Michael hosted SOBER Monday in his newly renovated kitchen (4 dishwashers, multiple ovens and cooktops, a salamander- yes, I'm jealous). We were greet ed with a creamy dip with carrots and the best fried eggplant I've ever had (brined, dipped, rolled in a mix of regular breadcrumbs, panko and sesame seed); bubblies were served.
NV Camille Saves Rose Champagne Lovely- red fruit, toasted bread, chalk. Plenty of body yet refined. B+/A-
NV Barnaut "Grand Cru" Blanc de Noirs Champagne Some didn't care for, I liked. Lots of citrus, pearl, plenty of floral note s. Elegant. B+
First blind flight served with smoked trout, horseradish aioli, spinach sal ad. Andy got Alsace right off bad and PG shortly after. We flailed at vinta ges.
Wine # 1 Driest, youngest, peach fruit and good acids, just not as complex.
2011 Zind-Humbrecht "Rotenberg" Pinot Gris B
Wine # 2 Sweet but with good acids, very floral, exotic (I thought for a minute mayb e Gewurz), complex.
1997 Zind-Humbrecht "Clos Jebsal" Pinot Gris B+
Wine # 3 I thought this was at least VT. Sweet, honied, full-throttled, some people' s fave, my least fave
1995 Zind-Humbrecht Rangen de Thann, Clos St Urbain" Pinot Gris . B-
First red flight I thought 1 & 2 could be ripe vintage Bordeaux, but someone quickly guessed Cali Cab. But we all thought older than they turned out to be
Wine # 4 Seems youngest, a bit tart and tannic, black plum and a little herb
1997 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon B
Wine # 5 Sweet, ripe, but with acids and tannin to hold up, but just a little oxidat ive edge. Very developed, but still drinking well overall
1997 Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon B+/B
Wine # 6 Ripe to overripe, developing pruney notes, tired.
1997 Alta Mura Cabernet Sauvignon C+/C
Second Red Flight I think Dan got Amarone quickly, once confirmed Franco immediately said Ber tani. I'm not a big Amarone drinker, so take my notes with a few extra grai ns of salt. All pretty similar,all surprisingly (to me) tasty.
Wine # 7 Ripe, complex, herby.
1967 Bertani Amarone B+
Wine # 8 Similar, a little more anise-y.
1976 Bertani Amarone B+
Wine # 9 Sweet, fleshy, others favorite
1983 Bertani Amarone B
Quickly table settled on Bordeaux, these need some time Wine # 10 Tight, tannic, but with nice core of cassis fruit.
2000 Pontet-Canet B/B+
Wine # 11 Brooding, but with solid base of black fruit, cedar.
2000 Leoville Las Cases B+/A-
Wine # 12 Most open, redder fruit, plush
2000 Pape-Clement B
We finished with a dessert wine, a 1989 Lingenfelder Riesling Trockenbeeren auslese. Pretty tasty, though without the wow factor one might expect from TBA with a bit of age. Slightly clunky, with applesauce, cinnamon, and apri cot. B
Fun night!
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.