This past week we had a cheese and wine party with our friends from around the area.  The evening started with a mixture of hard and soft cheeses.  We had a plate of Asiago, Swiss, and Cheddar cheese.  Another plate of Muenster, Baby Gouda, Monterey Jack, Brie, and Chive augmented cheese as well.  We had a bowl or two of walnuts.  Finally, we had a few plates of latkes that disappeared quickly upon arrival to the table from the oven, and a quiche that a friend brought by.

To match all this yummy stuff we opened two bottles of wine and some friends brought some wine as well (along with more cheese!).  We opened two Four Gates Winery wines, a Pinot Noir and a Syrah.  Our friends brought over a bottle of Galil Rose 2007, while another friend brought over a bottle of Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004.  A VERY important note, the Galil and Segal wines were nice out of the bottle, but became really yummy a few hours after it was opened.

We wanted to thank all the guys that came on over to share our holiday cheer. The wine notes follow below.

Four Gates Pinot Noir N.V. – Score: A-
Our previous notes are holding quite nicely, but I wanted to add that the mouth on the wine this time tasted far more full bodied than before.  The tannins are slowing down a tad, and allowing more of the fruit to show through, under the wine’s velvety covers.

Four Gates Syrah 2004 – Score: A-
Our previous notes are holding quite nicely, and this wine was not only the favorite of the evening, but it went exceptionally well with the Asiago.

Galil Mountain Rose 2007 – Score: B to B+
The nose on this vibrant pink colored wine was filled with grapefruit, raspberry, cherry, citrus, and floral notes.  The nose is the true highlight of this wine.  The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine is not very complex, but still a nice quaff.  Raspberry hits you first, with wave after wave of acidity, citrus, and cloves.  The finish is long with more acidity and spice.  This is a truly acidic and citrus packed wine, with a bit of fruit to round out the wine.

Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004 – Score: B++
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is packed with blackberry, cassis, raspberry, sage, mint, cherry, and oak.  The nose was really nice and kept going and going, really nice.  This full bodied and mouth coating wine starts with blackberry, cassis, sage, and mint.  The mid palate has a nice acidic core with integrated tannins, and a touch of coffee.  The finish is long with more coffee, oak, and integrated tannins.  This is another nice wine for the buck.