Jessup Cellars 2003 Napa Cabernet

The 2003 Jessup Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was outstanding. I decanted it for a few hours, re-bottled and took it to dinner at cafe Artemis to pair with a Chateaubriand for two. The food and atmosphere were fantastic and the Jessup Cab seriously impressed me. It had a opulent nose of currant, cherry, vanilla and cedar with a little mint, licorice and earth. The body was full from start to finish, which was very long and immensely enjoyable. The tannic structure was firm without overwhelming the wine's other attributes like nicely balanced acidity and lush dark fruit flavors. This wine is worth seeking out from the winery and I believe it will cellar nicely over the next decade.

BYOFB

Greeting WSGers,
Tim and Piper have offered to host the March meeting of the WSG, the theme is BYOFB.....that's "Bring Your Own Favorite Bottle". Each couple/person brings a bottle of one of their favorite wines to taste through: i.e.. Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Bordeaux, Burgundy, White Zinfandel, Brunello, Tempranillo, etc., etc...Anything goes and at any price point. No dues this night since the admission is the bottle you bring. This isn't an impress your friends event so bring what you really enjoy drinking. Everyone will get to present the bottle they bring. Tim and Piper, you get to make up any special rules for the evening you would like, let us know. Due to sheduling conflicts this month's meeting will be on Wednesday, March 5th at 8:00, Tim, Piper and Delaney's house. More details will follow.

Tapas & Tempranillo

Our tasting was held at the Quarry Bar (adjacent to cafe Artemis in the Park Plaza Hotel) on February 7th at 8:00. Thank you Zoe for hosting, Kevin for your great info on the wines and Marc for the fantasatic Tapas. We sampled 5 wines:
Lena, Tinto, 2005, Spain
Mapena Tempranillo, Argentina, 2005
Dominio de Atuata Ribera Del Duero, 2004
Finca Villacreces Ribera Del Duero, 2004
Conde de Valdemar Crianza, 2003
The Lena was a why bother wine, the Mapena a quaffable one, the Dominio solid but overpriced, the Villacreces an age worthy, balanced crowd pleaser and the Valdemar good but forgetable. Overall, these wines were well crafted, approachable and great food wines with enough acidity and tannic structure to go with a wide range of cusine. The night didn't change my life but will make me look at the Tempranillos on wine lists a little more closely in the future.
Sunday night with dinner, Tim brought a 2003 Altano Douro Reserva that would have trumped any of the wines in the tasting for about 1/3 the price of the Villacreces. Portugal in particular is putting out some big and impressive wines at very reasonable prices (if you can find them).