tasting at HASR wine co.

Kelly and I went to a great tasting last week at HASR in Chinatown and had some decent value-driven California wines from Morgan and Bishop's Peak.  I keep forgetting the name of the guy who pours there on Tuesday and Friday nights but he is extremely nice, knowledgeable, and efficient.  The holy trinity of attributes for anyone working in a tasting room.

The 2011 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc was probably the star of the show with a surprisingly big body for the varietal and its clean, minerally, and old world flavor profile.   It is blended with small amounts Sauvignon Musque and Semillon as well as spends 6 months in mostly neutral oak to lend complexity and texture.   The 2011 Chardonnay from Bishop's Peak was lighter in body and color and had an extremely closed nose.  It had nice light clean citrus flavors but not much else to write home about.

BP's Pinot was temptingly priced at $20 and had a plump body with well-rounded tannins and true to the varietal rustic cherry flavors.  The Cabernet was also dominated by simple cherry notes on the front end that fell off too quickly.  It also had a bit too much oak and heat for me.  Finally, the Morgan rhone-style "cote du crow's" blend was much rounder and heavier on the palate with riper darker fruit.  There were some tertiary bitter subtle vinegary notes on the mid-palate that for some reason I was into.  
I would definitely recommend the free bi-weekly tastings at HASR.  And if you see a short dorky-looking haole scribbling tasting notes in the corner, say hi!

Alta Maria, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, Santa Ynez Valley, California

The 2007 Alta Maria is an approachable yet complex enough effort that will satisfy the oenophiles who tend to lean away from California Cabs.  Its got a dark purple core with a hint of crimson translucence on the edges.  The nose is extremely generous with burnt sugar, maple bar, coffee liqueur, boysenberry, and a strange memory inducing scent of a lonely dark dusty old room from my childhood.  The maple translates well into the palate while embracing some dark dark dark black fruit flavors with smokey meat undertones.  It is medium-bodied with smooth sweet rounded out tannins from time napping in the bottle.  The Alta Maria has a pleasing syrupy/juicy body but avoids the fake sweetness found in a lot of California Cabs.  For under thirty bucks, this is an lively, tough as nails, varietally-correct to the core Cab that you can thank me for recommending later.

P.S. The roundness of these tannins feel about as good as Louis C.K. saying a certain taboo word.

      

Kendall Jackson, Jackson Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, Knights Valley, Sonoma, California

This wine reminds me of two major problems that I have been having with myself lately.  One that I am a vegetarian in a land of Kalua Pork and Loco Moco and this wine desperately cries out for something like a blood-red rare steak to be paired with.  And two that I don't make nearly enough money to enjoy wines like this on a regular basis.  Oh well, thank god for a few well-endowed family members who like to bring me wine on their visits to Hawaii.  

This cab has a cherry red rim with a deep opaque purple black core and shows off some long ass legs on the swirl.  The nose sings dried cherry, dutch cocoa, mint, and at least at first a whole lot of heat.  Fresh out of the bottle, this wine has extremely dry, puckery tannins.  After settling in down in the glass for a bit the tannins get more dusty revealing complex layer of flavor.  I tasted black cherry soda, black pepper, and tar.  So many black flavors I couldn't stop thinking about Jay-Z's huge comeback album in 2003.  

On day two, the heat began to blow off and the fruit started to pop.  I got really ripe big blueberries and wet plum with underlying structural notes of clean oak and espresso.  This Cab comes from Knights Valley which is the warmest AVA in Sonoma rubbing right up against Napa.  The 2007 harvest was an ideal growing season as it was long, smooth, and warm.  Considering the commercial nature of the winery, the heat of the year, and the inevitable push to appeal to a broad base of drinkers, the winemakers demonstrate a real sense of restraint.  

P.S. Lately, as a Willamette Valley ex-pat without access to mom and pop tasting rooms, I have been digging these slightly higher-end smaller production offerings from the mega-commercial wineries.  Does that make me a bad person?     

Frei Brothers Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Alexander Valley, California

This northern California Cab is deep garnet in color with mahogany hues. It you’re a fan of bell pepper ice cream, then the nose on this guy might be for you. Lingering beneath all that sweet creamy vegetation are notes of menthol, cough syrup, raisins, and mulled spice. It’s an awkward mixture of aromas to say the least! Fortunately, the flavor profile is more appealing and balanced than the nose. Dark chocolate, rose petal, and black licorice are the dominate up front flavors with a nice focused beam of dark berries on the mid-palate. Not bad, but for 25 to 30 bucks I like my cab savs to have more body and mouth-coating abilities.