Southern Wines "Gems" Tasting

Yesterday I was joined by Mark Hill at The Sarasota Yacht Club for a tasting of several of Southern Wines (and the worlds') best wines. Hosted by Master Sommelier Julie Pepi, we were offered an opportunity to taste about 100 wines that one doesn't see every day (I wish I could have tried them all, but...). I will definitely be adding a couple of these stars to our list for the upcoming season. At the top of my favorites were the malbecs of Catena Zapata Winery in Mendoza, Argentina. I was blown away by the "Nicasia" 2007, then tried the "Nicolas" 2007, a 98 pointer that was even better! The entire lineup of Jonata wines were spectacular as well. This sister winery of Screaming Eagle produces a full lineup of varietals, all of which were big, bold and complex. There were so many great pinot noirs I am hard pressed to pick a favorite, but Dutton Goldfield, Hitching Post, Roessler and Loring had several choices all of which I would gladly drink any time. For merlots, Hourglass Blueline and Northstar Walla Walla stood out. The cabernet choices were also really tough to choose from. The previously mentioned Jonata Cabernet Desafio 2007 was so good it was sold out 20 minutes into the tasting. The Rubicon 2007 well deserves its' reputation, but don't overlook their Cask cabernet offering either. Other names I can't forget were Kamen, Vine Cliff, Hourglass Blueline and Schweiger, who's 2007 Spring Mountain was good but their "Dedication" 2006 stood out. Also, look for Polkura syrahs from Chile in one of our upcoming tastings. There were several other truly impressive wines at this memorable tasting, and I hope we can bring some of them in for everyone to taste in a future tasting at The Waterfront. Thanks Julie for the invite!