View Single Post
  #4 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine
DaleW DaleW is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,554
Default TN: Half-Century Wine Geeks-great wines 1924-2008 (Cali, Loire,Bdx, and much more)

On May 24, 11:08*am, DaleW > wrote:
> 1960 seemed to be a birthyear for a disproportionate number of metro
> area winegeeks, so the Real Jay Miller sent out an invite for a
> communal birthday offline. So yesterday John and I headed down and
> braved the Holland Tunnel to Jay's apartment in Jersey City. I believe
> there were 5 1960s present, plus a congenial group of others. In honor
> of the 60s food we grew up with, the menu was:
>
> Cheesy Poofs and Sausages
> Chicken Pot Pie
> Cucumber Salad
> Pork Roast
> American cheese
> Birthday Cake
>
> Luckily, in consideration of his guests, this translated into
> delicious gougeres, local charcuterie, cuke and jicama salad, pernil,
> artisanal cheeses, etc. Jay did a fantastic job hosting.
>
> A really nice assortment of wines, I took minimal notes but here's
> some impressions:
>
> Cedric Bouchard Roses de Jeanne Champagne
> No actual notes, I wasn't thrilled, not even sure if NV or vintage.
>
> I was really interested to taste the first and second releases of the
> 2002 Huet Vouvray Petillant Brut side by side, but while there were
> distinct differences, both were fairly closed compared to bottles (I
> believe from first release) I had a couple of years ago. I
> liked,didn't love, think maybe time to let these sleep. Both B/B+ for
> drinking now.
>
> NV Clouet "1911" Champagne Brut
> Jay was averaging a 1959 and 1961 to get 1960, so I cheated by
> bringing this and a 2009 rose *to get the same thing. My joke was
> somewhat thwarted when I realized the 1911 doesn't actually appear on
> the bottle.
> I did quite like the wine, medium to full bodied, bread dough over
> pear and citrus fruit, a leesy note, good length. A-/B+
>
> 1980 Knoll Loimer Schutt Gruner Veltliner
> Not only did I like the wine, but I learned the K IS pronounced (I've
> always wondered). Plums, pepper, mineral, smoke. Nice mouthfeel, maybe
> a bit fragile with some air. Not everyone liked, but one of my faves
> of the whites. B+/A-
>
> 1989 Baumard "Clos du Papillon" Savennieres
> Wet wool, cidery apples, short. Not a fan of this bottle. C
>
> 2003 Coche-Dury Meursault
> Not as flabby as some 03 white Burgs, but this could still use a jolt
> of acid. Warm fruits verging on tropical, a heavy dose of that
> distinctive "fish oil" thing I get from C-D (John tells me it's
> iodine, hmmm). B-
>
> 2008 Eminence Road Farm Gewurztraminer (Finger Lakes)
> The winemakers were present, and I was happy not to have to make any
> evasions, as I quite liked this. *Spicy, assertive, with good acidity
> for Gewurz. I'd buy this. Winery is in Catskills. B+
>
> 2008 Selbach Oster Rotlay Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling (Mosel)
> Not sure if this was a big Spatlese or a light Auslese, not that
> divisions are so defined these days. Fruit, power, precision, I liked,
> and didn't find mid-palate dilution that one person complained about.
> A-
>
> 1977 Estrella River Cabernet Sauvignon (San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles)
> I'd never heard of this winery, but I enjoyed wine. Herby, balanced,
> with just a hint of pruniness, the pruniness was gone on a later
> revisit. Very nice. B+
>
> 1978 Cheval Blanc (St Emilion)
> I had been holding to pair with a 79 for SOBER, but decided we needed
> to celebrate when Jay, John, Jeff, Jim, and I (lotta Js born in '60)
> became legal to drink. Nice solid cork, some bottle funk that blew off
> quickly. Lots of Gravesque tobacco, mature black fruits, a little
> leafy/green note. Nice concentration though not a muscular wine,
> classic for my tastes. In a good place. A-
>
> 1985 Chevillon "Les Cailles" Nuits St George 1er
> A bit odd, some solid cherry fruit and coffee notes but with a whiff
> of swimming pool. I didn't get it as clearly corked, but in latter
> conversations it seems some others (probably more sensitive than me)
> had thought so
> NR
>
> 1975 CVNE "Vina Real" Rioja (was this a GR? didn't note)
> Slightly lifted, red fruit and molasses, herbs, earth. Lots of love
> for this in the room, I liked but maybe a bit less than others. B
>
> 1924 Huet Moelleux (pretty sure I heard this was LHL, but it was in a
> decanter)
> A bit out of order, but the decanter was emptying fast and I didn't
> want to miss this. No signs of tiredness, vibrant acidity, fresh fruit
> notes of peaches and oranges, turned soil, wax. Long, complete,
> excellent. A
>
> 1961 Lascombes (Margaux)
> I quite liked a 70 Lascombes last year and looked forward to this, but
> found it boring and not very fresh. B-/C+
>
> 1975 Ridge Montebello
> Somewhat muted, light cassis notes, mushrooms, I liked a pour later a
> bit better. Some discussion over whether it was corked? If so below my
> threshold. Not bad but least favorite of the CalCabs for me. B/B- if a
> representative bottle
>
> 1964 Borgogno Barolo Riserva
> Raspberries, cranberries, tart acidty, olives, mushrooms, tea. One
> person thought it was dead, not to me. Maybe a tad past some ideal
> peak, but interesting and lively. A-
>
> 2008 Thomas Labaille "Les Monts Damnes Cuvee Buster" Sancerre
> No contemporous notes, but I liked this even between the reds. B+
>
> 1974 Ceretto Zonchera Barolo maderized/cooked
>
> 1974 Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
> Really interesting, black currant fruit, notes of earth, cocoa, and
> BenGay (strangely, that's a positive is small doses). Nice length,
> balanced acidity, one of my favorites. A-
>
> We went out on the patio for some lovely cheeses and enjoyed the view
> of NY harbor, the Statue of Liberty,Ellis Island, and various ships
> (including one tall 3 master). Some nice dessert wines
>
> 1945 Huet "Le Haut Lieu" Vouvray Moelleux
> Peaches, canteloupe, orange rind, caramel, wax, wool. Beautiful
> balance, color (gold/orange with a green edge), length. Maybe I'm just
> a vintage/label whore (nothing was blind) but the older Huets were
> everything I'd want in a wine. A
>
> 1959 Moulin Touchais Anjou
> I was really happy to see this, as I had loved a bottle at Betsy's
> 50th in December. This bottle seemed a tad darker, but not extreme. On
> pouring I thought this was corked, but then I get more "false
> positives" with Chenin than any other wine. With some time I didn't
> get the cardboard hints, what was there was a midbodied wine with
> quince, citrus and peaches, good acidity. Not bad, but nowhere near
> the bottle from 6 months ago. B/B+
>
> 1959 Ch. des Coulinais Ste. Croix du Mont
> I found this a bit dull and dilute, though some liked it. I don't
> think it was so much tired as just soft & light, 51 years is pushing
> it for SCdM! The apple and apricot fruit is there, low acidity, not
> very long after the Chenins. B-
>
> 2005 Pinon Moelleux
> I liked more than some others. A bit out of context after the more
> mature wines, but nice. B+
>
> Really fun night. I was driving so spit a lot, but that saved my
> palate (such as it is) for the later wines. Good group of people, nice
> to see some I haven't seen in years and meet some new faces. Thansk to
> all,but especially Jay.
>
> 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.


Designation corrections:
The Cedric Bouchard was the NV Roses de Jeanne Blanc de Noirs.
The Coche-Dury was the Meursault 'Les Rougeots'. Very generous for
John to bring, but even more disappointing knowing such an expensive
bottle. .