Article in the Palo Alto Weekly on the Wine Co-op 10/24/08 pdf. file. Look for picture of Gary thieving wine.
Addison Auction Donated Party by the Billman, Blatman and Holler Families, 5/22/04
On 5/22/04 at the wine tasting party at the Blatman's we blind tasted eight world class wines all Cabernet Sauvignon based. George Billman selected 6 of the 8 wines. I brought the Camalie 2002 from Barrel WC5 and the Joseph Phelps Insignia. Here are the wines lined up in the order they ranked. Top wine on the left, Camalie (:-)
The Camalie Wine was ranked positively by 15 out of 18 tasters which was more often than any other wine. Here are the results.
As usual the French wines ranked poorly in spite of their age and price. Californian's don't like French Wines. We like fruit not earth.
I ran this wine tasting myself and suspiciously my wine came out on top. However, once the bottles were in the bags there were witnesses around all the time during the tasting, and scoring until the unveiling. The only way this tasting could have been "wired" would have been for me to have known in advance what most people would like best and put it into my bottle. I can still sleep at night.
On 6/7/05 a group of 12 Addison Dads blind tasted 4 Pinot Noirs followed by 4 Napa Cabernet Sauvignons including Camalie Vineyards 2002 barrel WC5. The Camalie tied for first place among the Cabs. Here are the results of that tasting:
Pinot Noirs
+7 2003 Paul Hobbs Russian River Appellation Pinot Noir $39.99
+6 1997 Rochioli Three Corner Russian River Pinot Noir, $135.00
+5 2002 Etude “Heirloom” Carneros Pinot Noir, $79.99
+2 1999 Dehlinger Goldridge Russian River Appellation Pinot Noir, $79.99
Cabernet Sauvignons
+8 2001 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “Fay” Stags Leap Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon, $69.99
+8 2002 Camalie Vineyards, Mt. Veeder Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon, Priceless
+5 2002 Caymus “Special Selection”, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $129.00
+3 2001 Terra Valentine, Spring Mountain Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon, $26.99
The Pinot Noirs were quite difficult to tell apart. The Dehlinger had a little higher acidity and tasted a little young but, was still a sound wine.
For more details on this vintage see my winemakers report for 2002.
Mark Holler, Camalie Vineyards Winemaker.
