Cesare's Group - Collective House Cleaning
Lake Elmo
Tasted Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 by vanpe003 with 945 views
Introduction
This one came about as the fall shipping season was in full swing and it became apparent that some space needed to be made for new arrivals. So, the theme of the evening was "bring over whatever you don't want in the house anymore". Fortunately, this included a bunch of experiments, wines that hadn't been tried by the group before, that yielded some pleasant surprises. What we ended up with was a combination of some pretty bad wines, some decent wines, and a few top notch bottles. In general, we raced through the wines first pass through, quickly dividing the bottles into "cast offs" and "keepers", and then went back to revisit the most highly favored wines in more detail. No detailed notes were taken. Nate and Brian also brought some interesting stuff, some of which may not have been captured here as the bottles are buried in the garage amongst a heap of glass.
Brian, Nate, Michelle, Gay and I in attendance.
Flight 1 - Whites and a Bubbly (7 Notes)
A bit of a "starter" round, with the only real losers of the bunch being the '93 Chalone that was well past its prime. Ditto the 1987 Dr. Lenzen. All the rest were in the "good" to "very good" class.
Flight 2 - Pinots (8 Notes)
None of these were bottles I considered as "top notch" pinots, at least for my tastes. So, no surprise that a couple of them were disappointing. Of this batch, I really liked the Argyle, and was pleasantly surprised by it.
Flight 3 - European Stuff (7 Notes)
Most of these were opened the prior night as a "pre cleaning". I considered all of these to be quite serviceable. A pleasant surprise for me was the Valdicava Rosso, which I have had before but not enjoyed. The Antinori Tig was also a good surprise, as it had questionable provenance. No losers in this bunch, though the Lafage never gets a lot of love when poured for this group.
Flight 4 - Some Older Cab / Bord Blends (6 Notes)
This started out with the 1985 Inglenook. I had a bottle a few days before that was "ok". The one opened for this event was shot. The most interesting of this bunch was the 2000 Campuget that Nate brought over - an incredible wine for the price. The best of the bunch was the 1986 Mondavi Reserve, which I thought was a very nice example of this bottling and drinking quite well.
Flight 5 - Zinfandels (2 Notes)
Both these disappointed me somewhat. The Seven Lions is more like an appertif with it's portiness. The Turley didn't have some of the traditional Turley hallmark character that I've come to anticipate.
Flight 6 - Younger Reds (5 Notes)
Of these, the Perrin & Fils was the clear standout. There was also a bottle Brian brought over, a Koongarra Vyd 2005 Shiraz that isn't listed anywhere on CT. Perhaps for good reason!
Flight 7 - Dessert (2 Notes)
Two quite different wines, one too tight and acidic for my tastes, the other too sweet.
Flight 8 - Late Night Additions (5 Notes)
This is why people have locks on their cellars. After most of the rest of the wines were tasted and either put into the discard pile or consumed more fully, we decided to go down to the cellar to see what else we could find. In each case below, the wine probably would have been much more appreciated in a more "controlled setting".
Closing
A fun night, and a good opportunity to taste through a lot of wine of different styles, countries, etc. without the need to feel guilty about not giving a wine its fair amount of attention. It was a house cleaning afterall, "all these wines have to go", and from that point it was "mission accomplished. Still, some surprisingly good wines. I think that next time around, I'd try to avoid the "late night adds", as I didn't really get a lot out of these wines after everything that came before them.
2005 Domaine Léon Boesch Crémant d'Alsace
France, Alsace, Crémant d'Alsace
(11/12/2008)
I enjoyed this. Lively, somewhat sweet, perhaps as a result of the riesling influence. I would not consider this a substitute for a fine champagne, but very nice for what it is.
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2006 Zarate Albariño Rías Baixas Val do Salnés
Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
(11/12/2008)
A very nice Albarino, though I typically enjoy these more in the summer.
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2006 A Coroa Godello Valdeorras Blanco
Spain, Galicia, Valdeorras
(11/12/2008)
A pretty nice white.
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2005 Domaine Matrot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
(11/12/2008)
Better than when I had this in July. This time out I didn't detect the sulfur. The favorite of the group in the category of white burgundy. I preferred the Girardin, which most everyone else thought was too oaked / "New World".
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2005 Domaine / Maison Vincent Girardin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot Vieilles Vignes
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
(11/12/2008)
Trending toward new world in styling, with noticeable oak on the palate, this was my favorite of the two white burgs poured.
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1993 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Blanc Estate Reserve Flawed
USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
(11/12/2008)
Undrinkably oxidized, this one didn't even make it to the table for broad tasting. Worst wine of the night, nosing out Nate's white.
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1987 Dr. Zenzen Valwiger Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese * Flawed
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
(11/12/2008)
Nate brought this, from Top Ten, which had some "good bottles" and some "bad bottles". I think this one was free because it was one of the bad ones. Basically undrinkable.
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