Guys Night Out - Open your last bottle of something you had multiple bottles of at one time!

So the theme was open your last bottle of a wine you had multiple bottles of at one time.....the lineup was fantastic, but I did cheat! I was planning on opening a bottle of 1982 Trotanoy, which would have been my last bottle per the rules of the tasting. But when everyone arrived, one of the guests had brought a 1970 Figeac, and a 1982 Montrose as backup. We all decided that 1970 was fine and for him to save the 1982 for a different tasting. Then we decided our next tasting should be 1982 Bordeaux. So at that time, I stated I had one bottle of 1970 Trotanoy, and could substitute that for the 1982 and bring the 1982 Trotanoy to the 1982 Bordeaux tasting (next tasting dinner). Everyone voted for me to do that, so technically, I cheated because I never had multiple bottles of the 1970 Trotanoy. All in all, it was a fantastic tasting with great food, great friends, and of course, great wines!

Drank with Colleen while preparing for tonight's dinner!

• 2018 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Decanted 2 hours in the cellar initially, then poured a couple glasses, then back in the cellar for another 3 hours, poured another couple glasses, then back in the cellar overnight (about another 12 hours). I opened this for my sister-in-law who loves fruit forward wines and we drank some of this as we prepared for tonight's wine dinner!
  
  At this young age, this is all about the fruit! Very enjoyable at cellar temperature, but alcohol shows up when it warms to room temp, which is a negative for me. At cellar temp, the nose is slightly muted, but still shows plenty of dark fruit and some lavender notes. Palate shows gobs of delicious dark fruit, some red fruit, and cocoa notes. The purity of fruit is delicious. Unfortunately, as it warms up, the alcohol starts to rear its ugly head. The good news is that cooling the wine back in the cellar gets rid of the alcohol (but it keeps coming back as the wine warms up to room temp). The tannins are there, but fine grained and more silky that harsh or drying. I have mixed emotions about opening this wine so wine. I have 2 more bottles, which I will not touch for years (at least 5...I hope!). I am drinking the wine as I write this note...it is at cellar temp now and alcohol is present, but not abrasive, yet! The fruit has melded together, and some secondary notes of bramble are present. I hope the alcohol resolves, the fruit remains and the secondary notes develop down the road....I think they will, but time will tell for sure. If opening now, I recommend drinking at cellar temp and keeping the wine cooled down, at least that is where I found it most enjoyable. Based on my limited experience with this wine, and my best guess from this tasting, I would say this wine should drink well at around 7 -10 years old. I am giving it a 95 based on the purity of fruit and drinking it close to cellar temp. However, I do see tons of upside potential!
  
  Addendum....the alcohol on the wine (after over 12 hours decanted at cellar temp) actually started to calm down as it warmed, giving me even greater hope for this wine down the road!

  Read 8 Comments / Post a Comment / 3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Paired with cheeses and French fries!

• 2004 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année 93 Points

  France, Champagne

  PnP - very nice Champagne with plenty verve...nose showed lots of minerality with seashore dominating, but also a little funk (in a good way) with hints of stone fruit and honey, also slight oxidative notes. Palate was lively with a fine mousse characterized by fine bubbles that cascaded down your throat. The palate showed some tart apple, pear and saline notes with some slightly oxidized notes, which led to a discussion if it was intentional or not....we concluded it was a stylistic trait for this wine. 93+ for my palate....I found this very enjoyable!

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

Paired with Niçoise salad with seared Ahi Tuna

• 2009 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard 98 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  PnP - This was singing from the get go! Nose was phenomenal, with so much going on! Stone fruits (peach, nectarine), citrus (lemon, Meyers lemon), various spices (cardamon, allspice), herbs (tarragon, sage), straw and hay notes, vanilla, florals, OMG....the list is endless! Palate was also complex, with stone fruits, melon, apple, and minerality galore, i.e., slate, limestone and chalk....just an outstanding Chardonnay drinking in its peak window, IMO! One of the best Chardonnays I have tasted to date! 98...my highest score!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Paired with Asparagus and Lamb Loin topped with tzatziki

• 1970 Château Figeac 91 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  I know this wine was opened a few hours prior to serving, but not sure about the treatment - The person who brought this wine said there was a ton of funk when the bottle was initially opened, and feared it may have been corked, so he brought a backup bottle (82 Montrose). Although I would have preferred the backup (will get to taste it at our next tasting), it is always a treat to taste even older wines. The 1970 was definitely not corked!
  
  I think others enjoyed this wine more than I (although I did enjoy following it over the course of about 3 hours). For me, this was all about tertiary flavors, which this wine had in spades. Although the fruit was dried out (for my palate), there was still quite a bit of complexity to the wine, which showed in the diversity of tertiary flavors, including earth, tobacco, leather and tar, as well as dried flowers. This wine maintained this profile through drinking it over the three hours. 91 points and treat to taste, but not squarely in my wheelhouse!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1970 Château Trotanoy 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  PnP - This was a treat being able to drink side by side with a 1970 Figeac! Even though this had slight notes of faded fruit, I enjoyed the Figeac slightly more due to its complexity, i.e., the Figeac just had more going on....both wines were not in my wheelhouse due to the lack of any real fruit (would have loved to taste these about 20 years earlier). Still, it is always a treat to get to taste older wines....I mean how many people get to experience that?
  
  Nose showed some floral notes and some red and dark fruit notes, with dust and bramble notes (I actually like the nose on this wine better than the Figeac). Palate was less remarkable, showed dried fruit, lots of earth and some cedar notes with hints of leather lurking in the background. A decent wine I was happy to taste, but would not even think of purchasing more....about 10-20 years past its prime (IMO). For those who don't care about fruit (or who have a more sensitive palate than I and may taste fruit where I don't), you will enjoy this wine, but I would recommend the Figeac over this one. 89-90 points for my palate.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Paired with Flambe'd Filet topped with a Cognac Cream Sauce served with Pommes Lyonnaise

• 1983 Château Montrose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  See Rocknroller's notes for treatment. This was easily WOTN! When I tasted this, I thought to myself, "This is what Bordeaux is all about!" This wine was harmonious in every aspect! Perfectly balanced between fruit and tertiary flavors, with fine tannins and enough acidity to keep the fruit lively. What more can you expect out of Bordeaux! Nose showed cherry and blackberry notes, with cedar, herbs and some leather and earth. Palate followed suit with additional notes of mushroom, seaweed, and hints of dark chocolate. No heat and very smooth with a medium finish that beaconed you to take another sip....pleasure in a glass! Easily 96+ and a pleasure to drink! A great wine from a good vintage, and I cannot imagine it drinking any better!

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Cos d'Estournel 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  See galewskj's notes for treatment. This was surprisingly young, and improved quite a bit throughout the evening! Very fruit forward with medium tannins that got finer as the evening progressed. Unlike some of the other notes, I think this wine needs another few years to completely come together (and I like my wines with plenty of fruit). There is enough fruit in this wine to allow the tannins to resolve better and to gain some additional tertiary flavors, IMO (at least for this bottle).
  
  Nose showed black and purple fruit, cigar box and tobacco, with some floral notes too. Palate showed plenty of cassis, plum and hints of red currant, with leather, cedar and tobacco in the background. Pretty nice balance between fruit and tertiary flavors, but a little more tertiary flavors would elevate this wine. Also, as previously stated, tannins were very prevalent, but did start smoothing out with time in the glass....if they ever completely smoothed out, this would reach the top level! 93 to 94 points, with an easy 94 toward the end of the night!

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

The end of another great tasting! Thanks to everyone who participated for bring such great wines, and thanks to those who endured this tasting story and my ramblings! I love these tastings, as wine is truly meant to be shared! Cheers to all of you! (Yes, I am actually raising a glass of 2018 VV!)