Category Archives: California

Young and Old

at Eddie V’s

January 18, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Wines served in pairs. The 1961 Château Latour à Pomerol absolutely lived up to its billing, and was the overwhelming favorite! Glad it turned out to be the real deal, and what a deal it was!

The Wines

1985 Philippe Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines 124
2008 Philippe Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers 78
1945 Beaulieu Vineyard Pinot Noir Beaumont 298
2015 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir Southing 100
1961 Château Lafite Rothschild 963
1997 Château Lafite Rothschild 595
1980 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 143
2013 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 195
1961 Château Latour à Pomerol ($7513.33) 2990
2009 Château Latour à Pomerol 95
1983 Dominus Estate 124
2010 Dominus Estate 283
5988

Upcoming Events

Syndicate?

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance$6339.75
Dues Payable+5500
Wines for this tasting-5988
Dinner-2392
Balance$3,459.75

Blind Pairs

at The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel

April 27, 2019 at 6:00 pm

Ten wines, puzzlingly similar or not? Served blind in pairs.

Favorites were the Ridge and Dominus. The first three pairs were good puzzlers.

Very dry sherry, and nicely balanced Madeira

The Wines

1975Château Cheval Blanc St. Émilion Grand Cru493
1975Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon York Creek116
2000Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac214
1999Dominus141
2011Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée34
2010Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée85
2014Opus One319
2013Crown Point Happy Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon148
1905Pérez Barquero Montilla-Moriles Solera Amontillado293
1875 Malvasia (property of Syndicate)555
Value of all wines for this tasting$2398

Upcoming Events

SyndicateJuly 27

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance$5487
Dues Payable+5500
Wines from Steve for this tasting-1843
Dinner-2157.25
Balance$6,986.75

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.

Sort This Out

at The Chef’s Table at the Edgewater

May 5, 2018 at 6pm

The Wines

All we needed to do was sort them out. All wines were served blind. No one got them all, but several people did very well, with Ron getting 8 of 10.

The favorites were the 1949 Leroy, 1971 Haut Brion, 1986 Mouton and 1994 Dominus.

John added a 1986 Bechevelle which contributed to the challenge and was definitely the best price/performance ratio!

1964 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve $212
1971 Chateau Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan $285
1977 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac $288
1977 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard $433
1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac $823
1989 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon $70
1994 Dominus Estate $304
1949 Maison Leroy Beaune 1er Cru $478
1961 Pierre Ponnelle Clos St. Denis Grand Cru $515
1969 Maison Leroy Echezeaux Grand Cru $885
$4,293

The Menu

Acquisitions

Wines for this tasting $4293

Upcoming Events

Syndicate August 4

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance $3025
Dues Payable +5000
Purchases -4293
Dinner -2097
Balance 1635

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

The Price is Right

at Eddie V’s

January 13, 2018 at 6pm

The Wines

This was a completely blind event. Wines were served in pairs. One wine in each pair was much more expensive than the other. The group had no difficulty discerning the more expensive wine in each case. The fact that there were no surprises was in itself surprising!

Value Cost
1928 Château Cos d’Estournel 975 775
1928 Château Chambert-Marbuzet 55 55
1959 Château Prieuré-Lichine 113 35
1959 Château Gruaud Larose 569 300
1959 Ph. Chapelle & Fils Santenay 1er Cru 50 50
1959 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Dames Hospitalieres Maison Leroy 518 535
1983 Opus One 271 50
1983 Château Gloria 30 60
2013 Dominus Estate 334 285
2013 Dominus Napanook Red 75 50
2014 Orin Swift Machete 61 48
2012 Mollydooker Shiraz Carnival of Love 77 38
3128 2281

Acquisitions

Wines for this tasting $2281

Upcoming Events

Syndicate April 14

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance $2228
Dues Payable +5500
Purchases -2281
Dinner -2422
Balance $3025

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

Odd Man Out

at Chef’s Table at the Edgewater Hotel

August 5, 2017 at 6pm

The group did very well at identifying the “odd man out” in each blind group of three, and in fact in sorting out each wine. Martin got all of them, and most people got nearly all of them. My favorite wines, which were more or less the groups’ favorites, too, were the Ex Voto, Scarecrow M. Etain, Spottswoode, and Lynch Bages, in that order. Surprisingly, the two Burgundies were the least interesting.

The Wines

1961 Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend $521.64
1961 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection Napa Valley $190.00
1961 Château Cos d’Estournel St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend $452.06
2014 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny Pinot Noir $152.56
2009 Domaine Thomas-Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts Pinot Noir $55.73
2010 Evan’s Ranch Pinot Noir Lone Oak Sta. Rita Hills 1.5L $95.12
2013 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Monsieur Ètain Rutherford $169.51
2014 Saxum James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles Willow Creek District Red Rhone Blend $120.75
2012 Mollydooker Shiraz Carnival of Love McLaren Vale $70.31
2007 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend $128.09
2007 E. Guigal Ermitage Ex-Voto Hermitage Syrah $126.54
2007 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate St. Helena $235.31
$2,317.62

 

Acquisitions

Wines from Steve for this tasting $2,317.62

Upcoming Events

Syndicate Noveember 4

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance $2533
Dues Payable +5500
Purchases -2317.62
Dinner -2157.25
Balance 3558.13

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

2017-1 Blind Pairs

at Eddie V’s

January 21, 2017 at 6pm

We had a great time in Chicago in November, featuring the very exciting World Series conclusion, a very comprehensive Bordeaux tasting, and some great dinners. A few blog entries on the subject:

Comprehensive Bordeaux Tasting: 1989/1990

When the Cubs Won the World Series

Oriole With Our Wine Group

This event cleans out the Syndicate cellar except for three Madeiras. The wines were poured in blind pairs. All showed well except the Vos Romanee, which was heavily sedimented. a group favorite was the Pape Clement. In most of the other flights the vote was evenly split. 2001 Yquem is indeed much more aromatic and balanced than the 2000 when tasted blind.

Other notable wines: John’s 2010 Domaine des Senechaux CDP Blanc, Dick’s 2004 L’Aventure Stephan Vineyards Syrah/Cab blend from Paso Robles, Martin’s 1973 AngeloPapgni Alicante Bouchet (which I sort of identified blind), Martin’s 2003 Integrity, and Ron’s 2007 Clos de Vougeot by Raphet.

The Wines

2005 Guigal Ex Voto Blanc White Rhone 110
2009 Ch Pape Clement White Bordeaux tenth 130
1962 Ch Margaux Red Bordeaux 414
1964 Ch Lafite Rothschild Red Bordeaux 356
1969 Antonin Rodet Echezeaux Red Burgundy 90
1969 Moillard Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Red Burgundy 180
1983 Dominus Estate Blend Napa 130
1991 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard Blend Napa 270
2013 Dominus Estate Blend Napa 261
2013 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Napa 170
2000 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 213
2001 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 300
2624

Acquisitions

Two remaining bottles of 1937 Vosne-Romanée are out on consignment, ?
Wines from Steve for this tasting $1341

Upcoming Events

Syndicate April 29

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance -870
Dues Payable 5500
Purchases -1341
Sales 0
Dinner -2154
Balance 1135

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

2016-2 The Ultimate, Definitive, Comprehensive BVGDLTPR Event

at Capital Grille at Pointe Orlando

April 2, 2016 at 6pm IMG_1490

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!

IMG_1492

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.

2016-1 Clearing Out the Cellar

at Eddie V’s

January 23, 2016 at 6pm

This tasting features odds and ends from the cellar, but fortunately we saved some of the best for last! We have a few more of the 1937 Burgundy, two half bottles of Yquem, several bottles of Madeira. We also now have a 25 year vertical of BV!

SyndicateJan2015

This turned out to be quite a great tasting.

The Haut Brion Blancs took quite a while to warm up and open up, but were magnificent, if not worth the current price.

The DRCs were excellent, with votes evenly split between them, although the 37 VR showed much better than the last bottle, too.

The Duckhorn was good but not as good as the previous ones.

I also brought a 38 Cheval Blanc from my own cellar, which was infinitely better than the one with the very low fill at the last tasting. A well stored bottle of this wine would be phenomenal.

The Lafite lived up to its reputation, and was a perfectly stored bottle.

The Madeira was extraordinarily complex, of course, and the Yquem also showed really well, more balanced and less acidic than many. I’m not sure what Parker’s fuss about the Teseron was all about, though. It’s a fine cognac, but not a 100 point wine.

The Wines

7 16 2000 Ch Haut Brion Blanc France Graves 485
7 17 2001 Ch Haut Brion Blanc France Graves 375
8 8 1937 Vosne-Romanée Collection du Docteur Barolet – Henri de Villamont Red Burgundy 450
7 15 1958 Echezeaux Domaine de la Romanee Conti Red Burgundy 675
7 21 1983 La Tache – Domaine de la Romanee Conti Red Burgundy 300
7 19 1959 Ch Lafite France Pauillac 1450
7 31 1980 Duckhorn Merlot Napa 85
7 18 1914 Madeira, Bual, Abudarhaml Madeira Madeira 300
9 23 1999 Ch d’Yquem Sauternes Bordeaux tenth 85
Tesseron XO Selection Lot 29 Cognac leftover
4355

Acquisitions

Vintage Wine

Value
1942 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 565
1952 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 500
1960 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 225
1964 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 135
1965 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 191
1968 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 254
1971 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 68
1973 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 100
1974 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 104
1975 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 81
1976 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 131
1977 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 92
1979 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 53
1980 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 54
1981 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 60
1982 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 49
1983 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 45
1984 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 78
1986 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 53
1987 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 63
1988 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 60
1990 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 48
1991 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 76
2006 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve 64
3150

Upcoming Events

Syndicate April 2

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance -3653
Dues Payable 5000
Purchases -3150
Dinner -1908
Balance -3711

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.