Boston Poker and Wine-74 Mondavi Cab, 86 BV, 86 Beringer,etc

WINE TALK
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A bunch of our Boston members get together about once a month for Poker and some great wines. Here are some picts of the wines. I’m sure tasting notes will soon follow.

2006 Selbach Riesling Kabinett
1989 Lucien Abrecht Riesling
1997 Jean Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

2003 Arnoux Pere Chorey Les Beaune Les Confrelins
1974 Mondavi Cabernet
1986 B.V. Georges Latour
1986 Beringer PR Cab

1996 Ch. Branaire
1996 Ch. L’arrosee
1996 Cantenac Brown

1986 Clape Cornas
1988 Clape Cornas

2005 Dom. Dex Croix Bourgogne

1998 Autard CdP
2004 Vieux Telegraphe La Crau
2004 Clos Des Papes

2005 Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet (thanks Pete)

2005 Frederic Mangnien CdN Village Coeur de Roches
2000 Tokaji Orosz Gabor Pinceszet Puttonyos
2006 Alcina Pinot RRV
1986 Montelena Napa Zinfandel

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Sorry I missed this one!

Curious about the Albrecht (coulda shoulda saved that for my Alsace tasting this weekend!) and Brocard (any signs of premox?).

Liked seeing the classic Napas in there–Mondavi, Beringer Beaulieu GdL.

'88 Clape I am very glad to hear through back-channels is hanging in there just fine.

I was hoping to be around when Andy opened that '96 Branaire Ducru. Oh well…life is full of regrets! [suicide.gif]


-Michael

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Michael, the Branaire was top three for me of the night (not that you wanted to hear that)! The Albrecht unfortunately was corked. The 74 Mondavi was amazingly vibrant for a wine that old. we were very surprised to see the vintage when it was revealed.

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I’m sure Tyler will chime in with notes that are more detailed than mine. But here goes (all wines tasted double blind):

Whites
2006 Selbach Riesling Kabinett – Sweet honey, peaches, a whiff of petrol on the nose, nice rich palate with honey, ginger and limestone. Very nice drink
198+9 Lucien Albrecht Riesling - Corked
1997 Jean Marc Brocard Chablis grand cru Les Clos – Cat’s pee, intense acidity, limestone and just a hint of butterscotch on the nose. Nicely textured on the attack and mid palate, but almost painfully austere on the finish - a little under ripe?

Reds
2003 Arnoux Pere Chorey les Beaune Les Confrelins – Horribly corked
1974 Mondavi Cabernet – My WOTN. Beautiful warm red color with a little cloudiness and bricking – seemed older, but I was surprised how old on the reveal. Menthol, cedar, dried leaves and peppery underbrush on the nose. Nice structure and texture – seamless and elegant but not showing a lot of fruit at first. With 15 minutes in the glass started to show some nice cinnamon tinged black plums. Excellent.
198+6 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges du Latour – Flowers, black pepper, leather and tobacco on the nose. Much more expressive on the nose than on the palate, where it was quite tart and acidic. Some nice leathery structure but not a ton of pleasure.
198+6 Beringer Cabernet Private Reserve – White pepper., limestone and reserved dark cherries on the nose. Elegant texture and structure with dusty earth and hints of fruit on the palate. I thought for sure this was a fully mature Bordeaux given its elegant secondary notes.
1996 Ch Branaire – Very expressive nose of licorice, white flowers,mushrooms, leather and white pepper. Elegant attack with licorice and cinnamon tinged black fruit. Still quite young and aggressive tannins, but this is beautifully made and is going to be even better with some more bottle age. My second favorite WOTN – just beautiful
1996 Ch L’Arrosee – Leather, dark earth, rubber and licorice on the nose – intense and brooding. Some nice black fruit, but tannins still somewhat unresolved – seemed quite young.
1996 Cantenac Brown – Hint of brett, candied white pepper and plums. Subdued leather, significant oak, sunbaked earth and candied ripe plums on the palate. Also had some rough edges that time hopefully will help.
198+6 Clape Cornas – A little confounding. There were some beautiful white flower notes with substantial meaty black fruit but those glimpses were fleeting and all too often I got parmesan cheese and wet cardboard. Significant flaws.
198+8 Clape Cornas – Tons of brett . I like brett in small doses, but this was overwhelming. Tart black cherry fruit, spicy black pepper, beautifully textured when I could get past the brett, but then the brett would come back in earnest. Significant flaws.
1998+ Autard CdP – Black fruit and herbs de provence on the nose. Nicely textured and blanced palate, but nothing really stood out. Beautifully constructed and the kind of wine that would be much better consumed solo with a meal than in a big tasting like this.
2004 Vieux Telegraph La Crau – White pepper, spicy brier and limestone on the nose. Still quite closed on the palate, more structure than fruit with tons of fresh acidity and limestone back bone. There seems to be some fruit hiding there. Check back in 3-5 years and I might get more of a read.
2004 Clos des Papes – Limestone, black pepper and licorice on the nose and on the palate. Noticeably sweeter with full rich black fruit on the palate and a quite long finish. This has more to give down the road as well. My favorite of this last flight.
2006 Mondavi Private Selection Cab California – Very nice nose with black fruit, limestone and a little tobacco. The palate was not as good, with an off putting stewed plum flavor. My notes may have been colored by knowing it was Pete’s wine and his propensity to throw ringers in the mix

Andy and “Darren” - thanks so much for the great line up and wonderful meal. The Lamb shanks were incredible!

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Good stuff, Jud, thanks! The 74 Mondavi sounds great, along with that Beringer. Glad to hear about the '88 Clape–love me some Bretty Cornas! I agree with you about the '98 Autard–it doesn’t shine through in a comparative setting but can really give pleasure in the right setting (assuming it is not a flawed bottle like we had in Vermont!).

-Michael

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Poker Wines

Thanks to Zach for hosting. I didn’t bother taking notes on the whites or post party wines. All wines were served double blind.

1974 Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet
Absolutely gorgeous nose of sweet candied cherries, cellar dust, menthol like medicine, mint and ground herbs. Color shows considerable bricking around the edges with a nice ruby colored core. Raspberry jam, more sweet cherries and cassis dominate the senses. Palate is extremely graceful and round with the tannins fully resolved. Acidity is what is keeping this wine alive. Perfume like nose develops in the glass to reveal secondary notes of underbrush, scorched earth and soil. Extremely complex and very much alive. This bottle is the perfect example of how proper storage can benefit a nice wine.

1986 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Cabernet
Very luscious nose of maraschino cherries, sweet graham cracker crust, cola syrup and the slightest hints of sage peeking through. Color is much darker than the last wine with a dark red hue all the way to the brim. Palate is nice but a bit flabby through the middle. This wine still possesses small hints of tannins that integrate nicely with the fruit. Bright fruits, good acidity and plenty of life left. Loving the nose which screams more sweet cherry pie aspects. Great integration of creamy oak and fruit to finish this one off.

1986 Beringer Vineyards Private Reserve Cabernet
Soft rustic fruit on the nose mixed with gorgeous herbal notes, soy sauce slight hints of tar and game. More teriyaki like hints, saddle leather and warm road tar. Brambly raspberries are in front of this fruit profile mixed with hints of pomegranate. On the palate is an interesting pine forest floor component rounded with strawberries and more basil like herbs. Extremely complex, sweet, earth and even gamey. The layers of secondary nuances make this hard to put down while filing the senses. Touches of cool menthol and piney notes on the finish which is nice and long.

1996 Chateau Branaire
More of a muted old world nose. It looks like we just shifted from the CA to the Bordeaux flight. Glycerin mixed with perfume fill the nose. Dusty cocoa beans, oak vanilla, but not over the top, extremely layered and subtle. Dark baking chocolate on the palate toped with more powerful red fruits. Nose developed more earth, raw hide and wood in the glass. Really nice structure that holds this wine together. Drinking very nicely now but has the legs to make it for some time. Finesse and balance make this wine come tighter on the palate which hits a sweet spot all the way through. In no way is this wine too young or old, but in a great moment. Sweet balance and impeccable purity of fruit.

1996 Chateau L’Arrosee
A much younger wine on the nose, but no color change from the last. Luscious ripe raspberries and strawberries fill the nose. Fruit seems to be mixing nicely with hints of fresh creamy, toasty oak and vanilla. Great palate which is extremely expansive yet concentrated. Light on its feet but still packs a punch. Medium bodied wine which gives of loads of creamy chocolate, cherries and baking spices. Palate was a touch astringent as it grew with air, nice and dry though. Seemingly good structure and backbone speaks volumes for this wine. I was a touch confused how this wine developed with air. It felt like the body lightened up but the tannins grew. Interesting development.

1996 Cantenac Brown
Rock star nose with load of roasted coffee, black baking chocolate, toasted almonds, sesame seeds and oak. Sweet black fruits, whipping cream and oak are amazingly concentrated. Nice palate with tons of more chocolate intertwined with java like characteristics. Amazingly vibrant acidity, perfect structure, tannins in check with a hell of a lot of fruits. Nice wine which could use some more time in the cellar. Started to come together with air in the glass but a smidge disjointed still. I would love to come back to this in 3 years or so.

1986 Clape Cornas
Some said old and rustic and bretty, I said corked.

1988 Clape Cornas
Charming sugary nose which had caramelized cherries, raspberries and boysenberries with hot cocoa powder. Loads of sweet red fruits, cassis and tobacco. Small touches of forest floor, non bothering brett, musty wood and dust. Nice on the palate with subtle fruit and much less expressive than the nose. Chopped herbs, notes of thyme, ginger and cinnamon make this interesting to watch. Really nice spices in the mouth which dominate the senses, but not the fruit profile. I liked this wine as it developed the most within the time I spent with it.

1998 Autard CdP
Interesting nose of warm carmel, subtle cranberries, plum reduction sauce and sweet baking spices. Nose also gave of hints of sarsaparilla, sweet cabbage head and wild game. Maple and brown sugar infused oak make the palate interesting all rolled with sun dried fruits. Late harvest raisin characteristics which threw me off a bit but still nice, complex and complete. Medium body, nice color, sweet glycerin fruit on the finish.

2004 Vieux Telegraph La Crau
Big jammy nose of raspberries, toasty oak, brambly raspberries and Asian spices. Lovely full bodied wine with really big tannins and fruit. Glycerin, perfume, heavy oak and earth wrap this wine together. Lots of black pepper, peppercorn and steak seasoning. Touch of heat on the finish which blew off with a little bit of air. Nose becomes a bit more expressive as time went on revealing fresh cut cinnamon, dried herbs, graham and toffee. Palate softened up a bit, much more round and balanced with a bit of air. This has some promise but could use some time in the cellar.

2004 Clos des Papes
Really tight on the nose and way more subdued than the last wine. Pretty soft sweet fruits, slightly jammy but not anywhere near the last wine. Subtle floral notes make the nose a bit more complex than the last wine. Palate is rather hot at the moment, left in glass for 20 minutes before a revisit. Air did this wine some good as the nose opened up with more black fruits, oak and spice. Nose became even more secondary expansive with hints of lilacs and rose petals. A bit more round on the palate with leather, tobacco and mouth puckering tannins. Slightly disjointed at the moment but still very enjoyable, this could also use some time in the cellar.

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Nicely done…loving how the Boston crew works it.

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There’s room for you if you move!

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Might have to make a trial run of it first…

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It sure sounds corked from Jud’s note.

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I hear the room was 50/50

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Tyler, outstanding notes. [notworthy.gif]

I think both you and Jud captured the true Autard–not the one we had in VT.

Interesting take on the 1988 Clape, as well. I am curious about the development in glass–did you sense it was on a fast track or was it a nice slow evolution?

Thanks!

Michael

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These notes were made double blind? You clearly have a very good palate for Bdx.

N

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Tyler’s palate is quite impressive for a weeee lad!

My vote was that the 86 Clape Cornas was not corked, just very bretty. We were indeed split on this with. Not sure exact numbers but it seemed 50/50 on whether it was corked…(the 50% with me were the right ones!)

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What made it difficult for me was that the smell/flavor profile we were debating was in both the 86 and 88, but 100x stronger in the 86. Whether they both were corked, just one worse than the other, or whether there were different levels of brett, I dunno. But it definitely made the 86 unpleasant but the 88 was still a worthwhile drinking experience. I really liked it.

Michael, I look forward to drinking with you that 2nd bottle of the 88 I just gave you to see what that shows us :slight_smile:

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Great lineup, now that I finally have internet I’ll have to type my notes up.

I should add that that 06 Mondo showed a LOT better in the room prior to reveal than folks are letting on here. No one was raving about how great it was, but I think at least half the folks thought it was a good wine (if a Cali syrah!) dependent on price.

I was torn all afternoon on the 86 Clape taint - I think the 86 Monty Zin may have had a touch, too.

Another newsflash was that Zach, Tom and Tyler and Kyle all liked the 2004 Domaine des Croix Bourgogne!!

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I think the Mondo was an 06 California Private Selection Cab btw…

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I pinned it for cheap cali syrah worth $15 or so

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I remember you asking where I got it so you could acquire a case, but that’s it [notworthy.gif] .