Tasting Group Dinner w/ Kevin Sidders - Steaks & Bordeaux
Our House
Tasted August 29, 2008 by Siggy with 1,807 views
Introduction
My friend Kevin Sidders was visiting his native Minneapolis for the Labor Day weekend, and our regular wine group gathered at my house for a raucous Friday dinner of Steaks a la Manlin and Bordeaux. In attendance were Kevin, myself, my wife Jennie, Chris Larson, Dave Dalluge, and Craig Vanderah. This was an especially fun evening, in part because it was a mini-reunion for three of us that visited France for a two-week wine tasting trip in May of 2006. My WOTN was the amazing 1990 Montrose, and the 1985 Alain Robert "Tradition" was an absolute stunner.
Flight 1 - Starters (4 notes)
We hung out in the kitchen listening to Iggy & The Stooges and Foo Fighters while we chopped and cooked. We chowed on a cheese assortment (courtesy of Chris), fresh steamed artichokes with a lemon beurre blanc sauce (prepared by Chris), and homemade crab cakes (made by Craig's wife Nita). The Alain Robert was a big surprise and a huge hit.
Rosé
2007 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé
France, Provence, Bandol
Wonderful fresh fruit (watermelon, strawberry, peach), with crisp acidity and a long, mineral-infused finish. This was a touch less exuberant and not quite as seamless on the palate as the bottle I opened last month, but still a flat-out gorgeous, delicious Rosé.
White
2005 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Rich, medium yellow color. At first this showed a restrained, Chablis-like nose of flint/slate and toasty oak. In the glass, gobs of ripe, spicy, tropical fruit (pineapple, grapefruit, and lemon). This reminded a couple of tasters of an amped-up Meursault. Long finish with noticeable new oak. Thick, creamy, and juicy without being over-the-top. This producer really straddles the stylistic boundary between Burgundy and California in a unique and pleasurable way.
White - Sparkling
1985 Alain Robert Champagne Tradition Le Mesnil
France, Champagne
Attractive, rich, deep gold color. Lightly oxidative in the Krug style. Layer upon layer of flavor of complex citrus fruit, nuts, toast, and minerals. Impeccable balance. Utterly delicious. A real eye-opening wine, both intellectually and hedonistically. Thanks to Chris for sharing this.
White
2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
It had been nearly a year since I last tasted this wine. Very creamy and weighty in the mouth, with lots of butterscotch and orange peel flavors, and sharper acid than I remember from previous tastings. When I toured the Rhône Valley two years ago, one producer explained to me that white Châteauneuf-du-Pape often enters an oxidative phase 4-6 years after the vintage, and then re-emerges at age 8-10. The reasons for this are not well understood. At age 4, this seems to be getting ready to hibernate.
Flight 2 - Red Bordeaux (7 notes)
Dave prepared drop-dead great Steaks a la Manlin, which as usual were sourced from Nortog Meats in Rockford, MN. This was the best incarnation of this dish that I've had. Accompanying the steaks were Szechuan spicy green beans (prepared by Dave), and Jennie's homemade macaroni and cheese. The Montrose was unreal, and easily my WOTN.
Red
1955 Château Haut-Bailly
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Opened a few hours prior to serving, and splash decanted for sediment. This was fun and full of life. Brick red color. Nose of mature red fruit, leafy tobacco, brown sugar, and pine needles. The palate is mid-weight and soft, with sweet red cherry fruit, baking spice, and freshly chopped herbs. Fully resolved tannins. Smooth texture. The finish is moderately long. This faded considerably after about an hour, which was hardly a surprise.
Red
1995 Château Haut-Bailly
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Decanted about two hours. Totally unlike the '55 Haut-Bailly, tasted side-by-side (see TN). Deep ruby color. The nose is dominated by toasty new oak and dark fruit. On the palate, this shows concentrated black fruit, tobacco, and smoke, and finishes with a blast of oak and tannin. There seems to be a lot of interesting raw material here, but I found the tannins to be a touch rugged and astringent.
Red
1990 Château Montrose
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
Decanted about two hours. Really special, and even better than the bottle I tasted last year. Incredibly rich, yet almost weightless flavors: dark fruit, leather, smoke, meat, earth, spice. There was some horse, too, although this bottle was totally clean and brett-free. Gorgeous structure, with perfect interplay between the fruit, acidity, minerals, and perfectly ripe tannin. Oh-so-smooth in the mouth, with a finish that goes on and on. Improved with air. This wine is incredible and has a long future ahead. My WOTN.
Red
1995 Château Brane-Cantenac
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Decanted about two hours. Nose of meat, smoke, and a hint of olive. Dark black/red in color. The palate shows coffee, meat juice, and under-ripe dark fruit, with an herbal character on the midpalate. Picked up some dark chocolate and beef broth flavors with air. No Margaux perfume or silk going on here. In some (ripe) vintages, Brane-Cantenac can be great -- I loved a recent bottle of the '90, and I recently bought a case of the '05, which I hope will be as good. But this 1995 just didn't have enough fruit to offer much pleasure.
Red
1995 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Decanted about two hours. Fourth time I've tasted this. A textbook, middle-of-the fairway Pauillac, showing mid-weight red and black fruit, lead pencil, and earthy cedar flavors. This has classic Lynch-Bages flavors of tobacco and herbs that lead to a moderately long, tannic finish. While the tannins could use some more time to soften, I'm not sure there is enough depth of fruit here to reward additional cellaring (see previous TNs).
Red
2001 Château Léoville Las Cases
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Double decanted about three hours. Very promising, but completely shut down. Stern, brooding, richly concentrated inky fruit and lots of oak. The palate has a promising degree of minerality and finesse, but the fruit is closed down hard and the finish is dominated by a wall of fine, ripe tannin. This has terrific structure and should be delicious in 8-10 years, if not longer. I debated whether I could give this a score and ultimately decided that what was in the glass tonight was a good enough hint of this wine's true character.
Red
1994 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages
USA, California, Sonoma County
Tasted blind. This initially smelled like a mature, mid-level Bordeaux from a super-ripe year, so I guessed a '66 or '90 Left Bank. Wrong! The nose shows super-ripe dark fruit, moderate VA, and a bizarre blue cheese/popcorn combination that grew stronger with time. The palate is somewhat muddled and odd, showing mature, over-ripe dark fruit, fresh herbs, soft resolved tannins, and a lot of rugged oak. I remember liking this wine in its youth, and this has definitely seen better days.
Flight 3 - Completely Unnecessary Rhône Flight (3 notes)
R.E.M. and the Talking Heads hit the speakers, and we weren't done (only 11 bottles of wine so far!), so Dave popped a couple of Rhônes. The 1993 Chapoutier La Mordoree was a freebie from Winestreet that Chris and I had picked up earlier in the day. None of these wines was particularly inspiring.
Red
1993 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Expressive, floral nose of bacon and black olive. Light red in color, this showed barely mid-weight red fruit, some olive and pepper flavors, dried herbs, and a moderate to short finish with fully resolved tannin. Fully mature. Great nose, but a touch thin on the palate.
Red
2003 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Thick, ripe black cherry, pepper, plum, and garrigue flavors. On the palate, this comes across as roasted and raisined, although this bottle wasn't as stewed and hot as the one I tasted at the domaine last year (see TN). A forward, low-acid Beaucastel that kind of grew on me. I honestly have no idea how this will age, although my instincts are to drink these sooner rather than later.
Flight 4 - Nightcap (1 note)
Kevin, Chris, and Dave are three of the biggest fellow Twins fans I know, so we tuned in the late innings of the Twins-A's game, which the good guys won in a blowout. We opened a 2003 Suduiraut (my house wine?) to go with homemade vanilla bean creme brulees, which I had made earlier in the day. A great finale to a terrific evening.
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