With all 5 of our local members in attendance, our Monday Night Blind Wine Dinner Group enjoyed yet another fabulous evening with all 5 wines showing superbly.
In fact, it may have been one of our best ever for how the wines were, regardless of price or pedigree.
We also choose to celebrate another member’s birthday after having also done so last week; so, we brought wines known to be favored by our celebrant.
Here’s some notes:
2004 LAURENT-PERRIER ALEXANDRA BRUT ROSE- served blind by our birthday boy; the pink salmon color told us we had a rose here and the lovely aromas of rose petals and spicy strawberry suggested we were in for a blissful experience; the taste profile was more of spicy fresh strawberries with some trailing hints of raspberry and red cherry, but it was the strawberry cream pie that took honors on the palate; its frothy, cotton candy like mousse provided the perfect texture and we were graced with elegance and charm throughout.
I believe this was the 7th cuvee for L-P Alexandra after first being made in 1982 featuring an unusual process of co-fermenting both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes aged for over 10 years before release.
The 2004 bottling was comprised of Grand Cru 80% Pinot Noir sourced from Ambonnay, Verzenay, and Bouzyand 20% Chardonnay sourced from Avize, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; they were harvested, hand-sorted, destemmed, macerated, and then fermented together.
2017 HENRI BOILLOT CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE GRAND CRU- blind; this sported a relatively darker yellow color and then offered mild aromas of mineral coated citrus fruit with lemon most evident plus some nice apple; there was more of the same on the palate which was much more expressive and it finished with a touch of saline; this was a lovely wine that offered more grace, charm and elegance with nice balance; I/we did not get the producer or vineyard, but a couple of us got the vintage and that is was quality white Burgundy.
2020 LEFLAIVE LES PUCELLES PULIGNY-MONTRACHET 1er Cru- blind; following its clear yellow color came aromas of white flowers, tropical and citrus fruit and apple which once tasted was more specifically expressed as lemon, pineapple, green and yellow apple with a hint of white peach in the background; it had wonderful balance, a super smooth mouthfeel and just reeked of class and integrity; when the clue was given that this came from a preferred vineyard that one of us had previously expressed, I thought of Les Pucelles which has been one of my favs for decades, but it was actually another member’s comment that was being honored.
Regardless, this is Grand Cru fruit in a premier cru label.
1994 CHATEAU MONTELENA CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA- blind; my bring and recognized, decanted one hour with lots of sediment; the medium red purple color had enough fading to suggest it was experiencing some age which was not evident in previous bottles opened in the last couple of years; the nose seemed to clearly be Cabernet with some cedar, toasty oak and leather accented black currant; on the palate, some pretty stiff tannins showed up initially along with more lovely dark fruit in this full bodied, beautifully evolving wine that got better and less tannic over time in the glass with repeated swirls; known to be a favorite of our birthday celebrant, I was delighted he loved it.
2007 CHATEAU HAUT-BRION PESSAC-LEOGNAN- blind; this had a darker purple color and equally serious tar and roses accented blackberry and black currant fruit on the nose and in the taste; it was big and bold and yet had amazing elegance and charm while being beautifully balanced; its lovely soft and smooth mouthfeel paid the perfect compliment to the tactile senses to complete the extraordinary sensorial experience; we knew we were in the presence of a fabulous red wine and were all over the place from Super Tuscan, to Bordeaux blend, some of us had it on the Left Bank and some on the Right Bank.
This is comprised of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 13% Cab. Franc.
It moved into my list of top 5 wines of 2026 along with the 2015 DRC Echezeaux we had blind last week.
I continued to be amazed as to how special this group is and how fortunate and blessed I am to be able to taste so many outstanding treasures I would never have had the opportunity to taste had it not been for these generous folks.
Cheers,
Blake
