Sunday we were invited to a friend's 50th birthday party. Her husband
had invited 4 couples to join them for dinner at a local restaurant,
with drinks and appetizers beforehand. I had volunteered to make the
appetizers, and dropped off some pickled shrimp and some
chutney-cheeseballs earlier. Once Betsy made it home from matinee, we
ran over, scarfed down a few samples of the appetizers, as well as a
couple glasses of bubbly:

NV Billecarte-Salmon Brut Champagne
Nice yeasty Champagne with a creamy texture. Light but not without
power, a pleasant surprise for me. B+/A-

NV Gruet Blanc de Noir Brut (New Mexico)
Nice lightweight sparkler, granny smith fruit with a light biscuit
note. B

On to the restaurant. Ron had said the crowd was pretty much red
drinkers. He had arranged for corkage, so I brought one bottle:

1996 Punset Barbaresco
Man, was this tight on opening. I said set aside and open something
else. When we revisited during main course, this was really beginning
to show it's stuff. Medium-bodied and elegant, some tar on the deep
cherry fruit. Glass at the end of the night was even better- tar,
roses, and leather blending with the rich red fruit. Alas, last one.
A-

2003 St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
Ripe red fruit, this seems more like a CA PN than an Oregon (at least
not a St Innocent Oregon!). Still, a nice medium bodied wine with warm
cherry flavors. A little tannic. B

2000 Behrens and Hitchcock Claret
I've not been a big B & H fan, but this was actually a pretty nicely
styled wine. Some oak, but not overwhelming. Medium-bodied, good
acidity, nice cassis fruit and a little coffee and cedar. Some floral
notes after while. B/B+

2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
price........B/B+

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+

Fun night, with nice people. Most were jazz musicians, lots of funny
road tales.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
consistency.

Gruet is always a surprise.



"DaleW" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Sunday we were invited to a friend's 50th birthday party. Her husband
> had invited 4 couples to join them for dinner at a local restaurant,
> with drinks and appetizers beforehand. I had volunteered to make the
> appetizers, and dropped off some pickled shrimp and some
> chutney-cheeseballs earlier. Once Betsy made it home from matinee, we
> ran over, scarfed down a few samples of the appetizers, as well as a
> couple glasses of bubbly:
>
> NV Billecarte-Salmon Brut Champagne
> Nice yeasty Champagne with a creamy texture. Light but not without
> power, a pleasant surprise for me. B+/A-
>
> NV Gruet Blanc de Noir Brut (New Mexico)
> Nice lightweight sparkler, granny smith fruit with a light biscuit
> note. B
>
> On to the restaurant. Ron had said the crowd was pretty much red
> drinkers. He had arranged for corkage, so I brought one bottle:
>
> 1996 Punset Barbaresco
> Man, was this tight on opening. I said set aside and open something
> else. When we revisited during main course, this was really beginning
> to show it's stuff. Medium-bodied and elegant, some tar on the deep
> cherry fruit. Glass at the end of the night was even better- tar,
> roses, and leather blending with the rich red fruit. Alas, last one.
> A-
>
> 2003 St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir
> Ripe red fruit, this seems more like a CA PN than an Oregon (at least
> not a St Innocent Oregon!). Still, a nice medium bodied wine with warm
> cherry flavors. A little tannic. B
>
> 2000 Behrens and Hitchcock Claret
> I've not been a big B & H fan, but this was actually a pretty nicely
> styled wine. Some oak, but not overwhelming. Medium-bodied, good
> acidity, nice cassis fruit and a little coffee and cedar. Some floral
> notes after while. B/B+
>
> 2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
> This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
> some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
> oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
> the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
> price........B/B+
>
> 2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
> I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
> oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+
>
> Fun night, with nice people. Most were jazz musicians, lots of funny
> road tales.
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of
> consistency.
>

> 2001 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
> This seemed a little musty at first, but it didn't seemed cork- just
> some bottle funk that mostly blew off. Bigger, richer, a fair dose of
> oak countered by some deep black plum fruit. A return to the quality of
> the '91-'94 Knight's Valleys, now if they could just return the
> price........B/B+

Your note on the 2001 KV has me thinking about the two '94's I have in the
cellar. I think Thanksgiving weekend would be a nice time to enjoy one of
them. I'll be sure to post my notes (along with the '91 Eileen Hardy
Shiraz, '94 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, '90 Lamborn Family Autumnal Harvest
Zinfandel, and many more...)

> 2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
> I'd heard good things re this one, but this could have been any $12
> oak-chip special. Red and black flabby fruit, vanilla extract, heh. C+

Now we're talking! This certainly sounds worth trying! I'll give it go
this weekend while the wife and I are out of town and post my thoughts on
this one as well. Seriously...

"Your note on the 2001 KV has me thinking about the two '94's I have in
the
cellar."

The '91 to '94 KVs were my go-to CalCabs. Then price seemed to spiral,
yet quality seemed to suffer (expanded production?). Mine are all gone,
look forward to hearing how they've held up.

> 2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon
"Now we're talking! This certainly sounds worth trying! I'll give it
go
this weekend while the wife and I are out of town and post my thoughts
on
this one as well. Seriously... "

This was a surprise to me. I've liked this in the past, heard good
things re the 2002, and actually had suggested to the organizer. Look
forward to your thoughts.