Playing Catch Up

With work picking up the last few weeks I've fallen behind putting up my reviews. In an effort to catch up here are 10 mini-reviews I've pulled from recent tastings:

Scott 2009 "Arroyo Seco" Chardonnay: Lemony-yellow, tropical fruits and lemon, buttery notes indicating malolactic fermentation. Med/(+) bodied Chardonnay with a med length finish. Good value, would wait another year before popping the cork.

Laird 2007 "Cold Creek" Chardonnay: Golden straw, buttery, tropicla fruits, hints of oak. Med bodied, "round" with enough acid to keep it from being flabby. Nice finish. Drink now.

Hitching Post 2008 "Santa Barbara" Hometown Pinot Noir: Redish-purple hue, med (-) intensity. Love the nose, cherry, dried roses, a littl earthiness and spice. Med bodied, nicely balanced. Only shortcoming was a med(-) length finish. Good value.

Kermit Lynch 2008 Cotes du rhone: Black cherry color, light nose withhints of blackberries and spice. Dusty tannins, slightly twiggy finish. Not a fan.

Cellars Baronia 2006 "Montsant": Blend of 63% Garnacha, 32% Carinena, and the balance Syrah and Merlot aged in stainless steel. Purple hue, med intensity. Black cherries, raspberries, hints of mulling spice and earthiness. Med bodied, good acidity, smooth tannins, med/(+) length spicy finish. Excellent value, should be lovely over the next 3 - 4 years. For those who care, Robert Parker gave it a 92 (and it's less than $10 a bottle).

Nozzole 2006 "Chianti Classico Riserva": Nice example of a good Chianti at a reasonable price. Dark brikc, broad core. Nice red and black fruits with good earthiness and mushrooms and a touch of tobacco. Med/(+) bodied, nice acidity, smooth tannins that firm on the finish.

Le Conseiller 2005 "Bordeaux Superieur": Parker gave it a 91 but I'm not sure why. Dark, deep core. Baked black fruit on the nose, fruit forward with ok acidity and fairly smooth tannins, not thrilled with the finish. OK, but didn't knock my socks off.

Hedges 2007 "Red Mountain" Meritage: Purple hued. Black fruit, sweet oak, mulberry and hints of baking spice on the nose. Good balance, med/(+) bodied, long finish. Good example of what a Washington state producers can do with a Bordeaux-style blend.

John Alan 2006 "Paso Robles" Meritage: Blackberry, mulling spices, touch of mocha. Nice fruit, smooth tannins and decent acid. med/(+) length finish.

Opolo 2008 "Summit Creek" Zinfandel: Garnet, med intensity. Black chery, raspberry nice with a touch of spice. Nice but I found it a touch muted and flabby overall.

Number of wines reviewed in 2010: 136