Did not really want to have a huge party for my 40th, so I invited a very few close friends and/or people who just know wine. Great party! The initial theme was Bordeaux and pre 1997 California Cabernet Sauvignon—all to be tasted single blind. But the pre and post blind tasting was very interesting as well. This was not a very formal party, but it was in the format I love—lots of glasses and lots of different food. Two Sisters Catering out of Dallas (thanks Milli !) did a phenomenal job and are highly recommended! Now, on to the food and wine:
Pre Blind Tasting with Appetizers Served a wide variety of appetizers: Pecan dusted red snapper with a smoky remoulade (super awesome); Apricot Rumaki (sun-dried apricot and jalapeno wrapped with applewood smoked bacon, served with a bleu cheese chive dipping sauce (great); Lemon parmesan artichoke bottoms, filled with a lemon Parmesan cream and topped with toasted pine nuts, red bell pepper and parsley (phenomenal); cheese plate, involving imported French and English cheeses alongside a variety of domestic cheeses—swiss, sharp cheddar, dill havarti and gouda, fresh fruit and berries; Brie topped with strawberries and amaretto (my wife’s favorite); country Pate with gherkins and whole grain Dijon; spiced cinnamon pecan dip (nice!); cracker medley and toasted baguettes.
2002 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl - France, Alsace, Hunawihr, Alsace AOC This wine was very popular at the tasting—very complex tropical aromas that did not overwhelm the senses. Followed by toasted honey notes, but with a little bite of pink grapefruit skin shavings and spice, if that's possible. Very interesting wine. Great....more wine to keep a look out for. (92 pts.)
Single Blind Tasting My wife labeled the wines after college football teams. She went to Okahoma—and OU beat Texas tonight. Actually, everyone beat Texas tonight. My alma mater, the Cal Golden Bears should have done better (what’s new), and I’m not surprised that USC was no where to be found because that bottle may have fallen off the table. Thank you. And there were no Ducks, since we did not want any any controversy regarding the judging.
During the tasting, more food came out: Peppered beef tenderloin accompanied by a variety of sauces: whole grain Dijon, balsamic mustard, her mayonnaise, horseradish crème fraiche and fresh baked herb rolls; grilled asparagus and roasted ****take mushrooms with a roasted garlic lemon aioli; shrimp on ice (a bit small, but lots of it) with a nice cocktail sauce that had just a hint of horse radish (needed more); Orzo Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and basil (one of my favorites from the night).
1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley Wine was opened and recorked 8 hours previously. This wine caused the biggest range of mixed reviews of the tasting—I thought it was very smooth, yet had dusty aromas that I found very favorable. I was one of the few that liked this wine. (Buckeyes) (91 pts.)
2000 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan Upon opening, obviously very closed and fairly acidic. Beautiful red color, with a tinge of purple on the fringe. Within a minute of opening, started to open up a bit, and the refined aromas started. This bottle was opened alongside a 2001 Château Latour, where the this wine seemed to have more fruit aromas initially than the Latour—yet the scent was a bit dusty. After opened for 8 hours and served from the bottle, the wine was still tannic, yet very enjoyable. Probably will not open the bulk of the Bordeaux 2000s until after 2010. (Golden Bears) (91 pts.)
1994 Heitz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Bella Oaks - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville Bottle No. 3331, bottled March 1998 of a total of 51,360 bottles and 1200 Magnums. Actually, a bit disappointing & past its prime. (Sooners) (86 pts.)
1998 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux Upon opening, beautiful nose—floral and fragrant. Still tannic, yet elegant. After 20 minutes, became more interesting, with some earth characteristics. Served from bottle—8 hours—really was showing well. 22 hours later--still complex, deep and enjoyable. My WOTN from the blind tasting portion. (Razorbacks) (94 pts.)
1998 Château Angélus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru Guessed Bordeaux, Right Bank—it was actually an easy guess. Opened and served immediately—should have given it more time. After the bottle was open for 12 hours -- very enjoyable. Deep, dark and brooding with a surprising amount of refined fruit flavors. (Tigers) (92 pts.)
1998 Château Pavie Macquin - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru Have had this wine a few times (had previously rated it a 94), and for whatever reason, it was not showing as well tonight. Still, very nice. (Horned Frogs) (89 pts.)
1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley Upon initial opening, amazing aromas of blueberries and raspberries with a bit of oak. Background of some pine and eucalyptus, coupled with solid tannins. After two hours, wine started to show very well—opened at the same time as a 2001 Château Latour—the Latour, at the two hour point was still more complex overall. Corked, and served 8 hours after opening—still showing very well. (Mustangs) (93 pts.)
2001 Château Latour - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac Initially opened alongside a 2000 Château Haut-Brion. Long cork. The Latour was definitely darker than the Haut-Brion—the Latour was a big wine—lots of deep, brooding aromas emanating, but not a huge amount of fruit showing. Obviously, still closed, but after an hour, more complex, deep fruit aromas were present. After 9 hours in bottle, still somewhat closed....92-96 (Noles) (92 pts.)
2003 Château Bahans Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan Initially guessed it was a California Cabernet Sauvignon with just a little age on it. Boy, was I wrong. 87-92 (Spyders) (90 pts.)
1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph Offerus - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph I really enjoyed this wine--definitely Northern Rhone characteristics in a reasonable package. (89 pts.)
More wine
1999 Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol Definitely Bordeaux, Definitely Right Bank. The definition. Awesome. Decanted and served from a Riedel Duck. Great way to celebrate turning 40, with friends. (95 pts.)
Sweets I’m not really a huge dessert fan, so I wanted something informal, and this hit the spot—Two Sister’s provided their signature dessert bars, which were awesome!
1999 Château d'Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes Even on this night, this wine stood out. Awesome. (94 pts.)
Next, we were off to play golf in the dark—I’m glad my neighbor has a four person golf cart, and thankfully, no one got close to the lake…. Posted from CellarTracker
This message has been edited. Last edited by: win,
win
Posts: 147 | Location: Dallas | Registered: Mar 31, 2006
Next, we were off to play golf in the dark—I’m glad my neighbor has a four person golf cart, and thankfully, no one got close to the lake….
win,
You, wiml and I had talked about getting together for golf, I just never dreamed it would be in the dark AND in the rain. The rain did not seem to bother our cigars.
A great night for sure. I will post my comments on the wine soon.
___________________________________________________ It's good to try them young too and then let them age - James Suckling Infanticide can be very satisfying - Robert Parker I drink mine young to avoid disappointments - James Laube
Posts: 5063 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: Jun 03, 2004
Saturday night a few local winos had the priviledge of getting together to celebrate the 40th birthday for win. Happy Birthday win! Arrive A few whites to get the evening started.
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series white wine glass. Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of beeswax, lemon and whetstone. Flavors of candied pineapple, apricot and lemon. Good acidity with medium body. Drink over the next 5-7 years. (93 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series white wine glass. Straw to light yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose was muted with notes of citrus fruits and a base of minerality. Mineral dominated on the palate. Light acidity with matching body. I suspect this bottle has been open a while or just not showing as well as I would have expected. (87 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series white wine glass. No notes taken on this wine. Seems fairly consistent with my previous tastings of this bottle. Decent QPR. (87 pts.)
Blind Tasting - Any Bordeaux or 1997 and older California Cabernet Sauvignon Title says it all. I always enjoy these blind tastings. The are humbling on most occassions but very fun nonetheless.
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Longhorns”. Dark garnet color in the glass, fairly clear throughout. Light and dusty nose of white pepper, red berries and maybe some potpourri or violets. “Pedestrian” flavors of red currants, red licorice and red berries. Definitely new world. My bet is this is the 2001 Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon. (80 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Bears”. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of tobacco, violets, dark fruits and a touch of leather. Flavors of chewy dark fruits and minerals. Young and bold acidity with youthful tannins. My guess is this is the 2000 Haut Brion. COMMENTS: I believe this wine was deanted upwards of 8 hours or more before returning to bottle for the tasting. (94 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Sooners”. Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking throughout. Nose of balsamic and anise. Flavors of pepper and red cherries. Decent acidity, tannins and body. This is new world whatever it is. Could this have been the 2001 Charles Shaw instead? (87 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Spiders”. Purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of dried herbs, pepper and mixed crushed berries. Flavors of Bing cherries, red berries and maybe some plum. Medium to full acidity and full throttled tannins so this is probably pretty young. Medium body. Seems like it needs more time. Old world, I’m guessing maybe right bank. Could this be the Angelus? COMMENTS: once this bottle was revealed I was somewhat gratified I even got the country right. This wine is made more like a California wine than a traditional Bordeaux in my opinion. (90 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Bulldogs”. Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking throughout. Nose of leather, dried herbs, black currant(?) and maybe just a touch of brett although not bad. Flavors of light red cherries, a dash of mint and maybe some currants/cassis. Moderate acidity with slightly drying tannins. Old world. My guess is either the 1998 Pavie Macquin or the 1989 Calon Segur. (90 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Razorbacks” (probably my favorite college team). Dark purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of graphite, grilled meat and crushed dark fruits. Flavors of black cherries, black currants and plums. Medium acidity, youthful tannins and full bodied. Very good. Seems young and probably needs more time. Definitely old world, not sure what it is. COMMENTS: this wine was very good. Definitely still young and needs more time but seems to be getting close to start of the drinking window. If this wasn’t my wine of the blind tasting it was doggone close. (94 pts.)
1998 Château Angélus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru WIML92,WA93,WS93
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Tigers”. Purple to dark purple in the glass, clear hue throughout. Tight nose giving away a little “perfume”, raspberries and crushed mixed berries. Flavors of cherries, raspberries and pepper with a minerally/flinty undertone. Medium acidity, young tannins and full bodied. Seems REALLY young and probably needs more time. Definitely old world. No guess but probably right bank. COMMENTS: I brought this wine. I can’t believe I had this at a dinner on February 19, 2005 and I still couldn’t peg it in this lineup, although close overall. (92 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Hurricanes”. Garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty throughout. Nose was a little green with a heavy balsamic aroma I found unappealing. Flavors of blackberries and plums with yet more unappealing mint on the palate. Medium acidity, tannins and body. Balance is OK but not an enjoyable wine sensory wise. Unfortunately, I know this wine. It is definitely the 1997 Byington Cabernet Sauvignon Bates Ranch. I brought it. Fortunately, it was my last bottle. (87 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Seminoles”. Dark purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of roasted coffee beans, roasted meat and lots of dark fruits. Flavors of plums, blackberries, currants and minerals. Perfectly balanced and full bodied. Either the 2001 Insignia or the 2001 Latour. Seems new world. Really good either way. COMMENTS: I believe this wine was deanted upwards of 8 hours or more before returning to bottle for the tasting. (94 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Buckeyes”. Dark purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Dusty nose, that is about it. Pretty flat fruitwise on the palate. Good acidity but mouth puckering tannins. Medium bodied. I hope this is the 2001 Charles Shaw because if it isn’t then it is the 1997 Montelena. COMMENTS: I believe the cork on the wine was removed and reinserted about 8 hours before tasting. I’m hoping it simply died over that time or maybe provenance of this bottle is questionable because I have 4 botttles of this in the cellar.
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Mustang”. Purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of violets, incense and a touch of balsalmic (maybe from the previous wine?). Flavors of blackberries, currants and maybe some licorice? Medium acidity, firm tannins and medium body. Seems young. Hold. No guess on the wine. (91 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Served blind in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Bag labeled as “Horned Frog”. Dark purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Tight nose of dried herbs, pepper and maybe some dark fruits. All of this seems to carry through to the palate. Medium acidity, firm tannins and medium body. I have no idea about this wine. 98 Heitz or maybe one of the Bordeaux? COMMENTS: I couldn’t believe it when this wine was revealed. It started off good at the start of the blind tasting but didn’t taste anything like that during the revisit. Plus I’ve had this at least 2 times before! This wine is a conundrum for me. (90 pts.)
Cellar Raid win was kind enjoy to open up his cellar for a cellar raid. Opening the Petrus was way and above beyond generous, especially after opening the two first growths for the blind tasting! Baumard continues to amaze me as well.
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series white wine glass. Yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of oranges and almonds. Flavors of orange marmalade, pears and nuts. Perfectly balanced. Drinking really well now but should hold based on tastings of previous vintages. (92 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. Somewhere between dusty rose and garnet color in the glass, slightly dusty looking. Huge bacon fat nose that pegs it as Northern Rhone with some roasted meat. Yum. Not quite as pleasing on the palate, mainly raspberries and maybe red berries. I’d like the opportunity to try this again by itself. (89 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series white wine glass. Light yellow color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of oranges, almonds and exotic tropical fruits. Flavors of oranges, tropical fruits and a little dash of honey. Perfectly balanced. Slamming good wine although not as good as my previous tastings. Hold. (93 pts.)
1999 Pétrus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol WIML93-94?,WA94,WS90
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and decanted between 1 and 2 hours before serving in a Riedel Sommielier Bordeaux wine glass. Dark purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of violets, black currants and black cherries. Flavors of black currants, black licorice and black cherries. Good structure and balance. Needs lots more time in bottle, extreme infanticide here. (93 pts.)
Tasted October 14, 2006 at win’s 40th birthday party. Opened and served immediately in a Riedel restaurant series Bordeaux wine glass. No notes. Sorry.
The rain did not seem to bother our cigars. 
