Wednesday Night Blind - February 2011

"A Very Civil War" - The monthly club met yet again and the theme was determined to be a war between North and South, a war not born of politics but of grape varieties as Northern Syrah battled against the onslaught of Southern Grenache, Mourvedre and the hordes from Chateauneuf du Pape in the battle of the Rhone. I love Rhone wines and it was fun to pit the vastly different styles against each other. The wines were served non blind. These wines matched up very well with my rib cap appetizer and surprisingly well with the blue foot chicken that was absolutely succulent.

• 1989 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Sadly, something was "off" with this bottle. It wasn't corked, wasn't cooked, but was thin, shrill and void of pleasure. Truly a shame as this would have been a real treat, I've had this wine in the past and it's been terrific.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Guy Bernard Côte-Rôtie 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Very light color, nice floral nose, some lively strawberry fruit at first, then some smoked meat notes finished with some mixed spices and garrigue. I enjoyed this more the longer is sat in my stem and it never faded, a very well made wine. This was pop and pour at the table and this wine had been in my cellar since 2001.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1999 Bernard Burgaud Côte-Rôtie 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Much darker than the '99 Guy Bernard I brought, this was pouring a near brick red color. Tasted obviously younger and a bit more vibrant as well. Lots of beef blood notes, a good mix of spices, wildflowers and some cracked black pepper. A really enjoyable wine, well structured, nice finish. Well made.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2003 Pierre Gaillard Côte-Rôtie Rose Pourpre 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Dark crimson color, huge nose of roasted nuts and coconut, a tremendous wine but impeccably balanced, loads of black fruit and roasted meats, olives, plums, hazelnut, and liquid smoke. This was my favorite wine of the night if I had to pick one wine from the table to drink every night for a week. I liked the 07 Quet just a tad more, but only because it was a slutty, hedonistic wine, I couldn't drink it every night though it didn't carry the same sense of balance and purpose as this lovely wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2005 Tardieu-Laurent Cornas Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

  Black color, huge nose of blackberry compote, notes of plums, blackberries, roasted coffee, very jammy and rich, notes of new oak. Very enjoyable, could pass for a California Syrah.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2003 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  I love Beaucastel, this was a bit atypical to the lineage as it was very "New World" in my opinion, not that that is a bad thing for me, lots of ripe fruit, grilled meat, only a hint of barnyard funk, a really enjoyable wine overall.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée du Quet 95 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Holy crap Batman, hold on to your utility belt! This wine pours black as night, has a HUGE nose of Christmas spices, fresh baked sugar cookies and stewed plums. This is a big, intense wine that is all about carnal pleasure, there is no thinking required while drinking this, just buckle up and enjoy the wild ride. Huge notes of persimmons, violets, black raspberry, plums, powdered cocoa and a hint of vanilla. I would have deemed this wine of the night save for the sensation of some heat, despite the claim of just 13.5%etoh (highly doubtful), which would wear on my palate if I drank more than a few glasses. The "Rose Pourpre" could be drunk all night long without any fear of palate fatigue. This is a wonderful experience though, just not sure how RMP came up with the notion that this was a "perfect" wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Overall, I believe the "Northern" wines garnered more support from the tasters whilst the South had a really big gun. My pick for WOTN was a tough one, as I loved the purity and balance of the Rose Pourpre and I also loved the sluttiness and unapologetic hedonism of the Quet, so I had to go by which wine I'd drink every night for a week if forced to, and thus the Cote Rotie won out by a hair. The '89 Vieux was a dissapointment, as I was really excited to see it in the lineup, and the cork and capsule were in perfect condition. The wine was just dead for all intents and purposes. Lance tried to revive it by pouring it into a decanter through a Vinturi, but it was all for naught. It was a great time and as always we had fantastic food and laughed like idiots all night. Next months theme will be "Wines of Washington".