In article
>,
DaleW > wrote:

> Dan hosted SOBER last night, and did a fabulous job. He greeted us
> with a nice cheese plate and the 1990 Pommery "Cuvee Louise" Brut from
> magnum. Too bad, because I had a mag I was planning on opening when it
> was my turn to host! This showed a tad fresher than a mag I opened
> couple months ago, with grapefruit and pear, some yeastiness, good
> length, mature but not fading. A-
>
> To table for the blind wines where Dan kept us on our toes with
> fanciful numbering/naming of the decanters.
>
> First flight ("Nothing is something, but 3 is an 11")
> The interesting thing was how dry the Chenin seemed paired with the
> Spatlese. Pretty quickly got Chenin, but I thought it was Sec for
> sure.
>
> 2005 Huet Clos du Bourg Vouvray Demi-Sec
> Grapefruit, chalky, stony with a cheesey note some dislike. I liked
> it a lot more when I drank water and concentrated on this alone.
> Somewhat tight. B for now
>
> 2002 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Spatlese
> Floral, giving, a real "wow" RIesling. Mango and red fruits, lots of
> minerality, rich. Craig goes Donnhoff early. Pretty close to my
> Riesling ideal. A/A-
>
> 2005 Huet Clos du Bourg Vouvray Sec
> Turns out Dan had also accidently opened a Huet sec thinking it was
> the DS, so we got to try that also. Spiced peaches, lemon, and
> grapefruit, big, stony, young. B+/A-
>
> Second flight (with angel hair pasta with shrimp and a light touch of
> fresh tomato sauce)
>
> One of the original wines was definitely PremOxed, all caramel and
> cheese rind, I neglected to get the vintage of the Latour-Giraud
> Genevrieres. But the other wine and the replacement for the Latour-
> Giraud were quite interesting. I was actually shocked when it turned
> out they were the same wine from different vintages
>
> 1996 Coche Dury Meursault
> Clearly white Burg, exuberant and exotic. Mark says "Coche" pretty
> quickly, and Craig and I both show him we wrote it already (but he
> said it first!). Lovely, great concentration, white fruits,some
> vanilla, and excellent length. I thought it had to be a 1er. Mark
> saves some and gives me a sniff later- coconut city! A-/A
>
> 1995 Coche Dury Meursault
> Comparatively austere, leaner, someone guesses Chablis which seems
> reasonable to me. Very surprised when revealed. With time it gets some
> hazelnut and fruit fleshes out a bit, but I never like near as much as
> the '96. B/B+
>
> Third Flight (with a mushroom soup with porcini ravioli)
>
> 1990 Poggio Antico Brunello
> First bottle was corked, but Dan had a backup. Sweet red fruit, some
> cassis, leather. Some Bordeaux guesses, but I went for Unico from the
> lifted nose. B/B+ (some sensitive to VA really disliked)
>
> 1987 Mouton-Rothschild
> Cassis, herb, tobacco, good length. B+/A-
>
> Fourth Flight (" the King, the Queen, and the Pawn" - the beef, fries,
> and green beans were served with this flight)
>
> 1990 Beychevelle
> corked. We deterred Dan from finding a replacement, we had plenty of
> wine.
>
> 1990 MommessinClos de Tart
> clearly Burgundy, elegant, balanced, red raspberry fruit with earth,
> mushroom, a little spice. A-/B+
>
> 1990 Guigal Hermitage
> Sweet red fruit, a little tar, midweight but with persistence. Once
> Dan said it wasn't Burgundy, due to the tar I said Northern Rhone or
> Piedmont, but should have declared decisively. This is a straight up
> Hermitage, which apparently doesn't sell for very much, quite nice. B+
>
> Flight Five (Elvis, Fat Man, and Little Boy)
>
> 1961 Beychevelle
> Lovely and elegant, shows much younger. Cassis, black plums, truffles,
> earth. A-
>
> 1971 Lafite-Rothschild (from mag)
> "A wonderful Burg" Red fruit, cedar, a bit of mushroom. Not very
> big, but really lithe and classy. A-
>
> 1982 Latour a Pomerol
> Fleshier, denser, herby. Probably would have paid more attention to
> this if I wasn't so enthralled with its flightmates. A-/B+
>
> A great night, where the fact I was driving was the only downnote!
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.*

What a great sounding tasting. Too bad about the Beycheville. The '89 is
showing nicely now but haven't had the '90.