Bar-B-Que Wines

Bar-B-Que Wines
“It is that time of year when we invite the family and friends over for a party! Come this Saturday to pick out your favorite party wine.”
Saturday, June 19, 11-3PM,
$5 BUCKS

One of the weekly $5 tastings held by Vintage wines in San Diego and the first I’ve been to for quite some time. Even though you are provided with a listing of the wines and tasting notes, I always taste the wines blind.

Mas de Bressades, Vin de Pays, 2003 ($8.99US) – Grenache and Syrah.
Dark cherry. Flavors of bubble gum, stewed fruit and citrus. Mouthfeel a little thin, but nice tannins. A good clean wine with flavors present on retronasal.

Mas Fondreche, Cotes du Ventoux, 2003 ($10.99US) – Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan.
Dark cherry. Floral notes combined with cherries. Ethyl acetate (nail polish). A big wine finishing with hard tannins and clean acid, but thin on the midpalate. Flavors carry through on retronasal.

Twenty Bench, Cabernet, 2002 ($14.99US) – 100% Cabernet
Deep dark cherry with a reddish edge. Caramel and tobacco. Nice fruit, but almost sweet. Developed wintergreen mint flavor. Nice wine with a clean acid finish and unobtrusive tannins.

Joel Gott, Dillian Ranch Zinfabdel, 2002 ($19.99US)
Cherry with a brownish tinge to the edge. Lightest color of the group. Initially slightly medicinal but developed cedar and smoked ham flavors. Mouth drying tannins. Flavors carried through on retronasal.

Qupe, Arroyo Grande Vineyard Syrah 2002 ($25.99US)
Dark cherry. Initially a little closed, only showing dusty oak. Developed flavors of red fruits and butterscotch. Thin mouthfeel, finishing hot and slightly bitter. Flavors carried through on retronasal.

Thalgara, Show Reserve Shiraz, 1997 ($17.99US)
Brick red with a distinct brown edge; obviously not a young wine. Predominant flavor of burnt caramel (oxidized). On the palate the wine was thin with mouth watering acidity to the finish. Flavors carried through on retronasal.

I preferred the cabernet among this group, but I would not recommend any of the wines. However I will say that they all tasted much better with the Beef Goulash that I was served after having gone through an initial assessment of the wines. I was frankly shocked by the tasting notes provided for the Thalgara (“Tons of ripe black fruit flavors in this chewy mouthstaining Aussie shiraz.”) which had been reduced from $38.99US. To me the wine was oxidized and well past its peak.

To recover from the insult that the Thalgara made to Aussie shiraz I ordered a tasting of Penfold's RWT Shiraz, Barossa, 2001 ($69.99US) from the wine bar. For a 2 oz taste it was $7.75US, but this is shiraz. A dark cherry with a reddish edge, the wine was very open and opulent with cherries and floral notes. It was simply enjoyable just to smell the wine. On the palate it had good mouthfeel, very well balanced with a clean finish. On retronasal the flavors lingered as a good wine should do.