Better late than never to post my notes from this event. As you can see, I was on a different wavelength than Peter on several of these, though we agreed on a few. It was a bit of a crazy night all around, truth be told!
Starters:
N.V. Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Tradition Brut 1er Cru. We started off with this sparkler that features an effusive bouquet of bread dough, lemon peel, ginger, meringue, herbs and smoke. It is soft and rather easy-going on the palate, with a toasted spice edge all the way through. The structure and texture are open and the citrusy fruit is right up front. It has fine density, but in my opinion could use more drive and structure like what one finds in its sister wine, the N.V. Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs. Still, it is a tasty drink with a fine, even-keeled finish and is a nice way to ease into the evening’s festivities.
2007 Louis Armond Muscadet Sevre et Maine. This pours darker and richer yellow than most Muscadets I’ve encountered. It smells of fig, mango and other yellow fruit, but also hard minerals and wet stones–very unusual, and an interesting yin-yang I would never have suspected. In the mouth, it is fairly lushly layered, with soft acidity and no hard edges anywhere. It pumps out a lot of citrus and tropical fruit flavors and leaves a sort of sticky film on the teeth and a bit of tangy tingle on the tongue. It is a bit of a curiosity, really, and impossible to recommend for those intent on typicity.
2008 Argiolas Vermentino di Sardegna Costamolino. I’ve had this wine a bunch of times, though this bottle was a tad more exuberant on the nose than most—featuring light but exotic aromas of litchi, kiwi, lime juice and honeysuckle. In the mouth, it is much the same—with an orange blossom inner mouth perfume lingering nicely. It is light to medium-bodied, but with a rounded, glyceral feel overlaying a minor streak of refreshing acidity. A nice QPR.
Reds:
1984 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain. There’s a really old-fashioned sort of feel to this wine, starting with the bouquet that features all kinds of leather aromas, along with scents of dusty old library, tobacco leaf, mint, burnt orange peel and funky earth. While all that is going on, there is a core of meaty black raspberry, black cherry and dried plum fruit scents lifting it all up and providing balance. I really dig it. Way in the background, though, there is a musty old chest of drawers kind of note that is hard to deny, and while I personally do not think it is TCA, I believe one could debate it either way. In the mouth, the wine is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and flush with flavors of sour cherries, exotic spices, persimmon fruit, and even a bit of wood. It is great through the mid-palate, but does finish a bit clipped–with some sticky tannins, alcohol and tough acidity getting in the way of making this a complete wine. Perhaps some very low-level TCA is in play, as well, despite my personal beliefs to the contrary. Either way, I’d sure like another crack at this a few years down the road.
1986 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Mountain. The Laurel Glen has a gorgeous nose full of black cherry, fruitcake, dark earth, Belgian chocolate, tar oil, soft tobacco and dry cedar planking aromas that seem more youthful and vibrant than the wine’s age would ever suggest. In the mouth, it has a lovely, layered texture and delivers loads of plump spiced plum and briery blueberry and blackberry fruit breaking over the palate in full-bodied, mouth-filling waves. There are some soft and slightly drying tannins still in play, but they are kept in check by the rich and giving fruit. Overall, this shows some classic mountain fruit expression and is utterly inviting right now, though I am certain it can hold for several years to come.
1989 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. The effusive bouquet on this wine is big and rich–full of cassis, peppermint, eucalyptus, dusty earth, blueberry pie and toasted spice aromas. It is dense and meaty but also deftly spiced and tingly—managing to seem lifted despite the obvious density. In the mouth, it is much the same, featuring full flavors of plum, blueberry and black currant fruit accented by peppermint dust and finely toasted spices. It has a totally holistic feel to it, with a consistent and unabashed personality it sticks to all the way through. It is large-framed, velvety-textured and totally drinkable right now. It is a real delight, in my (seemingly minority) opinion.
1989 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley. Compared to its running-mate drunk side by side with this, the Alexander Valley is more elegant and slinky on the nose, featuring aromas of wet chalk, dried cedar, creosote, tomato plant and dusty topsoil. There’s also a tender sweetness to the black and red fruit at the core, which provides it with a caressing, silky feel. In the mouth, it is again more elegant and fine-flowing than the Napa Valley, with classy spices, a silky texture, minimal tannins and twangy acidity. It is medium-bodied, with pretty red currant and cassis fruit, and is drinking very nicely right now. Most tasters preferred this to the Napa Valley and I can totally see that, though my tastes this night were with the more obvious, but delightfully lush-knit Napa Valley.
1998 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. The Karl Lawrence is black and cool on the nose—showing lots of charcoal, lifted creosote, black lava rock, blackberry and congealed bacon fat aromas there. It also has a bit of soft oak showing, but otherwise is dark and aloof. It tastes a bit treacly at times—with otherwise tasty flavors of dark chocolate, black bean, black currant and dark cherry a bit more charred than I might like. There is still a youthful spine of acidity and a full attack of oak tannins here, as well—giving the wine a youthfully chewy and pasty feel through the middle but a tangy, fresh cut on the finish. It has a lot of life still bottled up, but right now it is just a bit out of whack.
1999 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley. The nose on this wine is strappingly big and broad, with a pasty and chunky quality to the aromas of spiced plums, blueberries and mincemeat. It is similarly big, rich and chewy in the mouth, again showing purple and blue fruit with a distinctly spicy core and lots of toasted wood accenting. It is very young, but also generous and full-flavored. It has fantastic raw stuffing and already possesses a caressing texture, but feels like it will be more complex and fully-formed 5 to 10 years on from now.
1999 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District. Compared to all of the other wines on the table, this feels much more brambly and briery-fruited in just about every way. It starts out with brambly and jammy mixed berry and rhubarb aromas on the nose, intermingling with grape stems, sweet cocoa powder, smoked wood and mushrooms. In the mouth, it again full of briery blue and purple berry fruit, stemmy bits and some cocoa flavors in a mid-weight package featuring a crackly spine of acidity. Whatever else it has going on, it just doesn’t hold much appeal for my palate.
1999 Merryvale Profile Napa Valley. This one is more of a Cabernet blend, with 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The nose offers an interesting set of contrasts—with full-blown aromas of fruitcake and mace bubbling up underneath much cooler and chalkier bits of campfire ash and jalapeno pepper. It is richly-textured but also tangy and juicy, with a lot of spices and oak notes framing the lithe, generously-flowing fruit. Tons of currant, black raspberry and plum fruit surrounded by soft acids show both good length and juicy character. No one thing really stands out, but I find myself enjoying drinking it right now.
2005 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. My notes describe the nose of this wine as smoky, smudgy, chunky and furry, with aromas of creosote, cool blue fruit, green tobacco, herbs, bacon fat and cedar at first and added scents of cassis and pencil shavings later on. Regardless, it is cool, aloof and a bit removed, showing a very youthful character. In the mouth, it is corpulent and fairly dense, with a lot of smoke and creosote tones at first. As it airs out, the texture becomes a bit more open knit and the fruit comes more forward. But there are stiff tannins drying the palate right now, and it feels like it wants more cellar time. Interestingly, a bottle of the 2005 Montelena Estate drunk about six months earlier actually seemed to me a bit more easily enjoyed right now.
-Michael
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