DRC Rom St. Viv, Heitz Bella Oaks, Pommery Louise, etc.

WINE TALK
1

These are notes from Tom Bu from our monthly poker game:

A bunch of us got together for a tasting of wines from many of the world’s wine regions. It was a very fun and tasty afternoon. All wines were tasted blind (with the exception of the Eric Kent and Heitz) and all notes and ratings were made before revealing the wines. There weren’t any “flights” but the wine notes are in order of how they were presented.
2006 Eric Kent Kalen’s Big Boy Blend Syrah
The nose had a sweet, richness on the nose that I enjoyed. However, there was some noticeable heat as well. On the palate the heat lingered and the finished dropped rather quickly. However, there were some interesting characteristics is nice fruit such as raspberry and darker fruit, and some nice tartness and acidity. Because of the heat and lack of finish I scored it 86-87 pts.

1988 Pommery Cuvee Louise
The fruit that just screamed out at me was the green apple flavor and tartness on both the nose and palate. This was quite enjoyable. It had a good finish. Decent balance. 90 pts.?

1997 R. López de Heredia Rioja Rosado Viña Tondonia
First, I have to admit that I’m not must of a rose fan with the exception of some champagnes so take my notes into consideration. There was something strange going on in the nose that I had a difficult time putting my finger on and I still can’t. Maybe it was some darker fruit than I normally get in a rose? However, on the palate the fruit was brighter than the nose. Overall, it seemed more like a “red wine” than a rose because of fruit characteristics and what I perceived as more weight than a typical rose. 87 pts.?

1996 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée St. Vivant
I pegged this as a pinot (leaning towards Burgundy) with the first sniff. On the nose there was cherry, rich strawberry, with secondary floral scents and overall great aromatics. On the palate there was the usual cherry and the overall burgundian nuances and style. There was some very nice acidity. This was a very elegant wine. 91-92 pts. Well, after knowing what the wine was and re-reading my tasting notes one might ask why I didn’t rate this higher. I’m not quite sure, actually. I did rate this the #4 WOTN if there is such a thing.

1996 Joël Taluau Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil VV
This was another wine that had me perplexed because I found some interesting characteristics to it but also some off-putting notes that I couldn’t get over. I didn’t enjoy the nose at all as I noticed some smelly, maybe even skunk-like smells. However, I found the palate much more interesting. There was still some of that skunk, but maybe even in a much more subdued, interesting way, along with some dark fruit characteristics. It had a decent finish, nice acidity, but I still had a problem with the nose. 87 pts.

1995 Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux
This had another funky nose with some old world earthiness and barnyard. The palate had some dark fruits with a good midpalate and finish but then I started getting some cranberry and dried cherries on the finish. Enjoyable. 90 pts.

1986 Ridge York Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
Yet another funky nose. It had some of the old world characteristics on the nose. I noticed stewiness as well and some dark chocolate. On the palate it tasted old and tired. I picture this as a wine that may have been bright and ripe in its youth but faded as time went on. As I let it sit in the glass it seemed like it started to open up a little more but and maybe showing some new world style (I swear I wrote this before the wine was revealed) and with some interesting aromatics with some of the stewiness gone. Still I found it too over-ripe/old. 86 pts.

2001 Éric Texier Châteauneuf-du-Pape VV
I immediately pegged this as a grenache with a strong lean towards CdP. After going through a series of wines with a dark, funky nose this seemed brighter and fresher in comparison. On the palate there are bright, ripe red fruits in the forefront with maybe some spices and vanilla as well. Good mouthfeel, midpalate and long finish. Drinking beautifully now. My WOTN 94 pts.

1997 Isole e Olena Cepparello Toscana IGT
The nose was nice but slightly subdued. The nose started out with cranberry turned slightly darker fruit over time. On the palate the fruits seemed darker as well with slight earth. But then I started gettingnice crispness, and some of the lighter fruits again like cranberry. I noticed some drying tannins. Decent finish. 90 pts.

2004 Proprieta Sperino Coste della Sesia Uvaggio
The nose started off a little strange but settled down. I noticed some floral aspects and then some ripe fruits, maybe currant? The palate had some nice bright fruits, cherries and strawberries. There was nice acidity. I thought this was a nice, pleasant wine but I didn’t think it had much complexity. I still scored it well because I found it enjoyable to drink. 90 pts.

1999 Chateau de Pibarnon Bandol
I really enjoyed the barnyard funk in the nose. There was a mixture of spice and red fruits as well. It was lush on the palate, good mouthfeel. The finish was long, nice balance, very nice! My #2 WOTN. 93-94 pts.

2002 McGregor Black Russian Red
On the nose I found some rich fruits (raspberry, currants?) along with some earth. The fruit was ripe but not stewed. I found bright acidity which was nice. The finish was long. I found this quite enjoyable. When this was revealed I was shocked that this was a Finger Lakes wine. I never had one that I enjoyed this much. 91-92 pts. #3 WOTN just BARELY edging out the DRC.

1997 Heitz Cabernet - Bella Oaks
This, along with a coule of other bottles I didn’t taste, were opened at the end of the night with fellow stragglers. This was not tasted blind. I found this to be very jammy and would swear that it was a zin if it weren’t for the fact that I was staring at a bottle of cabernet. Still, very enjoyable but I had to take my perceived “zinness” into consideration. 90 pts.

Overall, a very enjoyable lineup. Thanks Karl and everyone who contributed!!

In addition, we had a

1993 Beringer Nightingale
1994 Fonseca Vintage port
2006 Jadot Vosne Romanee

and then the kicker:
15yr MacCallum single malt
Johnnie Walker Blue

2

Although it seems Tom was among those more positive than others toward the DRC, it must have been disappointing to Karl and the rest of you that it generally did not show particularly great (even Tom had it behind a Finger Lakes red, for goodness sake). I’m quite sorry I missed it as I would have really liked to put my own taste to the test with a DRC. Oh well, some day…

I’m glad the Texier was so good–I have had such variability, but as of late have been getting more and more enthused about his wines (though not really the Brezeme).

Sorry to miss the Nightingale and the port. I actually had some nice sweet wines where I was in South Africa, including a very fine port from Overgaauw (the 1992). They make a lot of very odd stickies, too, but they are fun to try. Lots of experimentation going on there, but port and botrytis affected wines (like the two you had) show the most promise, it seems.

Interesting take from Tom on the '86 Ridge York Creek. I thought your note on the board a bit earlier this week was somewhat more positive about what it evolved into. Tom is a very fast taster and maybe he did not stick with it as long as you did to have the wine show better resolution?

Finally, sounds like perhaps it is time to dip into my stash of '97 LdH rosados…

-Michael

3

I enjoyed the York Creek much more than Tom. It def. needed some time in the glass. I didn’t want to decant it for fear that the fruit would all disappear, but after 20 or so mins in the glass, I enjoyed it a lot. It had some funkiness to it when i first popped the cork and if he drank it quickly, that would have still been present in his glass

4

(michael…now we jsut need some Beef in Billerica notes and some “interim poker” notes! no pressure though)

[1974_eating_popcorn.gif]

5

Shit, I forgot about the interim poker notes! Plus I have South Africa notes out the wazoo and a whole bunch of random notes from the past month or so. Man, I guess my fingers had better get to work on the keyboard tonight. More notes looming after Saturday night, too… Such pressures–maybe it is good I missed this one! [cheers.gif]

6

PMC’s been talking about that Heredia rosé for months, but it doesn’t seem to exist west of the Mississippi.

7

In my opinion…don’t search too hard for it! Third time I’ve had it and I just don’t like it

8

I loved the Ridge, hated the DRC fwiw.

Surprised Tom liked the DRC b/c he generally seems to favor fruit-driven wines and this was nearly devoid of fruit. Just wasn’t pleasurable in the least, sadly.

9

Had way better showings than this bottle at poker, I admit, wasnt on par with past bottles.

10

Lemme guess - Karl brought the DRC! LOL. Please give him my regards when you next see him.

11

Man I’d be pissed if I brought DRC and someone showed up with a Heredia Rose and a Finger Lakes wine :slight_smile:

12

That sounds like something I would do. [berserker.gif]

13

I’ve never had a DRC. But I have to say that when I had a screagle I was like it is good but I know a lot of better wines. I guess I have to work on my palate.

Otto

14

The way we do it, the winner from one month buys all the wine with the money for the next month…so Karl brought them all this time. It’s essentially paying for a tasting at which we play cards…no money is actually won

15

The difference between drinking wines and drinking labels.



I’ve had maybe a dozen bottles, and never never has a DRC “shown well”. I hear this excuse a lot, from DRC lovers “well this bottle just didn’t perform to expectations” or whatever. After enough notes from people when will we get to the point that DRC just doesn’t put out and stop making excuses for way way way overpriced burgundy that doesn’t stand next to its peers on a consistent basis?

16

No DRC wine (or Leroy for that matter) I’ve had so far has convinced me that they are worth the price they command. But that’s just me. I don’t mind spending on wine, but I have to feel that they merit what I’d have to pay for them.

17

I’ll go one further and say “not worth the money” is a given. But even if DRC was the same price as G. Roumier or de Vogue, my 2 favorites, I would choose them before DRC. I’d choose them if the DRC was 1/2 the price. DRC just doesn’t produce the same excitement.

For $20 I’d buy DRC as it is a nice drink. Maybe even $50. But once you get pricier than Roar, Kistler and village de Vogue DRC gets tossed aside as those others excite my palate, DRC does not.

18

I’d qualify and say it is a given for those not truly wealthy. I have several friends who think nothing of buying them and serving them to friends - which is how I’ve gotten most of my experience with their wines. I’ve had only one DRC that I actually had to pay for - the '97 DRC Montrachet which I shared with 2 friends. A great chard, no doubt - but I wouldn’t buy it again. Then, again, two other friends who are truly wealthy indeed (their fathers appear on lists of the world’s US$ billionaires) wouldn’t pay that kind of money on any wine…no matter how much they like it.

Of the DRCs I’ve tried, I’d be willing to pay $200-$300 for them, but not more than that. Of course, anything below that price range is fair game.

19

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with PMC. :slight_smile:

I liked the Ridge a lot more than Tom did apparently.
The DRC didn’t anything for me. Green and fruitless - and this coming from a guy that likes “off vintage” Bordeaux.
I thought the Heredia Rosata was just devoid of any grace, fruit … frankly anything.
The Texier CdP didn’t cut it in my book either. I voted it as the premium wine, but it didn’t make it into my list of favorties.

The McGregor was definitely the surprise of the day for me. I would never have guessed Finger Lakes. I enjoyed it, although it was a bit simple and, IMHO, not worth $50. More like a $25, Cali wine.

2004 Proprieta Sperino Coste della Sesia Uvaggio was probably my favorite of the day, but the Ridge was right up there. As was the Heitz Bella Oaks, even though it wasn’t part of the real line-up. Sorry Tom, I just didn’t get any Zin off that one. Still a little hard and tannic, but a few moe years that that will be very nice.

And Zach, thanks for the Blue. Great stuff.


Andy

20

Man if I brought a bottle of DRC and someone else shows with Vogue I’d be pissed. [imnewhere.gif]