Dinner at MB at The Omphoy

Palm Beach, FL
Tasted Sunday, September 18, 2011 by rdsboca with 618 views

Introduction

We headed up via limo for a combo birthday celebration and Wine Club combo.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

A starter before dinner on the way up in the limo!

Flight 2 - Whites to Start (2 Notes)

France vs California - Old versus New

  • 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc 97 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Tied for WOTN for me. Wow! HOney suckle, delicate lemon curd and some stone and flint in the mid-palate. Finish had some almond and vanilla. I could have guessed aged White Burgundy. This wine was mellow without losing its oomph. Perfect balance. As night went on, it gained weight, had a fat mouthfeel and awesome minerality.

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  • 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    This was a crowd pleaser. Comments around the table were... "I'll take some of your allocation if you aren't taking all of the chards." And, that was from francophiles! Nose was toasted vanilla and lemon. This is a Top Dog chard with some white pear and georgia peach as a extra nuance. Finish with a nice green apple, not tart but juicy.

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Flight 3 - Burgundy at its best (2 Notes)

  • 1996 Louis Jadot Chambertin 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru

    Crushed stone, baked raspberry and some loam/mushroom. Yowsa! Chewy and bright young fruit. Red cherry finish. This wine is alive and kicking!

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  • 1987 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru

    I am actually going to give this wine a progressive wine score. It started as an 88 pointer and finished as a 94. At the start, it had a somewhat muted nose with lots of earth tones. It was musty and dusty, but not in a bad way. There was some underlying light red fruit. It had a thin mid-palate but a memorable finish. Did we mess up in the order by putting the DRC after the Chambertin? Most thought yes. It was somewhat overshadowed.

    Then, I revisited the last ounce or so that I hid from the waitstaff as they were clearing flights of glasses. Oh yeah, magic. The wine gained weight, the red raspberry pushed to the front and mid-palate and it became elegant and expressive. Was it monumental, probably not but a great change for a Burgundy neophyte like myself to try something special. I am often (strike that, always) intimidated when we drink Burgundy because I am dazed and confused by all of the things you need to know.

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Flight 4 - Cali Pinot In The House (3 Notes)

  • 2005 Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir Pommard Clones 84 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    This score of 84 needs to be kept in context. It followed to beautiful Burgundy bottles as we were transitioning to Cali pinot. I thought it would be a good experiment to add a lighter Cali Pinot as a "starter" before we hit Martinelli Blue Slide and Kosta Brown. Like an intermezzo. It was an epic fail! The light of the night was that it smelled and tasted like "a bathing suit left in a beach bag overnight." Sometime it happens. I think on its own, in a different context could result in a very different experience. I am not giving up on this wine and have one bottle left. Basically, an experiment gone bad.

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  • 2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Drank side by side with 2004 Martinelli Blue Slide Ridge. A battle of the 04 Big Boys. Martinelli delivered a Standing Eight. Not sure if it was a Knock Out, but tonight, the judges gave the "V" to Blue Slide. It was hotter than the Martinelli. Dare I say somewhat "lighter" than the Martinelli. Obviously, it is in the context of the two as I would never describe the wine as light. Big black cherry in a glass. I "clucked" the roof of my mouth after the first sip. You know, rub the roof of your mouth with you tongue in a big swipe. Like a tickle feather on the palate. Very enjoyable but played second fiddle tonight.

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  • 2004 Martinelli Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Against the 04 KB Kanzler, it won by a nice margin. More in balance and much richer. Purity of fruit was amazing. This has great stuffing. I thought to myself, "This is RICH, BIG and BEAUTIFUL." Black and red fruit up front with a mouth-coating finish.

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Flight 5 - Bordeaux versus Aged California (2 Notes)

  • 1989 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) 97 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    This tied WOTN for me. Nose of cedar, some cut grass and mature cherry. Great roasted cherry on the palate with bright acidity, some fresh kirsch and some young plum flavors. So well balanced. It was like drinking old and new fruit in a blend. Fascinating. The wine was rich and young overall. Some picked up some blue cheese on the nose and mid-palate but I didn't get that earthiness at all. I was focused on the laser-like fruit expression. This wine was close to Nirvana.

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  • 1997 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Tough to follow the 96 Branaire. Oh well, once again a context wine It was relatively disappointing because I had high hopes. They were somewhat dashed. It was a juice bomb. Nice dark chocolate on the nose with some mocha latte. Plum and black cherry on the palate but not as mature as I had hoped. The mature fruit just wasn't there yet. Mid-palate was very tight. This wine needs a ribeye. It was decanted for about two hours and didn't budge. Finish was flat, tannic and backward. I think it will resolve itself and if I owned more (I don't, boo!), I would revisit in three years. Maybe it was overshadowed by all of the other wines tonight, unsure. The 94 that I drank recently was quite memorable so I have hope.

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Closing

What an evening to remember. The question remains, are we better off drinking two bottles of the same wine to really spend time with the wine or have single bottles. Is less more?

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