Christmas tasting...

Had assembled an interesting group of wines, both our labels as well as several commercial wines for comparing styles... our group, over several generations of extended families, were willing tasters. Firstly, offered a Stoney Hill Chard ('86) that was well received, even by daughter-in-law who has developed an aversion to white wines, but when followed by our own Vionier, the RV wine was the clear winner... next, offered a Koenig-made '04 Williamson Cab, followed by our '06 Reserve... this time the response was even more emotional.. our wine was head and shoulders preferred! More of our wines followed, with generally good marks... but what can you offer after tasting our Reserve?

Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007
Originally planned as a tasting party honoring our Grower, but delayed when Dennis developed a nasty cold... Mike, Ray, Sharon, Jay and I made it a working party to top up the barrels... with the caution to taste each barrel to make sure that the wine was still good... And each WAS!
Needless to say, the 06 Reserve was outstanding!! Especially liked the Syrah and the Malbec... The Merlot was spread over several barrels and each quite different.. the later harvest was preferred. The surprise was the effect of the dominos on the Rose' of Cabernet.. after only one week, the wood was present and preferred to the original in the topping bottle... altho the color darkened from the light rose to a brownish blegh...