Monday Betsy did pork tenderloin with a jerkyesque sauce, plus a baby
bok choy salad with avocado and oranges. I went with the 2007 Willi
Schaefer Mosel Riesling QbA. Another nice '07 QbA, balanced sweetness
and acidity, limey citrus fruit with an edge of Granny Smith apple,
decent length. Does well with a hard to match menu. B+/B

Tuesday SOBER met at Dan's house in Pound Ridge. A really incredible
lineup of wines. We started off in kitchen area with an assortment of
at least 10 cheeses (I started with St Marcellin & Epoisses, but
sampled all), and three whites (all wines were blind):

#1- bright, young, clean. Clearly Sauvignon Blanc, beautiful
gooseberry meets Fresca fruit, flinty minerality, great length.
Wonderful, but somehow I neglected to note which Cotat, it's the 2000
La Grand Cote Sancerre. A-

#2 -a bit heavier and rounder, everyone gravitated to Burgundy, and
John got Meursault. Light oak, hazelnut and spices over pear fruit,
lively. 2000
Henri Boillot "Gouttes d'Or" Meursault 1er B+

#3- Big, slight oxidative notes, lots of oak, pears, melons,and
coconut. I'm thinking maybe white Rioja (LdH)? No. Good length, full.
Mark isn't far off with the '94 Laville HB guess, it's the 1994 Haut
Brion Blanc. B+

a solo pink sparkler- fine mousse, strawberries and raspberries,
rather plush texture, excellent length, it's the 1996 Dom Ruinart
rose. B+/A-

On to table. With a nice dish of shrimp with pesto and roasted tomato,
a couple more whites:

#1- fresh, talcy, herby, crisp. Not the longest wine. Once it's
narrowed to CA, some guessing ensues, it takes a while to get to the
2005 Stony Hill Chardonnay. B

#2 I think I get a bit of oak (then Dan says producer doesn't use much
new wood). Sweet pear fruit, some earth and nuts, good length. John
gets Meursault again, and then vineyard, but no one guesses producer.
2005 Jean-Philipe Fichet "Les Chevalieres" Meursault . B

On to the reds, first flight:
#1 Tight, but showing some sweet black cherry fruit, herby, minty,
smoky,. good length. 1998 Mugnier "Les Fuees" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. B
+/A-

#2- lighter edges, seems a tad older and much more open, some tannins,
sweet fruit. Some guess Barolo. Gets better and better. 1998 Fourrier
"Les Gruenchers" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. A-

Whoa, here comes the second flight!
#1 Modest acidity, some tannins, ripe but not overripe fruit. 1990
Jadot Corton-Pougets. B/B+

#2 Huge glue/VA nose, better on the palate, with red currant jelly and
a hint of barnyard. I guessed old Rioja. When revealed a couple people
agree they had enjoyed better bottles of the 1991 Ch. Musar. B/B-

Red flight # 3
#1 Sweet, lush, velvety, with a light herby edge over black fruit.
John got Right Bank quickly, it's the 1990 Vieux Chateau Certan
(Pomerol), A-

#2 Medium bodied, ripe, red plums. Pretty good, our first ever Long
Island wine at a SOBER event, the 1995 Lenz Merlot. B

Red flight #4 (osso buco, barley, and green beans appeared about now)
#1 black and red plums, coffee/mocha, cedar. Good length. Lovely wine.
1970 Ch. Magdelaine. A-

#2 red currants, gravel and earth, leather, cigarbox. Bright and young
fruits, Mark gets Graves, someone says Pape Clement, I'm guessing '82
or '90. Nope, it's the 1964 Pape Clement (Graves). A

#3 Sweet and ripe fruit, but overlaid with cardboard. Damn the TCA.
1979 Certan de May.

Red flight #5
A bottle of '87 Mouton was also corked, and quickly pulled.

#1 Big, ripe berries, dark, a bit of mint, quite nice. 1990 Chave
"Cuvee Cathelin" Hermitage. A-

#2 Cassis fruit, forest floor and mushrooms, some tannins, just a hint
of cow patty. Nice. 1981 La Mission Haut Brion. A-/B+

Pretty incredible night. Not only was Dan incredibly generous with
wines, but the food was amazing. Thanks to Drew for driving on a snowy
night, glad I didn't need to spit more often!

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.
*

Wow, that is an incredible lineup of wines, Dale. From what you report,
I can why so many people I know hold John Gilman in such high regard: to
get not only the commune but the vineyard speaks to his abilities as a
taster. Now, IIRC, the SOBER setup is for one person to buy all the
wines with pooled funds. From the lineup, I'd guess that Dan produced
quite a few of those wines from his own cellar, so how does he value
those wines for budgetary purposes? Current market value? Also, what
was your WOTN? How about the other SOBER participants?

Thanks for the great notes,
Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Dec 17, 11:42�am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Wow, that is an incredible lineup of wines, Dale. �From what you report,
> I can why so many people I know hold John Gilman in such high regard: to
> get not only the commune but the vineyard speaks to his abilities as a
> taster. �

Well, I think it was his second guess (after Perrieres). He was "on"
last night, definitely was guessing champ.


Now, IIRC, the SOBER setup is for one person to buy all the
> wines with pooled funds. �From the lineup, I'd guess that Dan produced
> quite a few of those wines from his own cellar, so how does he value
> those wines for budgetary purposes? �Current market value? �Also, what
> was your WOTN? �How about the other SOBER participants?
>
Format is supposed to be that we split costs, based on up to current
value, Host just tells us amount, There;s a $150 limit, and that's
what it was last night. Obviously Dan went way over (there were 9
counting him, so he was reimbursed $1200), since there were a lot of
bottles, and included some quite expensive ones (HBB, Ruinart, Chave,
plus the older stuff), People often do that. Sometimes it's less, I
think I was at $100 per person my last hosting. I calculated at lowest
Winebid or Winesearcher for stuff I had for a long time, price paid
for things I bought in last few years.

My WOTN was the Pape. I know Craig and Mark also said that, I think
John might have said the Magdelaine. The Cotat was a big QPR fave.

On Dec 17, 10:37�am, DaleW > wrote:
> Monday Betsy did pork tenderloin with a jerkyesque sauce, plus a baby
> bok choy salad with avocado and oranges. I went with the 2007 Willi
> Schaefer Mosel Riesling QbA. Another nice '07 QbA, balanced sweetness
> and acidity, limey citrus fruit with an edge of Granny Smith apple,
> decent length. Does well with a hard to match menu. B+/B
>
> Tuesday SOBER met at Dan's house in Pound Ridge. A really incredible
> lineup of wines. We started off in kitchen area with an assortment of
> at least 10 cheeses (I started with St Marcellin & Epoisses, but
> sampled all), and three whites (all wines were blind):
>
> #1- bright, young, clean. Clearly Sauvignon Blanc, beautiful
> gooseberry meets Fresca fruit, flinty minerality, great length.
> Wonderful, but somehow I neglected to note which Cotat, it's the 2000
> La Grand Cote Sancerre. A-
>
> #2 -a bit heavier and rounder, everyone gravitated to Burgundy, and
> John got Meursault. Light oak, hazelnut and spices over pear fruit,
> lively. 2000
> Henri Boillot "Gouttes d'Or" Meursault 1er �B+
>
> #3- Big, slight oxidative notes, lots of oak, pears, melons,and
> coconut. I'm thinking maybe white Rioja (LdH)? No. Good length, full.
> Mark isn't far off with the '94 Laville HB guess, it's the 1994 Haut
> Brion Blanc. B+
>
> a solo pink sparkler- fine mousse, strawberries and raspberries,
> rather plush texture, excellent length, it's the 1996 Dom Ruinart
> rose. B+/A-
>
> On to table. With a nice dish of shrimp with pesto and roasted tomato,
> a couple more whites:
>
> #1- fresh, talcy, herby, crisp. Not the longest wine. Once it's
> narrowed to CA, some guessing ensues, it takes a while to get to the
> 2005 Stony Hill Chardonnay. B
>
> #2 I think I get a bit of oak (then Dan says producer doesn't use much
> new wood). Sweet pear fruit, some earth and nuts, good length. John
> gets Meursault again, and then vineyard, but no one guesses producer.
> 2005 Jean-Philipe Fichet "Les Chevalieres" Meursault . B
>
> On to the reds, first flight:
> #1 Tight, but showing some sweet black cherry fruit, herby, minty,
> smoky,. good length. 1998 Mugnier "Les Fuees" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. B
> +/A-
>
> #2- lighter edges, seems a tad older and much more open, some tannins,
> sweet fruit. Some guess Barolo. Gets better and better. 1998 Fourrier
> "Les Gruenchers" Chambolle-Musigny 1er. A-
>
> Whoa, here comes the second flight!
> #1 Modest acidity, some tannins, ripe but not overripe fruit. 1990
> Jadot Corton-Pougets. B/B+
>
> #2 Huge glue/VA nose, better on the palate, with red currant jelly and
> a hint of barnyard. I guessed old Rioja. When revealed a couple people
> agree they had enjoyed better bottles of the 1991 Ch. Musar. B/B-
>
> Red flight # 3
> #1 Sweet, lush, velvety, with a light herby edge over black fruit.
> John got Right Bank quickly, it's the 1990 Vieux Chateau Certan
> (Pomerol), A-
>
> #2 Medium bodied, ripe, red plums. Pretty good, our first ever Long
> Island wine at a SOBER event, the 1995 Lenz Merlot. B
>
> Red flight #4 (osso buco, barley, and green beans appeared about now)
> #1 black and red plums, coffee/mocha, cedar. Good length. Lovely wine.
> 1970 Ch. Magdelaine. A-
>
> #2 red currants, gravel and earth, leather, cigarbox. Bright and young
> fruits, Mark gets Graves, someone says Pape Clement, I'm guessing '82
> or '90. Nope, it's the 1964 Pape Clement (Graves). A
>
> #3 Sweet and ripe fruit, but overlaid with cardboard. Damn the TCA.
> 1979 Certan de May.
>
> Red flight #5
> A bottle of '87 Mouton was also corked, and quickly pulled.
>
> #1 Big, ripe berries, dark, a bit of mint, quite nice. 1990 Chave
> "Cuvee Cathelin" Hermitage. A-
>
> #2 Cassis fruit, forest floor and mushrooms, some tannins, just a hint
> of cow patty. Nice. 1981 La Mission Haut Brion. A-/B+
>
> Pretty incredible night. Not only was Dan incredibly generous with
> wines, but the food was amazing. Thanks to Drew for driving on a snowy
> night, glad I didn't need to spit more often!
>
> 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.
> �

The Sancerre was Pascal Cotat