TN: Mostly Marguax (+ Truchot, Jadot, Taittinger) at SOBER

Cathleen hosted SOBER last night, with Steve acting as chef/grillmaster. Really fascinating tasting, with great food. We arrived to find some nice salami and pate on the table, and 2 Champagnes were passed (non-blind)

2000 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose
Really drinking well., beautiful red fruits, some floral notes, plenty of zesty acids, fine mousse. Very long. I can’t imagine this getting better though I am sure it will last for a while, really in a good place (Later Cathleen and I discussed how in general it seems roses do well with a few years age, but - counterintuitively to me at least- are less likely to do well in long aging). A-

Ployez-Jacquemart Champagne (I think this was a NV Brut, but not totally sure)
Crisp, light, minerally, refreshing. B+/B

On to the reds (blind)

Flight 1
Pretty clear these were Bordeaux from beginning

Wine #1- black fruit, cocoa, some wood, most approachable of the three. 2001 Ch. Palmer B+

Wine #2- firm, austere, woody, the tannins on the backend are raspy. This is in a grumpy place. I opined this was like most ‘86s 10-12 years ago. 2000 Ch. Rausan-Segla B-

Wine #3 -green herby notes on nose, some wood, also quite tannic. 2000 Ch. Palmer B

I think all of these will improve with time, but for now only the 2001 was any real fun.

About this time Steve served a truly unbelievably good curried carrot soup (from the Modernist Cuisine at Home).

Flight 2
Wine #1- lovely giving wine, dark fruit, elegant, good ripeness,. balanced. 1998 Ch. Palmer. A-

Wine #2 - Tannic, green pepper, dill, a bit volatile, by this point we knew it was Bordeaux, but reminded me more of not so great modern Rioja. 1995 Ch., Rausan-Segla B-/C+

Wine #3- still some oak, but good dark fruits, long finish. 1995 Ch. Palmer B+/B

OK, there's a theme emerging!

Flight 3
Wait a damn minute, this isn’t Margaux!

Wine #1 - very light color made us guess older than this is. Red fruits, sandalwood, smoke. Great acids, bright fuits, long finish, very good length. I guessed Chambolle, but Mark correctly got Gevrey. 2001 Truchot-Martin “Combottes” Gevrey-Chambertin. A-/A

Wine #2 - darker, riper, more tannic, someone (I think Craig) guessed Jadot early, but it took a few guesses to get vineyard. 2003 Jadot Musigny B+
(as good a 2003 as I’ve had)

About here we were chowing down on slices from a couple 3” Lobel porterhouses, with great polenta and mushroom ragout, plus some green beans.

Flight 4
Wine #1 Pretty intense green bell pepper, totally dominates the fruit, 1993 Ch. Rausan-Segla C+/C

Wine #2 Young fresh and vital, wellbalanced, 1986 Ch. Rausan-Segla A-

Wine #3 corked (too bad, seemed to be nice stuff underneath) 1986Ch. Palmer

Flight 5
Wine #1 corked 1985 Ch. Rausan-Segla

Wine #2 ripe, full, red berries, tobacco, good. 1982 Ch. Rausan-Segla B+/B

Flight 6
Wine #1 Pretty classic claret, redder fruit with cigarbox and forest floor, very nice and ready but not faded. . 1966 Ch. Rausan-Segla A-/B+

Wine #2 Full, powerful but elegant, 1983 Ch. Margaux A-

Wine #3 Thinner, a little ashtray over the dark fruit and decayed leaves, not bad but outclassed,. 1966 Ch. Kirwan B

Fantastic look at Margaux appellation, plus other fun wines and amazing food

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.

[David M. Bueker]

Damn!

Can I just drool over the Truchot?

Seriously though - great notes. I would have loved to try all those Palmers.

Later Cathleen and I discussed how in general it seems roses do well with a few years age, but - counterintuitively to me at least- are less likely to do well in long aging

I concur. We had a 1993 Taittinger Rosé Brut in 2008. I thought it was a bit tart at that point and needed a few more years in the cellar. We tasted it again last year and by that time the wine had developed a “sherry-ish” note on the nose and palate that I found unpleasant. It seemed that the drinking window was quite narrow.

The best Champagnes I have tasted have been Rosés in their prime. The '90 and '96 models seem to be near "can't miss" status, but (sadly) my sample size is limited.

Yes, great lineup of Palmer, but the better R-Seglas were very very good as well.

Sam, just think the windows are shorter on the roses. Obviously it's hard to generalize, as vintages differ, and of course the tete de cuvee roses like Comtes, Winston C, DP,D. Ruinart, etc last longer than stardard roses. But I think even most '88 and 90 roses aren't as good as they were 5 years ago, while many white '88/90 Champagnes seem to have long futures. I generally think the great BdBs last longest, followed by mixed cepage Bruts, and then the roses. My sampling isn't huge (but Cathleen agreed, and she does have a large sample size) A great Rose in it's prime is something to behold.

[David M. Bueker]

Rosés seem to also be so luscious and drinkable on release that I find them very hard to resist.

The 2002 Bollinger Grand Annee Rosé is just spellbinding and mouthwatering at the same time. I bought a bunch, but nowhere near enough. Just to give an example.