Group de Degustation Diner, Octobre 2010

An honour to be the first non-French to be invited to a monthly dinner held by a bunch of serious French guys who are in the wine business in Hong Kong or who are serious collectors. The club rule is that all wines are provided by one member and served blind with absolutely no indication of country of origin, age or any theme......at least until well into the dinner when some clues may be given out (but as my French is rusty, the clues went over my head).

• 1988 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 84 Points

  France, Champagne

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Deep urine orange-yellow colour. No bubbles. Nose has some oxidization and some high notes of almonds. Palate is old burnished copper....."burnished but still alive". Good acidity. Apricot confit on the finish. Too old......I guessed 1966 mid-range Champagne and was surprised to find it was a relatively youthful Cristal 1988.

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• 2007 Petaluma Chardonnay 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Piccadilly Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Attractive bright and grassy-silver colour. Nose is fresh cut grass and grapefruit with a nice edge of minerality. Palate is precisely acidic, silvery, high alcohol but not obviously New World. Back end is all grapefruit and very fresh. I went all over the place trying to place this really enjoyable wine and ended up with Grivot as the producer (high quality) and Loire as the region because of the fresh minerality, even though I know Grivot doesn't make Loire wines.........at least I got the year right! At US$30 this is a really good wine.

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• 2004 Petaluma Chardonnay Tiers 86 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Piccadilly Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Semi-golden colour. Nose is older Chardonnay which improved as it approached cool room temperature. Palate is a nice acidic backbone with some fresh lemon skins. I had this as a Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru 2004, by which I didn't mean to heap it wth praise but had it as "over-priced, mid-range white Burgundy". Surprised when this was revealed as an Australian as I had detected no New World notes but amazed that this is a US$90 bottle of wine when the 2007 standard Petaluma Chardonnay was way superior (at US$30).

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• 1992 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Light red and purple almost Lifted, high-toned nose of violets. High alcohol. Lots of oak. Palate is tart, thin, woodland strawberries. Dilute. Acidity. Not much tannin. Definitely Cabernet Sauvignon. I initially guessed this as a 1986 Ch. Monthelena, knowing what my friend who provided the wines has in his cellar, but then switched to deciding it was a 1994 St. Julien, probably Ch. Talbot. In retrospect, both are superior wines and this needs drinking up fast if you have any.

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• 1992 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Deep blood red and semi-transparent in colour. Heavy sediment in the glass. Lovely nose of damp woodlands, earth and mushroom. Palate is tart, harsh, rather dilute, pencil lead, a bit green. A huge contrast between nose and palate so I guessed it was a Ch. Montrose from a bad year, choosing a really bad year- 1992. Got the year right! And I think this note fairly summarises the wine......very Bordeaux-like, great on the nose but not so enticing on the follow-through. I wouldn't buy this at the US$ 149 quoted.

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• 1992 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fay 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Deep purple, nearly semi-translucent in colour. Lovely fully mature nose of mushroom, earth and wet bracken. Palate is very sharp, cold but exceptionally precise blackberry. Uncontrovertabally a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Bordeaux blend but a bit dilute and green. Thinking Bordeaux, this is a tart, well-made offering from a very wet year......guess is Cos D'Estournel 1991 (because it's not even as good as the 1994). The nose pulled this up into 85-point territory for me. Many may rightfully feel I have damned this wine with faint praise.....especially at one-third the price of the 1992 Cask 23.

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• 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia 83 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Dark purple/red colour...white meniscus. Nose is earthy loam with fresh forest strawberries, red cherry, nail varnish at the back. Palate is dense, rich and chewy. My note reads "typical disappointing Burgundy palate" and I guessed it as a 1998 Morey St, Denis by a medium-level producer such as Jadot. Humblingly wrong, but humblingly interesting in a strict blind tasting because this is one of my seriously most favourite wines of all time. So it shows what I know.........

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• 1990 Opus One 84 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Dark,semi-translucent,semi-opaque deep red colour. Nose is reticent, distinctly ripe (2000?) touch of sweet soy sauce, rich but slightly unripe strawberries. Palate is young, tart high acidity, low tannin....almost had me thinking it was a Burgundy. The tannins became more pronounced with time in the glass and I ended up guessing it was a 1999 Bordeaux, possibly Sociando Mallet.

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• 1999 Opus One 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Deep red colour lightening at the rim but still opaque. Nose is closed but with distinct pencil lead. Good palate of rich black and red fruits and cedar woods. Tastes like a 5th Growth Pauillac or similar. Powerful, inky finish. I guessed it was a 1996 Haut-Batailley. Much better than the 1990 Opus One that preceded it.

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• 1978 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Inky brooding dark opaque colour. Inky tight nose. Reticent palate, heady and shows real class but way, way too young. It had me thinking 2000 or even 2005 then some hints of secondary and tertiary flavours began to suggest themselves in the background. Eventually I guessed that it was 1979 Haut Brion, in other words really classy and built to last. Not that far off!

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• 1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Served blind with no indication of age or country of origin. Last wine of 11 and I was a bit tired. My short note was that it was very good but a bit thin......but my wine of the night. I guessed it was Ch. Haut Brion 1983.

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In hindsight, I took the occasion a little too earnestly and suffered "exam anxiety" in trying to spot some wines correctly so that I forgot to enjoy them......and competely overlooked a gorgeous menu prepared by Chef Patrick.

At the end, it was a humbling experience to taste wines "really blind" where nearly everyone was well off the map on almost every wine........"of course, it's always that way", one of the group observed nonchalantly, "That's why we just kick back and enjoy the wines".