June 3rd Barrel Thief Tasting Review

Back on the 3^rd of June, Barrel Thief had a large “trade” style tasting with 30 wines up for sampling. Megan and I attended and had a great time as usual, tasted some new wines, found a few favorites and one or two that we would probably avoid in the future. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera for the event but it was a good turn out, quite a few people but with 6 tasting stations it didn’t seem too crowded.

 

Here is what we tasted – (not in order)

 

2006 Lioco Chardonnay $24 – apple, pear, round, spicy

2006 Brooks Amycas $19 – fruity and tart, hint of sweetness and canned pears

2006 Lioco Indica $20 – raisin, slightly too oaky, “fat” tasting tannins

2006 Qupe Syrah $20 – earth, peppermint nose, dirty raspberry and ripe cranberry flavors, soft tannins

2006 Capiaux Pinot Noir Widdoes Vineyard $45 – new world, cranberry, slightly jammy and spicy finish – uncharacteristic for a Pinot

 

2007 Virginia Wineworks Rose $12 – watermelon, apple cider vinegar, strawberry, medium body, good acid

2006 Shaps & Roucher Bougogne Blanc $19 – cooked apples, lot of mineral and stone at the finish

2007 Michael Shaps Viognier $35 – key lime nose, apricot, peach, mineral and apple, round with a clean crisp finish

2005 Michael Shaps Petit Verdot $35 – blackberry, current, cherry and blueberry finish, full round body

2005 Shaps & Roucher Volnay Santenots $59 – black cherry, wood, cured meat, strong tannins and an aspirin flavor at the finish (new flavor for me)

 

NV Broadbent Vihno Verde $10 – grassy, tart and fuji apple flavors, a little bubbly

2007 Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc $20 – gooseberry, grass, grapefruit nice and crisp – always a good Sauv Blanc

2005 Bodega Weinert Carrascal SB/CB Blend $15  – cooked fruit, odd off note I couldn’t identify

2006 Qunita do Crasto Douro $19 – leather, cranberry, good acid , firm tannins, medium body

1999 Chateau Musar Red $50 – dark fruit, floral notes, smooth with soft tannins

 

2006 Gini Soave Calssico $24 – green apple, pear, almond, round mouthfeel, asparagus at the finish

2006 Chehelem Pinot Gris $25 – kiwi, lime, actually a bit bitter with a quinine aftertaste, very odd because I rarely, if at all, find wine bitter, especially whites

2006 Lucignano Chianti $19 – blackberry and tar and black pepper on the nose, cherry and green pepper flavors dominate, medium body, dusty tannins, acidic backbone

2006 Chehelem Pinot Noir $39 – cranberry, strawberry, thyme, almond, smooth medium body, very nice Pinot

2003 Laurona Monsant $45 – earth and cinnamon nose, licorice and raspberry flavors, nice structure, medium and round body

 

2006 Chateau Ragotiere Muscadet $16 – citrus, slate, lemon and green apple, very tart

Cono Sur Organic Chardonnay $12 – intense mango on the nose, very mellow and refreshing, lots of citrus towards the finish

2006 Girardin Savigny Les Beaune Vermot $39 – a bit of toasty notes on the nose, nuts, pear and round with floral notes at the finish

2006 Perrin Cotes du Rhone “Nature” $15 – pepperoni, blackberry and green olive, very smooth but firm at the finish

2005 Dona Paula Cabernet $14 – lots of fig and currant on the nose, prune flavors leathery tannins

 

2006 Hess Estate “Suskol ineyard” Chardonnay $23 – asian pear, vanilla with a “dusty” taste

2005 Glenn Carlou Charddonnay $20 – cooked apple nose, nutty, oak apple

2005 Peter Lehmann Shiraz $15 – bright red fruit, soft/lush mouthfeel, wheat toast and green olive

2006 Artezin Zinfandel $18 – jammy, chocolate, cherry with green flavor at the finish

2006 Bodega Colome Malbec $32 – cola and raspberry nose, spice and cranberry flavors, med/full body

 

It was a lot of new wines but we did come out with a few favorites. The Chehelem Pinot was a very nice Pinot from the Willamette Valley with lots of good red fruit, herbs and great mouthfeel. It was good to see Michael Shaps who was there showing off his new projects. He is out on his own now, no longer making wine for King Family Vineyards, he has his own line of Michael Shaps wines, his wine line with French winemaker Michel Roucher-Sarrazin, and the value wines produced under the Virginia Wineworks label – his custom crush facility. I hope to do a more thorough interview with him in the near future on of his new ventures.

 

Two other favorites were the Cono Sur Organic Chardonnay and the Perrin Cotes du Rhone “Nature” (also organic). Both were great wines in their own respects and had great price points.

 

I hope you enjoy the tasting notes, some were scattered and hard to read but I think I transposed them all correctly, and usually I have a fairly good memory for what I tasted even if the notes are a bit jumbled. It was another nice event at the Barrel Thief, looking forward to the next one.

 

Cheers!