Dan hosted SOBER Thursday , and put out an amazing array of wines. We arrived to find 5 types of Gouda (2 cow, 2 sheep, 1 goat, 6 mo-3 yr) and a couple of pates, along with a blind bubbly. Lemony, lemon curd, a bit of yeast, I like but have no clue as to producer. Turns out to be Italian, the 2006 Ca del Bosco "Annamaria Clementi" Franciacortia. B+/B
Dan was using decanters with stickers like Wicked, You Rock, You Go Girl, etc which made for interesting comments (“Wicked has a little sweetness”), but I’ll just use #1 and #2 for simplicity.
First blind white flight -some Cotat guesses, but once nixed someone got Chablis and John got immediately got Raveneau (and wine and vintage on #2)
#1-Dry, stony, crisp, waxy- 2000 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre B+
#2-intense, long, herby -1999 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre A-
Second blind white flight
#1-Fresh, minerally , full. Someone got white Bordeaux early, but no one got wine. 2012 Ygrec B+
#2- Catpee and oak, weird nose, better on palate but I’m thinking “what NZ SB producer uses new oak?” For me there’s no value here (at 1% of auction value!). 2012 Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc B-/C+
Dan made a great crab and avocado salad
Third blind white flight
#1-Several immediately got Alsace, John called CSH. Stony, long, apples and herbs with a floral note. 1998 Trimbach Clos Ste. Hune A-
#2- First bottle of this was tired and a little cheesey (some thought retsina-ish). Second bottle much better (though couple people didn’t like) -vibrant with pit fruit and mineral. 1997 Nikolaihof Vinothek Riesling (2nd bottle) B+
First blind red flight
#1- elegant claret-like, cassis and cigarbox. 1987 Dominus B+/A-
#2- wood , slightly pruney red fruit, fully mature. 1987 Shafer Hillside Select B-
Second blind red flight
#1-Spicy, elegant, sandalwood and long/big. First guess is Rousseau Chambertin, when no John gets Dujac. Gets better and better. 1988 Dujac "Combottes" Gevrey-Chambertin A-/A
#2- Deep, full, long, elegant , Chambolle was first guess when Dan said also Gevrey I thought Jadot CSJ, least got producer. 1988 Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze A-/B+
Third blind red flight
#1-Tobacco, blackcurrant, earth. Bargain of the night. 1988 Pape-Clement A-/B+
#2- redder fruit, floral. 1988 Rausan Segla B+
Main was roast beef, spinach salad, red potatoes
Fourth blind red flight
#1-Great acids, red fruit with citrus peel, coconut. 1973 CVNE Imperial Rioja Gran Reserva A-/A
#2- Earth, mushroom, red fruits, long. 1971 Marcarini Brunate Barolo B+/A-
Huge lineup, but Dan couldn’t resist opening bonus wines (blind)
1966 Magdelaine was delicious and mature, cherries overlaid with herbs. A-/B+
1970 Beychevelle was corked.
1970 Giscours was berry-driven with lots of floral notes, earth. B+/A-
1970 Magdelaine was lovely and complete, A-
Pretty incredible lineup, with some real rarities (Screagle SB and Ygrec especially) and some lovely wines at their peak.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.