WTN: Mark hosts SOBER- DDC '29-'88, Fiorano, Gosset, Climens

Mark hosted SOBER last night, I picked up Franco and Paul at Tarrytown station, and we arrived at Mark’s and were greeted with smoked salmon on pumpernickel and 2 blind bubbles (not very blind, Mark said what they were, just not which was which

2002 Gosset Celebris
I thought this was the Blanc de Blanc, white fruit and lots of lemon, very long. A-

NV Gosset Grande Blanc de Blanc
Very good, rounder, full and nutty. B+

To table, where some nice cheeses (a cheddar, a Comte, Cambozola, a Merlot washed rind) and salami awaited. 3 non-blind whites awaited (a 4th, a ‘95 L’Ecole #41 Semillon, was deemed undrinkable)

1992 Kalin Semillon (Livermore)
Good acids, lemon, wool, and nuts, long and complex. B+/A-

1993 Fiorano (pretty sure this is the Semillon, http://www.italianwinemerchants.com/Fiorano-s/177.htm )
Flatter than the 86 , some fruti but more piney B-

1986 Fiorano
Dark color but totally fresh/alive, citrus and floral, good length. B+

First blind red
No guesses, pretty advanced, apparently cork fell in that AM when capsule cut. Too bad, the 1964 Palmer

Second blind red (Pi decanter)
Mark said I couldn’t guess as I had unfair advantage, realized it was a Bandol from a charity lunch(but no clue to which one). Brawny, sweet but with some grip, gets better. 1993 La Rouviere Bandol. B+

On to the main event, non-blind DDC

First flight
1988 Domaine de Chevalier
Tannic, but good sappy fruit, needs time but quite elegant for an ‘88. I have a bottle of this, wish I had more . B+/A-

1983 Domaine de Chevalier
Young, structured, lots of soil and some coffee, I liked more than neighbors (but everyone liked whole flight). A-/B+
1981 Domaine de Chevalier
Classic, ready, smoke and cigarbox, drinking very well. B+

(nice lamb stew on rice served about here)
Second Flight
1979 Domaine de Chevalier
Herbs, cedar/cigarbox, good acids, nice length B+/A-

1975 Domaine de Chevalier
Still some tannin, but plusher than most ‘75s, with full fruit and a long earthy finish. A-

1970 Domaine de Chevalier
Tart cherries, floral, touch of VA but not overwhelming. I originally had this as a B, but it picked up and filled out with some air. One of the redder fruited wines of the night. B+

Third Flight
1966 Domaine de Chevalier
Big almost kirschy fruit, yet with good acids, cedar and citrus. B+

1964 Domaine de Chevalier
Wow, complex and spicy, red fruit with mushrooms and mocha, tobacco, long. Just a lovely classic claret, and I was sure it would be my WOTN. A-/A

1961 Domaine de Chevalier
Sweet fruit, tar, a little caramelly. Certainly drinkable but a step behind others, Craig says a mid-shoulder bottle (not really a bad fill for 50+, just adds a little uncertainty). Dan says it got better but I didn’t return. B

Fourth Flight
1953 Domaine de Chevalier
Well, I thought the ‘64 was my WOTN till I tasted this. Exotic, complete, and complex. Sandalwood and tobacco, clean fruit, long and lively. I told neighbor it was amazing something could be this exotic yet at same time be classic. I originally wrote A/A- but I really can’t imagine this could be better, so A.

1929 Domaine de Chevalier
This had a funky and somewhat caramelly/ maderized nose, and I assumed dead. Had come from the Doris Duke cellars and owner said previous bottles were good, but at 90 years there’s never certainty. But Dan held out for it and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right. The madeira notes lessened (though didn’t disappear) and there was nice plummy (not pruney ) fruit, with leather and smoke. This was brought up during evening and only had a couple hours before decant, so was pretty murky. I never loved but though B/B+ at end, a nice wine to experience.

Mark also brought out a ‘43 cognac (which I skipped), and a legendary Sauternes:
1971 Climens
Great acids, sweetness now well integrated, orange peel and orange marmalade over toffee, incredibly long. A-

Truly over the top good night, even by SOBER standards. Only thing that would have made it better was if I hadn’t needed to be spitting. Entered the night a DDC fan, but still got my eyes opened. What a wonderful, distinctive, elegant property (at least back in the day)
Thanks Mark.

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.

1953 Domaine de Chevalier
Well, I thought the ‘64 was my WOTN till I tasted this. Exotic, complete, and complex. Sandalwood and tobacco, clean fruit, long and lively. I told neighbor it was amazing something could be this exotic yet at same time be classic. I originally wrote A/A- but I really can’t imagine this could be better, so A.

If I were an intolerable narcissist, I'd say that the cosmos delivered you an impeccable '53 in order to prove to me that you really do sometimes give solid A's.

But I'm not, so I'll just say (about the whole night):

WOW!!!

[David M. Bueker]

I am shocked the '79 was not your WOTN.

Patchen, I think your comment on grading is what made me reconsider.
David, it was the Value of the Night!

Great night, great notes. I loved the 66 DDC we had at Fabio's a few years ago.

Anyone had the 85 DDC rouge in the last 5 years? I wonder how that would show in this lineup.

After the strong showing by the 89 in NYC in July, I just tried one of the 88 DDCs from the same mixed case I got from London (thanks to MarkG again for the tip). This thread also inspired me to look for some DDC from this era.

It was a different setting, featuring the 88 by itself, but I liked it as much as the 89 I think. It was certainly a pristine bottle. Here’s my impressions:

My first try of the 88 DDC, and I am really digging this. A marvelous attack, cool and earthy and intense, with mint and something compelling in a savory-vegetal vein like celery seed. It’s bright and minerally. There’s not a lot of obvious fruit but there’s a layering to the texture that gives this real body. At first, most of the action is on the palate but a fresh, lifted nose emerges with some air. Long, smooth and minty on the finish. Delicious.

Digging up the old threads!
I had the '88 in a vertical last month (Debby Does DDC thread), showed very well again. It was a vintage (in Bdx generally I mean, not specifically DDC) that used to be quite tough, but lots of wines seem to show elegance now.

I rarely seem to come across 88s and most of those were a while ago when these were still pretty hard.

The impressive thing about the DDC was it was pretty much as elegant as a wine can get yet it had terrific intensity and length. Love that combo.

What a superb lineup! We haven't seen much of the Chevalier in my market, though I have tasted several vintages. The best was the 1961 at a Commanderie event but that was a number of years ago and I expect that it has moved on since then. How many people took part in the tasting?

well, it was 7 years ago (Pat resurrected thread) so can't remember exactly
But that group was 8 people, and tastings tended to be about that (seldom could everyone make it. but host usually invited guests- in the case a guy named Paul, who brought the shook-up 1929).A 1928 DDC showed better last month (treated appropriately).

well, it was 7 years ago (Pat resurrected thread) so can't remember exactly
But that group was 8 people, and tastings tended to be about that (seldom could everyone make it. but host usually invited guests- in the case a guy named Paul, who brought the shook-up 1929).A 1928 DDC showed better last month (treated appropriately).

Hah! I started reading this figuring it was the tasting that I just read about in VFTC, only then to see it was from '17. Regardless, fun to read (again) and fantastic lineup of wines.

There's a thread (Debby Does DDC) about the tasting in VFTC. But I left before the 28/29 Cos, 21 Montrose (it was close to midnight , hour + drive, had a 8 AM speech!)