With various meals recently:

2011 Navarro Rosé 'Mendocino' (13.5% ABV)
nose: minerals, fresh strawberry
palate: crisp acidity, light body, lightly fruity

This wine was a pale salmon color and probably the finest rosé from CA
that I've tasted (sorry, Steve E!). It's not a profound wine by any
stretch but it's delicious now and hides its (for me) high ABV well.
Any wine that makes me think of Baudry's Chinon Rosé is all right in my
book. No idea what grapes go into this, but it's a winner and decent
QPR ($15 from the winery).

1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
nose: pencil lead, brambly dark berry fruit
palate: chalky tannins, medium body, balanced acidity

With grilled ribeye steaks, this was a fine example of a restrained
CalCab. Much less fruit-driven than the norm from the region and also
less fruity than other years, it was a fine example of a savory CalCab.

2008 Dom. de Terres Dorées (J.P. Brun) Côte de Brouilly
nose: tart red fruits, juicy
palate: bright acidity, light body, slightly hot finish

Without food, this was strikingly tart, but with roast chicken it
rounded out beautifully and seemed much richer. We probably drank this
too young, but Jean wanted gamay and the rest of our Beaujolais are from
'05, '09 and '10.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Wednesday, October 3, 2012 10:53:41 AM UTC-6, Mark Lipton wrote:
> With various meals recently:
>
>
>
> 2011 Navarro Ros� 'Mendocino' (13.5% ABV)
>
> nose: minerals, fresh strawberry
>
> palate: crisp acidity, light body, lightly fruity
>
>
>
> This wine was a pale salmon color and probably the finest ros� from CA
>
> that I've tasted (sorry, Steve E!). It's not a profound wine by any
>
> stretch but it's delicious now and hides its (for me) high ABV well.
>
> Any wine that makes me think of Baudry's Chinon Ros� is all right in my
>
> book. No idea what grapes go into this, but it's a winner and decent
>
> QPR ($15 from the winery).
>
>
>
> 1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
>
> nose: pencil lead, brambly dark berry fruit
>
> palate: chalky tannins, medium body, balanced acidity
>
>
>
> With grilled ribeye steaks, this was a fine example of a restrained
>
> CalCab. Much less fruit-driven than the norm from the region and also
>
> less fruity than other years, it was a fine example of a savory CalCab.
>
>
>
> 2008 Dom. de Terres Dor�es (J.P. Brun) C�te de Brouilly
>
> nose: tart red fruits, juicy
>
> palate: bright acidity, light body, slightly hot finish
>
>
>
> Without food, this was strikingly tart, but with roast chicken it
>
> rounded out beautifully and seemed much richer. We probably drank this
>
> too young, but Jean wanted gamay and the rest of our Beaujolais are from
>
> '05, '09 and '10.
>
>
>
> Mark Lipton
>
>
>
> --
>
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Odd markings in your posting. Don't know what that was. Still have the '99 Montelena two unopened bottles. One of my favorites.

On 10/3/12 2:09 PM, lleichtman wrote:

>
> Odd markings in your posting. Don't know what that was. Still have
> the '99 Montelena two unopened bottles. One of my favorites.
>

The odd markings result from Giggle Groups' inability to correct read
character encoding headers. The one word was rose (with an accent on
the e) and the other words were Dorees (with an accent on the second e)
and Cote (with a circumflex over the o).

I liked the '99 when I tasted it side-by-side with the '98 and '00, but
the '98 was my favorite at that time. Would be interesting to taste
them side-by-side now.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Oct 3, 12:53*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> With various meals recently:
>
> 2011 Navarro Ros 'Mendocino' (13.5% ABV)
> nose: minerals, fresh strawberry
> palate: crisp acidity, light body, lightly fruity
>
> This wine was a pale salmon color and probably the finest ros from CA
> that I've tasted (sorry, Steve E!). *It's not a profound wine by any
> stretch but it's delicious now and hides its (for me) high ABV well.
> Any wine that makes me think of Baudry's Chinon Ros is all right in my
> book. *No idea what grapes go into this, but it's a winner and decent
> QPR ($15 from the winery).
>
> 1998 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
> nose: pencil lead, brambly dark berry fruit
> palate: chalky tannins, medium body, balanced acidity
>
> With grilled ribeye steaks, this was a fine example of a restrained
> CalCab. *Much less fruit-driven than the norm from the region and also
> less fruity than other years, it was a fine example of a savory CalCab.
>
> 2008 Dom. de Terres Dor es (J.P. Brun) C te de Brouilly
> nose: tart red fruits, juicy
> palate: bright acidity, light body, slightly hot finish
>
> Without food, this was strikingly tart, but with roast chicken it
> rounded out beautifully and seemed much richer. *We probably drank this
> too young, but Jean wanted gamay and the rest of our Beaujolais are from
> '05, '09 and '10.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Montelena is still an all time favorite of mine. Thnaks for the notes
Mark. I still have one more bottle of 1978.