by Jim Grow » Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:11 pm
Athens Ohio that is. With hummus, olive paste, pesto spread and crackers/bread, olives, etc. we began by opening a few whites. Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne 2005 "Le ?????" I can't remember the vineyard designation but this medium bodied Chard. opened up nicely over time. We actually started off with an un-labeled half bottle from a local winery. We were told nothing about the wine and I guessed a Scheurebe Kab. with a bit of age. Nah!! A very young Vidal that tasted like no Vidal I had ever tried. Next up was a 2007 Merkelbach Riesling Kab. that I did not note the village or vineyard. Also very nice in a slatey-light peachy- appleish way. My favorite white was the Chalk Hill Chardonnay of 2006 or maybe 2007. Served a bit too warm but a big tropical fruitball with good acidity. On to the the lasagna, garlic bread and reds. 2000 Pavie Decesse and 2000 Jamet Cote Rotie were mine and first up. The Pavie Decesse was huge with tar, leather, cedar and black currants. It was never given much time to evolve but probably would have. My first of 4 bottles and I'll wait a couple of years until the next one although very enjoyable now. The Jamet was a very different beast and much tamer. Not a great wine to follow the Bordeaux and I wish I had brought someting else. No bacon fat noticed but ready for business with some mellow dusty black cherry and black fruit flavors. On to the 2006 Camus SS Cabernet. This was also a huge fruitball with 15.4% abv and some obvious tannins. Not unaccessable but no secondary complexity and that won't come for probably 8-10 more years. Total infanticide. 2005 Continuum was also a very fine wine and more settled down than the Camus but almost as big and extracted. I never heard of this wine and I was hoping that it might be about 1/4 the price of the Camus but I know better now. More open and enjoyable now but probably not the long-term ager as the Camus. 2002 Edge Napa Cabernet. I went thru all of mine a few years ago but wish I still had some left. This wine has mellowed out and gained some complexity. I would say that it has 3-5 years of further development. Not it the class of the previous two but a very nice wine.. We finished off with some cheesecake, regular and chocolate, with the 2001 Lafaurie Peyraguey Sauternes. An excellent Sauternes with lots of aging potential, this deep straw colored wine showed lots of Botrytis flavors. My first 2001 Sauternes and I'll let the rest of them sleep for a few more years. The next day I opened a 2001 Grand Veneur "Les Origines" CNDP and it was in a very good place with lots of rustic Rhone fruit including black raspberry, mullberry and some tarryness and gritty but enjoyabale tannins.
