Weekday Pizza Night at Brad's

Brad's House, Minneapolis
Tasted Wednesday, December 13, 2006 by Siggy with 695 views

Introduction

Brad England invited a group over for a spur-of-the moment "science experiment" / weeknight Spanish wine tasting. We blew through the Spanish wines in about 45 minutes, and then broke out the Chave, Pegau, and La Las... yeah baby! Served with Punch Neopolitan Pizza (a local institution) and an unreal proscuitto/field greens salad. Thanks to Brad and Diane for another unreal evening!

Flight 1 (11 Notes)

  • 1995 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° 90 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Tart. High-toned red fruit. Nicely developed tobacco/forest floor secondary notes. Smoke and tea. Some horse/brett. Seems to be about at its peak now.

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  • 1998 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Valbuena 5° 93 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    This was a clear step up from the 1995. Dark red color, with some amber. Heavy American oak on the initial nose. More primal than the 1995, with deeper, richer cherry fruit, smoke, forest floor, and leather. Very smooth. Quite tannic. Some horse/brett, but it stays in the background. Great stuff.

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  • 2003 Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 92 Points

    Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

    Saturated ruby/purple color. Very New World in style. Sweet, jammy purple fruit. Lots of oak/vanilla on the nose. Super-ripe red cherries. Sneaky tannins on the finish. Promising; needs a lot more time.

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  • 2001 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León Vendimia Seleccionada 94 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León

    Ruby red/black color. Killer nose of graham crackers and crushed black fruits. Smoky and powerful; rich and primal. The secondary characteristics are still in hiding at this point, but will undoubtedly emerge with more time. Amazing stuff.

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  • 1982 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 97 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Medium amber/brick red. Wow, this is super horsey and utterly sumptuous. Black cherries, barnyard, tea, and forest floor. Unreal nose. Incredible balance and freshness. Some soy and black olive notes emerge after an hour or so of air time in the glass. Amazing stuff!

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  • 1996 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Deep maroon color, with slight amber at the rim. Wow, this is delicious, horsey, and tight. Deep, rich, smoky black fruit. Tons of balsamic/soy. Silky and light in the mouth. Tannic. Huge upside here. It was fascinating to taste this alongside the 1982 Chave. I think the 82 is a better wine... but the 96 will ultimately taste very similar to how the 82 tasted tonight.

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  • 1993 Penfolds Grange 92 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    Nose of black truffles, soy, and balsamic. A touch of dill pickle/American oak. Rich black fruits, ripe blackberry fruit, and licorice. Still youthful, with grippy tannins on the finish. With an hour of air time in the glass, turned increasingly Port-like and pruney.

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  • 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque 96 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Pure purple color. Wow, huge smoky bacon on the nose, along with roasted meat/Texas BBQ/smoke. Rich black fruit, licorice, and some barnyard. Rich and expansive. Brad thought this smelled like Haut Brion, and darned if he wasn't exactly right...

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  • 1990 Château Haut-Brion 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Beautiful rich tarry/smoky nose. Kirsch and crushed smoky black fruits on the palate. The nose on this wine was killer, but I thought the palate was a touch green and short. This was very tannic, and may have been closed down. Still, an excellent bottle and one that steadily improved with air time.

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  • 1989 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée 95 Points

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

    Wow, super horsey! Hello, Mr. Ed! Surprisingly youthful, showing kirsch, high-toned red fruit, tea, and green olive. With some air time, notes of candied fruit, tobacco, and leather emerge, along with an interesting floral/lavender element on the nose. Still tannic, young, and tight. Amazing stuff!

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  • 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 99 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Wow, the nose just screams with meat, smoke, bacon fat, and olives! Massive layers of fruit; prodigious structure. Floral nose. Tobacco, charcoal, and tar, along with Provencal herbs and licorice. Unreal structure, minerality, and harmony. What sets this wine apart from the 88 La Turque, IMO, is the incredible freshness and brightness. The fruit is so fresh, it tastes like it was picked last week. Wow, this is an unreal, mind-blowing wine. Thanks Brad!

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