2010 Cuvee du Vatican CdP.  A nice pairing with some braised short ribs. 

Friday and Saturday:

2004 Bruno Paillard Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut -- very good

2005 Domaine du Chateau de Chorey (Germain) Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Tante Berthe -- superb, in a great spot, the best bottle I've had of this so far

2002 Union Champagne de Saint Gall Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Orpale Blanc de Blancs -- good not great, a little simple and a little too rich

1990 Chateau La Dominique -- still so fresh and vibrant, a lovely bottle

Thanks to VinT for the Dominique. 

2007 Marcassin Three Sisters Pinot

2012 Moshin Pinot

2014 Kistler-Kistler Chard

 Dinner with the irwins and a wine friend

Aperitif

          2002 Pierre Peters Les Chetillons

__________________________________________________________________

Appetizer

Yukon Gold Vichyssoise          2012 Ermitage Ex Voto (E. Guigal)

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Main Course

Prime Rib Roast

          1970 Chateau Latour

Wild Rice with Oyster and

Shiitake Mushrooms

          1959 Chateau Latour

Asparagus

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Cheese

Brebirousse d’Argental

          1976 La Tache (DRC)

Sottocenere al Tartufo

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Dessert

Joyce’s Carrot Cake          2015 Vouvray Moelleux

          Le Haut-Lieu Premiere Trie

                    (Huet)

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2014 Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera - Intoxicating floral and cherry notes, subtle woody notes, actually juicy on the palate before the tannins kick in but the tannins are not terrible considering its young age

2013 WesMar Pinot Noir Oehlman Vineyard.  Hitting on all cylinders last night. 

2015 Volpaia, Chianti Classico

I continue to be impressed with the quality of the sangiovese from the 2015 Tuscany vintage. There should be a lot of superb Brunello.

Last night with Tyee and Mrs Tyee:

- MV Krug Grand Cuvée -- big yeasty nose, lots of pear, lemon pie, licorice, orange, melon, ginger, white and toast flavours all swirling on the palate, rich and complex, showing more on each sip and as it warmed up, long finish, magnificent; one of the best NV Champagnes I can recall ever drinking and the best Krug Cuvée I've had in years, from 163eme disgorgement 2014

- 2003 Albert Mann Gewürztraminer GC Furstentum Vieilles Vignes -- floral and lychee nose, similar in the mouth with some ripe peach/apricot added, apple, baking spices, lovely texture, medium-long finish; not quite at the level of the previous three vintages of this wine, but still very good; time to drink up, I think

- 2001 Phelps Insignia -- big sturdy Cab, cassis and berries, some cedar, some tobacco, pretty monolithic, smooth and powerful but lacks complexity; has presence but perhaps not as enjoyable as expected, might soften and open a little bit more in time but I wouldn't expect any significant improvement over what it is now, a good wine that paled in comparison to the other red

- 2004 Domaine du Pégau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée -- a bit of funk on the nose at first, but it blew off shortly in the decanter; nose and palate evolved over the course of the evening, very enjoyable wine to sip, dark plum, berries, white pepper, licorice, pipe tobacco, lavender, lots of garrigue that showed increasingly on the nose over time, rich on the palate, good acidity, very long finish with velvety tannins; a powerhouse that can probably still go for years

- 2005 J J Prüm Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese -- powerful apple, apricot, lime flavours, electric acidity, some mineral, some brown sugar, extremely long lip-smacking finish; really outstanding, very Prüm

It's been a while since we've had an evening where every wine showed showed so well. Tyee and I agreed that if we had to pick a best of show, the Krug and the Pégau would be the winners, but I think any wine lover would be happy to drink any of these beauties. Friends, I wish all of our wine nights could be so successful!

steve8 posted:

2015 Volpaia, Chianti Classico

I continue to be impressed with the quality of the sangiovese from the 2015 Tuscany vintage. There should be a lot of superb Brunello.

I recently opened a 2015 Riserva from Volpaia and felt the same. All of the '15 chianti's I've tried have been approachable with enough backbone to age. 

Since, several of you had great wines last night that were "hitting on all cylinders" and "It's been a while since we've had an evening where every wine showed showed so well." are any of you believers, or non-believers in the biodynamic calendar and how it affects how wines show? Parenthetically yesterday was a good day for wine, a "flower day". When I have a whole line up wines and they are all awesome, it is almost always as "wine day".

Curious on your thoughts.

board-o posted:

Slumming it =)

note the little pieces of France on the inside of the bottle of La Tache.  If you put together all the sediment of all the bottles of French wine consumed in the last 100 years, you'd have enough earth for another country.

Anyway, great photo, Board-O

1995 Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione

Still very enjoyable but would have been better a few years ago. Some balsamic notes creeping into the mix. This surprised me, but I have no idea of provenance or storage conditions. It was an auction win.

blakeybombs posted:

Since, several of you had great wines last night that were "hitting on all cylinders" and "It's been a while since we've had an evening where every wine showed showed so well." are any of you believers, or non-believers in the biodynamic calendar and how it affects how wines show? Parenthetically yesterday was a good day for wine, a "flower day". When I have a whole line up wines and they are all awesome, it is almost always as "wine day".

 

Curious on your thoughts.

I don't pay any attention to biodynamic calendars. Only five of the wines  were hitting on all cylinders. The 2012 Ermitage Ex Voto was bland and disappointing.

Nice lunch Vinoevelo. Even if you had a ham sandwich to go with it.

Last night, an average Wednesday

2018 Dominio Del Plata, Torrontes, Crios

2014 Chasseur-Russian River Chard

2017 Fouassier clos de Bannon sancerre

2016 Pic&chapoutier st-Peray white

2015 Raul Perez la clave 

2012 Jamet Côte-Rotie 

mimik posted:

2017 Fouassier clos de Bannon sancerre

How was the Bannon?

2017 Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre, Les Baronnes

Very good, but I'm think one could do much better in the 2017 vintage for a few extra dollars.

2015 Querce Bettina, RdM

Really good. Blind it could pass for a young Brunello. It's going to be very difficult to resist buying the BdM's when they're released.

2006 Hartford Family Zinfandel Fanucchi-Wood Vineyard.  Delicious.

steve8 posted:

mimik posted:

2017 Fouassier clos de Bannon sancerre

How was the Bannon?

Excellent. Needs a bit of time I believe to even out but a rebuy in my books.

At Bern’s

1991 Berlinger Private Reserve  x 2 from magnum

1974 Inglenook Petite Sirah

1937 Marquis de Terme Margaux

csm posted:

At Bern’s

1991 Berlinger Private Reserve  x 2 from magnum

1974 Inglenook Petite Sirah

1937 Marquis de Terme Margaux

😮 details please

DeBortoli's Noble One 2016

Rioja Vega Crianza Edicion Limitada 2015

sunnylea57 posted:

csm posted:

At Bern’s

1991 Berlinger Private Reserve  x 2 from magnum

1974 Inglenook Petite Sirah

1937 Marquis de Terme Margaux

😮 details please

The Beringer was quintessential aged Cali cab. This has a long life ahead of it though.  Still very young. 

The ingelnook was one of the more interesting wines I’ve had.  Never had one that old and it was gorgeous.  The texture was what I will recall. $65 on the list 😳😳

With our steaks, we had the Margaux which was was incredible.  Fill level was still into the neck and the aromas filled the room as it was being decanted  simply incredible. 

We wanted the ‘21 or ‘12 chateau Margaux but both were gone sadly  

steve8 posted:

2017 Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre, Les Baronnes

Very good, but I'm think one could do much better in the 2017 vintage for a few extra dollars.

2015 Querce Bettina, RdM

Really good. Blind it could pass for a young Brunello. It's going to be very difficult to resist buying the BdM's when they're released.

Why resist?🤔

First time trying Liquid Farm.  2016 LF White Hill Chardonnay 

2014 Sparkman Wilderness red blend.

Friday night:

2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne
2014 Ridge Chardonnay Estate
2012 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard
NV Fenn Valley Vidal 42˚ Ice Wine

We didn't drink all of this by ourselves as we shared with the staff and a few other friends at the club, but there was no other wine over the weekend. 

longboarder posted:

steve8 posted:

2017 Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre, Les Baronnes

Very good, but I'm think one could do much better in the 2017 vintage for a few extra dollars.

2015 Querce Bettina, RdM

Really good. Blind it could pass for a young Brunello. It's going to be very difficult to resist buying the BdM's when they're released.

Why resist?🤔

Because I am trying not to buy too many wines which need a significant amount of cellar time. I should have enough.

2012 Duckhorn "The Discussion"

This surprised me. I expected a big, ripe, chocolate covered cherry Cali Cab of a wine. It turned out to be a relatively restrained, old school left bank Bordeaux blend. I guessed the blend to be 70% Cab Sauv + 30% Merlot... and later confirmed it's actually 64% CS, 31% Merlot, 3% Cab Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.

It has the dark fruit, cassis and pencil shavings of a Cab Sauv, and the plushness of a Merlot.

2015 WesMar Chardonnay RRV.  Paired perfectly with a roast chicken.

Over the last week :

2004 Colgin IX Cab

1996 Veuve Clicquot-La Grand Dame

2013 Thomas Pinot

2014 Chasseur-Sonoma Coast Chard

2016 Bedrock Old Vine Zin

2012 Dirler-Cade Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kitterlé 

2015 Bedrock Old Vine Zin with a grilled rib-eye.

2016 Le Cadeau Cote Est Pinot

17 Bedrock OVZ completing the trend