The answer to “why are you so into wine?” (with some ridiculous tasting notes)

As many of you may know, I’m helping a restaurant rebuild their wine program from the ground up. This has involved tasting over a 1000 wines in the last 8 weeks (many more notes to come), meeting reps, etc. It’s been a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Last night I was at the restaurant to meet with a rep when a party came in of 12 that we gave the OK to BYO (Bring Your (their) Own). Little did i know, these guys were a serious group of wine lovers who drink some pretty serious stuff. Having done many of these dinners myself, I know how tough it can be on service to maintain glassware, pours, and proper wine handling with just one server. So, I offered to stay in the restaurant and oversee/run their wine service for them which they very happily accepted. The group gave me full authority on building the flights, decanting wines, etc….as well as pairing with their dinner. It was a lot of fun!

A couple Champagne’s and a ‘92 Ridge Zinfandel into the night…a few of the guys suggest I taste with them. I of course said thank you and as they finished a bottle off (2-3 oz’s left in each) I took a small pour of each to taste (and take meticulous notes on!). This led to one of the guys insisting I try every wine WITH them to share the experience. The amazing level of generosity in this group was unprecedented- they were giving me pours of everything in volumes that were the same as they were drinking. In the end I waived their corkage and gave a few free pours of Cognac to those who were interested (the gentleman who brought the Lafite got two large pours!). The very least I could do for their outstanding generosity!

This night rivals any night of wines I have ever experienced and may in fact be the most ridiculous lineup I’ve had! Below are the notes on the wines. The best news is I made many new friends- they loved the food and will be back in the future. Also, I was invited to have dinner with a couple of them in the near future.

Sometimes people ask me why I am so into wine. Is it just because wine tastes good? Am I looking for an excuse to drink a lot? Am I trying to be “cool”? I generally go into the fact that I love wine for the culture of wine. The history and art of wine. Also because wine brings people together, friends new and old, family, loved ones over a big table of food and a few bottles of great wine. Enjoying stories and creating new ones.

But, I think next time someone asks me why I am so “into” wine…I’ll just send them a link to this post and they can figure it out for themselves.

Cheers!

I left prices out from the list below, but I will just say the range is from a few hundred to up to $1600 / bottle! There is no real reason to assess QPR- all of these wines are very special and each is an outstanding QPR in my book!

1996 Veuve Clicout Brut Champagne Gold Label Vintage Réserve: Straightforward Veuve with baked biscuit and grapefruit nose, very crisp and fresh on the palate. Very nice way to start the night but not blowing me away. A good Champagne. My rating: 90 pts

1997 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo Ripe al Convento Riserva: Aromatic and enticing this ‘97 is still a youngster. Layers of dark fruit, tar, wet soil, and twigs dance on the palate with medium to large tannins and good length on the finish. Very elegant example of Brunello. I’d give this 2-3 more years in the cellar as it has some time until everything comes together. My rating: 96 pts

1999 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino Castelgiocondo Ripe al Convento Riserva: Next to the ‘97 this wine shows darker fruit and much greater tannins. Similar earthiness to the wine highlighted by the layers of dark fruit and a touch of spice. Very impressive structure- give this infant a rest until 2012 or later! My rating: 96 pts

1997 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto: A very delicate Barolo showing a variety of red and dark fruits, clove notes, tobacco and licorice. Very fine, medium tannins and great length on the finish. Drinking VERY well right now (opened for 3 hours) but definitely structured to last many years. My rating: 92 pts

1990 Elio Altare Barolo Vigneto Arborina: Blackberry, currant, spice notes dominate the palate while fairly moderate-sized tannins bring some excitement to the midpalate. A hint of earth/spice comes and goes on the long finish. This wine is holding up VERY well and should do so for many years to come. My rating: 92 pts

1986 Gruaud Larose: Very mature and drinking well. Some of the fruits took backstage to a bell pepper, spice, anise component but overall the wine showed good integration and balance. Drink in the next couple years with a leg of lamb! My rating: 92 pts

1984 Monticello Cellars: Long past its peak but still showing some life. The fruits were almost faded completely, tannins soft and dusty, with earth and a very distinct coffee note. My rating: 84 pts

2003 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild: The aroma’s of tobacco, cassis, anise, and dark fruits were intoxicating. Great concentration of dark fruit wrapped up tightly in a bundle with cigars, soil, smoke and some dried herbs. Albeit very young, this wine was very approachable after 3 hours in the decanter though I can only imagine what 15+ years in the cellar would do for it. The tannins in this wine were massive but at the same time they were so elegant and refined…truly a great wine. My rating: 96 pts

2001 Dal Forno Romano Amarone: Someone please pinch me…holy richness. Amazing depth and concentration with dried fruits, raisins, plum, cassis, sweetness on the tannins. This wine could define “layers and layers of complex flavors” as it’s incredibly structured and very exciting. Young? Yes. Enjoyable now? Yes!!! My rating: 96 pts

1985 Graham’s Vintage Porto: A very concentrated port that has decades to go before it all comes together. Sweet surypy deliciousness with ripe fruit, burnt vanilla, toasted oak, and outstanding structure. A real treat to finish off a night of outstanding wines. My rating: 95 pts

1986 Chateau d’Yquem: One of the finest wines I’ve had to date. Incredibly complex, great structure, and in its “youth” very approachable. Opened 1 hour prior to pouring. Beautiful nose of vanilla bean, lemon merenge pie, toasted nuts. Great depth with concentrated fruits and a finish that almost doesn’t finish. A drinking window on this might be now through 2050 or more! Outstanding wine- one to be enjoyed with great friends and family. My rating: 97+ pts

A couple notes: Also, I had a ‘95 Chianti Classico Riserva of which I didn’t take down the name. Finally, they had a few other wines in the bunch which I did not get to! All wines were opened for at least 2 hours before service (minus the Champagne). At the end of the night I got to revisit many of these wines as they had tons of left overs they very graciously left in my hands!

The Wine World Gone Crazy: I guess wine ratings do mean everything

If you frequently visit the forums of the major wine publications, you’ve been noticing a fervor of activity as of late regarding the 2005 vintage of Bordeaux wines. As most of you are probably aware, Bordeaux is one of the premier wine regions in the world. Each year more than 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine (both white and red) are produced while people (enthusiasts and speculators) across the world wait anxiously for their release. Bordeaux wines are so popular that you can buy them up to two years before their release (called buying “futures”). These “futures” are intended to allow wine enthusiasts to secure bottles of their favorite, highly sought after wines year in and year out at a set “release price”. The reward of buying futures is that in a good vintage, such as 2005, the wines tend to go up in cost by the time the reach the market. This is especially true when a vintage is over-hyped (again as 2005), as is even more so when the US Dollar is very weak against the Euro. Read more

1998 Château Léoville Poyferré

I’ve been eying this one in my cellar for over 2 years now and felt that last night was a good time to celebrate the wine (and Kim’s job offer)! It comes from an outstanding producer in St. Julien (left banks in the Medoc region of Bordeaux) where the soil consists of layers of gravel and stones. This soil type makes great vines with deep roots that seek nutrients past the stones and deep into the soil. These stones also absorb the suns heat keeping the vines warm (similar to Chateauneuf-du-Pape where limestone vineyards dominate) and protected from the cool winds of the Atlantic Ocean. The wines of Château Léoville Poyferré are generally well equipped for aging with clean acidity and big tannins. Their wines display great sturcutre and finesse that one would hope for in a wine from Medoc.

My notes: Bottle decanted 1 hour. Great color that was a dark ruby/almost purple with good edges. Good fruit on the nose including blackberry, blackcurrant and boysenberry accentuated by notes of cedar, mushrooms and spice. The wine began medium on the palette with solid fruits and allspice, quickly becoming quite large into a long finish filled with big, chewy tannins and a good amount of spice. The acidity in the wine really stood out but was well balanced. Very good wine that could become even better with a couple more years in the cellar. Was very good paired with a beef rib-eye steak.    My rating: 91 pts (Tasted 10/08/2007)

Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion, white - 2005- $30

White Bordeaux’s, as you may know, primarily contain semillion, muscadele, and sauvignon blanc. They are overshadowed by their red grape counterparts in Bordeaux and far less planted. That is not to say that white Bordeaux’s are not very high quality wines with quite unique structure and terroir. They are very elegant, vivacious wines that set the standard for great white wines.

This 2005 Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion (sauvignon blanc/semillion) is stunning. It’s a fair priced wine that is outstanding on the nose. Apple and citrus notes shine, with subtle hints of oak and lavender all combined with a mineral undertone. I would pair this with a white pasta sauce or a broiled halibut fillet. My Rating- 90 pts