Thanksgiving Mondo Dinner 2023

Atlanta, GA
Tasted Sunday, November 19, 2023 by Francophile1 with 156 views

Introduction

Tis the season to drink great wines with great people. No rules other than line-up wines to be served double blind and to bring something that has the potential to win WOTN.

Flight 1 - Starter Wines (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Official Mondo Wine Flight (12 Notes)

Some gems and some disappointments

  • 1990 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted double blind. Slight bricking at the edges. Touch of green herb on the finish with an odd prickly tannin going on in the finish. That said, I loved the nose and could smell it all night long. I called it '89 or '90 Pauillac first growth. I initially called it as my wine, but was talked out of it by the guy sitting next to me. It was my wine and my WOTN. BTW - in blind wine tasting it is always best not to listen to those around you. Trust your gut and instincts. They are usually right.

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  • 2009 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Sperss 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC

    Tasted double blind. I called it an '06 Brunello Riserva because I picked up notes of dried red sour cherries and leather. That said, the Nebbiolo tannic finish should have given it away. Well made wine that needs time to develop.

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  • 2010 Faiveley Chambertin-Clos de Bèze 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    Tasted double blind. I loved this wine. Red strawberry fruit, touch of spice, Grand Cru structure, sweet tannin, a touch of earth. I called it '10 Grand Cru, but that was as far as I got. This is young and will get much better with another 10 years of age. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

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  • 2011 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve 94 Points

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

    Tasted double blind. This wine looked like a glass of red tea. The jammy strawberry fruit pops you in the face and cleans out the sinuses. Almost liqueur like with an almost tawny port like sweet finish that tasted like a candied apple. I also picked up a touch of leather. This won WOTN ahead of '90 Latour. Blasphemy! I guess that's why we do blind tastings but the vote was biased because most thought this was Rayas Riserva because it was a mondo event so expectations were high. That said, I can honestly say I loved this wine and would enjoy one glass of it. However, to drink an entire bottle, it would turn my stomach. This is why the '90 Latour gets my WOTN vote because I would have no problem drinking a full bottle of Latour. I respect Rayas for what it is, but it is over the top for my palate.

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  • 2004 Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore Ornellaia 92 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Bolgheri Superiore

    Tasted double blind. This is a massive wine that initially smells like Bordeaux on the attack but is clearly Super Tuscan on the structured finish. Whenever I encounter a wine that smells like a Bordeaux in the glass, but then has a sweet almost new world Cabernet finish but has the tannin of a Bordeaux, I call Super Tuscan. This time, I called it an '04 Solaia or Ornellaia.

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  • 1996 Château Cos d'Estournel 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    Tasted double blind. Wonderful left bank nose with some greenness and herb on the finish. I called it '96 Pichon Lalande. This is the first time the '96 Cos really showed well. My prior tastings of it have been backward and austere.

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  • 1998 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    Tasted double blind. This did not show as good as it should have. I was convinced this was a mid-90's Cote Rotie from a great producer. Maybe a non-Guigal La La?

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  • 2000 Bodegas Vega-Sicilia Ribera del Duero Único

    Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

    Tasted double blind. Turns out this was my first ever tasting of VS Unico and to be honest, I struggled to score it. Initially I thought it was a new world Cabernet based wine due to its sweetness, but then the structure took me to Italy. However, it was so incredibly smooth and symmetrical in complete balance. This wine was vexing to me. In the end, I called it "unknown".

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  • 1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Tasted double blind. Clearly Left Bank and easy to call it as Pauillac. Wonderful nose and similar to the '96 Cos d'Estournel that came before it with some greenish herb on the finish. This had more tertiary character and tobacco than the Cos, however. Once again, I called it '96 Pichon Lalande. Once again, blind tastings are so very humbling.

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  • 2011 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 91 Points

    Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

    Tasted double blind. The group nailed this as Barolo, but I went against the grain calling it a young Grand Cru Burg. due to the deeper cherry fruit. I should have picked it up on the tannic finish. Nevertheless, the fruit powers through the tannin. It is a very pretty wine.

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  • 1999 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Tasted double blind. There is definitely Cabernet in this wine, but from where? It is tannic, but sweet with a tangy ting on the finish. I thought maybe Solaia? But of course, someone brought a knife to a gun fight. Cali Cab. Wow!

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  • 1982 Château Haut-Brion 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

    Tasted double blind. Very similar to wine #1. Rockin' nose with sweet tobacco, cedar, and a touch of brett. Slightly abrupt prickly finish. Nevertheless, it is drinking in a really good spot right now.

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Flight 3 - Champagne Dinner Flight (2 Notes)

Flight 4 - Cellar Diving Flight (6 Notes)

If you are going to dig, dig deep

  • 1999 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin Flawed

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

    Sadly this was corked.

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  • 2005 Antinori Solaia

    Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

    Tasted single blind. We are now into back-up bottles and palate fatigue started to kick in and dinner table conversation began to dominate. I remember this being a well made wine. That's about it.

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  • 1998 Château d'Yquem 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Served non-blind. This was exactly what my palate needed at this point in the line-up. Served at 50 degrees and paired with a delicious terrine of Foie Gras on brioche toast with Apricot jam. Perfectly paired and served as a wonderful palate cleanser, which inspired me to go cellar diving. The Yquem was darker in color (caramel) than maybe it should be at this age. Nevertheless, delicious!

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  • 2002 Louis Jadot Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Domaine Louis Jadot 89 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze Grand Cru

    Non-blind. This was an end of night cellar dive pop n pour. Hmmm... If I had to do it again, I would have opened it two hours prior and decanted it. It was muted, closed, and not giving up its full potential. Disappointing for what I paid for it.

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  • 2006 Soldera (Az. Agr. Case Basse) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 95 Points

    Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

    Non-blind. My third time tasting this vintage of Soldera and I LOVE IT. To redeem the Jadot Beze failure, I pulled this to redeem myself. This is one of the greats from Brunello. If served blind, it has the potential to confuse trained palates as a Grand Cru Burgundy from one of the great producers. I once tasted this blind vs. a Rousseau Clos St. Jacques and I picked the Soldera as the Burgundy in the line-up. A great ringer for great Burgundy.

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  • 1982 Château Gruaud Larose 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien

    Non-Blind. Final cellar dive of the night. For some strange reason, my palate was reactivated after the Y'quem intermezzo. This wine never disappoints. It is always so consistently excellent and probably the best value mondo wine of the 1982 vintage. Time for bed! Night night!

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Closing

Fun event. I look forward to the next one.

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