Brownbag of the North

Hemmavid, Umeå
Tasted Saturday, January 26, 2013 by StefanAkiko with 863 views

Introduction

Blind tasting is not only a "what-should-I-buy-event" but also a learning experience.
Wine dinners also mean GREAT food :-)
The humbling experience to often not have a clue (and the objective proof of that) gave me one very important insight: I need to study more and harder :-)
...and I need to figure out the difference between Amarone and Californian Petit Sirah...

Flight 1 - Hubbly bubbly! (2 Notes)

Served with sweet strawberries and black pepper.

Flight 2 - White ones (3 Notes)

Noone was even within 20 years of nailing the vintage of the Austrian. The white Montus blew several of us away. A shockingly great wine!
Served with the RED PLATE: cranberry paté, ajvar, parma ham etc.

  • 1979 Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner Kellermeister Reserve Kremser Kremsleiten 90 Points

    Austria, Niederösterreich, Kremstal

    Blind. 4 hrs of decant and 3 hrs of xlow-ox in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding!
    The cork was completely black, goooey and held a dark-gray sludge with a strong mud-mold-algae stink... *yuck* I cleaned the inside of the neck of the bottle and decanted.
    Expecting the worst, I found a clear, clean, acidic wine singing with a brittle voice.
    After 3 hrs, it started blooming. The golden liquid delivered a great mix of tobacco, BIC-pen and something no-one of us could define. In the mouth, it grew to underline the grandeur of the great pleasures that can only come from mature wines.
    Would happily have again.

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  • 2008 Château Montus Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec 93 Points

    France, Southwest France, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with extra all!
    The surprise of the evening. We all dived in for a well oaked Chardonnay of better pedigree, Petit courbu was not on anyone's radar.
    On the palate, this is slightly more acidic than a Chard from mature fruit would be - so, should have figured this was a surprise wine. Fabulous fruit and a long rich taste experience finishes off with excellent bitterness and long roasted oak notes stay long and linger... Concentration, restraint, elegance, balance, personality, terroir... It's all here! More layers of complexity are needed for a higher score, but with time... Oh, there is great chance for this wine to move up the ladder.
    This is young and a real keeper with tremendous upside! Wish I had some...

    (Update Apr 2013)
    My dear Italian mentor and 2nd father, MF, got me two btls from France, so I will be able to follow this wine as it matures. As he also thought I needed to better understand Mr Brumont's greatness, he also included a btl of La Tyre. For not forgetting Italy, there was a Sperss also...
    Vive La Fritaly!

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  • 2010 Petersons Chardonnay Shirley 85 Points

    Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Very good.
    Should have been decanted for a couple of hours. Started out with some vegetal aromas mixed with oak and banana ester. But after some time swirling, it came around as a fine tuned Chard with just enough oak and M acids. As we said: Outspokenly quiet character. Very fine wine that was a pleasure to enjoy.

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Flight 3 - Rosé (1 Note)

I shall remain incredulous regarding rosé...
Served with BB's fantastic chanterelle soup.

  • 2011 Neudorf Pinot Rosé

    New Zealand, South Island, Nelson

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: But WHY?
    Neutral color. Neutral and non-intense on the palate. Not quite a "wine" according to my standards. I still have found little pleasure in rosé wine.
    70p according to my tastebuds, but I avoid scoring. Poor QPR since this is a rather expensive bottle...

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Flight 4 - The older reds (4 Notes)

Served with salad of 21 ingredients.
The Amarone shone like a bright star in this flight.

  • 1986 Château Bel-Air Lagrave 92 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

    Blind. Decanted 4 hrs, in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with wow-wow.
    Cork wet the whole way.
    Showed nothing of elderly gentlemen, but a LOT of Brett, like sitting in with the cows. Slightly thin on the fruit in this showing, but a great wine in that all ppl pin-pointed it as a Bordeaux. Cedar, Bordeaux earth, olive brine and sumi ink line up on the palate.

    One glass left in uncorked btl for 20 hrs shows much more fruit and interesting good qualities. Brett has quieted, someone put a sordino on it. Mature and abundant tannins are taking over the finish and olive brine stays long. The "old genteleman cheesy smell" from before is back, but in a small dose. This is a 2 point upgrade! From 90 yesterday to 92 today.

    We enjoyed reading PMNilsson's comment on wanting his money back after not enjoying the show, and we'd happily buy his lot.

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  • 2005 Waterford Estate The Jem 91 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with wow.
    First whiffs from this blackish red wine rendered ashes and smoke.
    This is a rich wine with an absolutely amazing set of tannins, dressing up my palate with every sip. Dark fruits, chocolate, coffee and plums make this a great treat.
    Agree with Paul S about this being an exquisite wine from SA. Displays none of the gnu excretions so common in SA wines.
    Has the future in front of it. A keeper.

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  • 2007 Quinta dos Roques Dão Reserva 89 Points

    Portugal, Beiras, Dão

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Excellent (with upside)
    Dark violet wine with raw fruit on the nose and presenting an exciting wine with (still?) a thin mid palate. My guess is that this wine has the back bone for many more years of evolution. Promising.

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  • 2006 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Serègo Alighieri Vaio Armaron 93 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with WOW!!!
    Dark red wine with an explosive, rich nose of mature, dark fruits, some rubber and ... Petit sirah. (That's WRONG, but was my blinded conviction and ... wrongful guess.)
    A rich, impressive wine with small sweetness and breadth and width.

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Flight 5 - The younger reds (5 Notes)

Served with Ulf's Two kinds of Iberico pork: Long cooked M. masseter and side pork braised in duck confit. *yumm*
The Numanthia was a great way to conclude this great set of reds where only the Barbaresco didn't do anything for me.

  • 2008 Ilatium Morini Amarone della Valpolicella Campo Leòn 90 Points

    Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella

    Blind. Decanted for some hours, in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding.
    This is A LOT OF WINE! And the second Amarone this evening and the SECOND wine I persistently told everybody that it had to be a Californian Petit sirah... Wrong again :-)
    Liked it a lot but my palate preferred the other Amarone tonight.

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  • 2008 Enrico Serafino Barbaresco 84 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression:
    This is a typical more elegant, yet simplistic, Nebbiolo from Langhe. My guess was Barolo, and I'm seconding my previous TN.

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  • 2006 Meerlust Rubicon 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    Blind. Decanted for some hrs, in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with WOW!!!
    Blackish red with bricking tinge. Strong bouquet: Varnish attacks your nose and than comes tar-tar-tar, like Finnish tar candy.
    Juicy, restrained, maturing palate with abundant tannins ++ of the dry, mellow kind and no bitterness. M+ acids actuates the supple qualities of the wine well. Integrated, refined, restrained,
    Sprechenwein, food wine, pleasure wine... Quite accessible today, but has a long way to go. A keeper with tremendous upside.
    A very fine SA wine, wish I had some for some 10 yrs of keeping.

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  • 2009 Seghesio Family Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Outstanding with wow.
    Nose says New World from far away. This is a rich and well made wine from old vines and is not at all jammy. Abundant oak, but still well balanced and appealing. Married the Iberico side pork stir fried in duck confit. The alc levels worked well with this course! Unusually dark aromas for a Zin. We all liked it!

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  • 2008 Bodega Numanthia Toro Numanthia 95 Points

    Spain, Castilla y León, Toro

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Just short of extraordinary
    Blackish red wine with very dark nose promising a deep, young experience.
    On the palate this powerful BEAST almost swept me off my feet. It says on the back label: "Power, precision and persistence." How true! This is a gem for those of us that enjoy powerful, deep wines that also express complexities and restraint. This is such a beautiful muscular creation. Coffee, chocolate, orange rind, TI-tannic fine grained w/slight bitterness, M+ acids, long, long, long... When this monster grows up, it will be a contestant for the Extraordinary part of the points' scale.
    Impressed all at the table. (Noone got it right.)
    Keep!

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Flight 6 - Give me Dessert or give me Death! (1 Note)

UH + wife had created a fantastic dessert. And the Passito to go with it blew me away. Fantastic marriage of the two and a worthy conclusion of an evening overwhelming in great wines, great food and most satisfying discourse with merry laughter.

  • 2007 Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Ryé 96 Points

    Italy, Sicily, Passito di Pantelleria

    Blind. Had immediately in my Swe appt.
    Impression: Extraordinary
    What a wine! Almost red. Exuberant nose with notes of jasmine, apricots, peach and spice. Fabulous!
    In the mouth it has massive sugar levels and acids to match. The multi layered flamboyant richness of this wine blew us all away.
    Will keep for the long haul and probably evolve more splendor along the way.

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Closing

BB scored the most correct answers. The evening's most impressive event was when US quickly nailed wines 2 and 3 in the 5th flight. And noone left the event with an empty stomach. We all did our fair share of okynnesätning. *YUMMY*
The best wines were brought by ME this time. I brought the oldest.

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