Cathleen hosted SOBER last night, and did a spectacular job even
though she and Steve both worked all day. The rain ended just as I
arrived, and we waited for everyone to arrive (it took a while, some
folks apparently have better GPS than others- me, I'm old school with
just a map).

Cathleen had just come back from France, had brought some foie gras
which was served with toast and three bubblies:

Blind Sparkling #1 :Round, soft acids, fruity, creamy, nice. John gets
BdB quickly. 2000 Domaine Carneros "La Reve" Blanc de Blanc B/B+

Blind Sparkling #2 : Much higher acids, bite and grip, light nutty
notes, brioche, complex, I like this. 1998 Gosset "Celebris" Brut
Champagne. A-

Blind Sparkling #3 : Pale rose, the bottle shape leaves little to
guess about. Strawberries and cherries, French toast and mineral. Long
long finish. Delicate but with power. Great bubbly. 2000 Taittinger
Comtes de Champagne Brut Rose. A

First sitdown course was crab cake with potato chips and tartar/
remoulade, with two whites:

Blind White #1 I think everyone was in white Burgundy immediately.
Exotic ripe nose with oak, quince, peaches,and hazelnut. Craig went to
Meursault immediately, John agreed, Cathleen confirmed. Not a lot of
rock/mineral, I am surpised at the year/vineyard, the combo I would
have expected to be zippier/more mineral. But I liked (maybe more than
group). 1993 Robert Ampeau "Les Perrieres" Meursault 1er. B+

Blind White #2 Not as exotic, but clearly Burgundy. Nose is steely
clean, chalky, and without apparent oak, I thought maybe Chablis, but
softer/rounder on palate. Clean and with no oxidation. 1996 Jadot
Meursault. B

Moved to reds, which were accompanied by roast duck, green beans,
potatoes:

First flight. Most seemed clear Burgundy, though some guesses of
California for #2. #4 seemed ripest, and someone thought 1990, but
Cathleen reveal it was a horizontal of '93s:

#1 - I thought this lovely and balanced, silky texture, red fruit with
coffee and earth, I liked more than group. 1993 Jacques Prieur Volnay-
Santenots 1er A-

#2 Round, soft, with a somewhat weird cherry cola note (which is why I
agreed when someone said maybe CA). Only wine of night that seems to
devolve in glass. 1993 Louis Latour Volnay-Santenots 1er B-/C+

#3 A bit tight at first, opens to fresh fruit, earth, some vanilla.
Still some tannins, needs time. Volnay-Santenots 1er B+

#4 Lush, ripe, though with some balancing acids. Not bad at all.
Never heard of producer. 1993 Glantenay Volnay-Santenots 1er B/B+

Second red flight. Clearly Burgundy, and it wasn't long before someone
(Dan?) realized it was a continuation of same horizontal.

#5 Red cherries, herbs/pot, medium bodied. 1993 Robert Ampeau Volnay-
Santenots 1er B+

#6 Sulfury nose, big crushed berry fruit, sweet, a little empty. 1993
Mikulski Volnay-Santenots 1er B-

#7 a touch of bretty stink, but within my tolerance. Solid midweight
Burgundy. 1993 Matrot Volnay-Santenots 1er

More Volnay-Santenots (which of course is actually in Meursault) than
I've ever tasted at once!

Third red flight. Some question of possibly Bdx or Rhone, but we got
back to Burgundy quickly, and it turned out to be more 1993s
(I'm using Cathleen's numbering)

#1 Ripe, somewhat lifted nose. Bigger than most earlier reds, somewhat
herby, quite short compared to others. 1993 Clerget "Les Caillerets "
Volnay 1er B-

#2 Good, nice length, some tannins. 1993 Bitouzet-Prieur "Les
Caillerets" Volnay 1er B+

#3 Biggest red to date, some tannins, good acids, strong fruit core
but far from ready. 1993 d'Angerville "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er.
A-

#4 Ripe, tannic, a little stinky, a tad short but nice enough. 1993
Pousse d'Or "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er B

Fourth red flight- ok, with the numbering it wasn't hard to guess this
was mostly a continuation of horizontal, though one wasn't Caillerets.

#5 Sweet, ripe, lovely - more ready than most others. I thought
delicious. 1993 Jean Boillot "Les Caillerets " Volnay 1er A-

#6 More sweet/sappy fruit, integrated oak, nice length. 1993 Bouchard
"Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvee Carnot " Volnay 1er B+

#7 Actually seemed thin at first, but really put on weight in glass.
Black cherries, raspberry, high acidity and tannins, needs time. 1993
d'Angerville "Clos des Ducs " Volnay 1er B+/A-

Really fun and educational horizontal. Only maybe the Latour and
Boillot didn't seem to warrant more time, and the Latour and maybe the
Mikulski was only ones that was really weak, a pretty solid showing
from a range of producers. Hard to say 1993 is only good at top level
with this showing.

With dessert, the 1976 Schloss Schonborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling
Beerenauslese (Rheingau). Deep dark color, lower acids, lots of
botrytis. Fully mature. A-/B+

Fun night.

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.*