Last night Cathleen hosted our SOBER group, and put together a truly
lovely night of food and wine. She and Steve were gracious and
generous hosts, and my only regret of the evening was I was drinking,
so had to do a bit of spitting.

The early arrivals sampled a couple of non-blind whites with nuts,
soppressata, and cheeses:

1990 Pierre Morey "Perrieres" Meursault 1er
A little tight at first, opens quickly, a bit fat, not especially
focused, some nutty notes. Tired though not dead. B-

1996 Zind-Humbrecht "Clos Windsbuhl" Pinot Gris
Fair amount of sweetness, but not flabby as I find some ZHs. Good
richness, complex blend of floral, fruit (oranges, peaches), honey,
and even a little mineral. It IS a bit much, and I think I'd struggle
with it over dinner table, but nice as an apertif (and with a very
ripe Munster). B+

After that the wines were double blind.

Flight One
Served with a lovely scallop dish in a cream sauce with leeks and
ginger

Wine #1:
Bright fresh nose, not very yeasty, citrus based, young.

Wine #2
Initially the biggest nose, a whallop of caramel and brioche. A bit
odd on the palate.

Wine #3
Lovely, easily my favorite of flight. Young and vibrant, yet with
notes of maturity. Yeast biscuits, lemon zest, lively on palate.

Wine #4
Quince and lemon, fading mousse, very mature. Others like more than I
do.

I don't drink enough Champagne to have guesses. All turn out to be
Blanc de Blancs.

#1 1998 Deutz Blanc de Blancs B
#2 1988 Deutz Blanc de Blancs B-
#3 1989 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne A/A-
#4 1975 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne B

Very interesting and informative flight


Flight Two
With salmon with a red wine/shallot sauce and potato gallete

Wine #1
Slightly spicy nose, raspberry and cherries, good length, but maybe
just a tad thin in middle. Nice mature Burg.

Wine #2
A note of iron on nose, both red and black fruit, some earth. My
favorite of flight.

Wine #3
Meaty, good acids, maybe a tad short on finish, but I liked.

We were mostly in Burgundy, though there was some discussion re
Northern Rhones. John felt a couple might be Jadots, thinking he saw
some indications of high temperature fermentations.

#1 1985 Jacques Prieur Musigny B/B-
#2 1979 Jadot Musigny B+
#3 1988 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Vieilles Vignes B


Flight Three

Wine #1
Savage bretty nose, some red fruit and a little coffee underneath.
Hard to get past the brett, though.

Wine #2
Iron/blood, slightly fading fruit, a little weedy.

Wine #3
Ripe cassis and black plum fruit, mint and eucalyptus notes. A little
smoke and tobacco. Tannins seem to have integrated. Very nice

Guesses were centered on CalCab.

#1 1990 Olga Raffault "Les Picasses" Chinon B-
#2 1985 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve B-
#3 1974 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve A-

I had a bottle of the Raffault last winter that older showed a hint of
brett, this was much more intense; on the other hand I liked this '74
Mondavi better than a bottle a year or two ago.

Flight Four
With a kind of veal stroganoff with some veggies on side

Wine #1
Wow, maybe my favorite of the night. Powerful yet elegant.
Blackcurrant, berries, cedar and leather.

Wine #2
A little leafy, not quite as powerful as #1, but good dark plum fruit
with some earth and tobacco.

Guesses were all Bordeaux, but mostly Left Bank,

#1 1989 Ch. Trotanoy (Pomerol) A/A-
#2 1989 Ch. Petit Village (Pomerol) B+

Flight Five

Wine #1
Herbs, sweet red fruit, a little coffee and black pepper. Good length,
mature but not fading

Wine #2
Spices, rose petals, sweet red fruit. Very good.

OK, I admit I found these quite similar. Embarrassing.

#1 1980 Guigal "La Landonne" Cote-Rotie A-
#2 1985 G. Conterno "Cascina Francia" Barolo B+

Really great night, this group keeps raising the bar, I'm beginning to
worry re my next time hosting!

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 Jun 3, 8:50�am, DaleW > wrote:

One should proof BEFORE posting
I meant:
"my only regret of the evening was that I was DRIVING"

> generous hosts, and my only regret of the evening was I was drinking,
> so had to do a bit of spitting.

and

"that ONLY showed"
> I had a bottle of the Raffault last winter that older showed a hint of
> brett, this was much more intense; on the other hand I liked this '74
> Mondavi better than a bottle a year or two ago.

DaleW wrote:

> Wine #2
> A note of iron on nose, both red and black fruit, some earth. My
> favorite of flight.

> #2 1979 Jadot Musigny B+

Thanks for the notes, Dale. What a great lineup of wines. Just from
your written description, I would have guessed Musigny.

> #1 1980 Guigal "La Landonne" Cote-Rotie A-

Have you ever liked a LaLa this much before? I wonder if the "off
vintage" nature of '80 made this a better wine for your tastes.

Mark Lipton

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

On Jun 3, 1:22�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> DaleW wrote:
> > Wine #2
> > A note of iron on nose, both red and black fruit, some earth. My
> > favorite of flight.
> > #2 �1979 Jadot Musigny B+
>
> Thanks for the notes, Dale. �What a great lineup of wines. �Just from
> your written description, I would have guessed Musigny.

Well, I can't that I guessed it! I was pretty sure Burgundy, but only
specific guess was I thought the Echezeaux
was maybe a Gevrey 1er or GC because of the meatiness
Of course, my Musigny experience is very limited!

> > #1 1980 Guigal "La Landonne" Cote-Rotie A-
>
> Have you ever liked a LaLa this much before? �I wonder if the "off
> vintage" nature of '80 made this a better wine for your tastes.
>

Well, I liked a '83 (not sure which) a lot. But my La La experience is
basically nill.