January 1, 2012 - January 7, 2012

	Sunday January 1, 2012
	The last week has been an adventure. I got rid of the Raiders as one of my passions today for at least 6 months....That is good....I need to make room for more in my mind.................. My Mother, 90 years on Feb 5 is being prepped for open heart surgery Thursday. I need to be there............. But we are blending starting January 9 and then bottling starting January 16.......................... I have not slept well for days.....3 hours last night...............The relatives are gone (nice time, here a few days). I expect to sleep well tonight.................  Before I leave Tuesday I hope to do a report on our tasting New Years Eve of all our block 4 wines, starting in 1999...................15 in all!!!!!!! It was fun.................. Friday January 6, 2012 My Mother's surgery has been delayed until Monday, January 9. I was down to Milbrae for a visit and she is doing well and is ready for her adventure which will require a long recovery. I will be down to support her next week. Our blending has been delayed until January 16 and bottling will be starting on January 30. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of our Block 4 wines that we tasted on December 31. The 1999, our first vintage was still showing well even though it was sealed with an artificial cork. The 2001 was the only wine that showed the age of the pour seal. We tried both the 2003 Block 4's, one sealed with screwcap and one sealed with the artificial cork (all other wines after 2003 are sealed with screwcap). Most of us could pick out the difference in quality, the screwcap showing better, but I was pleasantly surprised with the plastic cork sealed wine. I was also happy with the 2005 and 2006. When I tasted those two wines compared to the 2003, 2004 and 2007 two years ago, I thought they were not showing as well. I preferred the 2005 for an older wine and the 2008 showing the best because I like young wines. The 2004 and 2007 were many of our friends favorites, showing jammy fruit character. The 2010 is very peppery and the 2010 out of the barrel to be bottled on January 30 is a little more balanced. The 2009 is coming on strong and will probably be my favorite this year.
	Dave david@coffaro.com
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