This past evening saw a group of us getting together to taste some wines that have yet to be released.  The wines were opened at the start of the tasting and were tasted again at the end.  We drank the wines in the order that they are listed below.  I had tasted these wines before, but we had a chance to sit down with a few other folks and so Benyamin swung on by and we had a formal group tasting.

I want to thank Four Gates Winery for the opportunity to taste the wines, the wines notes follow below:

Four Gates Chardonnay 2007 – Score: B+ – A-
The nose on this bright light straw colored wine is filled with lemon, apple, pear, and oak.  The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine starts off with lemon custard pear, and apples.  The mid palate starts off over acidic, but mellows down and reaches a nice balance as it airs out with core acidity and rich oak.  The finish is long and spicy with more oak, and lemon tartness.

Four Gates Chardonnay 2005 – Score: A-
The nose on this straw colored wine is filled with creamy caramel, peach, pear, and oak.  The mouth on this full bodied and rich wine is full in the mouth with caramel, pear, and apple.  The mid palate is opulent with rich oak, acidity, and nutmeg that is in almost perfect harmony.  The rich oak plays in your mouth with the core acidity in a perfect duet.  The finish is long with rich oak, mild acidity, and nutmeg with sage.

Four Gates Merlot La Rochelle 2006 – Score: B+
The nose on this vibrant light garnet colored wine is hot to start, but blows off quick enough, with black cherry, cola, sweet carob, and Italian spices.  The mouth of this medium to full bodied wine has a nice complex layering of cranberry and cherry.  With air, the mouth turns blue, with hints of blueberry and more cranberry.  The mid palate is filled with core acidity, tannins that have yet to integrate, and oak.  The finish is long and spicy with more oak, tannin, and coffee.

Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. 2006 – Score: A- (not yet for sale)
The nose on this black garnet colored wine filled with candied raspberry, blackberry, anise, and intense sweet wood.  The nose changes with more air to a richer nose of opulent wood and more cranberry.  The mouth on this full bodied wine is full in the mouth with mouth coating tannins, and complex layers of raspberry,  blackberry, and cherry.  The mid palate is a balance of oak and acid that play off the full mouth.  The finish is long and spicy with more sweet wood, acidity, coffee, and vanilla.

Four Gates Syrah 2005 – Score: A-
The nose on this black colored wine filled with tar, pepper, oak, black plum, eucalyptus, and thyme.  The mouth of this full bodied and layered wine is filled with mouth coating tannins, black plum, and black fruits.  The mid palate plays off the mouth coating palate with more tannin, acidity, and oak.  The finish is long with tar, pepper, and acidity to help balance out the wine.  Quite a nice brooding wine, that will age nicely over time.