Our Monday Night Blind Wine Dinner Group met to enjoy another fine evening of fellowship and wine exploration while feasting on excellent Italian cuisine.
Three of our members and a good friend guest were assigned the usual, for one to bring a bubbly, one to bring a white and two to bring a red, all of which could come from anywhere.
This theme mandates we even identify the varietal or blend as well as whether the wine is vintage vs non vintage, its region, the producer, vineyard{s} sources, kinds of compounds detected, and more.
Here’s some notes:
2014 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANEE BRUT- blind: 61% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, dosed at 8 gpl; I learned early on that my palate was all over the place when I kept vacillating on what this was, first calling it 2012 Comtes, but quickly ruling the it out; why would I do that when the unveiling revealed it was a Bollie GA? Well, on my palate, it was a very citrus forward, highly acid, blanc de blanc like champagne and no where near a Bollinger as it not only was Pinot Noir dominated, but had no signs of oak or the body or complexity I usually find in them; there was at least one other who got some red fruit, strawberry in particular, and therefore disputed my BdB claim; following its yellow color came aromas of fresh citrus fruit with lemon and lime most evident and once tasted, it was coated with honey which also added a similar dimension to the mouthfeel; it finished lemony and I’m continually searching for any signs of red fruit and not getting any.
I was curious to see what the house had to say about this vintage. Here’s their impressions:
“To the eye
Tinted with golden glints that reflect the wine’s maturity and Bollinger vinification techniques.
To the nose
A precise and fruity nose with a slight scent of sea-air. Aromas of cherry and lemon mingle with quince and bergamot. Then notes of hazelnut and almond, peach and mirabelle plum complete this wine’s range of aromas.
On the palate
The initial sensation is a fine and intense effervescence, followed by a wonderful vinosity, and then balanced with delicate acidity. Its very fine texture and sea-air finish bring excellent length on the palate, accompanied by a delicate minerality and the complex flavours of orchard fruit and citrus. This wine unfurls gradually, revealing its full potential and intensity.”
2011 BODEGAS LOPEZ de HEREDIA VINA TONDONIA BLANCO RESERVA- poured blind for the others as the wire cage was not removed in favor of honoring a Spanish tradition that I am told by a distributor of LDH is bad luck to do so; this was all I had hoped it to be and certainly a challenge in a blind format; our guest friend partially nailed it immediately in his list of possibilities early on which included “white Rioja”; it had a straw yellow color with a gold haze; the nose included mild, light aromas of flint and minerals while the taste had some honeyed and coconut accented yellow apple that faded off when a lemon chaser took over; after about 10 minutes in the glass, it changed dramatically with all of the individual parts coming together and now it’s a round, honeyed lemon apple treat that is so attractive and delicious.
Next up, 2 reds:
2018 GIROLAMO RUSSO FEUDO MOUNT ETNA- blind; this wine was one of my favs at a local wine shop’s dinner featuring wines from Sicily a couple of years ago and I bought some; it has shown up twice now in this blind format and I have not picked it out although it does have a trademark streak of pepper running through it that is sure typical; it had a youthful dark purple color and offered aromas of cranberry and red cherry that were joined on the palate by that distinct pepper note and sweet blueberry; my first thought was this was Petit Sirah and more specially, Switchback Ridge from 2001 which was a wine I took to a Winner Gets Dinner blind tasting in an other dinner group and it won hands down against some very stiff competition; then, I had another thought and likened it to a Cote Rotie and knowing the one who brought it and his recent bring to another dinner party of a Rostaing La Landonne which had a similar profile, I went with that; regardless, I love this wine, yes, for its pepper notes, but also for its nice balance and lovely red and blue fruit profile.
2000 VIEUX CHATEAU CERTAN POMEROL- blind; this comes from the the oldest estate in Pomerol, founded in the 16th century and has been known by its current name since 1745; it had a very dark red purple color and a nose offering milk chocolate and leather accented blueberry and I immediately thought of Merlot, but from where? Once tasted, the soft, smooth texture and continuation of the aromatics seemed to only confirm this was at least principally Merlot; about mid palate, some really fruity, pruny plum also joined; table conversations ranged from similar thoughts to Burgundy and beyond and i finally landed on it being a Super Tuscan, perhaps a Petrolo Galatrona.
Cheers,
Blake
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. Pretty much gave up on this producer after 4/5 bottles that I tried had cork problems.