Category Archives: France

2013-1 Ron’s Favorite Wines When You Only Have $3000 to Spend

Bull and Bear

February 2, 2013 at 6:00 pm

The Wines

Ron provided a fabulous series of flight from his cellar. Wine of the night was the 1966 La Mission Haut Brion, ,followed closely by the Chateau Rayas. Other favorites were the Jacques Selosse Substance, 2005 Araujo Eisele and 1959 Aloxe-Corton. The only wine that was slightly disappointing was the 1994 Dominus, which despite a great Bordeaux-like nose mysteriously lacked structure and fruit. I thought the Suduiraut (a great year) was slightly more balanced than the Yquem, although the nose of the Yquem was quite complex.

I added a couple of wines to the flights. My 2010 Aubert Ritchie wasn’t as complex as the Lauren, and my 2000 Raymond Usseglio CDP was much less chewy than the Deux Freres, although at one fifth the price a good buy.

Flight I (Ron’s favorite Champagne producers)

96 Krug – toast, bread, pronounced lime, sharp finish that mellowed with an hour of air, 96 pts.

NV Jacques Selosse Substance – toast, orchids, meat, stones, oxidative nose, incredibly long and mouth filling. My favorite Champagne, 98 pts.

Flight II ( Ron’s favorite Chardonnay producers Old and New World)

10 Aubert Ritchie – bacon, butter, ash, 94 pts.

09 Aubert Lauren – lavender, floral, more complex on the tongue than the Ritchie, sharper finish, growing complexity with 30 minutes of air, 98 pts.

09 Raveneau Montee de Tonnere – intense anise nose, marine slat, soft on the tongue, a bit disappointing next to the new world chards, 92 pts.

Flight III ( Southern Rhone / Chateauneuf du Pape)

00 Pierre Usseglio Deux Freres – berries, meat, well structured, 93 pts.

00 Chateau Rayas – light ruby, cherry, mint, rhubarb, herbs, like a great Burgundy, 99 pts.

00 Rudolph Usseglio CDP – dark color, animal scents, simple on the palate, but chewy, good buy, 90 pts.

Flight IV (California Cabernet battle served blind) The Araujo beat some very high end Cali’s including Dominus at Andrus’s blind tasting.

94 Dominus – big dark fruit nose but a disappointing hollowness on the palate. Bottle variation or over rated or over the hill or awkward stage? 93 pts.

05 Araujo Eisele – tons of fruit and chocolate mint, big long vanilla mint finish. A monster of a new world wine. Cultish. 96 pts.

Flight V ( Bordeaux: Ron’s favorite 82 and my favorite Bordeaux Producer)

66 La Mission Haut Brion – redwoord, huge fruit, very fruity on the palate, earthy finish, easily WOTN. 99+ pts.

82 Pichon Lalande – intense dark mushroom, forest floor, perhaps the best 82 I’ve had, but slightly thin on the palate. 95 pts.

Flight VI ( Burgundy: Ron’s favorite vintages)

59 Domaine F Thevenot Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru – youthful bright cherry, bacon, wood smoke, big, sweet and fruity on the palate, ever so slightly musty. I love old Burgs! 99 pts.

78 Leroy NSG Boudots – cherry and herbal, thin compared to the Aloxe. Reinforces my NSG opinions. 92 pts.

Flight VII ( Ron’s favorite dessert wine )

97 Yquem – surprisingly off balance for Yquem, but a great complex nose. 89 pts.

01 Suduiraut – best Suduiraut ever, really balanced finish, but a much simpler nose than the Yquem. 93 pts.

Acquisitions

1970 Petrus!	$1287 (we stole this from JJ Buckley’s year end sale)
Wines from Ron	$3000

Upcoming Events

April 20

Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	1454
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-4287
Dinner	-2586
Balance	-419

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

2012-4 Burgundy We Can No Longer Afford

Burgundy We Can No Longer Afford

at Capital Grille

November 17, 2012 at 6:00 pm

We’ve had a lot of these wines close to ten years, and some are now about three times this price! These will be tasted in the order shown.

8	20	1949	Corton Bressandes, Charles Vienot	Red	Burgundy	550
6	17	1955	Auxey Duresses, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	159
8	30	1964	Pommard, Grand Epenots, Leroy	France	Burgundy	200
7	29	1966	Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling, Remoissenet Père et Fils	Red	Burgundy	95
7	27	1967	Fixin, Pierre Ponnelle	Red	Burgundy	95
8	21	1969	Echezeaux Leroy	France	Burgundy	320
8	18	1970	Corton Diamond Jubilee, Remoissenet Père et Fils	Red	Burgundy	95
7	13	1978	Nuit Saint-Georges – Pierre Bouree Fils	Red	Burgundy	90
7	19	1983	Grands Echexeaux Domaine de la Romanee Conti	Red	Burgundy	300
8	15	1993	La Romanee – Bouchard, Pere et Fils	Red	Burgundy	190
8	8	1996	Echezeaux Reserve Bocquenet	Red	Burgundy	90
8	14	1996	La Romanee du Chateau de Vosne Romanee Comte Liger-Belair Bouchard	Red	Burgundy	55

Wine Notes

We started the tasting with a Riedel glassware comparison, and I think it’s safe to say that everyone now believes that even subtle differences in glasses have profound effects on the tast of the wine!

1949 – youthful, iron, mineral, leeather, sweet, long, chclate covered rasins, coffe, cooked meat, wood. The wine evolved for two hours. This is exactly what I’m looking for in Burgundy, and it was worth every penny. Wine of the night, and the group’s unanimous favorite. 97 pts.

1955 – slightly Madeirized, iron, fading fruit, stewed veggies, rhubarb, awkward. 88 pts.

1964 – tight, steely, minerals, metallic to the max, pot roast, coffee. 92 pts.

1966 – very ripe, vanilla metallic, cherry, quite weird. 86 pts.

1967 – balanced, good color and fruit, vanilla, a shocker given its year! 94 pts.

1969 – closed, plastic, short. 90 pts.

1970 – balanced, good fruit, caramel, slightly woodsy. 90 pts.

1978 – charred wood, toasted marshmallow, metal. 92 pts.

1983 – bug spray, mineral spirits, vanilla, candy, cherry, floral, asian spices. 94 pts.

1993 – closed, caramel, short, thin finish, high acid. 92 pts.

1996 Exhezeaux – smoked meat, good fruit, wood, black cherry, soy, mushroom. 93 pts.

1996 La Romanee – meaty, cotton candy, youthful. 91 pts.

Acquisitions

none

Upcoming Events

February 2	Syndicate
April 20	Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-1756
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1790
Balance	1454

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

2012-3 Margaux Babies

Margaux Babies

at Bull & Bear

September 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm

Climbing back out of the hole Margaux was in during the 70s to taste some of the greatest vintages of all time.

Well, this was a very disappointing tasting. Very little great wine was made in the 1970s in Bordeaux, and Margaux made none of it. But while the other first growths were releasing knockout after knockout during the 80s, Margaux was still struggling. It was not until 1989 that things really came together. The tasting was not helped by the fact that two of the better vintages–the 1978 and potential 100 point 1990–were corked. Overall a very lackluster group.

Fortunately the members brought some great wines, so we drank well during a fabulous tasting dinner that featured an octopus sort of crepe thingie, amazing mussels, and cod that was laboriously prepared using locally gathered pine needles(!) The new Italian sous chef was in charge, and really knocked it out of the park.

1977	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	241
1978	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	377
1979	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	285
1980	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	342
1981	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	340
1982	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	1017
1983	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	582
1984	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	198
1985	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	445
1986	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	543
1987	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	335
1989	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	483
1990	Ch. Margaux	Red	Bordeaux	1077

				6265

Wine Notes

1977 – classic Bordeaux nos, iron, coffee grounds, smoke, meat, thin, short, 88 pts

1978 – corked. some underlying fruit and tannin, coffee grounds, no score

1979 – a bit of caramel, medicinal, iron, meat, wax, vanilla, tannin, 87 pts

1980 – chalk, dust, decent structure, spice, coffee candies, 86 pts

1981 – spicy, coffee, refined fruit, 90 pts

1982 – coffee, curry, big structure, simple, 94 pts

1983 – tannin, not a lot of fruit, salty, 91 pts

1984 – chalk, soft, short, 82 pts

1985 well-structured, tannic, iron, 89 pts

1986 – mint, tannic, thin, short, 91 pts

1987 – gamey, mint, thin, 85 pts

1989 – smoke, earth, gamey, lead pencil, 95 pts

1990 – corked, big fruit, no score

Other Wines

2000 Pavillon Rouge by Margaux – Dick – big fruit, long, blackberry, ocean, 95 pts

2007 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon – Steve – vanilla, pepper, meat, mint, shell, herbs, chocolate, coconut, chewy, long, 99 pts

2008 La Cigare Blanc – Andy – interesting Rhone blend, nutty, balanced, butter, 91 pts

2005 Domaine Weinbach Clos des Capucins Cuvee Theo – Ron – petrol, armpit, elegant, 93 pts

2008 Evans Ranch Chardonnay – John – butter, toast, big, balanced, long, 91 pts

2010 Bonny Doon Sparkling Albarino – Andy – caramel, butter, high acide, fascinating, 90 pts

1967 Nuits-Saint-Georges “Les Boudots” Georges Noellat – Ron – Cigar, sweet cherries, 89 pts

2002 Clos de Vougeot Maison Champy – John – closed, cherries, short, 84 pts

2004 Evans Ranch Lone Oak Pinot Noir – Andy – vanilla, spice box, baking spices, 92 pts

2000 Segla – Dick – 2nd wine of Rauzan Segla, tannic, not much fruit, 88 pts

1986 Laurel Glen Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon – Ron – chewy, tannic, vanilla, cherry, peppers, acid, old style CA that will age well, 90 pts

2007 Ch. de Fonsalette Rhone by Rayas – Ron – cherries, anilla, chalk, herbal, kirsch, raspberry, young, 92 pts

2004 Noon Eclipse GSM – Ron – great structure, long chocolate finish, 92 pts

2003 Henry’s Drive Reserve Shiraz – Steve – extremely aromatic, wood, vanilla, intense mint, 94 pts

1969 Beerenauslese Osterreich Assmannhauss – Steve – balanced, good acid, wax, 92 pts

1975 Ch. Les Justices Sauternes – Steve – botrytis, simple, 88 pts

2007 Argyle Minus Five Cryo Cluster Riesling – Andy – petrol, varietal, 90 pts

Acquisitions

none

Upcoming Events

November 17

Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	-4856
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1860
Balance	-1756

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.

2012-1 Four Decades of Margaux

Four Decades of Margauxat Bull & Bear

March 31, 2012 at 6:00 pm

It had been many years since we did a vertical of a first growth. Linda and I have been collecting Chateau Margaux for almost 30 years, and decided it was time to give them a try. I split our collection into two tastings. This first batch begins in the middle, a tough time for Bordeaux and Margaux in particular.We tasted the wines in reverse chronological order, from 1975 to 1949. Margaux was a property in decline during the 60s and 70s, and the first seven wines really reflected this. Even the 70 and 75 were uninspired. The 75 is probably the worst price performance ration of the bunch. The 66 and 64 were the first wines I would actually have consumed!

The reward was at the end While the most famous Margaux is perhaps the 59, it has never blown me away, but this was an excellent example. However it was eclipsed by the other three. 62 is an often overlooked year, having occurred in the shadow of the great 61s. This 61 did not disappoint. Despite an extremely low shoulder, it was a beautiful wine with many flavor profiles. But the stunner was the 1949, an extraordinarily fresh, feminine and complex wine that evolved in the glass for hours. A real treat to end on.

In September we’ll complete this tasting with vintages from 1977-1990.

1975	Ch Margaux	Smoke bacon, tart, sour finish	84pts	432
1973	Ch Margaux	Overripe fruit, stewed, sweet finish	85pts	175
1972	Ch Margaux	Sawdust, oak	88pts	286
1971	Ch Margaux	Face powder, cherry, balanced, coffee	89pts	225
1970	Ch Margaux	Bug spray, ashes	88pts	212
1969	Ch Margaux	Candy, funky, chemicals	83pts	220
1967	Ch Margaux	Madeirized, bacon	84pts	158
1966	Ch Margaux	Eucalyptus, mint, dust	89pts	188
1964	Ch Margaux	Big fruit, wood finish, much disagreement about mildew, chocolate, caramel, the group was vehemently split on this wine, with some hating it	90pts	293
1962	Ch Margaux	Fruity, young, violets, red fruits	94pts	629
1961	Ch Margaux	Extremely low shoulder yet beautifully fresh, roses, sawdust, soy, earthy, waxy	97pts	910
1959	Ch Margaux	Young and fresh, smoke, waxy	93pts	1,167
1949	Ch Margaux	Cherries, bright fruit, light color, cinnamon, crisp, apple	99pts	1,643
				6,538

Other wines:

2008	“Y”	Steve	botrytis, very fruity, dry but doesn’t seems so, semillon	99pts
1981	Alzeyer Sybillenstein Spatlese	Ron	medium amber, mint, floral, surprisingly sweet	89pts
2006	Adobe Road Pinot Noir	Steve	Varietal, cherries, leather	90pts
2006	Chateau Beaucastel CNDP	Dick	Cherries, vanilla	92pts
2000	Clos de Papes	Ron	Menthol, tar, cherries	94pts
2001	Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello di Montalcino	Dick	tar, chewy, black fruits	95pts
2006	White Oak Syrah	Andy	Vanilla, meat	90pts
2001	Marquis Phillips S2	John	Syruppy, canilla	90pts
1999	Pride Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon	Ron	Wood, a bit uni-dimensional considering its pedigree	95pts
2002	Torbreck “The Factor”	Ron	Black fruits, vanilla, bacon	92pts
1992	Hacienda Henline Conquistador Port	John	This wine was made in 1992 by John Henline from grapes from a vineyard at Martin’s old house that were planted by Steve, Linda and Martin. It is no longer a port, although I don’t know where the sugar and alcohol went. It’s now a medium weight fairly dry red. Amazingly, the Conquistador has retained its color, and the wine was quite drinkable, an impressive feat for such an old hybrid.	83pts

Upcoming Events

June 9

Luma

Acquisitions

1964	Pierre Ponnelle Chassagne-Montrachet “Clos de la Boudriotte”	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1967	Pierre Ponnelle Fixin	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1967	Pierre Ponnelle Fixin	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1972	Pierre Ponnelle Vougeot Clos du Prieuré	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1966	Remoissenet Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1966	Remoissenet Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1966	Remoissenet Père et Fils Beaune 1er Cru Grèves Avery’s Bottling	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1970	Remoissenet Père et Fils Corton Diamond Jubilee	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011
1971	Remoissenet Père et Fils Corton Diamond Jubilee	Red	Burgundy	95	Bonhams 12/2011

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
1969	Puligny Montrachet, Clavoillon, Domaine Leflaive	White	Burgundy	180

I’ve transfered 26 bottles of Ch. Margaux from my cellar, to comprise two separate vertical tastings. The first will cover four decades of Margaux, working backwards from 1975 to 1949. They are the classic vintages of Margaux. The second, to be held after the summer, will work forward from 1977 through the famous 1990. This is the Renaissance period for Margaux.

1949	Ch Margaux	1,643
1959	Ch Margaux	1,167
1961	Ch Margaux	910
1962	Ch Margaux	629
1964	Ch Margaux	293
1966	Ch Margaux	188
1967	Ch Margaux	158
1969	Ch Margaux	220
1970	Ch Margaux	212
1971	Ch Margaux	225
1972	Ch Margaux	286
1973	Ch Margaux	175
1975	Ch Margaux	432

1977	Ch Margaux	241
1978	Ch Margaux	377
1979	Ch Margaux	285
1980	Ch Margaux	342
1981	Ch Margaux	340
1982	Ch Margaux	1,017
1983	Ch Margaux	582
1984	Ch Margaux	198
1985	Ch Margaux	445
1986	Ch Margaux	543
1987	Ch Margaux	335
1989	Ch Margaux	483
1990	Ch Margaux	1,077

		12,803

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	5924
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-14,738
Dinner	-1892
Balance	-5706

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

2011-5 Seven Decades of Burgundy

Seven Decades of Burgundyat Bull & Bear

December 10, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Format

We started with a seven decade Burgundy tasting, then a couple of random wines, and a Madeira. These wines weren’t poured blind. I slipped in a 1969 BV Beaumont Pinot Noir which fooled no one, and a 1983 Acacia Pinot Noir which everyone thought was old world. a 1968 BV Cabernet beat a 100-point Parker 1986 Mouton, and seemed about the same age. Wine of the night was 1955 Chambertin.

1949	Mazis Chambertin – Seguin-Manuel	Red	500	garnet, strawberry, floral, tart cherry, vanilla, mint, unbalanced. Some discussion of its authenticity, but I believe it to be real, but uninspired. 88 points
1955	Chambertin, Louis Latour	Red	390	Wine of the night. Medium brown, bacon, wax, smoke, ashes, sage, herbs. 98 points.
1964	Pommard, Grand Epenots, Leroy	Red	200	Lemon, floral, smoke. Wish I’d saved some a bit longer. 92 points.
1978	Chambolle Musigny	Red	140	Woodsy at first, coffee, youthful. 91 points.
1983	Romanee St. Vivant DRC	Red	300	Cherries, refined, balanced, long lasting. Second favorite wine of the night. 95 points.
1997	Echezeaux Reserve Bocquenet	Red	90	Wood, vanilla, balanced. 92 points.
2000	Montrachet, G. Amiot	White	260	Disappointingly one-dimensional. lemon, vanilla. 90 points.

1968	BV	Cabernet	100	Deep red, more pepper and gravel than GDLTPR. Astonishingly youthful, third most popular wine of the night. Beat the Mouton in a non-blind vote, 94 points.
1986	Ch Mouton Rothschild	Pauillac	700	I still don’t get this Parker 100-pointer. Tight, tannic, uninteresting. 93 points.

1901	Madeira, Malvasia	Madeira	260	Citrus, caramel, long and balanced, wonderful! 96 points.

			2940

Upcoming Events

March 31

Wine Syndicate

Acquisitions

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	2629
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	0
Dinner	-1705
Balance	5924

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.

2011-3 The Price Is Right

The Price Is Rightat Capital Grille

June 4, 2011 at 6:00 pm

It’s time for a somewhat more challenging event.
Your assignment is:

Match the wine to the correct price (or feel stupid)
Figure out the type of wine, year or producer (for kudos)
Identify the wine exactly (for a prize)

So how did we do?

We failed.

Meeting at The Capital Grille, we poured six pairs of wine, completely blind except for knowing the wines’ prices, but not which price went with which wine. The results were eye opening. Here are the six flights, and how things turned out:

1988 Haut Brion Blanc ($490) vs. 2006 Ramey Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay ($50)

The group unanimously preferred the Ramey (ash, oak butter, opulent, 95 pts), and thought it was the better wine! After a couple of hours the Haut Brion became a lot more interesting (waxy, candy, minerals, gigs, nuts, vanilla, honey, 90 pts), but my scoring was unchanged. No one caught the almost 20 year spread between the wines, and everyone thought the Ramey was a white Burgundy.

1973 BV Special Label “Burgundy” ($75) vs. 1983 DRC Echezeaux ($680)

This was the only flight where the group was evenly split as far as popularity. Most identified the true Echezeaux (mint, delicate, 93 pts), and Debbie named the BV Special Label (redwood, sweet, 92 pts). Good job Debbie!

1979 Opus One ($357) vs. 1979 Inglenook Petite Sirah ($30)

The group unanimously preferred the Inglenook (paint thinner, wood, figs, 89 pts). This was the first vintage of Opus (mint, vanilla, pencil shavings, 87 pts), and it was the worst wine of the tasting.

2007 Jean Royer Chateauneuf Prestige ($40) vs. 1989 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle ($230)

The group almost unanimously preferred the Hermitage (meat, smoke, bacon fat, mint, 90 pts) which was correctly identified by Ron. Good job Ron! The Chateauneuf was odd (candy, berries, fruit wrap, jam, smoke, 88 pts).

1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild ($900) vs. 1991 Dominus ($220)

The group unanimously preferred the Dominus (green pepper, gravel, lead pencil, mint, 97 pts) and thought it was old world and the more expensive wine! The Mouton (coffee, smoke, tar, green peppers, rubber, bacon, smoke, 95 pts) was a Parker 100 point wine that everyone thought was new world!

1963 Graham Port ($300) vs. 1992 Guenoc “Port” ($20)

A solid majority identified the real port (soft, delicate, complex, red-wine nose, 92 pts). The Guenoc (woody, 90 pts) was a fine product but was overshadowed by a great vintage of the real thing.

The Bottom Line

Out of six flights, we were unanimously wrong half the time, identifying the cheaper wine as the more expensive! Spend those dollars wisely, folks!

Upcoming Events

August 20

Wine Syndicate

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	2972
Dues Payable	5000
Purchases	-813
Dinner	-1600
Balance	5559

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

2011-2 It’s Vegas, Baby!

It’s Vegas, Baby!March 5-13 (or some portion thereof), 2011

Events and locations

March 6 at 7pm – Love at the Mirage followed by dinner at Robouchon (party of 8 – their limo will pick us up at Love)

March 7 at 7:30 pm – Tasting and dinner at the Chef’s Table at Pinot Brasserie

March 8 at 7:30 pm – Tasting and dinner at AquaKnox

March 9 at 7:30pm – Tasting and dinner at Delmonico’s

March 12 at 7pm – Ka at MGM Grand

The Wines

			Burgundy: Real and Fake – Pinot Brasserie – March 7

			This was more challenging than it might look, although the first flights were easy, and almost everyone had 100% until the last flight. The 73 Special Label Burgundy turned out to be the wine of the night. Who knows what’s in that!
				pts	$
5	24	1949	Charmes-Chambertin, Liger-Belair Citrus, bug spray, flawed bottle	75	317
2	26	1959	BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Leather	82	130

6	28	1958	Echezeaux Domaine de la Romanee Conti Earth, leather, mint, dried cherries, coffee	92	675
2	25	1958	BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Like thin BVGDLTPR	85	130

7	12	1961	Bonnes Mares – Drouhin-Laroze Light color but intense nose and flavors, cherries	93	550
2	27	1960	BV Burgundy Earth, chocolate	90	50

7	14	1967	Chambertin Clos de Beze P. Gelin Cherries, wood smoke	94	75
2	28	1967	BV Burgundy Classic BVGDLTPR character, lucious fruit	94	50

7	9	1971	Beaune Greves Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus Bouchard Coffee	95	75
2	30	1970	BV Beaumont Pinot Noir Coffee – these wines were actually surprisingly similar	95	75

5	17	1976	Clos de la Roche – Pierre Bouree Fils Vanilla, not very Burgundian	93	90
2	22	1973	BV Special Label Burgundy Wood, was, york peppermint patties with dark chocolate	96	50
					2267

			A Serious Case of BVGDLTPR – Aquaknox – March 8

1	8	1963	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Very light color with a classic old BV nose, sweet cedar on the palate, cream sherry finish, past its prime by a decade or two	80	90
4	16	1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Redwood nose, restrained; still some fruit on the palate	80	130
1	11	1966	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Sawdust nose, good fruit, a bit of tannin	90	90
1	27	1968	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Sawdust and cherry nose, big and chewy, long; this has always been my favorite	97	125
1	12	1969	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Very similar to the 68; menthol, youthful coffee, wood smoke, sweet balanced vanilla	96	90
4	8	1970	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Iron, minerals, wood, mint, sweet fruity tannins, medium finish	94	150
2	9	1971	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve alcohol nose, decent fruit, acidic, hot short finish	89	70
h6	25	1974	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve I got the dreggs of this tenth, so I can’t really rate it; caramel oxidized	tenth	20
2	18	1975	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve plummy, mint, alcohol,red fruits, acidic finish	86	110
1	15	1977	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Elegant fruit, vanilla, cherries, creamy finish	92	90
1	17	1978	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Young, coffee, red fruits, sweet	92	90
1	21	1979	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Wood, mint, very young drinking, vanilla	94	90
					1145

			Blind Pairs – Delmonico’s – March 9

		1988	Alain Thienot Grand Cuvee Brut	95
		1997	Delamotte Blanc de Blanc	90

8	15	2000	Montrachet, G. Amiot vanilla ice cream, nuts, melted butter, lemon, ash, chalk	90	260
9	10	2000	Ch ‘Y’ figs, spices, anise, honey dipped pecans, creme brulee, pears, long buttery finish, one of the most amazing white wines I’ve ever tasted	100	145

2	20	1968	BV Special Label Burgundy classic BVGDLTPR oxidized character plus a touch of Pinot Noir, sawdust, mint, smoke, candy, dried cherries, powder	96	50
5	18	1976	Clos de la Roche – Pierre Bouree Fils Drinking much younger than the bottle from two days ago. bacon, asian spice, cherry	93	90

4	17	1964	BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve Drinking much younger than the bottle from yesterday, no oxidation, fruit, curry	92	130
9	16	1955	Ch Cheval Blanc smoke, cherry candy, leather, balanced tannins, jerky, black pepper, roast pork belly	tenth 98	320

		2007	Mystery Wine #1 (Steve) Domaine Jean Poyer Chateauneuf du Pape meat, mint, chocolate, kirsh, bacon, cherries, jerky	93
		2007	Mystery Wine #2 (Steve) Ramey Rodney Vineyard Syrah vanilla, spice box, wood, meat	95

3	15	2002	Dominus huge alcohol, long fruit, wood, vanilla, wax	97	99
3	13	1986	Ch Mouton Rothschild sawdust, mint, meat, chocolate, tobacco, menthol, smoke, tannic, young	99	700

9	25	1999	Ch d’Yquem superb nose, but slightly astringent finish	tenth 95	85
9	29	2000	Ch d’Yquem restrained nose, but balanced, golden raisins	tenth 96	213
					2092

Acquisitions

Upcoming Events

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	3335
Dues Payable	0
Purchases (shipping)	363
Dinner	Pay for your own
Balance	2972

No dues for these events.

2011-1 Bring Your Own Flight

Bring Your Own Flight

at Bull and Bear at the Waldorf

February 5, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Bring Your Own FlightThis was a pseduo Syndicate event, with wines provided by the attendees:

Ron & Bev
John & Debbie
Steve & Linda
Andres & Paula
Andy
Martin

Each couple was requested to bring two or three wines in bags for a mystery flight. As it turned out, they brought more! And what a great collection of wines they were:

1	2006 Tablas Creek White	Andy	Creamy, nutty chalk, vitamin soap (Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne blend)	82
2	2007 Williamsburg Seyval Blanc	Andy	Clearly Seyval	86
3	1998 Alexis Seyval Blanc	Andy	Caramel, oily	84
4	1992 Haut Brion Blanc	Steve	Lemon, candle wax, tangerine rind	95
5	1992 Aubert Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay	Steve	Smoke, oak, ash, minerals	98
6	2009 Evans Ranch Chardonnay	Steve	Floral, pears	92
7	2009 Conundrum	Martin	spritzy, lanolin, cat box, cream, lichee, very sweet finish	90
8	1947 Chambolle-Musigny premier cru	Steve	Bacon, mushroom, iron, citrus	95
9	1993 Rex Hill Pinot Noir	Andy	Coffee, iron, meat, bacon, sweet	90
10	1995 Gevrey-Chambertin Dujac	Andy	Iron, polish, old pinot	88
11	2006 Foxen Sea Smoke Vineyard Pinot Noir	Andy	Big, ripe sweet	88
12	2008 K Syrah Northridge Vineyard	Andres	Vanilla, sweet cherries, cinammon	94
13	1997 Hermitage Les Bessards Delas Freres	Andres	Smoke, bacon, tart, seemed like Burgundy	91
14	2004 Syrah, South Africa	Andres	Lacquer, floral, geraniums	92
15	1985 Streblow Cabernet Sauvignon	John	Mint, vanilla, merlot	92
16	1985 Ritchie Creek Cabernet Sauvignon	John	Pencil lead	94
17	1985 Hop Kiln Primitivo	John	Mint, bacon asparagus, 25% Petite Sirah, shocking!	98
18	1992 Foppiano Sonoma Petite Sirah	Martin	Coffee, caramel, mint	90
19	1991 Conrad Petite Sirah	Martin	Corked, big vanilla	92
20	1988 Stags Leap Petite Sirah	Martin	Coffee, green pepper, black pepper, big, long	98
21	1992 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir	Ron	Burgundian, Rose petals, floral	92
22	2000 Ch, Rayas Rhone	Ron	Burgundian, vanilla, anise	95
23	1999 Clos de la Roche, Laurent	Ron	Young, smoke, big, bacon	96
24	1997 Martinelli Chardonnay	Ron	waxy, caramel, oxidized	86
25	1976 Ch. Montelena	Ron	Incredibly youthful	93
26	1976 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon	Ron	tired and a bit sour	91
27	1976 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon	Ron	fading, drink up	89
28	1986 Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes	Ron	medium amber, raisins, good acid	90

Also, chef outdid himself. Highlights for me were the Hamachi Salad, where every ingredient was an explosion of flavor; the corn and truffle soup, incredibly rich and creamy; the generous serving of huge scallops; the spinach that came with the duck; the very bacony mac & cheese; a great bone-in filet, so flavorful; all the passed desserts. Come to think of it, basically everything was my favorite!

Thanks for the wonderful wines, everyone!

Upcoming Events

March 7-9

Wine Syndicate Goes to Vegas!

Treasurer’s Report

Previous Balance	3335
Dues Payable	0
Purchases	0
Dinner	Pay for your own
Balance	3335

No dues are due.