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 Louis Benton Steakhouse

December 07, 2005 - Big Fat Reds Part Two

BFR II was a huge night, the room was packed with baited excitement as Bradford was unusually late, even for him. The wines had been opened earlier in the afternoon around two which yielded them much softer and expressive than they would have been. With the exception of the Pradeaux, I may not have chosen to open them all so early. I'm still not sure, I guess I have mixed thoughts in that some of the wines benefited and some I thought would have had more impact if opened only for a short period of time.

Remundo Palacios 2001 "Propriedad" Rioja $33.00
Bright garnet with no variation in the glass, this leapt up aromatically and made quite a first impression on many. Bright, again, red cherry, vanilla and spice were the predominate notes both on the nose and palate. This was punctuated by great acidity and nuance. Many in the crowd preferred this wine after many of the others. I thought it was a touch soft though the aromas and flavors were well-integrated and elegant.

Chateau Pradeaux 2000 Bandol $41.00
Deep garnet with slight variation this wine was arguably the most debated wine of the night. This was still subdued after being open six hours. That being said it was stunning for this taster. Black plum, black cherry, raw meat, rose petals, rotten leaves and the veritable "barnyard" were some of the notes I have on the aromatics. On the palate the wine was in general, "steak-y" as I have written. With medium tannins and definite notes of black plum, licorice and spice, this was a love-it-or-hate-it wine for a lot of folks. I loved it and returned to what little was left in my glass throughout the night and found something new every time. This equals complexity.

Lolonis 2000 "Petros" Redwood Valley $60.00
This is Lolonis's flagship wine featuring, in my opinion, their best varietal, Merlot and some Cab Franc and Syrah. It was medium ruby in the glass with slight variation. Completely different in every shape and form from the previous wine, this was bursting with ripe fruit and was super smooth and almost sweet comparatively. The aromas boasted briery raspberry, red cherry, brambleberry, spice and mocha. On the palate it was soft and smooth, with black cherry, tar, vanilla and spice. Very brooding, very dense. This had amazing length and sustenance. Fairly awesome.

Elderton 2001 "Command" Shiraz Barossa Valley $85.00
Where else can you show up and find this? The crowd was shocked and frankly awed to be in the presence of such a legend. The wine was deep, opaque purple with no variation. On the nose it was black, black, black: blackberry, black plum, tar, scorched molasses and spice. Wow this was a monster! Flavor-wise it's pretty soft, (again after six hours open) with super-fine tannins, lots of blackberry, what I thought was grilled plum skin, tar, saddle leather and a hint of vanilla. Drinking famously, this is truly a special wine that the people responded heartily to. Wow, again.

Zoom 2000 "Ricetti" Zinfandel Redwood Valley $44.00
Medium garnet with slight variation, this jumped out of the glass and didn't lose a step against the Command. With aromatic notes of deep black plum, almost prune, cinnamon sugar, asphalt, wet earth and toast, this heady and extracted. On the palate it tasted frankly sweet against the others as well as compared to the 2000 Zoom "D'Ambrosio" Zin we had in September, which I don't recall being so ripe and fruity. The "Ricetti" was kinda sweet and to many a taster's pleasure. I got super-soft and silky tannins for the palate as well as gobs of black raspberry, stewed blackberry, spice and vanilla. Really a lovely Zinfandel and proved to be the favorite of the night.

Bussola 2001 "BG" Amarone della Valipolicella $62.00
The final wine of the night was medium ruby with little variation. Clearly distinctive, it had aromas of dark prune, wet earth, smoked meat, red cherry and saddle leather. Drinking fantastic, this has medium tannins and notes of black cherry, salami, smoke, caramel and vanilla. Just gorgeous! This I believe was my favorite of the night, though it's tough to choose. My notes are somewhat brief at this point but don't let them diminish how amazing the Amarone was, it was incredible, super juicy and idiosyncratic.

Simply put, this was another amazing tasting. It will be hard to top.

*All of the wines we taste, no matter what night we tried them…even if it was over a year ago…are available either on our shelf or to special order. We are always very happy to special order a bottle of anything you’re looking for. If you are interested in trying some of these, please email or call us anytime and we will include it on our next order – almost always delivered within two to three days!
 
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