On Oct 26, 3:36*pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Oct 26, 10:57*am, DaleW > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > My turn to host SOBER. Next time I take the afternoon off! A little
> > frantic, but although Betsy was going out she made the first course
> > and gave general assistance. Nice group as always, who demonstrated
> > patience with the tight spaces, needy dog, and hard vegetables.
>
> > We started off as people drifted in with various cheeses, duck
> > rillettes and prosciutto, sweet capicola, and 2 bubblies.
>
> > 1998 Billecarte Salmon Blanc de Blancs Champagne
> > Fresh and zippy, mineral and citrus, nice length. I really enjoyed
> > this (actually more than the '98 Cuvee Nicholas-Francois I had last
> > year). B+/A-
>
> > 1996 Pommery "Cuvee Louise" Champagne Brut
> > I found this not nearly as fresh. Yeasty, appley, but flat. One person
> > thought it was just being a grumpy adolescent. But while I caught no
> > sign during dinner, a sip as I was putting stuff away seemed to show
> > trace TCA NR
>
> > On to the blind flights. It's fun to be the one who knows for a
> > change. :
>
> > First Flight
> > 1993 Drouhin Clos de la Roche
> > Showed a bit of diaper on opening, but that had mostly dissipated by
> > serving time. Someone called this low acid, I'd say moderate, but I'm
> > surprised as I remember previous bottle being *a bit brighter.
> > Pleasant, solid, but lacking a bit of depth. B
>
> > 1993 Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes
> > Some mixed opinions on this one, but I quite liked. Red fruit, smoke,
> > earth. A bit lighter than I expected for Corton, but I enjoyed. Group
> > got CdBeaune quickly, but took a while for the wine. B+
>
> > First course was a Marcella Hazan seafood salad, with *squid, octopus,
> > clams, mussels, and shrimp. Due to some trepidation on opening the
> > whites, I warned people to hold on to their Champagne.
>
> > Second Flight
> > (not served) 1983 Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling - this had a
> > bit of a fill issue, but a similar fill from same source was stellar
> > earlier this year. This, however, was not stellar, but instead dying.
> > NR
>
> > 1996 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Riesling
> > A quick guess of white Rioja, then Dan said "no, we're in Alsace." The
> > problem was the guesses then turned to 25-30 year old wines. My
> > original plan was to do a Loire flight, but after recently seeing a
> > note on a dinner where John had a PremOxed '96 CSH, I thought try this
> > now. Well, if it was 30 years old, this might be acceptable, but this
> > is not what one wants in a 14 year old CSH. C+
>
> > 1999 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune Riesling
> > This was the backup for the CFE, but needed to do duty for both. Not
> > as advanced as the 96, but worrisomely soft. A glass during cleanup
> > actually showed better than it did during dinner, but still at best a
> > B.
>
> > Third Flight
> > 1964 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia Rioja Gran Reserva
> > Very earthy, smoky, cranberry. Good but not my favorite bottle of old
> > LdH. B/B+
>
> > 1964 Monte Real Rioja Gran Reserva
> > My favorite of flight. Spicy, red fruit, nice balance, plenty of life.
> > A-/B+
>
> > 1964 Vallana Spanna Montalbano
> > Funky, herby, red fruity. Some VA. Tim quickly guessed Piedmont, and
> > Spanna on his third try. B/B-
>
> > Oh, I need to remember next time to make sure Betsy is joining us (and
> > handling cooking). I had done a leg of lamb with coriander and garlic,
> > with vegetables. When the lamb was done, the vegetables were somehow
> > still hard. I put the veggies back in oven, but after 15 minutes some
> > were still underdone. I've never had this issue before (and should
> > have carved the lamb after 5 minutes rest, the 15 led it to medium).
> > The dinner flight
>
> > Fourth Flight
> > 1975 Trotanoy
> > Guesses were mostly Left Bank, and there's enough tannic structure to
> > see why. Ripe dark fruit, mocha. Firm and young. A-
>
> > 1979 Cheval Blanc
> > Tangy '79 acids, spicy, maybe not as full as you'd hope for CB, fully
> > mature *but I quite enjoyed. B+
>
> > 1978 Giscours
> > John got Marguax, but I think every classified estate was named before
> > Giscours. Red berries, floral, lower acids than flightmates, tasty but
> > drops off a tad on finish. *B
>
> > Fifth Flight
>
> > 1978 Borgogno Barolo Riserva
> > This was the (plesant) surprise of the night for me, showing more
> > complexity than most Borgognos. Good acids, resolving tannins, tar,
> > Meyer lemon peel, earth, coffee. A-
>
> > 1988 G. Conterno "Cascina Francia" Barolo
> > Some guesses for modernista, but they got before long. Chewy, big,
> > suffered a bit being next to the a pointe '78 Borgogno but I liked. B+
>
> > Final wine wasn't blind. I have had several bottles of the '89 Foreau
> > Reserve, but last year CSW had the 1989 Foreau/Clos Naudin "1ere Trie"
> > Vouvray Moelleux Reserve. Great acids, stunning sweet fruit, long,
> > tangy, lively. I thought about serving next to the (great) regular
> > Reserve, but 2 750s of dessert wine as people are leaving seemed
> > absurd. Still, would have liked to see any differences. My *(and most
> > people's ) WOTN. A
>
> > I was a bit unhappy with the main course, *and chagrined by the
> > Trimbachs, but informative night and some good wines in the mix.
>
> > 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.*
>
> I feel your pain the CSH! *I thought microwaves were for finishing
> veggies that aren't quite done? :-) *Finally, what is the deal with
> Borgogno? *I'm seeing a bunch of old Borgogno Barolos around and have
> recently had a 1959, a 1966 and an early 70's just in the past
> year....all were reportedly from the Borgogno library.

I think Borgogno has always had a big library program, and I believe
the wines are reconditioned on release. But I think the difference in
last few years has been the increase in US attention to Barolo, so
we're getting a bigger share. Probably the easiest to find old Barolo
around.