The Great Grapes of the World Tasting

A group of friends were interested in learning more about wine. So, four couples got together to explore, talk, drink and eat. About half the group were just starting to taste wine in a more serious way. I decided to bring an example of each of what I consider to be the “great gapes/wines” of the world. A fairly wide variety of food was prepared to taste through the evening with the various wines. The list was heavy on veggies, beans and mushrooms since two of the attendees are vegetarians. I chose to bring a bottle each of the following...For the whites... a Champagne (a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), a Riesling (a GG, from Germany of course), an old vines Pinot Gris (from Oregon), a Chardonnay (Chablis 1er Cru), a Sauvignon Blanc (from California, I perhaps should have done one from New Zealand but didn't have a good one handy) and a Chenin Blanc (from Chinon in the Loire Valley)...Also a Sauternes for dessert. As for the Reds I chose... a Pinot Noir (from California since I thought it would be easier for the group to appreciate at this point), a Sangiovese (Brunello di Montalcino), a Nebbiolo (Barbaresco), a Syrah (Côte-Rotie), then I chose a California Cabernet blend and an old Bordeaux to compare and contrast.

The evening was a bit of a "grazing" food wise. I brought some homemade sourdough baguettes with butter and/or Apollo California organic extra virgin olive oil (which is among the best olive oils in the world IMO). There was a variety of cheeses to try with the various wines all evening including an aged cheddar, aged parmigiano, smoked gouda, a Danish blue cheese and a tre latte Italian creamy cheese. Also available were broccoli rabe dressed in olive oil and garlic, amazing caramelized balsamic Brussels sprouts, coconut jasmine rice, shrimp and tuscan white bean salad. The best combinations varied by person but the shrimp along with the bean salad paired with the Chablis was spot on. Also the Riesling with the blue cheese I found to be very tasty and in several instances guests noted how the wine made the flavors in the food amplified and other cases the other way around (the plan was successful!).

• 2008 Edouard Brun & Cie Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  The lead-off wine for the evening, first of six dry white wines. Lovely toasty, yeasty champagne. Slightly apple accented with an undertone of citrus. Crisp and bright but a little short on the finish. A consistently great vintage from various producers I have had but this lacks the weight, depth and complexity of the best examples, though clearly is a better value in terms of QPR.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Dönnhoff Roxheimer Höllenpfad Riesling im Mühlenberg Großes Gewächs 94 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Second of six dry whites for the evening and for some of the attendees the first dry Riesling they have had. Other CT’ers have seemed to experience this wine as needing age and not at its best in one way or another but for me this was simply delicious. Yes it has bright (high) acidity but it is weighty and smooth with lots on complexity. Nose is white florals and stone fruit with no petrol edge. Finish is so clean and long. Tremendous purity. Several of those present who claimed to not like Riesling were blown away by how much they liked this. Certainly this will be long lived but if my experience turns out to be typical I think this will be more enjoyable young than the 2018 version.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2012 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris Original Vines 92 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

  The third of six dry whites tasted. Beautiful bright medium golden yellow color. Slightly creamy tropical fruited nose. Great rich mouthfeel with bright (medium+) acidity. Little to no sign of oxidation/age. Still quite fresh and young. Lots of mango, pineapple and guava flavors and a vanilla/cream undertone. Delicious with a coconut jasmine rice.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2014 Jean-Claude Bessin Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  The fourth of six dry whites poured tonight. Really refined and precise wine. Bright acidity but no hard edges. Lightly saline and crisp with green apple, lemon and a minerally finish. Nicely concentrated with a rich mouthfeel while at the same time showing good energy and freshness. Excellent with shrimp and my Tuscan bean salad but different (better) than the Sauvignon blanc also tasted with it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2017 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc 94 Points

  USA, California, North Coast

  The fifth of six dry whites poured tonight. At least one person at attendance thought this was their favorite by a mile. As always in my experience this was a lovely Sauvignon Blanc. Ever so lightly hinting at grassy and layered with rounded citrus fruit with grapefruit in the lead but it is a “sweet, round” ruby red with no bitter edge to it. Really smooth and delicious. Still very young and fresh and long on the finish. Excellent with shrimp and my Tuscan bean salad but different than the Chablis also tasted with it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2016 Domaine Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc La Croix Boissée 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Chinon

  Last of six dry white served this evening. Maybe a little palate fatigue but this didn’t shine quite as bright as the last time I had it. Great medium golden color, plenty of richness but a slightly muted nose. Perhaps attributable to the lack of time to breathe due to my neglecting to open it in advance. So, it was PnP. Flavors framed in a mineral casing with a melange of fruit like apricot, light citrus and peach. Moderately long finish but not as long as I remember the last bottle. I really think this suffered from the lack of air and with the group in "high gear" it didn't last very long.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Along with the things for grazing with the whites, we had several red wine oriented dishes...Pappardelle with shiitake, cremini and oyster mushrooms in a vegetable stock, wine, parsley, sage and cream sauce, sliced, grilled NY strip steak, marvelously unique black bean and mushroom burgers and perfectly grilled loin lamb chops with rosemary. Most notable were the Pappardelle and the Barbaresco (a classic), the Pinot Noir with the black bean burgers and the Cab and Bordeaux with the Lamb chops.

• 1997 Tenute Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino Vigneto Manachiara 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  First of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 8pm. The wine is a translucent medium ruby with a brick edge. Nose is quite fragrant with notable oak influence, even smells a little woody rather than the usual vanilla elements. Also there is cherry, tobacco, chocolate and later on lots of black licorice. Acidity seems still higher than average with some noticeable tannin but its mostly integrated. Slightly lean in body initially, later it is richer and rounder. Flavors include herbs (rosemary and lavender), mixed red fruit and an overall savory character. Finish is a little tart and has more of the black licorice/anise and is only moderately long. Overall a balanced, mature wine that is enjoyable but not likely to improve from this point. Good with pappardelle and mushrooms.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2016 Domaine Barge Côte-Rôtie Côte Brune 92 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Second of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 8:30pm. The wine is a bright translucent medium ruby crimson. The nose was fragrant, modestly oaky with vanilla, smoked bacon, menthol, cedar and just a little red fruit. Modest tannin and medium(+) acidity keep this food friendly. Palate has savory undertones along with saline minerality and fruits including cherry, blueberry, pomegranate and plum. Bright and energetic, this has good balance but was slightly sour on the fairly long finish initially but it disappeared later. Good with black bean and mushroom burgers. Probably a very long lived wine, at least a couple decades when it may merit a higher score.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Pio Cesare Barbaresco 94 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Third of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 8pm. This was the best bottle so far from an original case of which 2 remain. The wine was a bright translucent garnet with a slightly bricked edge. Nose is very fragrant...floral, spicy, earthy, red fruit, minerals...so very complex. Bright with acidity and still showing some tannic backbone. The texture is chewy and pretty rich. Also, this tasted surprisingly youthful with roses, game meat, cherry, charcoal and tobacco. Very long 30+second finish that was slightly bitter when first opened but was just more tobacco later. A balanced and energetic wine that seemed more youthful and delicious later in the evening and was particularly excellent with the mushrooms and pappardelle. While I don’t think this gets much better it should last easily another half decade or so.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2007 Saintsbury Pinot Noir Lee Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Fourth of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 9pm. Translucent bricked ruby initially but later darker and closer to garnet with most of the brick gone. Fragrant floral nose with sweet baking spices and red fruit. There is some acid backbone but later seems a little flabby despite its nice red fruited profile including red raspberry, strawberry, cranberry but lacked some secondary depth of flavor. Some present tasted some blood orange and watercress later in their evening. Finish was pretty long early but less so later. My last bottle and appropriately so I think. Nice paired with some grilled strip steak but even better with the black bean and mushroom burgers.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2001 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Fifth of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 9:30pm. Bright but dark garnet color with no bricking and a purplish hue. Nose initially was quite muted, though it did show vanilla, chocolate, sous bois, lavender, licorice and an overall herbaceous character later in the evening. Still structured and medium to full bodied. Palate had black cherry, black raspberry and cigar tobacco with a burnt ember sense on the rather long finish. Balanced and still holding together, I would put 50/50 odds on this having a chance for improvement still in the cellar. Excellent with grilled loin lamb chops with rosemary and grilled portobello mushrooms.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1985 Château Giscours 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Last of six red wines tasted this evening. Double decanted at 10am, tasted, then taken to a friend’s house for the event starting at 6pm. Tasted by the group closer to 9:30pm. To appreciate this wine you really need to like “old school” Bordeaux. While clearly more than a few years past its prime it was still instructive and interesting for the group, half of whom had never drunk a wine from the last century. This was medium bricked garnet...looked its age. The nose was very fragrant with sous bois, tobacco, cedar and leather. Palate was soft and velvety. It was savory and slightly medicinal but lacked any really identifiable fruit, especially when first opened, a little blackberry later in the evening.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

There were an array of desserts that were targeted to work well with the Sauternes. among them a ricotta cheesecake with apricot jam and some peach tarts which worked perfectly.

• 2014 Château de Fargues

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Unfortunately, this was the last of 13 bottles, 7 white and 6 red wines this evening. From 375ml bottle, I frankly don’t have any recollection of the specifics of this wine (Yikes!). I remember tasting it with a peach tart and liking it but that’s about it. Just had too much of a bunch of other wonderful wines in too short a period of time.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

As usual, my plan was a little too big and I know I had more wine than I had planned and totally don't remember much specific about the final flight. Nonetheless, it was a success all around. We all had fun and I think the attendees were allowed a chance to taste good examples of some of the world’s best types of wine along its some really good food pairings.