Valentine’s night with a more expanded crew in the wine cellar at Del Frisco’s for our annual Cabernet Death Match with the coveted fez in play.
(single blind, all participants voted 1st,2nd and 3rd place)
White Starter
2003 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Paradoxe – After the great experience with the Silex the night before, decided to try one of these off the list. Very nicely constructed SB with cinnamon, white peaches and dry grass on the nose. Elegantly textured and beautifully constructed with nice acidity and cinnamon spiced sweetness on the palate. Not the wow or length of the Silex, but a very nice drink.
Flight 1
Wine 1 – Sweet cinnamon oak and licorice on the nose, a little simple on the nose and quite light on the palate -nice acidity, but not a lot going on and a clipped finish. I was shocked this was the 1998 Lynch Bages – perhaps a bad bottle? No votes.
Wine 2 – Chocolate, very oaked on the nose, a little thin on the mid palate with a very oaky finish. Not my cup of tea. 2004 Sterling Reserve. No votes.
Wine 3 – Elegant, refined nose – limestone, minerals, white pepper and cedar. Much more fruit forward on the palate with gobs of rich black fruit, glycerin and opulent texture. 2005 Drinkward Peschon Entre Deux Mères, WOTN in a close vote.
Wine 4 – Mint, rubber, tobacco and leather on the nose. Nice sweet high toned chocolate fruit, mint and white pepper. A great hypothetical cross between a dark chocolate thin mint and candied white pepper. Very elegantly structured with great backbone to age. 2005 Almaviva, # 2 for the group as well as for me.
Flight 2
Wine 5 – Big thick chocolate milk shake on the nose with a blast of alcohol and black fruit. Incredibly sweet on the attack, but shows more balance and structure on the mid palate and a nice long tight finish suggests that it could age. 2005 Scarecrow, finished #3.
Wine 6 – Much smoother nose, with lots of sun baked earth, limestone and white pepper with just a whiff of cocoa. Kind of closed down on the palate, with only the long finish betraying what could be with this wine. 2001 Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT. No votes.
Wine 7 – Refined earth, white pepper, licorice and tobacco on the nose. Beautifully balanced grape flavors on the palate – like perfect grape jam. Elegantly and opulently textured with a precision from start to finish. 1990 Leoville Barton, my WOTN, #6 for the group. Much better than the last bottle I had!
Wine 8 – Big extracted nose, tons of blackberry jam and plums. Very sweet on the palate as well with tons of chocolate and blackberry. A little over the top for me, but a group favorite, coming in #4. 2002 Merus
Flight 3
Wine 9 – Dill pickle, alcohol and hot fruit. Very ponderous and tannic on the palate, extremely ripe, almost over ripe. 2005 Burly. No votes.
Wine 10 – Really, really dark in the glass. Tons of sweet black fruit and some hot alcohol on the nose. Painfully young on the palate with rough edged tannins and noticeable oak. Just way too young, 2001 Harlan The Maiden, #7 in the voting.
Wine 11 – Deep black sweet, sweet fruit, cinnamon and tons of oak on the nose. Much more refined on the palate with some nice acidity and structure to balance out what is still significant fruit and a very sweet wine. More like dessert than something to accompany food. 2005 Switchback Ridge., voted #8
Wine 12 – Tons of sweet black fruit, caramelized marshmallow and dusty earth on the nose. Wound very tight on the palate – hard to get much out of it except sweet fruit but you get the sense of more hiding. 2004 Hewitt, voted #9
Wine 13 – Figs, plums, currants, black cherry and soft earth – very approachable on the nose. Nice sweet red fruit buttressed with good acidity and structure. A pleasure to drink and somewhat of a relief after some of the bigger cabs. Medium long finish. 2004 BV Georges de Latour, my #3, group’s #4. The Best BVGDL I’ve had since the 97.