What better way to welcome a new colleague than to invite him and his family over to our house to enjoy some food and wine with us and a few dozen of our other colleagues? We used this occasion to cull our cellar of wines that aren't too precious and invite our friends to bring a small dish of food to share with others. We made a cheese fondue and a couple of Spanish tortillas and opened up about ten different wines.
1993 Prince Florent de Merode Corton-Clos du Roi - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand CruQuite a bit more impressive than my earlier bottle. A very youthful, primary bottle of Corton with very assertive dark raspberry fruit, some sappiness and a bit of pencil lead. Great acidity and plenty of body, this is certainly a masculine example of red Burgundy.
2007 Vista Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir Marylhurst Estate - USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee HillsThis bore evidence of the oakiness of its youth with some spice and residual vanilliin elements as well as some glossiness on the palate. Rec cherry fruit accompanies the oak elements. Fairly big but not OTT, it still is a fairly boring example of the genre.
2002 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma CountyTypical aged Geyserville nose of plummy fruit, with some mineral notes too. On the palate, it had good acidity and medium body. Pretty mature to my tastes, it might continue to develop some tertiary notes with time.
2005 Ridge Lytton Springs - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek ValleyAn interesting contrast to the '03 Geezer, this wine showed a much tarrier and peppery nose atop the plummy fruit. Medium bodied with decent acidity, it was an altogether darker expression of "Zin."
1995 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, HermitageOur last Chapoutier wine, and it followed with our earlier experiences with this producer. We acquired this magnum at a charity auction a decade or so in the past. Initially upon opening, it showed some VA and a noticeable bit of Brett, but both blew off with time. Typical blueberry fruit and a bit of smokiness. Good acidity, medium body. Fairly anonymous Syrah with no sense of place.
1998 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-PapeA fairly clean nose (for CdP) of kirsch and stones is accompanied by a palate impression of fully resolved tannins, medium body and good acidity. A fairly textbook example of Chateauneuf.
2010 Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Blanc - France, Burgundy, BeaujolaisNot as zippy as I'm used to from this wine, it came across as a riper expression of Chardonnay and had quite a dark yellow color to it. There were some tropical fruits in evidence in the nose and the wine was a bit rounder and fuller than is the norm.
2000 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-PapeA bit more rustic and gamey than the La Nerthe, this had a core of cherryish fruit beneath the smoked meats. This wine seemed at peak right now but has the acidity to age further.
2010 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Les Gras Moutons - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-MaineAfter the Brun Beaujolais Blanc, this wine seemed downright racy, despite being a bigger and slightly rounder example of Muscadet. Pretty big and still quite zippy, it has the expected saline and citric notes. Quite the crowd pleaser, it disappeared rapidly
Mark Lipton