Our first blind of the afternoon, supplied by Joe Gallo. Dark purple in colour, with a nose of dark fruits (blueberries, blackberries), pepper, flowers, earth, crushed stones, and flowers, with a hint of citrus. On the palate, dark fruits, citrus and mineral, with fairly low tannin and medium acidity, making for a somewhat of a clipped finish. From what I recall, everyone in the group was headed towards Crozes-Hermitage or Lacrima Di Morro D’Alba on this one. I opted for the latter, which proved to be incorrect. Being the awesome guy that Joe is, he disappeared momentarily, and returned with a Lacrima Di Morro D’Alba for us to compare with. Having both in front of me, it was like night and day. Joe referred to Lacrima Di Morro D’Alba as being almost like a caricature of Crozes-Hermitage, with all the elements being jacked up. I know I’ll never make this mistake again in blind tasting.

The second blind of the afternoon, pulled by Joe Gallo. Murky garnet in colour, with some bricking at the rim. This one had a nose of dark fruits, plums, truffle, spice, undergrowth, chocolate, cigar box and a green streak, characterized by green tobacco and celery. This prompted a lengthy discussion on pyrazine. On the palate, dark red fruits, spice, earth and leather, with fully integrated tannin, and a decent amount of acidity. I had some sediment in my glass, so I gathered that this had some age on it, although I was headed to Italy with my guess, due to the higher than normal acidity for Bordeaux.

The third blind of the afternoon, once again, supplied by Joe Gallo. Dark purple in colour, no signs of fading at the rim of the glass. A big nose of dark fruits (blackberries, blackcurrants, black cherries), bandaid, game, earth, tobacco and spice. On the palate, many of the components from the nose were echoed, with dark fruits, spice and earth. Lengthy finish, with a moderate amount of tannin and acidity. I can’t recall where I was headed with my guess, but I don’t remember being correct here.

The fifth blind of the afternoon, supplied by Patrick and Dave. I realize I missed the 4th, but I have no specifics, other than it was a Malbec. Heavily oxidized.

The sixth blind of the afternoon, supplied by myself. Dave suggested I bring it, and I figured it would be good for a blind tasting as most of us could evaluate without the price tag attached to the wine. Being the first truly “expensive” bottle of wine I’d ever purchased, I held a bit of an emotional attachment to this one. Upon opening, I was certainly a little disappointed. Still an inky dark purple in colour, this had a huge nose of blueberry, blackberries, espresso, licorice, crème brule, vanilla, earth, mint, eucalyptus and hints of tobacco from the small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. On the palate, dark fruits (blueberries, plums), caramel, with a long, smooth, supple finish. Very well balanced, with exceptional contrasting acidity to the sweetness of the ripe fruit. Still a bit of tannin to shed until it hits it’s absolute peak, but drinking surprisingly well now. An extremely well made wine, just not what I’d hoped it to be.

The seventh blind of the afternoon, supplied by Patrick and Dave as a replacement to the previously flawed La Chapelle. We seem to have run in to some tough luck here, as this bottle seemed off too. Practically undrinkable, this was very acidic and astringent in the mouth. Dumped in favour of other wines

So after rolling through seven other blinds, Mark arrives with yet another blind for us to sample. Being very vocal as to what his tastes are, we figured we had this narrowed down to a few regions. In the glass, heavy bricking at the rim is apparent, so we’re guessing that there is quite a bit of age on this. One sniff of the nose confirms this; very secondary; mushroom, earth, decomposing leaves, leather, spice and in the distance, black cherries and flowers. On the palate, black cherry, tea leaves, with some ripping acidity going on. I headed to Italy with this guess, as I thought for sure this was aged Nebbiolo. My second guess would have been to Burgundy, but never would I have guessed Northern Rhone. For my tastes, I think this was a little further on in its evolution than I would have liked.

Ruby red in the glass, with a slight fading at the rim. Nose of cherries, spice, cranberry, citrus, orange rind, pomegranate, ginger, and a slight floral component. Over the course of the evening, a truffle note also emerged. On the palate, tart cherries, cranberry, tea and mineral. Lovely high acidity, fairly low tannin, exceptional balance; elegance in a glass. While the nose gained greater complexity over the course of the evening, air did not do the palate any favours.

Dark deep ruby in the glass. A wonderfully powerful nose of dark fruits, cedar, leather, graphite, humidor, crushed stone, mushroom, coffee, undergrowth, earth and florals. Over time, a green steak emerges of peppers, menthol and green tobacco. On the palate, dark fruits, cassis and earth. Well balanced with medium acidity and mild lingering tannin. Focused, yet complex. Lovely.

Deep dark purple in the glass. Upon first sniff, disappointment strikes. On the nose, huge menthol component, dark blue fruits, vanilla, oak. On the palate, dark fruits, earthiness and caramel. Incredible smooth in the mouth, with a nice acidic balance. Certainly a pleasure to drink, but overall, a massive let-down for a La Landonne, even in an “off” vintage. The complexity just wasn’t there for me, and neither were the trademark Northern Rhone characteristics.

Ruby red in the glass. A beautiful nose of black cherries, coffee grinds, vanilla, gravel, spice, tar, licorice, menthol and iron. On the palate black cherries, currants, earth and iron. Nice long finish with quite a bit of tannin remaining, with balancing acidity. Well rounded.

Deep garnet in the glass. Elegant nose of plum, cherries, cassis, flowers, graphite, mushroom, chocolate, savoury spices, leather, blood and iron. On the palate, red fruits, earth, blood and spice. As with the Clerico, big tannins and high acidity. From what I recall, a bit of an interesting mouthfeel, as my notes from the evening describe it as “spiky”.

Much like the 2004 sample earlier, this was quite terrible. Acidic, astringent, terrible. Dumped in favour of other wines.

Deep inky purple in the glass. Concentrated nose of dark blue fruits, cassis, black cherries, bandaid, game, pepper, cedar green tobacco and green peppers. Echoed on the palate with a long, sweet finish. Significant tannic structure here, with a good dose of acidity that balances the sweetness on the palate.

Garnet in the glass, with a nose of black cherries, tea, blood, iron, tar, leather, earth, savory spices, and stone. On the palate, black cherries, earth, blood and herbs. Huge finish here with massive tannin and acidity. Very plush in the mouth. A wonderful wine, but I’m beginning to get a little fatigued.

Not sure what was going on here but this was a hot, sweet, simplistic mess. Muted nose of licorice and caramel. Echoed on the simplistic palate with quite a bit of heat on the finish. This is the only bottle I’ve ever tried, and seeing as it is a former #1 wine of the year, I won’t bother to rate it.

Now, this is where things start to get crazy. Joe was quite flustered with the poor performance of the 2006 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova and the 2005 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In a moment I’ll never forget, Joe headed back to his wine cellar and as he’s doing so, Dave shouts “He’s going center rack!!!”. We all knew that something special was in store for us. Deep garnet in the glass with some bricking at the rim, this had a ethereal nose of black cherries, truffles, undergrowth, wet leaves, earth, leather, tar, blood, iron, savoury herbs and spices. On the palate black cherries, earth, iron and herbs. Tannins fully resolved at this point, with medium acidity. The massive, succulent finish dances around the mouth, coating every inch with everything that this wine has to offer. This wine did yield some debate as to the score. I distinctly remember Mark stating that the nose was 100, the palate 100, but overall, 99. I personally wouldn’t want any more from a wine. An out of this world tasting experience. I may regret doing this at a later date, but I have to do the unthinkable here for the first time in my life…

I realize that the 1997 Gaja Sperss is a tough act to follow, but this delivered. Deep dark garnet in the glass and massively concentrated. This had a huge nose of dark blue and black fruits, brown sugar, balsamic, peach, spice, chocolate, vanilla and gravel. Massively concentrated on the palate, with a huge finish, yet incredibly smooth. Beautiful.