David Niederauer Wine Dinner at Sainte Claire Club

Sainte Claire Club, San Jose, California
Tasted Wednesday, June 27, 2007 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 953 views

Introduction

Seven of us convened at San Jose's Sainte Claire Club to attempt to slake our mid-week thirst, and toast George image
Kautzman's recent promotion, with what ended up being a total of 25 bottles. David Niederauer arranged and hosted the dinner, which was excellent, not to mention decadent. He also brought the majority of the wines, including a double blind flight of Clos Pepe Pinot Noirs. The following report is mainly about our wines, which were nearly all wonderful. We tasted most of them single blind, with a few exceptions that were double blind. Not blind at all was our sweet wine at the end, the amazing 1952 Dr. Parcé Banyuls-Parcé, that David had given us a hint about the day before. The dinner was a hedonistic treat all around.

Flight 1 - Aged Riesling flight (5 Notes)

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The food course with these Rieslings consisted of escargot, fried oyster and crab cake.
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  • 1992 Smith-Madrone Riesling 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Golden yellow color; light petrol and floral nose; focused, angular, tart palate with strong minerality, needs some years yet; medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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  • 2000 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 93 Points

    France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

    Medium orange color; big, bright beautiful apricot and ripe peach nose; tart citrus and stone fruit palate with lots of minerality and spiciness (Jonathan Dinh accurately contributed "roasted mango rinds"); medium-plus finish 93+ pts.

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  • 1999 Josef Rosch Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Spätlese 95 Points

    Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

    Light medium yellow color; initially a touch of sulfur on the nose, which blew off, revealing a funky herbal and petrol nose with penetrating VA; rich, creamy, layered, subtle palate with an oily texture and nice herbal and mineral notes; medium-plus finish 95+ pts. (my WOTF)

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  • 1976 Schloss Reinhartshausen Erbacher Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese 91 Points

    Germany, Rheingau

    Light medium orange color; sweet, nutty nose with herbal note; tasty, good body, with sweet orange and tangerine on the palate; medium finish (group's WOTF)

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  • 1974 Wente Vineyards Riesling Arroyo Seco 92 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Seco

    Beautiful dark orange color with golden highlights; rich, mellow sherry and dried apricot nose with a petrol note; sweet melon and slightly sherried apricot and stone fruit palate with good acidity; creamy medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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Flight 2 - Pinot Flight (5 Notes)

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The food course with the Pinots was a rich mushroom soup.

  • 1982 Hacienda Del Rio Pinot Noir 91 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Medium red color and cloudy, with clear meniscus; somewhat bretty with a touch of TCA, but also nice tart strawberry, raspberry and mineral nose; tasty tart strawberry, Balsamic tangy fruit and dried cherry; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.

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  • 1984 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Light medium red color with clear meniscus; big ripe cherry, Balsamic and raspberry nose; tasty, mature, earthy, tart strawberry, dried cherry and balsamic palate with great acidity; long finish 93+ pts. (WOTF for the group)

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  • 1997 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir West Block 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Dark red color; focused, cherry and brown sugar nose; delicious, rich framboise, sour cream, tart cherry, black cherry and brown sugar palate; medium-plus finish 95+ pts. (my WOTF, and the group's 2)

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  • 1998 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

    Dark red color; sweet framboise and cherry nose; tart, concentrated red fruit with depth and minerality, quite young yet but great; long finish 93+ pts.

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  • 1998 Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Clos Vougeot 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

    Lovely dark red color; tangy, tart red fruit and funky earthy nose; tart but concentrated big red fruit palate, quite young yet and tight, with minerality and iron; medium-plus finish

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Flight 3 - Mystery White Flight (4 Notes)

The food with this flight was scallops.
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Flight 4 - Mystery Red flight (5 Notes)

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The food course with this mystery flight was an outrageously rich three cheese macaroni and cheese.
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Flight 5 - Big Red Flight (3 Notes)

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The over-the-top food course with this flight consisted of two giant lamb chops.
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  • 2004 Outpost Grenache 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Dark garnet red color; cherry and pepper nose; ripe cherry palate, with sweet underlying brown sugar and barbecue sauce; medium-plus finish 90+ pts.

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  • 1985 R. López de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia 93 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    Medium dark red color with clear edges; funky, barnyard nose; very tasty, mature, complex palate of tart cherry, Balsamic, horseradish; medium-plus pepper finish 93+ pts.

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  • 1999 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard 93 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    Deep purplish dark red; tight red fruit nose; huge, concentrated Syrah, tasty black fruit, tart plum with sweet pepper; long finish

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Flight 6 - Banyuls, with irresistible chocolate cake (1 Note)

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  • 1952 Dr. Parcé Banyuls Vin d' Origine (Good By) 96 Points

    France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Banyuls

    Rich, sexy, bittersweet creamy chocolate and sweet plum nose; yummy, sexy palate of tart raspberry, berry and chocolate, a fabulous sweet and mature Mourvedre; long finish 96+ pts.

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Closing

George, arriving with his early vintage Williams Selyem:
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