Bucket List Tasting Notes 7/27/12

NORTH COUNTY WINE COMPANY

Notes for our “bucket list” tasting – wines you need to taste before you die – on the occasion of our 2nd Anniversary!

BUCKET LIST TASTING EVENT, 7/27/12

 PIO CESARE BAROLO 2007

                95 points Wine Enthusiast.  One very popular bucket list item is to travel, and Italy certainly ranks high on many people’s hopeful destinations.  This Barolo hails of course from the Piedmont region of that wonderful country.  “Pio Cesare and the 2007 vintage marry beautifully to produce a layered, opulent, textured, rich wine that is bursting with zesty red fruit, sassy spice, leather and toasted espresso bean. What really sets this wine apart is the dense smoothness of its texture. Save this bottle in your cellar 10 years or more.”  Or, if you drink it soon, decant it for hours!  $59.97.

 PAHLMEYER PROPRIETARY RED 2007

                96 points Robert Parker.  Skydiving is another bucket list option, but taste this first, just in case.  It begins with an extraordinary bouquet of subtle smoked meats, oak, mountain wild flowers, blueberries, blackberries, coffee, and cassis. Super-rich and full-bodied with stunningly sweet tannins, it possesses a rare minerality and definition, characteristics that seem to be found across the board in Napa’s 2007s. Dense and powerful, this should have 25 years of life ahead of it.”  $99.97.

 PARATUS MT. VEEDER CABERNET 2008

                93 points Wine Spectator.  Or you could watch a ballgame in every single stadium (lots of guys dream about this one).  This Cab certainly hits it out of the park, with its “dense, concentrated fruit and structure, offering floral aromas, with dried berry, mineral, black cherry and plum fruit that firms up nicely on the finish, pushing past the ripe, fine-grained tannins.”  $62.97.

 TENOR 1:1 RED 2007

            93 points Tobin Bros.  1:1 stands for chapter one, verse one, and symbolizes new beginnings; and isn’t that partly what bucket lists are all about?  This Bordeaux-style blend from Washington is 45% Cabernet, 45% Merlot, and 10% Malbec.  “Aromas of licorice, black fruit, pencil shavings, and spice show detailed complexity where the layers keep coming. On the palate it is a gigantically big wine with rich black fruit flavors and a big lick of tannins. A beautiful balance of grace and power.”  $74.97.

 CATENA ZAPATA ADRIANNA MALBEC 2008

                97 points Wine Advocate.  Getting that degree – whether it be high school, college, or graduate – is another big goal.  The folks at Catena obviously are at the top of their class. Notice the “expressive bouquet of sandalwood, exotic spices, incense, mineral, black cherry, and black raspberry.  Broad on the palate, it displays serious extraction, great depth, complexity, and impeccable balance,” showing flavors of cassis, dark chocolate, plum sauce, vanilla and mesquite.  $99.97.