1 Room, 2 Bloggers, 3 Wines

I had the pleasure last week of tasting through some wines with the sharp-palated Sean Sullivan of Washington Wine Report. Kelli and Sean’s friend Lindy rounded out our foursome, and Lindy was kind enough to host us. As per the usual routine, I won’t give numerical ratings to wines that were provided free of charge, but all three of these wines were great, each in its own way.

We started by drinking two wines side-by-side: NV Ensemble Cellars Release Two and 2005 Pomum Cellars Shya Red. Both are gorgeous Bordeaux blends. The Ensemble had a monstrous nose that exploded out of the glass with earth, tobacco, coffee, and dark fruit aromas. The palate was elegant, with everything in balance: good acid, more dark fruit, and a spicy cocoa finish. Ensemble makes just one wine, and it is a stunningly complicated blend of three vintages (2003-05), three grapes, and seven vineyards. I can only assume that blending trials require 762 glasses, 72 hours, and 1 Oracle database.

I didn’t take detailed notes on the Pomum since this was my second tasting of that wine, but whereas the Ensemble’s strengths were subtlety, finesse, and elegance, the Pomum exulted in its exuberance; in its big acids, its bright red fruits, its spice-cabinet finish.

We finished up with the 2006 Va Piano Syrah Estate Grown, a wine that I believe is only available to mailing list members. This had a crazy nose of charcoal, mushrooms, and flowers. The palate seemed a little disjointed, but we popped-and-poured and had to leave before this really had time to open up. It has the potential to evolve in some very interesting directions.

All told, a great night of tasting.

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