Annual CdP dinner at the Edina Country Club in Edina, MN (bubbles, CdP, & a GKA)

WINE TALK
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Had a great time at our annual post-Christmas CdP dinner in Edina, MN. Overall, the lineup was amazing, and none of the bottles present were “dirty.” My clear WOTN was the Bonneau, but I do believe the ‘01 Beau might be of superior quality if given enough time. Many thanks to all who were in attendance for contributing to a memorable evening!

Light golden yellow color of medium-light depth. Intense and rich Nose: slight minerality with warm tropical fruits; some oak, but not too much. Medium-light bodied and airy on the palate; lively, with apple being the predominant flavor; slight smokey element to it, as well; noticeable acidity; no alcohol taste, but there was a slight warming sensation in the belly; medium length finish of moderate-light intensity. Drank alongside a 2001 Mumm DVX; I preferred this one.


  • 2001 Mumm Napa DVX - USA, California, Napa Valley (12/26/2010)
    – popped and poured –
    – tasted a single glass non-blind over 15 minutes –

Slight yellow color. Nose was rather light, and smelled yeasty and somewhat similar to a new bag of rubber balloons. Palate was a bit sweet, and showed good minerality and a hint of moldy brie cheese rind. Overall, this did seem a bit fat to me, and it was not well-served by being served next to a very nice and lively NV Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne Extra Quality Brut.


Particulate matter present. Incredibly expressive and complex Nose showed elements of celery seed, kirsch, strong leather, cumin, indian spice, and lavender. The tannins are completely resolved at this point. The palate was nearly as good as the Nose; this CdP is clearly playing in the dirt, showing lots of smokey/leathery/horsey tones to go along with the tertiary fruit that’s still there in spades. Not a touch of primary left on this beauty. Acidity is noticeable, and this wine is overall well-balanced. I did get a bit of alcohol taste on the palate as well as a hint of alcohol on the finish. Finish was medium-long to long, and of moderate intensity. Quite a gorgeous wine. I say drink ‘em if you got ‘em: I don’t think this is going to get any better. My WOTN (and, if I’m not mistaken, I believe this was the unanimous WOTN). Well done, Craig!


Particulate matter present. Earthy ruby red color. Nose was expressive, showing sweet red fruits and lots of cementy minerality; hint of horsey hay on the Nose, as well. Well-balanced between acid and tannin on the palate (tannin was pretty round), showing sweet fruit notes, anise, and hints of citrus and musty canvas. Alcohol was barely noticeable. Not loosely structured, but not as focused and well-put-together as a truly superb wine, either. Drinking well now, but will perhaps get a wee bit better with a couple more years of age.


Purple color of medium-deep depth. Medium-grained particulate matter present. Purple berries on the Nose, as well as a cement note and a rather pronounced vegetal aspect. Tannin was soft, but still grippy. Acidity was noticeable; overall, this was well-balanced, and showed nice dark fruit and leather flavors. Fruit is maybe half-way to completely tertiary at this point. This seemed a little less focused than the bottle of two years ago. Third consecutive year having this wine at this dinner, and this wine seems to be (not) evolving at a glacial pace. Continue to hold.


  • 2001 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/26/2010)
    – popped and poured –
    – tasted a single glass non-blind over 15 minutes –
    – decanted for 1 hour before the event –

Fine particulate matter present. Nose was sweet, and showing red berries along with a strong wave of rosebush; also had this odd (but strangely not off-putting) hint of fresh lake fish. Medium-full bodied. The palate was very tight, but did show some red berry (raspberry jam) and earth flavors. Tannins were grippy, but not drying; acidity was noticeable; overall, this struck me as well-balanced. Needs time; do not drink now; I believe this has the goods to be superlative with time.


Purple-ruby color. Fine particulate matter present. Nose was tight, and a bit spoofy: red fruits, with slight citrus and sweet balsamic aspects. Palate was also tight, showing raspberry and spice. Tannins were grippy and drying; acidity was noticeable, but this is still barely on the tannic side of well-balanced between acid and tannin. Alcohol was a little noticeable in the belly. Seemed somewhat loosely structured. Probably my least favorite of the evening, which speaks more to the fantastic quality of all the wines on the table that it does to my opinion of this wine. Needs time. Hold.


Clear ruby-garnet color. Deep expressive red berry fruits on the Nose; cigar wrapper. Medium-full bodied on the palate. Somewhat simple on the palate right now: fresh raspberry and a hint of alcohol taste that became more pronounced with air and as the wine warmed to room temperature; also seemed to pick-up some sweetness with time in the glass. Tannin was soft. Alcohol was a bit noticeable in the belly, too. The best thing this wine had going for it was its Nose. I’m a little concerned this doesn’t have the structure to age well, but will forego making up my mind on that matter until a later time. This wine confused me, and I’m not really sure if I like it or not.


Golden yellow color of deep depth. Nose was extremely expressive: honey; botrytis; apricot; diesel. Medium bodied (lighter than I was expecting, given the opulence of the Nose); the first thing I noticed as this hit my palate was the very nice (and surprising) acidic cut that it had — the acidity did begin to yield to the sugar as the wine approached room temperature, however; this struck me as being somewhat light for an Auslese; didn’t write down much in the way of flavors, but I remember it being obviously botrytised, and having typical MSR fruit flavor and noticeable petrol. 8% alc. was not noticeable, in true German Riesling fashion. Top of the cork was a bit moldy, and wine had seeped rather far up the cork (although the cork was not saturated). Seemed rather open, albeit still very primary. If the corks on these bottles can be trusted, this probably has another 15 - 20 years in it, easy. Not a mind-blower, but likely to please nonetheless.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Lake fish? Well, I suppose when in MN…

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Thanks for the notes, Brian.
Of course it could just be a matter of subjective judgement but my first 07 Pegau was better than the second. Not enough to claim bottle variation. They were consumed only a few months apart.
Nice to meet you. Did you try any Cayuse yet?

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Thanks Dan. Yes, it was very nice to finally put a face to your name! Alas, a Cayuse never did get popped while in MN – just too much going on. I have one slated for the very near future, though! Thanks again on that front! [cheers.gif]

As for the '07 Pegau … I don’t know what to think. I started-off liking it a lot because the Nose is expressive and impressive. I liked the flavors immediately after pouring, but the wine seemed to make a turn for the worse as it sat in the glass. I’ll give it another go sometime (probably on somebody else’s dime! [snort.gif] ) and hopefully I will like it more at that time.

Hopefully you’ll be able to join us at this dinner in the upcoming years. [cheers.gif]