Last night, thru a confluence of events, I put organized an offline at the home of BBer John V. who was looking for some help sharing his 94/95 La La’s. It was my pleasure. Everyone added a bottle and before we knew it, it was a damn fine Saturday night. Thanks to John and all for contributing.
An interesting issue was who preferred the vineyard of the La La’s over the vintage and who preferred the vintage over the vineyard
Starter flight (whites were blind):
2006 Beaucastel CdP Vielles Vignes
Copper gold in color. This was served at room temperature which, more and more, I am liking for my whites. The nose has lots of minerals, a slight metallic note, and peaches. Also a slight hint of butter. On the palate, this has a delicious peach, honey, camphor quality. A bit of vanilla. A fair amount of alcohol and I was surprised to see 14% on the label. Again, this may be a serving temperature issue that needs to be explored more. Long finish. Got better all night long. I believe Mike said this 100% Roussanne. 50+4+13+19+7=93
2002 Baumard Clos du Papillion Savennieres
Pale golden in color. The nose is gorgeous with white flowers, minerals, honeysuckle and chalk. Silky texture . On the palate, this is crisp with lots of minerals, chalk and orange floral tones. Long finish. Kept getting better all night long. 50+4+14+18+8=94
1983 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
Ruby in color with purple swirls, clear and bright. Slightly musty with cherries and anise. Slightly bitter on the palate. Light bodied. Light tannins. Cherries. Mature (Past prime) but a long finish. I probably liked this more than the group and I found it to be a really nice mature Hermitage. 50+4+12+17+7=90
2000 Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne
This had been opened the night before and half the bottle was left, so John offered it up. Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright. The nose is dusty with black raspberries and some anise. Velvety texture. Layered black raspberries. Long finish. John said it was better on Day 1, but I still enjoyed this. 50+4+12+18+7=91
The La La Flight (non-blind):
1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline
Purple in color with some ruby hues. The nose is earthy with black raspberries, black pepper, slight violet notes. On the palate, sweet fruit with complex layered black raspberries and pepper. Long finish. Some oak noted but not an issue. 50+4+14+18+9=95
1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne
Ruby in color with some purple swirls. The nose has black raspberries, violets and pepper. Soft texture. On the palate, black raspberries layered with some grittiness. The most straightforward of the wines, but powerful and still complex. Long finish. Still young. 50+4+14+18+8=94
1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque
Ruby with dark purple swirls. My initial nose detected a lovely floral note but that soon gave away to an oxidized note. Still there was some black raspberry too. On the palate, this tasted older and was obviously not a correct bottle. That said, it was enjoyable and on another night I would have drunk it. If I had to, it still gets about an 89/90. NR.
1995 Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline
Purple in color with shimmering ruby swirls. The nose is dusty with violets, black raspberries, bacon fat and gravel. Complex. Smooth with a juicy texture. Black raspberries and lavender notes on the palate. Long finish. My favorite of them all. And a close 2nd for the group. 50+5+14+19+9=98
1995 Guigal Cote Rotie La Landone
Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is dusty with black raspberries and iodine. Some floral notes in one of the most persistently long noses I have yet encountered. On the palate, this is a bruiser with sweet black raspberry fruit. Needs five more years until maturity IMO. Medium tannins. Long finish. The groups WOTF and I think eventually will be the best of the bunch. 50+5+15+18+8=98
1995 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque
Purple in color with some ruby swirls. The nose has black raspberries, violets and bacon fat. Classic. On the palate, this is classic as well. Black raspberries, bacon notes, crushed rocks, and floral notes. Long finish. Also not near maturity, this needs 3 to 5 more years as well. 50+5+14+19+8=96
1995 Michel Ogier Cote Rotie La Belle Helene
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is much more feminine with violets, pepper, bacon fat, and then the black raspberries. On the palate, this is so delicate compared to the La La’s but that is not a bad thing. It is elegant with black and some red raspberries, a nice mineral streak and no wood showing. Nice finish. A very different wine that held its own in this lineup. 50+4+14+18+8=94
The Outside the Box flight (all served blind):
1998 Clarendon Hills Astrales
Purple in color, slight ruby at the rim. Opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and menthol/eucalyptus. On the palate, this is well balanced with black raspberries, grilled meats and scorched earth. Long finish. I profess not to like Oz Shiraz, but blind I was said, this tasted like one of the Shiraz’s I find from time to time, that I really like. And it was. Not overblown, this really is outstanding. 50+4+14+19+8=95
2005 Clos Mimi McGinley Vineyard
After the long thread about thinking outside the box, I asked Tim what he thought about including this wine blind. He was for it, so I served it. If you have not seen that thread, it is a great discussion with varying points of view. I hope others at this tasting will comment on their impressions of the wine. I will post mine later, but I will say, I don’t get the Amarone comparison to this wine. It is a sweet wine, that perhaps is more like a Syrah Port than anything else although it is not fortified. Our friend and wine scientist says that the RS may cause the wine to show higher levels of alcohol than it really has. He doubted the stated 18.5% alc on the label.
2004 Sine Qua Non Ode to E Syrah
Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is like a coffee shop (and that is one of my favorite smells in the world), with tons of black raspberries. On the palate, this has sweet black raspberries, coffee cake and a long finish. After the Clos Mimi, it seemed delicate and restrained but when I went back to it later, it is really full blown. It has a certain heaviness on the palate, which is not a bad thing, but I think this tactile sensation is the biggest difference between Saxum and SQN. 50+5+14+18+8=95
2004 Sine Qua Non Into the Dark Grenache
My second time trying this wine and I find it to be amazing. Ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has raspberries, strawberries, some dark chocolate with coffee. Full bodied. On the palate, this has raspberries and cocoa. Lots of complexity. Long finish. Great wine. 50+4+14+19+9=96
White Dessert flight (blind):
2006 JJ Prum Riesling Auslese Graacher Himmelreich Goldkapsel
Light pale silvery gold in color. The nose is very nice with honey, floral notes, crushed rocks and minerals. Slight spritz. Unctuous texture. Great acidity. Needs at least five more years in the cellar. 50+3+14+18+8=93
1998 E. Knoll Loibner Gruner Veltline Beerenauslese
Amber in color, shimmering and bright. The nose has honey, apricots, orange peel and white flowers. Thick and rich. On the palate, pineapples, honey, great acidity. I had no idea but I thought it might be a sauternes. Long finish. Outstanding wine. Outside of Kracher, the best Austrian dessert wine I can remember. 50+4+14+18+8=94
2001 Pauly Bergweiler Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Eiswein
Golden in color with a slight ruby/orange tinge. The nose has honey and sea air. Nice citrus notes with some orange peel. Bright fruit. Great acidity. Blind, I thought of a Quarts du Chaume, but John put this in, and I was sure that could not be right. Perhaps a Sauternes. Turned out to be an eiswein. Perhaps fatter and with less cut than typical, but still quite delicious. 50+4+13+18+7=92
A couple of Ports (blind):
1966 Messias Vintage Port
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose has raspberries and cherries. This is smooth and easy to drink, which my palate appreciated at this point. Slightly rasined with nice raspberry fruit. Soft. 50+4+13+17+7=91
1966 Warre Vintage Port
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose has cherries, raisins, and some dark chocolate. Some alcohol showing on the nose. On the palate, the alcohol stand out a bit for me. Raspberry fruit is still there. The group preferred this one. 50+4+12+17+6=88
And to finish:
Clynelish Single Malt Scotch 36 Year Cask Strength
This seems slightly peaty to me. Creamy texture. Plenty of warmth. I am not an expert and closer to a novice, but I liked this one. Smoother than most.