Second Sunday Group: 2009 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
R&D's
Tasted April 9, 2017 by AllRed with 569 views
Introduction
The 2nd Sunday group gathered for our regular double blind tasting. For this group, we are presented a couple of double blind warm ups before the main flight. The warm ups are discussed & unveiled before moving on to the themed main flight. We spent forty five minutes or so tasting and evaluation the eight wines for the main flight before ranking the wines and then making guesses as to what we were tasting. Wines are ranked 1-8, one point for each place, and then unveiled from last place to first place. After the tasting, dinner is served with the additional wines brought by the group, nonblind. For this tasting we had eleven tasters and the cost was $40.
Flight 1 - Nonblind warm ups (2 notes)
R&D had purchased some Vesselle but not tasted it yet, and we had half a bottle of the Morlet left over from the prior evening so we brought them along to sip on before moving on to the warm ups. With above average temps in Chicago, we tasted on the screened-in patio as the cardinals, chickadees and finches flitted about, providing some entertainment. R&D's resident turkey also made an appearance under the bird feeder.
White
2014 Morlet Family Vineyards Chardonnay Ma Douce
USA, California, Sonoma County, Fort Ross - Seaview
This didn't change much at all over 24 hours. Vanilla is the dominant note, with apple and citrus undertones. The palate shows apple with tropical banana and coconut flavors and hints of stone and lemon oil. This really needs a couple of years in the cellar, or a healthy decant if drinking now.
Flight 2 - Warm ups (2 notes)
White
2014 Pazo de Barrantes Albariño Rías Baixas
Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas
Double blind. Aromas of stone fruit and mango- tropical, with floral undertones. The longer I kept my nose in the glass the more confident I was that this was viognier. Tropical fruit flavors on the palate with a subtle honeyed quality. A touch on the fat side, I'd have liked just a bit more acid. Perhaps this is from a warmer vintage. I stayed with viognier, but a couple of tasters nailed this one.
White
2015 Spottswoode Field Book Albariño Rusty Gates Farms Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Double blind. Aromas of beeswax, apple and toasty/smoky white fruit. Has a very northern Rhone thing going on. Plenty of fruit on the palate carrying the lengthy finish. Here again I was confident in my guess and we had roussanne in our glass, and I think we were all surprised to learn that this was the same grape as warm up A, let alone domestic. We all seemed to prefer the Field Book to the Barrantes.
Flight 3 - Main flight (8 notes)
Our host began decanting these about 2.5 hours prior to the flight being poured. These all appeared older, with a faded crimson core and some obvious bricking. They were all uniformly "older" in appearance. As I worked through the first three, they seemed like older Zin- ripe, bordering on pruny, but they weren't briary, and they were much too tannic for old zin. They also had fairly significant legs running down the sides of the glass so I began thinking of what could possibly be ripe, with firm tannins and significant body. I settled on older Petite Sirah. Another taster agreed with me and as a group we really couldn't come up with many possibilities- it was easier to say what these were not, rather than what they were. Anyway, as a group they were very ripe, bordering on pruny/raisiny, with fairly firm tannins. Chateauneuf-du-Pape never entered my mind as a possibility for these. I am not unhappy that we have only four bottles and one magnum of 2009 CndP in the cellar. Perhaps these ugly ducklings will one day be swans, but I'm comfortable missing out on that.
Red
2009 La Ferme du Mont Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Faded crimson color with some bricking. Well this is fairly ripe- almost Zin-like in a way but not briary. Pushes towards prune and raisin but not quite there. Plummy dark fruit on the palate. Ripe, peppery in the finish. Develops a barbeque sauce like aroma- brown sugar/spice/tomato- a little odd, but interesting. Has some tannin to shed too.
My #5, Domino's #4
Group #6, 52 pts.
Red
2009 La Ferme du Mont Châteauneuf-du-Pape Côtes Capelan
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Here again, very ripe bordering on pruny, with a distinct root beer aroma in the background. Medium tannins, with flavors of pruny red fruit and licorice.
My #6, Domino's #1
Group #2, 41 pts
Red
2009 Mas de Boislauzon Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Crimson with some bricking. Lavender, spice, licorice and red fruit- perhaps a touch a VA too. Tannins and fruit are in balance, though the fruit is again very ripe. Spice on the finish. Coming back to it there is definitely a touch of VA here.
My #8, Domino's #8
Group #5, 52 pts
Red
2009 Domaine Grand Veneur Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Aromas of bouillon and plum. On the palate this is a bit pickley- the acid here is a bit out of sorts. Red fruit and spice, but not quite as ripe as some of the others. The bouillon note is distracting.
My #7, Domino's #5
Group #3, 44 pts
Red
2009 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Red fruit, spice, and here again perhaps just a touch of VA. Firm tannin with flavors of red berry fruit and pepper. Opens up a bit, becoming more expressive though not really changing in terms of the profile- more like the volume was turned up a bit. The VA, or what seemed to be VA, is gone. Not as ripe as the others.
My #2, Domino's #3
Group #4, 48 pts
Red
2009 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Dark fruit, red berries and spice notes. Softer on the palate, with flavors of spice, beef and dark fruit...bordering on plum but not quite that ripe. Finishes with good length.
My #1, Domino's #7
Group #7, 58 pts
Red
2009 Domaine de Saint Siffrein Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Has a jammy raspberry fruit note which, in this line up, stands out as something enjoyable. Dark fruit and meaty/beefy undertones. Peppery dark fruit on the palate with rather firm tannins that clamp down on the midpalate.
My #4, Domino's #6
Group #8, 65 pts
Red
2009 Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Double blind. Spice and ripe fruit aromas. Firm tannins with flavors of ripe dark fruit on the palate. Hints of spice in the finish. This is a very consistent flight of wines- there's no debating that. Ripe but not overly so.
My #3, Domino's #2
Group #1, 36 pts
Flight 4 - Dinner/dessert wines (8 notes)
Nonblind, with brisket and sides.
Red
2004 Damilano Barolo Lecinquevigne
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
Cherry, currant, red plum and spice notes. Medium tannins. Red fruit and rose water flavors with a spice note in the finish. Good length and underlying acidity.
Red
2000 Château Léoville Poyferré
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Still a fairly youthful dark color. Notes of dark fruit and plum with tobacco and violet undertones- I could have kept my nose buried in the glass all night. Has some tannin to shed but what's there is not obtrusive. Plummy dark fruit, herb and tobacco with a lengthy finish.
Red
2012 Château Latour-Martillac
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Deep color with notes of black fruit and earth, hints of iodine in the background. Medium tannins. Fruit is a bit more ripe on the palate than the bouquet suggests, tending towards plum. Herb and saline qualities too. Finishes with nice length. Hints of tar with more air.
Red
2013 Rôtie Cellars Northern Blend
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
Aromas of red fruit and pepper with noticeable viognier in the form of a sweet florally note. Red fruit and peppery spice on the palate; balanced; medium+ finish.
Red
2010 Viña Indómita Cabernet Sauvignon Zardoz Ultra Premium
Chile, Maipo Valley
Aromas of eucalyptus, asphalt and dark fruit. Medium tannins with dark fruit, loam and green herbs on the palate. Lengthy finish. Impressive, but I generally like that Chilean cab greenness which is center stage here. 90-92 pts.
Red
2011 Lagier Meredith Syrah
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Always a treat to taste a LM Syrah. Dark fruit, pepper and spice notes with a subtle floral note in the background. Black fruit and pepper on the palate turning meaty as it sits. Excellent.
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