Check out the latest tasting notes from the Terroirist team, including Rebecca’s pretty epic tasting of Opus One’s recent releases.

Rebecca Canan
I had a great week of wine. I started out on Monday with an Opus One tasting of four vintages – 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008. I’ll be doing a more in-depth tasting next month with winemaker, Michael Silacci, but in the meantime here are brief tasting notes. Everything was, to put it technically, yummy.

The 2005 Opus One had a woodsy, cigar box nose that was dominated by secondary/tertiary scents and only with more restrained deep blackberry and blueberry notes. The palate had the same fruit profile balanced by tobacco, a little leather, and integrated tannins.

The 2006 Opus One was brighter and fresher – deep raspberry, brambly black fruit. On the palate you got the new French oak, which the wine had been aged in for ~18 months – toasty vanilla, a little spice, and then more black currant.

The 2007 Opus One had muddled blackberries, blueberries, and dark raspberry on the nose. It smelled like a young, well-made Napa cab that my mother would die for. The profile then evolved into more oak character than I’d expected from the nose (allspice/cinnamon). Still very fruit-forward, almost like a blueberry pie; delicious, but will improve gracefully with age.

On the 2008 Opus One, I got greener, vegetal notes (funky growing season? Or the Petit Verdot/Cab Franc?), cassis, a little anise. The mouth was surprisingly tannic and drying with leather, sandalwood, deep black currant, and considerable heat (alcohol content?).

I enjoyed a big messy burger for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner Tuesday, then followed it up with a glass of 2009 Suhru Shiraz, which I’d picked up on a trip to the North Fork of Long Island. I was intrigued by this wine because it smells and tastes like peppered, teriyaki beef jerky. No joke. Beef. Jerky. Kind of weird and kind of awesome.

Saturday I went to the Tre Bicchieri Italian wine event here in New York. Be on the lookout for a separate post on this event!

Matt Latuchie
I was on the road this week and was happy to reconnect with some wine friends in both New York City and Chicago.

In New York, I met up with some friends and a wide selection of wines were opened. The NV extra brut cuvee from Marie-Noelle Ledru was closest to taking home the honors of wine of the night amongst the group. This was recommended to me from wine wunderkind Salil Benegal who spoke very highly of her wine making style.  It wasn’t a powerful Champagne – in the mold of, say, Krug – but much more feminine and exotic. Beautiful floral notes merged with sweet lemon and lime tones to create an elegant and racy champagne. For me, the other highlight of the night was the 2004 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche. This was a rustic syrah with dense olive and meat tones that, to me, are the essence of the grape. While incredibly young, this already speaks of its terroir and should only increase in complexity with time. Read my complete notes on the evening here.

While in Chicago I met up with a small group for a Clos Vougeot dinner at Acquitaine in Lincoln Park. The atmosphere was festive, the food was well prepared and the wines showed very nicely. We had four Clos Vougeot; 1996 Faiveley, 1997 Fery-Meunier, 1997 Chateau De La Tour, and the 2001 Jacques Prieur. The Faivlely seemed shut down and wasn’t incredibly interesting to me, the Prieur was too young but the two 1997s drank beautifully. This isn’t a heralded vintage at all, but both of these wines had vivid red fruit, nice earthy tones, subtle dry leaf tones and a wonderful mix of spices. Read my complete notes on the evening here.

David White
On Monday and Tuesday, I enjoyed Domaine la Croix des Marchands’ Fraîcheur Perlée, purchased from First Vine for just $12. A blend of equal parts Muscadlle, Mauzac, and Loin de L’oeil, this wine will definitely become my go-to summer quaffer. Floral, fruity, crisp, and just a bit sparkly – this wine is fun and refreshing, and perfect for a hot afternoon or when you’re craving a thirst-quenching wine.

On Wednesday, together with Terroirist Robby Schrum, I had Seavey’s 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon. Picked up on WineLibrary for just $30, I regret that we simply popped and poured the wine – it improved dramatically as the night went on, revealing more and more sweet, ripe fruits as the minutes passed. Regardless, it’s drinking quite well right now – lots of fruit left, along with the beautiful spice and complexity one would hope for (but rarely finds) in aged Napa Cab.

On Saturday night, I opened two bottles with my brother. A 2009 Copain Viognier Tous Ensemble and a 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah.

The Copain Viognier was disappointing, but only because I’ve come to expect so much from the producer. The fruits – grapefruit, lime, green apple, and pear – were more restrained than I would have hoped for, and the acidity – while lively – was also a bit weak.

The Pride Syrah was delicious. It’s definitely a full-throttle Syrah – packed with sweet dark blueberries, blackberry, and plums – but it’s also quite elegant. The fruits are kept in check by some black pepper, vanilla, and gray minerality, and everything is perfectly balanced. A really fantastic wine that I wish I had more of.

Greg Golec
I kicked off my wine drinking this week with a couple zins. A 2007 Ravenswood Zinfandel Barricia had me skeptical as Cellar Tracker notes indicated it needs time. Not my bottle! The blueberry and brown sugar nose was bigger than what’s in the bottle. Restrained dark fruits and smoky cherries were weaved together with strong acidity. Next up was a 2006 Carlisle Zinfandel Rossi Ranch. Not surprisingly, this was the more intense of the two bottles. Blue fruits and briar patch on the nose with blueberries, white pepper, and a touch of oak on the finish. Smooth, balanced, really enjoyable.

On to the cab…a 2006 Franciscan Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Stylus was given an hour in the decanter but it needed more. Smooth blue fruits with a really interesting nutty note transitioned to a bit of sweet vanilla. The tannins got in the way of the finish as this just needs more time.

I closed my week with a 2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Sonoma Coast Syrah in anticipation of their spring release next month. The tannins were big out of the bottle but mellowed with about 30 minutes of air revealing soy, raw meat, and charred meat with a subtly sweet finish. There was a bit of spritz at the outset but it too dissipated with air.

Robby Schrum
A few outstanding California zinfandels to report on this week. First up was a 2008 Robert Keenan Zinfandel. Big, rich, chocolate-covered dark fruit flavors. A hint of chocolate-covered raisins (but I may have been searching for that because it’s a zinfandel). Absolutely wonderful.

My wine of the week — and the front-runner for my wine of 2012 — was a 2009 Outpost Zinfandel. Captivating nose of leather, spice, strawberries, raisins — and Christmas. Spicy pepper on the palate, with terrific light fruit flavors and some chocolate. Absolutely perfectly balanced and composed. I was surprised at how restrained and elegant this was. A mind-blowing wine — so good that I e-mailed the producer after finishing the bottle to see if they had more inventory!