A group of Austinites convened at our house for good food, good company, good music, and good wine. Food as follows:
Appetizers:
- Mango Salsa with Pita Chips
- Mushroom Crostini
- Anchovy Roustides
- Roustide of Figs, Goat Cheese and Honey
Entree:
- Herb marinated and crusted grilled leg of lamb with stuffed tomatoes
Desserts:
- Apple Tian (gratin)
- Cheeses
All wines were tasted double-blind.
- N.V. André Clouet Champagne Brut Grande Réserve - France, Champagne, Bouzy, Champagne
Great Champagne for the money. Finer mousse and bead than the Brut Zero from the same producer. Bright and racy with great apple and citrus flavors. Went great with apprtizers. - 1999 Peter McCoy Chardonnay Unfiltered Reserve Clos des Pierres - USA, California, Sonoma County
A revelation. What an amazing Chard. Incredibly burgundian (and I mean that not just relative to most other CA Chards). Smooth texture, great acidity, and lovely pear and mineral. Solid finish and nowhere near decline. A stunner.
- 1986 Lindemans Shiraz Cabernet Limestone Ridge Vineyard - Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Clearly Aussie. Has that creosote and blueberry profile I find so typical in many Aussie Shiraz. Clearly, the last 22 years have been kind to this wine. With all the baby fat gone, the wine shows ready, sweet, but with great balance and restraint. The highlight of this bottle was that the sediment literally coated the inside of the entire bottle, making it look like the glass was tinted. - 1998 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Prestige - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Also a great bottle. Much darker and deeper than the Pegau. Incredibly meaty and provencal spiced. Has the dark berry and beef blood look and taste that I love. Also, a good dose of garrigue and rosemary stems. At age 10, this has many years to go to full maturity, but the cork on my bottle was slightly leaky and saturated, so I suggest to keep an eye on that sa I have heard from someone ITB that this has been a common concern with this particular bottling. - 2000 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Showed well overall and just a great bottle of wine. I had popped, tasted, recorked, and placed the bottle back in the cellar for 5 hours. When it came out of the cellar, it was initially too cold, and more than one taster remarked that the wine seemed tight and a tad closed. As it warmed up, though, it showed its class. Great plum, leather, tobacco, and kirsch liqueur flavors that are followed with lots of garrigue. Firmly in the red fruit spectrum, this carries an air of old-school-ness. Lovely, lovely, lovely. - 1986 Château Gruaud Larose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
Sensational wine. Embarrassingly enough, this was so huge and young-tasting that I guessed "2001 CdP" in double blind format. That being said, this bottle was about as pristine as they come. Lots of fantastic dark fruit with an incredible gaminess that reminded me of CdP. Strong finish. I wish I owned a stack of these. - 2005 Domaine du Gros' Noré Bandol - France, Provence, Bandol
Another big whopper. No clue as to what it could be. I know that I liked it a lot with great earthiness and depth, along with a wall of tannins and dark, dark chocolaty fruit. Once revealed, I was stunned. I've only had the 2003 Gros Nore, but the 2005 version is light years better than the '03. Loved it. - 1998 Castello Vicchiomaggio Ripa delle More Toscana IGT - Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT
I could have never guessed this as Italian. This, too seemed very CdP-like. Had great dark fruit and lots of personality. Drank right in its prime spot in my opinion, and went great with the food (which I find to be a hallmark for many Italian wines). Would have never guessed that it was a 1998 as it seemed very youthful.
- 2003 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos - Hungary, Hegyalja, Tokaji
The finish of the night was also one of its highlights. What a great dessert wine. It's sweet, but not as cloying as Sauternes can be. The acidity is bracing and makes this wine seem more interesting and food friendly than Sauternes. My understanding is that 2003 was a great year in Tokaji, and this wine is out to prove it. Absolutely awesome.
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