ERI Pre Auction tasting
Union League Club, Chicago IL
Tasted Sunday, December 7, 2008 by KeithAkers with 631 views
Introduction
It was that time again to get ready to head down to another ERI tasting. THere were a lot of old wines in the line up, so I went there with a good amount of trepidation as they have a tendency to be dead, or well on their way out. I took down notes on the bottles that were worth taking down notes on, which was very dissapointing
Flight 1 (10 Notes)
Closing
THere was a great line up as there was some Mouton(granted the 73 probably never was worth drinking anyway), DRC, Rousseau Chambertin, Clos L'Eglise, and some aged rieslings, but I didn't even bother putting most of those in my mouth when I smelled how horribly dead they were. It was certainly a frustrating tasting and I really should stick to the tastings where there are younger bottles so that there's at least alive wines to taste. What can I say, sometimes I'm a masochist
1964 Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe 88 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
nose: great classic pauillac tones of pencil lead, cassis, black cherries, bits of tea leaves, cedar, and some saddle leather. Well evolved and perfectly put together along with holding up very well
taste: a bit tired on the palate as the flavors aren't as exuberant as they were on the nose with cassis, black cherries, tea leaves, and leather. Nice light feel, but certainly has seen better days
overall: This is on the downslope, but this bottle was still excellent. Great nose, but tired on the palate, this was still very much together to provide a very enjoyable and fun experience
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1970 Château Mouton Rothschild 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
nose: good power behind this with melded tones of black cherries, perfumes, rose petals, loads of dark red fruits and some bright red fruits. Not as expressive as the last bottle that I had tried, but this was a very interesting nose that belied the age of the wine
taste: tart feel with medium/low acidity and resolved tannins with a good helping of dark red fruits, perfumes, rose petals, and bits of tobacco leaf working its way underneath
overall: not as good as the last bottle that I had, but still very good. Well evolved and in as good of a place as it can be. Good classic Mouton power and qualities with the red fruits, but this bottle had a different floral streak that I don't normally associate with mouton. Excellent medium feel that makes this a well put together wine
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1970 Remoissenet Père et Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières 92 Points
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru
amazingly light color for such an old wine, with a nice medium/light gold color
nose: great nose filled with a wonderful smokey backdrop along with well balanced flavors of butterscotch, all sorts of tree fruits, some hot popcorn butter, and nice rounded tart lemon flavors. Very deep that is just a pure joy to smell and I couldn't stopsmelling it
taste: great classic fat meursault feel on the palate with still present acidity giving off tones of roasted nuts, bits of white florals, smokey tones, tree fruits. wonderful length and feel that makes it more fun knowing how old this wine is
overall: this must've been in a cellar with a ton of love. It wasn't a library release as there was still a tag on it from zimmerman's(binny's bought them up in the 90s). Great aromatics with an amazing light color that belies its age. Very smooth with nice medium acidity that still works well
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1998 Gaja Langhe Rossj Bass 92 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
nose: very complex and deep nose with lots of bright citrus tones, lemon peel, apricots, drops of honey, pears, and nice mineral tones. A very interesting nose that is very alluring while being somewhat light
taste: great light feel with medium+ acidity giving off tones of minerals, apricots, loads of pears, bright citrus tones and vanilla extract. Very fluid and light with a lot of complexity on the palate too
overall: light yellow color with great acidity. Crisp and tart, this has a lot of complexity and is my first experience with a Gaja white. Great aromatics and complexity on the palate, this is a very interesting white that draws you in and is very enjoyable while being far from full maturity
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1995 Castello di Querceto / Querceto Chianti Classico Riserva Il Picchio 89 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG
nose: well balanced classic sangiovese tones filled with smoke, dark plums, dark red cherries, cassis, and a good helping of roasted herbs and some smoked meats. Great rounded tones also showing off tertiary sang flavors
taste: Nice light feel that is fully resolved with dark plums, roasted meats, dark red cherries, and roasted herbs
overall: Lighter color and holding up very well. A very nice CCR that was probably better a few years ago and is fading a bit, but is still enjoyable. It'd be interesting to have spent actual time with it as opposed to having it at a tasting, but that's just how it goes
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1980 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
nose: nice classic cali cab nose with subtle tones of mint, cedar, and dark red berries. well balanced and nice, but lacking a bit of depth
taste: well balanced medium/light feel with tones of mint, cassis, cedar, dark red berries, and cranberries. Well rounded and evolved with nice flavors and solid complexity, but lacking a bit of depth to take it to that next level
overall: A excellent example of a well aged cali cab. Nice balance and subtlety that harkens to a previous time. This was my first time having a birth year wine and it was a really nice one. Great balance, it would've been nice to spend some time with it to watch it possibly grow and let it show me everything it had to show me
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1962 Château Ripeau 89 Points
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
nose: great nose that is very youthful with sweet fruitcake tones, cassis, dark red cherries, dark florals, roasted herbs, and cedar. Very pungent and classic st emilion there is little on the nose that would show this to be a 46 yr old wine
taste: unfortunetly tired on the palate with some dark red cherries, cedar, herbs, and some bits of florals
overall: the color was great on this with some bricking and no browning at the rim. The nose was great and vibrant, but unfortunetly it was dying on the palate. It was a nice wine that still has some life left in it and the nose is very beautiful
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1998 Galleron Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard 91 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
nose: oak upfront with black berries, black cherries, black currants, and anise. Bold nose that is upfront and well evolved
taste: good balance with oak, black berries, black cherries, anise, craberries, bits of spice, and some cloves. Rich flavors work their way well across across the palate with a good medium feel
overall: while not really my style of cabernet, this is very good for those that want something that is a bit more typical of modern california cabernet. Rich and bold with a good amount of american oak influences with a black berry based attack and clove finish
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1990 Terrabianca Campaccio Toscana IGT 91 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
nose: very brunello-like with plush red cherries, roasted herbs, tobacco, lavender, and lovely tones of dark florals. A sumptuous nose that just brings out what one loves from sangiovese
taste: great medium feel with some bits of barnyard along with plush red cherries, roasted herbs, dark florals, and tobacco tones along with some exotic spices. Good medium/low acidity and very smooth feel
overall: nice ruby color with some see through in the glass. These notes were from my second time tasting it as the first time it fell apart when I went to go get some food and left it in the glass. It gained weight and aromatics with the air and turned into a very pleasing wine. Fully resolved tannins, this just has all of that beauty that tuscan wines can bring and everything about it just screamed tuscany, much to my delight
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1975 Dow Porto Vintage 90 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
nose: nice and ready to go with balanced tones of cranberries, chocolate, roasted nuts, and sweet cherries. Not a blow away nose by any means, but nice and still present with the fruit
taste: good medium feel with no discernable heat giving off chocolate tones, roasted nuts, cranberries, raspberries, and sweet cherries
overall: A very nice port that is fully mature. I don't think that anything else will be gained by aging this and it isn't a blow away port by any means. It's the kind of port for one to just sit with a fire going while sitting back and just letting a cold day go by
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