Heritage Blind Wine Challenge Finale

Guys, tonight is Heritage Auction’s Blind Wine Challenge Finale at Jean-Georges Steakhouse at the Aria in Las Vegas. According to the email we will “taste 8 works-class, all-Star wines blind”. The goal is to determine what you are drinking and they score you on your answers.

I’ll report back tomorrow on the flight back to LA with what was opened and details. Should be fun and if anyone else is attending, let me know!!!

Good luck!

It was one hell of an evening:
Blind:
Niellon 2003 bastard Montrachet
Niellon 2003 chevalier Montrachet
Drc richebourg 1985
LaFleur 1983
Groffier bonnes mares 2010
Margaux 2004
1997 Bryant
2004 sqn poker face

Non blind
1997 chappoutier Le meal
2006 chappoutier Le meal
2006 hudelot richebourg
1983 Palmer
2005 Palmer
1999 soldera
1997 pergole torte
2003 pavie
2005 troplong Mondot
1999 musar
2005 chapoutier Le pavilion
2003 abreu Thorevilos
2000 Colgin herb lamb
2005 sqn 17th nail

What a night…

Wow

83 Lafleur and so much more!

Sounds great!

Forgot to mention-Someone brought a 1996 Jayer Cros Parantoux that they knew was a fake and needed to be consumed! It was fun to drink and we had no idea what the blend was but it was really spicy and peppery which was bizarre. Cork was mis spelled. Texture on the labels was off. Educational to see a fake. Not sure if it was a Rudy wine, but it made the night even more interesting.

Who gets invited, top scorers from nyc and la?

Yes the top 3 scorers from each of the regional qualifying rounds get the invite to attend which in this case was NYC, Chicago, LA and a 4th city that is escaping me at present.

Twas a tough night of blind tasting on my end as I had not tasted any of these exact wines before so my guesses were unfortunately just that. And when you start in the wrong direction, it’s hard to right your ship and when you lose those freebie points associated with getting the country of origin (10 points), the region (15 points) and the varietal (15 points), it’s a slippery slope. I finished with 215 out of 1200 total points which I guess is semi respectable but the top 3 people were all in that 315-345 range if I remember correctly.

Wine 1: 2003 Michel Niellon Batard-Montrachet
Guessed: 2008 Coche Dury Corton Charlemagne, this smelled like an Aubert Chardonnay but I eventually changed my mind and picked up some points (40 points)

Wine 2: 2003 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet
Guessed: 2006 Chave Hermitage Blanc, was a little waxy and I did not pick up any Chardonnay indicators and ended up in the wrong region (10 points)

Wine 3: 1985 DRC Richebourg
Guessed: 1999 DRC La Tache, picked up beautiful, delicate red fruit which made me go Vosne (100 points)

Wine 4: 1983 Lafleur
Guessed: 1994 Araujo Eisele, picked up some earthy, olive notes and really thought this could be old Cali and I am not quite sure how I ended up here (zero points)

Wine 5: 2010 Groffier Bonnes Mares
Guessed: 1989 Le Pin; I went with Merlot upon first sniff and never really changed my course (10 points)

Wine 6: 2004 Margaux
Guessed: 1982 Lafite Rothschild; clearly left bank Bdx offering with a great mouthfeel so I went FG but I did not detect any Margaux berries here (40 points)

Wine 7: 1997 Bryant Family
Guessed: 1995 Chave Hermitage, it started off new world-ish but changed and I ended up off the ranch in the Northern Rhône (zero points)

Wine 8: 2004 SQN Poker Face
Guessed: 2003 Torbreck Runrig Shiraz, identified this as high octane Syrah just from the wrong area of the world (15 points)

Really have to thank Frank Martell and Mike Madrigale for putting together this wonderful evening for us as it was a real treat, from the location, to the lineup, to the food etc

What you find yourself looking at and the lighting was a little dim at my end of the table.

The lineup of wines once revealed, one through eight.

And here is a snapshot of a sample tasting page along with the point values that are associated with correct answers.

Very cool and wow that sounds tough! JC, I’m curious if on the Richebourg, your mind went straight to DRC, or if that was just a “this is as good a guess for high quality Vosne as any”?

Guys, nobody on my end of the table guessed the 1985 drc. One guy guessed old Barolo. It eluded us all

None of the wines were easy give aways. Even the white burgundy from a hot vintage with some age presented challenges.

Yes-many thanks to Frank and Heritage for putting on the event and for all of the generosity of the attendees for bringing amazing wines for us to try.

San Francisco also. The high scorer of the evening was the sole attendee from sf.

I will point out that I had the distinction of getting the lowest score in the room. That was the goal, right?

Or maybe the goal was to enjoy some great wines (as well as some abominations of modern viticulture) In which case I also win as did everyone else there.

Jay, I got crushed and the guy next to me had the highest score. This was soooo challenging but amazingly educational and fun

Great to meet you by the way!

I had a pretty lucky night. I got the country/region/varietal correct for 7/8. Was lucky enough to pin down one producer (SQN) and one Vineyard (Richebourg). But I am quite off when it comes to identify vintages…

Wine 1: 2003 Michel Niellon Batard-Montrachet
Guessed: The oak just jumps out of glass. My initial thought is something like Kistler, Aubert or some other new world Chardonnay like quite a few people on the table. But I remember for high end chardonnay, I always assume the more oaky one is Cali Chardonnay in blind which is always wrong. I have no idea what to put down, but I once blinded 2011 Meursault Les Pucelles from Lafon as Aubert, so I just went with that.

Wine 2: 2003 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet
Guessed: I am pretty sure it is burgundy, but can’t really pin down where. I just wrote down 2007 Puligny Montrachet.

Wine 1/Wine 2 are really eye opening. The Chevalier is so much soft and a bit fragile, it is like a completely different wine from Batard Montrachet.

Wine 3: 1985 DRC Richebourg
Guessed: The nose is outstanding and unquestionable Burgundy. Went with Vosne-Romanée and figured it must be a Grand Cru. Guessed Richebourg. I wrote down 1999 Richeboug. I feel this one lucky guess gave me the edge over other participants… Now reflecting on this, 1999 doesn’t make sense at all, as the palate doesn’t match the nose and is a bit fragile. Should have guessed a older vintage.

Wine 4: 1983 Lafleur
Guessed: I always say Nebbiolo is something I can always pick out in blind, but then I always get it wrong in a more “high stake” environment. I thought the fruit profile make this either pinot or nebbiolo, but the tannin put me on the 1990 Barolo which couldn’t be more wrong. This was a really interesting bottle. Would love to drink it again…

Wine 5: 2010 Groffier Bonnes Mares
Guessed: This was another Red Burg with a nice sweet juicy profile. I just wrote down 2007 Red Burg, not sure why I didn’t go with Chambolle Musigny.

Wine 6: 2004 Margaux
Guessed: I got some nice soft fruit, but it is Bordeaux for sure. I went back and forth between Cab Blend vs Merlot Blend. That should gave me the hint it is Margaux but I wrote down 1995 Pauillac. It didn’t impress me though, a bit disappointed.

Wine 7: 1997 Bryant Family
Guessed: There is a sweetness here that quickly remind me one of bigger Napa cab. I went with 1995 Opus One, so this is actually a pretty close call. (Richeboug is mostly luck honestly).

Wine 8: 2004 SQN Poker Face
Guessed: I knew this is a over-the-top Syrah, can totally be an Australian shiraz. But, felt SQN is a safer bet, I went with 2005 SQN, so this was a pretty good call as well.

The dinner wines are also amazing, just feel there were too many good ones and there is not enough time to really contemplate them all.
The 77 JJ Prum Auslese (don’t remember which bottle) that ends the night was quite wonderful.

Looking forward to see everyone next year and I will take more detailed notes next time to force myself to really appreciate all the fantastic wines.

Thanks for posting, Shang,

Great work on the blinds!

Josh

Congrats to Shang, who took the trophy this year from me. I couldn’t get it in me to repeat

Props to Mr. Martell and Madrigale in putting this together. Thanks for allowing me to come out and defend my championship, but now it’s in good hands with Shang!

Wine 1: 2003 Michel Niellon Batard-Montrachet
Guessed: 2012 Marcassin Chardonnay. This was oaky and very CA-like, I was in the Kistler/Aubert/Marcassin range, and I was shocked to see this be a White Burg.

Wine 2: 2003 Michel Niellon Chevalier-Montrachet
Guessed: 2009 Boillot Batard-Montrachet. OK a little better here, but would not have guessed 2003. It was flabby, which reminded me of some 2009’s I’ve had recently, and therefore went with that vintage.

Wine 3: 1985 DRC Richebourg
Guessed: I was all over the place with this but had it pegged initially as a 2002 Vosne, but then talked myself into go to a 2002 Mugnier Amourueses, and finally settled on a 2001 Rousseau Clos de Beze (again, based on tasting memory). I would not have ventured into 1985, but my gut was Vosne and I should have stuck with it.

Wine 4: 1983 Lafleur
Guessed: On the nose, I went old CA cab immediately. On the palate it still had a very sharp bite with tannins so I started thinking Nebbiolo, but then ended up in the crosshair with Tuscany and went with 1985 Sassicaia. This was the one that was all over the place with the guesses.

Wine 5: 2010 Groffier Bonnes Mares
Guessed: 2005 DRC Romanee St. Vivant. I didn’t think it was this young, but not going to be upset at my guess here.

Wine 6: 2004 Margaux
Guessed: 1982 Mouton. Definitely aged left-bank BDX, however would not have even guess this was less than 20 years old. Kind of surprised this ended up being 2004, as it had that aged palate and nose to it. Don’t know whether that’s good or bad for this wine!

Wine 7: 1997 Bryant Family
Guessed: Powerful, hot, lots of structure, well made. Debating between CA cab and BDX left bank. Reminded me of 2007/2008 CA cab vs. 2009 BDX. Ended up at 2009 Pontet Canet. Shocked to see it was a 1997 CA Cab.

Wine 8: 2004 SQN Poker Face
Guessed: I forgot what I guessed, but it was a fruit bomb! I believe I went with a 2010 Hundred Acre. Didn’t have it pegged for an SQN, but alas…

Wow, some incredible palates here to have guessed double blind vintage wines from ALL over the place (in vintage, region, varietal, etc)!