WTN: 9 St Estephes blind (plus 2 white Burgs)

No wine (or meat) Monday- mushroom fried rice, ratatouille, salad.

Tuesday I headed to city for latest in our blind “whoever brings best wine gets free dinner” appellation series, this time St. Estephe was up. Dinner was at RiverPark overlooking the East River - they did a nice job.

As we gathered two white Burgundy 1ers went around.
2009 H. Boillot Meursault “Charmes”
Broadshouldered but with good acids, rich, hazelnut and ripe pear, quite tasty. B+/A-

2002 Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet Folatieres
I was worried re premox, but though this showed fully mature there was only a little bit of nutty oxidation. Apples, lemon cream, almonds. OK, maybe in glass it advanced quickly, but I still enjoyed. B+
Some excellent charcuterie made the rounds

Blind St Estephe # 1
Medium bodied, ripe but with structure, good black currant fruit, easy tannins. B+/A-

I had excellent grilled quail as a starter.

Blind St Estephe # 2
Medium bodied, a little tannin, cocoa and black plum, not as long as #1 or #3. B

Blind St Estephe # 3
Complex, cassis and smoke, a bit of leather. A-/B+

My pasta was cavatelli with braised lamb and greens, tasty and wine friendly, just a bit oversalted

Blind St Estephe # 4
This was quite ripe, with a bit of barnyard (well within my tolerance, but some found it too much). I said I’d guess Cali except for the bretty note, considering that this seemed more like a ripe old school Right Banker. B+

Blind St Estephe # 5
Somewhat hard, some good fruit lurking underneath, lots of structure. B

Blind St Estephe # 6
Maderized/cooked (and a little bretty) NR

My main was a Berkshire pork chop with grilled peaches and collards

Blind St Estephe # 7
Rich fruit, coffee, ripe, some tannin. B+

Blind St Estephe # 8
Rich, great texture, nice length, cassis and cigarbox. B+/A-

Blind St Estephe # 9
Corked

We voted, and #3 got 18 pts, #1 got 12 points, # 8 got 11 points, # 7 for 7 points.
Then we unveiled.

#1 1999 Cos d’Estournel 2nd place
# 2 1999 Montrose
#3 1990 Cos d’Estournel 1st place
#4 1989 Montrose
#5 1996 Cos d’Estournel
#6 1985 Cos d’Estournel (flawed)
#7 1999 Montrose 4th place
#8 1982 Calon Segur 3rd place
#9 1986 Cos d’Estournel (flawed)

What are the chances Nano and I each brought a ‘99 Montrose? ‘99 is not my favorite vintage but they are drinking well now. Nano and I argued for a good while over whose bottle got votes and which didn’t- #2 (no votes) had a Bordeaux Wine Locator back label neither of us remember, and neither of us bought from gray marketer.

Fun evening.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. 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.

...our blind “whoever brings best wine gets free dinner” appellation series...

Nice theme. A little competitive, but among the right group of people I can see it nicely matching incentives with the greater good!

This is a 15 year group, and "newest" member has probably been involved for 5 (and she wasn't there!). So it makes for good natured competition, Most of our dinners are planned and unblind, so trying to match for flights (you'll bring the Pichon Lalande- I've got the Baron!). So this is fun. It's challenging to figure out not "what is best wine". but "what wine will show best in a blind tasting (and should I decant in advance?)"
As we did 3 course plus charcuterie, coffees, and tip 25-30%, reward of free dinner is a good prize. On other hand, as Ben said when he won Graves tasting with a '85 Haut Brion, free is relative. On other hand, I won a St Emilion with an '89 Canon, that worked for me.
It's a good way (assuming good people and comparative cellars) to be competitive and have fun.