2006 Scholium Project Gardens of Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards

2006 Scholium Project Gardens of Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards

Ignore the numerical rating, it's difficult to score this wine.

This is Petite Sirah Port.

Decanted for two hours, this is a massive, blueberries-and-tannins monster.

Thick, dark, juicy. All 16.8% of the alcohol is there on the finish but not so much on the nose.

It's a well made wine but definitely not a table wine at this point, we busted out some dark chocolate to go with it and had it for dessert.

I'm guessing this will last just about forever, or at least as long as you would age port.

Tasting Tags: alcohol blueberries port tannic

2006 Roessler La Brisa Sonoma Coast

2006 Roessler La Brisa Sonoma Coast

Spicier and bigger than the "Red Label" of the same vintage, but still on the restrained and elegant side of cali pinot. A little more complexity than the red label, small amount of barnyard and earth.

2006 Roessler Red Label Sonoma County Pinot Noir

2006 Roessler Red Label Sonoma County Pinot Noir

Quite tasty, very sultry. Nice lightweight elegant pinot. A little on the simple side, but very drinkable. Pretty.

2005 Ty Caton Field Blend Red

2005 Ty Caton Field Blend Red

Big, jammy, with dark candied fruit. Well made wine, just not quite my style.

Tasting Tags: candy fruit-forward jammy

1987 Stags' Leap Petite Sirah

1987 Stags' Leap Petite Sirah

Tasted Jan 2009. Terrific bouquet, still recognizably Petite Sirah and showing quite a bit of life for a 21+ year old wine.

2003 White Crane Folkendt Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

2003 White Crane Folkendt Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Huge, overripe, late-harvest-zin-like with alcohol and mint on the nose. Technically fine, other than the alcohol (which seems to be more pungent than the listed 14.6%) but any complexity, cab-like character or indication that it came from Livermore have been lost.

Tasting Tags: high-alcohol late-harvest overripe

1999 Saxon Brown Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

1999 Saxon Brown Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Mushrooms. Like crazy, eerily mushroom-y mushrooms. Some earth, and lots of interesting floral bottle bouquet. Tart, and might even last a few more years if you're into that sort of thing.

Tasting Tags: bottle-bouquet mushrooms

2003 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

2003 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

Good acidity and some bottle complexity, but a little fake fruit poking through.

Tasting Tags: fruit-forward tart

2005 Noceto Sangiovese

2005 Noceto Sangiovese

Nothing wrong with this wine, it's just not interesting. It's not acidic enough to be that good with food, and it's certainly not interesting enough to be self-supporting.

This is a fruit-driven wine, and if you like fruit in your wine, you'll probably like this more than me. But to me it was one-dimensional and uninteresting.

Tasting Tags: fruit-forward

2004 Chateau Peyredon-Lagravette

2004 Chateau Peyredon-Lagravette

Earth and spice on the nose, some old world funk. Good amount of berry and cassis. A little bit of acrid oak on the finish. Nice, and definitely good for the price. Soft tannins.