Humphrey Wine Club

The wines that the nice man at Que Syrah chose for us...

 

2007 Kennedy Shah Chardonnay (August 2011)

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This might be the first white we've had where it didn't just benefit from time open and / or some time in the glass, but it really needed it.  But, once we got passed the initial 'is this off?' phase it turned out to be quite pleasant so we're glad we didn't dump it based on first impressions.

The label says wooded, but didn't get much wood, if any.  Definite citrus things going on both for the nose and palette and maybe some pineapple sort of thing going on towards the end of the bottle as it warmed up a little?

It joined us for a dinner of (admitedly as a random choice in a rush) Fritters A Daring Kitchen Article...

Filed under: 2007 Chardonnay Washington White
 

2007 Mankas Hills Vineyards "Amelie" (September 2011)

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It's hard to figure out exactly what's going in the nose.  Sort of fruity, but sort of like a garden too (in a good way) but not a rose garden, just a garden.  Definitely got berries on the palette and a little bit of acid like things going on that were probably the tannins asking to be left in the cellar for a few more years.

We opened it up with a fairly rich Pork Dish A Daring Kitchen Article because the tasting notes suggested Korean BBQ.  We'd call it a match where no one was unhappy but no one was any happier.  It worked, and they didn't cause problems for each other, that's all.

Filed under: 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon California Consumed Merlot Red
 

2007 Imbricci Chianti Montalbano (Christmas 2010)

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This wine came in our Christmas Surprise Case, so we have 3 of them.  We'll update this the next time we open one.

 

First Go

Not a lot of nose, and almost none upon first opening.  What stands out from the first taste is that it has a spritzy feel on the tongue.  This subsides over time.  Not bad, just a bit of a surprise.

The wine definitely needs some air, maybe a quick decant?  There's no doubt that it improved the longer the bottle was open, and a little quicker once in your glass.  It was never a big wine, but rich in color and quite smooth once the spritzyness departed.  Maybe we found something like cherry in there?

Next time we'll pop the cork and stare at it for a while (we don't have a decanter and there's a part of us that won't let us decant into our water jug).

Filed under: 2007 Chianti Consumed Italy Red
 

2007 Dexter Lake (April 2010)

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This was the 2nd bottle opened as part of the Best Dinner Ever A Date Night Article.

The first couple of sips, perhaps the whole first glass if you want to be a bit too critical, weren't quite there.  It's almost like the wine forgot that it was a wine.  But after a few good swirls, an aggressive second pour and the benefit of the oxygen floating around the room it came together quite nicely indeed.

Definitely full fruit flavors working together friendly enough with the tannins leaves a gently spicy tang to the palette.  It was clearly happiest with the duck and steak, but interestingly the last half glass we had after the dessert was just as enjoyable.

What turned out to be a fine wine probably would benefit from having the cork pulled a good half hour before you planned to 'attack' it.

Filed under: 2007 California Consumed Red United States
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