[wine] TN Northern Rhones at Auriga 01-06-2005

A select group of 11 gathered to enjoy Auriga's new decor and new menu - White 1 - nice fresh nose, midpalate impressions alcohol, honey, plenty of fruit, minerals, smooth; finishes with good length and a nice acid snap, very good plus. Elemental Cellars, 2001 Viognier, Deux Verts Vineyard, Willamette Valley. (Theorizing from the presence of honey and absence of mango, I misidentified this as Marsanne, perhaps more proof that I'm laughably inept at identifying the grape when tasting young whites blind. Apparently "Elemental Cellars" is another venture of Steve Westby at Witness Tree; anyone who knows more is welcome to tell me about it.) White 2 - repulsively musty, not tasted. Will Slovenian chardonnay become as famous as Romanian pinot noir? 1.1 - dark color; forward fruit on nose; midpalate smooth, redder fruit than the nose, tasty, very alcoholic finish though. 2001 Echelon Shiraz, Esperanza Vineyard, Clarksburg. (More info re the Clarksburg AVA, which was a new one on me, may be found at http://winebusiness.com/html/MonthlyArticle.cfm?AId=82789&issueId=82758 - ) 1.2 - dark color; bacon nose almost too funky, and a little VA as well? Bacony tannic flavor, lacks fruit, finish decent. I can imagine food pairings this might work with, but to my personal taste, it's so bacony that it's a caricature of syrah. 2000 Crozes-Hermitage, Cuvee Leonie (Gilles Robin). 1.3 - medium dark; warmly alcoholic on nose (in a good way for a winter wine) but not very aromatic; extremely light body, tasty though, pleasant red fruits, OK finish, light as a feather but balanced and pleasant. 2000 Crozes-Hermitage, Cuvee Christophe (Domaine des Remizieres). 2.1 - dark young purple; forthcoming international style nose, pretty yeasty for a still red wine but it works, attractive aroma of baked goods; midpalate smooth, substantial, and much less sweet than the nose suggests, quite good; finish lacks power and shows alcohol, decent wine though. 2003 Crozes-Hermitage "Papillon," a Leonie (Gilles Robin). (Apparently the same wine, although from a different vintage, as 1.2. Substantially different label design.) 2.2 - light to medium color, raspberry nose, midpalate smooth, light body, red fruits with good spice and good acid snap, sneaky long finish with black raspberry and minerals. Very, very light but otherwise excellent. 2002 Crozes-Hermitage (Louis Bernard). (An achievement in such a wet vintage, and most of the Louis Bernard wines don't cost much either.) 2.3 - dark color; dumb nose showing black fruits when shaken up (wine turned out to be too cold); initial midpalate impression is of formidable acid structure and tannin, then aristocratic fruit, minerals and balanced wood influence show; true finish, as it tastes, with decent length, serious wine, still needs time. 1994 St Joseph "Deschants" (M. Chapoutier). 3.1 - medium dark red, blackberry nose, palate entry smooth, then big, weighty and sweet, finishes somewhat alcoholic and not nearly as forceful as the midpalate suggests, good wine, if perhaps not altogether balanced? 2001 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley. (Santa Ynez Valley is one of the Santa Barbara appellations.) 3.2 - deep red, color shows a touch of age? Mature red fruit nose, touch of alcohol, midpalate structured and hugely explosive unsweet fruit, powdered stone, herbs - on the finish, again a touch of alcohol but very true, as it tastes, considerable length, may be better still with a bit more time. 1998 Cote-Rotie "Brune et Blonde" (E. Guigal). (Consensus wine of the night. Thank you, Dave.) 3.3 - dark color; funky nose, brett? Midpalate lightish, lacks fruit, finish the best feature, overall this has a lot of tannin for the fruit. 1996 Cote-Rotie (Robert Niero). 3.4 - dark red-purple; quiet nose of dark fruits; structured midpalate, aristocratic bearing, could wish for more fruit; finish is the best feature, distinguished Rhone fruit with a touch of anise. 1994 Hermitage "la Sizeranne" (M. Chapoutier). Dessert - fresh Riesling nose, aromatic fruit and herbs; sweetness in balance, varietally typey and pure, good length. 2003 Handley Cellars Late Harvest Riesling (Anderson Valley) (375 ml). Hope to see you all for vinos de Espana this coming week - R.