Seattle Pre-1990 CdP offline

Kaspar's - 19 West Harrison, Seattle WA 98119
Tasted Saturday, April 30, 2005 by Tubbs with 991 views

Introduction

Organized by Roy Hersh this was an amazing night of wine, food, friends and fun! Never have I had so many quality wines in a month let alone a single evening.

Flight 1 - What better way to kick-start the evening than with champagne... (1 Note)

...and a '75 Collard nonetheless. I adore Collard's champagnes.

  • 1975 René Collard Champagne Brut Cuvée Réservée 92 Points

    France, Champagne

    Wow! This is a '75! This was oh so fresh! Beautiful acidity! Hints of fresh bread and brown sugar strong plum/raisin notes. I also got a touch of anise and some toasty coconut. Classic Pinot Meunier in body this had a wonderful mouth feel.

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Flight 2 - Battle of the Corton Charlie's, battle of the vintages (2003 vs 2002). (2 Notes)

The 2002 Girardin was the clear winner as the Verget was afflicted with 2003 fever.

  • 2003 Verget Corton-Charlemagne Caniculus Vieilles Vignes 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Very smokey with some tropical fruit – too much in fact. Although I really liked this I found if a bit flabby and completely inferior to the 2002 Girardin. This is drinking well now and I’m not sure how it will age.

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  • 2002 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru

    Bacon, smoke... great balance! Mmm… grapefruit peel. I found this to be very deep and intense, really nice punch. This will age wonderfully. This was far better than the 2003 Verget, more so than my scores reflect I think.

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Flight 3 - A Chard from CA and a Roussanne from WA? (2 Notes)

It would have been interesting to taste the Newton blind with the two Corton-Charlamagne's... I think it might have fared rather well. The Syncline was definitely out of it's element.

  • 2003 Syncline Roussanne Alder Ridge Vineyard 86 Points

    USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills

    Ouch! This immediately had me thinking… margarita? It was very limey and hot to my palate. I found a little pineapple in there but it was so acidic and hot…

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  • 2002 Newton Chardonnay Red Label 90 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    A touch of rubber on the nose blew off quickly to reveal sweet smoke and citrus notes. On the palate I had more smoke and citrus along with butter and oak. I really liked this but also thought it was a bit flabby.

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Flight 4 - Foie Gras and Sauternes, mmm.... (3 Notes)

These wines speak for themselves. Jason G. brought over a taste of Kracher #5, (not exactly sure which one, I think it was the Muskat Ottonel ), and an older Prüm that was out of this world! I was too busy drinking to get notes on those. :) Thank you Jason! (What exactly was that Prüm?)

  • 1998 Château Climens 90 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac

    Nice botrytis! I found this very elegant with the perfect amount of sweetness. It really went well with the foie gras. I thought it could have used a touch more acid and I found the finish a bit short.

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  • 1983 Château de Fargues 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Lovely! Thick and chewy with botrytis and a touch of oil on the nose. Butter… Nice acid, excellent balance, wonderful depth… drinking perfectly!

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  • 2001 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Wow! Some serious pineapple here! That along with cinnamon and Christmas tree? (The point is I found it spicy, or maybe that was the pine without the apple!) Sweet, smoky, nice acid… these are going to age REALLY well if you can keep your hands off ‘em.

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Flight 5 - On to the headliners! (3 Notes)

Flight 6 - ...and I thought that last flight was incredible! (3 Notes)

Flight 7 - Ho Hum... more of the same! :) (3 Notes)

  • 1988 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve 96 Points

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

    Beautiful balance, nice acidity. Wonderful candied cherries. Elegant and refined… port like. Sublime.

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  • 1985 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

    Something for everyone here… horse, butter, oak, creamed corn? Silky, earthy… everyone kept saying “burgundian”. Simply amazing! Would have scored even higher but I found the finish moderate compared to the other wines in the flight. For the group I believe this was the WOTF – against an ’88 Rayas and an ’89 Beaucastel! (I had the Rayas first.)

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  • 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points

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

    Here we go with round two… Nicely balanced with long tannins, (whatever that means!) Tobacco, barnyard, mushroom… sweet and elegant. Lovely.

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Closing

Roy brought a lovely vintage port that was sadly corked, (as were two others he opened previously!)... :( When it rains it pours, or in this case doesn't!

Whoa! What a night! Not only did I meet a bunch of new wines, I met some wonderful people as well! I sincerely love the wine community! Fantastic food, fantastic wine and FANTASTIC PEOPLE! It doesn't get any better!

Major thanks to Roy for pulling this together. We love you Roy! The Northwest would be a sad, dry place without you!

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