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Last night I had the chance to participate in a Twitter Taste Live event featuring Patz & Hall wines – the 2008 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and the 2007 Jenkins Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Taste Live format provides an opportunity for a group of wine bloggers, throughout the US, to taste the same wines and share their tasting notes and thoughts live via Twitter.

Although Patz & Hall wines are widely available, this is my first time trying their wines – yet another benefit of the Twitter Taste Live events, trying wines I may not have otherwise tried.

We started with the 2008 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.  $35 retail.  This wine was a pre-release special – the release date is next month.  This 100% chardonnay is made from fruit sourced from several well-known vineyards throughout the Sonoma Coast.  I have not been a big fan of California Chardonnay because of the pungent oaky butter popcorn that dominates the Cali Chards, but this one is an exception.  I really liked the lack of pungent butter, complexity, and how it evolved throughout the night.  Initially I picked up stone along with peach and apricot, and, as the wine warmed, aromas of pear and Bubblicious gum really came through.  Nice acidity that kept the fruit lively.  About 9,000 cases produced.

Our second, and final wine of the taste live event was the 2007 Jenkins Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.   $45 retail.  100% pinot.  This wine initially displayed a distinct Chinese restaurant aroma – the smell that hits you when you walk in to a Chinese restaurant.  The aroma wasn’t good or bad – just a bit unusual.  Thankfully, this wine really opened up with some air and came alive with nice cherry, spice, raspberry and pomegranate components with a long cherry-raspberry candy finish.  In the end, I feel this wine could benefit from some age, as did several of my fellow bloggers.

Thanks for the folks and Bin Ends and Patz & Hall for organizing this tasting.  Be sure to check out the Patz & Hall blog and follow them on Twitter, @PatzHall.

*Disclaimer: I received both Patz & Hall wines as samples to participate in the Taste Live event.

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