The Portland Crew with Tooch

Each gathering, even with familiar faces, takes on a life of its own. For me this tasting was notable for it's exceptional variety of different wines, and delicious accompanying food. Also, I love talking to people who are passionate about regions and styles that I'm not so keen on, or as I prefer to think, have yet to be enlightened. The Pichler certainly helped me further along the road to Riesling Groupie-dom.

Food: Half a dozen cheeses from the Cheese Iron and Whole Foods, including Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk and Winnemere. Perfectly rare filet mignon. A lovely and restrained salad of grapefruit supreme, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and asiago cheese. And a duo of sliced meats that surprised me with their depth and complexity (and that evoked earthy italian wines).

• 1996 de Venoge Champagne Brut Sélect Cordon Bleu 86 Points

  France, Champagne

  L+ gold in the glass. Nose of sweet apples, slight oxidative character, bit of almond, medium baguette. In the mouth, light+ bodied, clean flavors, pleasantly smooth mousse, strong citrusy acidity and a clean finish. Very classic champagne profile, and really brings something extra on the nose. 86-8

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• 2007 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Rully 1er Cru en Rabourcé Blanc 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte Chalonnaise, Rully 1er Cru

  One of my bottles. L+ straw green in the glass. Nose of light wood tones wrapped around a spritz of unripe pear with light melon undertones. In the mouth, medium bodied, with a gorgeous satiny texture, wonderful medium-intensity bitter wood wrapped around restrained but clear fruit. Not totally blowing me away but I'm very happy. Strong, clean, lactic acid on the finish. 90-92

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• 2009 Chateau Musar Musar Jeune Blanc 80 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Light gold. N: Floral pear with faint stinky bitterness, slight wax quality, lambic sourness - like a flemish sour ale. faint mushroom. P: Light body, strong tart acidity, a hint of fresh dirt, hollow on midpalate, keeps changing. Not delicious, but interesting and has good acidity. 80-82.
  
  40:30:30 viognier, vermentino, chard. $18

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• 1985 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre 90 Points

  France, Alsace

  L+ gold. Nose of strong fresh lychee with an undertone of peachy nuttiness (oxidative?). Palate: med body, dry, with med+ acidity, and med- bitterness. Some nuttiness on the midpalate gives way to a flavorful and clean finish. I like this wine. 90.

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• 2008 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich 92 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Decanted since morning! L+ gold. Nose: waxy, petrol, hint of rubber (reductive?), beautiful saffron and rice around lemon curd fruit. In the mouth: amazing fruit, ripping lemony acidity, Long finish. med body, med sweet but not overdone, an explosion of lemon-bar tartness with a hint of orange peel wrapped around a core of saffron. The balance is so perfect it's hard to focus on. effortless. 91-93 ~$160.
  
  Other people wanted a touch more acidity. Doug mentioned he wondered whether this could age without more acidity. I think it's perfect. I wonder whether I have a lower tolerance for this type of acid - malic than for cleaner lactic acid, e.g. in a full malo white burg.

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• 2005 Freiherr Heyl zu Herrnsheim Riesling Red Slate Spätlese Trocken 75 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  med- gold. spritzy green stemmy pear wax. Dry, bitter, light frizzante. Light body, med+ acid Not a fan.
  12.5% $15 soil = red slate.

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• 2009 Schloss Saarstein Serriger Schloss Saarsteiner Riesling Kabinett 70 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  Blind: Ultra light gold. Soapy - light detergent without the melon in moscato. Light dusty/kitty-litter sensation. Faint lemon spritz. Sweet in the mouth with light body, med sweetness, low+ acid. Very reminiscent of a moscato structurally. not a fan of this style and low acidity.

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After a heartbreaking corked '06 Teachworth, the '01 easily lodged itself in my memory as the best California Cab I've ever tasted. An increasingly familiar friend, the '94 Musar did not fail to disappoint. In other news, a Syrah masquerades as a Beaujolais...

• 2002 Domaine Michel Gros Nuits St. Georges 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  Med- ruby, Nice aged preserved meat on the nose. Pinot funk. mushroom. slight charcoal. Bright cherry core. P: medium body, savory, delicious fruit, clean finish with bright acidity. Delicious! 85-88

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• 2005 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Fort Ross Vineyard 80 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Dark murky purple, intriguingly strange/slightly artificial nose of liquorice, meat, blueberry bacon syrup. Doesn't resemble a pinot to me, but then I haven't had too many sonoma pinots. Med+ body, overripe and plush but with strong tart acid. 80.

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• 1994 Chateau Musar 90 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Light garnet. Nose is... delicious musar. acetaldehyde, tamari soy sauce around rich fruit. Just a tad high on the VA gives the nose an overtly "glassy" sheen to me. Smelled oxidized to some - I agree, but unusually for me it didn't inhibit my enjoyment of the flavors. Maybe it's something special about Musar, or maybe I'm so familiar with this wine my brain is filling in typical tastes. Light brett. Beautiful. In the mouth savory tamari fruit with brett. Typical medium-body effortless balance. There aren't many producers that I've tasted as much as Musar. Certainly none have been more fascinating, and more pleasurable. If my tasting notes are a bit sparse on this wine, it's only because my memory and imagination can easily fill in 90% of the experience.

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• 2007 Finca Decero Amano Remolinos Vineyard 86 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo, Agrelo

  Blind Red:
  Dark ruby. Light IBMP. Savory warm light chicken hints (?!). Some herb and espresso (oak). P: Full bodied, nicely textured medium tannins. Definitely some new oak. New world. Spain? Good acidity. My guess: Aussie cab-petit verdot blend. 86-8. I used to be more excited about this type of oak integration - especially in Ribera del Dueros and similar modern-style Spanish wines. Maybe it's wearing off on me.
  
  Actually: Argentina. 60:35:3:2 malbec/cab/petit verdot/tannat
  
  Got Cab/PV right! kinda random guess though.

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• 1996 Yarra Yering Dry Red N°1 75 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Blind Red from Doug:
  Med garnet. Ripping fresh IBMP (raw cut bell peppers). Med body, tart and juicy with med+ acid. Thin and not-too-ripe fruit. 75. Guess: South America Carmenere.
  
  note: Yarra Valley is the coolest climate in Victoria, which is already one of the coolest climates in Australia. Doug wasn't happy with how this showed. Should have guessed it was old from the bricking around the rim, though it tasted fresh and young (if unripe).

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• 2008 Alpha Box & Dice Dolcetto Dead Winemakers Society 60 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  My second wine. A total gamble. Cherry and high alcohol on the nose. Big, ripe, and over-oaked (it's registering as sawdust for me). Full bodied, high alcohol, med+ acidity that is probably fake, low+ tannins. 14.5% allegedly. Yuck.

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• 2004 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino Flawed

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Med garnet. Oxidized.
  
  Note: I notice from my notes this is the second time I've tasted this wine, and both times I thought it was oxidized. The others are probably right that this isn't a unique bottle flaw, however I'm pretty sure its oxidized to some extent. Whether you consider it a fault in the wine is subjective. Were it in Musar I probably wouldn't mind. However here it seems out of place, and certainly not pleasant. For my palate, this wine (probably all bottles) is slightly faulted.
  
  Back in '08 I tasted three other argiano wines at the Vias trade tasting, and one of them, the '04 solengo, smelled a bit oxidized. At the time I chalked it up to lingering effects of an oxidized wine I'd smelled earlier (it tends to stick in my palate), but now it seems like a slight coincidence that all three wines are from '04. Not statistically significant for sure, but enough to make me suspicious of Argiano's vinification style.
  
  Note: Roy Richards' minority tasting note from World of Fine Wine:
  Roy Richards: Reductive and maybe faulty – revisit it. The dried out palate would tend to confirm this is corked, albeit slightly. Second bottle also in the same bitter vein, so probably TCA.

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• 2006 Teachworth Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Blend Flawed

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  Corked. Much sadness.

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• 2007 Trinity Hill Syrah 80 Points

  New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay

  Sara blind:
  Med+ ruby. Bananas, Bright raspberry, carbonic maceration, hint of baked fruit. In the mouth, tart, ripe, with med- body, med acid. Juicy and simple. Beaujolais? Matt+Doug guessed '09 Beaujolais. Strange that this is a syrah. Seems entirely atypical.

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• 2001 Teachworth Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Blend 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  Medium+ garnet in the glass. A very ripe nose of rich blackberry liqueur with faint hints of brett. The nose is like dark obsidian on amber, with all the co-reflections that implies. Insinuations of tamari. A delicious wine in the mouth, medium+ bodied, with warm spices, med+ tannins, med+ alcohol, med+ acid. Beautiful flavors and major yum factor. A little cedar, but I don't mind the plain wood in this case - it seems to work in context. Very interesting to boot. In fact, it's reminiscent of musar to me. WOTN. 92-95. ~35 cases!!!

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• 2006 Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Vineyard 83 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill

  2.5 barrels. 14.8% alcohol. Dark saturated purple. med IBMP, smells like baked peppers. Thin over-cooked bell peppers with espresso. Med+ tannins, high alcohol, full body. Alcohol is showing through. Balanced acid, fleshy mouthfeel, extracted and impressively powerful. Not much flavor or elegance to win me over though.

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If I could meet my 21-and-2-month-old self, a new wine drinker with strong prejudices, I would say: "Get over yourself and drink sweet wines! They can be heart-stoppingly delicious while still being complex!"

• 1995 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont 86 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Medium gold in the glass. Beautiful wax, petrol, toast on the nose. Med sweetness and good acidity - some tartness and some clean lactic. Delicious honey waxiness in the mouth. Pretty good. Doug had higher expectation. 86-8

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• 2002 Schoffit Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St.-Théobald Vendanges Tardives 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Matt's bottle. Medium copper in the glass. A transfixing nose of wax, deep mouthwatering pear, honey, saffron, orange peel, and japanese rice. Unbelievably seductive on the palate. Rich, sweet, balanced. Goes fantastically with cheesecake and Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk. $70. 92-94

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• 2003 Umberto Cesari Albana di Romagna Colle del Re Dolce 82 Points

  Italy, Emilia-Romagna, Albana di Romagna DOCG

  Light copper-ruby in the glass. Kind of like a sweet sherry. Alcohol city on the nose. Super high alcohol. More restrained than I'd expected on the palate. Similar to a tawny port, but with sherry aspects. It's ok. Albana is the grape variety.

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• 1967 Antinori Vin Santo Rosso Toscana IGT 90 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  It's not every day you get to taste a true crapshot of a wine. Older than I am, from a dead appellation (or at least, one that no longer makes red wine), this could have been horribly over-the-hill. But it wasn't.
  
  Dark brown in the glass. A dark, sweet, dignified nose, with milk chocolate hints - strongly resembling banyuls. Beautiful balance of sweetness and refined acidity, with fresh(!) fruit and chocolate on the palate. Similar to Trader Joe's chocolate-covered figs stuffed with port-infused chocolate. Gorgeous. 88-91.

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Wine of the night: Easily the '01 Teachworth, with the Pichler in a close second. Granted I don't go out of my way to taste Cabs or Rieslings, but I was still delighted that each wine demolished my previous benchmarks for the varietal by a full three points!