WTN: SOBER reunion with Bdx, Burgs, Champagne

Our pre-COVID SOBER group held a reunion Saturday. I drove to a lovely New Canaan residence where we had a great late lunch in a great poolhouse.

Charcuterie and cheeses
2006 Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires
Crisp tangy and bright, pear and brioche, fine finish. B+/A-

2007 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses
Great showing, pear, lemon, and pastry note, with light notes of almond and smoke. Complex and long. Was even better revisited later., A-

Great vichyssoise

2017 Patrick Piuze Les Preuses Chablis GC
In a great place, oyster shell and citrus, tangy long and complex A-B+

2012 Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre Chablis 1er
Quiet at first but opens, best at the 3 hour mark. Citrus and apple, chalk and flint, beguiling. A-/A

Salad with homemade pate
2 wines in decanters, 2 in bottles.
Blind #1-Black cherry, forest floor, blood orange, earth. Rich and long. I thought while showing a bit better the flavor profile was identical to #3, and guessed same wine. Correct! 1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands Échezeaux B+/A-

Blind #2 - red cherries, spicy, a little thin on the end. I did not get it was same as number 4. 1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg B

Wine #3 1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Grands Échezeaux black cherry, earthy, citrus, a little lifted, some sediment. B/B+

Wine #4 1991 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg - a bit volatile and it getsstronger, sharp, some red cherry and sandalwood. B-

“Airline chicken” with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms

2005 Pape Clément
Divided opinions. Craig thought it showed a lot of terroir and a lot of winemaking, I only got the latter. To me this could be a Bdx blend Super T. Cassis, vanilla, and alcohol. B-

2005 Lynch-Bages
Fleshy, still some tannic bite, a bit closed. I never really warmed to this as much as others did. B

2000 Pichon Baron
Rich black currant., coffee, anise. Smooth tannins, good balance. A-

2005 Vieux Chateau Certan (half bottle)
In this format showing beautifully. Red and black cherry, floral, herby, and long. A-

2005 Palmer
Really young, but really good. Margaux berries, mocha, leather ; lots of structure but such a beautiful core. B+ now but this is an A wine

1998 La Conseillante
Black plum, sandalwood, lovely and exotic. A-/B+

Apple tart
1988 Yquem
Rich and deep, orange marmalade and creme brulee, long honied finish. A-

There was also a 1865 Hennessy Cognac, but I’m just not a spirit guy, complex but I can’t pass the heat. The group LOVED.

Really wonderful afternoon with old friends!

Edited to add the "Charles" to the "Heidsieck"

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 the only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting results with the two pairs of M-M. Were both bottles of each identical wine from the same person’s cellar? I suppose decanting a 35 year old Burg is a bit of a gamble.

About 17 years ago our SOBER group purchased 2 auction lots with great provenance. Bonneau du Martray CC from 1978-1992 and an assortment of 1989-1991 Mongeard-Mugneret GCs. We did a tasting at Andy's. There were some duplicate bottles, we had a couple contests for some bottles, but there were leftovers. Andy moved in meantime, last year found 4 bottle box marked "property of SOBER."
So we planned reunion. Andy opened Sat Am to discover 2 bottles of each, which is when he came up with blind plan. I think everyone preferred the decanted wines.

[David M. Bueker]

And the Raveneau sounds sensational. Between that and the 2010 Blanchots I had with Salil, I even more rue the current pricing.