Category Archives: Italy

Ron’s Italian Wines

at Capital Grille

July 27, 2019 at 6:00 pm

Italian!

The Wines

From Ron: I am not sure if we have ever had an Italian tasting before but I have picked out 5 groups of wines each having 3 decades. I think our group will like this!

Flight 1: Whites

1998 Gravner Breg Fermented 7 mths in buried clay Amphorae & then 35 mths in wooden casks

2005 Ed Kante Carso Vitovaka   Galloni 95+

2012 Valentini Trebbiano d’Abruzzo

Flight 2: Brunello di Montalcino

1995 Soldera Riserva ( Considered the greatest Brunello producer )

2001 Casonova di Neri Tenuta Nuova  Wine Spectator WOTY

2010 Conti Costanti  Galloni 97

Flight 3: Barolo & Barbaresco

1997 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo

2001 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili  Galloni 96

2010 Vietti Rocche Barolo  Galloni 99

Flight 4: Super Tuscan

1989 Solaia

1998 Ornellaia  Wine Spectator WOTY

2006 Masseto Galloni 99

Flight 5: Bertani Amarone

1964 Bertani

1971 Bertani

1985 Bertani

Total cost $3480 The Soldera & Masseto was almost 50% of the total cost.

Favorites were the Soldera, Barbaresco, Ornellaia, and 64 Amarone.

Upcoming Events

SyndicateNovember 2

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance$6,986.75
Dues Payable+5500
Wines from Ron for this tasting-3480
Dinner-2265
Balance$6741.75

Find the …? by Ron

at Eddie V’s

August 4, 2018 at 6:30 pm

Four flights of three wines were poured blind. The challenge was to “Find the …”

Only Ron got them all right. Favorite wines in each flight are starred

The Wines

“Grand Cru White Burgundy”
2008 Aubert Lauren Chardonnay* RP 97
2014 Arnot Roberts Trout Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay VN 94
2005 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru BH 95, VN 98
“Grand Cru Red Burgundy”
2000 Chateau Rayas Chateauneuf –du-Pape Reserve* RP 93
2012 Comm. G B Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero VN 95
2005 Joseph Drouhin Chambertin (Clos Des Beze)* BH 94
“Cote Rotie”
2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series* RP 98
2003 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva RP 98
2003 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque RP 100
“First Growth Bordeaux”
1991 Dominus Cabernet* RP 99
1990 Antinori Solaia Toscana RP 94
1989 Chateau Margaux* RP 90

Acquisitions

Wines for this tasting $3100

Upcoming Events

Syndicate January 19

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance $1635
Dues Payable +5500
Purchases -3100
Dinner -2081
Balance 1954

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.

ws2015nov

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.

2012-2 White Christmas

White Christmas

at Luma
June 9, 2012 at 6:00 pm
 
In honor of the summer, this was an all white tasting, something we haven’t done before. We’ll did the Burgs as a flight of 5, then the Bordeaux as a flight of 4. (This was Luma, so we had to recycle glasses.) Then, with dessert, we’ll did the Yquem as a flight of 3, and after dinner the Tesseron (saving a half bottle for a future event. The Tesseron is the only Cognac ever scored 100 pts by Parker.)Members did a great job of stepping up to the plate and bringing excellent reds for dinner.

1962 Corton Charlemagne, Patriarche White Burgundy 180
1971 Chassagne-Montrachet, A. Ramonet White Burgundy 180
1976 Chassagne Montrachet, Les Chenevottes, A. Lichine White Burgundy 180
1969 Chevalier-Montrachet, G. Deleger White Burgundy 180
1969 Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive White Burgundy 180
6 8 1978 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 295
6 9 1983 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 295
2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 485
2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 375
9 24 1999 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 85
9 31 2000 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 213
9 26 2001 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 300
NV Tesseron XO Selection Lot 29 Cognac 320
3268

My wine notes:

Starters

2002 Freemark Abbey Gravel Bench Chardonnay, from Andy.
We all loved this very Burgundian California chard. Minerals, oak, gravel, butter with fruit and ash in the finish. 94 pts.

NV Leroy Duval Champagne, from John.
Toasty, nice fruit, 89pts.

NV Ruinart Champagne, from Ron.
Toast, greeen peel, crisp finish, 90 pts.

White Burgundy

1962 Corton Charlemagne, Patriarche, $180.
Although the oldest wine in the flight, this beauty was light straw color and incredibly youthful. 50 years? More like 5! Lemon, ash, a woodsy nose unfortunately developed, probably from a bad cork, tart mineral and lemon finish, very fresh, 91pts.

1971 Chassagne-Montrachet, A. Ramonet, $180.
Amber color, bizarre tomato, bacon and apricot nose, acidic, creamy finish, and awkward wine, 88pts.

1976 Chassagne Montrachet, Les Chenevottes, A. Lichine, $180.
Lovely light straw color, clean vanilla nose, ash on the tongue, tasting very young, the group’s favorite, 92pts.

1969 Chevalier-Montrachet, G. Deleger, $180.
Quite amber, floral, alcohol, geranium, heavy and a bit clumsy, 86 pts.

1969 Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive, $180
Astonishingly youthful, bright straw color, ash, minerals a hint of bug spray, clean on the palate with a good balance between acid and fruit, flinty finish, the group’s second favorite and my favorite, 94pts.

White Bordeaux

1978 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $295.
Amber, closed, honey, weeds, bug spray, dust, intense lemon on the palate, rich caramel finish, improved with 30 minutes of air, 92+pts.

1983 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $295.
Spicy, candy, oily, very balanced, good acid, vanilla finish, 95pts.

2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $485.
Green, flinty, young, licorice, soft, creamy, lemon finish, 96 pts.

2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc, $375.
Balanced, creamy, vanilla, apricot, vanilla ice cream, honey, the group’s favorite, 98pts.

Lighter Reds

1981 Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux, Ron
Black olives, cherry beer, peat, balanced, smokey, 95 pts.

2003 Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape, Ron
Meat, berries, dust, spice box, cherries, jam, vanilla, a great CDP, 98pts.

2000 Barbaresco, Marc de Grazia, Dick
Cherries, dried fruit, tar, tannic, 95pts.

1983 Hermitage La Chapelle, Jaboulet, Steve
Saddle leather, smoke, dried flowers, 95pts.

1993 Fess Parker Pinot Noir, commemorative Davie Crocket magnum, Andy
Smoke, sweet finish, a really nice pinot, 92pts.

Red Bordeaux

 1983 Ch Gruaud Larose, Ron
Classic Bordeaux nose, nice fruit balance, 92pts.

1986 Ch Gruaud Larose, Steve
Similar to the 1983, but with slightly more structure, 93pts.

1981 Ch. Palmer, John
Flawed bottle.

California Reds

 1981 BV Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, John
Waxy, fading a bit, but with traditional GDLT notes. You can tell this was just on the cusp of the winery’s decline, 90pts.

1995 Heitz Bella Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Andy
A remarkable Bella Oaks, lots of coffee in the nose, and a sweet balanced finish, 93pts.

2004 Robert Young Cabernet Sauvignon, Andy
A pleasant wine with a simple sawdust finish, 88pts.

1997 Grace Vineyard 29, Ron
Extremely Bordeaux like, especially the nose, 94pts.

1991 Dominus, Ron
Still the greatest wine ever made in California! 99pts.

Sauternes

1999 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $85.
The best match for the lemon verbena creme brulee, but the most out of balance of the three, 97pts.

2000 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $213.
Smooth and balanced, softer than the 1999, 98pts.

2001 Ch d’Yquem, tenth, $300.
Definitely the best of the three, the most complex and intense botrytis aromas, but is one or two points worth the premium? 99pts.

Cognac

(1929) Tesseron XO Selection Lot 29, $320.
Complex floral, figs, fennel, candy, vanilla, mint, balanced with a long caramel finish. The only Cognac ever rated 100pts by Robert Parker. 98pts.

 

Upcoming Events

September 29 Syndicate at Bull and Bear
November 17 Syndicate

Acquisitions

2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 485
2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 485
2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 375
2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 375
2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 375
2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc White Graves 375
2470

 

 

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance -5706
Dues Payable 5000
Purchases -2470
Dinner -1670
Balance -4856

 

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

2011-4 Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out 

at Luma
August 20, 2011 at 6:00 pm 
A delicious dinner at Luma, far surpassing any meal we’ve had there before. The menu:tuna sashimi “thai style”
ginger juice, nectarines, thai basil, lemongrass sorbetvidalia onion-cauliflower soup
creme fraiche, siberian caviarflorida keys lobster hush puppies
cucumber-mint tzatziki, bermuda onion salad, sumacsteakhouse wedge
iceberg lettuce, cherry tomato, applewood bacon, red onion, gorgonzola dolceprato meatball
preserved chanterelle, parmesan, garlic breadcrumb

laughing bird shrimp tortellini
maitake mushrooms, brentwood corn cream, denise’s eggplant agrodolce

idaho rainbow trout
black and white quinoa, walnut, braised scallion, pickled peppers

heritage pork tasting
roasted pork loin, braised pork belly, chili sausage, bacon roasted la ratte potato

peach pot de crème & chocolate malt milkshake
peach jam, brown sugar sorbet & caramel, vanilla cream

 

The wines: Four flights of three wines, blind. In each flight, something doesn’t belong. Our job was to find it. We were about half right. The two biggest shockers were that nearly everyone had the ’64 Latour swapped with the ’88 Tignanello(!) and the ’83 Dunn swapped with the ’82 Margaux. I need more Dunn.

My Rating
1955 Auxey Duresses, P Ponnelle Red Burgundy 95 159
1957 Auxey Duresses, P Ponnelle Red Burgundy 94 327
1955 Château Clerc Milon Mondon Red Bordeaux 90 137
1988 Tignanello, Antinori Red Italy 95 167
1964 Barolo, Giacomo Conterno 93 277
1964 Ch Latour 90 650
1983 Penfold’s Grange Shiraz Australia 98 190
1983 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 95 106
1982 Margaux Red Bordeaux 93 1078
1976 Petrus Red Bordeaux 91 1082
1976 BV GDLT PR Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 92 133
1976 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon Alex Val 90 89
1875 Madeira, Sercial Madeira Madeira 99 571
4966

Also, thanks for these wines:

  • 2008 Clos Habert Montlouis sur Loire, Siegel (92 pts)
  • 2010 Troon Rousanne, Crocket (89 pts)
  • 1983 Gainey Limited Selection Chardonnay, Henline (97 pts)
  • 2007 Louis Martini CS, Alcorn (92 pts)
  • 2001 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino, Robinson (96 pts)
  • 2006 Marquis Phillips Shiraz 9, Alcorn (92 pts)
  • 2002 Torbreck The Factor, Siegle (95 pts)
  • 2006 Gevrey Chambertin Champy, Crocket (88 pts)
  • 1987 Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon, Henline (88 pts)
  • 2006 Teramanthia Toro Tempranillo, Siegle (90 pts)

Upcoming Events

November 19 Non-Syndicate Bring Your Own Flight to Luma
December 10 Wine Syndicate at Bull & Bear

Acquisitions

1955 Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle 159
1955 Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle 159
1955 Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle 159
1957 Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle 327
1957 Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle 327
1955 Château Clerc Milon Mondon 137
1988 Tignanello, Antinori 167
1964 Giacomo Conterno Barolo 277
1964 Ch Latour 650
1983 Penfold’s Grange 190
1983 Dunn Howell Mountain 106
1982 Margaux 1078
1976 Petrus 1082
1976 BV GDLT PR 133
1976 Jordan 89
1875 Madeira, Sercial 571
5611

 

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance 5559
Dues Payable 5000
Purchases -5611
Dinner -2319
Balance 2629

 

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

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

 

2008-4 BYOW

BYOW 

at Capital Grille

 
September 6, 2008 at 6:00 pm 
The ThemeEach couple was requested to bring something mysterious. Good wines. Preferably really good wines. The wines should be related in some metaphysical sense, 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!

Here are the wines that were brought, along with mys ratings:

1989 Clos St Denis Drouhin Henline 92
1989 Mazies Chambertin Drouhin Henline 94
2004 Alta Miris Cabernet Sauvignon Robinson 97
2005 Conch Y Toro Del Melchior C.S. Robinson 93
1978 Gall Cabernet Sauvignon Alcorn 83
1978 Ch Mouton Rotshcild Alcorn 92
1978 Chambolle Musigny Bouchard Alcorn 88
1978 BV Georges de Latour PR CS Alcorn 93
1991 Dominus Siegel 94
2003 Troplong Mondot Siegel 88
2001 Nossorio Siegel 90

 

Acquisitions

None.

 

Upcoming Events

December 6th

 

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance -1955
Dues Payable 0
Purchases 0
Dinner Pay for your own
Balance -1955

No dues for this event.

2008-3 Do It Yourself Blind Pairs

Do It Yourself Blind Pairs

 

at Capital Grille
July 26, 2008 at 6:00 pm
The Theme

 

And now for something completely different. Each couple is requested to bring a pair of bagged wines. Good wines. Preferably really good wines. The wines should be theoretically really different, but in practice hard to tell which is which. This could mean one really expensive and one really cheap, one old world and one new world, one old but vibrant and one young but complex, same producer but two very different years, same year but two very different producers, etc. Knock yourselves out.

The goal is to fool everyone, but there has to be some possibility to figure it out. We don’t want to have to tell which one is from Hungary and which one is from Turkmenistan.

We’ll start by trying to figure out what they are, completely blind. Then, once we tire of that, the provider will tell us what the two wines are and we’ll try to figure out which is which.

The Results

Thanks to everyone for all the great wines! It was quite an amazing group! A really fun event, with lots of surprises. Below is the list of wines, with my ratings:

Year Wine From Score
2006 Evans Ranch Chardonnay Henline 92
1985 Christian Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon Henline 88
1985 Hop Kiln Petite Sirah Henline 90
2003 Ch. Smith Haut Lafite Robinson 88
2003 Keenan Meritage Robinson 90
2003 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Robinson 96
1966 Ch. Latour Alcorn 93
1964 Fossi Chianti Classico Alcorn 93
1965 BV George de la Tour CS Alcorn 95
1978 Clos de la Roche George Lignier Siegel 99
1986 Clos de la Roche Hubert Lignier Siegel 87
2003 Smith Haut Lafite Blanc Alcorn 98
2005 Mendel Unus (65% Malbec) Robinson 90
1999 Cote Rotie Brune & Blonde Guigal Siegel 90
2004 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Siegel 96
2004 Ch. Riussec Sauternes Henline 94
1997 Dolce Henline 89

 

Acquisitions

Recent declines in the stock market improved our luck at the auctions:

1985 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1986 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1987 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1987 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1989 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1990 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1991 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1993 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1996 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1997 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1998 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1999 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
2001 Berringer Private Reserve
75
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1624
1961 Bonnes Mares – Drouhin-Laroze
550
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1262
2001 Ch d’Yquem tenth
300
 CellaRaiders
2001 Ch d’Yquem tenth
300
 CellaRaiders
1959 Ch Lafite
1450
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1807
1961 Ch Lynch Bages
600
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1008
2003 Ch Montrose magnum
600
 CellaRaiders
1961 Ch Mouton Rothschild
1700
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1011
1985 Grand Echezeaux – DRC
900
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1111
1949 Mazis Chambertin – Seguin-Manuel
500
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 2048
1961 Musigny – Hudelot
550
 Bonhams 6/08 Lot 1262
$8425

There are several 100 point wines up there. I leave it to you to figure out which they are!

Upcoming Events

 

 

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance 3548
Dues Payable (less cost of dinner for 2) 4584
Purchases -8425
Dinner (for 8) -1662
Balance -1955

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