WineLovers Discussion Group

Yesterday we invited some folks over for a backyard bash. Idea was to make this more wine-centric than our bigger parties, so invited friends from various wine groups, then supplemented with some neighbors when there were a few cancellation. Weather was warm and cloudy, we were outside for a couple hours till showers drove us in. I tried to spend less time in front of grill than usual by preparing cold proteins in advance. I ended up only grilling some corn for poat dot (Cambodian glazed corn)- most disappointing dish, local corn just sucked. We had lobster salad, pheasant salad, cold lamb, potato salad, mango salsa, gazpacho; other brough melon, cole slaw, cheeses, etc. Jay brought a strawberry layer cake that got raves.

Lots of wine:
White Mags
1997 Trimbach “Cuvee Frederic Emile” Riesling
mature but not tired, striking balance, best bottle of this I’ve had. A-

1996 Thevenet/Bongran “Tradition” Macon-Clesse
Divided opinions, a few loved, I thought pushing overripe. Very honied, interesting and not tired but not my fave. B-

750 white
2006 Vatan “Clos de Neore” Sancerre
Some reports of tiring bottles, but this is quite young. Racy, full, minty, I really enjoy. A-/B+

2002 Cazin “Renaissance “ Cour-Cheverny
In a nice place, demi-sec, floral, exotic, lovely. B+/A-

2002 Chidaine “Les Tuffeaux” Montlouis
Divided opinions. Some loved, some thought near death, I thought interesting with some light notes of oxidation. B/B-

2011 Egon Muller “Scharzhofberger” Kabinett
beautiful, lithe, wins title for “ first bottle emptied.” A-

2008 Maximin Grunhauser (Von Schubert) Abstberg Spatlese -
Too young, a bit closedt, lots of potential. B+

2007 Bornard “Gaudrettes” Chardonnay (Cotes du Jura)
Good, solid white pit fruits, earthy. B+

2002 Remi Jobard Meursault-Charmes 1er
Another good showing of this. A bit of sulphur at first, but it blows off to leave a pretty classic full-bodied Meursault. B+

1997 Drouhin "Clos des Mouches" Beaune 1er-
Missing neck label, we didn’t know vintage till cork pulled. First pour shows fresh and light colored, then within 15 seconds it begins to darken and shows oxidation, I didn’t find this undrinkable at all, just tired, with a nice wine underneath. But not sure I would call it PremOx as 1997 was a vintage to drink young IMHO. C+/B-

2003 Gravner “Breg” Anfora
In the interest of geekiness I wanted to love this. But more intellectually stimulating than tasty. C+

750 reds
2007 Foillard “3.14” Morgon
Lovely, ripe, fresh fruit, great acids. A-/B+

1943 Ch. de Pez (reconditioned 1976)
Old school claret nose, forest floor and a hint of barnyard, a bit sharp and thin on palate compared to the ‘29 Poujeaux. Bonus points for a wine made in middle of WWII (bottle is bluish- glass shortages). B

1929 Ch. Poujeaux
Excellent showing, better than previous bottle, midweight, plenty of fruit, complex nose. A-

1997 Breton “les Perrieres” Bourgueil
Lovely, nice balance of ripeness and acids, just a hint of herbs. A-/B+

Fun afternoon/evening with a nice group (the people make the party, not the wines!).
edited to correct producer's name on the Jura wine

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Dale,

I agree with just about everything you said. I was one of the folks who liked the Thevenet, liked the Chidaine, but didn't like the Vatan. So it goes.

Thanks again for a great party!

And catch those moves...



Jeff

Wish I lived in your neighborhood. And glad to see the note on the 3.14, that might encourage me to finally open my one bottle.

That shirt is Coad-worthy.

Very interesting notes as well.

Would love to get my hands on a '43 like the de Pez.

Jeff, one of the things that I most enjoyed yesterday was the healthy disagreement on so many wines. That makes for a funner afternoon than all agreement.
Jenise, you know NY is a tourist destination, Betsy would LOVE to cook for you
David, I had bought the de Pez (2 bottle lot) to serve to a friend born in '43. Thought the bottle I served him showed a bit better than this one

Sounds like a great day, wish you would have held it in October when we'll be in NY. Jeff and I have already disagreed about the Vatan on another board. Sometimes great minds don't think alike.

well, we could do something in Oct as well!

A wonderful afternoon of food and friends and the wines ranged from interesting to superb. Even the ones I didn't like were of good quality, but just didn't float my boat. My two favorites were the spectacular Egon Muller and the Poujeaux, which Dale has served before, and this was a little better than that one. It was an ageless beauty around 85 years old, with no grand cru pedigree, showing decades younger than it was. The 1982s I have been drinking have been spectacular as well, and I am having to ration them.

The Gravner was similar to others I have had. You love the story,as Dale said, you want to like it and yet, it fails to do what it should do, taste good. I love the Chidaine, but this one was lightly oxidized. The Mersault needed a little back end acidity to match the lovely nose. The Maxim Grunhauser was another winner; why don't I drink more German wines? Best wine food pairings of all.

Dale and Betsy, thank you for a wonderful afternoon.

Sounds like a great day. Inspiring. That was an impressive and fun line up that is making me thirsty ... and it's only 6:30 in the morning!

Cheers,

Jason

Dale Williams wrote:Jeff, one of the things that I most enjoyed yesterday was the healthy disagreement on so many wines. That makes for a funner afternoon than all agreement.
Jenise, you know NY is a tourist destination, Betsy would LOVE to cook for you
David, I had bought the de Pez (2 bottle lot) to serve to a friend born in '43. Thought the bottle I served him showed a bit better than this one

Dale, we'll probably get there soon enough. We've been a bit tied to this coast with our cat problems, but should be a little freer in the future.

Dale, I consumed that bottle of Bongran around 2006 and thought it fabulous. I've read that sometimes his Chardonnays have a bit of botrytis and I love the very full (maybe overfull to some) flavors of his wines.

I generally agree with Dale here though I liked the von Schubert more and the Vatan less.

I'm usually a Gravner fan but this did not do anything for me.

Poujeaux was my WOTN. I was amazed at how well the Trimbach showed given that I had thought of 1997 as a vintage for drinking early. Given that my most recent Trimbach experiences were premoxed bottles of 1996 FE and 1998 CSH it was a welcome reprieve. Thank you Dale!