TN: I host SOBER- Burgs, Champers, Bdx, CdP, CA, Riesling

So my turn to host SOBER. I took advantage of it being Columbus Day to leav e office an hour early. I had just gotten home when there was a knock on th e door. A passerby had almost hit a small dog in the road. I recognized the dog, but when I took Spencer to his house, no one was home. Apparently he jumped out a 2nd floor window, but was unhurt. Took him to my house/yard, w here he and Lucy played for 2 hours (loudly). I was very worried that we we re going to have him through dinner/tasting, but eventually his owner came home. Whew.

OK, so I was a little behind on tasting prep. Luckily Betsy had done vast m ajority of cooking. As people arrived we greeted them with charcuterie from new butcher (pork rilletes, lamb pate, pork pate, chicken liver mousse, lo nzino) cheeses (Hayley Bazen, Humboldt Fog, Cabot Cheddar) and smoked sable spread on pumpernickel. And 2 Champagnes:

1982 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne BdB Just a bit of bubbles left, judge this more as a still wine. Deep flavors o f brioche, orange zest, and apple. Despite scarcity of bubbles pretty livel y on palate. Holding on. B/B+

2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose This was rocking. Deep, pure, elegant. Red berry fruit surrounded with bisc uits, citrus zest, and gunflint. Great acids, fine mousse, long finish. A/A

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On to the blind reds. As our house is small, I set up a decanting station o n top of the laundry machines.

First flight John immediately said red Burg, everyone agreed first one was pretty advanc ed, some disagreement on second. Craig made a guess of ‘72 for both , not bad

1971 Bardot Clos de la Roche Reserve Never heard of this negociant before. On nose pretty maderized. Shows bette r on palate, but just fingernails clawing out of the grave. C+/C

1972 Bouree Chambertin This is clearly tiring, but I think it shows ok if tired, probably would ha ve been quite fine 10-15 years ago. John thinks maybe storage, I think just tired. Tertiary earth notes, slightly roasted fruit, fun to try. B

Second flight ( with spinach tofu miso napoleons)

1989 Zind Humbrecht Turckheim Riesling John started off with a roll- with no misses, he guessed Riesling, then Als ace, then 1989. When he guessed Boxler Craig countered with ZH. John then n ailed vineyard on next guess. 4 out of 5 pretty impressive. Still young, d ry but not bone dry, Apple, peach, ginger. B+

1993 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese John guessed Mosel, when I said “now” he said Saar and then Saarburger Rausch. Lovely showing, fresh and long. Great acids, just a bit of RS, not one of the modern Spatlese in Auslese mode wines. A-

Third flight

1991 Niellon “Vergers” Chassagne Montrachet 1er Good showing, initial guesses were all around 2007, people were shocked a ‘91 could show this young. Once we got past vintage shock Craig gue ssed Chassagne, and then John got Neillon and Vergers. Crisp, fresh pear w ith a little hazelnut, good length. B+/A-

2002 Remi Jobard “Charmes” Meursault 1er Fuller, richer style, Craig got Meursault. Honied white fruit, some light o ak, good acids and length. B+

Non blind flight. John is doing an article about Ric Forman’s caree r (especially Sterling years) and I thought it would be fun to throw these in.

1985 Forman Cabernet This was my favorite of the group, and the only one I might consider rebuyi ng. Herby, but with a good underlay of red fruits, good acids, still just a touch of tannin. Mint/eucalyptus, solid length. B+

1986 Forman Cabernet Couple people liked this, but this was herby but more in a green/tangy/medi cinal way than the ‘85, yet with a sweet jamminess. . A bit like a true offvintage Loire Cab franc with a tablespoon of blackberry jam stirre d in. C+

1987 Forman Cabernet Straightforward CalCab, darker fruits, modest acid, resolved tannins, a lit tle dull. B-

Betsy had made Ming Tsai short ribs with orzo and Napa cabbage stew

Fourth blind flight Cathleen got Rhone quickly, but it took a while to get vintage/wine

1990 Mont Redon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Herbal, warm plum fruits, fully mature. B

1990 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Red fruits, fresh for a ‘90, lots of garrique/underbrush, rosemary. B+/A-

Fifth Blind Flight By now I wasn’t keeping track of guesses, but group immediately wen t Bordeaux, I think John and Craig drilled down to exact wines in a few gue sses.

1986 Gruaud Larose Young, full, tannic (I should have given more decanter time) -muscular St J ulien that needs time. B+

1986 Meyney Mature and ready. Cassis fruit, leather and cigarbox, mostly resolved tanni ns, drinking well. B++

Fun night (once I knew we didn’t have an extra dog)

Tuesday I grilled some salmon which we had with squash and some leftover wi ne. The Comtes rose was still brilliant, the Gruaud showed better, both Rie slings were fine, the Mont Redon had cracked up. I also tried the wine Bets y had used for the short rib braise, the 2013 Clos du Caillou “Bouq uet des Garrigues” Cotes du Rhone. No bouquet of garrigue that I co uld detect, just really ripe Grenache (sure it’s a blend, but this is really kirsch/raspberry jam). B-/C+

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

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DaleW
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