During the year-end Holiday Season, the wine tasting events slack off a bit. Wine shops have a tasting now and then and I attended one last weekend in Long Island. Last Saturday afternoon I stopped by another wine shop tasting at Le Du wine shop located on 600 Washington Street. I’ve been to a few tastings at this shop and they pour some good juice when they have a big tasting, though it seems they are cutting back at the quantity of wine they are pouring at these events. This time around the theme of the tasting was American wines for the Thanksgiving Day table.
I began with the whites:
2009 Au Bon Climat “Hildegard” White (Santa Maria Valley). A blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and a bit of Aligote. It was yellow with green tints with a nose of pineapple and dusty forest floor full fruit up front then tighten up at the end with notes of dried white flowers and citrus.
2009 Le Du’s “Bien Nacido” Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley). Yellow with green tints and had a beautiful nose of ripe peaches and cinnamon and was tight and dusty with spices on the finish.
2010 Saintsbury Chardonnay (Carneros). Light yellow with a nose of earthy peaches and was tight and crisp with some lemony notes on the finish.
2010 Demuth-Kemos “Demuth Vineyard” Chardonnay (Anderson Valley). Light yellow with green tints with a nose of ripe vegetables, tight fruit, firm with a balanced finish.
Reds:
2008 Le Du’s Pinot Noir “Hirsch Vineyard” (Santa Maria Valley). Medium red with notes of spicy cola on the nose with velvet fruit with earth notes and moderate crisp acids at the end.
2011 Le Du’s Pinot Noir Santa Maria. Medium red with a nose of stinky cherries and rosemary with moderate bright cherry cola fruit on the finish.
2012 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast). Medium to dark red with a nose of crushed red berries, a little chewy and rustic with the finish dropping at the end.
2011 King’s Ridge Pinot Noir (Oregon). Medium red with a light nose of cola, very light fruit with some smokiness on the finish.
2010 Millbrandt Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington). Dark red with notes of toasted nuts and bacon on the nose and was chunky with some sweet toasty fruit on the finish.
2011 Demuth-Kemos Syrah “Bei Ranch”. (Sonoma Coast). Dark red with notes of roasted coffee and bubble-gum on the nose with dusty fruit and rosemary on the balanced finish.
2011 Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel “Three Valleys” . (Sonoma County). Mostly Zinfandel with five other red grape varietals blended in, and was dark red with a nose of crushed black fruit and was tight and velvety with a dusty finish.
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