Tampa Spring Break (the abridged version)

Perhaps the beginning of the next great offline tradition? But ideally located on a weekend that isn't March Madness as at one point during dinner on the first night I had the UK game up on my phone to ensure that all was well with the world (of course Saturday night was less optimal in its outcome). This was a well thought out and well put together program by Mark, Jeff, and Larry and many kudos to them for putting up with all of the shifts and changes. I was a particularly bad actor as I didn't commit for sure to coming until the morning of, but the good news is I made it!

Sadly we had to miss Days 3 (QPR, Big Red dinner) and 4 (Berns dinner) as we headed back north for the wedding celebration of some good friends (Big Red night seems like a theme that was made for us... alas...).

What a truly fabulous place! The dinner here was excellent - esp that soft shelled crab which might have been the best rendition of that dish I've ever tried. Wines weren't bad either :-). My WOTN is probably either the Beaucastel Vieilles Vignes (quite happy to have a wine that broke from the theme a bit) or the 1985 Leoville Las Cases which was in prob the perfect spot right there.

APERTIF
NV Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Rose
(they also served a lovely gazpacho amuse bouche with many different flavors, but unfortunately didn't record that)

FIRST COURSE
Roasted butternut squash, fuji apple salead, burrata, hazelnuts, slab bacon, frisee, apple cider bourbon bliss maple vinaigrette

2011 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes

SECOND COURSE
Old Bay cornmeal cursted soft shell crab, black garlic malt vinegar aioli, crispy fingerling potato caper berry coriander chili salad

1999 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
1999 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne

THIRD COURSE
Seared pork belly, carrot pine nut israeli couscous, charmoula emulsion, tomato date jam, vadouvan crumble

2006 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays
2005 Frédéric Magnien Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

FOURTH COURSE
Filet of beef tenderloin, mixed marble potato leek corned beef hash, creamy savoy cabbage, grainy mustard Ip8 Beer Vinegar Jus

1985 Château Léoville Las Cases
1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
1999 Château Palmer

FIFTH COURSE
Chocolate hazelnut espresso terrine, white chocolate gelato, chocolate malt streusel, passion fruit syrup

1963 Sandeman Porto Vintage
1964 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional

• NV Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne

  (3/17/2016)

  Orange peel and strawberry and just a very easy drinking rose. Apparently this producer has been around since the 1850s. Starts with a red wine and adds the chardonnay to that before secondary fermentation to get the rose. Good start to the meal and went well with a gazpacho amuse bouche.

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• 2011 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes

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

  (3/17/2016)

  I always love this wine and this was no exception. Only about 500 cases are made every year. It's aged in a combination of stainless steel and small oak barrels. This is just rich and unctous and a total mouthful. Honeysuckle and glycerin and white flowers and a hint of lime. Softness in a glass. So elegant. Beautiful. One of my contenders for WOTN which is saying something given it's a white (I usually skew towards reds).

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• 1999 Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

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

  (3/17/2016)

  Tart apple, softer wine but with a nice acidity to it, lemon. This was a nice enough wine, but didn't really do it for me coming on the heels of the Beaucastel roussanne which is one of my favorite whites of all time. Then again, I'm not really a white burg drinker so that could also explain it :-).

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• 1999 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

  (3/17/2016)

  The second white burg of the night and while again I can appreciate that it is a well done wine, it's not quite my wheelhouse (chardonnay in general being a grape varietal I don't connect as well with). Very crisp, well structured, hints of lemon and slate. It's the perfect pairing for what is maybe the best soft shell crab dish I've ever had.

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• 2006 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru

  (3/17/2016)

  From the Cote Nuit area of Burgundy. Apparently this was a producer who was just so-so before 1999, but really stepped up the quality then. Very funky on the nose right out of the gate. On the palette though it's just hints of pepper and very deep and dark fruit. The person who brought this had decanted both bottles earlier and noted that one was ready for business from the beginning and the other was a bit more hesitant. This had the nose of ready for business, but it was still holding back on the palette. Could use more time.

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• 2005 Frédéric Magnien Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

  (3/17/2016)

  Much more herbal than the Clos des Lambrays we had right before this was green pepper and olive and leather and more of a just leafy component. Liked it, but again it was a very young wine and while it had been decanted for a few hours when we drank it, it prob needed some more time.

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• 1985 Château Léoville Las Cases

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

  (3/17/2016)

  My other contender for WOTN this wine was just in that perfect moment. It had been opened and decanted for a few hours and seemed to be at peak drinking level when we tried it (maybe even better than when we had it a few weeks ago). Still very fresh. Great nose, leaves and brambles and leather and floral. All very smooth and well integrated.

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• 1995 Château La Mission Haut-Brion

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  (3/17/2016)

  This just wasn't quite the La Mission's day - it was still pretty tight. I think it was also opened and decanted, but perhaps didn't quite get the time that it needed. It was still closed down as we were drinking it. Particularly noticeable given how spot on the timing for the Las Cases that came before it was at serving. Would hold for right now.

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• 1999 Château Palmer

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  (3/17/2016)

  Our contribution for the evening. I had no idea the Palmer was a third growth. Was up against some seconds (Las Cases and Mission Haut Brion), but felt like it held it's own. It's more fruit forward than the other two or maybe the fruit just hadn't faded yet. Fig, plum, sawdust, leather, earth. Very good. I thought the finish was a bit quicker than I'd have liked, but overall a nice wine.

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• 1963 Sandeman Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  (3/17/2016)

  It is funny that a 53 year old wine can be young, but this one was. Decanted for the entire dinner and still could have used some more time I think. The alcohol was a bit prevalent and didn't quite get time to blow off. Very young tasting and sweet. Good raisin flavors.

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• 1964 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  (3/17/2016)

  Wow is this a baby and just not quite ready for business. Decanted from 5:30 till around 9:30 when we were pulling it out and probably could have used another 12 hours. Was just a bit too much, but so much wonderful stuff there. Sweet currants that coat the mouth. Delicious.

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Blind tastings are a wonderful way to make oneself realize that there's much more to be learned about this hobby of ours. There were a lot of really wonderful wines in here. I was surprised at the number of people who opted for Syrah as the wine to bring, but interestingly enough I found myself enjoying those the most. Interesting line-up.

Top 5 wines
1. 1994 Guigal La Mouline Cote Rotie - MC2 Wines is the winner
2. 2009 Cayuse Bionic Frog
3. 1986 Chateau Y'quem
4. 2008 Shafer Relentless syrah
5. 2010 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo

Top 5 scoring blind tasters
1. Mindmuse
2. MC2_wines - Mike
3. Psirah_Tampa
4. MC2_wines - Chelsea
5. Matt Reynvaan

For me as I wasn't scoring our wines I really liked the 2006 Alban Reva and the 2010 Pegau Cuvee da Capo. Mike was most taken with the Champagne which was lovely. All very fun.

• 2010 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo

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

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #1: One of my favorites of the tasting. It was interesting - I thought it must be more northern rhone given how clean all of the flavors were and the low presence of alcohol. Actually, a completely different version than the Cuvee da Capo we tried a few weeks ago (which was a PnP from a magnum). This one had been decanted and rebottled. It was really lovely. Black fruits, smooth, easy, and elegant.

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• 2008 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #2: This wine had been decanted in the morning and then rebottled and served and I think it maybe could have used more time. It was a big wine. Almost red candied fruit in a glass. Very ripe, red currant, alcohol just there, hints of black pepper at the end. Amazing to see the difference between this one and the 2006 which was a bit more restrained. Would love to see this in some more years.

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• 2006 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #3: One of my favorites of the tasting, this was floral with black violets and great red fruits and just very well balanced and interesting. While it tasted a bit on the young side, the decant certainly had it in a nice spot. I enjoyed.

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• 2010 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender In the Rocks

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #4: So very clearly from Washington it just jumps out of the glass at you - all funk and meat and brine and olives and just very well pulled together. Perhaps the Marsanne in the blend which adds a kindof elegance to the Syrah.

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• 2006 Two Hands Shiraz Ares

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #5: Again some of the candied fruits in this wine (similar to wine #2 - the '08 Alban Reva), this was hints of white pepper and a bit of heat. Still a younger tasting wine - has more time. Tasty.

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• 2010 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Solari

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #6: Nice wine, medium alcohol (lower than wine #5 which was an Aussie Shiraz), heavy red fruits, good tannins. Tasted on the younger side. This didn't quite evolve in the glass as well as the others. Made me wonder if an extended decant wasn't needed or something to help it open up a bit. Was more on the tight side.

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• 2007 L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #7: Good red fruit, red currant, a touch candied. Feels like a younger and hotter vintage than some of the other wines.

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• 2005 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #8: red fruits, good age characteristics, this is a very tasty wine, but almost feels like it's missing something. I want a bit more evolution or something else to be going on than I get in some of the other wines.

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• 2010 Long Shadows Wineries Côté Nicault Stone Tree Vineyard

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #9: Slightly funky, leather, olive tapenade, lighter bodied than some other wines. In retrospect should really have known this was a Washington wine with the funk, but had guessed something more like a Jura. Change-up from the red fruit dominated wine that preceded it.

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• 1994 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #10: This won best wine of the tasting although I didn't vote on it as we brought it. Had opened and decanted/filtered prob an hour before the tasting and then rebottled. We also opted to pair it with some peppered roast beef as the first time I had this wine with a steak in peppercorn sauce and the combination was just killer. Here, the pepper may have overwhelmed just a touch although it was a nice one. The wine itself is black pepper, earth, leather, nice and aged. Yummy.

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• 2009 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #11: Took the advice of some of the note writers and decanted this for close to 4 hours before rebottling and serving later. This is classic Frog to me - it's got all of that funk and rocks but it's done in such a subtle and elegant way. I guess you could say the structure is just fantastic. Blueberry and meat and olives. Beautiful wine. I really enjoyed it.

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• 1986 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #12: we started this during the afternoon and finished during the evening tasting. This was such a treat. I actually drank it as my last wine of the afternoon as I skipped all of ours to try to taste the other wines with a reasonable palette. It's burnt caramel and orange peel and that amazing acidity that allows the wine to be lovely sweet and stay on the palette without being overpowering. The third favorite wine in the tasting although I'm not sure if I'd been voting (we didn't vote on own wines) this wouldn't have been my top.

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• 2008 Shafer Relentless

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #13: So much life in this wine, red fruits, great spice, I had the feeling that this needed a really long decant or a lot more time to show it's full potential, but hints of it were poking through. A touch of alcohol that I suspect would have blown off relatively quickly. It just kept getting better in the glass as we drank it.

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• 2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #14: Really almost unfair to score it. I hadn't realized the last wine was a white and so there were remnants of the 08 Shafer Relentless when I poured the glass. This felt more toasty and buttery than I really would have liked and without the bubbles on 15 to help it out. Not really my style although a well enjoyed wine by the group.

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• 2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut

  France, Champagne

  (3/18/2016)

  Wine #15: Very toasty, clear blanc de blanc, brioche and toast and very nice champagne. Mike was very taken by this one. I liked it quite a bit, but found it a bit on the tight side. We were some of the initial pours on this and it didn't have much time to come together. This is a champagne that isn't quite ready for business yet and I think it showed that, but it could be something really lovely with more time.

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Matt and Lauren graciously made their way down to Florida to visit with us and talk about some of the wines.

FIRST COURSE

Choice of:
Signature Salad - Romaine, field greens, granny smith apples, goat cheese, walnuts, sherry mustard vinaigrette
Lobster Bisque - Sweet corn fritter

ENTREES

Choice of:
10 oz Filet Mignon - whipped potatos, haricot vert, cabernet jus
Gerber Farms Amish Chicken - Ratatouille, lemon pan jus
Teriyaki Salmon - Shitake sticky rice, soy butter sauce
Blackened Florida Snapper - Sweet spoon bread, jalapeno corn tartar

INDULGENCES

Choice of:
Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake - graham cracker crust, blueberry syrup
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie - peanut butter mousse, bittersweet chocolate ganache, oreo crust

Was very interesting to taste through a number of wines in the Reynvaan line-up and especially some that had a few years of age on them (the 2008 In the Rocks makes me glad we've been laying ours down). Many thanks to the others who brought some other wines to share. Lots of good ones. Particularly enjoyed the 2010 Stonessence (many thanks to Larry for sharing), the 2012 Stonessence (many thanks to Matt for bringing), and the 2000 Bionic Frog.

There was a 2009 Delecta Petite Sirah, but I seem to have missed it so unfortunately no notes and we did bring out the 1986 Chateau D'Yquem again, but I didn't write a second note on that one.

• 2014 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Viognier In the Rocks

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Pretty fun to try this as we have a bottle coming. This is honeysuckle and white flowers and a great acidity. Very crisp and the kindof wine that you'll want to drink on a hot summer day. Really lovely. Small production - only 52 cases.

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• 2014 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Foothills Reserve

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Bright fruit, meat, funk, brine. I see this being very ageable. Also just really delicious. Glad that here again we have some bottles on the way.

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• 2012 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing

  USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills

  (3/18/2016)

  Very fruit forward, cherries, white pepper. Maybe a year and a half ago we tried a well aged Sea Smoke Southing and it was just fantastic. Would be interested to try this again in 10 years and see how it's going (we have a few bottles so may let one wait on the longer side).

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• 2010 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender In the Rocks

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Same wine that we had earlier in the day at the blind tasting. Very elegant, lovely, rocks, but a bit more balanced across flavors. Great floral. A bit richer than the Stonessence. I enjoyed it again.

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• 1995 Ravenswood Pickberry

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

  (3/18/2016)

  Still youngish although age comes through on the mid-palette. Some oak. Interesting wine and going stronger than I would have expected.

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• 2013 Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  (3/18/2016)

  I always love this wine and the 2013 is no different. Palette perhaps a bit more fatigued as it was a day with a lot of big reds, but the acidity, vanilla, honey, lime all came through. Not the same kindof standout as some other wines that night, but great white wine and glad we have more.

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• 2000 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Mint, eucalyptus, low tannins, very together, just in that right drinking window and ready to be drunk up. Excellent when first tried. After a few hours in the glass the wine wasn't quite as vibrant or pulled together.

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• 2012 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Stonessence

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Elegant and more contained than some of the other Reynvaan wines that we had that night. This is well structured, good rocks and meat, but hints of fruits as well. Very nice.

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• 2007 Ramey Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  (3/18/2016)

  Very fruit forward, red currants, needs a bit more time to calm down in the glass. A bit alcoholic at first. The very fruit-dominated wines showed a bit differently when surrounded by Washington funk.

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• 2010 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Stonessence

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Sweet fruits, rocks, briney, lovely. This wine was just a constant evolution in the glass and very interesting to try next to the 2012. This was perhaps in a more open and accessible place than that one, but both are great wines with an excellent future ahead.

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• 2008 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah In the Rocks

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Was fun to try one of these wines with a bit more age on it. Really seems to work for it. Potpourri and the rocks flavor. Excellent.

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• 2012 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon The Classic

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  (3/18/2016)

  Funky cabernet, fig, plum, olive, tapenade, lovely. Really enjoyable wine. It's got lots of the wonderful fruit flavors I expect from the cab, but then the rocks side takes over as well and add some more interest to the wine. We wishlisted a few of these after having gotten to try the Cabernet last year for the first time.

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Overall what an absolutely wonderful few days of wine tasting although hats off to those who did the whole weekend. We were moving a lot slower on Saturday. Some really wonderful wines tried - I think my favorites were (in no particular order) 2010 Pegau Cuvee da Capo, 2011 Beaucastel Vielle Vignes, 2008 Alban, 2010 Stonessence.

Thanks also again to the wonderful hosts who pulled together an impressive set of events and a great group of folks

Looking forward to next year (on the non-March madness weekend ;-))!