Blind Price Test

Our House (2033 Brandywine)
Tasted Saturday, November 12, 2011 by jrobs7777 with 695 views

Introduction

The concept here is straightforward. 4 flights. In each flight, the wines are from the same region or sub-climate -- we got as specific as we could based on what we had in our respective cellars. One wine had a retail price of approx, $20-30, one wine had a retail price of approx. $50+ and one wine had a retail price of approx. $100. The wines were either single blind or double blind.

Flight 1 - Non-Blind Starters (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Puligny/Montrachet (3 Notes)

The Leflaive was the consensus favorite here. The Chevy was a big disappointment. Unfortunately, it was my only bottle so it will be impossible to know whether this will one day evolve into something better. From one of my favorite white Burgundy producers, I'm not sure what to make of this.

  • 2005 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chevalier-Montrachet 90 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

    Mystified by this wine. It was tasted in a single blind flight with a Leflaive 07 Bourgogne and a Girardin 07 Folatieres. This was certainly not the top wine in the flight and arguably was 3rd. Scratching my head. Re-tasted and confirmed. Less depth and concentration here than even the Bourgogne. It had a good amount of green apple. Not much oak presence at all. Some cram and spice, and moderate acidity. However, this lacked punch on the palate and went out with a whimper on the finish. Really stunned when this was revealed. Maybe it needs time. Maybe I need to taste thru the Colin-Morey wines a bit more (although I really enjoy their lower end 1er Crus). Whatever the case may, this was a massive disappointment. We have a bottle of the 04 remaining.

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  • 2007 Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Bourgogne Blanc

    Definitely one to seek out. QPR even at the 35-40 price. Outperformed the Chevy and Folatieres. A surprise to everyone. Oily and viscous. Darker color. Fruity, spicy, floral and nutty nose. A lot going on. Nutty with subtle orchard fruits and almond or hazelnut. Its possible this may be a shorter term wine and is in a sweet spot right now. Very nice concentration and dept. Solid.

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  • 2007 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Lighter fruit profile. Light orchard fruit, mineral driven and a bit crisp. Floral note and wet stone. The Leflaive Bourgogne had more punch, depth and concentration. This was a more delicate wine.

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Flight 3 - California Syrah (3 Notes)

The Lillian had apparently just been bottled and shipped so that may explain why it was so disjointed. I did not score it. The Burgess is not recommended -- occasionally Burgess can produce a nice value wine. This is not one of them. Carlisle continues to excel.

  • 2007 Lillian Winery Syrah Blue Label

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    This had a very nice profile, but it was disjointed. We observed that it may be because it was recently bottled. It had some of the stuffing you would associated with a good syrah, but it did not taste right. It was not off by any stretch, but it was not all together. Deep dense fruit, mocha, but everything was not in its right place. Give this time to settle.

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  • 2005 Burgess Syrah Napa Valley 79 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Lease favorite wine of the night. It was very green. Lacked not only depth and complexity but it was very short on the typical Syrah notes. Dominated by green notes and too much acidity.

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  • 2008 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    A year since our previous bottle of this. Maybe it has mellowed a bit based on our previous notes. It has what I enjoy in a Carlisle Syrah. Their goal is not subtlety but at the same time, they do not seem out to make over the top wines. We had this double blind. Darker blue fruits, espresso like color, a touch of mocha. Good sweetness. I think the consensus appreciated this wine the most in the flight.

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Flight 4 - 2005 Left Bank Bordeaux (3 Notes)

The Pontet Canet needs more time, but it should be a stellar wine for years to come. The Cantenac-Brown is a very solid wine, although I'm a bit concerned that the initial reasons I enjoyed this wine so much may be fading as it becomes more secondary. Will have to wait and see what happens in a few years/

  • 2005 Château Haut-Beauséjour 86 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    In the 85-87 range. Lighter thin red fruit. Not a bad nose. Lacked concentration and complexity on the palate and was a bit disjointed. Red fruit profile. Good enough to drink but not a keeper.

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  • 2005 Château Cantenac Brown 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    This is showing some evolution from the last time I had it. It has moved from a lush more fruit forward wine to something a bit more austere, with some secondary development emerging. The nice purple fruit is still there, but this has a bit more of an earthy, tobacco and mineral type feel to it on the palate. A solid wine that should continue to evolve very well for the next decade at least.

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  • 2005 Château Pontet-Canet 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    With time, this is going to prove to be an absolutely stunning bottle of wine. Still a bit austere on this night. It took some time to open up. Darker fruit slowly emerged. Framed by fine tannins. Cocoa powder, dark berries and cigar box nose and palate. I was surprised because this was not a jammy fruit bomb as some have come to say about Pontet-Canet. There was good acidity to this and a touch of mineral cutting through the fruit. All in all, it was well balanced. The next bottle should not see the light of day for at least 3 years, probably longer.

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Flight 5 - Vintage Port (2 Notes)

This was an unfair fight. Simple as that.

  • 1997 Osborne Porto Vintage 85 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    In the 86-88 range. Not a bad example of a mid-level 97 vintage port. A much "redder" color and fruit profile than the 94 Quinta. Fruity and spicy, but there is a bit too much alcohol. Thinner than the Quinta, and it pales in comparison side by side. On its own, though, this would be a fine wine.

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  • 1994 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 94 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    This is a 94+ with miles to go. Right now it is a bit forward. Dark color. Chocolate covered dark fruit. Great depth and concentration. The alcohol is well integrated. Still very young. Fantastic port.

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