Last night SOBER met at John Gilman's home. John put out a nice spread
of cheeses and pate, made a delicious chicken/sausage stew, and came
up with a great array of interesting and tasty wines.

As always, wines were double-blind and served in decanters. John kept
quiet most of the time, only occasionally confirming or refuting
guesses (and occasionally trying a little misdirection). Great fun was
had, and wines were very good. Due to general quality, I probably
tightened up my grading a bit.

Flight1
A pair of whites. First example of #1 was corked, John quickly opened
another, though it was a tad warmer than the other bottle. Most of us
quickly thought Sauvignon Blanc (with one Riesling holdout) for at
least the first bottle, with discussion centered on Loire versus
Bordeaux.

Wine #1 Clearly SB, with light grass and clean citrus (grapefruit)
notes. Minerally. Substantial, good acidity, a very nice wine.B+/A-

Wine #2 Rounder, a bit herby (I wrote herby at first, then someone
said anise, which I think was more accurate). Not as precise B

#1 2002 Pascal Cotat "Monts Damnes" Sancerre
#2 2002 Edmond Vatan "Clos la Neore" Sancerre

John felt the Vatan was just in an awkward phase, thinks it will age
well.

Flight 2
On to reds. Everyone was in Burgundy quickly. Seemed too meaty for
Chambolle or Volnay, I opted for Pommard for at least first. Nope.

Wine # 3 Sweet red berry fruit, a touch of spice, some meaty notes.
Good length and depth, seemed very ripe at first but settled into a
very nice classic Burgundy with long life ahead. A-/B+

Wine # 4 Bigger black plum fruit, a bit less acidty, more forward.
tasty but I preferred flightmate. B+

#3 2001 Truchot Charmes-Chambertin
#4 2000 Roumier Charmes-Chambertin

Flight 3
This was the flight that had us all over the place. Discussion of 70s
CA and other wines till John confirmed they were Italian.

Wine #5 Red berries and plums, a little minty note, good acidity,
good length, nice wine with a future. Once John confirmed Italian I
searched for and found some tar notes. B+
Wine #6 Very sweet fruit, lots of toasty oak. A bit of VA. I thought
maybe Taurasi, except didn't seem to have the tannic structure. B

#5 1993 Marcarini "Brunate" Barolo
#6 Gaja "Sori Tilden" Barbaresco

Flight 4
White again. We quickly agreed on Burgundian Chardonnay.

Wine #7 Rather tropical and woody at first, I was wondering if Coche-
Dury. Dan quickly nails Puligny. The tropical notes fade and it
becomes a more classical pear meets butterscotch. B+

Wine #8 This is lovely. Crisp, elegant, refreshing. Chalky minerality,
a little hint of anise/licorice, great depth and length. A

#7 2000 Ramonet "Champ Canet" Puligny-Montrachet
#8 2000 Raveneau "Les Blanchots" Chablis GC

I've always thought Raveneau was too expensive, more than even R & V
Dauvissat , but maybe it's worth it!!!

Flight 5
We thought both were Bordeaux at first.

Wine #9 I'm thinking high-acid vintage on Medoc, black currant and
cherry fruit, some VA, leathery. OK, but not a lot on finish. B-
Wine #10 Not showing a lot, some cedar and cassis, a bit of earth.
Restrained. B

#9 1987 Vega Sicilia Unico
#10 1985 Ch. Lafite-Rothschild

Flight 6
Clearly Burgundy, with some age.
Wine #11 My favorite red of the night. Red berry fruit, some forest
floor, floral notes. Good acids, bright fruit, good length. A pointe.
A-
Wine #12 Very pale, delicate. Nicer on nose than palate. Some
woodsmoke and spice. Mature but not really fading. B/B+

#11 1985 Tollot-Beaut "Clos du Roi" Beaune (I'm 95% certain on
vineyard, will check)
# 12 1972 Leroy Beaune 1er

Excellent night, thanks to John. And Mark and Dan who drove me to and
fro, so no need to spit.

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.

On Apr 8, 3:10�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > #5 1993 Marcarini "Brunate" Barolo
> > #6 Gaja "Sori Tilden" Barbaresco
>
> Before Michael Pronay points this out: it's Sori Tild�n ;-)
>
>
>
> > Wine #8 This is lovely. Crisp, elegant, refreshing. Chalky minerality,
> > a little hint of anise/licorice, great depth and length. A
> [...]
> > #8 2000 Raveneau "Les Blanchots" Chablis GC
>
> > I've always thought Raveneau was too expensive, more than even R & V
> > Dauvissat , but maybe it's worth it!!!
>
> I've rarely seen a Raveneau Chablis, except on auction lists. �It sounds
> like they are up to the hype.
>
> Thanks for the notes, Dale. �It sounds like a fun evening.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

The few Raveneau Chablis that I've had have been real stunners. BTW,
what was the year on the Gaja? Dale...I made the same typo on the
Gaja a few months back.

On Apr 8, 2:37Â*pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On Apr 8, 3:10�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > DaleW wrote:
> > > #5 1993 Marcarini "Brunate" Barolo
> > > #6 Gaja "Sori Tilden" Barbaresco
>
> > Before Michael Pronay points this out: it's Sori Tild�n ;-)
>
> > > Wine #8 This is lovely. Crisp, elegant, refreshing. Chalky minerality,
> > > a little hint of anise/licorice, great depth and length. A
> > [...]
> > > #8 2000 Raveneau "Les Blanchots" Chablis GC
>
> > > I've always thought Raveneau was too expensive, more than even R & V
> > > Dauvissat , but maybe it's worth it!!!
>
> > I've rarely seen a Raveneau Chablis, except on auction lists. �It sounds
> > like they are up to the hype.
>
> > Thanks for the notes, Dale. �It sounds like a fun evening.
>
> > Mark Lipton
>
> > --
> > alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com
>
> The few Raveneau Chablis that I've had have been real stunners. Â*BTW,
> what was the year on the Gaja? Â*Dale...I made the same typo on the
> Gaja a few months back.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Sorry about the typo, I guess Tilden just seems "right" to an American
(hey,he WON in 1876!!!).

The Gaja was the 1990, sorry.

DaleW wrote:

> #5 1993 Marcarini "Brunate" Barolo
> #6 Gaja "Sori Tilden" Barbaresco

Before Michael Pronay points this out: it's Sori Tildín ;-)

> Wine #8 This is lovely. Crisp, elegant, refreshing. Chalky minerality,
> a little hint of anise/licorice, great depth and length. A
[...]
> #8 2000 Raveneau "Les Blanchots" Chablis GC
>
> I've always thought Raveneau was too expensive, more than even R & V
> Dauvissat , but maybe it's worth it!!!

I've rarely seen a Raveneau Chablis, except on auction lists. It sounds
like they are up to the hype.


Thanks for the notes, Dale. It sounds like a fun evening.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com