace from the Amarone, which still contains a lot of sugar.  The wine is put into the barrels that had been used to ferment the Amarone immediately after the wine is drawn off.  The pomace, still high in sugar, nutrients, and extract, activates an alcoholic refermentation.  The temperature increases, due to the warming of the season combined with the warm pomace, causes the development of Saccharomyces bayanus yeasts, which bring about the refermentation of the Valpolicella.  This adds alcohol, total acidity, dry extract, and glycerine to the wine.  The alcohol increases 1.5 to 1.7 percent and total acidity 0.5 to 1 percent.  The wine becomes deeper in color, bigger in body, and richer in alcohol, extract and tannin.  In fact at one time the wines of the Veronese hillsides were classified by the farmers according to their degree of sweetness, and they were priced accordingly, with the sweetest wines commanding the highest prices.  The recioto wines were the sweetest, mezzo recioto was medium sweet, pastoso off dry, and amaro dry.  The first two wines here are made from the same varietals as Quintarelli’s Valpolicella, however the Ca del Merlo (NOT Merlot) is aged longer in large wood vessels and comes from a single hilltop vineyard named after a plot of land where a large Merlo (bird) sat perched on a tree overlooking the hillside.

2008 Malvira Barbera D'Alba San Michele
Price: $25.00    Your Price: $22.00     Quantity in Stock: 2

A single vineyard barbera and this wine is almost 10 years old and it has a very rustic quality to nose, dried leather and a host of dark fruits, dark spices, and a note of truffle. Wow this wine is singing right now and has wonderful freshness, a host of fruit and dark spices on the finish, lovely balance here, black tar notes. Finish 45+ Excellent +

2008 Braida Barbera d'Asti Ai Suma
Price: $75.00    Your Price: $66.00     Quantity in Stock: 14

"Were There. This is the right level." The meaning of Ai Suma in the local dialect. A wine produced only in particularly favorable vintages and which represents a kind of "peak" for the Braida wine Estate.

2008 Melka Metisse Le Chatelet Vineyard Majestique St Emilion Grand Cru
Price: $120.00    Sale Price: $98.00    Quantity in Stock: 14

This seamlessly integrated and balanced wine exhibits the essence of crushed rocks that emulate the typical terroir of Saint Emilion.

70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet franc, 100% barrel fermented

Our third vintage from this fabulous vineyard right next to Beausejour Becot, the 2008 exhibits ripe, black cherry and chocolate notes with the addition of spice favoring cloves and tobacco.  The entry of this wine is fluid and seamless showing exquisite balance and well integrated tannins.  The texture soft yet not linear, with multi-dimensional character.

2008 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
Price: $75.00    Your Price: $66.00     Quantity in Stock: 10

Blend: 69% Cabernet Sauvignon - 28% Merlot - 3% Cabernet Franc

Tasting notes: The 2008 Grand-Puy-Lacoste presents an intense ruby red color. On the nose, it offers blackberries aromas dominated by the cassis. In the mouth, this wine has a great aromatic attack with a lot of texture and fruits. Its breed is evident in the splendid length of the finish. Its shows already great balance and style, but it will need time to age to express all its charm.

2008 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $170.00    Sale Price: $140.00  Quantity in Stock: 1

Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is produced exclusively from grapes grown in the Oakville AVA of Napa Valley. The primary source of fruit is our Martin Stelling Vineyard, located behind the winery at the base of the western hills of Oakville. Far Niente follows organic and sustainable methods in farming and winemaking, and the winery is a net-zero, solar-powered historic landmark building.

The 2008 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon is estate bottled, which ensures that the wine is grown in our estate vineyards in the Oakville appellation and it has been produced and bottled exclusively at Far Niente. The 2008 blend is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The 2008 vintage was harvested between October 3 and October 25 and was aged in French oak (70% new, 30% once-used) for 16-17 months.

This wine offers intense aromas of ripe blackberry and boysenberry layered with baking spices and licorice. The entry is full and juicy with a velvety middle palate. Dark, mocha flavors emerge on the long finish with chewy, coating tannins.

2008 K Vintners Syrah Royal City
Price: $190.00    Your Price: $167.20 Quantity in Stock: 4

(99 points)  The 2008 Royal City Syrah was sourced from the Stoneridge Vineyard. It displays a soaring perfume of sandalwood, garrigue, lavender, smoke, bacon, game, blueberry, and black raspberry. Super-concentrated, it deftly marries power and elegance in a seamless wine that should see its 20th birthday in peak form. I met up with Charles at his new wine bar in Walla Walla before we drove out to the winery in his 1949 Cadillac, a picture of which is on the web-site (not the deluxe model like my grandfather used to drive). It is always a highlight of my annual trip to Washington because in addition to the tasting, you get a performance but, after all is said and done, when it comes to making wine, Charles Smith is all business. He knows where the vineyards are, he believes in amazingly low yields, and in the winery he is a non-interventionist. All of the following wines were made with native ferments and were bottled without fining or filtration. (JM) (8/2011) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2008 Dionigi Sagrantino Di Montefalco Passito (375ml)
 Price: $31.75    Your Price: $27.94    Quantity in Stock: 16

A bit of a sweet balsamic note to the fig and cherry liqueur like fruit, dark spices, very rich and enticing bouquet of aromas.  Wow this wine is almost as thick as a Pedro Ximanez and has a wonderful balance to the sweetness that fig and dark spices through the finish.  Finish 45+    Excellent +

Menu

Fig and Butternut Squash ravioli with goat cheese creme and applewood smoke bacon crumble

Deconstructed beef short rib wellington with English Yorkshire pudding

Chocolate creme brulee with raspberry preserves

The fee for this tasting is $150 + tax per person and is limited to 14 tasters.  For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com