We celebrated friend Hal's birthday last night at the Silver Reef Steakhouse. This friend has an enormous collection of wine devoted to great champagne, rich full bodied American chardonnays, Quintarelli and deep reds with sweeter fruit and plusher textures from both America and Australia, so in surveying my options--and knowing that we'd probably all be ordering beef--I went with Napa Valley choosing a Montelena and a Karl Lawrence as a backup. Too, in case no one else brought something to go with starters, I threw the Girardin in the case.
I didn't take any notes, so these are just impressons.
And no one else did bring a starter wine so my 2004 Girardin 1er cru Puligny Montrachet was the first wine opened. I enjoyed pouring this for Hal and Linda as they have tended, I believe, to eschew Burgundian whites as too subtle. Deep gold in color, excellent body. Developing some butterscotch notes along with baked apple, lemon, and ample acidity. Quite lovely both on it's own and with our salads.
Next up, Hal's wine. Couldn't believe my eyes. This friend, for whom I would never have chosen a Bordeaux, brought a magnum of '93 Mouton Rotshchild, and indeed it's not even just the '93 it's the one with the infamous "child porn" label. Distinctly Bordeaux nose with classic Paulliac attributes of cedar and graphite. Just medium bodied with resolved tannins and bright acidity. Quite enjoyable, though it underperforms expectations for a First Growth and I wouldn't hold these any longer.
Considering the vintage I suggest to the sommelier that we open and compare the Californian I've brought, the '92 Chateau Montelena. I dare say it's as good a bottle of this can be right now, most excellent, all black cherry and leather, but to my palate rather monotone compared to the Bordeaux. For others, though, it's rich sweet fruit wins the day.
Next was Gary's wine which he poured blind. Much to his disappointment, as I believe he was under the misimpression that it was atypical, I nailed it as Aussie Shiraz with my first question and being from the McClaren Vale with my second. It was either an 04 or 05 from a producer I've not had before, Penny's Hill, and though it showed more as a suave claret style at this point it could not be mistaken for cabernet sauvignon nor did any amount of velveteen oak disguise the sea spray and black currant profile that
McClaren Vales always have.
We were now completely done with dinner, but I offered the 2001 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon just in case anyone could go one more round, and off went the cork. I probably enjoyed this more than the Montelena. Or at least, in retrospect I'd have liked it better with the food as well as preferring the Montelena to be the one we drank alone--it deserved some pondering, where the Karl Lawrence is so much bigger and more assertive. Fresh blackberry and black currant flavors, sweet herbs and dark chocolate, wonderfully middle-aged right now with great primary fruit balanced by interesting secondary nuances from it's eight year nap. Btw, this spent two hours in a decanter at home before being rebottled, and though it was fine right out of the bottle as a pop and pour, the additional time was a benefit.
