I was invited to a nice little wine dinner at Peter Pratt’s Inn. There was no theme, but all wines were to be served blind. I love these blind tastings, especially in small groups (there were six of us#.
[*]2008 Bieler Père et Fils Vin des Pays de Maures Sabine - France, Provence, Vin des Pays de Maures #9/3/2009#
Crisp and clean. Some notes of soy and Asian spices, hints of strawberry, a nice way to open things up and clean the palate. #87 pts.#
[*]2004 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: This was the first white wine of the evening. I found it be immediately pleasing as it was a bit thick and oily, very well structured and not light on it’s feet. I found some nice notes of wet stones and honeysuckle. The wine grew over time and I revisited it several times over the course of the evening and it kept geting more complex, adding notes of orange zest, and cashew nuts. This was pure heaven with the lobster rolls! Lovely wine. #92 pts.#
[*]2008 Bonneau Chardonnay Catherine’s - USA, California, Sonoma County, Carneros #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: High acidity, very crisp, tart, some grassy notes. My guess was a Sauvignon Blanc. I was not impressed with this wine and really didn’t light my fire. #85 pts.#
[*]2006 Domaine Vincent Girardin Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: This wine had some nice depth to it, very spicy and profound smokiness to it. Notes of citrus, pie crust and toast. It was complex and evolved nicely. It wasn’t as richly structured as the Lafon, but very enjoyable. #91 pts.#
[*]2006 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: There was considerable discussion over whether or not this wine was corked. I didn’t believe so #and am usually very sensitive to tca#, it was just funky to me. Notes of barnyard and a bit fecal, a bit odd and out of whack. It had some nice underlying notes of stones, tamarin and hazelnut. #85 pts.#
[*]1984 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: Being that Lance brought this wine, all guess immediately pointed to a Piedmontese wine. It had a lot of the same notes as my wine #86 Gaja Barbaresco) when tasted side by side. Beautifully aged nose of mushrooms and coriander. Still possessing a great body and velvety mouthfeel. The most interesting part was the unmistakable strong note of black olives that came up on the finish. Very elegant wine and drinking amazingly well right now. This is in no danger of dying soon, but why wait? (94 pts.#
[*]1986 Gaja Barbaresco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: Wow, what a nose! I bought this wine back in 2007 and had no idea what to expect. It was in a constant state of tranformation the entire evening. Very well built and still a fairly young wine. Notes of mushrooms, truffles, hints of black olives and dried figs. Everyone loved this and kept going back to it, amazing how it changed over 3+hrs and actually put on weight. Tremendous wine. #94 pts.#
[*]2004 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: Mark R. brought this and you never really know what he brings, being a distributor he has access to so much, but I know his tastes run to Burgundy and Bordeaux so that’s where my thoughts went. The first tasted suggested we were in Bordeaux, but where? Initially this wine was a bit stemmy, tannic, hard and unyielding. I knew it was a young wine, but couldn’t really guess much more. As the night wore on, the wine started to slowly open and was pretty enjoyable by nights end. I wouldn’t open one for quite some time or decant the living hell out of it. #90 pts.#
[*]2005 Château Masburel Côtes de Bergerac Lady - France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Côtes de Bergerac #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: A really odd and unenjoyable wine with notes of unripe fruit, burnt rubber and some spice. #78 pts.#[/list]
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[*]1999 Château Cantenac Brown - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: I like this wine, I actually guessed 1998 right bank, close on the year, wrong side of the river. Some nice notes of sour cherry, forest floor, leather and mushroom. This was enjoyable and drinking well right now, no need to wait on it. #88 pts.#
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1997 Château de la Négly Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape Porte du Ciel - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc La Clape #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: Holy crap! This was insane wine and right away most of the tasters picked up on the huge notes of bacon and immediately guessed Syrah. I knew that nobody would guess this wine exactly and knowing my tastes, the guesses of aged Cali Syrah and Wash. St Syrah began to fly. Then as the wine evolved, some Cote Rotie guesse were thrown out. I was floored by this wine, tremendous notes of black fruit, licorice, liquid smoke and bacon fat. The wine is incredibly balanced and the finish goes on and on. A fantastic wine to slip into a blind tasting, glad I brought it. My red WOTN. #96 pts.# -
2003 Ferenc Takler Cabernet Franc Proprietor’s Reserve - Hungary, Szekszárd #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: My first whiff and sip had me guessing a Bob Foley wine. It had that confectionary texture and super ripe fruit. The alcohol was too prominent though to merit a higher score and it became a bit too much by nights end. I still enjoyed it a bunch and would love to try another down the road to see if the alcohol integrates. #90 pts.# -
2005 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley #9/3/2009#
Tasted blind: George’s wine. OMG! This was stunning wine, full bodied, richly layered, not overdone in any way. A huge core of dark fruit, coffee beans, creme de menthe and toffee. Fantastic balance, velvety mouthfeel, absolutely delicious. I’m so happy to be on this mailing list. I opened an 06 Cailloux several months ago and it wasn’t nearly ready to drink, this was hitting on all cylinders and a pure delight. #95 pts.)