Bill's laptop is down so I'm posting my notes on last week's lunch! Blind as usual, and no theme:
NV Pfaff Crémant d'Alsace Pinot Noir Extra Brut Rosé
Very very pale. Red apple skin nose with lemon-ginger on the palate. Nice!
2019 Château Coutet Opalie Sec Bordeaux Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
Bright and balanced with classic Sauvignon Blanc flavors. A seriously good summer white--I would buy.
1998 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Blonds Red Rhone Blend
Good aromas. The group zeroed in on old CdP vintages 95, 96 and 98 fairly quickly but figured it most likely the 96 due to the light color and body. We were wrong! Drinks well enough but definitely time to drink up.
2020 Dalrymple Vineyards Pinot Noir Pipers River
Cactus pear, black plum and an odd but not unattractive whiff of dill pickle, a component I would guess resulted from elongated skin contact. Very good.
1991 Ridge Lytton Springs Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel Blend, Zinfandel
My contribution. The cork, saturated but not leaking, Duranded out in one piece and the wine did not seem affected one bit. Served one hour after opening, and the conversation around the table went: is it pinot, amazing nose, is it petite sirah, is it Rhone, is it Nebbiolo, is it Mediterranean, Spanish? Lots of No's, which is always fun. They were stunned in the reveal not just for the grape but the age--it did not present like a 35 year old wine. Maybe half that. (Note that the blend this vintage includes 12% petite sirah which had to help).
2016 Daydreamer Amelia Okanagan Valley Syrah Blend
In 2018 the only other person to ever provide a CT comment about this wine (and he's a decent reviewer from Quebec who I've discussed other wines with) suggested that this wine be drunk over the next two years. Now add six more years: from Bill's cellar, it's in excellent shape as one would hope for from MW Marcus Ansems, one of the best winemakers in the Okanagan. 90% Syr, 10% Viog.
2015 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône-Brézème Syrah
Plums and tapenade with a little grit. Always happy to see a Texier, but following Bill's Daydreamer the rusticity was not particularly welcome. Comparing this to notes on my last bottle about five years ago, if I owned these I wouldn't cellar further.
2016 Domaine Pascal Cotat Sancerre Les Monts Damnés Sauvignon Blanc
Served after lunch with cheeses, this wine from 40 year old vines was aged for 8 months in used oak barrels, and not filtered. Intense aroma of lemon curd and lemon peel with jasmine, medium bodied, elegant. I love that this group is leaning away from the rote choice of finishing with dessert wines. Doesn't have to be!