WTN: SOBER does 60s Bojo, 70s CA & Rhones, +Loire, Burg, etc

Craig was hosting SOBER last night, as his apartment is small, his friends Franco and Rebecca agreed to host in their lovely Chelsea loft. Arrived and was greeted with cheeses, salami, pate, and a NV Bremont Rose Champagne. I'd never heard of this producer, but this is a flat out lovely Champagne. Sweet red fruits, a little bready edge, chalky minerality. Fine mousse, good acids, well balanced. A-/A

There was also the infamous Scores bubbly ($200 in club, $6 on closeout) that Craig had served last year. A bit flat/low acid, a strange dilly note, I dumped so we could get to the real wines. C+/C

Once everyone arrived, on to the blind wines.

Flight #1 -never have we flailed so long before identifying wines

Wine 1 - a little browning, dusty nose, sweet, a bit short/tired. Some (with better TCA senses than I) say it's corked,but I don't get it. To me more of a mushroomy edge than corked. 1966 Peyrat Freres Moulin-a-Vent. B-/C+

Wine #2 - sweet, red currant fruit, slightly lifted nose, showing it's age but a nice wine. 1966 Peyrat Freres St Amour. B

Wine 1A- served as a replacement for the possibly corked number 1, but it is basically undrinkable- vile wine with sewage and VA. 1966 Peyrat Freres Julienas F

Fun, what a different way to start. Oldest Gamays I've ever tried, and the St Amour shows they can age. I'm guessing that Julienas had something bacterial going when bottled (never heard of producer before)

Flight #2
Wine #1 - earthy, leather, a bit of poop over red fruit. Fully mature, maybe fading, but I really enjoy this (in minority as having it as favorite of flight). Tim goes Rhone, seems right to me. 1971 Mont Redon Chateauneuf du Pape. B+

Wine #2 - very sweet red fruit, light caramel notes, peat, good finish. A little odd metallic note on finish I didn't love. I was in Rhone here also. Someone (John?) guessed old Zin, correctomundo. Table liked a bit more than I did, buit nice. 1973 Ridge Geyserville B
(Geyserville label said "age at least 3 years")


Flight #3 (with homemade gravlax on latkes)

Wine #1 a bright white, with lemon fruit, a strong anise note, lots of minerals. I said Chablis, Craig said correct but keep it quiet while other end guesses. John says Raveneau, completely trumping my guess! Nice wine, though there is a little lactic note on the finish that some feel is precursor for PremOx. Drinking well now, why wait? 2004 Raveneau "Vaillons" Chablis. B+

Wine #2 - really nice, bigger, tensile acidity, crisp apple fruit, a toasty note I thought was light oak. My guess was Cote d'Or (Puligny?) and boy was I wrong. 1999 Luneau-Papin "L d'Or" Muscadet. A-

Flight #4
Wine #1 - some found this green, I didn't, though there was a definite herby note. Sweet bright red fruits, Gilman is again first to get it, immediately insisting Northern Rhone. Fully mature, lighter end of Syrah, somewhat divides table. 1978 Domaine de l'Hermite Hermitage. B+

Wine #2 - much less fresh than its flightmate, red berry fruit with a touch of ashtray, tired, a kind of muddled finish. 1978 Domaine de Vallouit Hermitage C+

(nice couscous and lamb stew in here)

Flight #5 -ok, I admit I initially thought 70s Bordeaux with both

Wine #1 - Good, ripe, strong fruit with solid acids, herbs, cocoa. Lovely long wine, Mark and John I think both quickly said old CA, really nice wine. 1976 Phelps Insignia. A-

Wine #2- sweet, ripe, nice wine without the density or complexity of its flightmate, but still a nice wine. 1977 Phelps Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon. B/B+

Flight #6
Wine #1 - seems like solid fruit, but laced with TCA. Some discussion about how it shows in different glasses, but I'm pretty certain, and with some air apparent to all. Sad, it's the 1999 Ponsot Clos de la Roche

Wine #2 - Really ripe, spice, some slightly prickly acidity. Guesses include CA Pinot. There is shock when it's revealed. 2001 Jacky Truchot Clos de la Roche. B

Wine #1A - the replacement, straight from Franco's cellar. Delicious, long, ripe and balanced. Lovely Burgundy. 1999 Clos des Lambrays. A-

Really fun evening, thanks to Craig for organizing wines and cooking, and to Franco and Rebecca for great hospitality. .

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.  

Cool lineup as always Dale (you guys always seem to have a really diverse range at these dinners). Tragic to hear about a corked Ponsot - though the note on the Truchot quite surprises me, especially that some guessed it as CA!

I think everyone was surprised/shocked by the Truchot. Couple of people mentioned jammy notes, Truchot is about last producer one would think of for that (and I guessed 2000 or 2003 when Craig said Burgundy). Gilman said he couldn't believe it was a typical bottle, and vowed to open one soon. Unsure what could cause that, though I guess that some mild heat damage might soften fruit and make it less fresh/bright?

I think everyone was surprised/shocked by the Truchot. Couple of people mentioned jammy notes, Truchot is about last producer one would think of for that (and I guessed 2000 or 2003 when Craig said Burgundy). Gilman said he couldn't believe it was a typical bottle, and vowed to open one soon. Unsure what could cause that, though I guess that some mild heat damage might soften fruit and make it less fresh/bright?

And the prickly acidity could be another indication of an off bottle?

And the prickly acidity could be another indication of an off bottle?

Quite possibly. The prickliness kind of came and went. Cathleen thought it tasted acidified, but that's not possible in Burgundy (and Truchot wouldn't be a candidate!). It will be interesting if someone opens another bottle.

And what an interesting selection of wines. Were those Beaujolais bottles purchased recently? I guess one sees all sorts of stuff for sale but one has to wonder who holds onto such wines for so long.

Wine #2 - really nice, bigger, tensile acidity, crisp apple fruit, a toasty note I thought was light oak. My guess was Cote d'Or (Puligny?) and boy was I wrong. 1999 Luneau-Papin "L d'Or" Muscadet. A-

So what was the general opinion around the table Dale?!

I believe the Cru Beaujolais were a recent purchase at Crush. Craig just thought they'd be fun to spring on group.
I think everyone liked the Luneau-Papin, but no one guessed Muscadet early.

I believe the Cru Beaujolais were a recent purchase at Crush. Craig just thought they'd be fun to spring on group.
I think everyone liked the Luneau-Papin, but no one guessed Muscadet early.

Yes, Crush bought them in Europe recently and brought them over. People guessed pretty much every other region in France, including some obscure ones (Corbieres, anyone?) plus some others from farther afield before Dan finally remembered that Beaujolais existed.

Shame about the Hermitages, which I thought would show better, and the Ponsot, although I've had it quite a few times and haven't been wowed by it yet. Our host graciously let me raid his Eurocave for a replacement and the Lambrays was right on top, which was convenient, and a pretty amazing find as a substitute on zero notice.

Dale, you said that acidification was unlikely since that's not allowed in Burgundy. My understanding is that it is allowed, but the same wine cannot be both acidified and chaptalized.

Wine #2 - really nice, bigger, tensile acidity, crisp apple fruit, a toasty note I thought was light oak. My guess was Cote d'Or (Puligny?) and boy was I wrong. 1999 Luneau-Papin "L d'Or" Muscadet. A-

So what was the general opinion around the table Dale?!

I believe everyone liked it, and enjoyed the pairing (of course, I'm biased!). A couple of people said they were going to add it to their shopping list.

Dale, you said that acidification was unlikely since that's not allowed in Burgundy. My understanding is that it is allowed, but the same wine cannot be both acidified and chaptalized.

Thanks for clarification. So I might run across an acidified 03 Burg!

Dale, you said that acidification was unlikely since that's not allowed in Burgundy. My understanding is that it is allowed, but the same wine cannot be both acidified and chaptalized.

That's what the good book says, but there are many who have sinned.

Wonderful tasting, plenty of great wines, and many surprises.