I started election night at a Watch Party in a downtown DC synagogue. One of the organizers was a French think tank so they shipped in wine from Paris. Unfortunately they overlooked the fact that only kosher products could be served in the synagogue so those of us who elected to drink the wine were forced into the attic for sipping our sweet flaccid glasses of NV Moët & Chandon White Star. Has this stuff always been so boring?
Downstairs the actual ‘party’ was also boring and frighteningly crowded (I couldn’t even hear the beloved pundits spew) so I called Jonathan Loesberg and zipped over to his house where the Wine Geek Watch Party was well underway with Gail, Bob Semon, Maureen Nelson, and Craig and Elizabeth Potts. I missed an ‘87 Margaux blanc and whoknowswhatelse. I was encouraged to immediately begin drinking the 1962 Chateau Gruaud-Larose before it all disappeared. I had no complaints about drinking this perfectly resolved bit of maturity, especially while watching the young whippersnapper collect more electoral college votes.
Then, I was ready for some sweetness and took a good dose of the 2001 Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Spätlese which was crisp and herbal yet of course still rounded out with sugar. Nothing profound but fine enough drinking. Bob found the funky vegetal note a bit off-putting although I was slightly less troubled, but mainly because of all the good news on the television!
The 1995 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape was a beautifully confident, well-framed and well-proportioned glass of sunny Southern wine. I found this very compelling and Jonathan insisted that with exposure to the right wines even I could be persuaded of Southern Glory. Perhaps. And I’ve liked these Clos des Papes folks in the past. Although I went right back to Northern Glory with the delightful 2005 Conterno Cascina Francia Barbera that was also beautifully confident and well-framed but with a different more Northern expression.
There was also NV Pierre Peters Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut for bubbly toasts and it was very very adequate. Dare I say even delicious. Much more so than my initial White Star.
But we were thirsty and the bottles were empty (technically Bob’s bitter Dornfelder remained, but I never got around to it what with all the positive news on the television!) and to calm the troops Jonathan dug into his cellar for the 1996 Godineau Coteaux-du-Layon Faye. This was exactly my speed and showed some calming maturing earthy sweet chenin fruit. Elizabeth seemed to find it lacking in comparison to Sauternes, so I quickly retorted that there was no oaky taste in these ‘pure’ Loire wines. But, before things escalated further we calmed ourselves with wonderful biscotti that Jonathan swore he baked himself (although nobody believed him).
There was also a delicious Passito from somewhere in Italy that Bob Semon offered but for some reason those names just don’t seem to stick in my head!!
Later in the night (in yet another scene of spontaneous DC streetside dancing, singing and celebrating) I found myself drinking Samuel Adams Oktoberfest and some tap version of De Koninck. Neither of which was delicious. But believe you me I was not at all troubled by this and in fact was very very happy.
Rounding out the notes is tonight’s 2005 JJ Confuron Chambolle-Musigny which has lots of seductive baked dark cherry raspberry pie flavors and hints at a silky palate but for the most part is too thin, short, and loses me on impact. I don’t know if that is a stage in development or just what one gets at this level from Confuron, but I probably wouldn’t pay $50 for a repeat performance of tonight. That said, those flavors are Seductive!
