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.