Wine Pot Luck 03 Chave, 90 Lafite, 85 Groth Reserve et al
Tasted Thursday, January 11, 2007 by DelYap with 1,549 views
Introduction
The usual suspects converged for the first of what we plan to be regular wine dinners. There were eight us. No theme tonight just bring a few bottles.
Flight 1 (13 Notes)
All wines were basically opened and put on the table and everyone just grabbed and drank whatever they wanted. The order below was sort of the order some tried the wines in.
2003 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese 90 Points
Germany, Nahe
Very young and in need of at least 10 years of bottle age. Nice acidity and bright fruit flavors. Not overly complex but enjoyable.
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1975 Dr. Zenzen Valwiger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 92 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
This was from a 70cl so a little odd with the bottle size as I also have the 1976 and it is in 75cl format. Nice aromatics and it had a pleasing musty petrol tinge. On the palate the wine still had great acid balance and nice mouth feel.
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1967 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 97 Points
France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
We opened this at the table and JP poured a bit to test it. His initial comment was "oh it's bitter" and I thought oh great it's corked. What he meant was oh wow it's bitter in a great aged Sauternes way. This wine was just gorgeous. The nose was baked caramel, on the palate this was like bitter condensed Grand Marnier.
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1961 Château La Gaffelière Naudes 87 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This was was opened at 4 o'clock for an 8 o'clock dinner. When I first opened this I thought this was gone, not corked just dead. Well I left it in the decanter and took it to the restaurant for the others to try. Well I couldn't believe how much weight it put on after being decanted for 4-5 hours. Most thought I was crazy for opening a bottle this old that soon, but trust me if I hadn't this wine would not have been as enjoyable. Not much fruit left, but still enjoyable. At the end of the evening the wine had developed some additional weight and Ray commented that you could see the power of the vintage.
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1985 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Impressive California Cabernet and an interesting story on how Ray acquired the wine direct from the winery. He had purchased these in 1988 direct from the winery after Parker had given it 100 points. According to Ray the first California Cab to receive such a score. Kinda cool that the bottle was signed by both Nils Venge and the owner of Groth. This really tasted younger than it was as Ray likes a super cold cellar. Medium bodied wine that was incredibly balanced.
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1985 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 85 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This was very lean and compact and for me not very enjoyable. I do not care for wines that are austere like this and was looking for the dump bucket fast.
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1999 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
This Chave was right between the three we had tonight. Not just in vintage but also in style. While no where near as flamboyant as the 2003, it was immensely more pleasurable than the 1985. I don't think that a few more years of aging would hurt this wine, but based on table consensus we all felt that it would not get better. Medium bodied with a moderate finish. This wine was probably handicapped by being served in the company of the 2003.
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2003 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 99 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
WOW, this wine was dark like midnight and smelled like a New World Shiraz or Zinfandel. Some thought I had replaced the wine with a Turley Hayne, until they tasted it. Incredible minerality and loads of licorice on the finish. This wine was just unreal and it will be hard to keep my hands off my remaining stash. There was one dissenter at the table who thought the wine was just too freakish and not what he thought a Chave Hermitage should be.
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1999 Château Haut-Brion 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A medium bodied wine that got better as the evening progressed. Not decanted just popped and poured. I spent the least amount of time tasting this but recall thinking I must buy more Haut Brion. This needs another 10 years or more.
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1990 Château Lafite Rothschild 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Amazing that this wine had been stored in my girlfriends closet for seven years. I expected it to be done, but it was still young and powerful. Classic cedar and sandalwood nose with lead shavings on the palate. If I had more I would not open another for 15 years. I can't imagine how slowly properly aged bottles would be progressing.
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1990 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 95 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
This is the third time I have had this in the last three moneths and this was just as good as the other bottles. Dead ringer for Bordeaux and a testament to the great wines Mondavi used to make. Didn't quite have that silky mouth feel that I've experienced in other bottles or vintages of this wine, but this was a much younger tasting example. Cedar, cigar box and just a touch vegetal, but not enough to turn me off like the Togni cabs.
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1996 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 84 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
I must preface this with the knowledge that I do not enjoy Togni's wine. I just don't like herbaceous characters in my cabs and this always has it in spades. Right from the nose to the finish this was like cooked asparagus or green peppers. We opened both the 1996 and 1992 and both were downright unenjoyable. I am not a fan of most Spring Mountain cabs.
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1992 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 84 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
I must preface this with the knowledge that I do not enjoy Togni's wine. I just don't like herbaceous characters in my cabs and this always has it in spades. Right from the nose to the finish this was like cooked asparagus or green peppers. We opened both the 1996 and 1992 and both were downright unenjoyable. I am not a fan of most Spring Mountain cabs.
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