Night of Wine (and) Destruction

Last night I hosted a BYOB tasting party and I'm still cleaning up the mess. The original turnout was only 6 folk, 5 of whom brought reds. We had an interesting variety, and happily I correctly picked out mine and guessed 2 of the 4 others, which isn't so bad. The surprise of the night was Korbel winning with a Cabernet which doesn't sparkle. The 5 reds are below:

2006 Domaine Robert Perroud Cote de Broilly Vieille Vignes ~ $23: a decent cru Beaujolais, but disappointing for the price, scored the lowest of the reds. Improved with some time in glass. (my wine) 86 points

2005 Jacobs Creek Shiraz Cabernet South Australia ~$8: Eric brought this in hopes to prove the Aussie's can still pump out stellar values, and it wasn't far off. Lacked elegance. I guessed new world Bordeaux variety - couldn't pick one out. 87 points

2004 Martino Old Vine Malbec Mendoza ~ $15: I've never had a wine that smelled so much like cherry cola as this one. Nice but not a lot else going on. Guessed new world Syrah... ouch! 91 points

2005 Korbel Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Coast ~ $15: very nice wine with a meaty edge and some signature Cab green pepper (I like a little of this even though some call it a fault). Guessed California Cabernet :) 92 points

2006 Tamarack Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ~ $22?? This is an interesting wine being made in Walla Walla with Oregon fruit. Obviously new world Pinot and a decent one at that. Nothing blowing me away though. 88 points



One of the more interesting things that occurred was a glass being broken from overly aggressive pouring. Not just any break though, it left a nice hole right in the side. Perhaps this will be inspiration for a new tasting glass which will make me famous.