HUB Tasting

Custom House
Tasted Thursday, November 20, 2008 by winefool with 597 views

Introduction

This was a tasting and dinner put on by Hub International, my insurance broker. Sandy Leon organized it with Custom House and Hart Davis Hart and as these bus dev / customer appreciation things go, this one was absolutlely first rate! A shockingly nice lineup of wines for what was essentially a non wine-geek event. Took Janet and sat next to Jim C. and Chris K. Manlin was on the panel as an expert presenter on the wines and he pulled together the last flight, which was served blind for us to guess the theme. Though the Alban threw me, I was able to pick it out.

The idea here was to pair a new world and old world example of similar varietal compositions and age with each course of the meal. An interesting concept. We started with a nice champagne which now escapes me...

Overall a really fun evening.

Flight 1 - Pacific Hamachi with mushroom vinaigrette and winter radishes (2 Notes)

  • 1997 Kistler Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

    Full golden color. Big forward oaky yellow fruit nose. Big oaky yellow smoky fruit on the palate. Holding up OK, but never going to absorb all this oak and balance out.

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  • 1995 Albert Morey Bâtard-Montrachet 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

    Full golden color. Lovely mineral fruit nose - very dense. Mmmn, nice round rich honeyed white/yellow fruit with plenty of mineral and a long finish. Good balance and acidity - much better with the food than the Kistler.

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Flight 2 - Blue Cheese Ravioli iwth brown butter and belgian endive (2 Notes)

Flight 3 - Braised Veal Cheeks with bone marrow and roasted root vegetables (2 Notes)

  • 1991 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Full red color with almost no lightening! Big forward red frui nose with huge green notes. Nice juicy round black cherry/currant fruit on the palate with integrated green notes. A lovely mature Caymus that is holding up better than I would have expected.

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  • 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Full deep red color. Lovely full briar black cherry nose showing cedar and pencil notes with just a hint of green and barnyard. Nice rich red/black fruit iwth round ripe tannic structure remaining. A nice mature bordeaux that probably still has some upside.

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Flight 4 - American Wagyu Ribeye Filet with smoked eggplant and oven dried tomato (2 Notes)

  • 2001 Kongsgaard Syrah Hudson Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Full opaque deep purple/red color. Huge nose of boysenberry with coffee notes. Big jammy coffee/tar fruit on the palate with a nice black spiciness. Did I mention big? 93-94 pts.

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  • 1990 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée 93 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Pale crimson red color. Wow, suprisingly nice nose of brown sugar spice and red cherry. Mmmn, nice red fruit with lighter concentration and a spicy finish. Nice for a Chapoutier (which are typically not my favorites). 93+ pts.

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Flight 5 - Assorted Cheeses (3 Notes)

  • 1997 Alban Vineyards Grenache Alban Estate Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    Blind. Soft round red color. Very ripe bing cherry nose with some red spices. Very spicy ripe black/red sweet fruit on the palate with a medium finish. Good acidity. I guess old world grenache as this did not have any of that superconcentrated tarry alban note at all. It was a shock to unveil, but a pleasant surprise - delicious.

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  • 1998 M. Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac 93 Points

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

    Blind. Soft round red color. Full spicy red briar fruit nose - bright. Big tighter red/black puckering fruit with spice on the palate and some black coffee on the bright finish. 93-94 pts.

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  • 2003 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

    Blind. Full red color. Forward nose of red fruit and barnyard with a hint of heat. Big spicy black fruit with hints of tar and black spice.

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