Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner'

A year ago Roy Hersh decided it would be a nice thing to create a monthly Seattle Tasting Group assembled from folks on the board. Roy needs another tasting group like he needs another 500 bottles of Port, but we are all thankful for his organization, leadership, and the fact that we all replied quickly. Our first tasting was last January, and 7 of the original 8 remain (plus two more who joined along the way). To commemorate the end of our first year together, Roy decided to throw a special tasting at his house. The theme was 'Wines that Hurt' - in other words, it should hurt to take your bottle out of the rack and offer it up to the group. And thus we all dug deep, made our picks, and showed up on Friday night at Roy's house.

In a night of many lovely surprises, the first surprise was the smell of a busy kitchen as soon as we walked in the door. Roy had just gotten back the same day from a trip to South Africa, and I was wondering how he was going to assemble the gourmet dinner he was promising. The answer was very simple, as he had once again recruited help from Portland, OR in the form of Chef Rodney Muirhead and Chocolatier Elizabeth Montes. They dazzled us with 8 courses, each skillfully prepared and stunning in their own way, and each designed to accompany the wines we were bringing as well as a few picks from Roy's cellar. I know folks are here to mostly read about the wines, but you are going to have to tolerate my descriptions of the food as well, since it was too memorable to gloss over.

FINE PRINT: All wines were tasted bagged and double-blind. We each shared our thoughts and scores, one wine at a time, before unveiling. Our normal custom is to spit, although tonight the rules were waived. (I was spitting, as I had driven.) The evening lasted about 8 hours, and when I left near 2AM folks were still contemplating whether to prolong the evening by breaking out the stogies...

With toasted baguette slices topped two ways (goat cheese and black olive tapenade; avocado and crab), Roy popped open two lovely bottles of bubbles.

• 1990 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut 91 Points

  France, Champagne

  Slightly creamy nose with a hint of yeastiness and orange, somewhat muted aromatics. On the palate this has fine mousse with nice length and a quenching bit of citrus. Lovely champagne.

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With 'Choucroute of Seafood' (market fresh trout smoked that day; seared scallop; freshly prepared salmon & shrimp sausage; all served atop sauteed napa cabbage with a grain mustard sauce on the side) Roy broke out two whites to complement. On their own these Chablis were a bit tough to sip, but with the mustard and smoke in the dish they came alive!

• 2000 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Faint aromatics. A hint of ash and some funky minerality. On the palate this was initially dilute, but it softened quite a bit with the food. This mainly shows lemon and citrus. Very nice acidity and length.

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• 1997 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Deeper color than the Les Clos, guessed blind as Chablis. Ash and minerality on the nose with with an odd, dirty-sock scent at first. That eventually blew off, and while I initially thought this was oxidized it started to grow on me.

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Sauteed Foie Gras with caramelized apples were beautifully prepared. I can still taste the duck fat. To accompany this perfectly, Roy broke out this orange/gold nectar.

• 1983 Château Rieussec 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Rich, deep color with some orange marmalade and nail polish on the nose. On the palate this was honeyed and gorgeous, fairly lithe and elegant. The beautiful finish lasts for a minute. This was heavenly with sauteed foie gras.

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Finally, out came the big reds. I think most folks had made a tacit assumption that these were all Bordeaux, and yet some of the noses suggested otherwise...

• 1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  What a great red wine to start off an evening of great reds. My first note simple reads "oh baby!" This has a great nose, very complex, with a hint of caramel. On the palate this is fairly stern and black with lots of power. At first the finish seemed somewhat elegant and resolved with a gorgeous sweetness, but then my palate awoke to the tannins. Oh my goodness, this wine is a wall of structure. Amazing power. (Group average 91.89)

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• 1987 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon David Lake Signature Series Red Willow Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  This was obviously quite vegetal with spice, dill, bell pepper and some bay leaf. On the palate it was bright with a mintiness. Quite youthful and tight, somewhat closed. Herbal on the medium finish. Guessing blind, I was assuming California and maybe even Togni. My score started at 89 and climbed to 91 which was perhaps a bit generous. (Group average 90.56)

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• 1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 96 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  At first this completely threw me, as I was expecting all Cabernet-based wines. A hint of caramel shows the wood on this, and then a glorious nose of tar and bacon takes over. Wow, that is serious! On the palate this was very powerful with a ton of structure, still very tight, bacon throughout. The finish was simply unreal, very long and glorious. The aromatics were clearly aged Côte-Rôtie. Guessed blind as some sort of La La, since Patrick was there after all. (Group average 95.11)

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• 1982 Château Gruaud Larose 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  This wins the stable award for the evening. An initially intense nose of barnyard and horse blew off to reveal tobacco and licorice. On the palate this was awesome with more tobacco and an earthy interior. This was still very tight and youthful with a wall of structure. Nice length on the finish. This one got better and better in the glass, alas mine disappeared while it was still on the way up. (Group average 94)

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After Roy described the now unveiled first red flight as "the weak flight," (the La La was a late addition which was blind to Roy) we started to get *really* excited for what lay ahead. However, first came a food surprise that wasn't listed on our menu cards: twin risotto of white and black truffles, each perfectly prepared. Rodney & Elizabeth had stumbled upon two huge boxes of Oregon grown white and black truffles at their local farmer's market, and they brought a few up as a treat. (They practically had to ask me to stop fondling the white truffles in the kitchen.) The white truffle risotto was creamy and rich with shaved white truffle atop it. The black truffle risotto was more earthy with large chunks of black truffle dotted throughout and a perfect al dente, just a hint of snap still left in the creamy kernels of rice. It was very hard to tear away to try the next flight of wines. Well, not *that* hard once I smelled the first one...

• 1966 Château Lafite Rothschild 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This had everything you could look for on the nose of a great wine. Very complex, sweet and floral with truffle (and this was just before truffle risotto was served) and mushroom. The palate was a bit of a letdown with slight sweetness and earthiness, but the fruit was long gone. From the color I guessed 1970 Bordeaux and came within four years. (Group average 94.11)

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• 1982 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  This was very closed initially, but with a lot of coaxing some licorice, violet and pain grille emerged. Wow, the power and depth on this beast are impressive. It finally started to open up and showed some amazing minerality. I guessed 1990, because this seemed so youthful. (Group average 93.67)

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• 1982 Château Montrose 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe

  I think I missed the boat on this one, as other tasters enjoyed it much more. I found the nose to be slightly bretty. The palate was leathery and earthy with prominent acidity. I found the wine to be more austere than I would hope for with some astringency on the finish. Despite the fact that it was clearly a nicely aged Bordeaux, the finish robbed from my pleasure. (Group average 93.89)

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At this point we cleansed our palates with a Meyer Lemon sorbet which had been 'goosed' with some lemon thyme. Then Rodney and Elizabeth emerged from the kitchen with plates laden with Grilled Rib Steak, Kale and Parsnip gratin. This main course was simple but delicious, my favorite complement to great Bordeaux. At this point we poured the wines for what turned out to be the flight of my life. Sixteen hours later I am still sitting here in awe as I think about this troika of near perfection. If I am going to die any time soon, last night right after this flight would have been as good a time as any! For me this was 299 out of 300 points, and the other tasters were stunned as I was (a) spitting (well, I might have swallowed a tiny bit of these...) and (b) simply don't ever rate wines that liberally. What can I say, this is as good as it gets.

• 1982 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Oh let me die now if it will happen any time soon! This was served alongside 1982 Leoville Las Cases and 1983 Margaux, the most glorious three wines I have ever had together and 299 points of pleasure. The aromatics on this were more expressive than my last bottle with menthol and some cool elements ultimately giving way to a textbook nose of tobacco and cigar box. The palate was glorious, utterly seamless, among the most perfectly silky wines I have ever enjoyed. More incredible tobacco and a black edge fill your mouth. Long, silky, and caressing. Remarkable! This is the third time I have had this wine in three months, what a treat! (Group average 96.44)

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• 1982 Château Léoville Las Cases 99 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  I double-decanted this nearly 12 hours before we had it, as the last bottle I opened in May was painfully shut down. This was served alongside 1982 Pichon Lalande and 1983 Margaux, the most glorious three wines I have ever had together and 299 points of pleasure. Spicy and floral with aromatics that became gradually more expressive with time in the glass. The palate is massive, simply huge, black, fat with fruit yet still quite closed. The finish is long, long, long, gloriously long! (Group average 96.38)

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• 1983 Château Margaux 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  This was served alongside 1982 Leoville Las Cases and 1982 Pichon Lalande, the most glorious three wines I have ever had together and 299 points of pleasure. The nose showed sweetness with some licorice and floral elements, simply soaring out of the glass. The palate was exotic, massively layered, supercharged. If there is one knock on this perfect wine it is a slight hint of drying tannin on the finish, but who cares. This was so intense, complex and gorgeous! (Group average 97.56)

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Roy cautioned us to save some steak for one more flight of big reds. As soon as these were poured, we knew we were dealing with youngsters...

• 2000 Château Margaux 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  This screamed of 2000 Bordeaux with a remarkable nose of smoke and liquid mineral. On the palate this was fairly closed, yet it was exceptionally balanced, nearly unreal. This is 15 years away from drinking pleasure but is also fascinating right now. (Group average 94.78)

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• 2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 97 Points

  USA, Washington

  This was clearly not Bordeaux, and tasted blind I was guessing this was Aussie Shiraz?!? (I was fishing mentally through Jason's cellar and assuming 1998 Grange.) After some initial odd notes of fish-oil blew off, this revealed a glorious nose of blueberry. On the palate this shows stunning concentration, oh my goodness is this stuff plush! It is almost painfully tannic yet so huge and good. The finish is a hint choppy but simply unreal in its power. I was amazed when the bag was pulled... (Group average 94.67)

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• 2000 Château Pavie 99 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Smoky and earthy with glorious notes of roasted coffee beans and espresso. Gorgeous and seamless on the palate with remarkable concentration. I am amazed at how approachable this is right now. The mid-palate elicited two words in my scribbled notes "puckering" and "WOW." The finish on this wine is huge, endless, oh my! Although I have never actually tasted a Pavie from any vintage, I guessed it blind mostly on reputation and what I figured Jason might bring. What a joyous wine, the best 2000 Bordeaux I have tasted yet. (Group average 97.11)

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With a salad of balsamic tossed greens, Bosc pear, and buttery-rich Bleu d'Auvergne, Roy pulled out two more white wines. They were very nice, but it was a tough downshift from the ethereal reds we had just enjoyed.

• 1996 Kistler Chardonnay Durell Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Guessed blind as a Kistler. Gorgeous color, deeply golden. Smoky with caramel, banana, ash (and tangerine skin, another great descriptor from Dave Browning). The palate is exotic with very nice acidity and length on the finish to prop up all of that wood. (Group average 91.333)

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• 1994 Chalk Hill Chardonnay Estate Bottled Chalk Hill 86 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Chalk Hill

  The somewhat doughy element on the nose showed this as aged Chardonnay. I found the nose to yield some ashtray and a slightly 'off' aroma. This was neither as balanced or as complex as the 1996 Kistler Durell. The palate shows some lemony, citrusy elements amidst the dough. Somewhat tight and short on the finish. (Group average 90.11)

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The first dessert course was Turkish coffee pot de creme, a dense, custard-like concoction strong with coffee, rich with cream, and thickened with egg yolks. It was a blissful match for the next wine.

• 1920 Compania Mata Málaga Gold Sweet

  Spain, Andalucía, Málaga

  This is the second one of these that Roy has pulled. Made from the PX varietal, this is aged in chestnut. This one was much lighter and sweeter than the last, and the 'Sweet Gold' designation seems to indicate that is the intent. Sweet, caramelized-onion on the nose with some spirit. Remarkable length on the finish. This was a beautiful wine and a great match with dessert.

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With an obscene assortment of chocolates prepared by Elizabeth, we slowly enjoyed the final wines of the evening.

• 1837 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Szamorodni Édes

  Hungary, Tokaji

  At first I thought this was madeirized and over the hill, but then I was surprised by the amount of acidity on the slightly salty palate. This has a very long finish with surprising life. Fascinating!

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• 1977 Fonseca Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  This was a perfect way to wrap up 7 hour dinner and tasting extravaganza. Heavenly with some floral elements and coffee on the nose. On the palate this has remarkable body and persistence. The notes are weak, but the wine was glorious.

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow, what a stunning evening of food, wine and camaraderie! Meanwhile, look at the AVERAGE scores for the nine tasters! (a wine or two had a non-rater in case you are examining my math...)

1983 Margaux - 97.56 pts.
2000 Pavie - 97.11 pts.
1982 Pichon Lalande - 96.44 pts.
1982 Leoville Las Cases - 96.38 pts.
1988 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - 95.11 pts.
2000 Margaux - 94.78 pts.
2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - 94.67 pts.
1966 Lafite Rothschild - 94.11 pts.
1982 Gruaud Larose - 94.00 pts.
1982 Montrose - 93.89 pts.
1982 Grand-Puy-Lacoste - 93.67 pts.
1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate - 91.89 pts.
1987 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Red Willow - 90.56 pts.

Thank you Roy, that was beyond spectacular!