2006 CdP Domaine La Barroche

Chateauneuf-du-Pape or as most of like to call it CdP, which btw is much easier to spell!  Two reason I have CdP in my cellar, one is because of all the hype of the 2007 vintage. Tho I do not have any 2007 CdP in my cellar but it did make me aware of the region even more so.  The other is/was "The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book" by Harry Karis which I saw on WLTV.  Part 1 & Part 2.  So I had to buy the book, and well it was dirt 'cheap' on amazon.com and! I had to get some stuff shipped anyways from Amazon.com so it was a win/win. You know the regular stuff you buy off amazon.com and not amazon.ca two Asbestos books for my dads company, and "The Science of Wine From Vine to Glass by Jamie Goode"

So, CdP, I am starting to see why Robert Park loves these wines, they are dark, dense, brooding type of wines, but...they are not 'oaked' most of the times anyways...During the month of February Marquis Wine Cellar here in BC was doing a Rhone Friday tasting tasted a couple of CdPs [and Rhones mmm Northern Rhone Syrah!].  For me I find that on occasion I can like these wines but they are big and brooding and  I generally do not like to drink Prunes which is what I get from Big Extracted wines.

So before I could drink the wine [Domaine La Barroche 2006] I had to do a little read up in the new book by Harry Karis, which has I think every producer in his book, and lists a lot of info. Like that they have 30acres planted for red and 1.25 for white. The Signature Which I am drinking is there "entry" level wine. 2006 which by the way is when Julien became 100% responsible of the vineyard and the wine making!


Blogging Format Tasting Notes

The Stats:
Domaine la Barroche
"Signature" their Entry Level
Blend - of 81% Grenache, 11% Syrah, 8% Cinsault
Age of Vines - 18-100+ years of age
Chateauneuf-du-Pape [lieux-dits]
Destemming - Partly
Filtration - Nope!
Aging - 18months in foudres and steel tank
Approx Production 20,000 Bottles

The Eye:
Med++ Ruby

The Nose:
Day 1
Prunes, Red Plum, Spice a sweet spice, not like anise or licourise
Day 2
A Herbaceous, Sappy, Dark Chocolate, Citrus Peel [Maybe a grapefruit?]

The Mouth:
Med Tannins, Med Acid, Med + Finish
Day 1
Good Mouth Feel/Texture, earthy, PLum, Dark chocolate/cherry mix
Day 2
Juicy Dark Fruit, Dark Chocolate, Raspberry, Sappy, Tar, Fresh Leather



Overall/Reflection: I can see where people would like this wine, I did find it good but yet at the same time a little to "big" for me.  I can see a lot of people enjoying this for sure tho
Score: 89

THE 100-POINT RATING SCALE (Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate describes this in more detail.)
• Extraordinary (96-100 points)
• Outstanding (90-95)
• Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
• Good (80-84)
• Average (75-79)
• Below average (70-74)
• Avoid (50-70)

Bordeaux 2006 Notes on 10 Wines

First of all sorry for no posts just have not been feeling it, that I checked my gmail account and I find its all screwy not forwarding emails to my normal account but just half of them. Weird stuff anyways I think its fixed now [which means it isn't fixed BUT hey that's the internet/computer for ya]

So I bought tickets to a 2006 Wine Tasting for Bordeaux, it was for a 9am Sunday Morning Figure it would be good not a lot of people and taste wine in peace. Show up 10mins early. And there is a line up outside the front door! Really at 9am?! Are these people mad? I know I am.

So in all I enjoyed all the 2006 except for the one that was totally over oaked.

I use the term Game, tho its not like Rhone game but it is earthy, game like that for my palate.

2006 Chateau La Tour Carnet, Haut-Medoc
A: Tobacco, Ceder
T: Acidity Present, Fruit Hidden, Creamy, getting little Cassis now, Pomegranate Finish

2006 Chateau Cantemerle, Haut-Medoc
58CS, 33M, 6PV, 3CF
A: Game, A nice Syrup nose coming across Black Pepper
T: Red Fruit, Tannins Present, Creamy, spicy finish

2006 Clos de l'Oratoire, St Emilion
A: Pretty Floral Nose, little Game
T: Tight nose, fruit not ready to drink [tho one wine note said drinking now...]

2006 Clos du Marquis, St Julien
A: Pepper
T: Good Tannins, "light body" [one critic called this Full Body, it was the lightest of the 10 and noticebly light] a interesting Juice flavour

2006 Chateau Clinet, Pomerol
A: Game
T: Good fruit, good tannins, "low acidity", spiciness

2006 Chateau Lascombes, Marqaux
A: Coffee Ground, Cocoa, "A Diaper Plastic Smell maybe I am thinking of the perfume they put in it?"
T: Good upfront fruit, med body, nice tannin. a solid wine

2006 Chateau Clerc-Milon, Pauillac
A: Game, Bordeaux Classic Nose, Spicy Pepperiness
T: Med Body, Red Fruit, Cranberry, Creamy

2006 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, Pauillac
A: Vegatel Celery, Oak Creamy Vanilla
T: Coffee Ground, Acidity Red Fruit, Big Big Tannins, Nice Big Body, Creamy
*Not a Fan lots of Oak used in this

2006 Chateau Montrose, St Estephe
A: Interesting Nose (Good Way)
T: Good ripe red fruit, menthol
*I was going to buy this, didn't know if they were pouring it, it was good/ok, but I spent an extra 20$ and got a Pontet-Canet

2006 Chateau Pape-Clement, Pessac
A: Big game nose reminds me of a Burg, good nice fruit
T: Big Tannins Good Fruit
*Don't let the notes fool you this was the best red of the day hands down

Sauternes / Barsac

2006 Chateau Coutet, Barsac
A: Lovely Nose, Perfume, good tropical dried canadied Papaya nose
T: Honey Consistency, Minimal Acidity

2006 Chateau Rieussec, Sauternes
A: Dried Papaya Candy, Touch of Petrol
T: Good Acidity, "oak", papaya dried


Edit: All the wine were drinking nicely after 2 hours of open bottle, 2-4 hrs decant good, tannins there but not "bad" that they need to hide in the cellar for a couple of years

All said and done bought for me and my dad

x2 Chateau Cantemerle
x2 Chateau Suduiraut, Sauternes The other Sauternes was good but this was rated the best on CT.
x1 Chateau Pontet-Canet

My Major Liquor Store is releasing most of these wines for 20-30% Less, So I am most likely going to buy couple more bottles of these wines. Which starts this Saturday So Time to go Broke

2006 Blue Mountain Pinot Noir Stripe Label - Review

Bottle 2 out of 12, Decided to open this with dinner as my wine fridge is getting low on wines and for dinner there was some Chicken, Fresh Made Pesto (Garlic, Basil were from the farmers market mmmm and didn't have any nuts so I had to grab some of the harder nuts from the Costco Mixed Nut Container Sitting in the Cupboard) Roasted Potatoes (also from the farmers market, water levels were high). Pinot Noir would make a good match and I wanted to take some notes and see how it is doing.

And it is doing just fine, tasty, good acidity,

The Stats:
Blue Mountain Vineyards
2006 Pinot Noir Stripe Label [aka Reserve]
13.5% Alc
Okanagan Falls, BC, Canada


The Eye:
Colour is Purple Red, A Dark Pinot Noir, but can still see your fingers

The Nose:
Day1: Fruit + Rubber
Day2: Eathy, Sweet Cherry hint of Smoke

The Mouth:
Day1: Good fruit coming through on the red fruit side, little spice, really nice acidity, some tannins there, light body definitly a food wine, the fruit popped out even more with the Pesto
Day2: Earthy, Bright Acidity, Medium Body a Bitter Cranberry Skin action little aeration in the mouth brings out some sweetness very nice


Overall/Reflection:
Score: 90 A really well made wine, and that acidity just makes it so nice with food. Some people might be bother by acidity but hey this is a Cool Climate Pinot Noir its what ya get. Tasty tho

THE 100-POINT RATING SCALE (Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate describes this in more detail.)
• Extraordinary (96-100 points)
• Outstanding (90-95)
• Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
• Good (80-84)
• Average (75-79)
• Below average (70-74)
• Avoid (50-70)

Blue Mountain Pinot Noir STRIPE LABEL 2006!

Blue Mountain Vineyards, Considered a Cult Winery of the Okanagan. They make a really mean NV Sparkling Love it. I just recently joined their mailing list, and they had a release for their vintage bubbly and it was sold out within 24hrs. You can not go wrong with that. So I decided from that point once the Pinot Noir Stripe label was released Im buying a case no matter what.

Why The Pinot Noir your asking and not their stripe Chardonnay or Pinot Gris? First of all the Stripe Label is there top label. Ok that being said I've heard a lot of good, and have tried their regular Pinot Noir and its good.

The Stats:
Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Ltd.
Pinot Noir 2006 Reserve [Stripe Label]
13.5% Alc
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan
100% Pinot Noir [17-22 yr/old vines]
yielding 45-50 hl/ha [2.8ton/acre aprox~]
750 Cases Produced for Mailing List and Local Restaurants (Already Sold out on website)
11 Months Maloactic Fermentation In Oak (Doesn't say if new or old)
$38.50 (Mailing List) more like 40-50 at private store 70-90 restaurant

The Look:
Pale Red Colour, Looking like a pinot noir, and they say on their wine makers notes that it was on skin for 15-20 days.

The Nose:
On the Nose you definitely get that old world gamey/fungal action hint of raspberries. but more leaning towards the game/fungal action.

The Taste:
In the mouth smooth but not silky but smooth, The Acid is at a good level that you know will go with food, The first taste is of Dried Sour Cherries, that sweetness you get from dried fruits. The opens up into more fruit of regular cherries and less sour-cherry brand.

Overall/Reflection:
I was much pleased with this wine, I received the tasting notes first and was concerned about 11months in Oak without knowing if they were new or old. Definitely don't get any over oakiness. Not Overly Complex but coming from a young wine region this is definitely one of the best Pinots from Okanagan I have tried to date. I like this, and if your into supporting the Okanagan Wine Region this is one you need to find and try.

Lesser Known Grape Variety: BONARDA

Well I opened a bottle of Bonarda from Argentina, to say the least this wine is interesting, apparently it is from Italy. The facts about it is a red wine that makes a sweet medium body wine with a wash of acidity [my translation of the facts!]

I am one to try and expand my palette as long as its not to crazy [AKA smelling those veal kidneys which were apparently "fresh" and smelled like piss isn't something I'm going to eat no thanks~]

The Stats:
Cerro Azul 2006 (Bodegas La Guarda)
100% Bonarda (approx 40 year old vines, oldies!)
13.8% Alc
San Juan, Argentina, South America, Earth
17$ [CAN]

The Look:
Dark Red, tinge of Purple

The Nose:
I was tring to figure out what this nose smelled like, at First I was going with Sweet Medicine. Then It hit me it has a Molasses smell Sulfur esque, Almost gives you a headache on how strong it is but yet mild. Then I was picking up Black Liquorice [The Real stuff]. Then I was getting Pumpernickel Bread. And yeah some cherry

The Taste:
Medium body, some cherry, Liquorice, Lots of acidity almost candy-esque cherry/raspberry combo. And sweet

Overall/Reflection:
Crazy changing for sip to sip but back and forth between the fruit and the Liquorice. And sweet I found it interesting and different which means its something I would bring to a wine tasting party, or open for someone who wanted something "Different"

Laughing Stock 2006 Portfolio

I bought a case of this wine when it was released. You know being a British Columbia I have to support my Local wineries, Heard a lot of good and hell it came in a cool wooden boxes which makes it worth it haha. They have their story on the website on why they are called Laughing Stock or LFNG.

Ok first thing, I don't mind the use of New Oak in a wine but it has to be in a balance, I mean its like Salt and Pepper to much salt and blah [I could use the make-up analogy but I don't like Make on women I just notice it then its like whats the point]. Now Maybe someone could email me and tell me that new oak needs time to go into the wine etc etc blah blah whatever something something, then so be it and I should wait so many years before it doesn't tsate like sweet vanilla goodness ^_^

This wine is made up of 40% New oak 60% 2nd Fill.

The Stats:
Laughing Stock Vineyards
Portfolio 2006
61% Merlot, 16% Cab Sauv, 16% Cab Franc, 5% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot
19 Months in Barrel: 40% New and 60% Second Fill French Oak
14.5% Alc
Naramata Bench, Penticton, Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada
40$ Canadian [Direct]

The Look:
Dark Colour, good extraction, with a red/purple tinge on the rim.

The Nose:
Earth, Sweetness of Vanilla

The Taste:
Dark Chocolate Finish, Dry Grainy Tannins, Acidity was good good potential ,a little fruit was showing at the end but not a lot will explain in overall experience

Overall/Reflection:
I popped and Poured this wine, yes it was young yes I should of decanted it. Now my question is if I decanted this would the fruit show and the oak integrate or what. I think this has potential if the fruit and other sub layer come through it seems to have potential in it but only time will tell. It isn't a bad wine but to me it needs more for me to spend the money on it. Tho I do have 5 bottles left

Also once my awesome new camera comes Ill take a picture of the bottle it is a really neat design

Golden Mile Cellars "Black Arts Pinot Noir 2006" aka Road 13

First thing First Golden Mile Cellars is now called Road 13, and their Black Arts series turned into the Jackpot Series. [They wanted basically wanted the Golden Mile name to be for the area near Olive, Okanagan BC]. That being said there are a few bottle of this left at the BCLD (British Columbia Liquor Stores) and I recommend you buy it. Firstly its good and two they do not make this label/bottle anymore.

The label style of this bottle is really just awesome its classy, the new Jackpot series are eh ok, but these ones are nice I have a 05 Black Arts 5th Element and its just nice. So pick some of these up not alot left.

Also I did do a tasting of Road 13s new release back in October for a industry only tasting and must say they were all awesome (Not a big fan of the Honest John Red) Definitely a fan of the Jackpot Viognier, guys who I worked with really loved the Riesling.

Now onto the wine itself.

The stats:
Golden Mile Cellars (Now Road 13)
Pinot Noir 2006 Black Arts Series (Jackpot series is their top of the line now)
13.5% Alc
Oliver, British Columbia [aka Golden Mile, Okanagan]
The Look:

The colour is dark for a pinot noir it is from the South of Okanagan being the golden mile (Oliver) so it does get warm and alot of sun. A nice ruby red colour with a medium intensity (dark for a pinot noir)

The Nose:

Right when I opened the bottle I poured me a little to smell and decanted the other 70% [saving the rest to try again].It was big and Gamey, Earthy truffles? (Still haven't smelled fresh truffles to get that nose down but definitely not "barnyard'ie" no fruit on the nose.

The Taste:

Has that gamey'ness and Cherry's mixed with Cranberries and that truffle/bacon/smoke meat (Tho less bacony because it doesn't have that sweetness I would say) Really has a nice Acid Backbone which paired really nicely with my Pizza for dinner [Chicken, Sun dried Tomatoes, Garlic etc]

Overall A Fantastic Wine I am going to the BCLD to buy a couple of these bottles before they are gone forever the 06 and that fact its the last of the Golden Mile before Road 13.