In my pursuit of fine bourbons I have spent some time reading some of the blogs dedicated to bourbon whiskey. Last Thanksgiving I saw the Antique Collection in stores and purchased a bottle of the 2010 William Larue Weller.  I had not opened the bottle but recently sampled a bit to see what all the fuss was about.  I will be posting notes from several tasting sessions in this blog soon.  I liked the whiskey so much I purchased four of this years Antique Collection (William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Eagle Rare, and the Sazerac Rye).  I will be inviting over my boubon buddies for a tasting session soon and will post the results.

We had a few pinots over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

2007 Merry Edwards Olivet Lane in magnum – This served as our party bottle that we served before Thanksgiving dinner.  Decanted in two stages over the course of two hours.  Still pretty tight when we first started.  Nose had a little pinot funk of sticks and dirt.  Medium bodied with plums and red fruit and a little baking spice on the backside.  Delicious pinot.  Always great to have a magnum on hand when the wine is this good.

2009 Calera Central Coast – Opened this and the Kosta Browne with blackened salmon later in the weekend.  Popped and poured. I had this once before and enjoyed it.  Medium bodied, dark pinot fruit, ton of spice.  This was really good and a great value.  Really set the stage for the salmon.

2006 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast – Opened this in honor of the #1 wine on the Wine Spectator list.  Decanted for 2 hours.  Very little on the nose when first opened but really opened up after the decant.  Aromatics jumped out of the glass.  This was definitely a wow wine.  If the 09 turns out this good then it deserves #1.  Great pinot fruit, bright flavors of plum, cherry, and spice.  Paired great with the salmon.

A few cabs from the Thanksgiving weekend.  Opened two on Thanksgiving Day to serve with prime rib roast.

2005 Justin Isosoles – Decanted for several hours. Great fruit, nice mix of red and black.  Almost has a mineral, stony flavor.  Really matches well with the prime rib.

2005 Sojourn Home Ranch – Bought three of these the first time I met Craig at the old crush facility in Santa Rosa.  Tried a bottle a couple years ago with mixed results.  This time this one really sings.  It’s amazing that this wine, made with grapes planted just a few years earlier, has developed into a beautiful Sonoma cab.  Can’t wait to try subsequent vintages of Home Ranch in the future.

Then several more on Saturday with friends.

2006 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley – Decanted for 1 hour.  This wine never really opened up.  Muted plum fruits with a distinct herbal backbone.  Need to give this wine a few more years in the cellar.

2000 Conn Valley Napa Valley Cabernet – Popped and poured.  Tasted over the course of the evening.  Sweet plum and cassis flavors are prevalent.  Fruit became less pronounced and the wine seemed to loose steam as the evening wore on. 

1993 Conn Valley Napa Valley Cabernet – Decanted for an hour.  After opening the 2000 we were real interested in tasting an even older vintage.  What a difference.  This wine had plenty of stuffing left and possessed those classic mature Napa cab flavors.  This wine was a treat.  Kept going back for a little more all evening.