4 for 4, A Grange, a Hermitage, a Saxum and a Papes

WINE TALK
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Last night 4 somewhat cold, but smiling wineos gathered at Allegretti for the second Tuesday group dinner/tasting. Last nights theme was Rhone Varietals and Blends, just not Syrah, (which I broke with at the last minute).

Thanks to everyone for being part. It was relaxed and fun. All the wines were interesting in their own rights.

1992 Penfolds grange Bin 95
The nose on this is amazing. Cassis, violets, cocoa, Bing cherry, blackberry, and a light note of blueberry. This change d as the night progressed, and actually fell apart in hour 3. It’s elegant and structured with class and grace. I loved to sniffy sniff this all night. Almost as good as last showing, where I said something along the lines of “This is what a first growth like Lafite can only hope to be”, and I stand by that……92

2004 Yann Chave Hermitage
The nose on this was all muted and menthol, with different percentages of each exchanging with themselves all night long. With food, this became focused and pure, but having it in line after the penfolds grange did a disservice to it. It was glossy with some light weight body and some confused fruit structure. Some camphor and band aid popped up toward hour 3. An interesting wine that I so wanted to call faulty, but could not. 85ish

2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
One sniff and you know you have arrived in the The Golden State. Big and chewy with a deft balance of oak, blueberry pie and a white and black pepper medley and some bacon fat. A gorgeous wine that evolved on and on as the night wore on. Never faltering, but not too food friendly either, at least not this elegant grub of pan fried loin of veal with ricotta gnocchi. A baby for sure, I would not mind following this one for the next 3 or 4 years. Intricate tannins and a generous, but slightly masked acid level. Nice. 93

2004 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Number four in this array of cross-continental Rhone wines; this was pure and precise with an elegant medium weight structure. Some blackberry and cherry with a hint of some blueberry and plums, the life of this hit its peak performance at about 2-3 hours. It too fell apart after hour three, but I appreciated it while it was present.

What a great lineup, but as usual, as good as they were the laughs and warmth at the table took center stage.

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Mike, how long did you have the Suckshake - wait, sorry, the Saxum - open? Ours on New Years Eve was open at least 3-4 hours, and I didn’t get anything you mention other than the oak and the ‘generous’ component. Perhaps it was better with a rather fresh pop and pour?

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Perhaps.

To be honest, where I am a tremendous fan of longish decants for cabernets, I am not for Syrahs. I prefer them P&P. They change so much over time, where-as the Cabs just seem to air out a bit.
But WTF do I know… [basic-smile.gif]