Tim Rankin hosted our SOBER group last night, and did an astounding job of cooking, hosting, and serving us blind bottles!
As we arrived, a great spread of cheeses and the 1998 Charles Ellner Brut Prestige. Champagne with body, yet also fresh and lively. Fresh baked brioche with apple jam, very tasty. B+/A-
We sat down, and the wines started arriving blind. First up was a white flight, to accompany sauteed shrimp with garlic:
Wine #1- somewhat tropical nose, mixed fruit jelly, a little mint tea notes. I find slightly hot. John says Viognier and Tim says he is right. B-/B
Wine #2 -also a tad hot, this has a little bit of a lifted nose. White flowers, honied, a little heavy on the palate. Some guesses for Rhone. B-
#1 2005 Gangloff Condrieu
#2 2003 Garretson "The Reliquary" (I didn't look at bottle closely but pretty sure someone said Paso Robles)
on to reds
Wine #3- tannic and pretty austere, somewhat muted fruit. With some time this opened a bit, still too young. B- now, B+ potential
Wine #4- there's a lightly green note (some call mint , to me more like uncured tobacco), yet the fruit is ripe to overripe. Black plums, currants. Medium length. Meat and leather. We're in Bordeaux, and most assume Right. B/B-
But it turns out both are Left. From the funk on #4, Dan guesses a Cordier. Yep. Gruaud? Yep. Mark says then its the 1990-makes sense to me. Tim says the 1986. I'm in shock, having tried '86 3-4 times and always loving. Don't recognize here at all. Then it turns out Tim meant that #3 was an '86, Mark was right all along. The world makes sense again.
#3 1986 Pichon Lalande
#4 1990 Gruaud Larose
(main course with beautiful lamb chops, green beans, potatoes makes an appearance)
#5 Ripe black currant fruit, lots of oak, a little eucalyptus. B
#6 Vanilla, ripe black cherries, cassis, short. B-
We argue over Bordeaux vs California. I feel if Bordeaux a warmer vintage, more modern winemaker. Guess California. But I'm really wrong, because I was thinking more Napa:
#5 1994 Ridge Monte Bello
#6 1995 Ridge Monte Bello
#7 Bright fresh fruit, good acidic spine, good length. Someone suggests Nebbiolo, I counter with Brunello. It rounds out with air, guesses switch towards Bordeaux varietals. Divides table, but I quite like. A-/B+
#8 Round, a bit flat. Flavors of black plum and a little cocoa. Does not fare well in glass, now like a chocolate milkshake made with not so fresh milk. Short finish, close to dying an ugly death staked over an anthill. C
#7 1994 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
#8 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages
(good ribs, too!)
Wine # 9 Some oak, ripe red fruit, good acidity. With time oak smooths, more black fruit. B+
Wine # 10 Ripe raspberry fruit, starts off bright, ends up a little flatter. Dan nails producer. B
#9 1997 Banfi Excelsus
#10 1997 Ornellaia
Finally, a non-blind dessert Riesling. I confess to approaching sceptically, as I've never heard of producer, but this is quite nice. 1990 Leo Schwab Bernkastel Kueser Kardinalsberg Beerenauslese (Mosel Saar Ruwer).
Very ripe peaches, some apricot and just a hint of petrol. Botrytis is subtle at first, but really starts jumping up and down yelling "look at me" as it warms. Not super long, but very tasty. A-/B+
So here's the fun of tasting blind. Would I have ever expected to like a Mondavi more than a Montebello (or 2 reputable Bordeaux)? To prefer the Banfi Excelsus to Ornellaia? To have a Wine Spectator Wine of the Year to be my least favorite of 12 wines (ok, maybe last one isn't so shocking). Thanks to Tim for a great time.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. 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