Vosne Romanee offline Sunday 9/27 SF did you get a PM tonight?

Update Monday night 9/21: EVERYONE who said they’d like to come from this board and elsewhere is IN! If you did not get a PM tonight please PM me! We have 14 people and minus the inevitable last minute dropouts that is perfect! Oops plus me. I hope two poeple total bring hors d’oeuvres but not a lot I bet we’ll have more than we need. Because wine people are cool. Well… Burgundy people are cool.

I have a set of Dominique Laurent 1996 Vosne Romanee, Serie Rare. Let’s do a VR offline, any vintage but one hopes not too young.

His Serie Rare sixpacks are unusual:
Six bottles, each from a different vineyard, same vintage, same commune; here, VR in 1996
One barrel made of each of the six wines, none of these is a regular bottling for Laurent
Therefore maybe 300 sixpacks were produced total
Quality? I’d expect a range of 91-93 points

Where, when:
A Sunday afternoon in SF, I already know where (near the Marina), OR
Potsticker King in Cupertino, flexible on days of the week
September unless everyone wants October

What should you bring? A VR, ANY VINTAGE but err on the side of fully expressed; or a white; or nothing (if you come empty handed bring two the next event LOL or chip in more for food).
No sweet wines please, six bottles from one attendee means a lot of alcohol already.
No domestic pinot please, you’re wrong about your bottle LOL it’s not “just like a Burg,” I’ll ask you not to open it, all the red wines should be VR or on the borders of VR if you must

PM only please, please do not respond here

UPDATE on responses:
as of 8/14:
there are openings…six want SF, one Cupertino, plus Gene and CG willing to go to either location…this will max out at 10 or 12 for the Laurents
… but maybe a few others can come, just have to share, or forgo, pours of the Laurents (which might be the worst wines there LOL)

note: there are always dropouts when we try to agree on a date

Update as of August 27: The Vosne Romanee tasting, BYO Vosne Romanee or white, beginning with a six bottle (six vineyards) set of 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne Romanee Serie Rare, will be

Sunday Sept. 27 3:30 PM in San Francisco

at a place near the Marina with ocean view, free parking, burgers or shrimp salad plus hors d’oeuvres that we bring, informal dress, total cost your food plus $20 plus $20 tip for the servers (long story). If you buy a burger total cost $55-65 including parking tax tip. Everyone who has expressed interest up to this point is invited. Starting now, new people depends on dropouts because I’ve told no one the date and now we’ll see what happens. I’ll list people in a bit. PM me if you’ve responded and cannot make it.

People who have expressed an interest (partial names):

Two friends of mine ITB and into Burg
Anh TV (Anh, if you cannot make this one, I have a Potsticker one in mind, just no Serie Rare)
Rick Dah
Eric Lun
Gence Al
Leon Mark
R. Frank
Gene “ER”
PaulJ
Ashish
Craig G
Gene M in Sacto foothills
Cindy Wan

All of the above are in for sure if they can make it.
There is no one who has responded who is not on the above list. Correct?

Looks like we’ll be around ten people after dropouts. I don’t like to limit offlines to fewer than 14, I find that is NOT too many for a free for all…unless there is a tasting component to the evening. Then the Laurent is a waste at less than 2 ounces each.

So it might be, only the above people can taste the Laurents (which might be the worst wines there anyway), but more people can attend if they bring a VR.

We are definitely on
And there’s just about exactly room for everyone

George, I’m still in for this. Thanks for coordinating!

I’d love to take part. I have some Vosne Romanee in my cellar. Please put me on the waitlist. Sent you a PM. Thanks!

I have a 1994 Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg that seems perfect for this and I’m planning to still be there. Supposedly MM stood out from most producers in a tough '94, so hopefully the juice is still good and we can put that to the test.

Update Monday night 9/21: EVERYONE who said they’d like to come from this board and elsewhere is IN! If you did not get a PM tonight please PM me! We have 14 people and minus the inevitable last minute dropouts that is perfect! Oops plus me.

I have to drop out unfortunately. My wife’s back is such that she can’t walk more than a few meters at the moment. Going to take her to UCSF this week but at the moment I need to be around to help out around the house.

Paul, sorry to hear it. I hope your wife gets better quickly!

Some quick notes for those who are interested:
VOSNE ROMANEE TASTING - Golden Gate Yacht Club, San Francisco (9/27/2015)

Another wonderful wine tasting with excellent company.
Champagne
Both were excellent, but it was hard to beat the complexity and richness of the Comtes de Champagne. Truly a spectacular champagne.

• 1990 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne - France, Champagne
  Deep golden color; nutty, plenty of brioche, toasted Apple, wonderful intensity; palate has incredible vibrant acidity, nutty, still excellent fruit; finish is long. At peak, wonderful champagne. I’m always a fan of comtes de champagne. 93-94 (94 pts.)
• 2002 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque - France, Champagne
  Color is light golden; nose of moderate intensity with lime, mineral, very briny; palate is light, superb acidity, lemon-lime, salty; finish is medium length, slight bitterness. Very good but needs age. 90 (90 pts.)

White Burgundy
A very interesting white burgundy. Though my preferences naturally tend toward higher acid Chablis, this was very enjoyable and I think will improve significantly over the next 10 years (assuming no premox).

• 2002 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
  Light golden color; very aromatic nose with toast, butter, rich, vanilla, almonds; palate is full bodied, very young, structured, medium-high acidity, full body; long finish. Very young, and it needs another decade, but it has the stuffing. In a heavier chassagne style as expected but still fresh. High quality. 92-94++ (92 pts.)

Laurent horizontal: Serie Rare
This was truly a rare experience. All the wines were showing well, with the exception of the Malconsorts which had slight cork taint (though the wine could still be somewhat enjoyed). My favorite was actually the Cuvee Royale, which had a density that the other wines did not. Those who liked aromatics more tended to prefer the Les Chaumes.

• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Serie Rare - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Translucent ruby with some bricking; nose has good red fruit, nice stemmy; palate has no fruit, bitter. Slightly corked. NR (flawed)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes Serie Rare - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Ruby, cloudy; aromatic, but a little muddled, red fruit, good spice; palate has approachable but structured light tannin, plenty of juicy red fruit; medium finish. Very enjoyable, could age a bit longer, but this is drinking really well now. 90-91 (91 pts.)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée La Croix Blanche Serie Rare - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
  Deep ruby, cloudy; aromatic nose that has excellent earth, complex red fruits, good density; palate still has significant tannins, some black and red fruits, needs time; finish is medium-long. Very nice, may improve over years. 91-92 (91 pts.)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Rouges Serie Rare - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Ruby color, cloudy; aromatic nose of red fruit, perfumed; palate is light bodied, well integrated tannin, high acid, fresh, but not as deep as the others; finish is short-medium. Enjoyable, ready now. 89-90 (90 pts.)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée Serie Rare Cuvée Royale - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
  Medium ruby, cloudy; nose has very intense aromatics, with black fruit, high intensity, complex; palate is light bodies, fresh, great fruit, easy to drink; medium finish. This is wonderful, the best so far from the lineup. 93 (93 pts.)
• 1996 Dominique Laurent Vosne-Romanée Champs Perdrix Serie Rare - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée
  This is the bottling labeled champerdrix. Is the name of the wine in Cellartracker spelled incorrectly? Anyway, Medium ruby, cloudy; nose has high intensity, wonderfully complex with a great balance of stems and fruit; palate is light but with excellent density, red and black fruit; medium length finish. Very nice, even a bit too young. 90-92. 91 (91 pts.)

Other Vosne Romanee
The clear standout of the whole tasting was the 1988 Gros Richebourg. It was just a stellar wine, one of the best burgundies I have ever tried. The aromatics were unbeatable. I was fairly happy with how my Potel showed, and I think they will age well over the next decade or two. The Sirugue wins for perhaps the most interesting or the most character… I would love to drink it as an aperitif given its easy drinkability and its complexity.

• 2002 Nicolas Potel Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Pale ruby with slight bricking appropriate for its age; nose is intensely aromatic with floral, red fruit, stems, spice, quite elegant on the nose; palate is light bodied, light tannins but definitely has structure, youthful red fruit, slight asian spice, some cola, excellent fresh acidity throughout, persistent flavors through the finish; medium+ length finish. This is an excellent red burgundy, consistent with Vosne Romanee (aromatic, elegant, some spice), and enjoyable now but also still quite primary with likely decades ahead of it. Drink the next bottle in 5+ years. 91+
  Few hours of air: This is a wine with tremendous balance and a great blend of fruit and aromatic spice, fruits have become a bit darker; palate has fleshed out and has superb acidity. Overall, this wine is young. Needs a decade or so. 91-93++ (92 pts.)
• 1988 Gros Frère et Sœur Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru
  Light ruby color with bricking but less than expected for its age; nose is profoundly aromatic with intense perfume, floral, red cranberry and raspberry; palate is light bodied, wonderful freshness, excellent red fruit remaining, good earth; finish is medium-long. The nose fades with air but when first poured, this is a profound wine, well balanced, with the nose being the clear highlight. 97-98 (97 pts.)
• 1993 Domaine de L’Arlot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Badly corked. NR (flawed)
• 1996 Domaine Thomas-Moillard Romanée St. Vivant - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Romanée St. Vivant Grand Cru
  Light to medium ruby, clear; nose has high aromatic intensity, spice, black fruit, a little reserved, anise; palate is medium bodied, great mouthfeel, approachable but young smooth tannins, reserved and young; medium finish. I think this is holding back and needs a lot more time to open up and show more of its complexity. 90+ (90 pts.)
• 2006 Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Medium ruby, clear; nose has high intensity, dense black fruits, spice is savkry but darker than others; palate is light to medium bodied but masculine, dense, young rannins; finish is medium length. Very young and needs at least a decade. 89-90 (90 pts.)
• 2009 Domaine Robert Sirugue Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
  Light clear ruby; nose is very aromatic with black spice, musk, some slight funkiness and very slight Brett which I like, nice green complexity underlying it; palate is light but had good density, almost a bit of black pepper, excellent fruit relatively ripe; medium finish. This is atypical for a burgundy and a vosne romanee and is quite dense and funky, but I think that gives it superb character. Enjoyable to drink. 92-93 (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

George, thanks for setting up this wonderful event. The setting was stellar – sticking out into the SF bay on a beautiful fall evening was a treat.

And thanks everyone for sharing such great bottles. A treat and fine company to boot.

Ashish wins the award for most efficient note write ups!

George, thanks for hosting, even though the location of the venue left a lot to be desired! Just kidding! Hard to beat shoreline views from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz Island and beyond…

Aside from the ones that were flawed, all the bottles were showing well. Thanks to everyone for your contributions to a delightful late afternoon offline.

My top WOTN:

1. '88 Gros Richebourg - sublime
2. '90 Taittinger CdC - definitely in that sweet spot where the secondary characteristics of Sauternes-like nutty/creamy/sweet get added to the mix. Really good even though it was a few degrees warmer than what I normally prefer.
3. '96 Laurent Les Chaumes - the one that I remembered savoring the most of the Serie Rare.

Great group, great wines, thanks everyone!

See new offline post: upcoming: same place and time and day, same grape, in a few weeks. Different vibe.