Franco hosted SOBER last night in his lovely Chelsea loft. After a walk across from Lexington Mark and I were greeted with 2 Champagnes:

2004 Roederer Cristal
Big, meh. Never quite get Cristal. B-

2005 Roses de Jeanne(Cedric Bouchard) “La Haute-Lemble” Blanc de Blancs
Apparently I was alone in preferring this. Bready/doughy, full, appley fruit, maybe a touch too fat. B

Nice meal featuring a salad with fig and proscuitto, scallop with a corn/avocado/red pepper guacamole, and pasta Bolognese. All of the main wines were blind:

White Flight
This flight didn’t float my boat. Both wines showed as oxidized and dull.

Wine #1 - oxidized notes, heavy, flat, probably Chardonnay but hard to identify. 1985 Louis Latour Montrachet. C/C+

Wine #2- herby, strange, oxidized. 1985 Bourdy Cotes de Jura C

First Red Flight

We all thought these Burgundy or Rhone at first.

Wine #1 - a bit lifted, lighter than other two, some thought it cracking up with time but I revisited with ragu and it seemed fine to me. 1964 CVNE “Imperial” Rioja B

Wine #2- beautiful, deep, classy. Spice and sandalwood over red fruits. 1964 CVNE “Imperial” Rioja Gran Reserva A-

Wine #3- great nose- tea, citrus zest, game, cherries. Not as exotic on the palate, but clean and tasty. 1959 CVNE “Vina Real” Rioja Reserva Especial B+/A-

Second Red Flight
Cathleen was easily winner in this -quickly called #4 Cote Rotie, # 3 Australian, #5 Chave.

#1 - dark fruits, balsam, a touch astringent, smoke, I liked but I think some others liked much more. 1985 Jaboulet “La Chapelle” Hermitage B

#2- shrill, sharp, thinner fruit, my least favorite of flight. 1985 Guigal Hermitage C+

#3 - plum, eucalyptus, full. 1985 Penfolds Grange B

#4 - some debate when this is poured re corkiness. I didn’t get any TCA on nose, but strangely did tasting it. A replacement bottle was brought out (very generous of Franco, especially when unveiled!), a world of difference.. Took a while to fully open up, but lovely - fresh dark berries, floral, pepper, meat. 1985 Gentaz-Dervieux Cote-Rotie B+/A-

#5 -full, elegant, deep. 1985 Chave Hermitage A-

Not blind, the Robles Seleccion “1927 Oro” Pedro Ximenez (Montilla-Moriles). Thick and unctuous (of course), but rich toffeelike character. A little much for me, but WOTN for some. B

Excellent night! Great and interesting wines, great food, a chance to see the twins in 3 dimensions, and nice company.

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.