TNs: Iron Chef crew takes a night off to golf

WINE TALK
1

Ray was kind enough to allow a bunch of amateur golfers (and a few good ones) rip up his lawn hitting golf balls and hopefully not the house. We kicked it off with some pitch and put and Champagne, followed by a grill-a-thon of chicken sausage, vegetables and cheese.

1989 Krug (Magnum) This was very youthful, and still kind of tight and backwards. Hopefully this just needs more time in the bottle.

1990 Krug (Magnum) This was freaking tasty stuff. Well rounded, focused, a good amount of acid. Surprisingly accessible.

1985 Charles Heidsieck Cuvee Charlie- I gave the edge to this over the 1990 Krug b/c of the nose. It hit you like a ton of bricks. Really floral and exotic on the nose. Noticeably leaner and more crisp than the 90 Krug.

1996 Philipponat Clos des Goisss (April disgorgement) The big discussion was that the April disgorgement is better than the October. I haven’t had this before, so this was an great treat. Ripe, rich, complex and surprisingly accessible. It certainly has the weight and concentration to age nicely. I look forward to having this again in 10 years.

2002 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenue Batard Montrachet- I didn’t like this as much as everyone else. I thought it was quite tight, and didn’t revisit.

1990 Louis Remy Latricieres Chambertin- Light, but opened nicely through out the night. Didn’t bowl me over, but certainly didn’t suck.

1995 Joseph Roty Charmes TVV- This was awesome. After we popped a mag of 88 last week at Iron Chef, I thought this would be a huge winner, and it really was. This didn’t last long. Lots of bright fresh acidity, dark fruit and good richness.

1992 Bonneau CDP Reserve des Celestins (double blind) Everyone guessed North, and Ray brought it back to the south. Great wine, really funky nose, but that great purity and weight of a good Bonneau. A great achievement from a questionable vintage.

1988 Beaucastel CDP- Great stuff. I have had a number of surrounding vintages, but not this one. Really complex and elegant, no bret either.

1986 Jaboulet La Chappelle- I thought this was kind of sweet and out of whack. Didn’t love it.

1989 Dujac Clos St. Denis- I had high hopes for this, but was kind of light and nuanced. Nice wine, but didn’t rock my world.

2003 Dujac Clos de la Roche- There were some California Pinot references with this one. Certainly smelled like one, but if you concentrated hard, you got a tiny bit of terroir in it. Hopefully time will turn this one around.

1990 Palmer- Corked, was looking forward to this one too.

2002 Chave Hermitage Rouge- Really good stuff. Like the Bonneau, this turned a number of heads. Really good stuff, focused and full, with minimal green notes and not that light.

1985 Tempier Miguoa- I loved this, and in retrospect, while not the WOTN, this was certainly the most fun to drink. LOADS of complexity, and somewhat lean, but really singing right now.

And then 4 double blind wines…
1962 Louis Latour Corton Grancey- Cool stuff, I liked it, spicy, slightly chalky, decent fruit. Nice wine.

1982 Dunn Howell Mtn. Cabernet- I saw the bottle as Ray was pouring it, but that might have been a good thing. Kind of fun watching guys guess what Bordeaux they thought it was. They certainly had the right vintage though. This was tough though, even knowing, it really did taste like Bordeaux.

1967 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune and Blonde- Killer juice, really youthful and silky. Nice wine. Most guesses were spot on for region, but off by about 20 years.

1979 Jacqueline Jayer Echezeaux- I will let Ray fill you in on this one. Cool story, better wine. Really awesome stuff.

2

holy sh%t Ian, I guess I need to hang around Springfield for some and hit some golf balls. Come to think of it, when is Gary V going to host an offline??

3

The Tempier. I have had that I think. Or the '86. By any chance did Yaacov bring that?

Just looked it up on CT. It was the '86 I had and I also had the '86 Tourtine that night and Tourtine was showing better.

Sounds like a good time.

4

Yaacov did. Tourtine has more Mourvedre, right?

5

He really should, but his apartment isn’t that big :wink:

6

All morning I was trying to remember what the last wine was and finally got it when Carl sent out an email.

BTW, the Chave was also a magnum. Really excellent. I had a few pours of this.

And for all you golfers, let me know if you need my address to mail those skins you all owe me. neener

7

A+ or as the grading goes epic plus night
carservice from manhattan to KA is the only way to fly

Ray, thanks so much again for the evening

The 90 Krug to quite don was Profound
tight but impressive

02 leflaive bbm was epic plus IMHO or at least killer minus
it had that “absent” clearness of the nose. Rainwater transparency
a bottle like that just makes the off bottles of whites all the more painful

02 Chave was objectively veddy nice. Like the 02 mouline, a bit thin but great aromatics

value wine, those 02 northerns

95 tvv was super tasty. I likes the resionous, rubbery nose

89 dujac was too wispy for me. A litmus test wine for tolerance of delicate aging burgs
not my style

92 Celestines was a 88 northern Rhone. I am sure of that

67 guigal was great minus. Kinky spice and youthful palate

82 dunn seemed mature to me. Contrary to rumor it can grow up



Mammal free dinner epic
company epic plus

thanks again

R

8

My hearing must have been off. The first guess was '96 First Growth. I said no and older. Next guess, even though I said it wasn’t Bordeaux was Rob’s standard guess for the evening - '89 La Conseillante. I said older. Then someone said '88 LaLa. I said older. And nobody said Cali.

First guess was Burgundy. After that was eliminated, Rob guessed, what else, but '89 La Conseillante, to which I said older and wrong region. Then the Rhone Valley was brought up.

Very fun night. Let’s do it again soon.

9

Sounds like a great night. “Off” vintages & great producers can often result in nice surprises…

10

Yes. I know that stash he has. From Winebid.

11

I think the good Doctor Bob said '96 first growth but it was in jest. I would have bet all my golf winnings that the Dunn was bordeaux.

12

The night was a good time. I have a hard time keeping track of the wines during events like this - especially when the company and conversation are so engaging. The rural setting was a perfect backdrop for this casual gathering of wine friends. No blood was shed and the fire department never showed so by those metrics it was a successful night! We even managed to lure a few New Yorkers off the islane.

The wines all showed well save the '90 Palmer which was quite a shame as I really wanted to taste that one. My favorites of the night were the '02 Leflaive BBM, the '95 Roty and the 3 older blind wines.

The Leflaive started out too cold and was not what it should have been aromatically but I know that wine well and it would have shown better if it were a little warmer. This, my second experience with the '95 Roty Charmes was consistent with the first. This is a wonderful young wine and should be headed for greatness. The wine has concentrated, dark, licorice-laced fruit but it is in balance and does not come across as jammy. I did not get to taste some of the Rhone wines. The 3 champagnes were very nice, too, with my favorite being the 1985 Charlie but it is hard not to give love to the '90 Krug. I enjoyed the Tempier, too.

Regarding the Dujacs, I guess I enjoyed the '89 more than some. I agree that it was a light wine and definitely mature and feminine in style. The acidity gave it good lift and freshness. The kind of wine I would want to follow over the course of dinner. Ray’s rating of excellent was on the money. The '03 Dujac CDLR really got my attention. I found myself really enjoying this wine for its concentration of fruit and flashy quality. It makes a compelling statement of style and vintage. It is big and bold. Whether it is typical and improve with age are open questions in my mind. I have had the same reaction to other '03 Dujac wines, by the way.

The last time Ray used the '82 Dunn as a ringer it was in a flight between '82 Petrus and Lafleur as I recall and it fit in nicely. The bottle we drank the other night was much younger and more tannic that this other bottle served ? 4 years ago. A great blind wine.

Again, thanks to Ray and everyone in attendance for their generosity.