| | What oaf blundered into Whine-Oh's screen door, leaving a bas-relief of his nose in the mesh? We hadn't even started drinking yet. Sheesh. You can take the boy out of the trailer park, but you can't take the trailer park out of the boy. Whine-Oh and Whine-Ette hosted a fabulous get-together at their lovely home. Fine wines, fine food, and fine people. Wine rankings are by group vote; point scores are my own. - 2004 Launois Pere et Fils Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Clear light straw yellow. Fine vigorous mousse. Youthful notes of apple, lemon, bread dough, minerals. Outstanding now but needs a few more years to gain some complexity. (91 pts.)
- 2004 Pasanau Priorat Finca La Planeta - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
Tasted blind. Inky purple-garnet-black. Powerful bouquet and palate of jammy black and blue fruit. Huge, extracted, oaky wine with firm mouth-coating tannins. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 20% grenache. I guessed "New World cab, merlot, or petite syrah." (93 pts.)
- 1997 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
Clear deep dark inky blood-garnet color. Decanted and re-bottled at least two hours before tasting. Elegant, restrained bouquet of forest floor, cherries and dill. The dill and the muted nose made me suspect TCA taint. Everyone else liked this very much, and voted it THIRD PLACE tonight. It's also possible that this might need a few more years. Score withheld.
- 1998 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bottle opened two hours before tasting. Clear deep dark garnet color. Elegant, brooding bouquet of earthy cherries, forest floor, bit of dill. Alongside the 1997, both were quite similar in color, bouquet and palate. I slightly preferred this to the 1997 tonight, but I suspect tonight's bottle of 1997 may have some TCA taint. (92 pts.)
- 1995 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Cerequio - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Hazy medium-light ruby-brick red. Classic bouquet of dusty cherries and leather. Mouthwatering, tart, delicious. My #3 tonight. (93 pts.)
- 1992 Joseph Phelps Insignia - USA, California, Napa Valley
Cork broke in half on extraction. Decanted one hour before tasting. Clear deep dark garnet-blood red. Glorious bouquet of black and red cherries, cloves, forest floor, aromatic wood, hint of dill. Similar to the 1997 and 1998 Dominus tonight -- didn't seem any more evolved than those wines. However, one experienced taster tonight thought this wine was tainted with "cellar funk, not TCA." My #1 and group's FOURTH PLACE tonight. (95 pts.)
- 1998 Paoletti Non Plus Ultra - USA, California, Napa Valley
Clear deep garnet color. Notes of cherry pie, stewed prunes, leather, cloves. Very nice wine, medium-full body, medium finish. Not knowing the varietal, I guessed cab, sangiovese, or zinfandel. Apparently it's a Bordeaux blend, a.k.a. meritage. (90 pts.)
- 2003 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Gorgeous bouquet of cherry pie, unsweetened chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and bourbon. Rich, seamless, full-bodied, wonderful balance between fruit and oak. Voted FIRST PLACE tonight, and seems destined for greater heights over the next five years with proper storage. 91% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cab franc, 3% merlot. (92 pts.)
- 2009 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
14.4 % alcohol. Clear dark inky purple-garnet. Bouquet of pen ink, black currants, stewed cherries, mocha. Big and ripe -- a bit overripe for me. (88 pts.)
- 2003 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Beerenauslese - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Don't know if this was the "Goldkapsul" or the regular bottling. Clear light golden-honey color. Delicious aromas and flavors of banana oil, pine needles, apricot, honey, nectarine, candied tangerine peel. Tropical and exotic, unctuous and hedonistic. My #2 and group's SECOND PLACE. (95 pts.)
- 1970 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto
Opened two hours before tasting, but not decanted. Light ruby-brick red. Mesmerizing bouquet of red fruit, milk chocolate, vanilla, spice, sweet oak. Unfortunately it was hot and harsh on the palate. It needs to be smelled at a leisurely pace, then sipped with discretion, like a liqueur. A longer decant probably would have helped. My #4 tonight. Addendum -- my notes on this wine are essentially the same as a previous tasting in 2009, in particular the need for a long decant. (93 pts.)
- 2003 Château Lafon-Rochet - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Opened late in the evening, not decanted, not included in voting, and probably not given a fair chance. Ripe fruit with a stewed quality, melted licorice, coffee. Very nice.
- 1999 Beringer Vineyards Nightingale - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opened late in the evening, not included in voting. Light golden-honey color. Delicious aromas and flavors of spicy pumpkin pie, apricot and honey. Unctuous and sweet but with enough acidity for structure and freshness. Compares favorably with a high quality sauternes. (94 pts.)
With the conversation turning to skinny-dipping and with Whine-Oh threatening to open another bottle of port (1960 Warre no less), my exit had to be now or never. Many thanks to Whine-Oh and Whine-Ette! Good to see the usual suspects and some new faces. Speaking of faces ... Whine-Oh, send me the bill for the screen door. |
