Thursday, January 28, 2010

Elizabeth Spencer Winery




Last night, I swung by 33 wine bar for a tasting of some of the Elizabeth Spencer wines. Angie from Appellations Wine Co was there pouring them, and I ran into several friends. I had never tried the wines from Elizabeth Spencer before, and was pleasantly surprised. Here are my thoughts (sorry, I don't remember many of the vintages- all current releases):

Sauvignon Blanc- This is the style of sauvy that I like. It wasn't over-acidified, but rather had a roundness to it that was very pleasant. It had a touch of creaminess to it that, to me, indicated a small touch of malolactic fermentation- it could have also just been the fact that it was the first wine that I tried.

Chardonnay- This was the least impressive of the bunch. It was okay, ubiquitous California Chard.

Grenache- this was probably the easiest drinking of the lot. It had the bright, bing cherry note, and was really a "guzzler" instead of a "sipper". My only wish is that is was about $10 less (I think it rang in at about $26).

Pinot Noir- This wine was kind of weird. The normal pinot fruits were there, but the tannins seemed a bit out of whack. They were a touch too harsh, and not in balance with the fruit.

Syrah- I liked this one as well- great initial nose of eucalyptus, mint, and chocolate covered strawberries. It was medium bodied, and not paint-your-teeth-purple in its extraction. I will likely buy some

Cab- In 3-4 years, this wine will be really nice. Everything was in balance, it was just too young to be drinking now. Give it a few years in the bottle, and the fruit and tannins will meld together nicely.

All in all, the wines were pretty nice. They are small production, thus causing a bit of an increase in price.

That's all I got- Cheers.

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