January 18, 2007 - Howard Johnson's House We all braved the weather (ice and snow) and travelled north to Howard's home in Vancouver. Truth be told, the roads were fine. Howard shared two nice Rieslings, a 2001 Lucien Albrecht Grand Cru Pfingstberg and a 2002 Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turckheim, to start off the evening. Neal was unable to attend as he and his bride were skiing in Colorado. The theme for the tasting was Spanish Tempranillo's. All of the wines showed well with the exception of the 2001 Finca Allende Calvario - a wine that Greg Bunnell had shared the year before in a Spanish tasting with similar results. The wines included a 2001 Bodegas Ostatu Gloria de Ostatu, a 2001 Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza Rioja, the 2001 Finca Allende Calvario, a 2001 Muga Rioja Reserva Selecion Especial, a 2001 Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi, a 2004 Vinedos Alonso del Yerro, a 2001 Cellar Marti Fabra Masia Carreras, and the 2003 Numanthia. Most agreed that the Numanthia, priced at about $54/btl, was the best wine and that the Muga, at $30/btl, was the best value. The overall rating for the tasting was an 86, but that was skewed by the poor showing of the Calvario (77), Vinedos (81) and the Fabra Masia (77). Average individual scoring ranged from 79 (Brad) to 91 (Howard). Most others fell into the mid-80 range overall. We finished the evening with a 2004 Jorge Ordonez Victoria Moscatel from Malaga, Spain. It went well with home made dessert courtesy of Kathleen. Also of mention was the outstanding truffle cheese served with the Tempranillo's. |