Category Archives: Restaurants

2016-2 The Ultimate, Definitive, Comprehensive BVGDLTPR Event

at Capital Grille at Pointe Orlando

April 2, 2016 at 6pm

We’ve done many BV tastings over the years, and they’ve always contained some impressive wines, which were once unquestionably the group’s favorites. Now, with nothing very interesting made since the early 80s, some of them are, sadly, getting tired. So for one last hurrah, here is by far the deepest tasting we’ve ever done. This event includes many of the greatest vintages, and stretches back nearly to the beginning of the wine in 1936.

Over the years our impression was that they lost the formula in the 80s, and boy was this confirmed! We tasted the wines in reverse order of age, and the initial flights were absolutely awful—tight, unyielding, and often downright stinky. Despite all the wine being in perfect condition these were absolutely undrinkable.

Then, suddenly, we got to the 70s, and the flights became wonderful—Ron enthused that it was some of the best BV he ever tasted, and he would seek out the 70, 75, 76 and 77 in addition to the already popular 68.

Two wines out of the 27 were corked, which isn’t too bad for the era. But sadly they were both obviously great wines that couldn’t be fully appreciated even though some of the corkiness blew off for a while. One was the classic 68, and the other was the 52.

The most popular wines of the night were the 1975, 1970, and 1960, with victory going to the 1960.

The most controversial wine of the night was the 1942, which was completely unlike the wines of the 50s, 60s and 70s. It had bacon and wax in the nose, developed some herbs, and seemed very young. There was nothing fake about this bottle—it had an appropriate fill and a problematic and definitely 70-year-old cork. But clearly Andre Tchelistcheff put some different grapes into this fascinating wine!

My point scores are in the table below:

The Wines

Vintage	Wine	Points	Cost
1942	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	94 pts	565
1952	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	92? pts	500
1960	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	96 pts	225
1964	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	85 pts	135
1965	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	83 pts	191
1968	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	95? pts	254
1970	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	93 pts	150
1971	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	85 pts	68
1973	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	87 pts	100
1974	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	90 pts	104
1975	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	91 pts	81
1976	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	92 pts	131
1977	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	91 pts	92
1978	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	88 pts	John
1979	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	90 pts	53
1980	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	87 pts	54
1981	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	83 pts	60
1982	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	87 pts	49
1983	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	77 pts	45
1984	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	82 pts	78
1986	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	80 pts	53
1987	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	79 pts	63
1988	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	81 pts	60
1990	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	80 pts	48
1991	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	81 pts	76
2005	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	85 pts	Dick
2006	BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve	85 pts	64
			3300

Acquisitions

I’m going to sell the remaining three bottles of 1937 Vosne-Romanée, as we’ve had the wine a couple of times and it’s not that interesting.

1962 Ch. Margaux	414
1962 Ch. Lafita Rothschild	356
Total	770

Upcoming Events

Syndicate	July 16
Syndicate	November 12

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-3711
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-770
Sales	?
Dinner	-1744
Balance	-1225

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2015-4 Odd Man Out

at The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel

November 14, 2015 at 6pm

This month’s theme is trivial: simply sort out each set of three wines, blind.

The first flight turned out to be the worst flight of three wines we’d ever tasted! The low fill Cheval was definitely foul, and the Burgundy wasn’t much better.

Flight 2 featured three wines that were extremely varietal and easy to identify blind, and the best example of 1964 BV GDLTPR I’ve had.

Flight 3 was a shocker. The Petrus was completely closed and tight, while the magnum of Giscours was drinking well above expectation. But the 1970 BV GDLTPR was clearly the most elegant wine. Neither of these BV’s expressed any oxidation, nor as much of the redwood that is typical. They were both fantastic wines.

Flight 4 was another shocker, with an unyielding Dominus that no one identified. The Duckhhorn was terrific, and misidentified by everyone. The famous 2003 Motrose lived up to its billing, and was quite opulent from a magnum. It was the wine of the night.

The Wines

7	14	1928	Ch Rouget	France	Pomerol		475
8	17	1938	Ch Cheval Blanc – very low fill	France	St. Emilion		100
8	12	1937	Vosne-Romanée Collection du Docteur Barolet – Henri de Villamont	Red	Burgundy		450

8	16	1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		100
7	20	1947	Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva Nebbiolo	Red	Italy		300
9	18	1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	St. Julien		140

7	12	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		150
8	18	1970	Ch Petrus	France	Pomerol		1800
m2	21	1970	Ch. Giscours	France	Margaux	magnum	340

m2	22	2003	Ch Montrose	France	St. Estephe	magnum	600
7	25	1980	Duckhorn	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		85
7	9	1991	Dominus	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		260

							4800

Acquisitions

none

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

January 23

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-6655.50
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1997.50
Balance	-3653

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2015-3 Californication

at The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel

August 15, 2015 at 6pm

Getting back to reality after the ultimate Mouton Tasting! To put it in perspective, the cost of this tasting is equal to the cost of one glass of the last wine we tasted!

Favorite wines were the 70 BV, 79 Buckhorn, and 91 Dominos.

This tasting was a real lesson in the aging rates of tenths, bottles and magnums! The tenths were over the hill, and the magnum was fresh and fruity.

The Wines

1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		130
1965	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California		85
1967	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California		85
1968	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California		85
1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		150
1970	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California		85
1974	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	2 tenths	40
1975	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		110
1979	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	Magnum	90
1979	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa		85
1980	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa		85
1991	Dominus	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		260
					1290

Acquisitions

none

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

November 14

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-9708
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1947.50
Balance	-6655.50

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2014-4 Burgundy and a Few Ringers

at Luma

November 8, 2014 at 6 pm

The Wines

I was originally going to serve these wines blind, but it seemed too hard, and I’m glad I didn’t as I don’t think we would have learned much. While there was no absolutely stellar wine in the group, each flight had its standouts. One of the biggest surprises to me was the quality of the 66 Leoville. It was also the best 70 BVGDLTPR I’ve had in a long time.

1971	Corton Diamond Jubilee, Remoissenet Père et Fils	Red	92 pts	95
1972	Vougeot Clos du Prieure, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	94 pts	95
1978	Chambolle Musigny	France	flawed	140
1978	Nuit Saint-Georges – Pierre Bouree Fils	Red	87 pts	90
1983	Pommard Rugiens Billard-Gonnet	Red	89 pts	30
1983	Vosne-Romanee Beaumonts Charles Moncaut	Red	90 pts	35
1987	Clos de Vougeot Domaine Ceci	Red	91 pts	90
1993	Charmes Chambertin Geantel-Pansiot	Red	96 pts	60
1996	Chambolle Musigny Les Baudes Serafin	Red	91 pts	55
1996	Clos Saint Denis Cuvee Unique Arlaud	Red	93 pts	55
1996	Morey St. Denis Les Ruchots Reserve Magnien	Red	corked	45
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	96 pts	140
1979	Duckhorn	Merlot	89 pts	85
1980	Duckhorn	Merlot	89 pts	85
1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	94 pts	150

Other Wines:

2013	Bonny Doon Pic Poul	Andy	90 pts
2011	Secret de Grande Bateaux	Steve	90 pts
2012	Maison Village Joseph Drouin	Mark	88 pts
1998	Tondonia Blanc	Ron	92 pts
2001	Clarendon Grenache	Dick	88 pts
2001	Gainey Pinot Noir	John	90 pts
2008	Le Cigare Volant	Andy	89 pts
1982	Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow CS	Steve	93 pts
2009	Crozes-Hermitage Alain Graillat	Steve	94 pts
2001	Integrity	Ron	95 pts
1992	Justin Obtuse	John	88 pts

Acquisitions

None

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

March 14

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	$4333
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-2485
Balance	$6848

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2014-3 Turbulent Times: The Sixties

at The Capital Grille Pointe Orlando

September 13, 2014 at 6 pm

The Wines

The 60s started off at the peak in Bordeaux, but from there it went downhill, as California began to pick up its game.

These wines showed much better than I was expecting. The clear loser was the Margaux (as usual) and the winners were the Mouton and Haut Brion. The California wines also had nothing to be embarrassed about, including a 68 BV Special Label Burgundy I slipped in.

With three magnums in the tasting, it was an interesting opportunity to see how much fresher the wines were from the larger bottles. I’d had the 66 Haut Brion before from a 750, but this magnum was a whole different wine. The group’s favorites were the Haut Brion and the 61 Mouton. It was nice that the star of the show was, indeed, the star.

1961	Ch Mouton Rothschild	France	Pauillac	98 puts	1,200
1961	Ch. La Pointe	France	Pomerol	94 puts	140
1962	Ch. Leoville Las Cases (magnum)	France	St. Julien	88 puts	340
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	St. Julien	90 puts	140
1966	Ch. Margaux	France	Margaux	86 puts	140
1966	Ch. Haut Brion (magnum)	France	Graves	97 puts	340
1966	Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste (magnum)	France	Pauillac	85 puts	340
1964	Clos Vougeot – R. Engel	Red	Burgundy	92 puts	250
1964	BV Georges de La Tour	Cabernet	Napa	92 puts	90
1968	BV Georges de La Tour	Cabernet	Napa	(corked)	150
1945	Madeira, Bual, Cossart Gordon	Madeira	Madeira	99 pts	300

In addition to the 68 BV Special Label Burgundy (94 pts) I also brought an 82 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace (97 puts) that shocked me (as it was from Joe Spinelli’s “cellar”) and was very popular.

Ron’s 2007 Spottswoode Cab (96 pts) and 2010 Greer Cab (99 pts) were also impressive

Thanks to everyone for the additional wines I haven’t listed, it was a great event!

Acquisitions

None

Upcoming Events

Syndicate	November 8
Syndicate	January 31

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	$1310
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1977
Balance	4333

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2014-2 The Price Is Right

at Eddie V’s

June 7, 2014 at 6 pm

The Wines

This event challenged us to find the prestige wine in each flight.

Because I added a ringer to both the first flights (’83 Burgess Cab and ’70 Concannon Cab) this was a bit more challenging than you might imagine. We were able to identify most wines, but we definitely mixed up the Pomerol and the Cheval Blanc. The drinkability of the ’60 Grand-pontet was surprising. I thought the BV and the Clos des Lambrays were almost comparable in quality (although very different in style), but I did have the dregs of the Lambrays. The Latour was a flawed bottle.

Syndicate201406-1

1960	Gemello Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains	Cabernet Sauvignon	Santa Cruz	70	94 pts
1960	Château Grand-Pontet St. Émilion Grand Cru	France	St Emilion	100	95 pts
1961	Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac	France	Pauillac	1979	96 pts

1955	Château l’Enclos Haut Mazeyres Pomerol	France	Pomerol	100	96 pts
1955	Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	280	90 pts
1955	Château Cheval Blanc St. Émilion Grand Cru	France	St Emilion	675	95 pts

1945	BV Pinot Noir	Pinot Noir	Napa	310	97 pts
1947	Casa de Sonoma	Cabernet Sauvignon	Sonoma	330	88 pts
1947	Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays	France	Burgundy	1656	96 pts

1964	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85	88 pts
1945	Ch Latour	France	Pauillac	985	NA
1949	Ch. Bouscaut	France	Pessac-Léognan	85	90 pts

				6655

Acquisitions

1966	Ch. Haut Brion	France	Graves	magnum	340
1962	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	St. Julien	magnum	340
1966	Ch. Grand Puy Lacoste	France	Pauillac	magnum	340
1970	Ch. Giscours	France	Margaux	magnum	340
1907	Madeira, Bual, Blandys	Madeira	Madeira		680
1960	Gemello Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains	Cabernet Sauvignon	Santa Cruz		70
1960	Château Grand-Pontet St. Émilion Grand Cru	France	St Emilion		100
1961	Château Mouton Rothschild Pauillac	France	Pauillac		1979
1955	Château l’Enclos Haut Mazeyres Pomerol	France	Pomerol		100
1955	Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		280
1955	Château Cheval Blanc St. Émilion Grand Cru	France	St Emilion		675
1945	BV Pinot Noir	Pinot Noir			310
1947	Casa de Sonoma	Cabernet Sauvignon	Sonoma		330
1947	Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays	France	Burgundy		1656
					7540

Upcoming Events

Syndicate	September 13
Syndicate	November 8

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	5580
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-7540
Dinner	-1730
Balance	1310

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2014-1 Horizontals

at Eddie V’s
7488 West Sand Lake Road
Orlando FL 32819

March 15, 2014 at 6 pm

The Wines

This event offered a collection of mini horizontals. They didn’t prove much of a challenge to sort out blind, and nearly everyone got most of them right. The flight winners were the Bonnes Mares, Giscours and DRC.

5	23	1966	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		125
7	9	1966	Bonnes Mares – Comte de Vogue	Red	Burgundy		490
9	15	1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac		140
9	20	1966	Ch. Carbonnieux	France	Pauillac		85

5	12	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		150
9	9	1970	Ch. Giscours	France	Pauillac		85
9	8	1970	Les Forts de Latour	France	Pauillac		150

5	21	1978	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		90
7	16	1978	Nuit Saint-Georges – Pierre Bouree Fils	Red	Burgundy		90
5	26	1979	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		90
8	20	1979	Grand Echexeaux – Domaine de la Romanee Conti	Red	Burgundy		1156

9	22	1999	Ch d’Yquem	Sauternes	Bordeaux	tenth	85

							2736

Following the tasting I served three wines blind They turned out to all be the same wine, Troublemaker, a GSM blend. But one had been frozen for two months, and one had been in my trunk for two months. The favorite was the trunk wine, by a narrow margin. The only obviously flawed wine was the frozen one, but I think the damage was simply slight geranium scent from having a bit of air let into the bottle prior to freezing to make sure the bottle wouldn’t burst. Next time I would try it without doing that.

Acquisitions

1964	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85
1965	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85
1967	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85
1968	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85
1970	Louis Martini	Cabernet Sauvignon	California	85
1979	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa	85
1979	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa	85
1980	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa	85
1980	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa	85
1980	Duckhorn	Merlot	Napa	85
1980	Duckhorn	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	85
1914	Madeira, Bual, Abudarhaml	Madeira	Madeira	300
1945	Madeira, Bual, Cossart Gordon & Co	Madeira	Madeira	300
				1535

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

June 7

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	3800
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-1535
Dinner	-1685
Balance	5580

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2013-4 Odd Man Out

at Luma

November 23, 2013 at 6:00 pm

The challenge here was to identify the wine that doesn’t match the other two in each set of three. And of course to name what they all are, blind. As if.

I was very proud of our group, as many of us got most of them right, and kudos to John Henline, who got them all!

Favorite wine of the nine tasted blind was the 1945 Ch. Leoville Las Cases, which received ten unanimous first place votes.

My highest scores were the two final wines, 2001 Haut Brion Blanc (98 pts) and 1885 Verdelho Madiera (99 pts). It was truly amazing, and matched every course it was served with.

The Wines

1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	130
1966	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	125
1979	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	90

1945	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	486
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140
1966	Ch. Carbonnieux	France	Pauillac	85

1955	Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	159
1957	Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	327
1966	Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling, Remoissenet Père et Fils	Red	Burgundy	95

1885	Madeira, Verdelho	Madeira	Madeira	320
2001	Ch Haut Brion Blanc	France	Graves	375

				2332

Acquisitions

1938	Ch Cheval Blanc – very low fill	France	Bordeaux	100
1970	Ch Petrus	France	Bordeaux	1800
1979	Grand Echezeaux DRC	France	Burgundy	1156

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	4437
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-3056
Dinner	-2581
Balance	3800

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2013-3 The Price is Right

The Capital Grille at The Mall at Millenia
4200 Conroy Road
Orlando, FL 32839
T: 407.351.2210

August 24, 2013 at 6:00 pm

The challenge here was to identify, blind, the wine with the “pedigree” in each set of three.

Well the results were mixed. The first flight wasn’t served blind, but we all agreed the 68 had the best pedigree, although all had their virtues. The second flight was by far the best. The recurring theme was that even though the Pierre Ponnelle vineyard represented weren’t prestigious, the his wines were fantastic. Two corked wines muddled the results a bit. The DRC, although the most popular wine of the last flight, was disappointing, given its pedigree.

None of the wines faded in the glass over several hours.

My Notes:
1964 BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa $130

light color, classic redwood nose, slightly maderized, thin caramel finish. Held up in the glass, though. 87 pts

1968 BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa $150

Ruby color, redwood and wax in the nose, balanced with still fresh fruit. 92 pts.

1970 BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa $150

Garnet, coffee and cinnamon nose, caramel on the palate. I actually prefered this to the group’s favorite, the ’68. 93 pts.

1955 Corton, Naudin Red Burgundy $325

Outclassed by the lesser wines. Garnet, good color and clarity, coffee, vanilla, cherry, licorice, long vailla finish.

1964 Chassagne-Montrachet “Clos de la Boudriotte”, Pierre Ponnelle Red Burgundy $95

An overachiever for what it was. Garnet, barnyard, earth and coffee, fruity vanilla finish. Wow. 96 pts.

1966 Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling, Remoissenet Père et Fils Red Burgundy $95

Dark garnet, plastic and herbs in the nose, fruit, metal and mint on the palate, long. Impressive. 97 pts

1966 Mazis-Chambertin, Doudet-Naudin Red Burgundy $325

Great clarity, youthful, turpentine, pencil shavings, chewy. Not very complex, though. 88 pts.

1967 Fixin, Pierre Ponnelle Red Burgundy $95

Slightly corked. Youthful. Definitely outperforming for its class. The corkiness came and went many times, and finally blew off after close to an hour. 92 pts, more if not corked.

1978 Chambolle Musigny, A. Rodet Red Burgundy $70

Short, uninteresting. 86 pts.

1983 Vosne-Romanee Charles Moncaut Red Burgundy $35

Corked. 85 pts?

1985 Grand Echezeaux – Domaine de la Romanee Conti Red Burgundy $900

Bacon fat, soaped leather, mint, vanilla, coffee, cherry, lamb stew, mushrooms, floral. fairly long with spice and lamb in the finish. Certainly a good wine, but not a $900 wine. 91 pts.

1985 Morey-St-Denis Domaine des Lambrays Red Burgundy $80

Sour, overripe, metallic, cherry and vanilla. Fairly unpleasant. 83 pts.

The Wines

1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	130
1968	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	150
1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa	150

1955	Corton, Naudin	Red	Burgundy	325
1964	Chassagne-Montrachet “Clos de la Boudriotte”, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	95
1966	Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling, Remoissenet Père et Fils	Red	Burgundy	95

1966	Mazis-Chambertin, Doudet-Naudin	Red	Burgundy	325
1967	Fixin, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	95
1978	Chambolle Musigny, A. Rodet	Red	Burgundy	70

1983	Vosne-Romanee Charles Moncaut	Red	Burgundy	35
1985	Grand Echezeaux – Domaine de la Romanee Conti	Red	Burgundy	900
1985	Morey-St-Denis Domaine des Lambrays	Red	Burgundy	80

				2450

Acquisitions

1945	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	486	Bonhams 5/2013
1949	Ch. Bouscaut	France	Pauillac	85	Bonhams 5/2013
1961	Ch. La Pointe	France	Pomerol	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Carbonnieux	France	Pauillac	85	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Carbonnieux	France	Pauillac	85	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1966	Ch. Margaux	France	Pauillac	140	Bonhams 5/2013
1970	Ch. Giscours	France	Pauillac	85	Bonhams 5/2013
1970	Les Forts de Latour	France	Pauillac	150	Bonhams 5/2013

Upcoming Events

Syndicate

November 23

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	2863
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-1956
Dinner	-1470
Balance	4437

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.

2013-2 Blind Pairs

Capital Grille

April 20, 2013 at 6:00 pm

I was very proud of our group at this even. Except for the BV flight, there was 100% consensus as to the best wine, and except for the Burgundy flight, there was almost 100% correct identification of the wines blind! Of course, the shocker of the night was the Jean Gros Richebourg, which beat the DRC, and was the Wine of the Night.

All the wines showed well, and it might have been our best set of wines ever. Favorites were:

69 Puligny Montrachet from Leflaive (96 pts). Amazingly youthful, with a huge char and ash componenet, and then lemon curd on the finish. The 2001 Haut Brion (93 pts) had the characteristic candele wax and later violets, but wasn’t a show stopper. Both wines lasted five hours in the glass.

55 Latour (94 pts). Again, really youthful even from a tenth, great depth. The companion 55 Cheval Blanc (91 pts) seemed slightly less young and more one dimensional in comparison.

70 Petrus (98 pts). Aromatically on of the most complex Bordeauxs I’ve had. The 61 Lynch Bages (96 pts) showed classic LB nose, and was drinking beautifully, iy just had steep competition.

87 Richebourg Jean Gros (99 pts). Young, earthy, extraordinarily complex. The 83 DRC Richebourg (92 pts) seemed tannic and simple in comparison, certainly not worth the current auction price of over $1K for this off year.

63 Taylor Port (99 pts) was the greatest port I’ve ever had, almost a claret style, light, not too sweet, tons of citrus, very complex. Not madierized at all, very fresh. The 99 Yquem (92 pts) was in perfect shape, but the port stole the show.

Other wines of note:

Nice Pommery Champagne from John, and an 87 BV cab we had no trouble picking out of the BV flight.

Excellent WIlliamsburg Winery Sauvignon Blanc (91 pts) from Andy that held its own against two huge whites.

Dick’s 87 Heitz Martha’s and 06 Beaucastel CDP both went well with the food courses, as did my 2010 Puligny Montrachet Les Combottes from Etiene Sauzet (94 pts) and Henry’s Drive CS (93 pts), which was very Bordeaux-like.

I loved all three of Ron’s wines. 2010 Kosta Brown One Sixteen Chardonnay (95 pts) was all about crushed lime, butter and caramel. I would like to buy some of this wine. @007 Aquilon Garnacha (96 pts) packed a chocolate nose followed by big fruit and a gamey finish, but wasn’t over the top at all. 1979 Clos de Vougeot from Drouhin (95 pts) came a bit too late for me to fully appreciate its wonderful iron, meat and sour cherry aromas. The wine is light, and should be drunk now, as it’s a perfect classic Burgundy.

I finished things off with the novelty of a St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram from the West Indies. The nose of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg is really quite fun.

A stellar collection of wines, and a great night. Service by Tim, his first time waiting on our group, was perfect.

The Wines

6	28	1969	Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive	White	Burgundy		180
6	24	2001	Ch Haut Brion Blanc	France	Graves		375

9	18	1955	Ch Latour	France	Paullac	tenth	320
9	17	1955	Ch Cheval Blanc	France	St Emilion	tenth	320

7	19	1970	Ch Petrus	France	Pomerol		1,287
6	16	1961	Ch Lynch Bages	France	Pauillac		600

5	25	1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		130
5	10	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	Napa		150

8	24	1987	Richebourg Jean Gros	Red	Burgundy		135
7	23	1983	Richebourg Domaine de la Romanee Conti	Red	Burgundy		300

9	21	1999	Ch d’Yquem	Sauternes	Bordeaux	tenth	85
6	31	1963	Taylor	Port	Portugal		150

							4032

Acquisitions

None	$

Upcoming Events

Syndicate	August 24
Syndicate	November 23

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-419
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1718
Balance	2863

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple to the event.