quote:

Originally posted by Impulse:

The evening was perfect, except for the flat tire I had on the way back after the event. It was really cold at 2h00 AM in the middle of nowhere!

Deja vu. I just had a flat also this afternoon....

Sorry for not replying sooner.
Great evening!!! Nice to meet all the new people.
Glad the Toronto group made it.
The Ottawa contingent is growing. I don't have to offline by myself anymore.

Food was fabulous. That passion fruit souffle was hard on the fillings in my tooth. That was some wickedly tart stuff.
Only pairing that would go with that would vinegar. Wow!

As for the wines:
whites
1998 Domaine de Souch Jurancon
Very nice wine, actually light for a sweet wine. Delicate. 89pts.
2001 Château Malartic-Lagravière
Dissappointing. I was expecting some great since '01 white bordeaux are supposed to be great. Overly oaked. Tasted like vanilla butterscotch. Reminded me of an inexpensive oaky chardonnay. 83pts.
2001 Château de Fieuzal
Something weird with this, Very oaky. Bacchuse said that there was significant presence of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Didn't get that but something not right. Didn't rate
2003 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Paradoxe
Very nice wine. Smokey oak well balanced with the sauvignon blanc nose(grassy, gooseberry). Mouth showed some oak, but with some of the acidity. Varietal characteristics not hidden by oak. Not crisp but good zing. 89-90pts
2004 S.A. Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu
Disjointed and not cold enough. Very fruity, some yeast, acidity was quite evident but not integrated. Way too young. 80 pts
1999 Cuvee Catherine L'inedit Domaine Weinbach
Not cold enough. This had basically been forgotten. It was served after the Montus Madiran and before the Jurancon. Nice petrol notes. Acidity was well balanced. Lacking in fruit freshness. My last bottle of this. Previous bottles have been nicer. Fading??86-87pts.

Reds:

1998 Chateau Bellegrave Pomerol.
Disjointed. Tannins were somewhat agressive. Fruit was tart, green. 87pts
1989 Chateau L'Evangile.
Very nice but too young. Nice nose of red fruit. Weird smell of plastic, eventually blew off. 88pts.
1996 Lafon Rochet
In a dumb phase. Was not decanted. Didn't show well. 83-84 pts.
1999 Smith Haut Lafitte
Alot of people didn't like this, but I loved it. Nice balance between fruit acidity and tannins. Some tartness to fruit, but of red strawberries. This actually reminded me more of Burgundy than a bordeaux. 91 pts
1993 Vosne Romanee Gros Frere et Soeur
This needed some air time which it didn't receive. Pour in glass and smelled, the nose knocked you over. Strong barnyard, meat/ashtry smell. Evidence of Brett. This blew off with air time. Very earthy taste, with meat notes. Fruit was fading, mostly tertiary notes. 88-89 pts
2000 Clos De Tart Grand Cru Red Burgundy
Wow. WOTN for me. This is why people spend a fortune for burgundy. Nice tart fruit. Strawberries, some earthy/woody notes. light, well balanced wine. You could spend hours just smelling this. 95pts
1999 Paul Coulon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard
Deceiving. This is shutting down. Flabby, missing acidity to balance out the tannins. Fruits are hidding. Some dark fruit. 85-86 pts
1997 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle
This my #2 WOTN. This was a surprise for an off vintage. loads of fruit. Rich in mouth, chocolat notes, even some coconut. 91-92pts
2001 Montus Cuvee Prestige
This was also very good. Good rich dark wine. Chocolate, black fruit. Strong tannins, but not aggressive. Well balanced. 90 pts.

Dessert Wines:

1996 Alain Brumont Doux Frimaire Décembre pacherenc-du-vic-bilh
(Did we have this????)
1959 Moulin Touchais Coteau du Layon.
Great wine. some nutty notes. honey, nice blanced acidity with sweetness. Not overly sweet. 90 pts
1983 Dow vintage port
Didn't like it, but I don't like the Dow style. Too dry.81-82 pts
1977 Warre VP
This was off. Overly mature. Some madereized notes. 83 pts.

Thanks every one for bringing interesting wines.
Thanks Bman for setting this up.

Carriedca,

I think you are a bit tough on some wines...

From my point of view, the l'Évangile, although very good, was in its dumb phase and will probably show up again in a few years.

I really liked the Lafon-Rochet, and thought it openend well after a few minutes in the glass.

Finally, I really enjoyed the Cuvée Catherine l'Inédit, although it seems I was the only one. I rated it 92.

As for my WOTN, I have to say it was the Moulin Touchais, with the Clos de Tart coming second, probably only because it was still too young. This one too opened itself nicely in the glass, although it demanded a much longer wait. Agree with you that this is the kind of wine which justifies paying a lot of $$$ for Burgundy.

Interesting read of the above notes. I thought the Dagueneau and the Weinbach were terrific white wines.

For the reds; tannic? Lafon Rochet was brutally tannic. Clos du Tart? Tart was the key word. Out of balance. Burgundy heartbreak, take 52.
Carriedca, I agree with your notes on the Warre's. It just was not right.
The Boisrenard has a long life ahead of it.

Here are my notes that I took.

Whites:
Château de Fieuzal 2001
Bad bottle, like everybody knows, but under the powerful barnyard smell there were aromas of lemon, grapefruit, herbs. Medium bodied. Disappointed. Not rated

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2001
Better bottle with pineapple, vanila, hints of lemon. Nice acity and fresh. Long finale, this wine should be drunk for the next 6-8 years. 89pts

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Paradoxe 2003
Not a big wine but enjoyable. Pear, minerals, with a pineapple aftertaste. 87 pts

S.A. Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu 2004
A nice wine that offers a perfume of honey, minerals, pineapples. Made in a medium-bodied forward style, with a nice honeyed aftertaste. 89 pts

Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Catherine L'inedit 1999
For me this was an amazing wine with concentrated aromas of peach, apricots, minerals, nice fruit on the attack and good acicity as well as a long finale of peaches. 93 pts

Reds:
Clos De Tart Mommessin 2000
A light ruby/red color is followed by aromas of cherries, strawberries, vanilla, smoke, minerals, and hints of leather and spices. Concentrated flavors, a bit too oaky for me. Long finale. 92 pts

Gros Frere et Soeur Vosne Romanee 1993
I thought this wine had a faint corked odor and vinagar with cherries. Smoky flavours, this was was more than ready to drink. 86 pts

Paul Coulon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 1999
Ruby color, this nice wine boasts aromas of raspberries, hints of blueberries, a bit tannic with black chocolate flavours. Nice finale. 91 pts

Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 1997
Raspberries, cherries, and licorice are found in this well structured wine. Round tannins and blackpepper flavors that finishes with a long spicy finale. Nice wine. 90 pts

Chateau Bellegrave 1998
Ruby/violet with aromas of cherries, licorice, nice flavors. Nothing big. 86 pts.

Lafon Rochet 1996
A really good wine that I enjoyed. Aromas of cassis, vanilla, smoke were found in this tannic, concentrated wine. 89 pts

Chateau L'Evangile 1989
Band-aid aromas, with leather, red fruit. Round tannins and low acidity. This wine is ready. 89 pts

Smith Haut Lafitte 1999
Ruby color, with sweet aromas of cassis, leather, toast, hints of coffee roast. Powerful flavors with a long finale of licorice. Really good. 90 pts

Montus Cuvee Prestige 2001
Violet/ruby at the rim, with wonderful aromas of chocolate, prunes, vanilla with matching flavors. Gripping tannins and long finale. 92 pts

Dessert Wines:
Moulin Touchais Coteau du Layon 1959
Amber. Pear, caramel, apricots, with pear flavors are found in this nice wine. Good acidity. 92 pts

Domaine de Souch Jurancon 1998
Powerful aromas of nuts, minerals, apricots, and peaches. Well balanced with long finale. 90 pts

Alain Brumont Doux Frimaire Décembre 1996
This wine exibits aromas of apricots, olives. Good concentration of flavors. 88 pts

Dow vintage port 1983
Candied cherries, with prunes, brown sugar. Sweet with a spicy and long finale. 90 pts

Warre's vintage port 1977
Not that powerful, but still good. Ready to drink. Cherries, brown sugar. Nice flavors. 86 pts

That's it. Good day.

I took very limited TNs and as ever, found it difficult to rate wines on only a mouthful or two. So I didn't come up with many scores, but I did note the following:

Château Malartic-Lagravière 2001 - I liked this wine, but my notes seem silly (and I was still sober when I tasted it! ) so no further comment on it.

Clos De Tart Mommessin 2000 - I liked this one too, and tasted raspeberry jam and five spice. I would not have guessed that this was a burgundy, but then again, I've only tasted 3 or 4 burgundies in my life, all but one of them cheapies.

Paul Coulon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 1999 - one of the wines I brought, but still I was very disappointed, as this just seemed sharp and fruitless and not at all what it should be, perhaps because it is too young. I will hold my other bottle for another five years, if not more.

Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 1997 - my WOTN, I tasted blackberry, bacon and BBQ ribs. No, I didn't drop any food in it! I score this 93 points.

1998 Domaine de Souch Jurancon - I really liked this one as well, and tasted pineapple, orange peel and honey-lemon drops. My first Jurancon, I may have to try to find more of this stuff. I score it 91 points.

Chateau Bellegrave 1998 - this was OK, not really my style. My only TN is "sweet cherry"

Lafon Rochet 1996 - I found this relatively full-bodied and noted red plums.

The ports I'll do in stand-alone TNs.