Cathleen hosted SOBER last night, with Steve acting as chef/grillmaster. Really fascinating tasting, with great food. We arrived to find some nice salami and pate on the table, and 2 Champagnes were passed (non-blind)

2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose
Really drinking well., beautiful red fruits, some floral notes, plenty of zesty acids, fine mousse. Very long. I can’t imagine this getting better though I am sure it will last for a while, really in a good place (Later Cathleen and I discussed how in general it seems roses do well with a few years age, but - counterintuitively to me at least- are less likely to do well in long aging). A-

Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne (I think this was a NV Brut, but not totally sure)
Crisp, light, minerally, refreshing. B+/B

On to the reds (blind)

Flight 1
Pretty clear these were Bordeaux from beginning

Wine #1- black fruit, cocoa, some wood, most approachable of the three. 2001 Ch. Palmer B+

Wine #2- firm, austere, woody, the tannins on the backend are raspy. This is in a grumpy place. I opined this was like most ‘86s 10-12 years ago. 2000 Ch. Rausan-Segla B-

Wine #3 -green herby notes on nose, some wood, also quite tannic. 2000 Ch. Palmer B

I think all of these will improve with time, but for now only the 2001 was any real fun.

About this time Steve served a truly unbelievably good curried carrot soup (from the Modernist Cuisine at Home).

Flight 2
Wine #1- lovely giving wine, dark fruit, elegant, good ripeness,. balanced. 1998 Ch. Palmer. A-

Wine #2 - Tannic, green pepper, dill, a bit volatile, by this point we knew it was Bordeaux, but reminded me more of not so great modern Rioja. 1995 Ch., Rausan-Segla B-/C+

Wine #3- still some oak, but good dark fruits, long finish. 1995 Ch. Palmer B+/B

A theme is emerging.

Flight 3
Wait a damn minute, this isn’t Margaux!

Wine #1 - very light color made us guess older than this is. Red fruits, sandalwood, smoke. Great acids, bright fuits, long finish, very good length. I guessed Chambolle, but Mark correctly got Gevrey. 2001 Truchot-Martin “Combottes” Gevrey-Chambertin. A-/A

Wine #2 - darker, riper, more tannic, someone (I think Craig) guessed Jadot early, but it took a few guesses to get vineyard. 2003 Jadot Musigny B+
(as good a 2003 as I’ve had)

About here we were chowing down on slices from a couple 3” Lobel porterhouses, with great polenta and mushroom ragout, plus some green beans.

Flight 4
Wine #1 Pretty intense green bell pepper, totally dominates the fruit, 1993 Ch. Rausan-Segla C+/C

Wine #2 Young fresh and vital, wellbalanced, 1986 Ch. Rausan-Segla A-

Wine #3 corked (too bad, seemed to be nice stuff underneath) 1986Ch. Palmer

Flight 5
Wine #1 corked 1985 Ch. Rausan-Segla

Wine #2 ripe, full, red berries, tobacco, good. 1982 Ch. Rausan-Segla B+/B

Flight 6
Wine #1 Pretty classic claret, redder fruit with cigarbox and forest floor, very nice and ready but not faded. . 1966 Ch. Rausan-Segla A-/B+

Wine #2 Full, powerful but elegant, 1983 Ch. Margaux A-

Wine #3 Thinner, a little ashtray over the dark fruit and decayed leaves, not bad but outclassed,. 1966 Ch. Kirwan B

Fantastic look at Margaux appellation, plus other fun wines and amazing food

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.

DaleW wrote:
<SNIP>

Nice notes, Dale! What a great bunch of wines, but bummer about those
corked bottles. One thing I wondered was that you didn't mention a WOTN
-- was it the Truchot? the Margaux?

We had that '83 Margaux some years ago and it was lovely but still
young. I can only imagine that it will continue to improve for more
years still.

I also found interesting your comparison of '00 to '86. My impression
was that '00 was not as high acid a year as '86 was, though it certainly
had the tannins of an '86. Do you see much similarity?

Thanks for the notes,
Mark Lipton

On Thursday, May 9, 2013 12:12:36 AM UTC-4, Mark Lipton wrote:

> Nice notes, Dale! What a great bunch of wines, but bummer about those
>
> corked bottles. One thing I wondered was that you didn't mention a WOTN
>
> -- was it the Truchot? the Margaux?
>
The Truchot, the Comtes, the Margaux were standouts, hate to choose. But the 98 Palmer was probably the surprise of the night
>
> I also found interesting your comparison of '00 to '86. My impression
>
> was that '00 was not as high acid a year as '86 was, though it certainly
>
> had the tannins of an '86. Do you see much similarity?

Well, if I had to say I'd agree that 2000 is probably lower acid that 1986 (though I've tasted former since release, and by time I got into wine 1991 or so no one was opening 1986s, so very few tasted over first 12-15 years after vintage). So I though these reminded me of the 86s I tasted around 2000-2002, with the tough tannins - remember, this was before wines were unveiled. These 2000s didn't strike me as low acid when tasted (blind).

"DaleW" > wrote in message
...

Flight 4
Wine #1 Pretty intense green bell pepper, totally dominates the fruit, 1993
Ch. Rausan-Segla C+/C
-------------------
I have a bottle of the 1994, which judging by the year, I should have
consumed some time ago. You have me worried now!
Graham

On Thursday, May 9, 2013 11:54:25 AM UTC-6, graham wrote:
> "DaleW" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> Flight 4
>
> Wine #1 Pretty intense green bell pepper, totally dominates the fruit, 1993
>
> Ch. Rausan-Segla C+/C
>
> -------------------
>
> I have a bottle of the 1994, which judging by the year, I should have
>
> consumed some time ago. You have me worried now!
>
> Graham

Graham, I had 3 bottles originally and finished the last one in 2009 and it was near term then.

"lleichtman" > wrote in message
...
> On Thursday, May 9, 2013 11:54:25 AM UTC-6, graham wrote:
>> "DaleW" > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>>
>>
>> Flight 4
>>
>> Wine #1 Pretty intense green bell pepper, totally dominates the fruit,
>> 1993
>>
>> Ch. Rausan-Segla C+/C
>>
>> -------------------
>>
>> I have a bottle of the 1994, which judging by the year, I should have
>>
>> consumed some time ago. You have me worried now!
>>
>> Graham
>
> Graham, I had 3 bottles originally and finished the last one in 2009 and
> it was near term then.
>
Oh dear!! Thanks!
At least it will be educational! It will be a month before the opportunity
presents itself to open it and I'll report back then.
Graham