Category Archives: Capital Grille

2010-1 Beringer Vertical

Beringer Vertical

at The Capital Grille

February 20, 2010 at 6:00 pm

The Wines

Since our last meeting featured a French horizontal, here’s something completely different: a California vertical. Group favorites were the ’90 and ’91.

Year	Producer	Wine	Notes	Score	Price
1985	Beringer	PR CS	Initially the best wine, but faded fairly quickly. Wood, curry, chocolate, sweet finish, balanced.	93	75
1986	Beringer	PR CS	Iron, metallic, the weakest wine	87	75
1987	Beringer	PR CS	Iron, wood, tannic, fairly balanced	91	75
1989	Beringer	PR CS	Somewhat unbalanced	89	75
1990	Beringer	PR CS	Chewy, licorice, structured	94	75
1991	Beringer	PR CS	Thin, tannic, unbalanced	90	75
1993	Beringer	PR CS	Fruity, balanced, mint, bandaid	92	75
1996	Beringer	PR CS	Tight, tannic, wood, less fruit, good structure	91	75
1997	Beringer	PR CS	Smoke, vanilla, anise, sweet	94	75
1998	Beringer	PR CS	Sweet, earthy, chewy	95	75
1999	Beringer	PR CS	Coffee, herbs, tannic, anise	98	75
2001	Beringer	PR CS	Iron, off balance, vegetal	90	75
2003	Beringer	PR CS	Donated by our server, Jason Intense vanilla, dough, anise, white mint chocolate, soft, balanced, held up the longest by far in the glass	95
1998	Laville Haut Brion		From Ron Burnt marshmallows, Sugar Daddy candy, green buttered beans	96
2000	G. Amiot	Montrachet	Burnt butter, slightly sweet, oxidized in scenet and appearance, short, disappointing	89	260
2007	Killer Bee	Chardonnay	From Linda Honey, balanced, slightly sweet, ash	90
2004	Evans Ranch	Pinot Noir	From John Balanced, varietal, long vanialla finish	94
2005	Fess Parker	Syrah	Smoke meat, deep fruit, long and structured	92
1980	Beringer	CS	From Dick Chocolate, big, comparable to the PR	92
2005	Amancio	Rioja	From Ron Intense vanilla, high alcohol, coffee finish	93
	Compass Box	Orangerie Scoth	From Steve Orange!	90
	Nonino	Amaro	From Steve Bitter and sweet, herbaceous, citrus, long	94
1948	Malvasia	Madeira	Citrus, complex, long, balanced nuts, sublime	99	260

					1420

Acquisitions

The auction market is unfortunately becoming impossible again, but I’ve managed to snag a few wines, and found a few from cellar raiders. At the last auction I only got 1 of 20 lots, and I was bidding near and above the high estimates! Oddly, the lot I got (the BV) was one of my lowest bids.

Col	Row	Year	Producer	Wine	Price
4	22	1959	Bouchard Aine & Fils	Gevrey Chambertin	380
4	23	1937	Louis Latour	Chambertin	390
4	24	1955	Louis Latour	Chambertin	390
5	8	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	9	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	10	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	11	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	12	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	13	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	14	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	15	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	Cabernet Sauvignon	150
5	26	1966	Doudet-Naudin	Mazis-Chambertin	325
5	27	1955	Naudin	Corton	325
5	28	1928	Barolet	Pommard Epenots	475
5	29	1966	Doudet-Naudin	Echezeaux	325
					3810

Upcoming Events

April 17	Wine Syndicate
August 28	Wine Syndicate
December 11	Wine Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	1996
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-3810
Dinner	-1497
Balance	1689

Please bring your dues of $1000 per couple.

2009-5 BYOF (Bring Your Own Flight)

BYOF
(Bring Your Own Flight)

at Capital Grille

September 26, 2009 at 6:00 pm

The ThemeThis is sort of a pseduo Syndicate event, with wines provided by the attendees.

Each couple was requested to bring two or three wines for a mystery flight. Good wines. Preferably really good wines. The wines should be related in some sense — year, vintner, grape, whatever — and should cause us to look brilliant or stupid, depending upon the quality of our guesses. In the end, the most important thing is that we end up really impressed by your good taste.

Attendees: Ron, Bev, Susan, Bruce, Gary, Trish, Dick, Priscilla, Martin, Steve, Linda

Thanks to everyone for the great wines! It was a fabulous event. Here are my ratings of the wines:

Year	Wine	Provider	Rating
1964	Santenay – Clavalier	Steve	93
1964	Ch. Leoville Las Cases	Steve	91
1964	BVGDLTPR (tenth)	Steve	87
2005	Fleur Cardinale St. Emilion	Dick	92
2005	L’Ecole No. 41 Apogee – Washington State	Dick	88
1971	Freemark Abbey CS	Martin	88
1975	Christian Brothers CS	Martin	95
1978	Gallo CS	Martin	91
2000	Domaine de la Solitude Chateauneuf du Pape	Gary	93
2005	Aquilon Bodegas Alto Moncayo Garnacha	Gary	99
2003	Ch. La Gonerie St. Emilion	Bruce	93
1999	Togni CS	Bruce	91
1999	Ch. Valandraud St. Emilion	Bruce	90
2003	Cuvee de mon Areul Chateauneuf du Pape	Ron	94
2003	Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape	Ron	95
2003	Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape	Ron	96
1982	Meursault Louis Jadot	Steve	99
2002	Mont de Milieu Chablis Premiere Cru Billaud-Simon	Gary	93
2003	Chassagne Montrachet Michel Colin-Deleger & Fils Les Chaumees	Ron	95
1998	Barbaresco	Dick	86
1976	Corton Clos du Roi	Martin	93
2006	Sine Qua Non Raven Grenache No. 1	Ron	94

Acquisitions

none.

Upcoming Events

December 5	Wine Syndicate at The Bull & Bear at The Waldorf Astoria
February 20	Wine Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-757
Dues Payable	none
Purchases	0
Dinner	buy your own
Balance	-757

2009-2 Bring Your Own Flight

Bring Your Own Flight

at Capital Grille

May 9, 2009 at 6:00 pm

The Theme

Each couple is requested to bring two or three wines for a mystery flight. Good wines. Preferably really good wines. The wines should be related in some sense — year, vintner, grape, whatever — and should cause us to look brilliant or stupid, depending upon the quality of our guesses. In the end, the most important thing is that we end up really impressed by your good taste. Knock yourselves out!

Results

There were a lot of ties in the ratings, but the standout wine for me was Ron’s 1985 Chatea Latour.

Acquisitions

1968 BV Special Label Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1973 BV Special Label Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1973 BV Special Label Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1973 BV Special Label Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1958 BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Pinot Noir Napa 130
1959 BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Pinot Noir Napa 130
1960 BV Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1967 BV Burgundy Pinot Noir Napa 50
1970 BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Pinot Noir Napa 75
1970 BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Pinot Noir Napa 75

Upcoming Events

June 20

Next regular Syndicate (at Luma)

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-835
Dues Payable	none
Purchases	-610
Dinner	pay for your own
Balance	-1445

No dues are due.

2009-1 Young and Old

Young and Old

at Capital Grille

March 14, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Young and old vintages of the same wine. How do they age?(Of course, young is a relative term! My scores are in blue, group favorites are starred.)

98	1978	Ch Haut Brion Blanc*	295
96	1998	Ch Haut Brion Blanc	290
94	1998	Laville-Haut Brion Blanc (provided by Ron)

92	1969	Echezeaux Leroy*	320
95	1996	Echezeaux Bocquenet	90

93	1937	Ch Margaux*	240
92	1962	Ch Margaux	225
89	2004	Pavillon Rouge (Ch Margaux 2nd wine) (provided by Linda)

79	1963	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	90
89	1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve* (provided by Dick)
87	1978	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve	90

100	1834	Madeira Malvasia Barbieto*	505
			2145

Acquisitions

1993	La Romanee – Bouchard, Pere et Fils	190
1993	La Romanee – Bouchard, Pere et Fils	190
1993	La Romanee – Bouchard, Pere et Fils	190
1993	La Romanee – Bouchard, Pere et Fils	190
1964	Clos Vougeot – R. Engel	250
1966	Bonnes Mares – Comte de Vogue	490

1945	Chateau Latour	985
1947	Volnay, H. Boillot	151
1949	Charmes-Chambertin, Liger-Belair	317
1949	Charmes-Chambertin, Liger-Belair	317
1949	Charmes-Chambertin, Liger-Belair	317
		3587

We really got a deal on that Bonnes Mares, which is worth twice that.

Upcoming Events

May 9	Bring your own Flight
June 20	Next regular Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-354
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-3587
Dinner	-1894
Balance	-835

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

2008-2 Down (under) and Dirty

Down (under) and Dirty

at Capital Grille

May 24, 2008 at 6:00 pm

Col	Row	Year	Wine	Cost
4	10	2001	Marquis Philips Integrity	260
4	11	2001	Marquis Philips Shiraz Nine	75
4	12	2002	Marquis Philips Shiraz Nine	65
4	16	1992	Penfold’s Bin 707	65
4	17	1993	Penfold’s Bin 707	65
4	18	1994	Penfold’s Bin 707	65
4	8	2002	Clarendon Old Vines Grenache “Clarendon’	50
4	9	1998	Clarendon Brook Shiraz	80
4	15	2002	Burge Family D&OK Shiraz	47
4	14	2002	Amon Ra	150

				922

There were some surprises at this event:

The 2002 Nine was much better than the more famous 2001 Nine. The Intergrity was integrated but not exciting,

The 1992 Bin 707 was vastly better than the other two Bin 707s.

All of the Claerndon wines were disappointing.

The best wine in the above list was the Amon Ra, which was the only one likely to age well.

Other standouts were a Mitolo Savitar Shiraz that Dick brought, and a 2003 Henry’s Drive Reserve Shiraz I brought which I thought was more complex than the Amon Ra, but perhaps not as structured.

Acquisitions

Given the outrageous auction prices of late, I’ve been looking at more recent wines I could aquire on sale.

2002	Dominus	Cabernet Sauvignon	99
2002	Dominus	Cabernet Sauvignon	99
2002	Joseph Phelps Insignia	Cabernet Sauvignon	199
2002	Joseph Phelps Insignia	Cabernet Sauvignon	199
2000	Philip Togni	Cabernet Sauvignon	80
2002	Corton-Charlemagne Remoissenet	White	80
2002	Clarendon Old Vines Grenache “Clarendon’	Grenache	50
1998	Clarendon Brook Shiraz	Shiraz	80
2002	Burge Family D&OK Shiraz	Shiraz	47
2002	Amon Ra	Shiraz	150
			1083

Upcoming Events

July 26

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	1374
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-1083
Dinner	-1743
Balance	3548

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

2007-5 Burgundy in the Sixties

Burgundy in the Sixties

at Capital Grille

December 1, 2007 at 5:30 pm

Col	Row	Year	Wine	Cost

m1	19	1964	Charmes-Chambertin, Pierre Bouree Fils (magnum)	180
7	26	1964	Corton Bressandes, Chandon de Briailles	130
8	12	1964	Hospice de Beaune, Corton Cuvee Dr. Peste, Remoissenet	130
5	14	1966	Morey-Saint-Denis, Pierre Bouree Fils	90
8	19	1966	Pommard, Dom de Madame Bernard de Courcel	50
8	20	1966	Pommard les Charponniers, Dom Parent	50
7	8	1966	Vosne Romanee Les Beaumonts, Remoissenet	400
7	13	1967	Chambertin Clos de Beze, P. Gelin	75
5	19	1969	Echezeaux, Leroy	320
				1425

Acquisitions

Future Events

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-2111
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases
Dinner	-1500
Balance	1389

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

2007-3 Decades

Decades

at The Capital Grille

July 14, 2007 at 6 pm

The theme of this event is “Eight Decades”

Col	Row	Year	Wine	Type	Cost
5	22	1922	Ch. Lanessan	Haut-Medoc	130
5	9	1934	Ch. Pichon Baron	Bordeaux	286
6	13	1945	Ch. Margaux	Margaux	1700
5	24	1959	Ch. Lanessan	Haut-Medoc	90
6	11	1966	Ch. Margaux	Margaux	60
5	15	1976	Clos de la Roche – Pierre Bouree Fils	Burgundy	90
7	30	1983	Echezeaux Cote de Nuits Mongeard-Mugneret	Burgundy	45
7	25	1997	Clos Saint Denis Petel	Burgundy	55
					2,456

Acquisitions

Future Events

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	2681.10
Dues Payable	5000.00
Purchases	0
Dinner	-2000.00?
Balance	5681.10?

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