Part 1: Old world 
09 Domaine de la Quilla, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie – Loire Valley, France
Color – clear, pale yellow.
Aroma – grapefruit, lemon, hints of honeydew.
Taste – high acid, lemon, stainless steel, green apples, nice viscosity.
Finish – mid length.
Conclusion – DiMaggio suggested a pairing of cold seafood salad. 86 Eve pts.
08 Domaine Fouassier L’Etourneau, Rosé – Sancerre, Loire Valley, France
Color – clear, pretty peach.
Aroma – strawberry, floral notes, possibly something vegetal like green bell pepper.
Taste – low to medium acidity, floral notes common with French rosé, palest hint of lemon, nice viscosity, slightly tart, dry.
Finish – mid to long.
Conclusion – You guys know I prefer French rosé to American…
09 Domaine Laroque (100% Cab Franc) – Bordeaux, France
Color – ruby with a dark edge.
Aroma – mushroom, cherry jam, black pepper.
Taste – dry, medium tannins, nicely developed, balanced fruit.
Conclusion – DiMaggio suggested a grilled steak…
08 Poderi Foglia Conca Bianco, Falanghina – Campania, Italy
Color – clear, palest yellow.
Aroma – crisp, pineapple.
Taste – sweet, pale honey, grassy, mild acid, similar to a Sauvignon Blanc.
Finish – short to medium length.
Conclusion – DiMaggio suggested a seafood pairing. I liked trying a new varietal!
07 Tenuta Bichi Borghesi, Chianti Colli Senesi – Chianti, Italy
Color – dark ruby.
Aroma – mushroomy, vegetal, black pepper, with a hint of mint.
Taste – high acid (to go with tomato-based food per DiMaggio), dry, balanced, tannic, dark red cherries.
09 Domaine Andre Brunel, Grenache – Vin de Pays du Vaucluse, France
Color – Ruby.
Aroma – ripe/bright cherries, pine, some vegetal notes.
Taste – similar to Beaujolais Nouveau, nice bowl of cherries, with some dryness.
Finish – medium.
09 Vina Del Val, Tempranillo – Ribera del Duero, Spain
Color – dark garnet
Aroma – coffee grounds, somewhat vegetal.
Taste – dry, tannic, rich berries, chewy.
Finish – medium length.
09 Hugl Weine, Gruner Veltliner – Weinveirtel, Austria
Color – clear, pale hay.
Aroma – green apple, DiMaggio detected white peach.
Taste – acidity throughout, lemon.
Finish – short.
Conclusion – DiMaggio said to ask for his salad from the chef at The Cellar: Mango, kiwi, shrimp, avocado…and I…didn’t want to toss this one out!
Part 2: New world
08 Shotfire, Shiraz – Barossa Valley, Australia
Color – dark burgundy, opaque.
Aroma – dark cherry, blueberry, wet wood, pale toast.
Taste – nice tannins, black fruit, dry, smooth, black pepper, blueberry, blackberry.
Finish – medium.
Conclusion – good to drink now, wanted a charcuterie plate, 92 Eve pts.
2010 Huia, Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough region, New Zealand
Color – clear, very light, almost like water.
Aroma – pear, lemon, flinty and, what DiMaggio described as an accepted descriptor of “cat piss”. (Detecting cat piss isn’t bad by the way, but this sure turned off the class!)
Taste – high acid, strong lemon, unripe apples.
Finish – short.
Conclusion – I needed food to counterbalance the brightness of the wine, but it was pretty darn good alone.
08 Santa Carolina Reserva di Familia, Carmenere – Rapel Valley, Chile
Color – dark garnet, opaque.
Aroma – light cherry, dusty, black peppercorns, mushrooms.
Taste – dry, very tannic – which overpowered the fruit that was showing.
Finish – medium finish.
Conclusion – I didn’t love this one, bet it would be better with steak.
08 Fleur du Cap, Chenin Blanc – Stellenbosch, S. Africa
Color – clear, pale gold.
Aroma – little bit of butter, flinty, unripe white peaches, stemmy?
Taste – high minerality and acid, nice apple and peach fruit.
Finish – short but nice.
Conclusion – General class consensus, including me, liked.
09 Hedges, CMS (cab, merlot, syrah blend) – Columbia Valley, Washington
Color – Clear deep ruby/garnet
Aroma – dirt, berries, stemmy, something vegetal.
Taste – light body, lighter fruits, some cherry, strawberry, nice mouthfeel.
Finish – short.
Conclusion – Good now, drink now, nice with a summer picnic, bought some. 92 Eve pts.
07 Patricia Green Cellars, Estate Pinot Noir – Yamhill County, Oregon
Color – clear, pale garnet.
Aroma – bright cherry, stemmy, mint, maybe some bell pepper.
Taste – acidic, tannic, dry, pale fruit.
Finish – short.
Conclusion – Not for me.
07 Rombauer Merlot, Carneros, Napa Valley, California
Color – clear, ruby.
Aroma – vegetal, wet wood, nice red berry fruits.
Taste – dry, red berry repeated.
Finish – short.
Conclusion – too light, but it was almost the end of the day, might have had a little palate fatigue.
06 Bear Cave Cellars, Syrah – Paso Robles, California
Color – dark plum, opaque.
Aroma – black pepper, pungent fruit, vegetal/mushroomy.
Taste – dry and tannic.
Finish – medium.
Conclusion – Last wine of the day and all I could think was, “Need food!”
This post ran rather long for me, so go to my facebook for the photos if you want more: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1455706632#!/media/set/?set=a.1930420107618.113910.1455706632 And if you want to take a class with DiMaggio call 661- 799-7979.
