The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills put on yet another tasting today. Definitely a great spot for a tasting. I got there a little early and spent about 15 minutes sitting in the lounge, watching actors come through for auditions. Got to see a couple people from LOST, like the pregnant British girl, Claire, which was fun.. but onto the wine.. Before I even get started, I'm going to acknowledge that I'm spoiled, but the truth of the matter is that I'm just getting tired of Cali Cabs. I have no Miles-esque "Merlot hatred" of them, but I just really don't need to taste any more huge Napa Cabs. A lot of great stuff, but even the 05 Phelps Insignia doesn't quite do it for me anymore. I think I had wines I'd prefer to sit with at the Howell Mountain tasting last week. Once again, nothing wrong with these... well crafted.. big, deep, dark, etc. but just one note. Anyhow, there were a couple of definite stand outs, and my number one was this 04 Beaucanon L Cuvee Cabernet Franc. Really delicious, well crafted, beautiful nose, great complexity and balance, and a huge welcome at this Giant Cab tasting. Of course, it was made by a French family from Bordeaux, and they even, much to my delight, used short capsules like the old Petrus bottles...look carefully and you can see the cork sticking out of the bottom of the capsule.
Also of note, the 07 Fleury Pinot Noir, the Frank Family Sparkling (I believe it was a 97, made at Schramsberg), Hendry's 04 Cab S., the Coho Pinots, Jaffe's latest two efforts (Metamorphosis, and Transformation), Expression 39 and Tetra.
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