Nothing succeeds like overkill when it comes to a wine geek's 60th birthday party. My pal Howard, a fine winemaker in his own right, advised us in the E-Vite that nothing in his cellar was off limits on this auspicious day. So we took him up on it.
Despite the fact there were several dozen of us gluttons on hand, we didn't even make a dent. No doubt about it, my 60-ish pals just can't drink like they used to back in college. Of course, we weren't snorking half-gallons of Cribari or pounding cases of Blatz last Saturday, either. :)
Here's what we did manage to get into, with some outstanding results.
2003 Ross Andrew Cab 2006 Ross Andrew Syrah-Cab 2005 Boudreax Merlot 2005 Vincent Arroyo Petite Sirah 1989 and 2005 Ch. Pinchon-Baron 1998 and 2003 Quilceda Creek Cab (yep, the 100-pointer) 2004 Leonetti Walla Walla Reserve 2006 Leonetti Cab 2007 Leonetti Merlot 2002 Baer Ursa Merlot 2002 L'Ecole No. 41 Apogee 2004 Betz Pere de la Famille 2004 Pomum 2003 Penner Ash Pinot Noir 2005 Shea Pinot Noir 1998 Gaja Sperrs (my first pick from the cellar) 2001 Rieussac Sautern (another 100-pointer)There were at least another 95 wines on the "menu," including various offerings from Pepperbridge, Spring Valley, Caymus, Woodward, Leoville, d'Yquem and Clerk Milon. We just never got to them.
I didn't have time to score these wines. (Too busy drinking, heh.) However, my top finishers were:
- 2004 Leonetti Reserve
- 2001 Riessac Sauterne (which needed no hype to prove its 100-point worth)
- 2003 Quilceda Creek Cab (which lived up to its 100-point hype)
Neither of the Pinchon-Barons rocked me. The Gaja did.
Regardless, we've decided that Howard has to throw a 60th Birthday Party every week til all the wine is gone. It's the only way to give them a fair tasting, right?
JJ