TN: When wines deceive - Faiveley, G Conterno, Mondavi Reserve, Willi Schaefer

What I love most about my bi-weekly brown-bag group is that it keeps us all honest. We have no idea what other people have brought. Everything is served completely blind.

We had a brilliant line-up this week, starting with a 92 Peter Lauer Sekt, and later 82 Figeac and 83 Canon. (Also an oxidized 2000 Bonneau du Martray - Corton-Charlemagne. Sigh.)

But it’s the wines that taste nothing like you expect that are often most intriguing:

1998 Faiveley - Echezeaux: “Northern Rhone,” I thought from the get-go. There was some spice on top of ripe, plummy, perhaps dark cherry fruit on the nose, and later some celery. In the mouth, this had a warmth about it – like it was from some sunny spot. I was guessing a 1990 Hermitage. It was too beefy (in the muscular sense) to be Cote Rotie, and too refined for Cornas. Some tannin in the finish, but that had softened substantially. A full-bodied mature wine marching at full stride.
What a surprise when it was unveiled. There were some sour cherries emerging by that point, but this did not have a Burgundy or pinot signature. But I find 1998 Cote de Nuits are sometimes like that. The Hermitage-like body was the grand cru speaking, I guess – so much bigger and more full-throttled than the 98 premier crus I’ve had. 92-ish for me.
Several of us went in on a big lot of 98 Faiveleys at Premier Cru in 2004. This was $44.50 at the time. Needless to say, I’m happy I have two stashed away, even if my guess was off the mark.

2006 Giacomo Conterno - Barolo - Cascina Francia: Some cherry and earthiness on the nose, and a bit of funk. Later a bit of celery. In the mouth, the tannins showed some maturation. Indistinct earthy flavors, with full body. It’s got some age, but it’s very fresh and vigorous. Someone guessed Bandol with some age. That made sense. Then I started to wonder if it was a very refined 100% sangiovese – a Pergole Torte, perhaps. Lovely. Good acid and tannin on the finish, but all balanced. 91-ish.
Uh, where’s the nebbiolo here? And why are the tannins so soft? No Barolo character – certainly no Serralunga speaking here. But, then, the 01 Cascina Francia was also a puzzlingly smooth wine when I last had it, at a similar age.

With both these wines, I suspect that longer decanting might have revealed a little more classical signature. I think these were each decanted only about 30 minutes ahead of being tasted. That doesn’t explain the soft texture of the Conterno, though.

On to the next surprise, though this was less surprising.

2001 Robert Mondavi - Napa Cabernet Reserve: We are in California, everyone agreed immediately. Inky, almost opaque. This is big, but well balanced. There were ripe raspberries, so I thought perhaps a zin. Chocolate, black licorice flavors, plus black cherries. Sweet, smooth texture. Quite a bit of soft tannin. Long, black licorice-dominated finish, with chocolate. It made me think of Banyuls without the fortification. Lots of softening tannins. I started to wonder if it might be a petite sirah. Maybe a Turley during one of their restrained periods. This isn’t my preferred style, but I thoroughly enjoyed this wine. 91-ish
I don’t think anyone guessed cabernet. But then we’ve had many from the last 15 years that have no (to me) cabernet flavors. With hindsight the chocolate perhaps should have been a clue.
This was marked at 14.5%, but the Banyul-like flavors made me wonder if the natural ABV wasn’t higher and that they reduced it somehow. It’s hard to think the brix wasn’t very high at harvest.

Finally:

2015 Willi Schaefer - Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese: Very pale color, almost clear. A trace of sulfur on the nose. In the mouth, the body is lightly sweet, and plainly riesling. Some white beach flavors but not a lot – or enough – acid at this stage. A bit of honey. The sweetness seemed like Kabinett level, but this had none of the umph of '15 Kabinetts some of us tasted recently. The guy who brought this often brings things that Eric Asimov has praised in recent columns, so there was speculation it might be an Australian riesling.
Based on the earlier '15 Kabinett tasting, I was really surprised when it was unveiled. The Kabinetts were showing fabulously – with great fruit, appropriate sweetness and solid acid structures. This was not nearly as sweet-tasting at this stage, and it lacked acid zip. Weird. My hunch, based on the pale hue, is that it’s a bit bleached and dumb from sulfuring right now – something that was more common in the Mosel in the past.

As consolation for all the bad guesses, one person actually pegged the Lauer Sekt as just that (albeit a more recent vintage), and the Figeac and Canon were clearly Bordeaux to most people. I guessed the vintage on the Figeac, so I’m not ready to turn in my blind tasting card yet.

Ugh…your notes are very polite but to me a blind guess of Banyuls when you are tasting a Cabernet indicates that something has gone VERY VERY wrong.

A shame since I have had a lot of Mondavi Reserves from the mid-1990s that have plenty of varietal character and are very well balanced.

It had the chocolate and intense cooked berry flavors of Banyul, but it was still a balanced, dry wine. I really don’t like most uber-ripe Napa cabs, but I quite enjoyed this one and repoured my glass several times.

At a recent blind wine dinner I thought a Luciano Sandrone 1997 Le Vigne was Cote Rotie. It was so peppery and had nice notes of beef broth. Great wine one way or the other.

hm. i really enjoyed the 01 mondavi reserve I opened out of magnum last month. Certainly a touch modern, but still a nice cabernet.

Hi John,

I was struck by the word decieve in your header.

In French, “décevoir” is “to disappoint” rather than “to decieve”, and “une déception” is likewise “a dissapointment” rather than “a deception”.

To deceive in English implies making a point of lying doesn’t it?
Perhaps the fact that these name wines did not match their reputation and/or price tag made you feel deceived…

In any event, beyond the linguisitic nitpicking, I think it’s wonderful to hit wines blind, to give an honest appraisal whatever they are.

All the best,
Alex R.

But where is the salinity?

There’s a sense of “deceive” that doesn’t imply a deliberate lie – just that something gives a mistaken impression. For instance, we can say, “Looks (or appearances) are deceiving,” which means things aren’t always what they appear to be. That’s the sense in which I was using it. And, of course, I was trying to be a bit provocative with the subject heading.

In the case of the Faiveley Echezeaux and the Mondavi cabernet, the wines weren’t disappointing at all. I liked them both a lot. They just didn’t taste like I’d expect those wines to – particularly the Echezeaux.

None here, but I had a Rivetto Langhe Nascetta last night that has a decidedly salty finish!

I’ve been drinking a fair amount of WS Spatlese and have definitely noticed that the acidity has retreated and they are not showing as complex on day 1 as they were a few months ago. They improve noticeably on day 2 and 3 (corked and put in the refrigerator) but I’m concerned that 2015 Germans may be starting to shut down. And I haven’t even received all of mine yet!

Well John, this helps illustrate why points are so important. You may not be able to peg a wine when tasting blind, but at least if it received high points you know you like it.

Banyuls is an interesting one for Cab though. And that was the time when they were going through some big changes right? I think right around then they released their first joint wine with Rosemount and Tim had been getting a lot of flack from Laube for not keeping up with other wineries. It’s also around the time they re-designed the winery and gave up some of the steel fermenting, going back to barrel fermenting, etc. A confused phase for the winery, just a couple years before they lost it entirely. I haven’t had that wine since release and haven’t had any Mondavi wines for many years. Might be interesting to try a vertical of some.

Yes, it would be interesting to do a vertical. As I said, I quite liked the wine – particularly when I thought it was a zin or petite syrah.

The '15 Kabinetts that one of my groups tasted in April, including Schaefer’s Domprobst, showed ample acidity and fruit (notes posted here). That’s why I was so surprised at this Auslese. This would seem a bit early for the wines to shut down.

Perhaps, but I’m not alone in my concern:

“As it was the case with the 2007s, many wines have gained weight as of late summer, which indicate that these are likely to close down soon. The incredible depth of fruit makes that the wines remain enjoyable, but without showing the full cut and finesse that will eventually show at maturity. We have an inkling that this great vintage will test our patience.”

-Mosel Fine Wines, April 2017

I’ve not tried any 15s this year but the Domprobst often closes earlier than the other wines in my experience. Timing is unpredictable.

I wouldn’t be concerned.

In the every-two-weeks sense, you’ll be relieved to know.

It right there in the Willi WS Auslese… “white beach”…

Uh, bi-monthly in my book, but I guess definitions cover both…good to know, John. Although I was briefly impressed beyond measure!

So fortnightly…