TNs: Godme, Mousse, La Tache, Rivers-Marie, BV GdL, Ridge Monte...

SOME WINES WITH FRIENDS - My House In The South OC (7/21/2018)

Everyone took a course and then had to commit to wines of their choice. We had some real treasures in the mix last night, and with the ongoing friendship and warmth of this group, it was a terrific evening.
Empenadas

  • 2011 Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru
    Poured blind. Smoky, toasty aromatic. Moderately glossy texture, with yellow apple and lemon oil. Brig also noted flint, which was a good call. All of that led me to think White Burg. Showing nicely at this stage and ready to drink.
  • 2008 Champagne Godmé Sabine Champagne Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
    Poured blind. 60% Chard / 40% PN, with a dosage of 5 g/l. Brioche, raspberry, green apple (which led me to think Montagne), chalk, salty with a finish of lime zest. Terrific.

Organic Dark Salad (Kale, Arugula, Mint and Cilantro)

  • 2012 Moussé Fils Champagne Terre d’illite Blanc de Noirs - France, Champagne
    Poured blind, was single blind for me as this bottle (and the Mon Village non-dose I paired with it) were both from my cellar, but I didn’t know which bag held which wine. Knowing that this Terre d’Illite was 5 g/l and the Mon Village is non-dose, it made the distinction easy to identify the bottles. Disgorged 07/2017. Light brioche, black cherry, apple (Brig called it apple-sauce), lemon-lime with finishing with a stony note. I then just left the bottle out overnight, uncorked and at room temp of about 70f, re-tasting again with the last few ounces that are now still, no bubbles left. Aromatics of golden apple and crushed rock. The palate is squarely yellow apple at this point, and with a spiciness that it reflects too, along with the brioche quality, I can almost think about a liquefied apple pie. Finishes with a tangy, intense raspberry quality and the same stoniness of last night. Having now revisited this and seeing it revealed with this kind of air and uncloaked with the room temp, I really like this bottle. Will source a few more as it’s pleasing, not as austere as the Mon Village, which should make the wine a good choice for those who aren’t into the energy and edge of the Mon Village.
  • NV Moussé Fils Champagne Blanc de Meuniers Premier Cru Brut Zéro Les Vignes de Mon Village - France, Champagne
    Poured blind, a bottle from my cellar so I knew what was under the bag. Paired with the Terre d’Illite bottling too which was under the other bag in the pair I selected for the dinner. I left the remnants of the bottle sit out overnight on the counter, uncorked and at room temp (about 70f). Re-tasting now to see how my impressions match to last night, and worth noting the CO2 is nearly all dissipated, leaving a still wine. Disgorged /2/2017, zero dosage and 100% PM. Aromatics show very similar to my notes from last night, reflecting grapefruit and white pepper. Core of lemon and fresh cut green apple slices. Finishes with a mix of lemon peel, apple flesh and the same stoniness of the Terre d’Illite. I really enjoy the wines of Cedric Mousse and the more I drink of them, I appreciate what he is cranking out and value his philosophy of biodynamic care for the plots he is using for these cuvees. Lovely champagne.

Nordhoff Paella

  • 2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru
    Opened about 5PM, served at 730PM. I have had only 2 occasions in the past to drink any of the DRC craft so I was eager to try this one. Aromas of spice, caramel and cracked spices. Strawberry, with what my notes say was ‘balanced and weightless’. Spicy, with length and a cool, light red color, with no signs of bricking nor any aged character that I could find. 18 years old, simply a beautiful wine that is expressive and joyful to drink.
  • 2016 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Poured blind, paired with the 2016 Summa OV. These were single blind to me, as I bagged them with the intention of keeping them cloaked to me so I could get a truer sense as to the differences between the two. S6showed aromatics of light tar, funk and some herb. Hard red fruit candy, smooth and lots od lovely strawberry. This is drinking with such a cool balance and polish right now, with a juicy finish that is smooth as glass. Excellent Summa and a treat to drink. My first of the 2016s and have been seeing a # of notes in CT about some of the 2016s being backward and not ready…this is squarely not one of them.
  • 2016 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vines Summa - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Poured blind, paired with the regular 2016 Summa. These were single blind to me, as I bagged them with the intention of keeping them cloaked to me so I could get a truer sense as to the differences between the two. Tasting these together, the Summa OV is much more youthful in tone, doesn’t have the immediate enjoyment of the Summa regular. Graphite/pencil lead nose, spicy and lively with the true to site orange peel, dark strawberry and pine, along with a little of the funky/tarry note of the Summa regular. Finishes with some grip and clearly doing these side-by-side, the OV is going to be the longer ager.

Beef and Chicken from the BBQ

  • 1985 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
    From magnum. Man, this was good, and as good/pleasing in class as the 2000 La Tache that was in the preceding flight we did. It’s hard for me to say that I liked this BV better but given that we had the mag to drink from, I got to taste this several times and it was in a word–amazing. Juicy and vibrant fruit, plenty of cherry with a dusty quality. The balance on this is impeccable and at 30+ years, it shows a freshness and regal quality. Beautiful.
  • 1999 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
    The color on this is a reddish-purple and it portends the freshness of the wine. Nose of cedar and a touch of something volatile, maybe a little heat. Stuffed with intense dark fruit and charcoal. At the end of the night, I re-corked the bottle and left it on the counter. Re-tasting now to assess the final ounces from the leftovers. The volatile kind of thing I mentioned is gone and the cedary, herby note is bold and fragrant. Spicy and cedary, with bitter cocoa, dark cherry and supporting acidity that keeps it lively. Finishes with some grippy tannin so in terms of aging curve, and with the data point this has been open for 12 hours, I’d believe this will continue to age for much longer. And given the cedary, cherry quality that really comes through, I also believe this will be a Cab that will continue to put on and express all the older era tasting qualities that many people enjoy. There is a riper quality to the red fruit that also should please those looking for something that adds some of the modernity of the current era Napa cabs, too.
  • 1964 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
    Damn, this is older than me by just a year. Cool to think I am drinking fruit that preceded me. Aromatics of lacquer, with some at the table also using words like brown sugar and sherry. It has a lightly confected quality, too. Seeing this paired with the 1985 BV GdL and 1999 Monte Bello, it was a terrific flight.

Berry Cobbler

  • 2016 Carlisle Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Grabbed spur of the moment to close a multi-course dinner and to find a wine to pair with a homemade berry cobbler. And worth noting for context here, I opened this last night and we splash decanted it and then returned it to bottle. All total, it has seen about 12 hours of air, I am re-tasting the remnants left in the bottle so it’s good it got all of the additional, to create a complete impression. Floral and fragrant. There are 2 things here that I enjoy: the astringence and moderate grip, along with the juicy, less extracted quality. These marry up against what I’d expect from Palisades and Mike’s touch, which are some blackberry and light chocolate. Yet, what is absent in this vintage is the staining color and weight, as the wine instead shows a juicy, medium weighted quality that is attractive to me. There is youth here in the tannin but in the end, I believe this will be terrific, middle-weighted version of Palisades that will be best to sample again in 3-4 years to see how the balance is coming along.
  • 2010 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Splash decanted three times and returned to bottle, served as the anchor wine for the berry cobble dessert we paired with it. Re-tasting 12 hours later from the remnants left in the bottle from last night. In candor, I found the wine boozy last night and it turned me off. Listed at 16.1% on the bottle so I shouldn’t be surprised. This is much better this AM, as the alcohol signature is far less present. Now, it shows a lot of chocolate, dark fruit, herb, and some tannin grip still present. Plush and packed with flavor. Decant this well if you drink now and enjoy. True SR PS here.

Posted from CellarTracker

Great notes Frankie! You’re a cab-guy now too? [cheers.gif]

Mike, I am diverse and brilliant. You having to ask is embarrassing to my ego…please refrain from such folly. [rofl.gif]

2000 La Tâche is a brilliant well knit together wine

I’ll post notes tomorrow
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Frank,
You’re making the most of life; good on you. Great notes and photos.
My WB signature certainly applies. I hope to share a drink someday.
Cheers,
Warren

WST, thank you pal. In a time where I find myself more often seeing big ego,cynicism, and division, it is dinners like these with people contributing and finding ways to be connected and creating this kind of joy where we can push back on the era and times we are in. I truly believe this.

Cool, you’re getting as out of control as I am - I’ll bring a cab next week!

Here’s the 54 year old cork from the Louis Martini. Came right out with a few turns of the ah so
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Great evening with the crew. I was on fire guessing the blind wines which means precisely one thing. I won’t get one correct for the next month… Blind tasting is a cruel mistress.

  • 1964 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros (7/23/2018)
    This bottle was gifted to me my a friend for helping them sell a cellar, it belonged to the wine curator for UC Davis. This is the wardens birth year wine and we’ve been hanging on to it for a special occasion. Tonight was the night, lots of close friends that appreciate wine. It was a low shoulder fill… Should I be worried? The cork was crispy so I decided to us an ah so instead of shredding, filtering, and decant. Pulled straight out. The color is very faded, like a watered down cola. There is a sherry quality to the wine., it’s certainly aged, but a light pure cherry fruit core with a note of white flower. That was surprising. Tannins are completely gone and probably have been for decades. It was drinkable and paired with a Monte Bello and BV GLT for a nice flight of California wine history.
  • 1985 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/23/2018)
    Seiber picked a few of these magnums from a friend of mine and he pulled this one tonight. Wine will surprise you. How is this 33 years old? The color, impeccable, not a hint of bricking sitting next to a '99 Ridge MB, it might look younger. Crazy. This was much more old world than the MB because of the moss and dusty/earth aromas. Light cherry / red currant and a noticeable splash of dried mint. This is really a special bottle.
  • 1999 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2018)
    Well, if you’re lucky enough to have a few of these in the cellar, no worries regarding aging. This was very fresh and vibrant. There’s a spicy note that I want to call dill because I know it’s aged in American oak but it’s definitely something from the barrels and a crazy perfume. I went back a few times because I thought one of the ladies might have put on perfume but nope, it’s the wine. Dark fruit, BDX like character and light caramel finish. Hard to believe this is 18 years old.
  • 2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, La Tâche Grand Cru (7/23/2018)
    This is the second of the 3 DRC I purchased for $20 a bottle. I drank the first as a test and brought this La Tache for tonight. I decided not to open the 3rd bottle of '96 La Tache and instead gave to FMIII as a gift. He can chug it with Nordhoff since he couldn’t make it this evening yet made the paella which was superb.

Great nose, what else would you expect? Plum, berries, and perfume. Palate was a lovely red berry and strawberry with medium acidity. A light oak toast wrapped around the finish. Very nice and extremely well balanced wine.

Lean and mean green apple, really good, with strong acid and light brioche. There’s a strong undertone of salinity which hinted at Godme as I’ve noted that “salty” flavor with them before. The finish is angular and there’s a caraway seed across the tongue. Really like this wine but prefer it with something to snack on.

  • 2010 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/23/2018)
    Very dark. Splash decant and then we jumped right in. Others we’re that thrilled with this bottle but I thought it worked well with the berry cobbler. No question, it’s in your face. Tar, Blueberry, and Raspberry fruit. The blue fruit really pops when paired with blackberries.
  • 2011 Philippe Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (7/23/2018)
    Blind: guessed white Burgundy. There was some debate about whether this was California or France. It screamed French to me. Some thought it might be Chenin or Chablis.

The nose on this screams white Burgundy and as soon as the flint and matchstick aromas hit the olfactory it was difficult to move me. Very distinctive. Medium weight with pear and pineapple flavors. Very nice.

Light yeasty nose and an interesting color, almost orange but clearly not a yellow of gold tone. Apple dominates the flavors. The mouthfeel is controlled by the aggressive carbonation. There’s a Motts apple sauce flavor which is good if you like apple sauce.

  • 2016 Carlisle Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/23/2018)
    Pop n Pour. Amazingly, this was fairly accessible. Color looked dialed back versus previous vintages and there’s a caramel and maple syrup aroma which follows onto the palate. Dark fruit and black licorice. It’s still young. Duh.
  • 2016 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vines Summa - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2018)
    Blind: correctly guessed RM Old Vine Summa. Nordhoff has turned me on to enough of these where their “familiar” now. I wish they were in my cellar. Red berries and delicious tart cranberry. Lots of structure and bramble/dried brush. Long finish. This is way to young right now, it’s great but hold 5 years.
  • 2016 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2018)
    Bllind: correctly guess RM Summa after only sticking my nose in the glass. This has a distinct and overt orange peel / zest aroma. Palate is red fruit and lots of strawberries and sandlewood. New world for sure. Even a little peppery note at the conclusion.

This wine is tremendous. Drinking incredible well right now, hit this one while you age the Old Vine Summa.

Posted from CellarTracker

Very nice Brigger. Sorry I missed you but glad you liked the Paella, lots of love (and saffron) goes into that.

Overall, how did the Sonoma PNs measure up to the iconic stature of the DRC.
Also, WHAT’S the backstory on DRC for $20?!

The Paella was excellent. Nice job Mr. Nordhoff. And thanks to all for a great evening.

Barry, here’s a link to the story on the $20 DRC. Nice QPR :slight_smile:

The RM held its own with the La Tache, no problem. Some liked the RM Summa best. All were excellent based on their style.

I thought the RM wines did very well. Hard though to define “measure up” as there are a handful of key differentiators for me that don’t allow the wines to be compared. I’d rather enjoy both for what they are, rather than what they are in measurement to each other.

Love how the zucchini flowers look on top of that paella, good job Steve! Also really enjoyed the photos and tasting notes. Life is good [cheers.gif]

Awesome notes and pics boys. Looks like a great night for sure!

Really happy to hear about the 85 BV GDL! Have a couple mags of 80 (birth year wine) that I’ll be popping on upcoming bdays. Hoping they show close to as well as your 85 did!

Thanks again for posting - a pleasure to read for sure.

Wow. Nice night. Those 60’s Martini’s are amazing. The Zins too. Not sure now but you used to be able to find them for complete steals.

Jason