April 1, 2006 - April Fools Dinner
The winehunter was lucky enough to tag along with a friend to a dinner with many wines. All the wines were served blind. Except for the people bringing their own, no one had any clue what was on the table - a complete "free for all".
For starters.
'95 Jacquesson Signature Rose - Champagne
Nice nose initially but shut down very soon after this only to come back about an hour later with apple and honeyed overtones. Nice mousse, nuts, tannins though the pinot character was a bit less than expected. Suspect this needs another 5 years. 93pts.
'99 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanee
This took a while to open up ( ~1.5 hours). Considerable tannins though everything was well balanced. More than one would expect from this level of Burgundy. In need of another 5 years of bottle time. 90+ pts
'02 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Napa
Massive nose of sweet black fruits with buttery/avacado overtones. Good amount of tannins though kept in check by the fruit concentration. Nowhere near ready and suspect it is shutting down. 95-96 pts.
'02 Santa Rita Casa Real - Maipo Valley, Chile.
Nose initially reminds one of a Bordeaux perhaps some qualitites of a Puillac though not as complex multi-faceted. On the pallate again similiarities to a Bordeaux although it tended to taste a bit too "sweet", a bit shrill and tart as well as the tannin texture not being quite the same. 93pts.
'98 Chianti Classico ( Couldn't remember the winery)
On the nose I was confused for the longest time and thought the aromas were coming from the pinot I had in the same glass. Interesting nose and decent in the mouth. The acidity and roughness of the tannins had me thinking Spain.. perhaps Italy - oh well live and learn. 89pts.
'94 Domaine Leroy - Clos de Vougeot
I had a white wine glass to put this in initially and the nose picked out something which I would not assign automatically to a burg. Chinese would call it "ja choy" or pickled vegetables. After transferring it into a burgundy glass, characteristics of a mature burg. became more evident though the "ja choy" smell was still there but no longer the highlight. Nose again - I would say was "atypical", tannins were considerable given the vintage, a tremendous job. 91pts
'94 Domaine Leroy - Romanee St. Vivant
There is a set of aromas which are unmistakable "Burgundy"and this is one. Trying to nail this blind is difficult but finally settled on guessing on it being a burg from Vosne Romanee with 10+ years of age. Very nice nose (cherries/red fruits, faint floral, earthy/cocoa), palate and finish - tannins huge present but never a distraction. 93pts. This wine along with the Clos de Vougeot were decanted for around 3 hours before we started into it.
'03 Ferdinand Pieroth. Weisenheimer am berg. Beerenauslese AP#0704
On to the stickies. Looked at this light amber/gold liquid in the decanter and suspected a high possibility of a Sauterne among Frankophiles. On the nose and in the mouth it became immediately apparent it was not from France given the high acidity. We guessed Germany/Alsace with high probability being German and defintely Auslesse or higher due to the sugars. I did not detect very much in terms of the distinctive Reisling petrol nose but that usually comes with some bottle age. I really liked the sugar & acid balance on this wine. This wine has good upside and would probably outlast most of us. 95+ pts.
'85 Sandeman. Portugal.
At this point my mental facilities were quickly fading. I would say that this might have needed a bit more "air" time. There was a bit of fine grit/sediment in my glass leading to what I believe was a tiny bit of bitter aftertaste in the finish. Good port. 93 pts.
For starters.
'95 Jacquesson Signature Rose - Champagne
Nice nose initially but shut down very soon after this only to come back about an hour later with apple and honeyed overtones. Nice mousse, nuts, tannins though the pinot character was a bit less than expected. Suspect this needs another 5 years. 93pts.
'99 Emmanuel Rouget Vosne Romanee
This took a while to open up ( ~1.5 hours). Considerable tannins though everything was well balanced. More than one would expect from this level of Burgundy. In need of another 5 years of bottle time. 90+ pts
'02 Joseph Phelps Insignia. Napa
Massive nose of sweet black fruits with buttery/avacado overtones. Good amount of tannins though kept in check by the fruit concentration. Nowhere near ready and suspect it is shutting down. 95-96 pts.
'02 Santa Rita Casa Real - Maipo Valley, Chile.
Nose initially reminds one of a Bordeaux perhaps some qualitites of a Puillac though not as complex multi-faceted. On the pallate again similiarities to a Bordeaux although it tended to taste a bit too "sweet", a bit shrill and tart as well as the tannin texture not being quite the same. 93pts.
'98 Chianti Classico ( Couldn't remember the winery)
On the nose I was confused for the longest time and thought the aromas were coming from the pinot I had in the same glass. Interesting nose and decent in the mouth. The acidity and roughness of the tannins had me thinking Spain.. perhaps Italy - oh well live and learn. 89pts.
'94 Domaine Leroy - Clos de Vougeot
I had a white wine glass to put this in initially and the nose picked out something which I would not assign automatically to a burg. Chinese would call it "ja choy" or pickled vegetables. After transferring it into a burgundy glass, characteristics of a mature burg. became more evident though the "ja choy" smell was still there but no longer the highlight. Nose again - I would say was "atypical", tannins were considerable given the vintage, a tremendous job. 91pts
'94 Domaine Leroy - Romanee St. Vivant
There is a set of aromas which are unmistakable "Burgundy"and this is one. Trying to nail this blind is difficult but finally settled on guessing on it being a burg from Vosne Romanee with 10+ years of age. Very nice nose (cherries/red fruits, faint floral, earthy/cocoa), palate and finish - tannins huge present but never a distraction. 93pts. This wine along with the Clos de Vougeot were decanted for around 3 hours before we started into it.
'03 Ferdinand Pieroth. Weisenheimer am berg. Beerenauslese AP#0704
On to the stickies. Looked at this light amber/gold liquid in the decanter and suspected a high possibility of a Sauterne among Frankophiles. On the nose and in the mouth it became immediately apparent it was not from France given the high acidity. We guessed Germany/Alsace with high probability being German and defintely Auslesse or higher due to the sugars. I did not detect very much in terms of the distinctive Reisling petrol nose but that usually comes with some bottle age. I really liked the sugar & acid balance on this wine. This wine has good upside and would probably outlast most of us. 95+ pts.
'85 Sandeman. Portugal.
At this point my mental facilities were quickly fading. I would say that this might have needed a bit more "air" time. There was a bit of fine grit/sediment in my glass leading to what I believe was a tiny bit of bitter aftertaste in the finish. Good port. 93 pts.
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