Seven of us gathered May 20th at the Sudbury Sahara Casino and Wine Bar in scenic Sudbury, MA for an afternoon of Texas Hold ‘Em and blind wine tasting. Having been the big winner last time, I earned the dubious honor of hosting this month and supplying most of the wines! Others pitched in with outstanding selections and we were off and running...
We opened with a white wine:
1996 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Blanco Vina Gravonia. The color here is a deep golden-yellow. The nose sports notes of beeswax, lemon peel, brown spices, a mineral edginess and something very much like mild botrytis underpinning it all. It is dry and medium-bodied in the mouth, with some honey and lemon zest flavors and a persistent minerality on the finish. It evolved slowly over the course of the day and the next two days in the refrigerator—a really interesting wine.
We then moved on to a flight of 9 red wines served blind. I was the only one who knew all of them beforehand (except #9). I decanted most wines several hours ahead of time, with the Rioja and Burgundy seeing less than an hour of air, but the Erasmus, Angelus and Sandrone each getting several hours in the decanter. The Pali and Arista were popped and poured (or in the case of the Pali, unscrewed and poured).
1981 R. Lopez de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Vina Bosconia. This wine really had people guessing, and not a single one considered Spain, never mind Rioja. I think most were thinking mature Burgundy. In any event, the color is a pale garnet. The nose is the real attraction of this wine—just outstanding. It has a very pretty fragrance of white flowers, crushed red berry juice, cinnamon and a faint woodsiness. It keeps drawing the nose back, both initially and then over the course of the day, as more coffee and old leather notes emerge. In the mouth, it is on the lighter side, with a very strong acid edge, featuring flavors of sour cherry and cranberry to go along with an autumn leaves kind of thing. It is elegant and airy, with lots of personality, but does finish with a slightly detracting sour/acidic edge. However, I’m drinking the final glass right now as I type, 3 days later, and it has put on some weight and is a bit meatier all around—this was a really solid showing!
1997 Jean & Jean-Louis Trapet Latricieres-Chambertin. I was surprised at the meaty personality of this wine, given my recent experience with their elegant ’95 Chapelle-Chambertin. The initial nose conjures up images of bacon fat, just tons of white pepper and plenty of dark berry fruits. Later, it folds in some dark forest elements, dark leather and a bit of green leafiness. In the mouth, the fruit is dark and the acids are a bit mouth puckering. The finish is a touch grainy, but of very good length. I would probably wait on this wine (it seems to have the stuffing for it) and give it a chance to gain greater elegance and nuance.
2005 Pali Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Shea Vineyard. Unlike the two previous wines, guesses were pretty solid on this one—with most settling on domestic Pinot Noir pretty quickly. The nose here is pretty open and forceful, and includes cola, raspberries and a sense of stemminess. The palate is welcoming and creamy, with cola and berry flavors. There are some moderately drying tannins on the finish. Overall, it is young, fruity and fresh (and my wife liked the leftovers better than just about anything else I offered her!).
2005 Arista Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. My notes here are pretty abbreviated, so it must have been served right around the time I was getting knocked out of the game... It has a dark magenta color and a nose of white pepper, sweet cherries and aloe. It shows good palate presence, with a juicy and lush texture. Clean and pleasing. On day 2, though, it just hadn’t held up well at all in the refrigerator.
2001 Montevetrano Montevetrano Colli di Salerno. This wine is richly, yet elegantly perfumed--showing off blueberries, earth, spices, creosote and dark mocha aromas. In the mouth, it exhibits near-perfect balance, with ample body, seamless texture and a nice blueberry and blackberry fruit profile. The finish is clean and elegant. Everything is there, but it never quite kicks into the next gear. This is the youngest I have ever chosen to drink a Montevetrano, and based on this tasting, I would suggest giving this another 2-4 years before trying again—it can certainly age and I imagine it will improve, based on experiences with vintages like ’94, ’95, and ’97. By the way, this is a blend of 60% Cabernet, 30% Merlot and 10% Aglianico—explaining perhaps the many guesses that this was a Bordeaux or at least a Bordeaux blend.
1999 Luciano Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne. Next up was another wine with just an outstanding bouquet. Nobody guessed Nebbiolo, but for me, knowing what it was, all I could think was what a great Nebbiolo nose this has! My notes highlight crushed red berries, cinnamon, and cocoa. Also, it is simply lovely in the mouth, with a luxuriant sexy feel. It is full-bodied and solidly structured, showing some initial layering and exhibiting good drive (with seemingly plenty more power in reserve). The finish has some tannins that come in, but they are surprisingly not too drying right now. Just lovely.
1998 Château Angelus St.-Emilion. A clear-cut winner for Wine of the Day for me. Initially, the nose is all about tobacco, luggage leather, earth, soft spices and blueberry fruit. Just gorgeous! Later, notes of incense and menthol weave in, too. On the palate, it is full and seamlessly textured, with a lovely mouthfeel overall. The fruit is decidedly cool and crisp to go along with a certain leafiness. Some fuzzy tannins come in on the finish. I think this is drinking quite well, but I’m also confident it will be even better down the line. By the way, most guesses on this were Left Bank.
2000 Clos Erasmus Priorat. Very divisive. Many thought the nose was way too pruney, but the palate was very good. Others just didn’t like anything about it. Me? Well, I liked the whole package, though I could see where others were coming from. So, opinions were all over the map. Here is my own take: This has a very strong, penetrating nose of yellow raisins, dried plums, grilled herbs, inner tube and blackberry compote. It falls well short of the addictive bouquet of the 1998, but I still enjoyed it. It is rich and luxuriant in the mouth, with lots of spices, espresso grounds, and a mélange of black and blue fruits. Tannins clamp down big on the full finish.
2000 Lamborghini Campoleone Umbria. This was the only wine I had a chance to taste blind. It seems young, with dark color and an initially tight profile. The nose has some soft cedar, cassis, sweet cherry and smoke. In the mouth, it has a very easy, generous texture. There is some evident wood, along with dark cherries, plums, and chocolate flavors. There is more wood and tannin on the finish, but also a good acid squirt. My initial thinking was a Cab/Merlot blend. In actuality, it is 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot. My wife and I re-sampled 2 nights later from the refrigerator and found it to be somewhat more identifiably Italian, with sweeter smoke and crushed red fruits, and better integration of the wood.
Others had brought additional bottles to be sampled, which included the following:
2005 Domaine de Fenouillet Vin de Pays de Vaucluse. Sorry, no notes.
1982 Château Les Carmes Haut Brion Graves. The cork disintegrated on Jud and the wine had to be coffee-filtered. Not sure if that had any real effect. This shows good color, with just a bit of orange fade at the rim. The nose is fairly delicate, with warm leather, tobacco leaf, iron and ash. It is soft and medium-bodied in the mouth, with red fruit. It doesn’t seem especially complex, and it begins to dry out a bit on the finish, but it provides good drinking pleasure. Unfortunately, about 4 hours later out of the decanter, it is mostly wood planking and sour fruit. I might suggest drinking it fairly soon and drinking it fairly quickly once decanted.
1980 Dow’s Vintage Porto. From 375 ml. Brief note only: nose of roasted nuts, black cherries and moderate spirits. Nice in the mouth, with warm spicy red fruits and a hint of fruitcake. Lasting finish.
A fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
-Michael
Wow...