Last night started off innocently enough; a supplier tasting where I could go check out some new arrivals and shmooze it up. I was speaking with my friend Denise when she mentioned that our mutual friend Mark was moving to New Jersey unexpectedly. I was surprised to hear this but who walks in ten minutes later? Mark! He confirmed this rumor. Why is this important? More on that later, but first here are the highlights of the tasting.
I tasted 40+ wines of different quality levels so I am going to just make notes on the ones that I did not spit out…and some of them that I went back for more of!
Clos de Tart 2006 – Deep ruby color with a very nice nose of smoke, baking spices, raspberry, and cherry. Fruit forward and with balanced acidity this wine is very elegant and well built. A touch of orange peel, cranberry, and pepper on the finish this is a baby, but a tasty baby!
Gaja Ca’ Marcanda Promis 2006 – Smoky, plumy nose with a nice licorice note. Soft fruit and good concentration. Sneaky tannins on the finish,
Two Hands Angels Share Shiraz 2007 – I actually kind of liked this. Pitch black with roasted meats and black fruits. Sweet fruit but not cloying and a spicy blueberry finish. A well made Aussie shiraz.
Weinbach Riesling GC Schlossbert St. Catherine L’Inedit 07 – One of my favorite producers in Alsace for their firm minerality. This had petrol, lemons, and peach on the nose with a light sweetness on the palate. Huge finish on this bad boy. Very tasty indeed.
Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 2007 – Deep almont, stone, funky earth nose with honeysuckle hints. Ornge peel on the palate with some white pepper on the finish. Good but not great.
Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne-Romanee Orveaux 06 – Wow. This was poured into my glass and I could smell it from a few feet away. Pale ruby in color but an expressive nose of asian spices, candied cherry, cinnamon, rose petals, and burnt orange. Elegant but a little tight on the palate with an ashy finish and slight tannin. This was nose of the night for me. Drinking well now, but should prove to be very interesting and aromatic in a few years.
Salon Brut BdB Le Mesnil 1997 – Honey, yeasty, green apple skin nose with a fine bead and soft creamy mouthfeel. This wine is very elegant with peach flavors, but the acid seemed a little low for long term aging. Drinking pretty open now, I’m sure it will age but not a crime to check in.
Those were the standout amongst all the wines, not a bad group! Anyway, as mentioned before my friend Mark is preparing for a move so we had to afterparty at his house and do some real liver damage. He picked three bottles blind and tested my mojo. Well, I was NOT on point last night as you will see!
Blind #1 – Had a funky earthy nose with raspberry and tobacco leaf. I was thinking Southern Rhone something like Minervois or Corbieres. WRONG 2000 Grand Mayne St. Emilion. Opened up with some air to deepen the fruit, but it never really screamed Bdx to me.
Blind #2 – Slightly candied cherry fruit, eucalyptus, black pepper spice, and some tannin there. I guessed mid-level Aussie Shiraz from a moderate climate, maybe 4 years old. WRONG 1993 Beringer Private reserve Cab! No way did this seem 16 years old. With time a graphite note hit the nose and the fruit softened. Drinking like a damn baby.
Blind #3 – Totally fake fruit, slight VA on the nose, overripe (to my palate) no acid, no complexity. I said “some overpriced Napa bullshit” WRONG bad guess, I should have known that it was an Aussie Shiraz! Wolf Blass Platinum Label Shiraz 1998. The nose did pick up as it was open with some nice herbal spices and the fruit did mellow. But, I hated it! Not my style, however it was well made and Mark drank it all in about 15 min. We had to politely agree to disagree. Again, I guessed it was 4 years old, this thing is youthful and it helps to show that Shiraz can age.
After the humiliation was done we cracked a few more bottles to finish off the night.
Conn Valley Can Napa 2004 – I was excited to try this. Classic Napa cab with graphite, plums, oak, on the nose. Medium to full bodied with great balance and structure. I thought that this was technically very good, but maybe a little 4-square. Didn’t stand out to me.
Chris Ringland Chateau Chateau Grenache 2006 – What a nice wine this is. Very Grenache with herbs, raspberry, black pepper, and even some floral notes. Well balanced acidity and just a general sense of class. This could almost pass as a riper Rhone wine. Not overdone at all, just a tasty Grenache. I was impressed.
The one perk of Mark moving is that he has a huge cellar to drink down and he is more then generous opening wines for us…to help his move easier of course. He even gave me a mag of 04 Penfolds St. Henri when I told him I was bummed about missing a deal the distributor had. So a fun evening and I told him that before he leaves I will present him with some blind wines for the sheer purpose of payback humiliation!
Needless to say it is a slow morning here at work for me.