a cracking wine lunch and a way to expose the snobs


Recommended Posts

A blind tasting is always fun, let alone this lineup!  I was a little surprised that a Rinaldi came bottom, until I saw that it was a Barbera.  Knife/gun-fight comes to mind.  Also surprised that the winning Conterno was an Aldo and not Giacomo, and not the Granbussia at that.  That Mugnier must have been really something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting game. Seems a similar result to blind cigar tastings don't you think?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, SirVantes said:

A blind tasting is always fun, let alone this lineup!  I was a little surprised that a Rinaldi came bottom, until I saw that it was a Barbera.  Knife/gun-fight comes to mind.  Also surprised that the winning Conterno was an Aldo and not Giacomo, and not the Gran Bussia at that.  That Mugnier must have been really something.

i have been a massive fan of Aldo. and yes, especially the granbussia. used to be so "cheap" relatively. not any more. but it was always a significant majority from the Romirasco vineyard anyway. this was a stunning wine (as was the Mugnier - actually saw that at the winery before they released it some years ago. was wonderful then but better now). 

was very surprised this guy brought a barbera (he also brought the palmer). he usually brings ridiculously rare and expensive stuff. most of the soldera i have seen has come from him. and great burgundies. he thought it might surprise. it did not. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blind tasting is a great exercise. Keeps us humble, and focuses the mind in what you are actually tasting. It makes a huge difference if there is a theme, or you know the cellar / individual who brings the wine. Going blind across the whole world is outrageously difficult and very few professionals are able to reliably pick with accuracy on that basis.

As for the results... what a shame for those Rousseau bottles! They should be amazing, but perhaps not for another 10 or 20 years? 15 years old is pretty young for a top GC in 2005 - maybe the most structured great modern vintage in Burgundy. So generous of the person who brought them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, RDB said:

Blind tasting is a great exercise. Keeps us humble, and focuses the mind in what you are actually tasting. It makes a huge difference if there is a theme, or you know the cellar / individual who brings the wine. Going blind across the whole world is outrageously difficult and very few professionals are able to reliably pick with accuracy on that basis.

As for the results... what a shame for those Rousseau bottles! They should be amazing, but perhaps not for another 10 or 20 years? 15 years old is pretty young for a top GC in 2005 - maybe the most structured great modern vintage in Burgundy. So generous of the person who brought them.

agreed all round. i'll bet if not blind, the rousseau chambertin would have been getting massive scores. a few of us loved it, but it certainly has years to go. i was less excited by the clos de beze. 

tough when you bring a A$5K bottle and then have to pay for extra lunches. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, wine_junkie said:

Love it!

 

As stated multiple times before I love when “trophy” esque bottles are compared blindly. Had a great wine moment a couple days ago and there was only a couple surprises as to what sung. Any guesses?

51A48B13-A56C-4FA6-B837-6A2D0FE73EF5.jpeg

some terrific wines there. you'd hope they'd all shine. is the cristal rose? vintage of the rousseau chambertin?

i have seen some stunning colgin (only ever seen a few but they have been wonderful wines) so would not be surprised if it stood out. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

some terrific wines there. you'd hope they'd all shine. is the cristal rose? vintage of the rousseau chambertin?

i have seen some stunning colgin (only ever seen a few but they have been wonderful wines) so would not be surprised if it stood out. 

The 08 Cristal Rose was stunning...a very serious, vinous version of the regular 08 Cristal. 
 

The Rousseau Chambertin mag was 2013 and absolutely delightful.  Like great red burgundy should be. On point!

 

Had an 11 Rousseau Chambertin that night that was frightful unfortunately....VA and a general wreck. 
 

Vogue Musigny Blancs were a ton of fun and quite delicious. 
 

Colgin Syrahs have been quite savory and enjoyable...this one was solid....

The wine that punched above its weight class was the Pierre Yves Colin Morey Genevrieres.  Quite energetic and very delicious!

 

The Coche was splendid as well but too much bottle variation for a wine at that price point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, wine_junkie said:

The 08 Cristal Rose was stunning...a very serious, vinous version of the regular 08 Cristal. 
 

The Rousseau Chambertin mag was 2013 and absolutely delightful.  Like great red burgundy should be. On point!

 

Had an 11 Rousseau Chambertin that night that was frightful unfortunately....VA and a general wreck. 
 

Vogue Musigny Blancs were a ton of fun and quite delicious. 
 

Colgin Syrahs have been quite savory and enjoyable...this one was solid....

The wine that punched above its weight class was the Pierre Yves Colin Morey Genevrieres.  Quite energetic and very delicious!

 

The Coche was splendid as well but too much bottle variation for a wine at that price point.

have heard a few people unhappy with the 11 chambertin. love coche on the rare occasions i see it. simply too expensive here. 

not seen the 08 cristal rose but it should be stunning. love the "standard" 08. 

i remember many years ago picking up half a dozen of the musigny blanc (96 from memory, though they were not calling it musigny blanc then, i think) at auction for $40 a bottle. back then, no one had a clue about it. they have been stunning. i remember ringing a friend who was the importer. he was furious i'd got them at auction and initially refused to believe me. he asked me what numbers they were - in those days, they were all numbered (might still be). to my surprise, they were numbers 1 to 6. my mate exploded when i told him that and he was off to remove a client from his list. he did not bring the wines in for someone to try and flick them at auction, even if they did make a big loss. pretty sure i have one left. 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

have heard a few people unhappy with the 11 chambertin. love coche on the rare occasions i see it. simply too expensive here. 

not seen the 08 cristal rose but it should be stunning. love the "standard" 08. 

i remember many years ago picking up half a dozen of the musigny blanc (96 from memory, though they were not calling it musigny blanc then, i think) at auction for $40 a bottle. back then, no one had a clue about it. they have been stunning. i remember ringing a friend who was the importer. he was furious i'd got them at auction and initially refused to believe me. he asked me what numbers they were - in those days, they were all numbered (might still be). to my surprise, they were numbers 1 to 6. my mate exploded when i told him that and he was off to remove a client from his list. he did not bring the wines in for someone to try and flick them at auction, even if they did make a big loss. pretty sure i have one left. 

That’s a great story! I actually can’t believe they still grow Chardonnay there considering the price the Pinot fetches!

Meant nothing by “standard” ? just a delineation from the regular offering. 
 

I am very fortunate to have explored Coche quite deeply and I’m telling you...the bottle variation is unforgivable even at the Corton Charlemagne level. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/11/2020 at 3:47 PM, RDB said:

 It makes a huge difference if there is a theme, or you know the cellar / individual who brings the wine

Totally. Once we lined up 4 first growths Bordeaux (all 1994 vintage) vs 2 other wines. The task was easy - to identify which 2 were non-Bordeaux. 10/12 got them right with the 2 having little to no experience with wine. One (Almaviva from Chile, I believe) was discarded early by almost everyone on the table, while I almost tripped on the Latour which took a really long time to open up and I only "promoted" it into my top 4 very close to the end. 

1 of the 2 who got it wrong, very early and repeatedly declared that she absolutely loves the Almaviva over all the other 5 wines. The husband tried to shush her but she just kept on telling anyone and everyone who would listen. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I think I could have done a better job at picking what is what that some of your crew.  Blind tasting are fun, especially in black glasses.

possibly. certainly than some. but some of these guys are in the industry and some have been drinking the great wines of the world endlessly for many decades. some have won international competitions doing this stuff. it can be horrendously difficult and then you have good days. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I enjoy wine but I must confess I've never heard of any of the ones listed here minus the TF Port.  I've had my share encounters of the pompous wine crowd that were wrong in identifying what they were drinking and also took pleasure in name dropping what vineyards they visited and who they met.  I couldn't judge them too hard on the latter as that echoes my cigar travel experiences. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, bundwallah said:

I enjoy wine but I must confess I've never heard of any of the ones listed here minus the TF Port.  I've had my share encounters of the pompous wine crowd that were wrong in identifying what they were drinking and also took pleasure in name dropping what vineyards they visited and who they met.  I couldn't judge them too hard on the latter as that echoes my cigar travel experiences. ?

The world of Burgundy is deep, dark, and scary ?.  Don’t feel bad, 99% of the wine drinking population won’t know most of those.   Im not a huge fan of the “hunt” that comes with Burgundy (Pinot or Chardonnay) myself although I totally can see why many would love it.  I’m more Bordeaux, Loire, CDP, Tuscany and Champagne personally.  Beauty of wine, no ones wrong, it’s whatever you like/prefer, in the end we are all drinking grape juice.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/11/2020 at 2:12 AM, Ken Gargett said:

A. Taylor's Vintage Port 2016. Not scored (though clearly one of the best of the day - i had opened the ports the day before for a tasting i was doing and so brought the rest of the bottle to the lunch).

B. Taylor's Vintage Port 2017. Not scored (ditto).

I love both these Taylor’s vintages, but especially the ‘17; a stellar vintage across the board in the Duoro (my favorite for now is the Niepoort)

I regularly give thanks that vintage port remains one of the great values in fine wine, as I absolutely adore it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

I love both these Taylor’s vintages, but especially the ‘17; a stellar vintage across the board in the Duoro (my favorite for now is the Niepoort)

I regularly give thanks that vintage port remains one of the great values in fine wine, as I absolutely adore it. 

agree completely re the value. long may it last, though i suspect they'll edge up more and more in the next few years. 

this was the first time i had seen the 17. loved them both though i'd go more for the 16s, especially over the next decade or so. they remind me of the 77s but might be even better. 17 is going to outlive us all. 

and also agree re neipoort. dirk has transformed that estate, including the table wines, in the most extraordinary ways. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cradle robbing to drink 2017 vintage port.  Most 94's are just starting to be drinkable.  2017 is a great vintage no doubt.  I wouldn't consider drinking 2017's outside of academic purposes until 2030.  Similar time frame for the tremendous 2011 vintage.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Cradle robbing to drink 2017 vintage port.  Most 94's are just starting to be drinkable.  2017 is a great vintage no doubt.  I wouldn't consider drinking 2017's outside of academic purposes until 2030.  Similar time frame for the tremendous 2011 vintage.

agree completely. in fact, i'd have the 17s even further off into the future.

but these were sent to me to look at for an article so a bit difficult to tell them that i'll do it in 20 years. 

the 16s i think will go at least as long though i think they are, or will be, drinkable earlier than that for those who wish to. 

my one experience with 18 is that it is another excellent year and again, should be put away for a decade or two, but i think it will be the earliest drinking of the three. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Community Software by Invision Power Services, Inc.