Annual wine ordeal

[Jim727]

OK - anything but an ordeal. Our 4th year at this event and we absolutely love it. Not a blockbuster year, but clearly didn't need to be. Two things stood out in the vast majority of these wines. First, is how well balanced they are, unlike many "contemporary" styles that I find out of whack. The other is that they kept their alcohol levels under control - none of the alcohol bombs that we are producing here. A few were a bit hot, but none approaching the combustible level some of the California wines have reached.

Since there are a number of wine lovers on the board, I thought you might be interested. Unfortunately, we had to pass on the white Bordeaux; with only 4 hours available it was daunting just getting through the reds and Sauternes. Some of my favorites (not in any particular order); my wife will have a few others in her notes....

Red:
Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion
Ch. Malartic-Lagraviere
Ch. Angelus
Ch. Beau-Sejour Becot
Ch. Pavie-Macquin
Ch. Franc-Mayne
Ch. Trottevieille
Ch. La Tour Carnet
Ch. Kirwan (!)
Ch. Haut Bages Liberal
Ch. Pichon-Longueville (both - slight nod to Baron)
Ch. Pontet-Canet
Ch. Phelan Segur

Sauternes:
Ch. Bstor-Lamontagne
Ch. Guiraud
Ch. Suduiraut(!)

[svandamme]

4 hours is plenty of time to get mashed, i don't see a need to limit ones self to just 1/4th of the menu

[HardDrive]

I rather enjoy wine.

[imcarthur]

Thanks for the report. I buy a small quantity of Bordeaux every year to cellar (since 1999) & I remember that the vintage reports were not enthusiastic about 2006 due to heat & rain in the vineyards. Unfortunately,you didn't taste my 'buy': Château Haut Batailley. I love the complexity of Bordeaux. Once you discover it, single grape cabs seem all the same.

And Sauternes in a good year is truly nectar of the gods. I had a '96 Château Filhot just last week.

I am jealous.

Ian

[Jim727]

Ian -

We're in full agreement. I take vintage charts with a grain of salt. It was true that some of the wines were lighter than other vintages, but certainly not a problem and I'd much rather have wines tending away from the overripe in-your-face style so prevalent now. One big overall improvement, I have to say, is that the frequency and intensity of brett is much less overall.

Unfortunately, I did not get to taste the Ch. Haut Batailley. They are on the list but I have no tasting notes for them; there were a couple of substitutions and relocations so they either weren't there or I missed them, but I'll take your recommendation if I can find it at the local bottle shop.

Sauternes... "exquisite" doesn't do it justice. I'm also a big fan of German and Austrian BA and TBA.

Jim

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I love the complexity of Bordeaux. Once you discover it, single grape cabs seem all the same.

Yup.

I have to bite my knuckles to resist making the obvious comment here...

[imcarthur]

Oh go for it, Dottore.

Jim

"overripe in-your-face style so prevalent now"

The Curse of Parker. And the Spectator boys have all followed suit. And many of the vineyards are falling victim too. Particularly in Rioja & Tuscany. A shame.

I followed Decanter's recommendations to a point because I find them more conservative. For an interesting comparison, look at Decanter's vs Parker's vintage guides. Parker has you drinking them minutes after bottling.

If you like the Euro sweet Rieslings, try a Riesling icewine from the Niagara region. Not cheap but wonderful. Make sure the it's a Riesling & not Vidal which aren't nearly as good.

Ian

[Don Plumley]

Sounds like fun. I'm not much of a Bordeaux guy. Spent last week in Beaujolais/Cote-Rotie/Burgundy. My oh my...

[Jim727]

Dottore -

Yep, go for it.

[Jim727]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Oh go for it, Dottore.

Jim

"overripe in-your-face style so prevalent now"

The Curse of Parker. And the Spectator boys have all followed suit. And many of the vineyards are falling victim too. Particularly in Rioja & Tuscany. A shame.


Ian

Yes - well said. We do the annual Spanish and Italian events in the city as well. I pretty much avoid anything that contaminates the native grapes with cab/merlot/etc. I'm a complete nut for tempranillo, in particular, and the great Italian wines have absolutely no need to be diminished by becoming "supertuscan" generics.

You have some great wines in your neighborhood. Last visit to B.C. we did some tasting and decided a pilgrimage to Okanagan; recall some very nice Pinot and some less well-known varietals. Icewine up there in the frozen north, too!

The only U.S. producer I've found that makes a satisfactory (imo) riesling is Konstantin Frank in New York. They even make an rkatsiteli (sp?) that's really interesting.

[Jim727]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Sounds like fun. I'm not much of a Bordeaux guy. Spent last week in Beaujolais/Cote-Rotie/Burgundy. My oh my...

Too cool! We were in France in 2000 and discovered the wonders of true Beaujolais (not the nouveau stuff). Delightful.

Cote-Rotie is fantastic. I find it wonderful that Guigal can make large quantities of excellent wines at in incredibly reasonable price. Great food wine, not boozy or overripe.

But.... My all-time favorite wine has to be Eschezeaux, Domaine Guyon. I swear Mr. Guyon was a grape in a former life - he has an incredible touch and I felt that I was in the presence of a true master. We tasted four vintages with him in his cellar and each was exquisite. If I had only one wine to drink for the rest of my life, it would be his. No question.

We need to do some tasting.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Sounds like fun. I'm not much of a Bordeaux guy. Spent last week in Beaujolais/Cote-Rotie/Burgundy. My oh my...

Do tell . . .

I collect Burgundys too but very modestly due to budget . . .

As for Rhones: My boss (who I drink a lot of good wine with) is crazed about the Rhone wines (esp whites) so I tend to drink a lot of them. And numerous trips to Saint-Etienne (near Lyon) has exposed me to a lot of local Rhone wines.

Ian

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Jim727

Domaine Guyon.

I have 2 bottles of his '04 Gevrey-Chambertin - villages - in my cellar.

Ian

[Jim727]

I'll be right up...

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by Jim727

I'll be right up...

I'll carry your bags...

[imcarthur]

Sorry, but you might have to wait a few more years. I won't touch them for another 3 or 4.

How about a '95 Riscal Rioja GR or a . . . . . .

Anytime guys, I have a corkscew & some Reidels waiting.

Ian

[Jim727]

Now that's just not fair!

If I'm up your way you can count on a visit!