Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Michael Malinoski

It was a treat to connect with my friend Ed and his regular tasting group a little while back on a night when they were drinking Chateauneuf du Pape tête de cuvées at Troquet. As always with this group, all of the wines were poured blind into a line of glasses at the outset of the evening, and then ...

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, Bill organized an informal wine dinner at Erbaluce Restaurant for the usual suspects. His friend Ken Forrester and his charming wife were in town visiting, and they came along for the fun, making us a party of 12. Ken was kind enough to open a bunch of his wines for us, too, whi...

Michael Malinoski

Our regular poker and wine group held our 65th official tournament a little while back at Zach’s house, with wines supplied by the previous month’s winner, Kyle. As always, the wines were served blind during the course of the tournament and most were drunk with food. It was a great time, as usual, w...

Michael Malinoski

A little while back, I got together with 2 friends to enjoy a range of wines with some casual take-out food. We started out with some Champagne and cheese in the kitchen before moving into the dining room for the reds. 1990 Henri Germain et Fils Champagne . We started with this Champagne, which is b...

Michael Malinoski

It's hard to drink much better than that!

Michael Malinoski

Below is the second installment of notes on random wines drunk at home with my family over the past few months, which I haven’t been able to fit into any other postings. I guess it truly was time to clean out that notebook... White wines: 2012 Domaine de la Hersandiere Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur...

Michael Malinoski

A worthy subject for debate and a fascinating thread to read! My favorite is Pichon Lalande, in a pretty easy call for me. Maybe it's because I've drunk many more vintages of this property than any of the others and have just developed a consistent sense that I'll probably like any given decent vint...

Michael Malinoski

I wanted to get some of that Sugar Shack, but it sold out too quickly. What's the closest parallel to the Ritchie/Lauren/Hyde, etc. designates, in your mind, Harry?

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

Quite fitting, well done, Jim. Sorry again to hear about your Dad.

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

Very sorry to hear this, Jim. A toast to you both.

Michael

Michael Malinoski

Below are notes on random wines drunk at home with my family over the past few months, which I haven’t been able to fit into any other postings. I guess it’s just time to clean out my notebook... Sparkling wines: NV Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru . Disgorged May 24, 2012...

Michael Malinoski

Jim, I agree regarding 2004. 2001 is another where I've had many fine bottles, along with 1994, esp. Rioja. I don't have a great sense yet for post-2004 vintages, letting most stuff age from 05 forward.

Best,
Michael

Michael Malinoski

Our regular tasting group got together recently to try some Spanish wines alongside a whole bunch of homemade tapas dishes made by culinary master and host, Andy. There was no decanting ahead of time and none of the wines were tasted blind. It ended up being a fairly diverse set of wines that folks ...

Michael Malinoski

Glad to hear 1988 La Lagune still has a lot to offer. We had a nice bottle up at the BWE Boothbay Harbor get-together in '09 and I wondered then how long it would hold on. Sounds like I shouldn't worry!

Michael

Michael Malinoski

Eight of us got together recently to taste a range of Grand Cru Burgundies from our cellars alongside the excellent food at one of Waltham’s fine dining restaurants. The wines were all tasted blind, decanted by the staff and poured into a phalanx of glasses for each person. 1988 Louis Jadot Chambert...

Michael Malinoski

I was excited to join 7 other wine guys a while back at China King in Boston’s Chinatown for a dinner consisting of 3 Peking ducks and all sorts of delicious sides and starters. We busted out the usual eclectic variety of wines to go with the fare, and a good time was had by all. Sparkling wines: NV...

Michael Malinoski

Our regular tasting group held one of our recent dinners at Kathy’s place, with a general theme of Italian red wines, though we ended up narrowing it down to Piedmont and Tuscany for the main tasting. There were nine of us, and we enjoyed lots of great pot luck food with the wines, none of which wer...

Michael Malinoski

One of our most recent poker tournaments was at Zach’s house, and as usual all of the wines we drank during the game were served blind. The bottles were all bagged and numbered and put into flights. Some were Bordeaux-shaped bottles, some were Burgundy-shaped bottles, some were screwcapped, and so f...

Michael Malinoski

Three of us got together recently to enjoy some wines from our cellars with the excellent fare served at one of our fine local restaurants. The bottle count was maybe a bit excessive for 3 guys, but we still managed to do some serious damage over the course of a long evening. 1996 Pol Roger Champagn...

Michael Malinoski

My wife and I invited another couple over for dinner recently, and as is typical we managed to plow through a bunch of good wines with them by the end of the evening. Sparkling and white wines: 1996 Fleury Pere & Fils Champagne Brut . We started off with this Champagne, which is showing lovely m...

Michael Malinoski

One of our recent regular tasting group get-togethers was held at Jud and Lisa’s place, with seven of us there to enjoy a theme of white Burgundy. We drank several bottles of Chablis up on the deck with appetizers and a beautiful sunset, while the remaining wines were drunk with a dinner downstairs ...

Michael Malinoski

After a morning round of golf, three of us headed over to a friend’s house with some take-out lunch to share a few bottles of wines. 1990 Deutz Champagne Cuvée William Deutz . We knew there could be some doubt about this bottle, as one of the guys picked it up for $2 on close-out at a clueless retai...

Michael Malinoski

For three years now, my wife and I have had the pleasure of attending a friend’s Champagne and barbecue tasting event. He and his wife grill up a wide range of dishes for nine of us and pair them with different magnums of Champagne to highlight the flexibility of these wines. I was skeptical the fir...

Michael Malinoski

It was fun to connect with two of my friends recently for dinner at the Tavern, where we ate some delicious food and shared some really excellent wines on a Thursday night. 1990 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame . This has super-fine bubbles and a thoughtful, contemplative nose ...

Michael Malinoski

Thanks, Harry, I thought 2009 Aubert Hyde Vineyard was among the best Auberts I've had in quite some time. I'll post a note on it fairly soon, but glad to see that the 2010 seems to also be a real winner. Glad to see that site added to the Aubert portfolio...

Michael

Michael Malinoski

I was happy to join my friend Ed’s regular tasting group as a fill-in a little while back for a fun evening of Chablis tasting. As always with this group, all of the wines were served blind in one single flight with dinner. 2000 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis 1er Cru La Forest . The first wine is the darke...

Michael Malinoski

My wife and I welcomed two good friends of ours over for dinner to hear about their travels to Easter Island, and they shared some great stories with us over a few nice bottles of wine. NV Serveaux Fils Champagne Carte Noire . This bottle disgorged in July 2013 is comprised of 65% Pinot Meunier and ...

Michael Malinoski

The 2002 St Innocent Shea a few of us shared a few weeks ago was tremendously good--probably the best St Innocent I can recall drinking in quite a while. I think it's a really good time to be checking in on it, Glenn, if you have that among your stash of 02s.

Michael Malinoski

A friend of mine recently had reason to celebrate, and he opted to do so with a few friends and a bunch of big bottles (where noted) from his cellar served with various small plates of delicious food throughout the evening. It was a lovely outdoor setting and the wines were in very good form—a good ...

Michael Malinoski

One of our most recent poker games was held at Tom’s clubhouse, with wines supplied by the previous month’s winner, Karl. As usual, all wines (except the after-hours selections) were served blind. 1993 Schwaab-Kiebel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese Fuder #10 Mosel Saar Ruwer . This is quite prett...

Michael Malinoski

Four of us recently got together to play a round of golf on a gorgeous afternoon, followed by a very pleasant dinner at our host’s house with a few good bottles of wine. It was hard to beat, really! 2013 Paix Sur Terre Ugni Blanc Paso Robles . The nose here is crisp and pretty, with scents of meadow...

Michael Malinoski

Gerry, you were missed, but there's always more where that came from, right?

-Michael

Michael Malinoski

As the winner of the previous month’s game, I hosted our regular poker tournament a little while back, supplying the wines for the game. As usual, all of the wines were served blind, so only I knew the wines and the serving order. Starter wine: 2007 J.L. Chave Sélection St. Joseph Blanc Céleste . Th...

Michael Malinoski

Every year for the past 6 years or so, my wife and I have joined a small group of friends to kick things up a bit at this annual dinner party and wine tasting. We try to pair up some very nice wines with a series of courses over a long evening of debauchery. Our host this year performed his usual to...

Michael Malinoski

Ron Kramer was kind enough to once again host a group in the common room of his condo complex over in Natick, with the theme this time being a focus on a range of vintages from Bordeaux. Folks came from far and wide, food was ordered in, and a good time was had by all. 1978 Château Beychevelle St. J...

Michael Malinoski

I should have mentioned that the bottle we tasted was from NH, as well.

Michael Malinoski

Oh yeah, here's a note from about 2 months back: 2002 Pol Roger Champagne Extra Cuvée de Reserve . With some cheeses and spreads, we started out with this really tremendous bottle of Pol Roger, which right out of the gate features spry and tingly aromas of dark-toasted bread, ginger, clay, lemon pee...

Michael Malinoski

My wife and daughters were away on a camping trip, so I had a couple of guys over to play some cards, hang out, and drink some wine. Nothing was decanted and none of the wines were served blind. 2007 Albert Boxler Riesling Vieilles Vignes . This is moderately dark gold in color, with a rather overt ...

Michael Malinoski

Andy invited 5 of us over to his place on a Friday night a while back to hang out, eat dinner and play some cards while the family was away somewhere. Everyone brought some wine to share, Andy cooked, and a good time was had by all. As a side note, none of the wines were served blind and none were d...

Michael Malinoski

Our regular tasting group (which got its start through BWE, by the way!) has not been so regular recently, but we did manage to get 6 of us together at my house for a tasting of Napa Cabernets a little while back. Susan cooked some nice veal and we had a good time tasting through some very fine wine...

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