Wine tasting for friends

Tasted Saturday, October 14, 2023 by boillatm with 100 views

Introduction

I had always wanted to invite friends for a wine tasting and this finally happened on 14 October 2023.
I served two pairs of wines blind and had the guests try to guess where the wines came from, what the blend was, etc. before showing the bottle.
The last flight was served non blind as examples of older bordeaux.

Flight 1 - Bordeaux blends (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Château Mouton Rothschild 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Opened for four hours and then decanted for one hour. Served blind alongside Monte Bello 2009.
    Solid, elegant Pauillac. The guests noted how evolved it was for the vintage.
    Very good wine for sure, but it didn't wow me.

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  • 2009 Ridge Monte Bello 95 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Opened for four hours and then decanted for one hour. Served blind alongside Mouton Rotschild 2005.
    Unmistakably new world as compared to MR 05. Bold but not brash, lush, very long finish. Delicious to drink now.
    Wine of the tasting for me.

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Flight 2 - Syrah v Shiraz (3 Notes)

  • 2000 Penfolds Grange Flawed

    Australia, South Australia

    Overwhelming notes of canned tomatoes. Bummer

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  • 2000 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Opened for 30 minutes and then decanted for 30 minutes, which clearly wasn't enough. Was supposed to be served alongside a botlle of Grange 2000 that unfortunately wasn't drinkable.

    Nicely evolved with typical notes of blood and smoked meat. Kept evolving in the glass. I'd say drink now with a long decant.

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  • 2004 Rockford Shiraz SVS Hoffmann 93 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Bought at an auction. Perect condition.
    Pulled in an emergency from the cellar to replace a bottle of Grange that was flawed. Served alongside Le Pavillon 2000
    Very idiosyncratic wine, which led to lots of discussions among the tasters. Some of them thought it was OTT, others, like me, enjoyed the power of the wine and its youth.
    That said, it's true that it reminded me more of a high-octane Châteauneuf-du-Pape than a syrah from Northern Rhone Valley.
    After one night in the fridge, it had tamed and had become much more complex.
    So, yes, this is still extremely youthful and deserves a looooong decant if drunk now.

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Flight 3 - 1959 Bordeaux (2 Notes)

Closing

Very interesting, if not alway pleasurable (Grange!), afternoon. We got a good sample of great wines, of the effects of different winemaking and climates on the same varietal and of the disappointment induced by flawed bottles.

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