WTN: SOBER does Burgs, plus Prum, Rhones, '70 Bdx & CalCab

Last night was our monthly SOBER (Several Oenophiles Being Extremely Rambunctious) meeting, and I looked forward to it with great anticipation. These evenings are always great,but when John Gilman (View from the Cellar) hosts there is an extra guarantee of great wines. This night didn't disappoint, and I toughened up my grading scale to allow for differentiation of a bunch of excellent wines.

I was running slightly late, after picking up Drew we were the last to arrive. There was an apertif wine on the table:

1983 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese GoldkapselToo bad we had limited time with this beauty. Crystalline pear fruit with a little apricot and green apple,. honey and ginger, great length. Great definition, delicious. A-

John had a nice spread of cheeses out: aged manchego, delice de Bourgogne, St Marcellin, Morbier, Boucheron, and Epoisses. The main wines were in 5 flights, served blind (from decanters, so no bottle hints).

Flight 1
#1 Burst of cherries and flowers on the nose, palate of kirsch and flowers. A hint of the exotic- sandalwood and spice. Strong acids, moderate tannins. I like a lot. A-

#2 Nose is very tight. Ripe red cherries, some forest floor, but more seems to be in waiting than actually out and open. A revisit about an hour later is more expressive, with espresso and a little herby hint(I put B/B+ as we were in flight, need for an upgrade later, A-/B+)

Group quickly settled on Cotes de Nuits, but no one got producer (I think Dan did get Clos St Jacques as vineyard for #1) without some hints from John. Group preference was for #1 believe.

#1 1996 Armand Rousseau "Clos St. Jacques" Gevrey-Chambertin 1er
#2 1998 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Clos de Beze

Next up was a flight of whites, served with a delicious dish of shrimp in a garlic-tarragon- fennelseed sauce with avocados.

Flight 2
#1 Rather inexpressive at first, but opened quickly. I got this rather distinctive peppermint note, but no one else did. Lemony citrus with a little pear, good acidity, refreshing, but I thought it paled next to its flightmate. B+/B

#2 Wow, what a nose. A blast of toasted hazelnuts and a little herb. Palate is pretty impressive too- countrystyle apple butter and peach flavors, long finish that just won't quit, full yet elegant. A/A-

No doubts as to white Burgundy here, Dan and Jacques impressively immediately proclaimed number 2 to be a Coche-Dury (though one likes and one doesn't). Probably biggest divide of the night for favorites.

#1 2002 Comtes Lafon "Gouttes d'Or" Meursault 1er
#2 1999 Coche-Dury " Enseignères" Puligny-Montrachet

Flight 3
#1 Some oak, sweet red fruit, tar. A little black olive and herb. Some find it too oaky, I like a lot. There's a creaminess to the texture that appeals. B+/A-

#2 Structured. Good fruit, tar, smoke, but a little hard around the edges. Others like more than I. B

The biggest miss of the night. With the tar we immediately all went to Piedmont, with the opinions basically #1 modern Barolo and #2 older traditional Barbaresco. Once John said not Nebbiolo the group made its way to Northern Rhone.

#1 1988 Guigal "Brune et Blonde" Cote-Rotie
#2 1980 Gentaz " Cote Brune" Cote-Rotie

About this time the main course arrived, delicious roast pork with vegetables.

Flight 4
#1 red fruit, roasted meat aromas, minerally finish. Very tasty. A-/B+

#2 blacker fruit, beefy, a bit tannic. I guess '88 Burg. B+

I'm very surprised when vintage on #2 is revealed, as my limited experience with '85s have been forward softer wines.

#1 1988 Jacky Truchot Clos de la Roche
#2 1985 Robert Chevillon "Vaucrains" Nuits-St.-Georges 1er

Flight 5
#1 cassis, smoke, mushroom. Some tannins remaining. Gets leathery with more air. B+

#2 Red fruit, tobacco, a little brambly. Good depth, gravelly earth notes, tasty. B+/A-

Guesses were initially all Bordeaux, with lots of guesses for #2 as Graves (Haut-Brion, LMHB, DDC). Off by an ocean and a continent for #2, but Mark picks #1 as Montrose.

#1 1970 Ch. Montrose (St. Estephe)
#2 1970 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon(Napa)
An excellent night of wine, food, and company. Thanks John and everyone.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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

I'm surprised the 70 Mayacamas is still kicking. The 78 is still one of my benchmark CA Cabs.

I was as surprised as you. But every time John serves an older CalCab (he basically thinks California died about 1985) I'm shocked at how it has held up.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the notes Dale. It really is a shame that you could not spend more time with the Prum. '83 has been called a great vintage (I don't agree), but every '83 Prum I have had has been great, but then that's par for the course with Prum.

David,
my experience with '83s is very limited, less than 10 for sure. Only this, a Zilliken Auslese, and a Max. Grunhauser (Spatlese? Auslese?) really thrilled me. But I think the others were lesser producers so not a real great sample. I'll say that every wine that I had real expectations for has done well, but 3 wines do not a vintage make. What do you find the vintage's shortcomings?

[David M. Bueker]

I find that there is some unclean botrytis in wines from growers not in the top tier. Of course the top tier was much smaller back then, so getting fine examples from Prum, Grunhaus and Zilliken may be the best we can expect.