1982 Philipponnat “Clos des Goisses” Brut
Very oxidative/nutty on nose, more up my alley on the palate. Still a nice fine mousse, pear and tropical fruits, almonds. Good acids. John comments that it is structurally as young as the 2000 - maybe, but I prefer the aromatics of the latter. B/B+
2000 Philipponnat “Clos des Goisses” Brut
Gorgeous young but ready to go Champagne. Pear and apple, toasted bread, citrus zest. Young and perky. A-
To table where there was an assortment of canapes- smoked trout (I think) with blinis and shredded beet, whitefish mousse on toast, a meat mousse, and rabbit pate. First blind flight was white
(note: all scores are what I had written down up to reveal, no revision allowed
)Blind Wine #1 = corked (1999 Prager Weissenkrichen Chardonnay Smaragd)
Blind Wine #2 - so nose was kind of white Burgundyish, but there was a bit of RS on palate (just a hint of sweetness), Chris and Craig quickly agreed on Austrian Riesling, which seemed reasonable to me. Good acids, clean apple and pear, some pepper, good finish. Franco assented to Austria, but said not Riesling. Oh, GV. No. This is Chardonnay/Weissburgunder. Terroir trumps variety! 1997 Prager Selection Chardonnay. B/B+
Some mini-gnocchi with spinach and mushroom
Next flight got pretty fast consensus re Piedmont, but no one was in right decades originally (60s/70s guesses). Beautiful clear color on all of them, Franco was a careful decanter. Last we used a filter on rest of bottles to finish off.
Blind Red #1 - bright cherry, flowers, a little tar. This was my initial favorite, but after about 30 minutes it started to crack up a bit. At peak A-A (1945 Fontanafredda Barolo)
Blind Red #2 I didn’t care for this as much as first- plenty of red fruit, but with a candied edge and a bit volatile. Calmed down, I liked but not as much as flightmates. B+ But when later tasted, maybe my favorite wine of the night. Beautiful sweet fruited Barolo with tar, orange peel, and balsamic vinegar notes. (1938 Fontanafredda Barolo)
Blind Red #3- a little more black fruited than others, black cherry and sour cherry, a little funk, earth. Delicious and long. B+/A- (1935 Fontanafredda Barolo)
Both the 35 and ‘38 held on well. What a flight.
Next flight was split a bit on serving, younger was served so we could have with braised beef, carrots and parsnips, pretzel rolls.
Blind Red #4 - group split between young Bordeaux and classic CaliCab, muscular, cassis and black plum, cedar. A-/B+ ( 1996 Ch. Latour )
Blind Red #5 - I was a little worried about TCA at first, but it turned more funky and a little green, but with ripe red fruit and earth underneath. The funk turns leathery/cigarbox. Once Franco confirmed Bordeaux I was thinking a CF heavy rightbanker like maybe Figeac with some age. But I had no clue re how old (I was thinking 50s). Before reveal I gave a B+ to the 1896 Ch. Latour. On retaste (and knowing label and age) I was in A- territory, what a treat. I believe till now my oldest dry wine had been 1918 Gruaud.
I was too stunned by a 19th century Bdx to do any serious guessing at next one, but group got Burgundy and that seemed right to me.
Blind Red #6 - ripe and maybe a little candied/kirschy, but with some nice underlying forest floor and earth elements. B (1959 Gros Colette Grands-Echezeaux- never heard of producer),
Blind Red #7- Volatile, sweet fruits, a little mushroom edge, clipped finish. My least fave. B- (1959 Louis Gros Grands-Echezeaux _
Blind Red #8- meaty, bacony, freshest fruit. B+ (1959 Remoissenet Grands-Echezeaux ). Oops, I chose a Remoissenet as my fave!
Just a spectacular night. One of my all time faves.
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.