By: AJ McClellan
Welcome to the New Year! We had a great night at Graileys with more bottles being opened than I could recap below. I have noted a few of my favorites of the evening though it was hard to just pick a few…
2008 Domaine du Comte Liger Belair – An absolutely amazing wine, this bottle was my wine of the night… The nose was astonishing and if I would have not seen the color of the juice in my glass I may have been fooled into thinking it was a white wine. There was a noticeable note of banana laffy taffy backed by huge floral notes and beautiful minerality.
2003 Sine Qua Non Papa – This was my second time to taste this bottle and it was even better than I remember. The nose was huge and full of black fruits, leather, and tobacco. The palate on this bottle is what really was impressive though. Soft as silk with velvety tannins and great weight
2001 Abreu Madrona Ranch – This wine was drinking great. The nose showed black fruit with slight notes of leather and anise. After some time in the glass this wine blew up with great fruit notes and lovely cooking spice.
2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia – Insignia is one of the standards of Napa Valley, and this bottle from 2001 was absolutely delicious. Big black fruit with huge tannins and a long spicy finish.
2004 Colgin Cariad – I had high hopes for this bottle and after almost two hours in the glass the wine finally blew up and fulfilled its potential. Red cherry with some earthy notes and big tobacco on the nose. The palate was hard as a nail at first but softened substantially after some time in the glass.