WTN: Haut-Medocs, Amarone, Barbaresco, Chardonnay, PN

Thursday Betsy made a delicous dish of cod with winter squash, finished with a balsamic reduction. I served the 2002 Saintsbury "Brown Ranch" Chardonnay (Carneros). Some oak and just a touch of butter on the nose, but not overwhelming. Good acidity for CalChard, nice Bosc pear fruit with a little lemon zest. A minerally edge to the finish. Nice, but a little empty in the middle. However, retasted Friday it had filled out a bit, and the oak had more fully integrated, a friend said it reminded him of a village Puligny. I don't quite agree, but good wine. B/B+

Friday we had an early dinner before Betsy headed to city. Sugar snap pea soup and farfalle with shrimp, scallops, saffron and ginger (from a recipe by Robin). I opened a 2004 Moreau Chablis AC. Good clear Chardonnay fruit, clean and unoaked. Good acidity, nice finish. I confess that even thought this was a good wine I felt slightly disappointed- so many strong reports on 2004 Chablis, but I felt this was just a touch behind the excellent 2002. B

After Betsy left I went to a friend's home for the first meeting of my local casual wine group since November. We got a fire going and sat outside - a little cool, but first chance of the year. Wines were served blind:

1999 Villadoria Barbaresco
Very tight upon decanting, it hadn't shown much more to me on serving a couple hours later. Group did very well with guessing (my wine, I didn't participate)- someone said Italian, then narrowed to Piedmont. Lighter style of modern Nebbiolo, bright cherry fruit and a little flowers and tar. Got better with time, others liked a lot, but I really wasn't that impressed. At this price level I prefer the co-op. B/B-

Next wine was very ripe. From a bit of olive and underbrush I guessed Rhone from a ripe vintage, but then blew it by suggesting St. Joseph or Crozes. Fred said it was a Chateauneuf, the '03 Beaucastel. I was kind of shocked, as it didn't remind me of Beaucastel. But when unveiled it was actually the 2003 Perrin & Fils Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. Sweet red fruit, a bit hot, and slightly short. But better than I expected with some '03 Rhone reports. B-/B

Next wine was pretty easy to peg as tired Bordeaux. Flat blackcurrant fruit, a hint of prunes, some leather. Storage conditions could have contributed to the demise of the 1995 Barons de Rothschild Reserve (Medoc), but I think this is really the kind of wine best drunk with couple years of release. C

I really flailed around trying to get a grip on the next wine, but really had no serious guesses. A little earth and ripe cherry fruit, someone suggests Burgundy but this seemed more New World. At same time it had the garrigue/underbrush note that made me think Rhone. Good thing I didn't make a guess, 'cause Spanish Pinot Noir wouldn't have been it (I should have gotten it, I'd tasted this before). The 1996 Torres Mas Boras was better than my previous experience, and almost a contender for WOTN. B+/B

Next wine quickly drew a Bordeaux consensus- cassis fruit, some cedar and leather, moderate tannins. A Bordeaux that needs some time, seemed a tad closed down. We're right, it's a wine I'm not familiar with, the 2000 Larose- Perganson (Haut-Medoc). Nice medium-bodied claret, at a slightly awkward stage, but assuming price was under $15 I'd buy (winesearcher doesn't show, guy who brought is a Frenchman living in Switzerland, former member who was visiting). B+

Last wine had a almost-porty nose, with figs and prunes. Some residual sugar, though not at all dessert-ish. Some dark chocolate notes over the ripe cherry and fig fruit. I guess a Valpolicella ripasso, and I got the region right, it's the 2000 Gaso Amarone della Valpolicella. I'm a little surprised, as this is texturally/structurally lighter than I expect from Amarone, but it's a fun drink (and I'm glad it came last). B+/B

Nice night with the guys. I felt pretty straight, but decided walking home (my norm in this Dobbs Ferry group) was still the wisest. Absolutely fabulous spring evening.

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.  

Dale, I've been thinking about tasting wines blind -- something I've rarely done. I noticed that your informal wine tasting group does so, and wondered how popular it is. What are the benefits and disadvantages.

Many thanks, Bob

Bob,
I'm just leaving now for the same group's blind tasting. So can give you a real answer tomorrow. Overall, I tend to like blind tasting within a narrow context more than a general "guess what this is" (though those can be fun, too). Setting aside one's label-based prejudices can be fun and instructive. More later.

Bob,

Last night was pretty fun, and I think the blind tasting was a plus to me. I appreciated wines that I might have dismissed based on subconscious vintage generalizations ('98 Branaire-Ducru) and wasn't too wild about a wine that I thought a decent value before ('96 Pagodes). So in brief that is the kind of situation where I think blind tasting has some validity-in a group of wines that are in the same general style, it removes the label bias. As stated before, I'm less a fan of the "try to guess what this is", though I generally have fun trying with that.

Other times I've really thought tasting blind was a plus: Jay Miller's "It take a village" tasting of 8 '01 village Chambolles, a tasting of '95 Barolos (when the Marcarini La Serra impressed me more than several more expensive Barolos -I've bought ever since), '94 Bordeaux.

Times I didn't find it valuable: "Pinot Noir" (I got very lucky at nailing origins, but concentrated on guessing so much I didn't neccessarily appreciate wines), "Studs or Duds" (wines with big differences between critics- without having context, not sure it was that informative), "Tuscany", etc. I had FUN at all of these tastings, but not sure it really was as informative OR as fun as it could have been non-blind.

I will say of the "blind out of context" type, I enjoy more as a one bottle game at an offline than the theme for the evening.

Notes on last night later.