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.

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.

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.

On Oct 26, 3:46*pm, DaleW > wrote:
> 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.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I would agree about the reconditioning program as the wines I've had
were much tasting much younger than their years would suggest. My
understanding is that they are reconditioning with wine from the same
year but I have my doubts. The 1959 I had recently was quite dark and
reminded me more of a middle aged Grand Cru burgundy than Barolo.