Alright folks, my mouth is watering and I can’t wait until post-event to get something on here. Tonight I will be hosting a wine tasting benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dallas. My dad is the primary donor, and so I asked him what he wanted to do for the tasting. I was given the following parameters: Good wine, something fun, and something that has a challenge with a prize or two.
Hmm. Okay, how about Judgment of Paris? Can you identify which of the wines is French, and then let’s see where the preferences fall. There will be big cab drinkers and oregon/burg/afwe folks involved, so should be a good showdown.
Here are the wines I’ve pulled:
Okay, tasting was an absolute blast. It was interesting watching the guesses. My mom and dad were top of the pops which is not really a surprise because they were, by far, the most experienced wine nerds in the room (i didn’t participate as I setup the tasting and knew what was what). There were some huge surprises, which are detailed below.
2007 Taittinger Comtes – Racy nose of pear, lemon curd, green apple, and shortbread biscuit with a hint of white flowers. Gorgeous, but taught and crisp though long and smooth. A really solid wine, but will benefit with a few more years to settle and bind. 94
2005 Schramsberg J. Schram – Rich and yeasty with brioche, spiced apple pie, toast, and big leesy notes. A major counterpoint to the crisp raciness of the Comtes. Two totally different styles of sparkling wine. This is like Krug 163 with a little age, but not quite as well integrated or smooth. Still, very good but not great. 92
Most folks got it wrong, but the Comtes was the winner. France by a good margin.
2012 Alphonse Mellot Edmund Sancerre – This is just wonderful sauvignon blanc with mouthwatering acidity, bright citrus, stone, and white peach. The combination of fruit, minerality, and racy acidity is the reason this is one of my absolute favorite sauvignon blancs. Speaks to me. White of the Night for me. 95
2013 Araujo Eisele Vineyard Sav Blanc – Much lighter in color. Nose pours on the melon, kiwi, and bartlett pear. A bit viscous on the palate and lacking the acidity to make this pop. Hint of grassiness on the back end. Well liked and quaffed by some, but this is not up my alley. I’m 90 on that.
Close win for the USA here. Wine geeks in the room all had the Mellot on top, but the Araujo carried the rest.
2015 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet 1er Morgeot Fairly pale color here. Flinty notes right off the top with lovely apple and pear, and just a hint of cream. Nice long finish with solid acidity keeping everything nicely in balance. Lovely wine. 92-93
2013 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello Vineyard Needs a bit more acid and a bit less oak. Tropical fruits here with pineapple, dried mango, and apple, creamy oak, significant viscosity. There is a lot going on, but this is not my style. Am I growing AFWE on whites as I age? If you like bigger chards in that Aubert style, this is going to be a winner and great QPR. The Caymus crew absolutely loved it. I did not. Probably 90-91 objectively, but in the I won’t by again subjectively.
USA by a hair.
2013 Perrot Minot MSD 1er La Riotte – Really nice wine with cherry, raspberry, and sous bois, bit of oak. Nice balance with good weight on the fruit and nice acidity keeping everything level. I really enjoyed this and the meaty note that came with the fruit. 92
2015 Beaux Freres Upper Terrace – This is explosive on the nose, with huge strawberry and cherry, floral notes, a hint of loam and spice. So much going on. Distinctly sweeter tasting on the palate than the Riotte which, to me, was about as dead a giveaway that this was USA as anything possibly could be. Richer side of Oregon, but nothing short of delicious. If you’re transitioning from California, this is smashing. 95
Oh what a flight. Both wines were great, but the USA swept this.
2009 E. Guigal St. Joseph Les Vignes de L’Hospices – So effing good. Gorgeous blackberry and raspberry notes with and undertone of grilled meat, licorice, and spice. The minerality, tannic structure, and acid on this scream decades of aging. The problem is that it’s so freaking delicious I’ve got to keep my bottles offsite for them to last. Go get em. 94
2013 Kamen Syrah This is good too, it’s just a bit of a stylistic issue for me. Black currant, blackberry preserves, smoked brisket, hint of olive. It has some of those classic Rhone syrah notes, but is so much darker on the fruit spectrum and is dense. High glycerin. It has some tannins, but lacks the mineral and acidic lift. The result to me is that it’s just a bit heavy. Again, really good wine with a ton of stuff going on, just not my preference when tried against the Guigal. 92
USA is the winner, guesses were all over the place.
2000 Gruaud Larose – Lovely medium weight Bordeaux with great red cherry base, leather, cigar box, and a hint of tar. Good balance with fine tannins. Really enjoyable stuff. Perhaps not the most intense or complex 2000, but very respectable. 93
1997 Togni Cork on this was a touch soft, but looked perfect. Long strands of tartrate crystals on the bottom of the cork suggest near perfect storage lying down for a long time. Nose has some cherry and currant, but what should have been bright fruit has faded into something a bit figgy and less sweet. Pemmican, loam, spice round out the nose. This is, to be honest, a huge disappointment to me. I expected greatness, and this is not it. This has, to my surprise, fallen past its prime and is not trending autumnal and muddled in character. I might seek out another bottle to see if this was a bad pop. High neck, great cork. Everything screams Aces, but this was a bit of a bust for me. It carried the vote because some folks didn’t like the leather and tar on the Gruaud, but this was an easy vote for France for me. NR
USA here by a decent margin. My wife, dad, and I had the Gruaud hands down.
All in, USA wins the tasting. I thought the French were the clear victors, but what the hell do I know.
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