World Series Mondo Wine Event

Duluth, GA
Tasted Saturday, October 24, 2020 by Francophile1 with 258 views

Introduction

A great night with great people and spectacular wines. The most educational part of the evening for me was the pairing of the three 2002 champagnes paired with A5 Wagyu Ribeye Cap. The acidity of the champagne cuts through the creaminess & fat in the Wagyu beef. A perfect pairing and experience. Of course, all of the other wines in the line up were excellent, including the Leflaive Montrachet, which ranks as the 2nd best bottle of white wine I have ever tasted. The clear winner of WOTN was none other than the 1982 Pichon Lalande, which continues to be a legendary wine.

Flight 1 - Starter Wines (3 Notes)

Just enough to wet the palate

Flight 2 - Official Mondo Tasting Flight (12 Notes)

Served double blind. We were even blinded to our own wines and they were served in the exact same decanters so nobody could tell the difference between the wines served. Therefore, all bias removed.

  • 2014 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Riserva Falletto Vigna Le Rocche 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Tasted blind. At first I thought this might be a CDP, but then the tannin on the finish and high acidity signaled otherwise. High toned red fruits, high acidity, high tannin. This is a well balanced wine that was just opened far too early in its lifespan as this will be a beautiful wine in 10 - 15 years.

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  • 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted blind. This was up against an incredible roster of wines, but it destroyed all of them and was the clear WOTN winner. It is an absolute treat to taste this wine again. From beginning to end, it is as close to perfection as one can get. This still ranks in my top 10 of best wines of all time that I have tasted.

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  • 1990 Château Margaux 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Tasted blind. Could it be the order in which it was served immediately following the '82 Pichon Lalande or that it just wasn't the best showing of this legendary wine? I'm not sure which, but it lacked a soul during this tasting event. I was all over the place with my tasting notes. At first calling it a left bank Bordeaux, but then ending up in Bolgheri with either a Solaia or Sassicaia. Boy was I wrong. I was also not alone in my assessment as the group was confused by this wine as it did not scream where it was from in a blind format.

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  • 1996 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted blind. This took #2 WOTN and rightly so. While not as evolved as the '82 Pichon Lalande, it will eventually be as good with more age on it. It like trying to compare Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan to say who is the best player of all time. Nevertheless, I loved the nose that screamed "I come from nobility and should be served to kings & queens" and the classic Pauillac flavors on the finish went on and on. The nose was better than the finish in this tasting. I picked up an iron rustic character on the finish that should mellow out with more cellar age. Delicious!

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  • 1995 Château Cos d'Estournel 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Tasted blind. The past few tastings of this wine for me suggest it has hit its peak and starting the downslide. I have one more bottle in the cellar and will consume it soon. I thought this was right bank as it had more bright red fruit than black fruit and was a more feminine expression of Bordeaux leading me to believe it was more Merlot dominated. Disclaimer: The order this wine was served immediately following the 1996 Chateau Latour also could have negatively influenced my tasting note. Nevertheless, it is an excellent wine.

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  • 2009 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 90 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    Tasted blind. This followed an incredible line up of left bank Bordeaux, so as you can imagine, this was a 180 degree turn for the blinded palate. Super sweet in comparison, bright red fruit with a creamy vanilla like finish. High alcohol detected with an almost cherry liqueur finish. Some thought this could even be a cult Pinot Noir from California due to the sweet creamy finish. I respect it for what it is, but I wouldn't have brought this to a blinded wine tasting with a bunch of Francophiles.

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  • 2017 Olivier Leflaive Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Montrachet Grand Cru

    Tasted blind. Tied 3rd place for WOTN with '96 Mouton. This ranks as my #2 best bottle of white wine ever consumed next to the 2010 Jadot les demoiselles that I had a few years back. I could not believe it was so young once the wine was reveled because it was so delicious! Incredible wine that will be close to perfection with a bit more age on it.

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  • 2013 Faiveley Corton-Charlemagne 92 Points

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

    Tasted blind. A bold expression of Chardonnay from France. Surprisingly oily and buttery and one could confuse this for a new world wine because it is so massive. Side by side with the Leflaive Montrachet, I have to give it to the Leflaive only because the style is more in line with my palate.

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  • 1996 Château Mouton Rothschild 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted blind. This tied with the Leflaive Montrachet for #3 WOTN. My tasting notes state that while this is a noble and beautiful wine with a wonderful Pauillac nose, it is tighter on the finish that I would like. Having tasted this wine many times before, this was not the best showing of the '96 Mouton.

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  • 1961 Château Gruaud Larose 87 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Tasted blind. This was clearly the oldest wine in the line up. It was not bad, but it was tired and lacked fruit. Reading the other CT notes on this wine suggest that this bottle may not have been stored in optimal conditions during its almost 60 years of life.

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  • 1992 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Tasted blind. Touch of brett and Bordeaux funk with a touch of sweetness on the finish. This was thrown into the lineup as a ringer to fool the group, but the sweetness on the finish is what gave it away as California. Dominus from the '80s and early '90s are great ringers to throw into the mix to test one's senses. The nose is clearly Bordeaux and only a refined palate would call this California. I guess it didn't stump the group this time!

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  • 2012 Cappellano Barolo Pie Franco Otin Fiorin (Gabutti) 90 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Tasted blind. A very short tasting note... tight, young, tannic. This will be a great wine, but it needs more time.

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Flight 3 - Ultimate Food Pairing (3 Notes)

Who would have thought pairing amazing Champagne with A5 Wagyu Ribeye Cap would be the perfect food/wine pairing?

  • 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    What a pairing... tasted against two other 2002 legends: Cristal and Krug. What was even more interesting was the food pairing... A5 Wagyu Ribeye Cap. Who would have thought to put these two together? In fact, it was a perfect pairing of meat that melts in your mouth like butter and a high acid champagne to cut right through the heaviness. This P2 ranks up there as one of the best bottles of champagne I have ever tasted.

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  • 2002 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Tasted up against the 2002 Dom P2 and Krug. I ranked this #2 in the line-up and it paired incredibly well with the A5 Wagyu Ribeye (see Dom P2 note for more detail). Delicious!

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  • 2002 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points

    France, Champagne

    An excellent bottle of vintage champagne. I ranked this #3 next to the Dom P2 and the Cristal. Nevertheless, all three of them were delicious and perfectly paired with the A5 Wagyu ribeye cap. Fat + Acidity = Awesomeness.

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Flight 4 - End Of Night Debauchery (7 Notes)

Back up bottles and cellar diving.

  • 1977 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Tasted blind. Wow! Surprisingly, this still has life to it demonstrating well made wines from California in the '70s are fantastic.

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  • 1989 Château Palmer 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

    Tasted blind. This should have been served in the official tasting line up, but instead this was someone's backup bottle. This could have ranked in the top 3 wines of the night. It might have even edged out to the '96 Mouton. Fantastic showing, just a shame it came towards the end of the night when palates were fatigued. Moral of the story... serve your best wines early in the night.

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  • 1961 Château Cos d'Estournel 79 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Tasted blind. This bottle was not flawed, it just wasn't stored in optimal conditions for its 59 years of life. The fruit was gone and it tasted like a tawny port.

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  • 2005 La Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos des 60 Ouvrées 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru

    Served from a 1.5L bottle. I should have known better than to open this at the end of the night. Combining the brawny 2005 vintage Burgundy + 1.5L magnum = a great wine that is far too young to fully strut its stuff. Nevertheless, it is a great bottle that just needs more time.

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  • NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé 90 Points

    France, Champagne

    Consistently good and this time it came at the end of the night when palates were fatigued and needed a jolt. Love the 375ml bottles of this NV Rose.

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  • 2008 Moët & Chandon Champagne Grand Vintage 91 Points

    France, Champagne

    Similar to my prior tasting note. This is a baby Dom for 1/2 the price. A great way to end the night.

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  • 2006 Château Rieussec 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    And to cap off an amazing evening, we drank this notably mature Sauternes with Banana's Foster over Vanilla Ice Cream. While this would go better with Foie gras, it was still a nice way to end this World Series Mondo wine event.

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Closing

An incredible night of wines with great people!

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