SOBER met last night at Michael's home. Michael did a bang up job on his dinner, with the theme "The Blind Leading the Blind."
We started with a couple of non-blind whites:
2002 Latour Meursault Round, ripe, peachy. Nice but not intriguing. B
2004 Sylvain Langoureau " Les Perclos" Chassagne-Montrachet Never heard of this producer before, but will keep an eye out now. Crisp yet solid Chassagne, pear and earth tones. B+
First course was French onion soup, and the blind wines started:
Wine #1 Some oak, round, a bit of ripe pear and some hazelnut. I actually am thinking white Bordeaux SB/sem blend from a hot year, but I'm wrong. It's Burg- 2003 Henri Boillot "Les Genevrieres" Meursault 1er. B
Wine #2 Crisp, bright, citrusy, layers of butterscotch and spice. 2004 Carillon "Les Champs Gains" Puligny-Montrachet 1er. B+/A-
Next course was salmon with a horseradish beurre blanc and asparagus. Mike was worried re the horseradish and the wine, but it was fine.
Wine #3 Clear edge, slightly bricked color, good acidity, quite spicy. Dan guesses Dujac.
1996 Dujac Clos de la Roche. A-/A
Wine #4 Similar coloring, bright, black cherry, leaves, and mushrooms. 1996 Hubert Lignier "les Chaffots" Morey-St-Denis 1er A-
I think we were all amazed at how open and giving these '96s were. We were all in Burgundy, but guessing centered on '85-'91.
Next up, braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and mushrooms Wine # 5 Good fresh blackberry fruit, moderate tannins, nice length. It's the
1998 Domaine de la Mordoree "Cuvee de la Reine des Bois" Chateauneuf- du-Pape. B/B+
Wine # 6 Cassis, cedar, resolved tannins. I'm thinking this is a mature ripe Bordeaux. Mike says "this is the one I said no one would ever guess." Time for social engineering. Ok, obscure, but tastes like Bordeaux- I blurt "Madiran" to Mike's astonishment. I admit without hint I would never have gotten. 1990 Ch. Bibian (Madiran). B+
Wine # 7 Some definite VA to the nose, ripe raisiny fruit, I think Amarone. Gets a little less raisiny, some herb and mint join in. Dan says Australia. Yep, 1990 Penfolds Grange. B
Cheese course included Saulzais, Abbaye Citeaux, Tomette du Tarn, and Echourgnac (all good, but the last especially fascinating, washed in nut liquer, tastes of walnuts).
Wine # 8 Clearly claret. Nice lighter styled Bordeaux, a bit herby, I'm sure we're talking Merlot and Cab Franc and guess St. Emilion. Our jaws drop as the the 1990 Ch. Greysac (Medoc) is revealed. B+
Wine # 9 Pretty sure Bordeaux, pretty sure Right Bank. Tannic, a bit hard, with a green streak. Wrong side again, not the best showing for the 1990 Rausan-Segla (Margaux). B-
Wine # 10 Very good, minty, fresh, delicious cassis fruit. Dan gets CA pretty quick, and Caymus with an early guess. 1994 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). A-
Dessert of polenta cookies and ice cream.
1977's Dow Vintage Port Not blind (too bad, as I had day before, maybe would have gotten). Lovely Port in a not so heavy style. B+/A-
Food and wine were both great. Fun night, just wish I hadn't needed to drive, would have been good night to let loose. Much nice wine in the bucket. :(
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.