The Tasting Panel magazine

April 2016

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april 2016  /  the tasting panel  /  109 DEPARTMENT HEADER Northwest Knockout The charming Nick Pomponio, Business Development Manager for Southern California for Chateau Ste. Michelle, presented the Northstar 2012 Red Blend, Walla Walla. You won't find this style of blend on the Right or Left Bank of Bordeaux, as it uses Syrah—10% of it—in addition to 83% Merlot and 4% Cab Franc grown in one of their best sites, Anna Marie Vineyard, where the vines are 15 to 17 years old. The wine spends 20 months on 100% French oak, 53% new barrel. I had the pleasure of meeting the flashy yet good-natured winemaker, David "Merf" Merfeld, at a recent Wines of Washington seminar. The Merf not only makes great wine, but he also somehow makes Oakley-looking sunglasses cool again. TASTING NOTES: Meridith May: Outgoing, exuberant nose of plums and cassis. Tighter tannins on the palate with great acidity. A mouth-filling, lush, earthy core with surrounding blackberry. Michael Ploetz: Very spicy aro- matics—nutmeg, black pepper. Soft and supple, lovely finish of leather combined with dried cherry. Very pretty. This could be a New World wine from a cool climate. Marianna Caldwell: A nose of herbal and vegetal notes, primar- ily of fresh, green pepper. On the palate, the fruit is rich and jammy with plum and blueberry and the vegetal notes subside, though, linger underneath the fruit with a hint of black pepper. This tastes like a Merlot/Cab Franc blend. Brooding Presence Portfolio Manager Ashlie Leslie presented The Sextant 2012 "Kamal" Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 2% Charbono aged 19 months in new French oak. If the lot of these wines speak to history, the Sextant "Kamal" speaks to the future with its extensive clonal blend grown in the El Pomar District sub-AVA of Paso Robles, California, in partner- ship with the only commercial vine nursery in Paso, Sunridge Nurseries. Jesus Evangelista says, "I remember being surprised most by the Sextant 'Kamal' Cabernet. I recall it being quintessentially Paso on the nose, fragrant and airy with subtle notes of sandalwood and rose petals. But on the palate, the flavors were much deeper than I expected. The wine is dense and plump, with an almost brooding presence of dark cherries and ripe plums framed around a delightfully surprising amount of earthiness and terroir expression." TASTING NOTES: Jessie Birschbach: Twizzlers! Red plum and my favorite berry preserve: boysenberry. New World in style, this one has perfectly sized love handles that you like to hold onto because the face is so elegant and beautiful. Naureen Zaim: Red currants, cas- sis, cinnamon and rose petals. Young, bright berry forward. This tastes like a Merlot/Cab blend from Paso. Right Bank Ringer But wait! There's one more, and it was the only ringer of the day. This was the Le Carré 2012 Saint- Émilion Grand Cru, a super-cuvée from Château Teyssier. With its Old World pedigree, some of the panelists recognized it immediately as a Right Bank Bordeaux. TASTING NOTES: Meridith May: Beautiful fruit—bright, red and blue. Feminine. Coffee sweetened by mocha and plum liquor per- fumed and floral tones of lilac and jasmine. Rebekah Turpin: Dark fruit, black cherry, leathery and earthy cigar box notes burst with ripe and gripping tannins concentrated with black licorice and black cherry. Strong, bold and powerful. april 2016  /  the tasting panel  /  109 Nick Pomponio, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Business Development Manager, Southern California, with Northstar 2012 Red Blend, Walla Walla, WA. Ashlie Leslie, Portfolio Manager for Sextant Wines—a member of the Paso Robles CAB Collective—with Sextant 2012 "Kamal" Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, CA. Le Carré 2010 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux. The 11 velvet-covered bottles that once judged us from above sat naked and exposed on the long table in front of us. Looking at the lot in its entirety made the range of wine regions more obvious: Napa, Paso Robles, Lodi, Walla Walla, Alexander Valley, and Saint-Émilion. It was an experi- ence as entertaining as it was educational.

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