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Recent mentions of "Bruiser" on Snooth
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November 2009
Snoothrank: 
Starting at $44.99
Andrew Will makes some of the best wine in America let alone Washington State. Not big bruiser Cali style but elegant and refined. Ciel du Cheval is his 'right bank' interpretation. Lots of Merlot.
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November 2009
Snoothrank: 
This one is a bit more reserved than the bold bruiser that was 2006. However, I think I preferred the 2006 just a bit more. This one's more calm and a tad more refined. Still a magnificent blend form Orin Swift.
BV tasting 11/14/09 Lee's Discount Liquor
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November 2009
Snoothrank:
The label (Dry Creek Zin, 15.6% alcohol) and young age suggest a bruiser. But what's in the bottle is a silky-smooth, rich, delicious red without any harshness, tough tannin, or heat. The dark cherry, plum, and spicy berry fruit courses across the palate, while the texture is almost... Read moreThe label (Dry Creek Zin, 15.6% alcohol) and young age suggest a bruiser. But what's in the bottle is a silky-smooth, rich, delicious red without any harshness, tough tannin, or heat. The dark cherry, plum, and spicy berry fruit courses across the palate, while the texture is almost Pinot Noir-like in its elegance and velvety feel. In this sense it reminds me of some of the better Edmeades Zins from Mendocino (the ones that don't erode your epithelial tissue). This wine was purchased for under $20 as part of the excellent Coffaro futures program, and it was a steal at that price. Drinking beautifully in its infancy. Retail price estimated. (hide)
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September 2009
Snoothrank:
Right now, it's an alcohol heavy bruiser of a wine. Pretty gnarly. Given time, it should open up and relax into a delicious, blueberry jam driven wine. Wait on this one.
-Tasted with winemaker 9/20/09.
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March 2009
After much anticipation Snooth’s OTBN was apon us! We were meeting in the ... Backus – This was a bruiser but beat you with the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove! Great iron flecked crème de cassis fruit in a seamless velvety package. A great wine from one of my favorite... Read more
After much anticipation Snooth’s OTBN was apon us! We were meeting in the ... Backus - This was a bruiser but beat you with the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove! Great iron flecked crème de cassis fruit in a seamless velvety package. A great wine from one of my favorite vineyards!
2002 Vergelegen Estate Red - This was just gorgeous on the nose with smoky, green chile, cassis and oak tones all layered and in balance. It’s a bit simple still on the palate but this flagship South African red has the stuffing to turn into something special!
1991 Carmenet Vin de Garde Reserve Selection - This was a bit peppery and stern and reminded me a bit of 1986 Bordeaux with it’s powerful expression of tobacco tinged fruit. This is an old style of California Cabernet that one rarely encounters today. Can you say Dunn Howell Mountain?
New world? Old world? The lines can get blurry sometimes and nowhere is that truer than in Spain these days. I’ll be posting my impressions from an old Rioja tasting soon and along with the notes is my take on Tempranillo these days. I go off on a lot of producers who are trying to make Tempranillo in to something it’s not and while I genuinely believe that sometimes the results make me reconsider my position, for a little while at least!
2004 CVNE Pagos De Viña Real - No mistaking this for anything but a huge, modern Rioja but the black raspberry and vanilla tones are in balance and the wine is big yet so smooth and polished that you can’t help but like it, just give it a few years in the cellar.
2004 Buil & Giné Montsant Baboix - This is another decidedly modern Spanish bruiser and it’s packed with lovely herbal, mineral and spice tones embedded in rich cassis and blackberry fruit. It’s intensely spicy and really deserves something rich and spicy to cut through!
As modern as the last pair was I moved back into two classics from France, Bordeaux and Chateauneuf. Both were real treats and matched perfectly with my lamb chops.
1989 Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf du Pape la Cuvee du Papet - Who wants the funk? Bring on the funk! And black olives, leather, lavender, mushrooms, you got it all on the nose and while the palate was wonderful with lovely truffly edges this had started to thin out a bit but was still fabulous.
1982 Château Grand Puy Lacoste - Classic freaking Bordeaux! This had that restrained power and endless layers of flavor that only Bordeaux can offer. As much as I love the texture of mature California Cabernet the elegance and complexity of Bordeaux can bring things to an entirely different level. Tied for my second WOTN
And then I was left in my happy place; surrounded by Barolo! As you might know Nebbiolo to me is magical and while none of the Barolos tonight made it in to my top five wines I was thrilled to be ending my night with them!
1997 Paolo Scavino Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva - And as much as I love Barolo I didn’t feel the love here. While the nose offered up nice mushroom, rose and licorce scents there were loosing the battle with the spicy wood. Pretty much the same in the mouth, the fruit was intact and nice but all the complexity came from the wood so I didn’t get much depth here.
1982 Brovia Barolo Rocche Dei Brovia - This was great in it’s own way. A very good wine, but just a great glass to drink at the end of the night. Lacking some complexity as well, but just so bright and balanced with fine red berry fruits and a slightly gamy twang on the finish. I was refreshed!
1989 Marchese di Barolo Cannubi Barolo - While I preferred the Brovia to this I can’t say one is better than the other, just different. This had more complexity and deeper fruit but was a bit less elegant and refreshing. It’s still a delicious glass of big black cherry fruit.
We spent the night trying to Twitter our notes as we participated in Twitter Taste Live with our virtual drinking companions but it was not with much success. Connectivity, in the virtual sense, was limited in the dining room but that didn't prevent us from trying!
There was one bottle that I missed the 2005 Turley Howell Mountain Zinfandel. Can anyone let me know what it’s like? And with that I was left with the 2 dessert wines. First up was the rather crappy bottle of 1985 Warres Port. Alcoholic, disjointed and volatile it’s only redeeming feature was that it was marginally sweet and smelled faintly of fruit. I chose to move on an end my night with the fairly remarkable 2005 Feiler-Artinger - Ruster Ausbruch Essenz. Intense and intensely sweet yet with such incredible acidity that this never became cloying and the mineral notes on the finish cut right through the remaining fresh fruity sweetness so it never became over-powering or boring either. Simply a great sip with which to end a brilliant evening.
I want to thank everyone who helped make this evening so special.
Thanks to Wilson Daniels for their support and generous contributions
Thanks to North Square for taking such good care of us.
And thanks to everyone who made this such a special evening with their generous contributions and brilliant company. I can’t wait to do this again. Do you really want to wait an entire year? I know I don’t!
Gregory Dal Piaz is the Community Manager at Snooth, an avid Wine Geek with a passion for things Italian, and a long suffering Mets fan. (hide)
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March 2009
Snoothrank:
This is a bit of a bruiser with dark, spicy fruit on the nose. Lots of cassis and blackberry compete with spice and mineral notes and there is an undercurrent of herbs sauteeed in butter. Pretty well balanced in the moth with fine acidity and a bit of a creamy, rounded feel. The... Read moreThis is a bit of a bruiser with dark, spicy fruit on the nose. Lots of cassis and blackberry compete with spice and mineral notes and there is an undercurrent of herbs sauteeed in butter. Pretty well balanced in the moth with fine acidity and a bit of a creamy, rounded feel. The flavors are bright, juicy, and pretty intensely spicy with a bit of drying oak on the long finish. Still young but impressive. 90pts (hide)
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February 2009
We had a great tasting last night and it focused on one of my favorite grapes, ... ripe fruit flavors.” A big bruiser of a wine, this certainly had it’s merits and was a wine that I could see improving.
11 - 2004 Deerfield Sonoma 14,6% $25
Group’s 11th, my 12th
Dave thought... Read moreWe had a great tasting last night and it focused on one of my favorite grapes, ... ripe fruit flavors.” A big bruiser of a wine, this certainly had it’s merits and was a wine that I could see improving.
11 - 2004 Deerfield Sonoma 14,6% $25
Group’s 11th, my 12th
Dave thought this smelled of “ cough syrup with a really funky nose with a vinegar edge” and like many added that it “tastes fortified.” Allen called it “syrupy and a little alcoholic” Eddie also felt this had a “funky nose” with “sweet oxidized fruit and coconut.” Justin thought this was “velvety polished, very smooth” but as Eric added “it has a long but tiring finish.” Stu concurred finding a “fortified quality” to the wine making it “feel like a port, with sour cherry, medicinal cough syrup flavors” and a “really sweet finish.” A strange bird indeed. Not sure what the intent was with this wine but the results speak for themselves.
12 - 2006 The Midlife Crisis Winery Paso Robles 16.6% $20
Group’s 12th, my 11th
Justin called this simple “fruitcake” and noted that it was “very full bodied and a bit low in acid.” Eddie agreed calling it a “low acid fruit bomb with high residual sugar and zinfandel like boysenberry fruit.” Allen felt it was more “blackberry” toned but also noted the wine’s ‘sweet finish.” Eric chimed in agreeing that the finish was “a little cloying” and noted that this smelled “ like a dessert wine with honeysuckle, almond, clove, brown sugar and mulling spice.” Another well made wine that really didn’t speak much of grape or origin. And the exceptionally high alcohol was noted by every taster, and not in a good way.
And that is that. Two weeks of blind tasting’s focusing on Sangiovese. We had one corked bottle.
Gregory Dal Piaz is the Community Manager at Snooth, an avid Wine Geek with a passion for things Italian, and a long suffering Mets fan (hide)
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January 2009
Flight 1
1 - 2006 Neyers Napa Valley Ca – Hudson Vineyards Syrah 89pts
2 - ... of classic Californian Bruisers
10- 2006 Dry Stack Cellars (aka Grey Stack) Dry Stack Vineyard Bennett Valley Ca– Marie’s Block Syrah 15.5% $40... Read moreFlight 1
1 - 2006 Neyers Napa Valley Ca - Hudson Vineyards Syrah 89pts
2 - ... of classic Californian Bruisers
10- 2006 Dry Stack Cellars (aka Grey Stack) Dry Stack Vineyard Bennett Valley Ca- Marie’s Block Syrah 15.5% $40
http://www.snooth.com/wine/dry-stack-cellars-syrah-maries-block-2006-2/
Tight and dark with coffee bean, reticent baked black cherry, oak spice, herb, mint and sharp mineral notes but so reticent this is tight, Tight, TIGHT. Big and polished with a lovely sweetness in the mouth which is cut by the good acid and surprising mineral edge. Tight on the palate as well this is actually very elegant if large scaled and showing just a touch of heat. The core of big, grapy fruit remains coy but one sees glimpses of its freshness and depth. This has great balance and a layered feel that leads to a long finish with pure spicy loganberry fruit and a fine mineral finale. This needs 2-3 years but looks like it’s going to rock. 94pts
11 - 2006 Grey Stack- Dry Stack Vineyard - Bennett Valley Ca The Narcissist Syrah 15.8% $48
http://www.snooth.com/wine/dry-stack-cellars-syrah-narcissist-2006/
Deep, dark fruit, a touch more coffee grinds, cocoa, vanilla, oak spice, and peppercorn than the last wine but also a damp clay and forest floor tone. Also tight and closed with just a bit of a candied black berry fruit tone on the nose. Big and rich with great acidity and incipient herbal top notes offering contrast to the rich, brambly black berry fruit. Powerful and feeling a touch extracted this has the power and depth of your typical fruit bomb but is much better behaved in the mouth. Lots of very intense fruit is paired with lots of oak and while the finish is very long it is also very woody and tannic with a muddied quality that obscures the fruit. Not my style but for those you enjoy this sort of opacity this is well balanced. Give it a year or 2 in the cellar 88pts
12 - 2006 Four Vines Santa Barbara County Ca Los Alamos Vineyard- One Tree Hill Block Syrah 14.8% $36
http://www.snooth.com/wine/four-vines-syrah-one-tree-hill-block-los-alamos-vineyard-2006/
This smells intense and yet restrained a bit of an unusual combo. A bit of creosote develops with airing, joining the clovy, jammy fruits but then this does blossom offering up a complex array of aromas ranging from herbal and floral to medicinal and gamy with notes of dried peach and green walnut even. This is strangely appealing, smells a bit like Christmas. Very relaxed in the mouth, virtually no tannin but enough structure to give this decent presence in the mouth. Deeply fruited but not vulgar with its dark toast, and licorice tones contrasting with the red berry fruit with it’s candied edge. The texture is a bit too creamy for me and the finish is a touch short but still a solid wine 89pts
See all the wines in the PTP1 Syrah Group here
http://www.snooth.com/wines/PTP1/#PTP1:1:0:0:125:recommended
and follow the discussion about the wines here;
http://www.snooth.com/tag/ptp-1/
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January 2009
2005 Scholium Project Iseult Hudson Vineyard - this is a bruiser; massive nose of blueberry, cola, and a mix of black and white pepper and maybe some evergreen; more reticent on the palate; loads of acid and tannin; out of balance at the moment, with the dominant note being sour... Read more2005 Scholium Project Iseult Hudson Vineyard - this is a bruiser; massive nose of blueberry, cola, and a mix of black and white pepper and maybe some evergreen; more reticent on the palate; loads of acid and tannin; out of balance at the moment, with the dominant note being sour cherry; interesting, but needs a lot more time; should come around, but the fruit is somewhat hidden in the palate right now. (hide)
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December 2008
Okay, winos. I am going to try in earnest to be short and sweet, like a good ... Garden Clare Valley (what a bruiser, even decanting did little to offset the floral power and oak influence in this wine); it was an intense wine with a lot of excitement factor, it reminded me of... Read more Okay, winos. I am going to try in earnest to be short and sweet, like a good ... Garden Clare Valley (what a bruiser, even decanting did little to offset the floral power and oak influence in this wine); it was an intense wine with a lot of excitement factor, it reminded me of the Oscar-Meyer quality of Cayuse’s Bionic Frog. The final red was a Barbour whose elegant herb and tobacco leaf structure was a welcomed surprise from the powerful, intense and concentrated tablemates. All good showings and I was ever impressed with my friends for finding the joy in drinking wines that we often read about.
The meal finished out of (vintage) character with a Passito from Villagrande in Sicily (Malvasia delle Lipari). The color of this wine was an amazing amber and (although a summer sipper from my days in Sicily) was paired with an eggnog Crème Brulee, finished with a Nutella Grenache Ice Cream Sandwich.
The night was long and delicious and with the exchange of some presents by the tree and some carols played on the piano, it was a total success. And I wish you all the same holiday wine-drinking happiness and success in the New Year. Please share your thoughts about drinking this holiday season (already experienced or pre-planned) and see you all on the other side of the New Year.
Dan Petroski is Assistant Winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Napa Valley. Dan has an MBA from New York University and worked as an Ad Exec in New York for several years, before switching it up and trading his suit for a move out west (hide)
