Chicago Wine Flock...Blind Tasting Reserve vs Regular Wines

"Chateau La Grange" - La Grange IL
Tasted Sunday, June 5, 2016 by Burgundy Al with 548 views

Introduction

The idea was to compare the regular cuvee of certain wines from around the wine with various interpretations of their "reserve," whether it be a vineyard designate, old vine cellar, or barrel selection. The ten glasses of red were in random order, but I am sequencing my notes by pair. The final two red wines had flawed pairs, so were on their own.

Flight 1 - Blind Champagne to Start (2 Notes)

  • NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru VP 91 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Disgorged July 2014, 72 months on lees. Majority (60-70%) Pinot Noir. Extra Brut. Tasted blind. Showed subtle apple and red berries with an rich yeasty, bready character, some roasted notes and mint. Top notch concentration.

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  • NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Tradition Brut 89 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Tasted blind. Disgorged July 2014, 48 months on lees. Majority (60%?) Pinot Noir. Good concentration and textures with both strawberry and apple. Also somewhat bready/ yeasty. Good textures, moderate finesse.

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Flight 2 - Reserve vs Regular Reds, 1986-1995 (10 Notes)

  • 1986 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted double blind. Black fruit, nicely mature with licorice and tobacco. Slightly smoky and earthy. I thought this Bordeaux from the mid 1980s.

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  • 1986 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 85 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted double blind. Tired, all earth, some good mushroom. An odd, slightly herbaceous finish. At first I thought this was something like an old, tired 1970s "Claret," but was confused in context of the overall flight.

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  • 1990 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino 87 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Tasted double blind. Ripe red and black cherry with faint spice. Ok textures, moderate weight and finesse. Did not find this classically Brunello, in fact thought both Banfi 1990 Brunello cuvees were Cali cab. Not a group favorite tonight.

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  • 1990 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Poggio All'Oro 89 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Tasted double blind. Black fruit with moderate weight. Simple structure upfront, more acidity emerging on finish. Fruit was ripe and fully mature. Also didn't seem remotely classic Brunello, in fact I thought both Banfi 1990 Brunello cuvees were Cali Cab.

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  • 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Tasted double blind. Mature black fruit with cracked black pepper and overall very good balance. Was able to identify these 2 as the Côte-Rôtie pair, but was very surprised by how advanced it showed for 1995.

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  • 1995 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Tasted double blind.Black cherry nose and palate with black pepper and licorice. Started forward and mature, finished with more firm structure. Was able to identify these 2 as the Côte-Rôtie pair.

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  • 1990 Moulin de Duhart 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted double blind. Nicely mature black cherry and plum with tobacco. Simple but very nicely balanced. I liked this wine, but group oddly found it the #1 WOTN. Good now. I was able to identify these Bordeaux bottles in this flight correctly, as did most of the group tonight.

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  • 1990 Château Duhart-Milon 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted double blind. Ripe and fresh black plum and berry. Subtle spice with good structure and length. I was able to identify these Bordeaux bottles in this flight correctly, as did most of the group tonight. My WOTN, group's #2.

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  • 1988 Serafin Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 80 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin

    Tasted double blind. Fully mature black fruit that also came across as slightly sweet and madeirized. Well beyond its "drink by" date. I thought this 40 year old Cali Pinot Noir, until told the only Pinot in the flight was from Burgundy. Showed no signs of what I expect from 1988s. Although I have little experience with Serafin 1988s, I had the Fontenys 1988 1er a decade ago and found that already to be tired in 2005, so I now have two data points....

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  • 1990 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Gran Reserva Pesquera 91 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Tasted double blind. Rich and opulent, this certainly came across as the youngest wine served in the flight. Big spice start-to-finish, this is clearly quite modern and oaky, but with the fruit quality and concentration to have retained great balance over this quarter century. Not too tough to figure out as the Ribera dek Duero, given the regions of what we told was in the flight.

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Flight 3 - 1990 Sauternes to Finish (2 Notes)

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