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March 2014: what are you drinking

S seaquamMember
Last night w/excellent dinner at Gary Danko:

- NV Krug Grande Cuvee -- there's been lots of comment on this wonderfully consistent wine, but a pleasant and most interesting treat last night was how differently the wine showed with different foods. This is not a revelation for anyone here by any means, but specifically with a dish of assorted seafood and shitake mushrooms in Thai coconut curry a lot of honey came very forward on the palate. With horseradish-crusted salmon and dilled cucumber, it showed a strong sherry element. My wife and I savoured this wine with 2 different dishes each, and had fun comparing sensations; later their very capable and personable sommelier Andrew joined in our discussion.

- 1990 Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron -- decanted and kept at cellar temp. for about an hour, this had a big nose of currant, lead pencil and green bell pepper, but in the mouth was all currant, red berries, leather, mild anise, hints of espresso after some more air time, very silky, light fine tannins emerge toward the end of a very long finish but the fruit lasts long past them, a powerhouse that is just beginning to come into its prime; this is a big, complex, long wine that will likely show well for decades, a pleasure to drink.
J jorgerunfastMember
Last night's blind group.

Theme was anything at all from the 90's.

The final lineup was surprising, as this group tends to be very diverse. Nobody would have guessed that all but one wine would've been Napa cab.

2007 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Chardonnay: steely, jasmin, flowers, some lemon curd on the nose. Good acidity and citrus on the palate, nice finish, not overwhelming, perfectly balanced. One of the best Chardonnays I've had in a while.

1997 Burgess Cab: Eucalyptus, mint, very lush, alcohol on the nose, nice tannin, grippy but not harsh. Some reductiveness on the nose. Very California to me, but Spain wouldn't surprise me. Strawberries on the nose, the reductiveness/ licorice is coming through more and more. One guess in France, one in Spain, everyone else in California. The reductive nose is tricky. Everyone guessed cab, 100% cab. Vintage guesses all over the place.

1997 Rutherford Grove Napa Cabernet: Spicy nose, but I get a lot of the reductiveness of the first wine. Much more fruit-forward, but the tannin are very dry. Not grippy, but dry. 2 guesses new world, I think it's 98 CdP. Nobody guessed cab, all guesses were Grenache or Syrah.

1999 Viader Napa: A lot of alcohol on the nose, fruit-forward, big wine. Reductive nose, big mushy red fruits, a little muddled. Some honey on the nose, most tannic. Mintiness, the alcohol is prevalent. Some over-easy egg. Fruit on the palate, but the tannin is very prevalent. Everyone was in new world, very similar to first two wines. Most guesses were 99.

1997 Grgich Hills Napa Cab: All guesses new world, more complex than the earlier wines, less alcohol, showing more fruit and leather notes. Lush fruit on the palate, tannin are silky and more integrated. IMO, the most ready to drink. Red fruits, not too bright, just perfect. Drinking very well.

1991 Shafer Hillside Select: Big, deep color, not transparent. Old world across the table. Nose is pretty but subtle. Red fruits, but musky with some leather. Not funky at all. Nobody can believe how smooth it is, and that it's all cab. Tannin are perfectly and completely resolved.

1997 Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages: Biggest wine of the night so far. Very high alcohol, huge grippy tannin. Very chewy, blackberries, tannin are a little overwhelming on the palate. Would be excellent with food. Figs on the nose, incredibly chewy tannin and mouthfeel.

1998 Jamet Cote-Rotie: Barnyard, cocoa powder, mesquite, most of the table found it repugnant. Wood char, I love it. Olives on the nose, some tobacco nose, vanilla. Spice on the nose, very lush on the palate, a lot of fruit on the palate with a juicy finish. No prevalent tannin. Everyone guessed France, everyone guessed Rhone, most guesses southern Rhone.

1995 Insignia: Caramel, candy apple nose, strawberries, all very candied and reduced. Not extracted, just forward. Came across as very well balanced. Some touches of bright licorice, some rubberized notes. The tannin are still prevalent, smooth but grippy, not harsh at all, but present.


My WOTN was the Shafer HSS, followed by the Grgich. The Insignia was as good as the Grgich, but less my style.

The Jamet just had the misfortune of being served alongside a bunch of Cali Cab. Had there been some Bordeaux and Burgundy mixed in, the nose of the Jamet wouldn't have been so shocking, IMO. I absolutely loved the Jamet, but it was very hard to evaluate in the context of these other wines.
wineismylifewineismylifeMember
quote:
Originally posted by AML:
Care to list the wines, w+a?


I think these are the wines:

Whites
NV Champagne (name escapes me which is a true tragedy)
2009 Arrowood Gewürztraminer Saralee's Vineyard
2010 Secret de Grand Bateau Blanc
2012 Radio-Coteau Riesling Platt

Reds
1977 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (maderized)
1993 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon
1994 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District
1999 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series
1999 Dominus Estate
1999 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
2000 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
wineismylifewineismylifeMember
quote:
Originally posted by wine+art:
Attended an off-line tonight. The theme was Cali Cabernet pre-2000.

We tasted Cali Cabs from 1975 - 1999. Not one special wine or even a very good wine. Frown

WIML may have a different opinion.

Even the pre-game wine that was the 1987 Dunn Howell Mountain was not truly special.

It was great to catch up and see everyone again. Cool


I would definitely say none of them were special. Several were good. Very good? Marginal at best. Some conflicted with each other making it more difficult to evaluate them as a whole. Most should have been tasted stand alone.
W wine+artMember
quote:
Originally posted by wineismylife:
quote:
Originally posted by wine+art:
Attended an off-line tonight. The theme was Cali Cabernet pre-2000.

We tasted Cali Cabs from 1975 - 1999. Not one special wine or even a very good wine. Frown

WIML may have a different opinion.

Even the pre-game wine that was the 1987 Dunn Howell Mountain was not truly special.

It was great to catch up and see everyone again. Cool


I would definitely say none of them were special. Several were good. Very good? Marginal at best. Some conflicted with each other making it more difficult to evaluate them as a whole. Most should have been tasted stand alone.


The amount of wine left in the bottles was very telling.

Our end of the table just kept saying, pedestrian time and time again. I would have thought my palate was off, but everyone said the same. I would have expected a couple of the bottle to have jumped from the rest, but did not happen. That said, this group does drink some extraordinary wines, almost weekly. Wink
P parcivalMember
Cracking open a 2010 Spottswoode tonight

I have not yet been able to resolve my baby-killing ways but have dramatically decreased them

But, shared a bottle of this at an offline with G-man and DoubleD last week and it was fantastic right out of the bottle. Going to test one more bottle out to see if it was as good as I remember it was or if my palate was clouded by other good wine and food
S seaquamMember
Last night w/Lafon Rochet et al

- 2010 Didier Dagueneau Fume de Pouilly Buisson Renard -- gooseberry, grass and flint, great acidity, super-clean, medium-to-long finish, a small step down from Silex but about perfect with oysters

- 2008 Bjornstad Chardonnay Bennet Valley Barbed Oak Vineyard -- lots of apple and creamy lemon flavours, mineral, roasted nuts, opened up quite a bit with time, good acidity, balanced, long finish; never heard of this producer (or even Bennet Valley) before, but this is well worth seeking out, truly more like Burgundy than California, a delicious surprise

- 2003 Beaux Freres Pinot Noir Beaux Freres Vineyard -- great floral nose, big cherry and berry fruit, some black licorice, very silky, rich, long finish, must be at peak now but will go a few more years
vintvintMember
quote:
Originally posted by sunnylea57:
quote:
Originally posted by VinT:
2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore
2007 Querce Bettina Rosso di Montalcino
2012 Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo


How was your Quintarelli, VinT?

Judging from your CT note, I think you liked it more. This bottle was so overripe and hot, it was like alcoholic raisin juice. Even lowering serving temperature by ten degrees didn't help. I really wanted to like this, but struggled to finish one glass. The rest went down the drain. I don't believe the bottle was heat-damaged, but anything's possible.
sunnylea57sunnylea57Member
quote:
Originally posted by VinT:
quote:
Originally posted by sunnylea57:
quote:
Originally posted by VinT:
2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore
2007 Querce Bettina Rosso di Montalcino
2012 Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo


How was your Quintarelli, VinT?

Judging from your CT note, I think you liked it more. This bottle was so overripe and hot, it was like alcoholic raisin juice. Even lowering serving temperature by ten degrees didn't help. I really wanted to like this, but struggled to finish one glass. The rest went down the drain. I don't believe the bottle was heat-damaged, but anything's possible.


Wow, that's a drag. And yeah, that wasn't my experience at all. I have an aversion to overripe raisiny wine, and this bottle didn't do that for me. For me, it was ripe, but not overly so. And the alcohol was certainly present, but it wasn't hot.

Or then again, maybe overripe, hot messes are really my thing and I just don't know it. Big Grin
D danyullMember
quote:
Originally posted by sunnylea57:
quote:
Originally posted by VinT:
quote:
Originally posted by sunnylea57:
quote:
Originally posted by VinT:
2003 Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore
2007 Querce Bettina Rosso di Montalcino
2012 Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo


How was your Quintarelli, VinT?

Judging from your CT note, I think you liked it more. This bottle was so overripe and hot, it was like alcoholic raisin juice. Even lowering serving temperature by ten degrees didn't help. I really wanted to like this, but struggled to finish one glass. The rest went down the drain. I don't believe the bottle was heat-damaged, but anything's possible.


Wow, that's a drag. And yeah, that wasn't my experience at all. I have an aversion to overripe raisiny wine, and this bottle didn't do that for me. For me, it was ripe, but not overly so. And the alcohol was certainly present, but it wasn't hot.

Or then again, maybe overripe, hot messes are really my thing and I just don't know it. Big Grin


Wow, wouldn't expect that from a Quintarelli.
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