Tasting Notes for Friday, 5/20

Just for fun, here’s the tasting notes I wrote
up for our event on Friday, May 20th. This
was a great event, made even more so by
the presence of our friend Catherine from Torrey
Wines and Jann Forth, owner and winemaker for
Forth Family Vineyards. (the answers to the trivia
questions will be revealed below)

FORTH VINEYARDS DRY ROSE

Don’t be fooled by the color; this ain’t cherry Kool-Aid they serve to the kids at Legoland.  This lovely Rose is bone dry, with wisps of smoke weaving through strawberry and raspberry flavors supported by good body, weight and concentration.  On this date Legoland Carlsbad opened, much to the delight of our tourists and their kids.  What year was that?  $9.97.

FORTH VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

This Mendocino beauty is as fresh and lively as the one-liners that flew through every episode of “Cheers” back in the day.  Floral and lemon zest aromas  precede balanced flavors of lime, melon and tropical fruit that will amuse your palate like Norm responding to Coach’s “what’s shaking?” by saying “all four cheeks and a couple of chins.” The show’s final episode aired on this date in what year?   $14.97.

FORTH VINEYARDS SYRAH LA ROUSSE VINEYARD 2005

We’re always amazed Syrah isn’t more popular; the good ones are complex and delicious and go with food like Levi’s go with cowboys.  This single vineyard example carries aromas of plums and leather with smoky, meaty notes, then those same flavors envelop your taste buds alongside notes of coffee and herbs.  On May 20^th Levi Strauss received a patent for blue jeans.  Can you guess the year?  $16.97.

FORTH VINEYARDS CABERNET HISTOIRE CHAPTER ONE 2007

This very pretty Cab has the balance of a tightrope walker and the structure to support him.  Blackberries and crème de cassis on the nose lead to smooth dark berries on the palate, with persistent tannins bringing things to a nice, dry finish.  This was the day the Ringling Bros. held their first professional circus.  What year?  $14.97.

FORTH VINEYARDS CABERNET ALL BOYS 2008

Sometimes boys can work together beautifully; the grapes for this Cab come from the vineyards of the family’s two sons, four grandsons, and from a neighboring vineyard owned by five brothers.  This great teamwork produces a rich wine that is reminiscent of a good Bordeaux, with a smooth entry into flavors of blackberries, currants, herbs and violets.  The 1965 UCLA basketball team won the NCAA championship on this date.  Who’d they play?  $16.97.

FORTH VINEYARDS CABERNET REBECCA’S VINEYARD 2006

An impressive single vineyard Cabernet, this takes flight like Lindbergh over the Atlantic, especially after some time in the decanter.  Lucky Lindy didn’t enjoy beverage service on his flight to Paris, but maybe when he landed he was lucky enough to find something this good.  Black and red cherries stand out, but air time leads to great complexity, with added notes of spice, graham cracker, earth, minerals, chocolate and toasty oak.  We know his plane was the Spirit of St. Louis, but what year was that first solo flight?  This wine available for pre-sell at $29.97/bottle.

FORTH VINEYARDS LATE HARVEST SAUVIGNON BLANC 2006

Life is filled with so many sweet things; the breakup of the Beatles was not one of them.  But a tasty dessert wine can certainly help us cope with such things, as well as just cap off a delicious meal.  This one will match many sweets, with honeyed pear, sweet melon and sharp green apple flavors and aromas.  John Lennon and Yoko Ono married on this date in Gibraltar.  What year?  This wine available for pre-sell at $14.97/bottle.

And the answers:  1 = 1999, 2= 1993, 3=1863, 4=1884, 5=Michigan, 6=1927, 7=1969