Tim from my northern suburban tasting group SOBER held a "cellar chilling" party Sat (well, all weekend but Saturday was part I attended) to celebrate the completion of a long cellar building project. He had friends fly in from West and Midwest, plus a lot of tristaters. Party ranged from cellar (absolutely gorgeous) to kitchen to backyard. Tim and Sharon did a great job with the food (mushroom/Stilton quesadillas, tomato bruschetta, variety of sausages, cheese, beef tenderloin, lamb chops, pasta, salads, potatoes, etc etc). Many wines on offer, ones I noted included:
1975 Ch. Beychevelle (St. Julien)
Nice perfumey nose, leather and cedar mixing with the floral components. Light to medium bodied, almost Burgundian, except for a little bit of rasping tannins on the backside. Nice mature Bordeaux, if not a showstopper. B
2004 Clos Saint Jean "Deus-Ex Machina" Chateauneuf-du-Pape
I think this is a luxury cuvee, and expected it to be too oaky for my tastes (the name is also not reassuring to those not looking for overmanipulated wines). I was wrong- there's a little new oak there, but not out of balance. Ripe grenache fruit but not overripe, there's some acidity there keeping it fresh. B+
1999 Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (magnum)
A little tight, but a revisit to the decanter later showed more. Some spice over black cherry fruit, smooth silky tannins, good balance and length. B+/A-
1989 Ch. Clerc Milon (Pauillac)
Black currants and plums, mostly resolved tannins, more mature than I would have guessed based on some other '89 Pauillacs. Good. B
2003 Ch. Clairefont (Margaux)Apparently the second wine of Prieure-Lichine. Pruney nose with a green herbal component. Low-acid, jammy, short. Someone said they liked, despite the green streak, but my question is how the hell do you get green in 2003 Margaux? C-
1995 Brovia "Villero" Barolo
Really lovely Barolo, with a long future ahead. Approachable, but some tannins remaining, and needs a little air to open. Black cherry, tar, and tobacco, good finish. I am a fan of 1995s as a value vintage for Barolo. A-
1995 Parusso "Vigna Rocche" Barolo
Kirsch, vanillin oak, warm and sweet. Certainly drinkable, but also drinkupable. Suffers by being served next to the Brovia. B-
2000 Mugneret-Gibourg Echezeaux
Red berries, spice and a hint of blood orange. Balanced and light on its feet, there's subtle power there. Drinking well now, with a nice future. Took another small pour towards the end, even better, with a perfumed nose and great length. A-/A
1999 Catena Zapata
I think I didn't get a vineyard designation on this one. Most notable feature is a very heavy bottle. This is apparently a $100 wine, but I found it fairly monolithic and uninteresting. Fruit forward and tannic. B-/C+
1999 Ch. Leoville Barton
This was decanted several hours, but was still showing some tannic structure. Sweet cassis fruit, some cedar and tobacco, good length. Very nice, surprisingly structured and backward for the vintage. B+/A-
1997 Courbis "Les Eygats" Cornas
Fairly low acid, ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruit, a little heavy in the mouth. Some tannins remaining, a little oak showing. B
1988 Ch. Le Bon Pasteur (Pomerol)My wine, but not the one I intended to bring. I thought I grabbed the '90, intending to horrify Gilman (very ripe vintage and Rolland!) with a wine I liked, but somehow got the '88. Black plum fruit with an edge of cassis, some tannins, not as fresh as some '88s. Still, an OK mature Pomerol, and while John did hate (mission accomplished!) most others seemed to enjoy. Maybe a step behind another bottle opened recently. B
1987 Sassicaia (double magnum)
I've never had a mature Sassicaia before. I quite like this, more complexity than I might have expected based on recent ones tried young. Cassis and freshly turned earth on the nose. Palate of black currants and a little cocoa. With time cedar, leather, and smoke. Plenty of life left. A-
2003 Beckman "Purisima Mountain Vineyard" (Santa Ynez)
Whew, label say 15.5% , but this seems even higher. Alcohol on the nose (I joke that I want to experiment with a lighter to see if the fumes will flame). Raspberry/cherry jam/compote, moderate tannins. Others love this, but not my style. NB that I seldom get enthused over pure Grenache from anywhere. C
2000 Tempier BandolSomeone's been doing doughnuts in the parking lot, there's an aroma of fresh peeled car tire here. I like this actually, big dark fruit over the rubber and meaty aromas, but not actually a massive wine. B
1997 Greppone Mazzi Brunello di Montalcino
Ripe forward cherry fruit, a little leather, decent finish. B
1995 Solengo (Tuscan IGT)
SuperTuscan is a little low acid for me, but very nice cassis and blackberry fruit. A little meat note, not too oaky, good. B+/B
2001 Brancaia "Il Blu" (Tuscan IGT)
Cherry and cassis, vanilla, maybe needs time. not too impressive now. B-
2001 Plantiers du Haut Brion (Pessac-Leognan)
Second white wine of Haut-Brion. I drank a lot of the 1999 of this. This has the 2001 combination of ripe fruit and good acidity. Nice pear and citrus fruit, a little mineral. I keep thinking I should like this more than I do, I think it suffers from coming after all these reds, but can't give it more than a B-/B for this night.
2000 Noel Verset Cornas
Herbal nose over rasberry and blackberry fruit, some black olive and just a hint of game meat. A little tannic, but I enjoy. B+
1986 Les Ormes de Pez
Actually, I have this written down, but don't think I actually tasted. There were probably another 6-8 wines opened when I left that I hadn't tasted , and more set to be opened. Even with some spitting for driving purposes I skipped some that I doubted I'd care for, or that I had recently had ('95 Prado Enea).
Really fantastic party (with more to come, I was first to leave, even though I stayed an hour longer than I intended).
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.
Thanks for all the notes.