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Several wines and ... a roasted pig in the tradition of Asterix & Obelix!

Tasted December 28, 2009 by hcampana with 708 views

Introduction

My daughter was born on October 24, 2009. She is a cutey and is thankfully very healthy. My wife and I organized her baptism ceremony for late December so we could take advantage of a lot of our friends been in town for the holidays.

Most of our guests do not drink wine, so the number of people and the number of people are not going to check for wine geeks. I decided to celebrate in a hard to forget fashion, hiring a farmer to slow cook a whole pig. The hog weighed 81 pounds alive and easily fed 50 people with plenty of leftover meat. The cook rubbed it with salt and spices and injected the muscles with a "secret" recipe of several ingredients. The secret to the whole thing, is not to rush things. It took 7 hours to properly cook the hog. The tastiness of this dish is incredible.

For appetizers, I had fresh Baja scallops and lime cooked shrimp ceviche.

Flight 1 (9 notes)

White - Off-dry
2003 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Germany, Nahe
94 points
The dry white of the day! Ethereal, flowery and fruity with juicy acidity and perfect ripeness.

El vino seco de la noche! Etéreo, floral y muy frutal, este vino tiene acidez jugosa y madurez perfecta.
Red
2004 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot Vintner Select Mountain Top Vineyard USA, California, Sonoma County
80 points
Oak bomb. There is no sufficient fruit to support the oak treatment. A dissapointment.

Bomba de roble. Es como chupar la corteza de un arbol. No hay suficite fruta para soportar tanto roble. Una decepci[on dado el costo.
Red
2004 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank USA, California, Napa Valley
90 points
This wine has a hint of old world forest floor that lurks beneath its ripe fruit packaging. Softer than the preceding wines, it suffered a bit from been slightly understated. Excellent wine.

Dentro del envoltorio de fruta madura, este vino tiene una nota de sotobosque que nos remite a Europa. Más suave que los demás vinos, sufrió un poco por ser más discreto.
Red
2001 Neal Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Estate USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
92 points
This was an upgrade over the over oaked 2004 Pride Merlot Mountaintop. This wine has more classic Napa features as very pure fruit aromas dominated by black currant and a bit of leather. Medium to full bodied, with dusty tannins and an elegant, long finish. The tannin quality is noticeably more elegant than the chunkier style found in the regular cabernet of the same year. This is not a wine for hedonists, but rather for those that appreciate more restrained wines. Excellent in its style.

Este vino fue muy superior al sobre maderizado 2004 Pride Merlot Mountaintop. Este es un Cabernet más típico de Napa, pues ofrece mucha pureza de fruta dominada por grosella negra y una pizca de cuero. De cuerpo medio a pesado, sus taninos poseen una cualidad polvosa y un final largo y elegante. A diferencia de su hermano menor de la misma añada que posee tanino más bravo y masticable, sus taninos son más elegantes. Este vino no es para hedonistas que prefieren mñas maduración de fruta, sino para aquellos que aprecian vinos del nuevo mundo un poco más reservados y elegantes. Escelente en su estilo.
Red
2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Petite Sirah USA, California, Napa Valley
88 points
This wine sort of flew under the radar amidst so many wines. I was expecting a lot of tannic grip and concentration and was surprised to taste a rather subdued wine that was pleasurable but not memorable.

Este vino pasó medio inadvertido entre tantas botellas abiertas. Estaba esperando un vino atractivamente tánico y con gran concetración, pero me encontré un vino más bien recatado que, aunque disfrutable, no fue memorable.
Red
2006 Luigi Bosca Malbec Reserva Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
87 points
Very nice quaffer. Plenty of fruit and adequate acidity. Very nice for the price.

Muy buen vino de diario. Suficiente fruta y acidez adecuada. Muy bueno por el precio.
Red
2008 Alamos Malbec Argentina, Mendoza
83 points
Average quality wine that offers a decent drink for an attractive price. A bit thin and lacking complexity, it provides fruitiness.

Vino de calidad promedio que ofrece un vino decente por un precio atractivo. Un poco delgado y carente de complejidad, provee frutalidad.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2003 Château Rieussec France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
95 points
Why is the 2003 Sauternes vintage often maligned? This Rieussec is excellent. Tropical in nature, it offers abundant body, sweeetness and a long, spice scented finish. The best of the dessert wines from today.

¿Por qué algunos critican la cosecha 2003 de Sauternes? Este Rieussec es excelente. De naturaleza tropical, ofrece abundante corpulencia, dulzor y un final latgo y especiado. El mejor vino de postre de hoy.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2001 Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
94 points
What a nice dessert wine. Not as thick as other producers and light on its feet. It combines excellent sweetness, great acidity and evident botrytis character. A super wine.

Qué vino de postre tan rico. No tan espeso como el de otros productores, y más bien ligero de piernas. Combina escelente dulzor, acidez y notas características de podredumbre noble. Un super vino.

Closing

As the evening ended, I reflected on how fortunate I am. My family and friends were having a good time, food had been incredibly good and those drinking wines drank well.

The scene remitted me to childhood memories of the ending scene of many issues of the French (Belgian?) comic Asterix & Obelix where the whole Gallic tribe would roast several boars to celebrate yet another triumph over the invading Romans.

It does not get better than this in life.

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