Some friends and I had a big dinner last weekend at Bern’s in Tampa, and we wanted to do a bunch of wine. I thought someone might be curious, plus this will save my notes for posterity. Here we go…
Seguras Viudas brut cava NV (2x 750): excellent start. Very soft and delicate but with some yeasty notes. We went cava instead of champagne to put some of those dollars towards later bottles. For a grocery store wine, this might become my new weekday night sparkler. Will be buying some of these soon. 14/20
2006 Weinbach, Cuvee St. Catherine, Grand Cru riesling (2x 750): well, I say 2x but really it was 4x as two bottles were corked, I’m told. I can’t detect TCA (lucky me!) so they were fine, but we settled on two bottles. Very nice. I’m new to riesling and still not entirely sold as, I’m sorry, they just all have residual sweetness that I’m not usually in the mood for. This was the oldest riesling I’ve had by far and clearly the best, but I’m not looking to load up on them anytime soon. Glad we tried it, I liked it, but I don’t think I’m a riesling guy. 12/20
2013 Didier Dagueneau Silex (2x 750: my first time having a Dagueneau and I chose this over Chave Hermitage blanc (a bottle of which is still the best wine I’ve ever had, so this choice was tough). In a word: great! It has the character that I search for in all wines which is difficult if not impossible to define; it was “smooth”. Easily best sauvignon blanc I’ve ever had. 17/20
2002 Bichot, Nuits St. Georges, 1er cru, Les Crots (2x 750): I like but don’t love red burgundy so this was an attempt to wine me over. An interesting note was a distinct and appreciable bottle variation between the two. Neither was flawed but one just “more” of everything than the other. 9 out of 10 at the table all preferred the same bottle out of the pairing. I liked this but still don’t think red burgundy lights my hair on fire, which is fine with me because otherwise I’d be setting my wallet on fire. 16/20
1983 Haut Batailley (1x 1500): here we go, perfectly aged BDX is probably what I love best about Bern’s. This was classic stuff from this fifth growth. I would have liked more concentration of flavor but this is the style that really suits me. 15/20
1982 Ridge Monte Bello (2x 750): this wine “only” had 70-something Parker points from a cool vintage. Alcohol was 11.5%. I had faith despite Uncle Bob’s score and we were well rewarded. Wine of the night! Everything you could want from a bordeaux blend. Not much room for improvement, I must say. Exactly what I wanted. 18/20
1978 Guigal Cotes du Rhone (1x 750): one of two wild cards the sommelier (shout out, Dustin!) picked out for us to toss on the table. Classic Rhone. If you like the style, you would have enjoyed this, no doubt. 16/20
1975 Comte Andre de Monpezat, Cahors (1x 750): I’m pretty sure this was the producer but slight chance I bungled this one. Second wild card, something like $40, and wow, what an overperformer. Probably #2 wine of the night. 17/20
Also had a 1933 madeira in the dessert room but let’s be honest, that was 5 hours after we got there, and not sure I gave it a fair shot. However, I remember thinking “this is dang good, but I could have just as well enjoyed Broadbent 10 year malmsey for $100 less”.
My only complaint? I don’t think I got the Bern’s cheese cracker!
first rule of fight club is…
