We happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from July 23, 1998:

Note: The tasting was held outdoors and bright sunlight caused the wines to appear significantly lighter than they would under normal, diffused indoor lighting.
 

96 Babcock Sangiovese (11 Oaks Vineyard)--Medium purple. Raspberry, horsey nose. Very forward, concentrated berry, tar, spice. Excellent. Long finish. Best US Sangiovese I've had to date. 92+

NV Sean Thackrey Pleiades VII--Light Burgundy color. Gorgeous nose with earthy, horseblanket aromas, probably from mouvedre. Spicy, acidic. Good with tomatoey foods. Alcoholic finish w/ biting tannins. 85

94 Pesquera Janus (Ribera del Duero)--Bright ruby color when illuminated by direct sunlight, in stark contrast to the midnight black violet in the Spago dining room last month. Plummy, slightly vegetal, barnyard nose that blew off after several minutes. Big, dumb, concentrated. Tannic, drying finish. Needs 10 years. Tasted again at end of evening: Still not showing much.  Lots of concentration and tannins. 93+

94 Elderton Command Shiraz--Medium ruby red. Spicy red cherry, vanilla,  American oak, cocoa nose. Sweet red currant, cherry, pomegranate fruit. Silky texture. Fine tannins, some smoky, briny flavors. Long, fine tannic finish. 92+

94 Jim Barry Shiraz "The Armagh"--Easier to pronounce than drink when first served. Very deep, teeth staining red-violet color. Lovely floral nose with sweet red cherryies and oak. Briny toasted oak, boisenberry, strawberry fruit, but huge tannin and oak dominated in the mid-palate and finish. Needs many years to hit stride. Judgment reserved, but probably 90-95.

95 Domaine Jamet Cote-Rotie--Medium Burgundy color. Lovely bouquet of black cherry, oak, chocolate, forest floor, flowers (the viognier?). Rather acidic disjointed tannins, and fruit suppressed by light viscosity. Finishes short but might improve with time. Tasted again at end: More depth. Very oaky finish. 86

94 Oakford Cab--Deep ruby red/violet. Bouquet of roses, mulberry. Very tannic, hot finish, but seems to be supported by decent fruit. Needs age. After sitting 15 minutes in glass, seems thin. 88

96 Pride Cab Franc--Dark purple. Closed ose revealing some black currant, blackberry, oak. Sweet fruit, tar. Lovely oak. Balanced, silky texture. Beautiful finish, good tannins, lingering oakiness. Retasted 2 hours later: Still great! 91

94 Girard Cab Reserve--Medium red/violet. Very forward nose. Earthy, briary blackberry, tar. Layers of bouquet! Sweet plum, black cherry, oak. Velvety layered texture. Classy old-style CA cab. Finishes rather tannic. Second taste: More pronounced oakiness. 93+

95 Caymus Cab "The Regular Overpriced Bottle, not the Luxury Overpriced Bottle"--Medium ruby red. Warm red cherry, chocolate, black raspberry aromas. Rich, voluptuous, very oaky. Black cherry/plum/tar. Bit of talc on the finish that's dry, hot, w/ long tannins. Pretty darn good. 93+

95 Bryant Family Cab--Dark Burgundy color. Cherry, vanilla, butter bouquet. Super suave, elegant yet concentrated. Integrated oak in mid-palate, but it stands out on finish as rather raw. On second taste at end: Even more, really overdone raw oak on finish. The excessive oak is a minor annoyance for such a generally wonderful wine. 95-

96 Turley Zin (Hayne)--Medium red violet. Beautiful stinky/horsey/briary nose. Gorgeous sweet candy apple, black raspberry flavors. Big tannins are well supported by super concentrated fruit. Almost as good as zin gets. Very long, staining finish. 96

Babblings from the bloody pulpit:

Turley was my wine of the day. A real knock out. If you've got a bottle, there's no need to bang it back anytime soon. It's such an immense wine, it should take kindly to some cellar time.

The Babcock Sangiovese will never be mistaken for anything Italian, but then the same can be said for the Leonetti Sangiovese I tasted last weekend. This one is better, and much more impressive than when I tried it first at the Wine Cask tasting in March. Unfortunately, it's got a hefty price tag ($27) for the varietal. I'll stick with the Tuscan ones at that price.

The Janus...I hope my faith is well-placed in the winery. I won't open my bottles for at least another decade. It is such backward wine now, it's a real mistake to open it for other than academic reasons. In time, I suspect it will eclipse the other wines in the tasting, but for now...

Among the Rhonish wines, the Jamet disappointed. It didn't have the intensity in the middle, and lacked real follow-through to compete with the Aussies. The Command is great, if you can find it for under $40. The Armagh is terribly expensive ($72) for the risk whether it will come together into a complete wine. For now, it's very awkward and hard to evaluate.

The Pride Cab Franc was the big surprise of the evening. It is a complete wine for drinking over the next 3-5 years, maybe longer. Not as immense as some of the cabs that followed, it is wonderful on its own terms and should go nicely with grilled steak.

Caymus...Bryant...Both terrific wines when taken by themselves. But I  would not pay going rate for either of these wines. Caymus would be just great at $35, where its quality pears are (like WL Morisoli). Bryant would be priced about right in the $60-70 range like the Insignia, to which it is camparable in its silkiness and impact. Enough pontificating...

The second surprise of the evening was the Girard. Not much glamour in owning a Girard, but this reserve is wonderful. As good as the Caymus and maybe a bit more refined. It's a tad pricey at $43, but when compared to the Caymus ($61) it's a bargain. If I didn't already have too much over- priced cab in my cellar, I might have even bought some.